Ziqing was completely certain she hadn’t seen wrong.

But how could the person have vanished in the span of just a single instant? Her eyesight was hardly poor, and Jun Beiyue had arrived at her side almost instantaneously — there was no way he could have missed it either.

So where had the person gone?

“Someone there?” Baili Weisheng asked, puzzled, glancing around carefully but finding nothing at all. “Xiao Qingqing, are you sure you didn’t just imagine it?”

“I couldn’t have been wrong — they must be somewhere nearby, an old man!” Ziqing said with certainty.

Baili Weisheng and Jun Beiyue exchanged a glance, both seeming to sense something. Without a word, the two of them retreated at the same moment, Jun Beiyue shielding Ziqing, immediately positioning her protectively behind him.

Meanwhile, Baili Weisheng’s hands, folded behind his back, had already curled into claw-like readiness, his eyes filled with ruthless intent.

For this person to have slipped past both his and Jun Beiyue’s notice — they had to be no ordinary figure! They could only hear the sound of breathing, but couldn’t see a thing at all.

Just then, a deep, cold voice suddenly rang out. “Heh heh, you young folks have sharp ears, I’ll give you that.”

The voice — the person was hidden somewhere within the rock wall itself!

“Enough playing tricks!” Jun Beiyue said coldly, sweeping his sleeve sharply through the air, and instantly all the vines clinging to the rock face snapped and came tumbling down.

And at that very moment, a flash of green suddenly appeared out of nowhere, chasing after the falling vines!

The three of them immediately split off in three different directions, giving chase — but very quickly, the flash of green came to a stop.

Ziqing and the others immediately surrounded him, coming to a halt themselves, and only now got a clear look at the figure — a middle-aged man dressed in green, somewhere in his fifties, disheveled and unkempt, his clothes, his hair, even his face, all covered in a layer of green moss.

No wonder — hidden against the rock face like that, it was no surprise Ziqing hadn’t spotted him!

“Who are you?” Baili Weisheng demanded sharply.

But the man merely let out a cold laugh. “Being young and hot-tempered isn’t a good thing. Aren’t you looking for Water-Jade Salvia? Well, here it is! Once this thing falls, you’ll never find it again.”

Only then did Ziqing and the others notice what was in the man’s hand — and sure enough, upon closer inspection, it was exactly the herb they needed!

Ziqing was just about to speak, when Baili Weisheng suddenly changed his tone entirely. “Sir, please forgive our rudeness just now. This herb — we need it to save someone’s life. Would you possibly be willing to—”

“No,” the man answered flatly, his tone icy cold.

“This belongs to Qinse Sea Valley. Whether to give it or not isn’t up to you to decide,” Jun Beiyue said, lacking Baili Weisheng’s patience entirely.

But the man only sneered coldly. “That depends on whether you two have what it takes to leave this place.”

Baili Weisheng immediately brightened, his good humor returning, and said with a cheerful grin, “Sir, are you saying… we’ll have to take it by force?”

Robbery and plunder — this was exactly the sort of thing Baili Weisheng thoroughly enjoyed.

The man didn’t answer, simply staring coldly at him and Jun Beiyue, slowly tucking the Water-Jade Salvia into his sleeve.

Trying to hide it, was he?

Baili Weisheng was just about to signal Jun Beiyue when Jun Beiyue’s move came faster than anyone could react to — two blades of wind shot out simultaneously, aimed straight at the man’s hands!

The man had no choice but to either strike back or dodge — there was no time left to hide the herb!

He chose to dodge, twisting his body sharply to the side to avoid the strike!

A disdainful curve played at the corner of Jun Beiyue’s lips as, with a single hand, he unleashed countless blades of wind, nearly surrounding the man entirely!

There was no possible way to dodge them all!

Forced to fight back, the man held the Water-Jade Salvia in one hand while using the other to deflect the wind blades, his body constantly weaving side to side, leaning forward and back to evade.

Seeing this, Baili Weisheng grinned with delight, immediately joining in, plucking leaves from the surrounding plants as makeshift projectiles and hurling them out one after another, aiming specifically for the man’s hand holding the herb!

These two men were truly shameless!

The man was certainly skilled, but no matter how skilled he was, he was no match for a genius like Jun Beiyue combined with an eccentric like Baili Weisheng!

Very soon, he found himself unable to keep up, and was forced to use even the hand holding the Water-Jade Salvia to help block the incoming projectiles!

Ziqing knew — the moment he raised that hand, her chance would come.

Sure enough, as Baili Weisheng’s projectiles rained down one after another, the man was forced to raise his hand, and Ziqing, seizing the perfect moment, sent a wind blade slicing viciously across the man’s wrist!

Heaven only knew how much force was behind that wind blade — the man let out a muffled grunt of pain, his hand going limp, and the Water-Jade Salvia immediately slipped and fell!

Jun Beiyue instantly reached out with an empty-handed grasping technique, successfully catching the Water-Jade Salvia and tucking it safely away!

“You! Still so young, and yet so utterly shameless!” the man sputtered furiously, finally drawing out a double-bladed sword, splitting it into two, one blade in each hand, and charging straight at Jun Beiyue and Ziqing!

Jun Beiyue and Ziqing immediately split apart, joining Baili Weisheng in surrounding the man from three directions.

The man’s aura turned fierce and menacing, his eyes blazing with hostility. “Hand it back, or none of you are leaving this place!”

Baili Weisheng laughed. “Don’t worry, sir — there must be plenty more treasures around here. We weren’t planning on leaving anyway.”

This man was clearly someone who had lived here for a long time, and surely had a great many precious herbs stored away, ones even the two Qinse Elders knew nothing about. Baili Weisheng genuinely had no intention of leaving now.

Jun Beiyue seemed to be in unusually good spirits as well, readily chiming in to back Baili Weisheng up. “Hand over all the herbs, or you can forget about us ever leaving!”

The two of them, taking turns, one line after another, left the man so furious he nearly spat blood, his dignity utterly shattered. “You… you little brats, just watch how I deal with you!”

With that, he immediately charged forward with his blades, his two hands moving with remarkable agility, one sword striking at Jun Beiyue, the other at Baili Weisheng.

But no matter how formidable this man might be, he was, in the end, only one person!

Ziqing stood off to the side, watching with narrowed eyes and a sweet, satisfied smile. Ganging up on someone outnumbered was so very convenient, after all!

With a single aerial flip, she landed directly behind the man, her slender hand rising gently, a blade of wind already forming at her fingertips!

But just at that moment, the man suddenly shouted urgently, “Wait, girl, wait!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ziqing smiled and released the wind blade anyway, striking the man squarely on the shoulder. He immediately clutched his shoulder in pain, cursing furiously, “Damn girl! I already told you to stop — what more do you people want!”

“Sorry, my hand moved too fast to stop in time,” Ziqing replied with an innocent smile. She hadn’t hit the man’s arm too hard — heaven only knew whether he might try to pull some trick on them otherwise.

If they hadn’t outnumbered him, dealing with this man wouldn’t have been so easy — his twin blades were quite formidable, and this ravine was his own territory besides! For this man to have hidden away in the Medicine Ravine for so long without even the two Qinse Elders knowing — there had to be something strange going on here.

Thinking this, Ziqing casually sent out another wind blade, without much concern at all. “Smack!” It struck the man’s other arm!

“Heh!” the man let out a sharp gasp, his eyes suddenly turning fierce as he whipped around to glare at her. “Damn girl, you’re asking to die!”

But the moment the man got a proper look at Ziqing’s face, he suddenly froze completely, his entire body going rigid as though struck by lightning, utterly motionless, mouth hanging open in shock.

This girl… this girl…

With both arms injured, the man posed no threat at all. Ziqing didn’t retreat — instead, she stepped closer, demanding, “Just who exactly are you? What are you doing hiding here?”