Including Lan Qingshan, who had just fallen to the ground, now stood up slowly, supporting himself against the wall, and then looked at Zhao Ya with eyes full of reverence and curiosity.
The name Zhao Ya had been heard all too often by Lan Qingshan recently.
Especially Zhao Ya’s near-fantastical exploits in Yan Capital City, which sounded like legends to Lan Qingshan.
Seeing him in person now, coupled with the fact that he was saved by him, the shock in his heart was imaginable.
At this moment, Lan Tang finally trembled as he opened the bundle and took out a small package, handing it to Zhao Ya with great care and sincerity.
"This is the commission our employer gave us this time, a decade-old ginseng. I hope Young Hero Zhao won’t find it beneath him."
Zhao Ya glanced at the serious Lan Tang with some surprise.
This old man was remarkable, knowing that such a piece of ginseng was quite valuable.
And he had only helped a little, but he gave such a generous thank-you gift.
However, seeing Lan Tang’s earnest expression, and even a trace of pleading in his eyes, Zhao Ya eventually smiled, reached out, took the small package, and nodded.
"In that case, I won’t refuse."
Seeing Zhao Ya accepting his gift, Lan Tang let out a long breath, and his face even lit up with joy.
"This is what you deserve, there’s no need to refuse."
"What is the name of your Escort Agency?" Zhao Ya asked casually.
"Yongshun Escort Agency, located in Great Rock City, a hundred miles from here," Lan Tang said.
"Yongshun Escort Agency... alright, I will remember it!"
Hearing this, Lan Tang was extremely pleased and quickly ordered, "Quick, go and clear out a room in the back for Young Hero Zhao to stay."
When people went to the back, they found that the shopkeeper of the noodle shop had already died beside the noodle pot.
It was obvious that he had been harmed by the Five Poison Sect.
Someone dragged the body out to bury it, while the others cleaned up the mess at the scene.
Zhao Ya said something to Lan Qingshan, then picked up the unconscious Xiang Gui and took Zui’Er back to his room.
Lan Qingshan, seeing this, curiously leaned over to his grandfather.
"Grandpa, why didn’t Young Hero Zhao just kill this Xiang Gui, but took him away instead?"
Lan Tang glanced back at his grandson.
Once, Lan Qingshan was Lan Tang’s greatest pride.
Not only because he was his beloved grandson, but also because Lan Qingshan was very promising, just over twenty and about to advance to the Fourth Realm, and also mastered a good swordsmanship.
Among his peers, he was considered outstanding.
But now Lan Tang knew what it meant that there are always people better than you.
Zhao Ya was much younger than his grandson, yet he was already in the Fifth Realm, and even had a glorious achievement of defeating someone in the Meridian Opening Realm.
There’s no arguing about it.
But Lan Tang quickly adjusted his mindset.
After all, the world is so big, and there aren’t many top geniuses like Zhao Ya.
He sighed and said, "If I’m not mistaken, Young Hero Zhao should be quite interested in the Five Poison Sect."
"Interested in the Five Poison Sect?" Lan Qingshan didn’t understand for a moment.
"Yes, I guess Young Hero Zhao plans to pry open Xiang Gui’s mouth to get more information about the Five Poison Sect, and then catch them all in one swoop."
Lan Qingshan listened, his eyes widening.
Before they set out, they had heard that the Five Poison Sect was targeting this precious Centennial Ginseng.
Although the Five Poison Sect had only emerged as a force in recent years, they were ruthless and their methods were endless, making them very troublesome.
For this reason, they racked their brains, even daring not to fly their Escort Banner, and everyone disguised themselves as passing merchants to avoid the Five Poison Sect.
This shows how much they feared it.
But the very entity they tried desperately to avoid, Zhao Ya was preparing to catch in one swoop.
The difference in capability was obvious.
Only then did Lan Qingshan finally understand why his grandfather was willing to go to such great lengths, even offering up the commission, to win him over.
Such a super expert was significant for the Lan Family, worth a significant price to draw in.
While the grandfather and grandson outside were filled with emotion, inside the room, Zhao Ya splashed a cup of tea over Xiang Gui, who finally woke up slowly.
He even thought that being captured just now was a nightmare, but the severe pain from his kneecaps and Zhao Ya standing in front of him shattered all his illusions.
Zhao Ya held a palm-sized porcelain bottle, looking at Xiang Gui with amusement.
"What’s this?"
Xiang Gui looked nervous, "This... this..."
"Actually, even if you don’t say it, I already know. What should be inside is the poison you put in the noodle bowls... oh, no, I shouldn’t call it poison, but rather some kind of insect."
Even through the bottle, Zhao Ya could faintly sense a scent similar to an exotic insect emanating from it.
But this exotic insect was different from the one Zhao Ya had previously captured, which was used to replenish Qi Blood, giving a very eerie feeling.
"Tell me, where did you get this thing?" Zhao Ya said calmly.
"This... I discovered it by accident and... aaahhh!" Xiang Gui screamed in pain.
Zhao Ya stepped on Xiang Gui’s knee, twisting his foot slightly.
The shattered bones rubbed inside, almost making Xiang Gui faint from the pain.
"I find it very difficult to accept being deceived. This is only the first time. If there’s a second, you will never need to speak again," Zhao Ya said calmly.
Xiang Gui’s face twisted in pain.
For the first time, he felt what it was like to endure a torment worse than death.