The red mole between his brows accentuated the s.h.i.+mmer on his beautiful face. It was like looking at a painting of a gorgeous man.

Ye Jiuge brushed his hair to the side. When she had seen him earlier at the slave hut, he had appeared quite filthy. She had never thought that he was actually somewhat clean. It seemed like she did not need to force him to cleanse himself in the bath after all.

"Little Jiuge, do you like this kind of effeminate man?" Zi Shang voiced his displeasure.

"How did you determine that he was effeminate?"

This whole time, the male slave had been silent. Ye Jiuge could not understand what part of him was "effeminate." Instead, she felt that he was very fierce, similar to a cornered wild wolf.

"His face is so similar to a woman's. If he is not feminine, then what is he?" Zi Shang was now regretting that he had advised Ye Jiuge to bring home the male slave. He had not yet made Little Jiuge his. If the effeminate man s.n.a.t.c.hed her away, what could he do?

This is unacceptable. If I get the chance, I will dispose of this girly man.

"If anyone's face is similar to a woman's and can be called effeminate, then you must be the most effeminate demon in the entire demon clan," Ye Jiuge sneered.

Since Zi Shang's face was unparalleled in its beauty, he dared to make fun of others.

"So it is true!" Zi Shang had a sudden realization. He smiled gleefully, "Little Jiuge truly loves me most."

"...a.s.suming that an uninterested person is interested in you is an illness. You should get treatment!" Ye Jiuge rolled her eyes.

Afterward, she lowered her head and poked the male slave's face. When he remained unconscious, she suddenly felt anxious. He continued to sleep all day long so she could not a.s.sign him any duties. If she wanted to neutralize the demonic poison, Soul Departure, she had to obtain the spiritual herb that grew around the Serpent of Departed Soul: Violets of the Netherworld.

Violets of the Netherworld were extremely expensive. One thousand silver taels was their lowest price. If she purchased them to treat this male slave, she would incur a huge loss.

"You better be worth the price. If not, I will sell you to the brothel."

Ye Jiuge pinched that male slave's beautiful face once then pocketed one thousand silver taels. She was ready to head out to buy some Violets of the Netherworld.

"I advise you to change your appearance before going out," Zi Shang's voice rang out again.

"Why?" Ye Jiuge raised her eyebrow.

"Because there might be trouble," Zi Shang replied.

After Ye Jiuge thought about it carefully, she understood Zi Shang's meaning. Not only was it unclear where this slave had come from, but he had also been poisoned with a rare demonic poison. He was definitely becoming a huge ha.s.sle.

Changing her appearance was a piece of cake to Ye Jiuge. She was used cosmetics to conceal the scars on her face. A few dabs here and there, and she became a young girl with an ordinary face that not even Qing Mama would recognize.

Only large medicinal stores stocked such expensive spiritual herbs as Violets of the Netherworld. Although the Ye Clan had a few large medicinal stores in the capital, Ye Jiuge was afraid that someone might recognize her. In the end, she chose another store named BaiCao Hall.

The medicinal hall had minimalist, yet imposing furnis.h.i.+ng. Around this time of day, there were about eight workers there, sorting medicines and serving the customers.

A tall, thin clerk saw Ye Jiuge enter. He greeted her eagerly, "Esteemed customer, do you wish to fill your prescription or are you looking for a consultation about an illness?"

"I want to fill my prescription. Do you have any Violets of the Netherworld?" Ye Jiuge asked.

The clerk stiffened. However, he recovered quickly and said even more enthusiastically, "The shopkeeper is the only one who is authorized to sell a spiritual herb like Violets of the Netherworld. I request that you wait for a moment in a private room. I will immediately ask the shopkeeper to bring it over."

"All right." Although Ye Jiuge found the clerk's att.i.tude slightly odd, she felt that such a sizeable medicinal store would not harm her, so she proceeded to the private room to wait.

The shopkeeper hurried over with an embroidered red box. He smiled then said, "Valuable customer, forgive me for my lack of manners and not welcoming you personally when you arrived at our small shop. My last name is Jin. May I know how to address you?"

"My last name is Su." Ye Jiuge used a random fake last name then said, "I want to buy one stalk of Violets of the Netherworld. Shopkeeper Jin, do you stock them here?"

"Miss Su, you came at just the right moment. We have just stocked a stalk of high-quality Violets of the Netherworld. Have a look to see if it satisfies you."

Shopkeeper Jin opened the embroidered box and placed it on the table. Inside the box, there was a giant stalk of purple spiritual herbs seven inches long with their roots still attached. They had a faint fragrance. Their quality was truly exceptional.

"Shopkeeper, how much do you plan to sell them for?" Since this stalk was packaged so extravagantly, Ye Jiuge estimated a high price.

"Miss Su, allow me to be presumptuous and ask what kind of elixir you intend to produce with this medicinal herb after you purchase it?" Shopkeeper Jin was all smiles as he asked her.

"Why do you ask? Does your medicinal shop need the elixir recipe in exchange for selling medicine?" Ye Jiuge smiled insincerely, and a hint of wariness surfaced in her mind.

It was clear that Shopkeeper Jin's inquiry was alluding to something else.

"Of course not. I only meant that those who can use a third stage spiritual herb to produce elixirs must possess exceptional abilities, so I wanted to befriend you. Miss Su, if I have caused any misunderstandings, please, forgive me," Shopkeeper Jin quickly acknowledged his mistake.

"I do not wish to engage in any more idle chatter. How much is it?" Ye Jiuge asked directly. The more they interacted, the fis.h.i.+er she found Shopkeeper Jin.

"One thousand silver taels. I will consider it a favor to you—as a friend," Shopkeeper Jin said graciously.

"I accept." Ye Jiuge took out the one thousand silver taels. She politely declined Shopkeeper Jin's invitation to tea and quickly left BaiCao Hall.

After a few steps, she noticed that someone was trailing her. Without giving herself away, Ye Jiuge circled the block a few times before she identified who was tailing her. Three people in total, all skilled in martial arts. However, it seemed that they were amateurish when it came to tailing and they appeared to be unfamiliar with their job.

Ye Jiuge led them to the most remote alley in the capital and disappeared with a flash.

When the three martial artists chased her to a dead end but then could not find Ye Jiuge, they immediately shouted in surprise, "Where is she? Where did she go?"

"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Ye Jiuge approached them from behind.

The three martial artists immediately received a huge shock.

The short and stout martial artist standing at the front had an idea. Instantly, he gave her a wicked smile and said, "Little girl, since you have the money to purchase some spiritual herbs at the medicinal shop, you must have more where that came from. Hand it over."

"I never expected imperial guards to be so poor that they have to resort to robbery." Ye Jiuge narrowed her eyes.

Earlier, she had noticed that the palms of these three martial artists were thickly calloused. This could only be the result of years of handling lances. In the capital, only members of the imperial guard practiced with lances. If it were not for this, she would have already killed them.

When the three martial artists realized that their ident.i.ties were exposed, they immediately smiled menacingly and said, "Since you have already found us out, then come with us quietly!"

As they spoke, they edged towards her in a flanking position and pounced.

Pang! Pang! Pang!

Ye Jiuge lifted her leg and kicked the three men away.

"If you want to live, then tell me the truth: Who directed you to follow me?" Ye Jiuge seized the stout martial artist by the hair and yanked his head up.

"No one instructed us. We were pa.s.sing by when we saw you. We felt that you looked vulnerable, so we followed you here." The martial artist was tight-lipped.

"It seems that you will not give in unless you experience more serious or unpleasant consequences." Ye Jiuge stepped on the martial artist's lower leg.

Crack!

His shank snapped in three sections as he howled with pain.

"Aiya, it has been a long time since I have extorted a confession from someone. My skills are slightly rusty," Ye Jiuge said apologetically, shaking her head. "Originally, I just wanted to break it in two. However, I accidentally snapped it in three places. You need not worry, I will choose somewhere else to step next time. I can guarantee that your death will be a quick and painless release."

As she spoke, she lifted her leg again!