Dealing with this might prove rather troublesome.
Still, he did not dwell on it too much. For one thing, he was not the one who had killed the man; for another, they had been the ones trying to kill him in the first place, so getting themselves killed was only what they deserved.
He raised his head and looked at the woman.
At this very moment, the woman remained frozen in the pose she had just struck, but her eyes were filled with sheer terror.
She was an assassin whose living came from killing people, someone who lived by the blade.
Yet… she feared death as well.
Especially after watching her partner die right before her very eyes.
Holding a silver needle pinched between his fingers, Chu Hao looked at the woman and asked, "Ye Hao sent you, didn't he?"
"Yes!" the woman blurted out hurriedly. "He paid one million, claiming you were a blind man, and put a bounty on your life!"
"Just one million?" Chu Hao frowned slightly.
Then he asked calmly, "Were you the only ones who came to make a move?"
"I don't know!" The woman swallowed hard and confessed honestly, "The Ye family keeps quite a few assassins, some of whom are even on the hit list. Since we failed, he'll likely send someone else."
"The Ye family is this lawless?" Chu Hao frowned as he asked.
"Their family is wealthy and powerful; as long as they clean up after themselves, they leave no loose ends," the woman replied.
Chu Hao was momentarily speechless, then let out a long sigh. "So that's how it is."
He stopped asking further questions and raised the silver needle.
"Don't kill me, I'm begging you." The woman looked on the verge of tears.
"Those who kill must be prepared to die," Chu Hao said in a calm tone. "You wanted me dead, and I have no reason to let you live!"
At that, Chu Hao chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I'll send Ye Hao to see you two later."
With a flick of his finger, the needle drove straight into the woman's throat.
The woman shuddered, and the next moment, she slowly slumped to the floor.
Compared to the man's gruesome end, this woman died with remarkable peace, without a single drop of blood being spilled.
"Disposing of these bodies is going to be a hassle, though!" Chu Hao muttered with a frown.
Chapter 31 Unexpected News
As a healer, Chu Hao was long accustomed to the dead, so seeing two corpses before him did not cause him a shred of fear.
He felt no psychological burden whatsoever.
He could possess the benevolent heart of a physician, but when facing people who wished him harm, he saw no need to repay evil with good.
It was just that dealing with these two bodies was somewhat troublesome.
At that moment, the woman in the white dress spoke in a calm tone, "They're both assassins, most likely wanted criminals on the blacklist, and the identification papers they used are definitely fake."
"So?" Chu Hao turned his head to look at the woman in the white dress and asked.
The woman in the white dress looked at Chu Hao as if he were an idiot. "So you just stuff them into sacks and find some patch in the wilderness to dump them."
Chu Hao's expression shifted. He looked at the woman in the white dress and said, "You killed one too, help me drag them out together!"
The woman in the white dress glanced indifferently at Chu Hao, curled her lip, and said, "Drag them yourself, I'm not interested!"
"Then I'll call the police and wait for them to arrive. Since they're wanted criminals, maybe we can even collect a reward," Chu Hao said.
Hearing this, the woman in the white dress turned her head and gave Chu Hao a long, deep look.
Chu Hao shrugged.
From the way she had struck earlier, he knew this woman in the white dress was by no means a pushover, but he wasn't afraid either.
When she attacked just now, Chu Hao had sensed that she was indeed no ordinary person, but her strength was roughly around the 7th-8th Layer of Qi Refining.
Moreover, the energy she employed was not true elemental force.
"You're… rather interesting," the woman said in a cool tone.
She then returned to her room. After a moment, she came back out with two white cloths, covered the two bodies with them, and said, "Carrying this woman's corpse is fine by me, right?"
Chu Hao nodded.
The two of them hoisted the bodies and quietly slipped out of the inn, quickly picking up their pace. Their speed was much faster than an ordinary car.
Jiangcheng was not very large; about half an hour later, they reached a wild hillside.
Chu Hao tossed his body onto the ground.
The woman in the white dress followed suit by throwing her load to the ground, then looked at Chu Hao and said, "This is good enough, right?"
Chu Hao was speechless.
The woman in the white dress clearly had no intention of making small talk with him, and Chu Hao wasn't the kind to grovel either.
The main reason he had asked her to help carry the bodies earlier was simply that dragging two corpses by himself would have been rather inconvenient.
Now that the woman had dropped the body and intended to leave, Chu Hao did not try to keep her.
Still feeling somewhat uneasy about leaving the two corpses on the slope, he fished a small bamboo tube out of his pocket and tapped it. Two dark, round pills rolled into his palm.
The woman in the white dress, who had been about to leave, seemed to sense something. She abruptly stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look in Chu Hao's direction!
She saw Chu Hao squat down and place the two pills into the corpses' mouths.
Right after that, her pupils contracted slightly!
At that very moment, the two corpses slowly began to dissolve.
"Corpse-melting Pill!" The woman's expression changed abruptly. She looked at Chu Hao and said, "You're... an immortal cultivator."
Her face twitched as she continued, "The Corpse-melting Pill is a 1st-grade pill. Ranked pills are great for killing people and seizing treasures; while not as valuable for cultivation as the Yuanyang Pill, they're still worth a million each. Do you really find it worthwhile to waste them on two ordinary mortals?"
Chu Hao was stunned. "How much did you say a Corpse-melting Pill costs?"
Instead of answering, the woman looked him up and down for a long time before taking a deep breath and asking, "Are you an alchemist?"
"I am a healer," Chu Hao shook his head, choosing not to admit his status as an alchemist.
Hearing this, a trace of disappointment crossed the woman's face.
"However, as for refining pills, I am capable of it. Treating certain patients always requires some," Chu Hao said, staring at the corpses before him.
Before long, the two bodies completely turned into a puddle of water, leaving no bones behind as they sank into the earth.
Hearing this, the woman in the white dress brightened slightly and asked eagerly, "Then… can you refine the Qingyang Pill?"
"The Qingyang Pill?" Chu Hao frowned slightly.
Seeing his expression, the woman gave a bitter smile. "True enough. The Qingyang Pill is a 2nd-grade pill, so it's only natural that a mere doctor like you can't refine it."
"I didn't say I couldn't refine it!" Chu Hao looked the woman up and down and said, "I'm just rather curious. From what I understand, the Qingyang Pill is used for beasts or demons. Earlier, when I saw you attack that man, the energy you used was different from true elemental force. I thought it was ordinary qi at first, but looking at it now—"
Chu Hao's expression shifted rapidly!
According to his understanding, spiritual energy on Earth was extremely depleted nowadays, and the number of immortal cultivators was exceedingly scarce!
Having someone like Luo Qing in this tiny Jiangcheng was already rare, but tonight, he had encountered Qin Su and this woman in the white dress one after another.
From his previous conversations with Qin Su and Jiang Shan, Chu Hao could roughly guess that Qin Su was likely a disciple of some hidden immortal cultivation sect on Earth.
His appearance in Jiangcheng was rather suspicious.
If this woman in the white dress was a demon, perhaps Qin Su's purpose in coming to Jiangcheng was specifically because of her.
As for the reason, it remained unclear.
Of course, this was just Chu Hao's conjecture; whether it was actually true, he didn't know. Even if it were, he had no interest in it!
He hadn't even reached an agreement with Qin Su or Jiang Shan, and they could hardly be considered well-acquainted.
"I am a demon!" The woman in the white dress did not deny it. She looked at Chu Hao and asked, "What, planning to make a move on me?"
Chu Hao shook his head. "Not interested, just my first time meeting one, so I'm a bit curious."
The woman took a deep breath. "I can provide the raw materials for the Qingyang Pill. Can you refine it for me?"
Her voice carried a hint of anticipation.
"And the condition?" Chu Hao asked.
The woman pondered for a long time, then took a deep breath. "I… can help you kill someone."
"I'm neither a psychopath nor do I have any enemies," Chu Hao curled his lip. "Why would I want someone killed?"
Hearing this, the woman froze for a moment, a look of bewilderment washing over her face.
"Then what do you want? I'll do my best to get it!" the woman asked.
Chu Hao thought for a moment. "Let's head back first. We can talk while we walk!"
The woman nodded. After walking a few steps, Chu Hao asked, "By the way, you probably aren't a demon from Jiangcheng, are you? What are you doing in a tiny backwater like this?"
The woman did not deny it either. She glanced at Chu Hao and said, "Entrusted by someone to come and kill a person named Chu Hao. As long as I succeed, he'll give me the main raw material for refining the Qingyang Pill—the Qingyang grass."
Hearing this, Chu Hao's eyelids suddenly twitched.
Chapter 32 Lin Qinyi's Only Chance at Survival
Chu Hao's mind went blank!
He had just been thinking about whether to offer her a free refinement since, to him, it wasn't much trouble at all. Yet he never expected that while he intended to help her, she… was actually here to chop his head off.
Fortunately, they hadn't exchanged names; otherwise, the woman probably would have stabbed him several times along the way.
Chu Hao's heart pounded, but he tried his best to keep his face calm.
This woman clearly wasn't in cahoots with the two assassins from earlier, or she wouldn't have killed them off.
That meant she was most likely not sent by the Yanjing Ye family.
Under that premise, why would she want to kill him?
Recalling the assassination attempt by Luo Qing three years ago, Chu Hao always felt things weren't that simple—as if an invisible hand behind the scenes wanted him dead.
Before coming to Jiangcheng this time, he had spent all his years in the countryside, practicing medicine most of the time and making only good connections.
Those people had no reason to assassinate him. If he had to look for a reason, Chu Hao figured it probably had something to do with his grandfather.
The former Chu Hao had no concept of it; since childhood, he had eaten Yuanyang Pills like candy and sometimes even fed them to the village dogs out of annoyance.
Only now did he realize the true value of those Yuanyang Pills.
From this, he knew for a fact that his grandfather was no ordinary person.
So he was being hunted because of his grandfather?
Although Chu Hao desperately restrained his facial expressions, the woman in white still noticed the change. Her expression flickered slightly as she asked, "You… know Chu Hao?"
Chu Hao nodded. "To tell you the truth, Chu Hao… is a good friend of mine."
A flash of emotion crossed the woman's face, and she gritted her teeth. "If he's a friend of yours, then… I won't kill him. Can you help me refine the Qingyang Pill instead?"
"Why do you want to kill him in the first place?" Chu Hao asked.
"I don't know either," the woman replied calmly. "Someone just contacted me, offered a reward, and told me to come to Jiangcheng to find Luo Qing and help him ambush and kill him."
Chu Hao's eyelids twitched once again.
"You don't know who the other person is?" Chu Hao asked.
"They found me on the dark web; we never met in person," the woman said.
"What's the dark web?" Chu Hao asked, looking blank.
"An independent network. Who controls it is unknown, but many assassins take jobs on it," the woman said. "The reward is given to the dark web administrator beforehand, and once the job is done, you get your share."
With that, she looked at Chu Hao. "Since this Chu Hao is a friend of yours, I won't lay a hand on him. I'll just leave this place right now."
"Could it be Luo Qing who posted it?" Chu Hao asked.
"I wouldn't know about that!" The woman shook her head.
"If you don't take this mission, do you still have the raw materials for refining the pill?" Chu Hao asked.
"I have two portions!" The woman let out a long breath. "They say even the most skilled alchemist nowadays needs at least three portions to successfully refine one batch of Qingyang Pills!"
At this, she looked at Chu Hao. "With two portions, if we're lucky, we should be able to make it work, right?"
Chu Hao pondered for a moment. "I can help you refine the pills, but I have two conditions!"
Seeing Chu Hao relent, the woman said joyfully, "Go ahead!"
"First, if I succeed on the first try, the leftover materials from your Qingyang Pill will belong to me," Chu Hao said.
"That's no problem!" the woman agreed eagerly.
"Second!" Chu Hao looked at the woman in white. "Since you're planning to cooperate with Luo Qing, you must be able to contact him. Reach out to him, and… let's ambush and kill him instead."
The woman froze, looked at Chu Hao in astonishment, and then nodded. "Alright!"
"You aren't going to ask why?" Chu Hao asked, surprised.
"Whether I kill Chu Hao or kill Luo Qing," the woman said, "my only goal is the Qingyang Pill. But that's on the condition that you first prove you're capable of refining it; only then will I take action."
Since she didn't ask, Chu Hao didn't bother explaining further.
"No problem!" Chu Hao said. "I happen to be refining a batch of pills in the next couple of days. You can observe and see how my alchemy skills are."
The woman nodded.
As they talked, the two of them entered the urban area.
Before long, they returned to the inn!
Mu Qingqing was still sound asleep, completely unaware of what had happened upstairs.
Returning to the upper floor, Chu Hao cleaned up the bloodstains on the floor. At that moment, the woman asked, "My name is Bai Ling. May I ask your name?"
Chu Hao took a deep breath. "Well, that's a coincidence. We share the same surname; my name is Bai Gao!"
Bai Gao was formed by splitting the character for Hao from his name.
"Alright, then I'll go back to sleep. Let me know when you're going to refine the pills," Bai Ling said.
Once Bai Ling returned to her room, Chu Hao went back to his own and lay down on the bed.
His brow was furrowed in a deep frown.
He never expected that coming to Jiangcheng this time would be so perilous!
Lying on the bed, he stared at the ceiling and muttered softly, "Grandfather, are you alive or dead? Just who is this person trying so hard to put me in an early grave?"
……
Meanwhile, deep in the night, the Lin family residence was equally unsettled!
Past midnight, Lin Qinyi had officially reached her twenty-eighth birthday.
At this moment, lying in her bed with a complexion of utter paleness, despair filled her eyes.
"Elder sister!" Shuyu sat by the bedside, holding her hand. "Why don't we just go beg Chu Hao?"
Lin Qinyi looked at her with lifeless eyes. "Beg him how? Beg him to sleep with me?"
"But this is your only path to survival," Shuyu said through clenched teeth. "Just swallow your pride this once, let him sleep with you, and cooperate with him a little. Once you recover, we can find a way to get back at him."
"Right now… that seems to be the only way," Lin Qinyi let out a long, heavy sigh.
Meanwhile, in the study of the Lin family villa, Lin Kefu looked at the man before him and muttered, "I can't possibly agree to your terms!"
"Think it over carefully!" Luo Qing said indifferently. "Trading Chu Hao's life for your granddaughter's—this is Lin Qinyi's only way out!"
With that, Luo Qing leaned back in his chair. "Take your time considering. I'm not in a rush!"
Lin Kefu's expression flickered with uncertainty. After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, I agree. But if Yiyi's condition doesn't improve in the end, I swear, even if it means the ruin and destruction of the Lin family, I will have your Luo family wiped off the map in Jiangcheng."
Chapter 33 Summoning Reinforcements by Phone
The night passed quietly.
Chu Hao slept until dawn. He washed up briefly, walked to the door, and pulled it open.
The moment the door opened, he recoiled in surprise.
He saw Bai Ling standing pretty right outside his doorway. She was still wearing her white dress, and an aura of endless charm still clung to her.
"What are you doing standing at my door?!" Chu Hao patted his chest, startled.
"Luo Qing contacted me this morning," Bai Ling said, taking a deep breath.
"Oh?" Chu Hao's expression shifted slightly. "He's planning to make a move on Chu Hao?"
"Yes!" Bai Ling nodded. "He told me that tonight at eight o'clock, at the Lin family villa, we make our move on Chu Hao."
"Hmm?" Chu Hao's eyes narrowed. "The Lin family villa?"
"How are we supposed to do it?" Chu Hao asked. "I should let Chu Hao know so he can be on his guard."
Bai Ling shook her head. "He didn't give the specific method yet. He just told me to lurk around the Lin family villa at around eight tonight. I might not even need to act; I'll only step in if there are any complications."
Chu Hao pondered this. "Do you know Luo Qing's cultivation level?"
"I don't know, but he definitely hasn't entered the Aperture Opening Stage," Bai Ling said.
"Understood!" Chu Hao took a deep breath. "How about this: go along with the plan, but turn on him at the critical moment and stab him in the back."
Bai Ling gave Chu Hao a strange look; she felt that the way he spoke made it sound like they were plotting a highway robbery.
Still, she nodded. "Alright. Are you refining pills today?"
Chu Hao nodded. "Yeah, I'll let you know the exact time and place later. Leave me your cell phone number!"
Bai Ling nodded and gave him her number, after which Chu Hao walked down the stairs.
When he reached the first floor, Mu Qingqing saw him coming down and greeted, "Older brother!"
Chu Hao turned around and smiled gently. "Did your parents go to work again?"
Mu Qingqing nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, they always leave early and come back late, only sleeping for a short while every day."
Chu Hao was speechless, then gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, this won't go on much longer. Maybe after today, they'll finally be able to take it easy."
"Ah?" Mu Qingqing looked at him in confusion.
Chu Hao didn't elaborate. He planned to deal with Zuo Cheng first before handling Luo Qing tonight.
He ruffled her hair, kept quiet about the details, and smiled faintly. "I'm heading out for a bit."
"Oh, right! —"