The people could not believe their eyes.

They stared at Lin Feng, then at the lifeless bodies on the ground, and then back at Lin Feng again as if hoping they had somehow seen everything incorrectly.

Unfortunately, reality was right before them.

Many instinctively took several steps backward, creating a large empty circle around Lin Feng and his women.

No one wanted to be associated with what had just happened.

The atmosphere that had been lively and noisy moments ago had become deathly silent.

One had to know that the great pill master Li Mingzhe was far from an unknown figure in Fragrant Mist City.

He was a respected alchemist whose reputation had spread throughout the region.

He possessed countless connections, disciples, customers, and allies.

Even city officials treated him with a degree of respect. Now he was dead.

"Murder! Someone call the city guards!"

"Don’t let the murderer get away!"

"Quick! Find a healer! Perhaps Master Li can still be saved!"

The crowd erupted into chaos.

Some people shouted in outrage, others in fear, while a few simply wanted to escape before they got caught in the coming storm.

Yet before anyone could take action, an even more horrifying scene unfolded.

Drop!

Drip!

A strange sound echoed through the marketplace.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

The corpse of Pill Master Li Mingzhe suddenly began to melt.

His flesh softened like wax under a blazing sun.

His skin dissolved into a dark liquid that dripped onto the stone pavement below.

Within seconds, his entire body collapsed into a puddle of foul-smelling sludge.

The crowd froze. Nobody could even scream.

Then the puddle itself began to bubble and evaporate.

In less than three breaths, there was nothing left.

No corpse. No bones. No blood. Not even a strand of hair remained behind.

It was as though Li Mingzhe had never existed.

"Hak!"

Someone immediately vomited from the shock.

The sight was simply too grotesque.

A middle-aged merchant lost all color in his face and collapsed onto the ground.

Several women covered their mouths in horror while others turned away, unable to continue watching.

The crowd retreated even farther. Fear was now clearly visible in everyone’s eyes.

Their gazes toward Lin Feng had completely changed.

Moments ago, many had viewed him as merely an exceptionally handsome young man.

Now they looked at him as if he were some terrifying existence wearing human skin.

No one dared approach him. No one dared accuse him anymore.

Even breathing too loudly felt dangerous.

The entire marketplace fell into an eerie silence as hundreds of people stared at Lin Feng with trembling hearts, wondering what kind of monster they had just witnessed.

What the people did not know was that Lin Feng still held firmly to his principle of avoiding unnecessary killing.

In his eyes, taking a life was never the first solution to a problem.

There were countless ways to punish evil, countless ways to make a person pay for their crimes.

Murder was always his final and last resort, reserved only for those beyond redemption.

That, however, did not mean he lacked methods to deliver justice.

Far away, in a place none of the spectators could possibly imagine, the so-called Great Pill Master Li Mingzhe would soon come to realize that death was not the only punishment in existence.

His body had already been sent elsewhere. He was still alive of course.

There, he would soon become acquainted with a certain enormously fat man who possessed a particularly unpleasant interest in tormenting wicked souls.

A big fatty would be pleased with a new toy to play with.

Li Mingzhe’s future promised to be long, humiliating, and utterly miserable.

As far as Lin Feng was concerned, true justice had been served.

"A good deed for one day. This much is enough for me."

Lin Feng smiled faintly to himself before turning his attention elsewhere.

His gaze landed on the fallen figure of Old Man Zhao.

The elderly man was still lying motionless on the ground.

Immediately, panic spread through the crowd.

"Quick! Stop him! He’s going to do something to Old Man Zhao’s corpse too!"

"I think he’s destroying all the evidence!"

"Don’t let him move!"

The crowd shouted loudly, but their actions completely contradicted their words.

Not a single person stepped forward. Not one. Everyone remained rooted to their positions.

Some even took another step backward. The reason was simple.

Only a fool would believe that Lin Feng was an ordinary man without cultivation.

Everything about him screamed the opposite.

His appearance alone was enough to make countless young masters feel inferior.

His bearing was calm and noble, as though the entire world was beneath his notice.

Most importantly, he was accompanied by an astonishing number of breathtaking women, each possessing beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.

Such women would never willingly follow a nobody.

In the minds of the crowd, Lin Feng could only be the descendant of some ancient and unimaginably powerful clan.

Perhaps he was the young master of a hidden family.

Perhaps he was the disciple of a supreme expert.

Or perhaps he was an old monster who had cultivated for countless years and merely maintained the appearance of a young man.

Whatever the truth was, nobody dared test it.

After all, the respected Pill Master Li Mingzhe had disappeared before their very eyes without leaving behind even a trace.

If such a fate could befall someone of his status, what chance did ordinary cultivators like them have?

The crowd could do nothing except watch nervously as Lin Feng approached Old Man Zhao, wondering what he intended to do next.

Lin Feng did not make any grand gestures.

He simply walked over to the motionless Old Man Zhao and leaned closer to the old man’s ear.

"Get up. Your reward is waiting for you."

Lin Feng’s voice was barely above a whisper, yet everyone in the marketplace heard it clearly.

The crowd looked at one another in confusion. Had this young man finally gone mad?