Complete one practice method every day

Everyone looked exhausted. It was clear that their efforts had been in vain; they hadn't even caught the thief's tail.

Chen Yuqing's pretty face was frosty, even colder than when she left. She walked straight to Chen Lin and listened as he gave another detailed report on the losses, especially the news of the three alchemists being kidnapped.

With each sentence she heard, the chill in her eyes intensified. By the time Chen Lin finished speaking, the air pressure around her seemed to drop several degrees, causing those nearby to instinctively hold their breath.

After a moment of silence, Chen Yuqing said coldly, "Leave two teams of men to assist in guarding the pharmacy and cleaning up the scene. Chen Lin, you and I will return to the main family immediately and report to the family head everything that happened tonight."

"Okay!" Chen Lin nodded.

Chen Yuqing said no more and turned to leave. Chen Lin quickly called for several guards to follow. The group hurriedly departed and soon disappeared into the night.

The crowd gradually dispersed, each cleaning up the mess.

Before leaving, Li Lie glanced back seemingly casually in the direction where Chen Yue and Lin Quan were. Then, clutching his chest, he walked towards his house with the help of two of his men.

Upon reaching the door, Li Lie waved away his subordinates who wanted to re-bandage his wounds. The subordinates dared not say a word, retreated, and closed the door behind them.

The moment the door closed, the listlessness and anger on Li Lie's face caused by blood loss and pain vanished instantly, and his eyes became sharp and calm.

He listened intently for a moment, making sure no one was outside, then went to the window and carefully observed the outside through the crack. The guards on duty were patrolling in the distance, and no one approached.

Without further hesitation, he gently pushed open the back window and, like a nimble big cat, silently flipped out, landing without even disturbing the night insects in the corner.

He moved swiftly along the shadows of the pharmacy's backyard, and in a few leaps, he arrived at the back alley of another house separated from the pharmacy by a wall. This house seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, with weeds growing all over the walls.

Li Lie looked around to make sure no one was following him, then leaped up, grabbed the top of the wall with one hand, and easily vaulted into the courtyard.

The courtyard was cleaner than I had imagined, clearly indicating that someone cleaned it regularly, and a dim, steady light shone from the windows of the main house.

Li Lie straightened his slightly disheveled clothes and bandages, his face regaining its usual expression, and pushed open the door to go inside.

The room was simply furnished with a table, a chair, and a wooden couch.

A man dressed in a dark gray cloth robe sat at the table, slowly arranging a set of rough pottery tea utensils. The copper kettle on the red clay stove made a soft "gurgling" sound, the water was boiling.

Hearing the door open, the man didn't turn around. He simply picked up the copper kettle and poured boiling water into the ceramic teapot that already contained tea leaves. A slightly bitter tea aroma then filled the air.

He poured two cups of tea, pushed one of them towards the empty seat opposite him, and then slowly turned around, revealing an ordinary middle-aged face.

He looked at Li Lie, whose chest was stained with blood, smiled slightly, and gestured to the teacup opposite him.

"Chief Li, you've worked hard. The night is cold and the wind is strong. Have a cup of coarse tea to warm yourself up."

Under the dim light, the aroma of tea wafted through the air.

Li Lie ignored the cup of coarse tea pushed in front of him, his eyes fixed on Gu Bei sitting opposite him. He cut to the chase, his voice extremely low:

"Where are my pills?"

There were no pleasantries, no small talk, just straight to the point. Tonight, he risked everything to cooperate with the operation, even risking injury to act, all for what the other party had promised.

Gu Bei's gentle smile remained unchanged, as if he was not surprised at all by Li Lie's impatience.

He calmly put down his teacup and slowly took out a flat box about the size of his palm from the wide sleeve of his robe.

The box felt warm to the touch. Gu Bei used his thumb to pry open the hidden clasp on the lid, turned the box towards Li Lie, and gently opened it.

The box was lined with soft, dark red velvet, on which six pills, each the size of a longan, were neatly arranged.

The pills lay there quietly, without any pungent fragrance, but just looking at them made one feel a subtle, throbbing attraction to their blood and energy.

Li Lie's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly for a moment, but he immediately regained his composure, took the wooden box, and examined it carefully under the lamp.

He leaned closer to smell the aroma of the pill, gently touched the pill with his fingers, and used his fingernail to scrape off a tiny, almost invisible amount of powder from the edge. He then tasted it on his tongue, his movements practiced and experienced.

After a moment, his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and a pleased smile finally appeared on his face. With a flick of his wrist, he tucked the box of pills into his bosom, close to his body.

"The goods are good."

Li Lie's voice softened slightly, but then tightened again as he looked up at Gu Bei, "But why isn't Chen Yue dead? What kind of people did you send? Weren't you supposed to be absolutely sure?"

Gu Bei's gentle smile faltered slightly when Li Lie mentioned "Chen Yue," then slowly faded. He picked up his cup of tea, which had long since gone cold, and took a sip.

"Two experts at the Skin Refining Realm were sent."

Gu Bei put down his teacup, his voice calm but with a hint of coldness, "The one who went to Linquan is also at the peak of the Skin Refining Realm."

According to the information you provided, dealing with a newly awakened alchemist and an elderly, frail alchemist should have been a piece of cake.

Gu Bei raised his eyes, his gaze calm as he looked at Li Lie: "But in the end, none of the three returned. Chief Li, the information you provided was unreliable!"

"Not true?"

Li Lie seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, his face darkening even more. "You want to tell me that Chen Yue killed all three Skin Refining Realm cultivators by himself? Gu Bei, that kid only broke through to the Skin Refining Realm a few days ago? Do you think that's possible?!"

The wound on his chest was aggravated, sending a sharp pain through him, causing Li Lie to gasp for breath, but the anger in his eyes intensified.

Gu Bei quietly looked at Li Lie, not arguing immediately, but gently stroking the rough edge of the ceramic teacup with his fingers. The room fell into a brief silence, with only the occasional soft crackling of the lamp wick.

"Leader Li, please calm down."

Gu Bei finally spoke again, his tone returning to its previous calm, "I have no intention of shirking responsibility, but the facts are clear: our men have been killed, but our target is unharmed. So, there are only two possibilities."

He held up one finger: "Firstly, Chen Yue was extremely secretive before. After all, it's already suspicious that he could go from apprentice to alchemist in just over a month."

Then, Gu Bei raised his second finger: "Secondly, he is indeed a martial arts prodigy, one in a million. Such people are rare, but they do exist. After Chief Li returns, he might as well observe him more closely, and perhaps he can make a more accurate judgment."

"A martial arts prodigy? Him? A peasant apprentice at a pharmacy?"

Li Lie seemed to have heard some utterly absurd joke, a mocking smile curving his lips, but deep in his eyes, he couldn't help but recall Chen Yue's calm demeanor tonight.