He had carefully examined the traces and deduced that the thief's cultivation level should be at the Golden Core stage, which filled him with anger.
Moreover, he had scattered poison in his cave abode, so he followed the trail and found the thief.
With the help of the poison's trail, he immediately confirmed that it was the other party's doing the moment he looked at Chen Fanzhuo. His eyes couldn't help but reveal a cold glint and he was about to walk over.
However… at that moment, Chen Fanzhuo was at the entrance of Xu Qing's apothecary.
The old man's peripheral vision swept past Chen Fanzhuo. At the same time, he instinctively glanced at the scene in the apothecary.
There, he saw an ugly girl and an expressionless youth.
The instant he saw this youth, the old man's eyes narrowed and he suddenly stopped in his tracks. His body gradually shivered uncontrollably and waves of emotions surged in his heart.
"Wha, wha, what…"
"It's him!"
"He's actually here!!"
The old man's breathing was hurried. It was as though a powerful lightning had exploded in his mind and it continued to rumble. He felt like his soul was about to leave his body.
His fear of Xu Qing had reached the extreme. Back then, Xu Qing's terrifying combat strength caused him to have lingering fears every time he thought of it.
Moreover, he had already judged the other party to be an old monster with a higher cultivation base than his. In addition, Xu Qing's sharp perception was also the reason why the old man was frightened.
Coupled with the ineffectiveness of his poison, he felt a boundless threat to his life at this moment.
The most important thing was that he came here with his main body!
Chen Fanzhuo was also as horrified as him. He had paid a considerable price to rob a cave abode some time ago.
The cave seemed abandoned for a long time, and he found many valuable items inside. After taking those items, he felt a mix of fear and anxiety. However, after observing for a while, he realized that no one came to investigate or track him down.
Hence, he had relaxed a little. After that, he sensed that he had been poisoned, so he came to the apothecary.
Earlier, when he heard Xu Qing telling him that he had been tracked and locked onto, he already felt that something was amiss.
Now that he had personally seen the main character, the fluctuations of the other party's Nascent Soul caused him to fall into extreme fear. In fact, he seemed to be frozen in place. He could only stand there under the huge pressure and tremble. His body swayed as he barely spoke.
"Senior, calm down. I know my mistake… All the items are still here…"
However, his words were useless. The old man also didn't dare to move.
The old man no longer cared about the small matter of the cave abode being stolen.
Right now, what he was thinking about was how he could survive.
This scene looked bizarre from afar. Chen Fanzhuo looked at the old man in horror and the old man looked ahead in horror. The two of them didn't dare to lift their feet.
In an instant, the scene fell silent.
The old man didn't speak and Chen Fanzhuo's fear grew even more intense. Xu Qing didn't speak and the old man's fear was surging like waves in the sea.
In this life-and-death crisis, the old man's mind raced as he rapidly analyzed.
'This is an apothecary. That ugly girl is the source of the fragrance. The attire she's wearing clearly indicates she's an assistant. This is the old monster's apothecary!'
'Since that Golden Core thief is so frightened, it means that he's not the old monster's person. There's a high chance that he doesn't know the cultivation of the old monster.'
'It must be because the old monster doesn't want to be exposed. In that case, why is he hiding here?'
'Because he has some mysterious plan!'
'My appearance and performance might indirectly expose this old monster's cultivation and affect his mysterious arrangements. In that case, he will definitely vent his anger on me.'
'If I turn around and escape, the same outcome will happen!'
'I can't beat him or escape…'
The old man's heart was extremely conflicted. When he was in a dilemma, his eyes turned red.
As Chen Fanzhuo's heart trembled even more, the old man gritted his teeth and took a step forward. The expression on his face instantly turned from solemn to ecstatic as he shouted excitedly.
"Benefactor, you're here too?"
Chen Fanzhuo was stunned.