The night breeze was a little chilly.
It was half past eleven, way past curfew.
A Mercedes shot down a deserted stretch of highway.
There were four people in the car.
Three guys and a girl.
The girl up front was a total knockout, all curves and attitude, posted up in the passenger seat with two things in her lap.
One was the blood jade, the other was the legendary divine medicine.
Right now, the divine medicine just lay there in its glass case, quiet as a mouse. But the blood jade was glowing faint red, making the whole car feel kinda creepy.
"Senior Sis Lena, why're we bailing right after scoring the divine medicine? Can't we chill in River City for a few days? There are loads of people dying to show us a good time." The youngest guy in the backseat sighed, clearly not ready to leave.
The auction had barely wrapped up and already a bunch of River City big shots were lining up to take him out, even promising girls of every type, just waiting for him to pick.
When you're from Medicine King Valley, you're basically a hot commodity wherever you go. Around Beihai, we're on a whole other level.
But before he could start celebrating, their ice-cool senior sister shut it down, telling them they had to bail from River City tonight and head straight back to the Valley. Talk about a mood killer.
"Leo, chill—there'll be plenty of time to party later. Right now, our job is to get the blood jade and divine medicine back to the Valley, ASAP. These aren't just any treasures. People might act all respectful up front, but behind the scenes, who knows how many are scheming to snatch them."
"Out in the open, nobody dares mess with us. But once the sun goes down, it's a whole different story."
The driver looked the oldest of the bunch, and his voice was steady as ever.
"Yeah, yeah, Senior Bro Jason. I get it, just sucks, you know? We barely ever get to come out." Leo groaned.
The other dude next to him frowned. "Something's off."
"What is it?" Lena was still checking out the blood jade and divine medicine, but she looked up, eyes sharp.
That was Sean Shao. He wasn't much of a talker, but he missed nothing.
"This is the main road, but ever since we left the city, there hasn't been a single car." Sean's voice was low, almost ominous.
Right as Sean finished talking, Jason's brows knit together. "Roadblock ahead."
Up ahead, two cop cars were flashing their lights, parked right by the roadside.
They'd set up two barriers smack in the middle, blocking the whole damn road.
"Pull over!"
The traffic cop waved them down.
"We stopping or nah?" Jason shot Lena a look.
"Blast through."
Lena's brows drew tight, her voice ice-cold.
Jason stomped the gas. The black Mercedes S600 shot forward like a shadow, metal gleaming as it tore through the night.
The cop saw they weren't stopping and dove aside, but still got knocked flat by the wind the car kicked up.
"Damn it! My temper's gonna explode! Spike strip up ahead! You bastard! Shit!"
The cop kept cursing up a storm.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes had already vanished into the night.
"Nobody's chasing us."
Sean frowned.
"Man, you guys are way too jumpy. Who'd have the guts to mess with Medicine King Valley?" Leo sighed.
Right then, a sharp noise cut through the air.
The car, cruising smooth just seconds ago, suddenly went out of control, swerving like crazy and smashing into the guardrail with a bang.
"What the hell?" Lena's heart skipped a beat.
She checked the two glass cases in her lap. The one with the blood jade was cracked, blood-red sand spilling onto her thigh.
The glass case with the divine medicine was still totally fine.
No real damage done.
Lena let out a breath.
"Tire's blown."
Jason hopped out and checked it. Just as he finished, he sensed something, turning to stare into the darkness up ahead, all on guard.
A few figures stepped out of the shadows.
Damon Wang led the way, the chubby chef tagging along, and Warren Wu trailing at the back.
Evan Lin was right up front with Damon, side by side.
"You?" Jason squinted at Warren Wu, then his face dropped. "Senior Bro Wu, what's the deal with you bringing people out here to block us in the middle of the night? Missing the Valley Master so much you wanna hitch a ride back?"
"Ahem, Jason, I'm not your senior bro anymore. I'm just here to play peacemaker. Look, that herb you guys took from River City tonight? This gentleman here had his eye on it way before you did."
"So, Jason, why not just do us a solid and leave the divine medicine behind?" Warren Wu tried to sound confident, but his voice was still shaky.
Lena, Leo, and Sean all got out of the car too.
Leo shot Warren a look. "Well, well, look who it is—the old guy who kneeled in the Valley for seven days straight and still couldn't get the boss to cut him any slack?"
"Back then you swiped a stalk of Hundred-Lives Grass to save your wife, and after all those years playing the Valley's lapdog, they trashed your cultivation and kicked you out, left you with just enough medical mojo to scrape by out here. Looks like you screwed up big time."
"A dog never stops eating shit." Leo's words hit hard, and Warren's face fell. He sighed, "Say what you want. My wife was sick, I couldn't just sit there. But even with the Hundred-Lives Grass, I couldn't save her."
"Isn't Medicine King Valley supposed to heal everyone? I begged the boss to save my wife, but he shot me down. I had no choice but to risk it all."
Leo snorted. "Yeah, we're all about healing the world, but the Valley rules don't cover guys as low as you. And get this—the Hundred-Lives Grass is pure poison. When the boss hinted it could save your wife, he was just testing your loyalty. In the end, you brought it on yourself."
"You—!"
Warren's face twisted at Leo's words.
The chubby chef suddenly stepped forward, blocking Warren, looking annoyed. "Cut the crap. Tonight's not about your ancient drama."
Then the chef turned to Lena. "Leave the divine medicine, and you can bounce."
Damon Wang and Evan Lin hadn't said a word this whole time.
Damon had a faint smile, while Evan stayed stone-faced, eyes locked not on the herb, but on the blood jade.
Wisps of bloody qi slowly seeped out from the blood jade.