"What is your stance?" Bai Shan Jun asked.

The others looked on with curiosity, though An Dongye had a vague idea of what was coming.

"Are you aware of my grudge with the reformist faction of Medicine King Valley?" Ye Xiu asked.

This question bewildered everyone from Medicine King Valley.

"Mr. Ye has a vendetta against Jiang Yuan?" Bai Shan Jun inquired.

A cold light flickered in Ye Xiu’s eyes. "A blood feud!"

Bai Shan Jun was shocked. "What feud?"

"Senior Bai, have you ever heard about what I went through ten years ago?" Ye Xiu asked.

"The great name of the Xuanse Medicine King has been at its zenith for a decade. Though Medicine King Valley is secluded in the mountains, we have still heard stories."

Bai Shan Jun had done more than just hear stories. Ten years ago, Ye Xiu’s appearance had disrupted the plan for Medicine King Valley to enter the world, a plan led by Jiang Yuan. As a result, the valley had specifically investigated Ye Xiu.

"Then, has Senior Bai heard about what happened to me after I was smuggled out of the country?" Ye Xiu asked.

Bai Shan Jun shook his head. "No!"

Ye Xiu pondered for a moment before speaking. "Ten years ago, I was framed by the Long Family. I became an enemy of the entire country, cursed by everyone. Even with money, no one would sell me food or water. I had to scavenge from trash cans just to eat, all while constantly evading assassins. In the end, with nowhere left to turn, I was forced to flee overseas, only to step right into hell."

"The ship I took had long been bought off by Jiang Yuan. He sold me to the Xipoloya training camp."

"You probably don’t know about Xipoloya or its training camp. The Xipoloya training camp is a nefarious place that specializes in training assassins. They abduct young children from all over the world and force them to hone their killing skills by slaughtering each other. Out of 5,000 recruits, only ten survive."

"And Xipoloya itself is an extremely harsh environment. The temperature plummets to dozens of degrees below zero, cold enough to freeze water instantly. For anyone sold there, life is worse than death. A single piece of bread could cost several, or even a dozen, life-or-death battles, leaving dozens dead or severely injured in the process."

"At night, no one dared to sleep soundly, because sleeping soundly meant being ambushed and assassinated."

"It is a true Hell. And I was only sixteen when Jiang Yuan sold me to that hell."

Hearing this, Bai Shan Jun, the members of Medicine King Valley, and even An Dongye and the Dongfang family all wore expressions of horror. They had all heard of and sympathized with Ye Xiu’s plight ten years ago, but they never imagined that after fleeing the country, he had experienced a purgatory even more brutal than his time in Jin Ye City.

"You want to kill Jiang Yuan for revenge?" Bai Shan Jun asked.

"No. I will send Jiang Yuan and everyone from the reformist faction of Medicine King Valley to Xipoloya. I want them to experience what I went through. Of course, if they manage to make it back alive, I will never touch them again."

Ye Xiu turned and stared intently at Bai Shan Jun. "I came to Medicine King Valley for one thing: your stance. I intend to take revenge on the reformist faction led by Jiang Yuan. Do you agree?"

Bai Shan Jun fell silent. He never imagined that Jiang Yuan would harm Ye Xiu so grievously behind his back ten years ago.

After a moment of thought, he said, "What happened back then was Jiang Yuan’s doing; it has nothing to do with the other members of the reformist faction. I can allow you to take revenge on Jiang Yuan, but I will not permit you to involve the entire reformist faction!"

"And if I insist?" Ye Xiu asked. "Will Medicine King Valley protect the reformist faction and become my enemy?"

"As the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley, I have a duty to protect my people. If you insist on going your own way, I’m afraid I cannot let you leave Medicine King Valley alive today," Bai Shan Jun said, his voice cold.

An Dongye, Dongfang Chaonan, and the others grew anxious. If Ye Xiu truly entered a fight to the death with Medicine King Valley, he was certain to die today. Even if they sacrificed their own lives to help him, they could not save him.

"Good. Very good." Ye Xiu began to laugh, calling out in a loud voice, "Jiang Yuan, are you satisfied with Bai Shan Jun’s stance?"

This startled Bai Shan Jun and everyone else present. Jiang Yuan? But Jiang Yuan isn’t in Medicine King Valley!

"Satisfied. Very satisfied." Jiang Yuan emerged from behind a house a hundred meters away, flanked by Jiang Hai and Jiang He. He smiled and said, "Ye Xiu, you shunned the path to Heaven only to barge through the gates of Hell. This day next year will be the anniversary of your death."

Jiang Hai ground his teeth and said hatefully, "We were just wondering how to find you, and here you’ve delivered yourself right to our doorstep. Ye Xiu, today you die!"

"Father, Grandfather, don’t waste words on him! Kill him!" Jiang He urged, boiling with killing intent.

"There’s no need to rush. It won’t be too late to kill him after he’s finished refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill," Jiang Yuan sneered. "If we were to strike now, wouldn’t we be wasting all those precious medicinal herbs?"

Jiang Hai and Jiang He nodded.

"Jiang Yuan, why are you back so suddenly? Did you kill Long Tianba? What about the others you took with you?" Bai Shan Jun asked.

At the mention of Long Tianba and the others, Jiang Hai said through clenched teeth, "Valley Master, you probably don’t know this yet, but Ye Xiu is Ye Liangchen. He has been manipulating the conflict between Medicine King Valley and the Long Family from the shadows. Just last night, Ye Xiu killed five of our Medicine Slaves to lure us into a night raid on the Long Family Manor. This resulted in the deaths of all thirty people we brought with us. Among them were my wife, my daughter-in-law, my daughter and son-in-law, and all my grandchildren! My family line has been wiped out!"

What? The faces of the Medicine King Valley members changed dramatically. Even An Dongye and Dongfang Chaonan’s group were visibly shaken. They had not expected that the war between Ye Xiu and Jiang Yuan had already begun, costing Jiang Yuan so many of his people.

"Bai Shan Jun, I will ask you one last time," Ye Xiu said. "I want to send every last person from Medicine King Valley’s reformist faction to Xipoloya. Do you agree?"

"You still dare to say that!" Bai Shan Jun roared. "Ye Xiu, you caused the deaths of so many people from Medicine King Valley and crippled our strength! If I don’t kill you today, what right will I have to remain the Valley Master?"

"I hope you don’t regret this decision," Ye Xiu said coldly. He then fell silent and focused all his energy on refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Just then, Dongfang Chaonan spoke up. "Old Man Bai, could you do me a favor and spare my brother’s life?"

"No!" Jiang Yuan interjected flatly. "As long as Ye Xiu lives, Medicine King Valley will never know peace."

"Ye Xiu killed so many members of my family. He must die," Jiang Hai said coldly.

"If that’s the case, then I can only live and die with my brother," Dongfang Chaonan declared, drawing his weapon.

Dongfang Dazhuang gripped his two-meter-long saber with both hands, Dongfang Erlang took hold of the two hand axes strapped to his waist, and Dongfang Meili drew a pair of daggers. Then, to everyone’s shock, An Dongye walked directly to Ye Xiu’s side.

"You blockhead!" Jiang Yuan roared. "For Ye Xiu’s sake, is the Dongfang Family truly declaring war on Medicine King Valley?"

"The people of our Dongfang Family may not be the brightest, but we are loyal to a fault," Dongfang Chaonan said resolutely. "Brother Ye was kind to the Dongfang Family, and we will protect him, even if it costs us our lives."

Seeing this, many from Medicine King Valley frowned. A war with the Dongfang Family was not something they wanted.

"Hmph. The few of you are not enough to protect Ye Xiu," Jiang Yuan said with disdain. "But don’t worry. Medicine King Valley has no desire to make an enemy of the Dongfang Family, so we won’t kill you."