The Martial Doctor-Chapter 48: Hidden Motives

"Mr. Lin, aren’t you going back to Qingping Town for a look?" Mr. Xie entered for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, then came out with a horse and a backpack.

From the look of things, it’s indeed as if he was setting out on a long journey.

"No, the house and land won’t grow legs and run away, don’t you think so, Mr. Xie?" Lin Miao remarked bluntly.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Lin is absolutely right!" Mr. Xie laughed heartily, seemingly quite appreciative and supportive of Lin Miao’s words.

However, Lin Miao keenly detected a hint of insincerity in his words.

One should always be cautious of others.

This pawnshop dealer had a black heart, he must be wary.

...

"Then let’s go!"

"Mr. Lin, I caught a cold last night, could you wait for a moment while I go to the bathroom?" Just after taking two steps, Mr. Xie suddenly clutched his stomach, looking pained.

Lin Miao frowned slightly but nodded nonetheless.

A trip to the bathroom shouldn’t take more than the time to drink a cup of tea, yet Mr. Xie kept Lin Miao waiting for nearly the time it takes an incense stick to burn, making him almost wonder if Mr. Xie had fallen into the latrine.

But since his horse and luggage were still there, he suppressed this thought.

"Here I come, here I come, sorry for the delay, my stomach isn’t feeling well, and I have some constipation..." Mr. Xie explained while pulling up his pants.

Lin Miao said nothing; being a doctor, he knew that a constipated person has an internal heat issue, yet Mr. Xie looked flushed with no signs of internal heat.

Moreover, this guy’s unsteady steps were an act; did he really think of him as a naive newbie in the martial world?

This guy going with him to Dongshan City surely had something suspicious.

It’s possible that he might not reclaim his master’s "Doctor’s Badge," which Lin Miao couldn’t tolerate; it’s the only keepsake his master left for his senior sister. If he fails to retrieve it, how could he face her?

Damn it!

However, now, as long as there’s a glimmer of hope, he must strive for it. If the "Doctor’s Badge" is still in the Yuanheng pawnshop branch in Dongshan City, fine. If not,

he’d turn the place upside down.

If a pawnshop loses its reputation, let’s see how it continues business thereafter! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Of course, he didn’t wish for a fight to the death; after all, it hadn’t reached that point yet.

Let’s see what Mr. Xie intended.

If he planned to act maliciously on the road, he’d show no mercy.

"Mr. Lin, there’s a tea stall ahead, let’s have some hot tea and take a break before continuing..." After only a dozen miles, Mr. Xie pointed to a roadside tea stall for travelers to rest.

Lin Miao nodded, already sure this guy was deliberately stalling, plotting something sinister, probably planning an ambush along the way to make him disappear completely.

This way, the "Doctor’s Badge" wouldn’t need to be returned, and Yuanheng’s reputation would remain intact.

It’s well-known that the pawnshop dealers are ruthless, and it’s long heard that Mr. Xie collaborated with "bandits" to fence stolen goods, making him a tough character.

They were targeting him now.

In the past, he might have been scared, but now, not necessarily.

After the tea came, they ordered some food too, and delayed for about half an hour, yet Lin Miao didn’t urge them. As long as they returned to Dongshan City before the rankings were announced three days later, he didn’t mind watching more of Mr. Xie’s performance.

As expected, with all the stopping and going,

a whole day passed, and they actually missed arriving before nightfall.

Mr. Xie naturally took all the blame, saying his health was poor, and the frequent rests delayed their time.

Lin Miao cooperated with his act, comforting him that it’s normal to miss reaching a lodging point while traveling; camping outdoors is common in the martial world.

A young chivalrous adventurer.

Mr. Xie praised Lin Miao fervently, so much that Lin Miao almost started to believe it himself.

Both were harboring their own scheming thoughts.

Mr. Xie knew martial arts, and not at a low level, at least in the Bone Forging Realm; however, Lin Miao had already tested himself against Dong Hu and Zhao Wu.

As long as it’s unexpected, with his own Lower Grade Bone Forging Realm skills, he could easily resolve the opponent.

Of course, in a head-on confrontation, it wasn’t guaranteed.

As long as a Blood Fusion Realm master didn’t intervene, even if he couldn’t win, escaping was still feasible.

"Mr. Lin, I’ve caught a pheasant. These pheasants, in the cold weather, they make nests in the grass behind big trees. Once you find the nest, you just guard beside it and wait for it to return..." Mr. Xie seemed quite knowledgeable about hunting, easily catching a nest of pheasants, so they didn’t have to eat cold wheat cakes for dinner.

Lin Miao sat behind a rock; from a young age, he followed his master, Sun Simiao, into the mountains to gather herbs. Although not a professional hunter, he wasn’t unfamiliar with the craft of hunting.

He and his grandfather had eaten countless pheasants and wild rabbits in the mountains; sometimes, they spent days gathering herbs, leaving Sun Youwei at home, under Yun’s care.

So, his master definitely had feelings for Yun; it’s just unclear why they couldn’t end up together.

Mr. Xie was overly enthusiastic; usually, others served and flattered him, and now, he both roasted chicken and praised Lin Miao in a fawning manner.

When the roast chicken was ready, Mr. Xie tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Lin Miao: "Mr. Lin, try the chicken leg I roasted."

Along the way, Lin Miao avoided eating or drinking with Mr. Xie, especially anything that left his sight; he would no longer touch it.

Of course, he did this without a trace, not letting the other side see any flaws.

But this time, he couldn’t refuse the chicken leg handed over by Mr. Xie. He smiled, reached out to take it, and then took a bite: "Not bad, Mr. Xie’s grilled chicken is really good. If you don’t serve as this steward, opening a grilled chicken shop would definitely thrive."

Seeing Lin Miao devour the whole chicken leg, Mr. Xie revealed a meaningful smile: "Mr. Lin, young men are still growing, you should sleep first. I’ll keep watch for the first half of the night."

Lin Miao yawned, his eyelids felt a bit heavy, and he nodded: "Then I’ll sleep first. Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Xie."

After speaking, Lin Miao wrapped himself in a blanket, curled up on the dry grass, turned to his side, and soon let out a faint snore.

The campfire crackled and popped.

The mountain wind swept through.

Flickering, flickering.

Mr. Xie glanced at Lin Miao, who was sound asleep, with a glint of coldness in his eyes. Kid, you can blame yourself for wanting to redeem that "doctor’s" token, so don’t blame me for being ruthless.

Whoosh...

The sound of footsteps on dry twigs and fallen leaves.

A group wearing warrior outfits appeared in front of Mr. Xie, led by none other than Lin Miao’s old acquaintance, Huang Baichuan, the elder of the Huang Clan.

Behind him was a group of about seven or eight Huang Clan disciples, openly and without disguise.

"Mr. Xie, we’ve arrived." Huang Baichuan walked directly to the fire, giving Mr. Xie a fist salute without any reservation.

"What you want is on him." Mr. Xie gestured with his mouth toward the sleeping Lin Miao.

"Please help Mr. Xie this once for Mr. Huang."

A horizontal blade was tossed in front of Mr. Xie, embedding into the ground.

"I don’t want to get my hands dirty with blood." Mr. Xie shook his head. He had informed the Huang family merely for mutual benefits.

The Huang Family wanted the deed and the house deed of the Sun Family’s Herbal Hall to officially claim that place, while Mr. Xie didn’t want his breach of contract to be known outside.

"Mr. Xie, you provided us the information, and now you want to stay out of it?" Huang Baichuan’s words carried a threat.

Clearly, he did not trust Mr. Xie, after all, Mr. Xie was not alone; the "Yuanheng" behind him must have ace cards to flip the table.

It’s best to have leverage in hand, or else the Huang family could end up being bossed around by them. As the Huang Clan elder, Huang Baichuan wasn’t foolish.

"Alright, I’ll make an exception today!" Mr. Xie did not want to be constrained by the Huang family. If they found out he had swindled Lin Miao’s "doctor’s" token, this act of self-destroying "Yuanheng’s" reputation would not only lead to disgrace but also see everything he worked for dissolve.

He picked up the blade from the ground, stood up, and walked toward Lin Miao.

As he lifted the blade, ready to strike at Lin Miao’s head, Lin Miao suddenly opened his eyes and gave him a sinister smile.

Mr. Xie shivered, feeling a chill run down his spine.

A terrible realization popped into his head—Lin Miao must have seen through everything long ago; he had been feigning cooperation all this way.

That’s not right, there was sedative on that chicken leg.

Closing his eyes and reopening them, he found Lin Miao asleep again.

"Mr. Xie, what are you waiting for? Finish that kid and let’s have a drink,"

Mr. Xie steeled his resolve and swung the blade again. Just as it swung through the air, Lin Miao opened his eyes again, giving him a wicked smile.

Mr. Xie’s hair stood on end. It was the dead of winter, and the cold wind made his back feel chillingly cold.

"Mr. Xie, what are you hesitating for?" Huang Baichuan commanded, "It’s just killing a young boy, why can’t you do it?"

Mr. Xie’s position conveniently blocked Huang Baichuan and others’ view, so they couldn’t see the exact situation, thinking Mr. Xie was hesitant to kill.

How could someone like Mr. Xie be too cowardly to make a move? He was simply frightened.

Lin Miao had long known something was off about Mr. Xie, and as soon as he bit into the chicken leg, he realized there was a sedative on it. But such a small amount was useless to him. Would he leave home unprepared on this journey?

He had already taken the antidote to the sedative while eating the chicken leg, so he had been pretending to sleep, curious about whom Mr. Xie had called upon.

He didn’t expect it to be the Huang family.

The Huang family wanted to acquire the Sun Family’s Herbal Hall land, and Mr. Xie didn’t want the breach of contract to damage "Yuanheng’s" reputation. It was mutually beneficial.

Was he afraid he couldn’t handle him alone, or did he want to involve the Huang family, not wanting to stain his own hands with blood?

In any case, neither group was decent.

"Mr. Xie, thank you for luring the Huang family to this deserted wilderness." Lin Miao realized he couldn’t keep pretending. He leaped up, laughed loudly, and directly faced Huang Baichuan and the Huang family.

"What?"

Huang Baichuan and his group were startled, looking at Mr. Xie with very grim expressions.

Mr. Xie’s face? It was extraordinary—having spent a lifetime outsmarting others, today he was actually outsmarted.

Evidently, with Lin Miao’s one sentence, his alliance with the Huang family was torn.

It was mutual exploitation, with little trust. Today, it’s good enough they’re not at each other’s throats.