Chapter 64

（Thanks to 'swm1211' for the reminder and 'opendoo' for the generous tip.)

However, when the matter was mentioned, Wu Zheng's face showed a slightly troubled expression: "Hehe, every time Brother Ding comes, he asks for herbs that are several decades old. These things are really hard to come by. But after these days, I have finally gathered most of them, though there are still a few..."

This was not the first time Ding Qi had collected herbs from Wu Zheng. As Wu Zheng had just said, the herbs he needed were all several decades old, each one extremely precious. Moreover, over the past four years, the Qingyun Sect had been searching for the Fengwei Grass in the surrounding areas, leading to a severe shortage of various herbs. It was not easy to find the herbs Ding Qi needed.

Ding Qi's requests to Wu Zheng for herb collection were not always fully met, just like this time.

When Wu Zheng mentioned that several herbs were still not collected, Ding Qi's face did not show any disappointment. Hearing the list of herbs the shop had already collected, Ding Qi was actually quite satisfied.

After all, Wu Zheng, through various connections, had managed to gather so many herbs, far exceeding the efficiency of other pharmacies in Liangcheng.

After discussing the herbs, Ding Qi was ready to leave.

"Speaking of which, there's something I want to ask, Brother Ding. Do you remember the incident a year and a half ago when hundreds of bandits around Qixia Town were slaughtered in one night?" Just as Ding Qi was about to leave, Wu Zheng suddenly said.

Hearing Wu Zheng's question, Ding Qi turned his head, slightly stunned, a hint of something indescribable flashing in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He then quickly replied, "Oh, you mean that incident. How could I forget? Not just me, but anyone living around Qixia Town couldn't forget it. At the time, out of curiosity, I even went to the scene."

As he spoke, Ding Qi's face naturally showed a look of sighing.

Then, Ding Qi's face took on a strange expression as he asked Wu Zheng, "But Old Wu, why are you asking about this now? Although it caused a stir at the time, it has been quite some time, hasn't it?"

Hearing this, Wu Zheng's face showed a look of helplessness, and he sighed, "Hehe, Brother Ding, you should know that the reason I stepped down from the position of chieftain was precisely because of that incident. That incident made me realize how dangerous it was to form a bandit gang. I am naturally more curious about it than others and want to know more. Since you live near Qixia Town, you might know more about it."

Wu Zheng then looked at Ding Qi with an inquiring expression.

Ding Qi, however, shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Regarding that incident, although I was curious and went to the scene, what I know is limited to street gossip. I don't know much more than others."

Hearing this, Wu Zheng's face showed a slight disappointment. But he quickly calmed down. Wu Zheng had clearly anticipated that the chances of getting any useful information from Ding Qi were slim.

As Ding Qi left, Wu Zheng in the pharmacy sighed softly.

Watching Ding Qi's figure gradually disappear in the distance, Wu Zheng shook his head and couldn't help but fall into the memories of the incident that happened a year and a half ago.

This chieftain Wu had personally experienced the incident where hundreds of bandits were slaughtered in one night.

On the night the incident occurred, he had accidentally passed by there due to an unexpected event and witnessed the entire incident. Although there was a light mist in the air that night, and he could only see from a great distance, he did see the entire process. However, he could not clearly see who the person who killed the bandits was.

The terrifying scene that night was something he would never forget.

According to street gossip, the bandits were all killed in one night. But Wu Zheng knew very well that from the start to the complete annihilation of the bandits, it took less than a moment.

Thinking of the mysterious figure that darted through the mist that night, even though it was summer and the sun was shining, Wu Zheng still shivered involuntarily.

Wu Zheng saw that as the ghostly figure darted among the bandits, leaving trails of afterimages, those battle-hardened bandits, who were not weak even in the entire martial world, fell silently to the ground, dead.

Although he witnessed the entire process, Wu Zheng still did not understand how the person did it.

Wu Zheng was far from the scene at the time, but now he felt that the person had probably noticed him but did not attack him for some reason.

After witnessing that incident, Wu Zheng was left with an indelible shadow in his heart. It was because of this incident that he eventually stepped down from the position of chieftain and became the owner of a small pharmacy.

However, that incident had a profound impact on Wu Zheng's life. Sometimes he couldn't help but be curious and wanted to know more about the incident and the mysterious killer.

Today, he had hoped to get some clues about the incident from Ding Qi, a local of Qixia Town, but it was clear that he had no luck.

Looking at Ding Qi's figure again, for some reason, Wu Zheng suddenly remembered the back of the mysterious killer he had vaguely seen that night. That back seemed to have some similarity to Ding Qi's appearance now.

But then, Wu Zheng shook his head and dismissed the absurd thought.

Wu Zheng knew that Ding Qi had some martial skills, but they were only at the level of ordinary martial artists. The mysterious killer he had seen that night had skills that were far beyond the realm of ordinary people.

The idea of connecting the mysterious killer with Ding Qi seemed absurd and ridiculous to him.

"Never mind, I am just a pharmacy owner now. That incident from the past is no longer my concern." Thinking to this point, Wu Zheng lowered his head and began to organize the accounts in front of him.

In the end, Wu Zheng decided to keep that incident buried in his heart, treating it as a memory and deciding not to care about it anymore.

After all, it had nothing to do with him anymore.

On the streets of Liangcheng, Ding Qi turned his head and looked back at Wu Zheng's pharmacy, his face showing a thoughtful expression as he stroked his chin.

"It seems that Chieftain Wu still can't forget that incident from a year and a half ago!" Looking at the direction of Wu Zheng again, Ding Qi turned his head and smiled helplessly.

Those bandits had been raiding and killing, eventually heading towards Qixia Town. Although Qixia Town was far from being a small village, if they had really entered, the town would have faced a great disaster due to the bandits' vicious nature.

Ding Qi could not ignore such a situation.

In his helplessness, he had to take action himself. So, on a night with a light mist, Ding Qi slaughtered the hundreds of bandits near Qixia Town in one night.

However, that night, Ding Qi unexpectedly discovered Wu Zheng nearby.

Fortunately, it was late at night, and there was a light mist in the air. Wu Zheng was far from the scene and could not possibly have seen who Ding Qi was.

Although Wu Zheng did not know that the person who slaughtered the bandits was Ding Qi, the incident clearly had a significant impact on him.

In the end, it led to him leaving the bandit gang and becoming the owner of a small pharmacy.

This was something that Ding Qi could not have predicted at the time.

Ding Qi shook his head, dispelling the thoughts in his mind. He looked down at the decades-old herbs he had obtained from Wu Zheng, his face showing a deep contemplative expression: "These decades-old herbs needed for refining pills, I can still obtain from pharmacies like Chieftain Wu. But for century-old herbs, it's... I guess I need to go to that place again."

Ding Qi, seemingly recalling something, quickly returned to the herb garden in Qixia Town with the herbs he had obtained from Wu Zheng.

However, after returning to the herb garden, he did not practice his innate skills as usual, nor did he stay in the garden for long.

After putting down the herbs, Ding Qi got up and headed towards Qixia Mountain.

Entering deeper into Qixia Mountain, once he was sure no one was around, he immediately activated the Wind Control Technique and rushed deeper into the forest. With the strange speed of his Wind Control Technique, Ding Qi quickly reached over a hundred miles deep into Qixia Mountain.

Now, Ding Qi was in a place deep in Qixia Mountain where no one would ever come. The forest was dense, with many ancient trees, creating a unique sense of tranquility and depth in the deep mountains.

However, even so, Ding Qi continued to use the Wind Control Technique without stopping.

Finally, after about half an hour, Ding Qi's speed gradually slowed down, and he stopped at a place in the forest with several huge rocks several yards high. By then, he had traveled nearly two hundred miles into the forest, which was the true center of Qixia Mountain.