Chapter 26: Hand Over the Spirit Medicine

**When Tang Erlong thought about being overpowered by a man, he felt uneasy. He fell to his knees and shouted, "No, please, I don't want to die!"

The two masked men were puzzled by his words. They had come to ask for something, but before they could even speak, he was already shouting not to do something. What did he not want?

"What do you mean by 'don't want'?" The masked men asked, not understanding.

"You know, that kind of thing, from behind. You guys aren't..." Tang Erlong couldn't bring himself to say it.

Suddenly, the masked men understood, and their faces filled with anger. How could he mistake them for that kind of people? One of them brandished a short knife at Tang Erlong's neck and said, "Enough nonsense. If you don't want to die, hand over the spirit medicine you snatched today."

Tang Erlong realized that they had discovered him when he had taken Tang Ailian's bottle. He had been careful not to be seen, and he thought no one had noticed. He couldn't believe that he, who had only gone to cause trouble for Tang Ailian, had gotten into trouble himself.

Tang Erlong was surprised that they knew about the spirit medicine but had come for him instead of going to Tang Ailian. He asked, "If you know that the spirit medicine came from Tang Ailian, why didn't you go to her? Why come for me?"

The masked men responded with a sneer, "We don't want to die. The last time you deceived us with fake spirit medicine, but this time we won't be so easily fooled. Hand over the spirit medicine, or this time next year will be your memorial day."

Tang Erlong was terrified, and he swore that he didn't have any spirit medicine. He explained, "I don't have any spirit medicine. I already gave it to you. Why did you bring me here? What do you want from me?"

The masked men were unmoved and demanded, "Stop the nonsense. You know why we brought you here. You deceived us with fake spirit medicine last time. We won't be as easy to fool this time. Hand over the spirit medicine or else."

Tang Erlong reluctantly said, "Fine, fine, I'll tell you. The spirit medicine you want is with Tang Ailian. She's the one who received it from the mysterious master. She gave it to her father, Zhang Jixiong, to save his life."

The masked men exchanged glances. It seemed that what Tang Erlong was saying made sense. However, they couldn't easily approach Tang Ailian because of the rumors about the mysterious master who had saved Zhang Jixiong. They had attempted to get close to Tang Ailian before but had been inexplicably repelled when they approached her house.

Tang Erlong continued, "Tang Ailian is close to a dog named Xiaohua. She'll do anything to save Xiaohua's father, so she'll listen to you if you talk to her."

The masked men sighed and said, "We know about her attachment to Xiaohua. We've tried to approach her before, but we couldn't get close. It seems we have no choice but to try again."

Tang Erlong's eyes widened as he heard the masked men talking about their failed attempts to approach Tang Ailian. He realized that these two were skilled individuals who were cautious and had tried to steal the spirit medicine once before but were repelled by some force around Tang Ailian's house.

In the end, the masked men left Tang Erlong in the woods and disappeared. Tang Erlong, now alone and terrified, was left to contemplate his situation.

(End of Chapter 26)