That evening, Ye Qiu brought Qin Wan, Baihua Fairy, and Luluo to the Ye family for dinner.
The next morning, Ye Qiu returned to Jiangzhou alone.
Qin Wan stayed in the capital to accompany Baihua Fairy and Luluo for sightseeing, so she didn’t go back with him.
Back in Jiangzhou, Ye Qiu’s days were quite leisurely.
By day, he worked at the hospital, and at night, he was joined by Qiu Shannan, Qianshan Xue, Bai Bing, Su Luoying, or Su Xiaoxiao in turn, living a life of pure bliss.
The only downside was that Lin Jingzhi was constantly away on business, leaving no time to spend with him.
Half a month passed in a flash.
During that time, Master Longbrow called Ye Qiu twice, claiming he’d found the dragon vein, only for Daoist Chongxu to clarify that Kunlun’s dragon vein was elusive, slipping away before they could pin it down.
That day, Ye Qiu was resting at home when, early in the morning, the medicine marten scratched him awake.
The little creature had been with Ye Qiu for a while, eating plenty of herbs but never growing in size.
Lately, Ye Qiu had been so busy that he hadn’t had time to look after the little thing.
Now that he finally had a break, the marten clung to him constantly, even sleeping by his side during his hospital shifts, behaving adorably.
“Little guy, why’d you wake me?” Ye Qiu asked.
The medicine marten stood upright, clasping its tiny paws in a salute, looking utterly endearing.
“Hungry?” Ye Qiu asked.
The marten nodded frantically.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of herbs, I’ll feed you now.” Ye Qiu opened his Qiankun bag to pull out a century-old herb, but his eyes widened the next moment.
“Bloody hell, where’d all the herbs go?”
Ye Qiu was stunned.
After the Forbidden City was destroyed, he’d looted a hefty stash of herbs. Despite using some to heal his injuries, he should’ve had hundreds left.
But now, only a dozen or so remained in the Qiankun bag, and none were over a century old, just decades-old ones.
“Strange, where’d the herbs go?”
“Could someone have stolen them from the Qiankun bag?”
“No way, I always carry the bag, and it’s bound to me. Without my permission, who could open it?”
“Where did they go?”
Just then, Ye Qiu noticed the egg he’d gotten from the Rodell family rolling out of a box, quickly stopping in front of a herb.
The egg emitted a golden glow, enveloping the herb.
In moments, the herb vanished.
The egg rolled to another herb, again releasing a golden light, and the second herb disappeared in a blink.
“I get it, the egg ate the herbs.”
“What the hell is this egg?”
“How’d it eat so many of my herbs?”
Ye Qiu took the egg from the Qiankun bag. It seemed annoyed at being interrupted, trembling as if trying to escape his grasp.
“Behave yourself.”
Ye Qiu said, “You ate so many of my herbs, and I haven’t settled the score yet.”
The egg instantly stilled, motionless.
Ye Qiu tried to see what was inside, activating his Heavenly Eye, but just like last time, all he saw was blinding golden light, stinging his eyes.
At the same time, he sensed the life force within the egg had grown immensely strong.
“Even my Heavenly Eye can’t see through it, what is this thing?”
Ye Qiu frowned, pondering.
“Thud, thud, thud!”
Suddenly, the egg started hopping, as if urging Ye Qiu to put it back, saying it wasn’t done eating.
“Smack!”
Ye Qiu slapped the eggshell, warning, “I’m telling you, you ate my herbs, I won’t hold it against you, but don’t touch that Golden Sacred Tree, or I’ll smash you.”
He pulled out two twenty-year-old herbs and tossed them to the marten, saying, “Little guy, sorry, I meant to give you a century-old herb, but this egg ate them all.”
The medicine marten, highly intelligent, understood Ye Qiu’s words and got angry, swiping a claw at the eggshell.
Instantly, the egg released a dazzling golden glow.
The light carried an overwhelming aura of a supreme ruler, as if a mighty emperor was gestating inside!
“Squeak, squeak, squeak—”
The marten leapt into Ye Qiu’s arms, its fur standing on end, squealing in fear.
Its round little eyes stared at the egg, filled with terror and awe.
“What, trying to bully the little guy?”
Smack!
Ye Qiu slapped the eggshell again, cursing, “Scare him again, and I’ll cook and eat you.”
At that, the egg’s golden glow vanished, and it became docile.
“Get back in there.” Ye Qiu opened the Qiankun bag, and the egg zipped inside.
“Little guy, don’t be scared, I won’t let you get bullied.”
Ye Qiu stroked the marten’s head to soothe it, handing it the herbs.
The marten ate happily.
“I had enough herbs stored to last you a year, but that egg ate most of them. Looks like I need to find more.”
“Good thing I’m not short on cash.”
“I’ll have Xiao Zhan buy some herbs.”
Ye Qiu pulled out his phone and called Xiao Zhan.
When the call connected.
Before Ye Qiu could instruct him to buy herbs, Xiao Zhan said gravely, “Boss, have you checked on Hu Zi lately?”
“No,” Ye Qiu said, “I’ve been working days and busy nights, no time to see him. What’s up? Is he sick again?”
“Not that, but Hu Zi’s been holed up in his room cultivating, and something’s off.”
“Off how?”
“Boss, you’d better come see for yourself. I’ve been at the villa, keeping an eye out.”
“Alright, I’m coming now.”
Ye Qiu hung up, patted the marten’s head, and said, “Let’s go have some fun.”
The marten hopped onto his shoulder, clutching his clothes, looking adorable.
Twenty minutes later.
Ye Qiu arrived at the villa and sensed something wrong before even getting out of the car.
A thick layer of black clouds shrouded the villa’s roof, like a massive dark cloth, exuding a sinister, bloodthirsty aura.
It was identical to the energy Hu Zi emitted when practicing his technique.
“Looks like Hu Zi’s still cultivating that evil skill.”
Ye Qiu’s mood grew heavy as he pushed open the car door and headed straight for the villa’s entrance.
