Chapter 534: Take if Not Given!
Pharmacist Feng's final words, while eliciting a gleeful schadenfreude from the old man and his girlfriend, also startled Yang Haoran.
The old man seemed intimately familiar with Pharmacist Feng's temperament; he wasn't at all surprised that the latter would tell them to get out of the valley. Yet, he found Yang Haoran's predicament quite amusing.
As for Yang Haoran, his knowledge of Pharmacist Feng was scant, and that little he knew came from Ma Yuanjin. He only knew that this Pharmacist Feng was difficult to get along with and possessed a very eccentric personality. He hadn't had a concrete understanding of this before, but now he had witnessed merely the tip of the iceberg.
Already feeling somewhat uneasy, he now felt even more aggrieved.
To prevent the old man and his girlfriend from burning the valley, he had not only engaged them in a fight but had almost come to blows. Yet, Pharmacist Feng, far from offering a single word of thanks, had instead hurled insults at him, even ordering him to get out of the valley. Anyone would feel put out by such treatment.
It was true that his intervention to stop the old man and his girlfriend had other motives; his ultimate goal was to curry favor with Pharmacist Feng.
Motive aside, he had indeed prevented the old man and his girlfriend from torching the valley. From this perspective, he had, at the very least, approached them with good intentions. Regardless, he shouldn't have been treated like an enemy and driven out of the valley.
Even if Pharmacist Feng had truly seen through everything, if he had spoken a little more tactfully, Yang Haoran might have accepted it. But with such a fierce dismissal, it was hard not to feel a pang of discomfort.
"Hahahahaha! Kid, your good intentions were taken for granted, weren't they? Did you think stepping up for this old man would make him grateful? You're still too young. Don't you feel like an idiot right now? " The old man guffawed, mocking him.
Yang Haoran glanced at the old man, merely smiling without a word, though a glint of cold light flashed in his eyes.
He was already feeling somewhat sullen at the moment. While it wasn't enough to make him lash out at Pharmacist Feng, given that he hadn't yet achieved his objective, if this old man continued to provoke him, oblivious to the consequences, he wouldn't mind unleashing all his pent-up anger on him.
The old man naturally saw the cold glint in Yang Haoran's eyes with perfect clarity. However, far from being bothered by it, he merely gave a cold chuckle.
He had seen such dagger-like gazes countless times, but what had been the outcome?
Either they died by his hand, or they dared not speak of their anger. Whether Yang Haoran would be the former or the latter depended on his choice and the old man's mood.
"Are you leaving or not? " Pharmacist Feng asked in a chilling tone.
Whether it was the old man and his girlfriend or Yang Haoran, Pharmacist Feng had no intention of wasting words. From his demeanor and actions, he had only one thought now: to drive these unwelcome guests out of the valley, and that included Yang Haoran.
"You can make us leave, but give us a Face-Preserving Pill. We'll leave immediately and guarantee never to bother you again. Otherwise, I'll burn your valley to the ground today!"
It wasn't the old man who spoke, but his young girlfriend. Despite her injuries, her domineering attitude hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Pharmacist Feng's expression was hidden by his mask, but it was clear without a doubt that his face must have been extremely displeased.
"You two, as Talisman Masters of the Talisman Order, have you forgotten your sect's doctrine? 'Perform good deeds, accumulate virtue, uphold justice' — these are your tenets. Yet, what you are doing now, how is it any different from brigands? In my eyes, you two are worse than bandits; you are simply the scum of the Talisman Order! " Pharmacist Feng said coldly.
The woman's expression was extremely ugly. She tried to say something, but the old man stopped her.
"Old man Feng, don't drag the tenets of our Talisman Order into our private affairs. I, this old man, am one of Qingshan City's few Black Talisman Masters, and my understanding of our Talisman Order's doctrine runs deeper than yours. So there's no need for you to lecture me with it. All I want is a Face-Preserving Pill from you, but you, on the other hand, value a mere pill more than your life. You won't listen to reason, no matter how much I plead. Since that's the case, I can only resort to more forceful methods. " The old man said in a deep voice.
"Hmph! Don't tell me these useless things. I'll ask you one last time: are you leaving or not? " Pharmacist Feng seemed to have completely lost his patience, asking in a cold voice.
The old man let out a cold laugh, a glint of cold light flashing in his eyes, and replied in a deep voice, "And I'll ask you one last time: today, are you giving it, or not?"
Tensions were at a breaking point between the two parties. Although Yang Haoran remained silent, he observed everything.
Judging by the current situation, both sides had pushed their words to the absolute limit, meaning there would be no more idle chatter, and a direct confrontation was imminent. However, the situation deviated slightly from his expectations.
"Fine! You want it, don't you? I'll give it to you!"
It was Pharmacist Feng who spoke, and his reply not only surprised Yang Haoran but also shocked the old man and his girlfriend.
They had all assumed Pharmacist Feng would surely make a move, and the old man had prepared himself for a fight. But to their astonishment, Pharmacist Feng actually agreed!
Yang Haoran's surprise lasted only a fleeting moment. He then understood that things were definitely not as simple as they appeared. Given Pharmacist Feng's demonstrated rigid attitude, it was absolutely impossible for him to compromise easily.
Yang Haoran understood this logic, and so did the old man.
As Pharmacist Feng's words fell, he let out a cold snort, then sharply waved his hand. A powerful energy fluctuation suddenly emanated from the valley below, and the gazes of everyone present, including Yang Haoran, turned towards the source of this power.
In their line of sight, a curtain of light suddenly lit up an area of the valley below, completely enveloping it.
The light curtain appeared faintly transparent; from outside, one could clearly see the situation within. Inside, there was a wooden house, a small courtyard, a vegetable garden, a medicinal herb garden, and even a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, who was currently standing outside the wooden house, watching the situation above with a worried expression.
It seemed that the area enveloped by the light curtain was Pharmacist Feng's residence here, and this suddenly illuminated light curtain was the protective barrier formation guarding his abode.
"You want a Face-Preserving Pill, don't you? Then come in and take it. Do you dare? " Pharmacist Feng asked in a deep voice.
As soon as he spoke, an opening appeared in the barrier formation within the valley below. Through this opening, those outside could enter the internal area of the barrier.
"Heh heh, I wondered why you, old geezer, would suddenly change your mind. So you were planning this all along. What, you want to lure us into the barrier formation and then use its power to capture us all in one swoop, is that it? " the old man asked with a cold laugh.
This time, Pharmacist Feng offered no reply. He let out a cold snort, and his body flew towards the location of the barrier formation below, entering its interior through the opening in the blink of an eye.
"Old coot, don't think a mere barrier formation can scare me. Since I dared to come, I clearly don't put the formation you've set up here in my eyes. If you don't hand over that Face-Preserving Pill today, I'll make your life a living hell from now on!"
The old man, a cold sneer plastered across his face, flew towards the opening in the barrier formation, bringing the woman with him. However, compared to the sneering old man, the woman's expression appeared rather reluctant.
It was no wonder the woman looked unwilling. Entering a barrier formation set up by others was an extremely dangerous affair. The old man didn't care because he had confidence in his own strength. She, however, did not have confidence in her own abilities.
She had originally intended to remain outside the barrier, but staying outside wasn't necessarily safe either, especially since she noticed Yang Haoran showed no intention of entering the formation.
She and the old man had already clashed with Yang Haoran, but with the old man by her side, she hadn't been afraid, knowing he would surely protect her.
But now that the old man had entered the barrier formation, who would protect her?
Thus, despite her reluctance, she still followed the old man into the barrier formation. In her mind, with the old man by her side, at least he would still be able to help her!
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