CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 283: DEADLY POISON

"Stop!" A deep voice halted Xiao Lin’s strike. It wasn’t that they were weak, but rather that Xiao Lin was too strong.

"Elder Miao!" Xiao Lin gracefully withdrew his offensive stance and helped the other person up, brushing dust off their clothes. At this moment, he looked as harmless as a little kitten staring ahead.

"People from Dragon Soul are indeed extraordinary. I was nearly fooled by you." As Elder Miao spoke, Xiao Lin crossed his arms, adopting a defensive posture, eyes fixed on the old man before him.

"Alas..." Elder Miao sighed.

"Master, what does this mean?" The person who had previously attacked him moved behind Elder Miao, all showing some signs of injury, yet Xiao Lin had shown mercy.

"Didn’t Lao Long teach you never to show mercy to your opponents? A moment’s hesitation or mistake could put you in danger." The old man’s voice was cold and stern, unlike anything from before, he continued, "My apprentices are poorly trained; if they die at your hands, it’s deserved. When did Dragon Soul people become so unprincipled?"

"Master, you know Dragon Soul?" Xiao Lin’s indifferent tone devoid of emotion made those behind Elder Miao tense, surrounding the old man.

"Such presence, such killing intent!" Elder Miao chuckled. The killing intent emanating from Xiao Lin spread like a hurricane, mercilessly sweeping everything away. Then he chuckled and said, "We are not enemies! Shaoqing, have a go at it!"

"Yes!"

The sudden attack was so swift that Xiao Lin had to take it seriously, each move revealing lethal intent. What Elder called a ’meeting’ could easily take his life!

Dodging a series of attacks, Xiao Lin executed a feigned move, using Shaoqing’s shoulder for leverage, flipping him, then landing a punch on his abdomen. For a fighter trained in external arts, out of respect, he responded with similar skill, but he used two layers of inner strength.

After landing, Shaoqing staggered back a few steps. With a strange step, he rushed up. Xiao Lin felt a pain on his nose, luckily, he quickly dodged; otherwise, his nose might have broken.

"Ghost Floating Cloud?" Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Kid, at least you have some knowledge." Elder Miao sat there chuckling, smoking his pipe, his eyes sharp and bright. Xiao Lin was momentarily dazed—was the person with the resolute gaze earlier truly this old man before him? Dodging Shaoqing’s attacks, occasionally delivering a powerful punch, every landing point of attack was in the same spot, with precision.

"Master, are you asking me to disable this brother here? I assure you he can’t take the next punch." Xiao Lin still dodged swiftly, but Shaoqing’s speed had slowed significantly, and his left steps were unsteady.

"That’s enough!" Elder Miao knew Xiao Lin was not exaggerating and took the young man’s cue to end it.

"How are the skills of my apprentices?" Elder Miao asked with a smile, with a hint of pride in his words.

"If the Elder is willing to give them a chance, Dragon Soul will certainly cultivate them well." Xiao Lin took a box out of his pocket, inserting a pill into Shaoqing’s mouth, disregarding the other’s look, and said solemnly: "Swallow it, protect your blood qi." As he spoke, a hand applied pressure to his qi gate, secretly channeling some True Qi to help Shaoqing regulate his stagnant energy smoothly.

"Hmm, you all take Shaoqing back to rest." Once the three of them had walked away, the old man spoke slowly: "How is Lao Long lately?"

"Master, he eats well, sleeps well, runs, jumps, and scolds people."

Hearing this, Elder Miao began to laugh heartily and cast a resolute gaze far away: "So long... it’s been so long I can’t even remember the other’s appearance. Boy, tell Lao Long when you go back, everything he’s looking for, I’ve found for him; the rest is up to him."

"Master!"

"Having you in the Xiao Family is truly a blessing." Saying this, a glimmer appeared in the old man’s eyes. Xiao Lin dared not ask further; he never heard of such an elder’s existence in his family memory since he was a child, and the mountain behind him was also little known.

"Senior, please accept Xiao Lin’s bow."

"No need to bow to me; to you, I’m just an old man." Elder Miao chuckled mysteriously: "But to your family, I’m a villain."

Xiao Lin wanted to say something but was stopped by the old man.

"Remember, we’re just strangers." After saying this, the old man staggered away slowly, leaving the puzzled Xiao Lin behind. It seems this group of old fellows hid many things from him.

With a roaring overhead, the first returning helicopter safely landed on the basketball court, well-trained soldiers from the helicopter placed several boxes in the tent before boarding the helicopter and taking off again. Despite the number of boxes, Xiao Lin was a bit speechless; it was a grand gesture indeed.

"General, what should we do now?"

"Here, I’m Dr. Xiao." After placing several aluminum boxes on the table, he signaled the remaining two soldiers to bundle the Mugwort in the boxes and place it in the Miao Clan Ancestral Hall, even though it has not been processed, its medicinal fragrance still had some effect at night. He then arranged equipment and instruments on the table.

"If there’s anything unusual in the ancestral hall, report immediately!"

"Yes!"

Carefully putting on medical gloves specially designed for medicines, he injected transparent liquid into several test tubes, placing them into a makeshift freezer. Looking at the small high-power generator, Xiao Lin couldn’t help but admire Guo Liang for his meticulousness.

To understand how this drug can control the activation time of the HTC4 virus but simultaneously deliver a lethal poison instantly, the composition must first be understood.

In Xiao Lin’s mind, he searched for commonly known poisons: arsenic, breaking intestines grass, arsenic, poison wine, all belonged to highly toxic drugs; just a little could kill an elephant, could invisibly cause someone’s death. However, any poison that could linger so long in the human body before taking effect was puzzling, as if something kept leading him in circles, luring him into a maze.

Time was slowly passing, and Xiao Lin was lost in deep thought as the environment forced his slow analysis of the drug. Meanwhile, Night Eagle had not transmitted any information.

He opened his computer and logged onto QQ, where a bunch of messages flashed. He had been away for such a short time, yet they missed him already. Xiao Lin chuckled, clicked on an email, and was drawn to an email from a stranger.

’HTC4! Deadly Poison.’ (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendations or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)