"Tsk."
Su Min watched with amusement as the previously fierce bandit now cowered like a soaked rat. With a dismissive wave, she added, "Scram."
"Y-yes!"
Not daring to utter another word, the men hauled their trembling leader away as if fleeing a den of demons. But just as they took their first step, her soft voice drifted over them.
"Wait."
Her voice, light as a feather, froze them in place.
"Pay for my table."
The bandits exchanged bewildered glances. The table was a simple bamboo construct, something Su Min could rebuild in minutes by chopping nearby wood. Yet her mournful sigh left no room for argument.
"This table was passed down from my elders. It holds years of memories. Oh, how my heart aches. So much pain. Enough pain that I might just grab someone, stab them a few times, heal them, then stab them again. What do you think?"
"…"
The threat was anything but subtle.
And they believed her. The village chief and local shaman had learned that lesson the hard way. Now, even whispering her name made them shudder. Frantically, the men emptied their pockets, producing three taels of scattered silver.
"Tsk. Fine. Get lost."
Su Min pocketed the coins with a flick of her wrist.
"Mood ruined. Might as well plan for Qi Refining."
She sighed, watching the retreating figures. More "patients" like that were bound to appear sooner or later, a side effect of her reputation. Slaughtering them all wasn't an option, not when she had bigger concerns.
Like the Qi-Inducing Pill, a catalyst for breaking through to Qi Refining.
It wasn't strictly necessary, but with it, the process would be faster and smoother. A single pill could save years of hard work. And time wasn't something she could afford to waste, not with the treasure gourd's maturation approaching.
"I've got one of the required herbs. Still missing two..."
In this era, such ingredients were scarce. Her fingers drummed against the new bamboo table.
"Maybe leverage my fame to source them?"
There was no rush. She had two or three years at most. Still, those bandits had caught her attention. Their aura carried violence, but not bloodlust. They weren't mindless marauders.
"Potential herb hunters?"
First, she'd need to look into their background. As a wanted fugitive, she had to stay cautious. The wilderness shielded her, and her appearance had changed enough that even the brothel madam might not recognize her now.
But caution demanded indirect approaches. Drawing attention could cost her the gourd and send her back into a life of constant flight.
Meanwhile, in the Village
Laughter erupted as the villagers watched the bandits flee, their earlier bravado reduced to trembling panic. Su Min's prowess was well known. A young woman living alone in the wilderness? Only someone truly dangerous could manage that.
And since she kept to herself, village gossip never reached her ears.
The Village Chief's House
"Master Zhao, I told you before. That woman's no ordinary healer. She's a fox spirit in human form."
The chief eyed the pale-faced man on the bed. He remembered Su Min's casual remark—"Kill all enemies, and no one gets hurt"—and shuddered. Even the local shaman, whose authority she'd undercut, dared not oppose her.
"Cough… cough…"
Before the patient could speak, the bedraggled bandits stumbled in, one of them still reeking of urine.
"Sect Leader, that woman—"
"I know." The man winced. "Prepare a stretcher. We'll go to her with the bamboo token."
"The token?!"
Relief washed over the men. They knew Su Min's rules:
No house calls. Bring the patient to her.
No token, no treatment. (Unless she's in a good mood.)
They had thought a "helpless girl" could be dragged over by force. Instead, they'd met a typhoon in human form. Now, they would have to carry their leader up the mountain like everyone else.
The Bamboo Hut
Su Min paused while arranging tools on her new table.
"A cultivator?"
The aura she sensed was weak and unstable, clearly belonging to the patient. But cultivators didn't usually linger in such fragile states.
"If a cultivator's this bad, whatever ails them would kill a mortal outright."
Her lips pursed.
"So it begins. The winds of change are blowing faster than I thought."
In just a year or two, the world was already stirring. More cultivators would soon appear.