The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

“Compared to the evil deeds we've done, the good deeds we've done are far more numerous. You just happened to see a side of us that we rarely show, at an inappropriate time. You shouldn't judge us based solely on this one side,” the candy maker said leisurely. “Isn't that the same as those foolish villagers in the previous story?”

The woman surnamed Xia was angered into laughter. “So, you're saying that just because you usually do good deeds, I have to turn a blind eye when I see someone surnamed Ding violating a woman's chastity?”

“You still don't understand why we're chasing you,” the candy maker shook his head again.

“Seventh Brother eliminated the bully who had been harassing that widow in the west of the city, but he shouldn't have developed malicious intentions himself afterward. It was perfectly fine for you to kill him with your sword when you saw him commit evil, because we've been doing the same thing all these years. Naturally, we wouldn't seek revenge just because this happened to one of us.”

“Then why are you chasing me?” The woman surnamed Xia was taken aback.

She had always heard of the Seven Heroes of the Dust, who, although not born of the same parents, were as close as brothers. She assumed that since she had killed one of them, the remaining six would come to seek revenge, which would be normal. She never expected the candy maker to deny this most reasonable explanation.

“It's still about reputation.” The butcher, carrying a knife, grinned and finally gave the answer.

“Everyone knows that the Seven Heroes are as close as brothers. If one of us does evil and it gets out, how will people view the remaining six of us? Will they believe we are clean? It's like seeing a rat in a granary; would you think there's only one rat in the entire granary? We've worked hard for our reputation all these years, and now our reputation is everything to us.

“In terms of martial arts, the seven of us are actually quite ordinary. We come from humble backgrounds, and our talents are limited. We can't compare to disciples from prestigious sects like you. Except for our eldest brother, who barely managed to open one of his meridians, the rest of us are only third-rate in the martial world. If it weren't for the reputation of chivalry, other martial artists wouldn't even give us seven a second glance. So, it's not a big deal if one of the Seven Heroes dies, but if someone tries to ruin our reputation, it's the same as taking all of our lives.”

“Has Miss Xia understood?” The candy maker looked at the woman surnamed Xia and said calmly after the butcher finished speaking.

Although the temperature in Wujiang City hasn't turned cold yet, the woman surnamed Xia suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold, especially when she looked into the man's eyes. All she could see there was a dense, unyielding blackness.

“If you don't speak, I'll take it as you've understood. Then, next, I'll have to trouble Miss Xia to tell us who you've been in contact with these past two days, and whether you've told them about Seventh Brother's affair. You'd better not lie, because we have ways to make you tell the truth later.”

The woman surnamed Xia heard this and looked at the butcher beside her again, unable to help but shiver, shrinking her body back.

At this moment, the candy maker suddenly frowned again. “Where's Sixth? Does it take so long to deal with a fool?”

The Taoist sighed upon hearing this, “I'll go take a look. I'm getting old, and I can't bear to see this kind of scene anymore.” After speaking, he left with his horsetail whisk.

Lu Jing was covered in sweat. Fortunately, after checking his body, except for the initial ring that had smashed a large bruise on his chest, the flower-selling girl's subsequent attacks didn't cause any substantial damage to him and were all deflected back, accelerating her own death.

Lu Jing took a couple of breaths and first listened to the movement in the temple. There were two paths in front of him now. One was to take advantage of the time difference before the people in the temple noticed and quickly escape down the mountain. The other was to stay and try to fight the people in the temple with his internal energy, which hadn't been developed much.

On the surface, of course, the first choice was more sensible, but Lu Jing had personally witnessed the red-skirted heroine being chased by this group and falling from a tree. In addition, he had just seen the old fisherman and the butcher's cat-like steps, as well as the flower-selling girl's ghostly movements.

The remaining three hadn't shown their lightness skills, and Lu Jing didn't know their depth, but he thought they wouldn't be much different. Therefore, even if he poured his internal energy into his legs, he would definitely not be able to outrun this group, and it would take him at least an incense stick's time to get down the mountain.

Moreover, leaving the mountains didn't mean he would be safe. He definitely couldn't go home. If he could run into Wujiang City, it might make this group hesitate, but that would take even longer. And what about after entering the city? His master wasn't there. Should he go find Chief Xie?

Lu Jing considered several thoughts and finally gave up this seemingly safest, but almost impossible to complete plan, and chose another dangerous but still possible path. Lu Jing didn't know when the people in the temple would notice the abnormality outside and come out to check, but he thought it would be in the next two or three minutes.

And he didn't plan to waste this precious time. When Lu Jing pressed on the flower-selling girl's chest just now, he felt a strange sensation on his hand. After hesitating slightly, he still reached out and unbuttoned the flower-selling girl's top, and as a result, he saw… a dudou.

Okay, it's normal for a girl to wear a dudou, but then Lu Jing noticed the material of the dudou, neither silk nor linen, as if it was sewn from strands of gold thread. Touching it, it actually had a metallic feel. One can imagine that this thing wouldn't be comfortable to wear, yet the flower-selling girl still wore it close to her body.

What does this mean?