Leo Liu was drenched in sweat. As he drove Gavin Guan to the hospital, he kept racking his brain, trying to remember where he'd seen Evan Lin before.
When the car reached the foot of the mountain, Leo suddenly jolted—he finally remembered that young man from Oxhorn Village's Charity Mortuary. The two figures overlapped instantly in his mind.
Without caring about the traffic ahead, Leo spun the wheel, floored the accelerator, and raced back up toward Jingwei Peak.
"Stop! What are you doing?!"
Leo jumped out of the car, glanced around, and spotted Evan Lin surrounded by a crowd.
He shouted fiercely, strode forward, and with one big step reached Evan Lin. Then he stretched out his hand and shoved the lead man aside.
Leo's sudden appearance left Selina Shi and Irene Xu both stunned and confused.
Evan Lin looked at Leo Liu, his expression unchanged.
The lead man was about to get angry after being shoved, but when he saw who was in front of him, his face froze. He opened his mouth, but couldn't get a word out.
Behind him, Mason Fu—looking battered and miserable—was being helped up. He immediately shouted, "Hit him! Do it! What the hell are you standing around for?!"
"Beat up that new kid too! If anything happens, I'll pay whatever it costs! Don't hold back—come on, punch them! Damn it, what are you idiots waiting for?!"
Seeing the lead man freeze up, Mason Fu jumped up in anger and shoved him hard several times.
"Shut up!"
The man's face hardened as he yelled at Mason Fu.
Mason Fu blanched, pointing at the man's face. "You—you—you! I'm friends with your boss! How dare you talk to me like that? Believe it or not, I'll have Byron Liu fire you!"
"You're friends with my uncle? Since when did my uncle have such a pathetic coward for a friend? Get lost! If I ever catch you swaggering around under my uncle's name again, I'll bury you myself!" Leo Liu said coldly.
He looked pale and delicate, but right now his face was twisted with menace—truly terrifying.
Especially when he called Byron Liu his uncle—at that, Mason Fu's anger turned to terror. He started trembling all over, his face going deathly pale. Whatever pride he had was now completely gone.
"Didn't you hear Young Master Liu tell you to get lost? Move it!" The lead man caught on, his face turning cold. The thugs with him stepped forward, looking fierce.
Mason Fu and his crew turned pale with fright and bolted, leaving Ryan Wen sprawled on the ground—he couldn't get up.
"And this guy—looks like he doesn't want to leave. Drag him to the kitchen and make him wash dishes for a week!" The lead man ordered, and someone hauled Ryan Wen away.
Once the crowd had cleared out, Leo Liu wiped the sweat from his brow, turned to Evan Lin, and gave a wry smile. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you."
"It's fine," Evan Lin shook his head.
"Back at Oxhorn Village's Charity Mortuary, if it hadn't been for you, we probably would've all died there. Afterward, we tried to find you to thank you properly, but there was no news." Leo Liu smiled awkwardly.
Earlier, at the Moore family arena, Evan Lin had met Zane Wang and Bella Xiao. Their attitude toward Evan wasn't exactly friendly, but at least they weren't ungrateful.
Now, hearing Leo Liu speak this way, Evan's expression softened slightly. He nodded, "That day, saving you all was just a coincidence. It was nothing—don't worry about it."
"You two know each other?"
Standing nearby, Irene Xu, who hadn't spoken up until now, asked softly, "What's Oxhorn Village? Charity Mortuary? Isn't that the kind of place where they used to keep coffins?"
"That's a long story," Leo Liu hesitated, glanced at Evan Lin, and decided not to elaborate.
After all, those things weren't something ordinary people should know about. Leo Liu was also worried about saying too much and making Evan Lin unhappy.
Selina Shi glanced at Leo Liu with interest, her eyes drifting between Evan Lin and Leo several times, as if pondering something.
She'd heard Leo Liu call Byron Liu his uncle, and Byron Liu's young relative seemed grateful to Evan Lin. Plus, Leo had previously sided with Gavin Guan—yet now he'd abandoned Gavin just to come back for Evan...
Selina quickly sorted out the relationships, then turned her gaze back to Evan Lin, now with a more thoughtful look.
"Since we happened to bump into each other here today, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Could we talk privately for a moment?" Leo Liu looked at Evan Lin sincerely.
"Let's go for a walk over there. You two talk." Selina Shi took Irene Xu's hand and led her away to look at the scenery.
Once they'd walked off, Leo Liu turned to Evan Lin and asked, "Last time, the technique you used—was it Daoist or Buddhist?"
"Mostly Buddhist," Evan Lin thought for a moment.
These days, when suppressing evil spirits, he mostly relied on the Buddha‑Sigil Mantra—a Buddhist art that depended on one's understanding of Buddhist teachings.
The Buddhist sects on the Immortal Martial Continent were different from those on Earth—that was why Evan Lin said his practice leaned Buddhist, but wasn't exactly the same.
"That explains it. Our grave‑guardian clan leans more Daoist, though not orthodox Daoism—it's closer to the Maoshan branch of Daoist arts." Leo Liu nodded and continued, "Soon, there'll be a Jinnan Alchemy Conference. Would you be interested in attending?"
"The conference is held every five years. They say the pills there can boost your strength, and there's always rare medicinal herbs up for grabs."
Seeing Evan Lin remain silent, Leo Liu quickly added, "It's fine if you can't refine pills. I'm just tagging along with my elders to see what it's like. Plus, there's supposed to be a pill‑master duel this time. If you manage to meet a real pill master, that's a stroke of luck."
Leo Liu was sincere, and when he mentioned pill masters, his eyes showed real respect.
That profession had peaked in the days of the First Emperor, when everyone sought immortality. Later, pill masters became rare, but a single powerful pill master could elevate an entire family.
Grave‑guardian clans usually kept to themselves; Leo Liu had only heard stories about pill masters, never seen one in person.
"A pill‑master tournament?" Evan Lin mused.
He'd planned to visit the Southriver Sword Sect after finishing business with the military, but the idea of pill masters intrigued him...
He was curious about how pill masters operated in this world—and most of all, he was drawn by the rare herbs.
Without hesitation, Evan Lin nodded and agreed.
Leo Liu was delighted. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he warned, "Also, you've made an enemy of Gavin Guan today. He won't let this go so easily."
"Gavin's close with Kai Chen, and Kai's uncle is Colonel Sean Chen from the Jinnan Military District. You'd better watch your back."
"Thanks for the heads‑up," Evan Lin replied calmly.