However, the next moment.
Whoosh!!!
Xue'er and Liu Qianxun, who had been slumped on the table, suddenly tilted their heads, their tongues lolling out, and stood up with vacant stares.
Their faces were no longer the pretty visages seen outside the hotel, but patches of rotten flesh clinging to them, with foul-smelling blood dripping from time to time.
They had clearly transformed into two zombies!
"Ah—Holy crap, what... what is that!"
Zhu Yong was startled, his pants instantly soaked, both solid and liquid spewing out, emitting a strong stench.
No one answered.
The two zombies, Xue'er and Liu Qianxun, with their whites of their eyes showing, stared at him, raised their green-furred hands, and advanced step by step towards Zhu Yong.
"You, you..."
"No, no, don't come any closer!"
Zhu Yong scrambled backward in terror, but soon found himself pressed against the wall.
Watching the two zombies approaching, immense fear spread through his heart.
Suddenly, his eyes rolled back, his tongue lolled out, and he simply lost consciousness.
"Huh, what's going on?"
As a surprised voice echoed, the scene in the private room reversed.
The zombies were gone, the smell of blood had vanished.
There were only Bai Zihui, Liu Qianxun, and Xue'er, all perfectly fine, along with the steaming hot food on the table.
Everything that had just happened was merely an illusion conjured by Liu Qianxun.
She, known as the Poison Master, had discovered the problem the moment the dishes were served and decided to play a trick on the person behind it, which led to the scene just now.
Liu Qianxun approached with a look of surprise.
Zhu Yong turned to see her, but still tilted his head, stuck out his tongue, and stared blankly, the picture of a simpleton: "Hehe, pretty sister!"
"Hehehe..."
"He's actually scared silly!"
Liu Qianxun saw this and clapped her hands in delight: "Fun, so fun!"
"I just created a couple of illusionary zombies to scare him, I didn't expect him to turn into a real idiot!"
"Alright."
Bai Zihui spoke, and Liu Qianxun stopped her antics.
"Throw him out."
"And have the waiter clean this place up."
Liu Qianxun complied.
Bai Zihui, his mind set on the matter of the ten-sided prism, then said to Xue'er, "Xue'er, contact Fifth Sister and see when she can arrive."
"Understood, Young Master!"
Xue'er immediately got to work and soon received a reply.
"Young Master, the Pavilion Master says she is currently occupied with important matters and can only join us here in about three days."
"Three days..."
Bai Zihui pondered for a moment, his decision made.
Dealing with the Black Dragon Society would likely take half a day—kill the Black Dragon, and the society, leaderless, would undoubtedly fall into chaos.
However, since they hadn't come looking for him yet, there was no urgency.
He could attend to other matters first.
For years, his father had struggled to hold together the fractured Bai family, his hair turned white from the strain.
This trip to the provincial capital was a perfect opportunity to buy some precious medicinal herbs unavailable in Suhang, and refine some pills to restore his father's youthful vigor.
His little sister had also suffered greatly; if there were suitable gifts, he should buy them as well.
"Xue'er, do you know of any places in the provincial capital that sell medicinal herbs?"
"On East Street."
Xue'er replied immediately, "There's the largest medicinal herb market in Jiangdong Province."
"Alright, then we'll go there tomorrow."
Bai Zihui made the decision.
Liu Qianxun, returning from outside, her eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Buying herbs? Excellent, excellent, I can add some extra meals for my little ones!"
The "little ones" she referred to were naturally the poisonous creatures she kept.
The next day.
Led by Xue'er, the three arrived at the medicinal herb market.
"Come and see, come and see, ten-year-old wild ginseng, truly wild!"
"Pah—"
"Not just wild, it's *really* wild!"
The vendors, seeing Bai Zihui and his companions, immediately shouted loudly, trying to attract attention.
"Come and see, tiger bones and ginseng from Changbai Mountain, the ultimate choice for invigorating yang and strengthening the kidneys, excellent quality and low price, honest dealings!"
"One gram makes you a youth, two grams a groom every night, three grams a general conquering the northwest!"
"Handsome boy, want a piece?"
Another vendor winked at Bai Zihui.
"Look at me, look at me..."
The other vendors also began to solicit potential customers.
Bai Zihui merely glanced around, his interest waning.
Most of these vendors shouted loud slogans, peddled the cheapest herbs, and made the most ill-gotten gains.
He wasn't short of money now, and there was no need to search for treasure among a pile of junk.
The three walked directly towards the largest and most conspicuous pharmacy on the street—Tianlong Pharmacy.
"Sir, what can I get for you?"
The proprietor, seeing the trio, immediately approached them solicitously.
Bai Zihui got straight to the point: "Bring out your best Qilin Blood, Melted Snow Ginseng, Dragon Ascending Root, and Mystic Flower Fruit... show them all to me."
He rattled off over a dozen medicinal herbs.
Seven or eight of them were for his father's recovery and body strengthening.
The remaining few were for a greater purpose but difficult to procure in Suhang City.
"Certainly!"
"Please wait a moment, sir!"
The proprietor immediately entered the storeroom.
A moment later, he emerged carrying a large pile of herbs: "All the herbs you mentioned are here, please take a look."
"This is Qilin Blood."
The proprietor picked up a specimen and boasted: "Look at this color, it's at least thirty years old, very hard to find on the market."
"This is Melted Snow Ginseng, harvested from the snowy mountains of the northwest and air-freighted back, absolutely fresh."
"Dragon Ascending Root, with twelve forks at the root, its medicinal efficacy is absolutely guaranteed!"
"Mystic Flower Fruit..."
He introduced them one by one, each with extravagant claims.
But Bai Zihui merely glanced at them and lost interest, turning to leave.
"Hey, sir, don't go."
The proprietor rushed out, blocking Bai Zihui's path: "Are you saying these herbs aren't good enough?"
Bai Zihui sneered, picked up the Qilin Blood: "The most precious part of Qilin Blood is the 'blood essence' within, but look at this specimen, it's so dry, where is the blood essence?"
"And this Melted Snow Ginseng..."
Bai Zihui squeezed it gently, and water dripped out. He immediately scoffed: "I wonder how long it's been soaking in water, and you dare call it freshly harvested and air-freighted?"
"Aren't you afraid of ruining your reputation selling this kind of herb?"
He couldn't even be bothered to examine the rest of the herbs one by one.
This proprietor was clearly passing off inferior goods as superior, trying to deceive people with fakes.
After saying this, Bai Zihui turned and left.
Just as he was about to reach the door.
The proprietor suddenly shouted, "Security, stop him!"
Whoosh!
Four or five security guards rushed out, blocking Bai Zihui inside Tianlong Pharmacy!