Hundred Herb Forest was large in scale.
There were five large warehouses just for storing medicinal ingredients.
After walking for half an hour, they arrived at the detached building where the master of Hundred Herb Forest was waiting.
Hua Sochen was so flustered that she stopped as soon as she stepped into the detached building.
Two people were drinking with the master of Hundred Herb Forest.
One of them was the leader of the Demonic Path gang that the master of Hundred Herb Forest had called.
And another person.
A middle-aged man who was sitting majestically on one side and silently drinking.
He was none other than the master of the Iron Wall Sect.
The person who had come and gone so often that the threshold was worn out and had called her father "big brother" when he was alive was now sitting calmly in this place, a place where he should not be.
"If you've come, come here, why have you stopped there?"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest said, curling the corners of his mouth.
He was relaxed, perhaps because he had a firm grip on the situation. He looked like a person who was enjoying this situation.
Hua Sochen bit her lip and approached.
'I've come this far anyway, I have to negotiate somehow. But before that.'
"Master of the Iron Wall Sect, did you come here after hearing that Hundred Herb Forest has captured the workers of the main family, even though the mountains have no owner?"
At Hua Sochen's question, the master of the Iron Wall Sect turned his head.
And he said without changing his expression.
"As you said, the mountains have no owner. But the herbs have an owner. If your deceased father knew that the workers of the Hua Family Clinic were stealing, he would sigh."
"If you have even a shred of conscience, don't bring up my father! And how can there be an owner for the herbs in the mountains!"
"You can discuss that with the master of Hundred Herb Forest. I am just a guest who came before you."
The Iron Wall Guest, who turned his head away.
He made it clear that he would not intervene in the affairs of the Hua Family Clinic and Hundred Herb Forest.
But just by being here, he was already intervening.
He had taken the side of Hundred Herb Forest.
Knowing that, Hua Sochen, who had only bitten her lip, looked back at the master of Hundred Herb Forest.
The master of Hundred Herb Forest, who was plump even in his face, had a sneer on his lips.
"Herbs that grow wild have no owner. But if it's an herb that is being grown from seeds, the story is different. You stole the herbs that we have been growing with great care for several years."
"...!"
Hua Sochen made a face as if she had been hit.
This was an unexpected situation.
Since the mountains have no owner, she believed that anyone would say that Hundred Herb Forest was being unreasonable.
But if they came out like that, the situation would be different.
Of course, she was sure that Hundred Herb Forest had not grown herbs from seeds. Even if they had, the herbs that the clinic's workers had dug would not be those herbs.
Nevertheless, she could not refute it.
'How...'
Hua Sochen racked her brain.
She couldn't overturn the master of Hundred Herb Forest's claim just by yelling that it was unreasonable.
She had to properly attack the fact that the master of Hundred Herb Forest's words were an unreasonable claim.
But her heart just felt stuffy, and she couldn't easily find a gap to continue the argument.
But she couldn't just keep her mouth shut.
"Do you have proof? Proof that the herbs that the clinic's workers dug are the herbs that Hundred Herb Forest grew. And what about the proof that Hundred Herb Forest grew them from seeds? And if you have something to argue about, you should argue with words, why did you lock up the people?"
Hua Sochen did her best to refute within the limits of what she could think of at this moment.
At that, the master of Hundred Herb Forest just smiled.
It was as if he were sneering, "That's all you can do, you bitch. You can't do anything more. So bow your head!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest, with such a sneering face, paused for a long time and then turned his gaze to the master of the Iron Wall Sect.
"Sect Master Zhang, what punishment is appropriate for those who have stolen?"
"If it were me, I would cut off their hands and feet."
"...!"
At the master of the Iron Wall Sect's answer, Hua Sochen's eyes widened.
To cut off even their feet meant that they would no longer be able to go digging for herbs.
In other words, it meant that they should not think of raising herbalists and should continue to buy herbs from Hundred Herb Forest. Of course, since the situation had become like this, it would be at a more expensive price than before.
Hua Sochen clenched her trembling hands.
If she knelt here, she would not be able to escape from the hands of Hundred Herb Forest.
'Somehow, somehow...!'
It was when Hua Sochen was racking her brain to find a way.
The outside seemed to be noisy, and then a scream was heard.
"Gasp!"
"Cough!"
"Stop him! Stop... ugh!"
At the sudden commotion, the master of Hundred Herb Forest shot up and pointed his finger.
"Hmph! It seems you've brought a helper? You're really determined to die!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest snorted.
But what appeared on Hua Sochen's face was puzzlement.
Since the master of the Iron Wall Sect was here, there was no place that could help the Hua Family Clinic.
If there was, it was only the Tang Family.
But the Tang Family was far away in Chengdu, and after her father's death, even the marriage talks of her younger brother, who used to come and go, had been nullified.
'Who is it? Did the head of the pharmacy really bring someone?'
Hua Sochen turned around with a very curious face.
It was at this moment that a person entered, dragging a blood-stained strong man on the ground.
An old man who was skinny but would be well-built if he just put on some weight.
Hua Sochen was so surprised that her mouth fell open.
The old man who had appeared, dragging the blood-stained strong man, was none other than Old Man Ban.
"Old man! How dare you cause a ruckus here!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest shouted with a murderous look.
At this time, the leader of the Demonic Path gang was already coming out to the front yard.
He was holding a sharp axe in each of his hands.
"You made my kids look like that, so you'll have nothing to say even if I split your head open, right?"
The leader of the Demonic Path gang, who was glaring at Old Man Ban with eyes that seemed to be about to spew out a sharp killing intent, rushed at him in one go.
When the distance between him and Old Man Ban was halved, he threw one of the axes like a thunderbolt.
And then he rushed in at an even faster speed.
It was a trick to chop him with the axe in his hand, aiming for the moment when Old Man Ban tried to avoid the axe.
But Old Man Ban did not avoid it.
Instead, he lifted the strong man he had been dragging and held him out in front.
Thud!
"Gasp!"
The axe was embedded in the strong man's back.
At that moment, the eyes of the leader of the Demonic Path gang shone.
Having found an opening, he lowered his posture behind his subordinate, whose back the axe was embedded in, and disappeared into Old Man Ban's blind spot.
And aiming for the moment when Old Man Ban would be flustered, he jumped out to the side and swung his axe.
The target was Old Man Ban's leg.
If one leg was chopped, he would collapse, and he was planning to split his head open right away.
But the axe just cut through the empty air.
Old Man Ban had lifted his foot and avoided it.
And at the same time, the sound of the wind.
"...!"
The moment the leader of the Demonic Path gang lifted his head to check the identity of the sound of the wind.
Thwack!
With a heavy hitting sound, the leader of the Demonic Path gang collapsed on the spot.
He had been knocked out with one punch.
For Old Man Ban, who had learned the Hundred Strikes Art, close combat was the optimal fighting method.
Unless it was a master who had reached a level beyond the ultimate, the leader of a Demonic Path gang was no match for him at all.
Since his body was weakened, it was a knockout, but if he had been normal, his head would have been shattered and he would have died instantly.
Old Man Ban, who had dealt with the leader of the Demonic Path gang with one punch, walked again.
With his eyes glaring at the master of Hundred Herb Forest.
"Sect, Sect Master Zhang..."
The terrified master of Hundred Herb Forest called for the master of the Iron Wall Sect.
At this time, the master of the Iron Wall Sect slowly got up from his seat and turned to Old Man Ban.
"I am the master of the Iron Wall Sect. It seems you are not an unknown person, so let's hear your title, old man."
"Fighting Demon, Ban Nahan. Where is my disciple?"
"...!"
At the title of Fighting Demon, the master of the Iron Wall Sect stopped walking and made a flabbergasted face.
"Disciple? If you're talking about that kid, you should kneel down right now!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest shouted, as if he had seized an opportunity.
But Old Man Ban approached without even blinking an eye.
The master of the Iron Wall Sect, who was in the middle, did not even dare to fight and just dropped his arms.
Fighting Demon, Ban Nahan.
He had shrunk before that name.
He didn't even dare to ask if he was really the Fighting Demon. Who would dare to impersonate the title of the Fighting Demon, and if he had wrongly touched his pride, the Iron Wall Sect could be finished.
In the end, the master of the Iron Wall Sect had no choice but to step aside.
Old Man Ban just passed by such a master of the Iron Wall Sect.
"Sect Master Zhang!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest shouted in surprise, but the master of the Iron Wall Sect did not move.
"There is something that will never change even if the world is turned upside down."
Old Man Ban said, stopping right in front of the master of Hundred Herb Forest.
At those words, it was not the master of Hundred Herb Forest but the master of the Iron Wall Sect who trembled.
The terror of the Fighting Demon.
The roar of the Fighting Demon, which was like the judgment of King Yama.
"That I am right here!"
When the Fighting Demon was roaming the world, there was no one who had heard these words and survived.
"Gasp!"
At Old Man Ban's one punch, the master of Hundred Herb Forest screamed and was sent flying.
But that was not the end.
Old Man Ban, who had approached in an instant, stepped on one of the knees of the master of Hundred Herb Forest, who had fallen to the floor.
"Aaaargh! My leg! My leg!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest, who was clutching his knee and rolling around.
Old Man Ban's cold roar burst out at him.
"My patience is half a moment. If I don't see my disciple within that time, I will erase Hundred Herb Forest!"
"Ware, warehouse! He's in the third medicinal ingredient warehouse! I didn't lay a hand on the child. Please spare me!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest shouted at the top of his lungs, wanting to live.
"Hmph!"
Old Man Ban, who had snorted, turned his head and spat.
"What are you doing! Go and get him quickly!"
At the sharp voice, the startled master of the Iron Wall Sect and Hua Sochen ran at the same time.
Meanwhile, a carriage was standing in front of the main gate of Hundred Herb Forest.
And next to the carriage, Hua Yunhui was pacing.
"Why are they so late?"
Hua Yunhui, who had brought Old Man Ban to Hundred Herb Forest in a carriage, did not go in with him and remained at the entrance, waiting for someone.
"Ah, it seems they're coming!"
While Old Man Ban was wiping out the gangs of Hundred Herb Forest and waiting for Cho Myung's group, who were locked in the medicinal ingredient warehouse, to come out, a carriage was running along the main road.
The carriage ran straight along the main road and stopped in front of Hua Yunhui.
And soon the carriage door opened and a person got out.
It was the head of the pharmacy.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Old Man Ban said he was the best in the world, so it'll probably be fine."
"What kind of irresponsible statement is that! Several people's lives are at stake!"
"I'll go in and see. More importantly, did you bring it?"
"Here it is."
The head of the pharmacy took something out and gave it to him.
It was the Nine Treasure Pill.
Hua Yunhui, who had taken it and put it away, asked.
"Will you go with me?"
"Let's do that. Whether I die here or wait at the clinic and die."
"Who's going to die? Even if things go wrong, we can just give them the clinic."
"Does it come so easily to you to give up the main family! And will the master of Hundred Herb Forest be satisfied with that!"
"There is nothing more precious than life. And since he's getting the main family, he'll be satisfied with that."
Although he said that, his face was full of worry.
The two entered Hundred Herb Forest with a mixture of worry and fear.
In the front yard of Hundred Herb Forest, about twenty people were rolling on the ground.
They were the gangs of Hundred Herb Forest and the Demonic Path.
The remaining ten or so were gathered on one side with scared faces.
"It seems Old Man Ban did as he boasted?"
The head of the pharmacy just walked without replying.
"Where did he go?"
Hua Yunhui asked the strong men of the clinic who had come with Hua Sochen.
"Over there."
When a strong man pointed, Hua Yunhui, who was walking in that direction, stopped again.
"Even if you do chores, you did them at the clinic. Are you going to leave the patients like that? Leave the ones with broken bones and at least stop the bleeding of the ones who are bleeding."
At Hua Yunhui's words, the strong men of the clinic ran to the gangs who were groaning on the ground.
At this time, the head of the pharmacy frowned.
"How could he do this to a person! Is he really an old man who has been lying in bed for months?"
"Even if it's old, a tiger is a tiger, and even if it's injured, it's a tiger. If you run into it wrongly, you'll end up like that."
It was Hua Yunhui who answered with a more relaxed face, as if he had gained faith in Old Man Ban.
"Let's hurry, the time Old Man Ban mentioned is almost up."
"Time?"
"There is such a thing."
Hua Yunhui headed to the detached building with the head of the pharmacy.
(End of Chapter)