With no other choice, the burly man actually went to Drunken Star Tower first. Coincidentally, the tower master, Robert Harris, happened to be there and saw the burly man.

In fact, the physician on duty at Drunken Star Tower had a diagnosis similar to Eleanor Brooks's, but Robert Harris, who noticed something was off, stopped him in time and told the man to seek help elsewhere.

In the Qin Kingdom, aside from Drunken Star Tower, there was only Fragrant Medicine Pavilion. What else could the burly man do but try his luck there? Although Robert Harris could tell something was wrong, just like Henry Clark, he had no way to cure the poison and didn't know the antidote.

Your enemy always knows you best. Robert Harris was certain that Henry Clark couldn't cure the poison either, so he sent David Turner to infiltrate the line of patients, waiting for a chance to stir up trouble and ruin the reputation of Fragrant Medicine Pavilion. If things got out of hand, it would be best if he could incite the beast hunters to smash up the pavilion.

This way, even if they couldn't destroy Fragrant Medicine Pavilion, they could at least ruin its reputation, leaving it unable to compete with Drunken Star Tower.

David Turner had just returned to the Qin capital, still carrying injuries, and he was clever—perfect for this job.

Originally, everything was going according to Robert Harris's plan, but unexpectedly, a wild card appeared: William Clark accidentally managed to cure the poison, leaving David Turner with no chance to act.

"Heh, as expected of Robert Harris—what a clever move, shifting the blame," William Clark sneered.

Robert Harris and his father had always been bitter rivals. Both were grand alchemists with significant influence in the capital. Unlike Henry Clark, however, Robert Harris was sinister and unscrupulous.

William Clark was naturally familiar with Robert Harris. Although the previous host wasn't qualified to be his opponent, Robert Harris's son, Charles Harris, had been the previous host's arch-enemy at the Alchemy and Martial Academy.

Of course, "arch-enemy" was a bit of a stretch—it was really just Charles Harris bullying William Clark one-sidedly, with William Clark completely unable to fight back. Although Charles Harris was a bit of a playboy, he was outstanding in both martial arts and alchemy. He had already reached the sixth level of the Origin Energy Realm and had become an alchemy apprentice.

Even in the talent-filled Alchemy and Martial Academy, Charles Harris was an exceptional genius, highly praised by all. By comparison, William Clark wasn't even worthy to carry his shoes.

As for William Clark's poisoning, he later deduced from the previous host's memories that it was most likely Charles Harris who was behind it.

Good, very good! Old grudges remain, and now new ones are added. The feud with the Wan father and son is set. William Clark sneered inwardly.

"Ye... Young Master Ye, I've told you everything I should, and even things I shouldn't. So..." David Turner said weakly.

Just now, he had even confessed to being a spy for Drunken Star Tower, all to gain William Clark's trust and trick him into giving the antidote.

William Clark nodded in satisfaction, took out the poison he had just refined, and tossed it to David Turner, saying, "Not bad, you did well. This antidote is your reward."

David Turner took the "antidote," overjoyed, and swallowed it without a second thought, immediately sitting down to meditate and absorb the medicine's effects.

Sure enough, as the medicine dissolved in his stomach, his previously sluggish true essence began to flow again. He suddenly opened his eyes, sprang out like a leopard, turned his palm into a claw, and struck at William Clark's throat.

"Ah! Young Master!" Lucy screamed and, without thinking, jumped in front of William Clark.

That claw strike was extremely fierce, carrying the aura honed from years of life-and-death struggles. Against a rookie like William Clark, there was no way it could miss.

However, the claw stopped three inches in front of Lucy's throat. Then, David Turner collapsed to the ground, convulsing, his face twisted in pain.

William Clark pulled Lucy away from behind, looked at David Turner on the ground with pity, and sneered, "This is what they call 'heaven may forgive misfortune, but self-inflicted evil cannot be survived.' If you hadn't harbored evil intentions, the Inch-Heart Fiery Poison wouldn't have acted so soon. But since you did, you'll just have to suffer more."

"Wh... why..." David Turner managed to squeeze out the words through clenched teeth as he convulsed.

William Clark smiled faintly. "You thought the Heart-Guarding Pill I gave you at Fragrant Medicine Pavilion was poison, but it was actually a real Heart-Guarding Pill. It was just refined several times over, so its effects were much stronger. The symptoms of bleeding from your orifices and weak true essence were just side effects, and didn't really harm your body. Once the effects wore off, not only would you be fine, you might even improve. But the pill you just took was a real Inch-Heart Fiery Poison Pill, and its effects are extremely fierce. Anyone who takes it will suffer three hours of gut-wrenching pain every day, each time worse than the last, until death."

William Clark's words rang clearly in David Turner's ears, and it seemed to make his convulsions even worse.

Chapter 9: Courtesy Demands Reciprocity

Drunken Star Tower was bustling with people coming and going.

Inside, a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes looked a bit anxious, pacing back and forth. Next to him sat another middle-aged man, who appeared very calm.

"Big brother, why hasn't there been any word from David Turner? Could it be that the burly man's poison was cured by Henry Clark?"

The speaker was the pacing man, named Edward Harris, a clansman of Robert Harris and also an alchemist. The man sitting calmly was, of course, the tower master of Drunken Star Tower, Robert Harris.