People grow more fond of dogs the more people they meet.

Not because dogs are particularly intelligent or considerate.

But because dogs are so pure!

Pain is pain, hunger is hunger, closeness is shown by wagging the tail, and unfamiliarity is met with bared teeth.

Humans are not like that.

Human hearts are hidden behind layers.

They cannot be seen through, guessed, or understood.

Three puppies, suckling together, one brown, one black, and one white, each with a different coat.

Looking at them for a while, Zhu Biqiong smiled and said, “It won’t be easy to find their father.”

Perhaps they were full, the black dog and the brown dog started fighting.

The two puppies entangled, the black dog losing ground, whimpering incessantly. It probably wanted the big dog to intervene, but the white dog lazily turned its head aside, looking into the distance.

The white puppy jumped around excitedly a few times, but seeing that no one paid attention to it, it lay down in boredom.

After a moment of screaming, the brown dog pinned the black dog to the ground. At this point, the black dog stopped crying.

This was the puppies’ way of declaring victory; the brown puppy was the winner, and the black puppy submitted.

The upright Jiang Wang couldn’t stand it and poked the brown puppy with a righteous foot: “Don’t bully your brother!”

The brown puppy was easily flipped over, lying on the ground with its limbs in the air, its eyes wide with confusion. The black puppy, on the other hand, was carefree, happily licking its paw.

The big white dog stood up suddenly, growling menacingly at Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang fled with Zhu Biqiong and Duguxiao.

“I thought you hated dogs!” Zhu Biqiong looked at Jiang Wang with her almond eyes, a smile playing on her lips.

She was happy to see Jiang Wang being chased around by the protective white dog, as it relieved some of her resentment at being treated like a laborer.

“I have no reason to hate dogs, as long as they don’t eat human flesh.”

He didn’t hide his fondness, but when it came to the bottom line, all fondness had to give way.

Hu Laogen was now Hu Tingzhang (village head), but he didn’t build himself a new house; he still lived in the old house with his reportedly fierce wife.

This made him even more trusted by the people of Qingyang Town.

Seeing Jiang Wang arrive, he hurriedly told his wife to make tea, wiped the chair vigorously with his sleeve, and invited the cultivator master to sit down.

His wife was now meek and mild, showing no sign of fierceness.

“The month is almost over. Has anything happened in the town?” Jiang Wang casually looked around the room, found the environment acceptable, not too shabby, and asked.

“There is indeed something, I was just about to report it to you at the mine.” The newly appointed Hu Tingzhang said nervously, “Two people have died in our town recently!”

“What’s the cause? Who did it? Should I have Xiangqian come and investigate?” Jiang Wang looked up at Zhu Biqiong and added, “Maybe Lady Zhu can help too.”

“What do you mean maybe?” Zhu Biqiong jumped up, “If I take action, it’ll be a piece of cake!”

Xiaoxiao looked at Zhu Biqiong with envy, envying her irreplaceable value. In Xiaoxiao’s own world, there was a very clear value system, determined by her past and influencing her life.

“We just don’t know.” Hu Laogen said with a sad face, “These two people died of the same illness.”

“What did the doctor say?” Zhu Biqiong naturally entered investigation mode. But her opening remarks showed her lack of professionalism.

There were no proper doctors in Qingyang Town; those few quacks could only treat minor ailments like headaches and dizziness. They probably couldn’t even figure out the cause of these fatal illnesses.

Jiang Wang sat up straight; his family had run a pharmacy since he was a child, and he was sensitive to illnesses.

“What were the symptoms?”

“Both had high fevers, oozing pus and blood…” Hu Laogen said with some grief, “They were both good young men.”

“Were they family members?”

“No, one was from the north of town, and one from the south; they didn’t know each other.”

Although he couldn’t determine what it was, the fact that there were two identical cases suggested the possibility of contagion.

Jiang Wang asked, “Where are the bodies?”

“Bu-buried…”

It was unrealistic to expect the old man to explain the illness clearly.

Jiang Wang asked directly, “What did they have in common?”

Hu Laogen looked bewildered, “What common point?”

Xiaoxiao interjected, “Where have they been recently?”

“Ah, they went to the city!”

For the people of this land, going to the city naturally meant going to Jiacheng.

Jiang Wang immediately stood up and said, “I’ll go to Jiacheng now.”

Firstly, to find out if the illness originated in Jiacheng, and secondly, Xi Zichu came from Dongwang Valley and was skilled in medicine, and as a member of the Xi family, he should contribute to the people of Jiacheng.

“Xiaoxiao, you stay here with Hu Laogen and isolate everyone who has been in contact with the deceased. If there are any obstacles, let your sister Zhu help you solve them.”

Xiaoxiao was better at handling specific tasks. Although Zhu Biqiong was a transcendent cultivator, she was far less adept at dealing with people than Xiaoxiao.

Having heard many terrible cases from her father since childhood, and having seen many families ruined by serious illnesses, she knew that disease was more dangerous than a tiger.

Qingyang Township, with tens of thousands of people in the town and villages, depended on her. Jiang Wang dared not be negligent, arranged the affairs immediately, and went to Jiacheng alone.

Xi Zichu’s eyelids had been twitching badly these days. As early as when he was planning the Hu family mine, he felt that something was being kept from him at home. But his father didn’t say anything, so he didn’t ask too much.

After all, Xi Mounan was the lord of Jiacheng.

He was the future of the Xi family, that was true, but trying to dominate the present would be presumptuous.

This was also why Counselor Liu had always deliberately kept his distance from him.

The streets were bustling with traffic, noisy and prosperous.

The Xi family had done well in Jiacheng. Anyone with longer-term ambitions would not allow themselves to be too eager for quick success.

Resting the people and cultivating a reputation.

Xi Zichu was willing to pay a large amount of compensation to repair his relationship with the Chongxuan family for this reason.

With his face disguised and wrapped in a large robe, Xi Zichu wandered around his own city.

Given his local fame, he couldn’t go out without doing this.

The failure at the Hu family mine had given him a head-on blow, shattering his arrogance.

He realized that not only Jiang Wang, but even Hu Shaomeng, who had always been suppressed by him, might not have lost to him.

He suppressed Hu Shaomeng by relying on the power of the Xi family. And Jiang Wang even wore the “power” of the Chongxuan family as an outer garment, never leaving it.

But compared to the failure of this treasure hunt, what he found most unacceptable was his father Xi Mounan’s words – “You disappoint me.”

Outsiders didn’t know, but he himself remembered that he had grown up in criticism and blows.

From childhood to adulthood, he had never received a single word of praise from his father, even though he studied intrigue, practiced diligently, studied medicine… He tried his best to be the first in everything.

Although, with the combination of medicinal fragrance and momentum, the eligible women of Jiacheng were eager for him, not to mention the flattering of those family members and subordinates.

But without his father’s approval, he was always lost in his heart.

Now he was already in the Tenglong realm, and he was confident that he could surpass his father within five years and achieve the Inner Palace realm. Perhaps at that time, he would make his father satisfied?

“You disappoint me.”

But these words lingered in his ears.

Like a nail, it directly nailed all his light and frivolous pride to death.