In fact, Xiao Yan had already guessed that Mr. Yao probably wasn't lying.
The moment he arrived in Qingshan Town and saw Little Fairy Doctor, he had already noticed something unusual.
It was her strength.
Xiao Yan's powerful Spiritual Strength detected that Little Fairy Doctor had already reached the 6-star Dou Practitioner stage! It was precisely because of this extraordinary cultivation advancement, coupled with her ability to concoct poisons using the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, that allowed her to escape when the Thousand Medicine House and Wolf Head Mercenary Company tried to capture her initially.
It should be noted that when Xiao Yan first met Little Fairy Doctor a few months ago, she was only at the Dou Disciple realm. In just a few months, her strength had leaped an entire major realm!
This speed was even faster than his own progress.
But most importantly, Xiao Yan discovered that Xiao Lan, his Blue Eagle, had also been poisoned.
The medicine he applied to Xiao Lan was not just a healing ointment, but also contained detoxifying powder ground from a detoxification pill. Although the toxicity was very mild, prolonged exposure could cause organ failure even in magical beasts.
Among the three stone boxes in the cave, what Little Fairy Doctor obtained was actually a poison scripture, not the medical compendium Mr. Yao claimed. Administering poison would be no problem at all for Little Fairy Doctor.
However, what puzzled him was why she would want to poison the residents of Qingshan Town. Moreover, even her own Blue Eagle had been poisoned too.
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yan stored Mr. Yao's corpse into his storage ring and soared into the sky using his Purple Cloud Wings.
Little Fairy Doctor's eyes were filled with resentment and exasperation upon seeing Xiao Yan's arrival.
Because when Xiao Yan tossed her up for Xiao Lan to catch earlier, he hadn't untied her bonds.
Right now, she was trussed up like a bundled quilt, draped over Xiao Lan's back, completely unable to move.
"Sorry, sorry, things were so urgent that I forgot to untie you." Although Xiao Yan apologized, his expression betrayed a stifled laugh.
"Still laughing!"
...
After Xiao Yan used his Black Flame to burn off the ropes, Little Fairy Doctor asked, "Is everything taken care of?"
Xiao Yan nodded and slowly descended into the ruins of the Thousand Medicine House compound with Xiao Lan.
Little Fairy Doctor climbed off Xiao Lan's back and sighed at the sight of the once-thriving compound now reduced to ruins and littered with corpses.
After all, this had been her home, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart.
"By the way, did you find the poison recipe? There are still many people in Qingshan Town waiting to be treated," Little Fairy Doctor suddenly remembered and asked urgently.
Xiao Yan smiled and said, "Of course I found it. Mu She and Mr. Yao confessed everything before they died. They deliberately poisoned the water source to make you lose the people's trust and then framed you for it."
"The poison recipe was found on Mr. Yao's body."
Xiao Yan released Mr. Yao's corpse from his storage ring and retrieved a poison recipe from it. This recipe was actually the ancient recipe he had originally offered as a bargaining chip in exchange for Little Fairy Doctor, which Mr. Yao had picked up.
From the very beginning, he had never intended to spare these people. If he did not eliminate the root cause while cutting down the weeds, any remaining threat might come back seeking revenge, which would be troublesome.
Little Fairy Doctor took a look at the poison recipe and said with an indignant expression, "How despicable! To go to such lengths for their own benefit!"
"Don't worry, it's just a minor poison. I have detoxification pills that can counteract it," Xiao Yan said as he took out a bottle of detoxification pills.
"That's a relief." Little Fairy Doctor breathed a sigh of relief as a weight was finally lifted from her heart.
Not long afterward, the residents of Qingshan Town began to gather around the compound when they noticed that the noise of the battle had died down.
"That's Mu She! And Mr. Yao from the Thousand Medicine House!"
"They're all dead!"
"The Wolf Head Mercenary Company is finished!"
Hearing the bustling conversations of the townspeople, Xiao Yan stepped forward and said, "People of Qingshan Town, I am a friend of Little Fairy Doctor. I came here specifically because I learned she had been framed."
"Framed? You mean Little Fairy Doctor isn't responsible for this epidemic?" the mayor of Qingshan Town stepped forward from the crowd and asked excitedly.
Xiao Yan shook his head and explained, "As you may have heard, Little Fairy Doctor came into possession of some valuable treasures. In order to force her to hand them over, Mu She of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company and Mr. Yao joined forces and poisoned the town's water source. You are not suffering from an epidemic, but from poisoning."
"Poisoned?!!"
"What are we going to do?!"
"We don't have an alchemist in Qingshan Town!"
Xiao Yan gestured for everyone to quiet down and, taking out a bottle of pills, said, "Don't worry, everyone. I found the poison recipe on Mr. Yao's body, and fortunately, this poison isn't too potent. Here are some 1st-tier detoxification pills. Just dissolve them in the well water and drink, and everyone will be fine."
Everyone's eyes lit up when they saw Xiao Yan produce the medicinal pills. In this remote town, pills were indeed the stuff of legends.
"Thank you, benefactor! You are our town's savior."
Xiao Yan quickly helped the mayor, who was about to kneel, to his feet and chuckled as he rubbed his nose, "I haven't done much. These 1st-tier medicinal pills aren't that valuable. Now hurry, the townspeople are still waiting."
He handed the detoxification pills to the mayor, who would take care of the rest.
As he watched the townsfolk start to busy themselves, Xiao Yan turned to Little Fairy Doctor and asked, "What will you do now?"
Little Fairy Doctor sighed softly. With the Thousand Medicine House gone and both Mu She and Mr. Yao dead, all the old grudges had vanished like smoke. She pressed her rosy lips together and said quietly, "I think... I should leave Qingshan Town too."
Sitting atop Xiao Lan, she waved at Xiao Yan, "Come on up, I'll take you to a nice place."
"Oh? You discovered another cave?!"
…
Under Little Fairy Doctor's guidance, Xiao Yan flew directly into a misty mountain range from high above. Surprisingly, hidden beneath the clouds was a small, secluded valley!
The valley was suffused with a rich, vibrant energy that invigorated Xiao Yan's spirit as he inhaled deeply.
"The wood attribute energy here is incredibly dense and pure, definitely an ideal place to cultivate medicinal herbs and spiritual fruits!" As an alchemist himself, Xiao Yan could tell with just one deep breath.
"How do you like it? This small valley is completely isolated from the outside world and shrouded in thick fog. It's extremely well-concealed. If Xiao Lan hadn't stumbled upon it a few months ago by chance, this marvelous place might have remained undiscovered." Seeing the look of amazement on Xiao Yan's face, Little Fairy Doctor let out a slightly proud, delicate giggle.
"It is indeed a treasure trove."
Just as Xiao Yan suspected, the valley was practically overflowing with medicinal herbs, causing his alchemist eyes to gleam with excitement.
Seeing Xiao Yan's sparkling eyes, as if he wanted to gather every herb in sight, Little Fairy Doctor couldn't help but smile and said, "Xiao Yan, you are an alchemist, aren't you?"
Xiao Yan shrugged. "You never asked, so I didn't mention it. I wasn't trying to hide it from you deliberately."
Little Fairy Doctor pondered for a moment and suddenly asked with a serious expression, "Xiao Yan, be honest with me. The poisoning of the Qingshan Town residents actually... it has something to do with me, doesn't it?"
Xiao Yan looked at Little Fairy Doctor's solemn face and asked in return, "What makes you think that?"
"Because you're terrible at lying."
Little Fairy Doctor looked at Xiao Yan with a hint of envy and said, "I never told you this, but my innate Dou Qi attribute is poison. A few months ago, after I obtained the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture in a cave, my cultivation level began increasing at an astonishing rate, sometimes even advancing overnight."
"Moreover, all the poisoned residents in Qingshan Town are people who have received my treatment and taken the medicine I prepared in the past few months."
"You know something about this, don't you?"