Chapter Thirty-Six: The Invitation from Ghost Venom

"Since the bandit is dead, why not ride a horse and leave? I'm getting more and more confused!" Lei Yan had only walked a few steps when the sound of steeds neighing echoed incessantly. He remembered the horses and couldn't help but smile wryly, heading toward the nearest one. With difficulty, he mounted the horse and sped off in the direction of the Ghost Poison Sect.

Not long after Lei Yan departed, on Green Wolf Mountain.

"Big brother, something seems off! Why hasn't Third returned yet? Even if he failed the robbery, he should have come back by now. Could something have happened?" A man wrapped in a black robe walked up to a burly figure, frowning as he spoke.

The man in the black robe was Black Wind, second-in-command of the Green Wolf Gang, and the burly man was Golden Crow, the gang's chief.

"Hmph!" Golden Crow snorted coldly, slammed his hand onto the nearby boulder, and stood up. The boulder shuddered from the impact, then shattered completely with a thunderous crack, scattering fragments across the ground.

A glint of icy light flashed in Golden Crow's eyes. "Useless! Third can't even handle a simple task! Leave a team to guard, the rest follow me. Let's see what happened!" His command was chilling, and a hundred bandits, including Black Wind, mounted their horses in response.

"Move!" At his order, the hundred bandits spurred their horses, galloping down the mountain.

The sky drizzled endlessly, as if tireless. Golden Crow and his men soon reached the site of Scarred Third's corpse. Surveying the bodies of thirty-two bandits, Golden Crow wiped the rain from his face and cursed, "Damn it, who did this?" He dismounted and walked toward Scarred Third, with Black Wind following.

Passing by the corpses, Golden Crow's expression grew increasingly grim. He finally halted beside Scarred Third's body. "Second, what do you think?"

"A master. Definitely a master! Our brothers initially died from fatal wounds, but later, look—no visible injuries, and it's not poisoning. I'm certain their insides were destroyed! If my guess is right, the perpetrator is an expert in inner force." Black Wind pointed to a nearby body as he analyzed.

"Mm." Golden Crow nodded; he thought the same. To kill without leaving a mark, only an inner force expert could do such a thing. If Lei Yan didn't exist in this world, they might not be wrong, but his presence shattered their assumptions.

"Brothers, today our own died here! And what is this place? It's our territory! Our brothers were slain on our turf—shouldn't we demand the killer pay with their life?" Golden Crow suddenly turned and roared at the bandits behind him.

"Blood for blood!"
"Blood for blood!"

...

The bandits still on horseback shouted in unison.

"Black Wind, hear my order! Take your men and hunt down the killer—even if you have to dig three feet into the earth, find them! Once found, execute them without mercy! The rest, help me carry our brothers' bodies home!" Golden Crow commanded coldly.

On one side, these bandits sought vengeance for their fallen brothers; on the other, Liao Jin and Liao Yin searched for the murderer of Zhang Fa. Yet none imagined the man they sought was not far off, hiding in a nearby cave.

Lei Yan looked at the few Joy Fruits in his hand and laughed. "With these, I won't fear failing to poison that little girl Qing Ling!"

He took a pill from his waist and placed it in his mouth, stretching his aching body. "This isn't a place to linger; I must hurry back!"

Days passed. Outside, people still searched for Lei Yan, but he had already returned to the Ghost Physician Sect.

In the secret chamber of the sect, Lei Yan was preparing the antidote for Blood Spider Smoke. The poison had lingered in his body for days—if not neutralized soon, it would accumulate, making it impossible to fully eradicate.

He spent an entire night making five pills. One pill per day for five days would cleanse the poison from his body.

At dawn, Lei Yan left the secret chamber. He needed to move around; although he had his own miraculous medicines, without exercise, even healed bones would impair his movement.

"Sect Master, the Grandmaster asks for you!" Sun Ji approached Lei Yan as soon as he emerged.

"Grandmaster? Ghost Poison Master? As his disciple, I've never paid my respects to the founder!" Lei Yan laughed. "Understood!" He set off toward the mountain.

After about half an hour, he came upon a flight of steps. At the top stood a five-meter-high gate, and though the signboard was weathered, the words "Ghost Poison Sect" could still be made out.

"Wow! It's truly grand, but so few people!" The front courtyard spanned hundreds of square meters, and Lei Yan spent ages walking across it, seeing no one along the way. Unable to continue searching aimlessly, he reluctantly used his abilities. His psychic sense instantly spread throughout the entire sect.

"This place is huge! Rows of houses connected, gardens, rockeries—ah, there's someone, finally! Oh… another over here. Where is that old man hiding…?"

Suddenly, a hand tapped Lei Yan's shoulder—a white-haired elder.

"Are you looking for me?"

"Ah!" Lei Yan jumped, retracting his psychic sense. Doubt crept into his mind. "Why didn't I detect him? Could my abilities have failed? Impossible—I sensed him earlier. It seems my abilities only work on those less 'spiritual' than me! Yes, that must be it!"

The elder stroked his beard, gazing at Lei Yan with keen interest. He said nothing, merely stared as if trying to see through him.

"Wait, weren't you the old man I met in the thatched hut? Hmm… no… Are you Ghost Poison Master? Oh… You are my Grandmaster?" Lei Yan's mind was a jumble, so his words came out disjointed.

"Hahaha!" The elder laughed heartily. "You're Lei Yan, aren't you?"

"Yes." Lei Yan nodded, saying nothing further. He truly didn't know what else to say.

"Since you're Xue Dan's disciple, you're my grand-disciple! I've heard a bit about you, so I've prepared something special—something you'll find very useful! Come with me!" Ghost Poison Master turned and walked inside.

"A bit? Could he even know about the Lei family?" Lei Yan smiled wryly and followed him.

Inside a secret chamber, Ghost Poison Master smiled and said, "These are pills and spirit tools I've refined. Choose whichever you like—the jade pendants beside them explain their uses."