Before he had killed the Grandmaster of the Sanlian Gang, the man had left behind some intelligence.
The Xunshan Hidden Cultivators Association would always use a stone tablet to relay information whenever they contacted him. Lin Dong was unsure whether that stone tablet would still be of any use now that the Grandmaster was dead. However, this was the only clue Lin Dong had to conduct a reverse investigation into the Xunshan Hidden Cultivators Association. Regardless of whether it would work, he had to go and give it a try.
Having made up his mind, Lin Dong headed quickly toward the Grandmaster's residence. As he traveled, he pondered the situation; he would need to devise a formation to reverse-track the stone tablet, which might enable him to pinpoint the specific coordinates of the Xunshan Hidden Cultivators Association.
Although Lin Dong had heard of the organization, he knew very little about it. He only knew that it was a mysterious group of reclusive cultivators comprised of elders from various former sects, and he did not even know where they were based. To investigate them and uncover their true nature would likely require a great deal of effort, but for the sake of revenge, he had no choice but to proceed one step at a time.
Lin Dong hurried along, crossing mountains and ridges. Just as he was about to pass through a forest, he suddenly heard a crisp cry for help coming from ahead.
"Ah! Help me!"
Lin Dong stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a young woman struggling in a river in the distance. The water upstream and downstream was perfectly calm, yet a whirlpool had inexplicably formed around the woman, and no matter how she struggled, she could not free herself.
Watching the young woman on the verge of sinking to the riverbed and drowning, Lin Dong quickly entered the water and pulled her to the bank.
"Huff!"
Lin Dong laid the young woman flat and was just about to provide first aid when he finally saw her clearly: she was wearing only a white gauze dress, and now that it was soaked through with river water, the fabric had become almost entirely transparent.Her exquisite, shapely figure was partially revealed—long, slender legs and a graceful waist. The woman was gasping for air after nearly drowning, her chest heaving violently in a tempestuous display, her pale, glowing skin still splattered with water droplets.
The scene was so sensually charged that even Lin Dong couldn't help but take a deep breath to steady his racing pulse.
She had likely swallowed a considerable amount of water. He needed to perform chest compressions to help her expel it. If that water reached her lungs, even if he managed to save her life, she would be left permanently incapacitated.
Lin Dong placed his hands over the young woman's chest and murmured, "Miss, I am no lecher. This is strictly to save your life—please, do not blame me."
With that, Lin Dong pressed his large hands down onto her chest. The soft, cold sensation made him pause for a fleeting second.
"Cough!"
Hearing the woman cough, Lin Dong shook off his hesitation and began the compressions.
"Ugh!"
Under Lin Dong’s professional resuscitation technique, it took only a few moments for the woman to begin retching violently, expelling all the river water she had swallowed.
However, her complexion remained deathly pale. Her body twisted slightly from the exertion of coughing and vomiting, and her breathing was so faint that she seemed on the verge of slipping away.
"Something's wrong."
"Does she have an underlying condition?"
Lin Dong hurriedly checked her pulse and discovered that she was suffering from both a deficiency of Qi and blood, with a pulse in her yin meridian that was dangerously weak. It was the Blood Cold Disease.
"So young, yet afflicted by such a rare malady. Truly pitiful."
Lin Dong sighed, and just as he was about to provide treatment, a sharp shout erupted from the perimeter.
"You pervert! You’re courting death!"
The words had barely faded when a powerful gust of wind struck toward him. Lin Dong frowned slightly, shifted his body to dodge the attack, and swiftly retreated to the side.A woman in tactical leather gear rushed toward the scene. However, instead of attacking Lin Dong again, she quickly ran to the unconscious woman, lifted her up, and cried out, "Young Miss!"
The Leather-clad Woman screamed, "You lecherous scoundrel! How dare you harm my Young Miss! I’ll have your life for this!"
Hearing the insult, Lin Dong felt a headache coming on. He was merely passing through and had helped save someone, yet now he was being slandered as a lecher.
With no other choice, Lin Dong tried to explain, "I was just passing by and heard her calling for help from the river, so I pulled her out. If you aren't going to thank me, that's fine, but why slander me?"
The Leather-clad Woman cursed, "Bullshit! My Young Miss was out sketching landscapes far from the river. How could she have fallen in for no reason? You clearly did this to her!"
Lin Dong looked miserable. There were no surveillance cameras in this place; he was unable to clear his name, so he decided to stop arguing and focus on saving the patient instead.
"I won't explain further," Lin Dong said. "But your Young Miss is suffering from the Blood Cold Disease and is in critical condition. If you truly want to protect her, you should let me save her now."
The Leather-clad Woman sneered, "A lecher like you? You think she needs your help?"
"Whistle!"
She let out a sharp whistle, and a commotion erupted from the woods nearby. A large group of people swarmed out, quickly surrounding the area.
Several middle-aged men wearing medical robes hurried over and began emergency treatment on the unconscious woman.
Lin Dong’s expression darkened.
Where were these people earlier?
Since doctors had arrived to save her, there was no reason for Lin Dong to stay.
Just as he turned to leave, he caught a whiff of a very familiar medicinal scent.
"Tianling Pill?"
Lin Dong looked up and saw that the men in medical robes were holding a pill. It was crimson in color and emitted a rich, herbal fragrance. Lin Dong recognized it instantly—wasn't this the Tianling Pill he had refined back at Taohua Spring?
At that time, Lin Dong had just mastered basic medicine and refined several types of pills according to ancient texts; the Tianling Pill was one of them.
While this pill had the effect of nourishing Yang and restoring spiritual energy, its side effects were glaring: it suppressed the Yin meridians. Prolonged use would lead to a Yin-Yang imbalance and the risk of Yang energy backflowing.
For that very reason, Lin Dong had already ordered the villagers to destroy all of those pills. He never imagined he would see one here.
If it were used sparingly to boost Yang energy, it might be acceptable, but given that the woman’s Blood Cold Disease had already reached a terminal stage, this Tianling Pill would be useless.
Not only would it fail to save her, but it would actually exacerbate her condition.
Lin Dong pointed at the doctors and shouted, "Stop! She cannot take that pill!"
One of the doctors shot a sideways glance at Lin Dong and retorted, "If she doesn't take the medicine, should she take your advice instead?"
The men ignored Lin Dong entirely and proceeded to feed her the pill.
Seeing this, Lin Dong, driven by his instinct to save lives, lunged forward, intending to snatch the medicine away.
The Leather-clad Woman, who had been watching Lin Dong like a hawk, moved as well. She intercepted him, blocking his path. "You're courting death!"
Lin Dong sighed and quickly explained the origin and side effects of the pill.
Lin Dong meant well, but to his surprise, the Leather-clad Woman burst into laughter after hearing his explanation.
"Ha! You say this Tianling Pill was refined by you? How ridiculous! This is the miracle medicine of the divine doctor Yue Feng from Dongping. Who do you think you are? How dare you try to claim credit for his work?"
Upon hearing the name Yue Feng, Lin Dong muttered, "Old Yue? He’s capable of practicing medicine? And he’s called a 'divine doctor'?"