"Certainly, certainly," Third Elder Xie Cheng said. Despite his ready agreement, he still fixed his gaze on the Golden Scaled Crocodile, looking as though he wished he could claim it for himself.

"Here's the thing." Su Xuan pulled out his phone and showed the Third Elder a few photos.

"Wow!" The Third Elder finally tore his gaze away, but he froze for a moment upon seeing Su Xuan's phone. "An item from the world below the mountain!" he muttered.

He then narrowed his eyes and began to scrutinize the photos. His expression shifted from indifference to solemnity, and then to excitement.

"This is osteogenesis imperfecta!" the Third Elder exclaimed. He grabbed Su Xuan's shoulders and demanded, "Where is the patient now? Did you bring him?"

"No, I was afraid the journey would be too taxing for him, so I didn't," Su Xuan said, shaking his head. Then he asked hopefully, "Third Elder, you can cure this disease, can't you?"

"It's hard to say, very hard to say." The Third Elder's gaze suddenly grew profound. "My Immortal Master once encountered a case like this, but he ultimately failed to cure it. It remained his regret until his dying day…"

"I heard the patient ran out of money for the treatment," Su Xuan said. This information had come from the Pill Masters and Physicians of the Floating Cloud Sect.

"It wasn't that he ran out of money," the Third Elder said, shaking his head. "The patient's condition was too severe. He couldn't wait for my Immortal Master to finish concocting the medicine."

"Then, Third Elder, could you possibly…" Su Xuan began, wanting to ask if the Third Elder's Immortal Master had left behind any reliable pill recipes or finished elixirs, but the Third Elder cut him off.

"Young brother, come back in a day. I'll have an answer for you then!" With that, the Third Elder turned and walked into the house without a backward glance. He didn't come out again, looking like an old scholar completely lost in his research, seeming to have lost all interest in the Golden Scaled Crocodile.

"Young master, you can rest easy now," the young Pill Apprentice said sweetly as she approached Su Xuan. "The Third Elder is greatly interested in your matter. There won't be any problems!"

"Oh, good." Su Xuan glanced at the Third Elder's humble home, feeling a great sense of relief.

"Let me see you out." The female Pill Apprentice began to lead Su Xuan away. "The Third Elder's temperament is actually very peculiar," she explained. "He doesn't like to interact with people, so he rarely speaks to anyone. But he was very friendly to you. Perhaps this is fate!"

"What's your name?" Su Xuan suddenly asked her.

"You can call me Xiao Yun," the Pill Apprentice replied.

"Xiao Yun, let me ask you this," Su Xuan said. "Back outside, when you first saw the Golden Scaled Crocodile, did you immediately know its scales could be used as pill-refining ingredients?"

"Um…" Xiao Yun faltered. She did, in fact, know. She had read many Alchemy Books and knew that the scales of such a rare, luminous spirit beast were extremely valuable—excellent materials for pill refining. However, she couldn't say what specific pills they could be used for, as the books on Dan Art contained no illustrations of a Golden Scaled Crocodile.

"As long as a pill can be refined to cure the illness, I'll give you and the Third Elder some scales," Su Xuan said.

This wasn't some blind offer of generosity. While riding the Golden Scaled Crocodile earlier that day, he had noticed some of its scales were loose, as if they could be peeled right off by hand. He speculated that the Golden Scaled Crocodile wasn't yet an adult and was still growing. After eating a few cows last night, it was about to shed its scales for growth, just like a snake shedding its skin! Therefore, his idea of giving the scales to the Third Elder and Xiao Yun wasn't based on the creature's suffering.

"Really? That's great!" Xiao Yun cheered, her big eyes sparkling with delight.

Along the way, Xiao Yun and Su Xuan chatted about other things. She asked if he was truly from the world below the mountain and why his cultivation was so astonishing. She also showed great interest in his phone, asking him to take a photo of her. When Su Xuan casually applied a beauty filter, she was completely stunned. She had never imagined she could look so beautiful, and her fondness for him doubled!

"Brother Su, where are you heading now?" Xiao Yun asked as she escorted him to the main gate of the Nine Cauldrons Gate. By now, she felt she knew him quite well.

"I'm going to an inn," Su Xuan replied. He then bid farewell to Xiao Yun and rode away alone on the Golden Scaled Crocodile.

Having successfully met the Third Elder and piqued his interest, Su Xuan was in high spirits. The sky seemed bluer, the air fresher, and his body felt light. The Golden Scaled Crocodile seemed to sense Su Xuan's good mood, and its steps became a little lighter.

But a moment later, the unexpected happened.

THUD! An old man suddenly darted out from the side of the street, crashing into the Golden Scaled Crocodile. He was sent flying back, landing motionless on the stone-paved ground.

"He killed someone!"

"His mount killed someone!"

"Why wasn't he going slower on such a ferocious beast?"

A crowd quickly formed, swarming around Su Xuan and the fallen man. Someone checked the old man's breathing, then shook his head, declaring him dead.

Su Xuan's good mood vanished instantly. He dismounted from the Golden Scaled Crocodile, about to check if the old man was truly dead and if anything could be done. Just then, several guards in shining armor burst into the circle of onlookers. Following the pointing fingers of the crowd, they surrounded Su Xuan.

"Friend, you're coming with us," one of the Hua Shui City guards said, drawing his saber.

Another guard produced a set of shackles and manacles and moved to restrain Su Xuan.

ROAR! Seeing this, the Golden Scaled Crocodile let out an enraged roar! It was already feeling guilty for accidentally killing someone. Now, seeing Su Xuan implicated because of it, a bloodthirsty aura began to radiate from its body as it moved to protect him.

The guards and the crowd were, unsurprisingly, terrified and fell back.

"Little Gold, be good!" Su Xuan shook his head at the crocodile. He then pointed to the fallen old man and said to the lead guard, "I have some medicinal pills on me. They might still save him."

"The man's already cold. What's there to save!" The lead guard raised his hand and pointed his saber at Su Xuan. "Are you going to come quietly, or do we have to take you by force?"

"I'll go with you." Su Xuan glanced at the fallen old man one last time, a rare, cold glint appearing in his eyes, and willingly followed the guards.

「Some time later」

He was brought to a heavily guarded courtyard and locked in a cell. The Golden Scaled Crocodile, meanwhile, was bound by its limbs with several iron chains and tethered in the yard.

"Brother, what are you in for?" Just as Su Xuan was staring out through the bars of his cell, a voice suddenly spoke from behind him. He wasn't alone; he had a cellmate.

"My mount ran someone over," Su Xuan said, turning his head.

He saw a gaunt figure curled up in a corner of the cell. The man's presence was so faint that he was difficult to notice unless one was looking for him.

The man seemed to be severely ill. He coughed twice and said slowly, "Then you're truly unlucky. This is death row. The prisoners locked up here are all condemned to die…"

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