Chapter 232

Chapter 232

At the moment Shen Jizhi, Wen Jiu, and Yin Yusheng pulled out their tokens, the third brother seemed to realize something, his face turning ashen.

These five people—were they actually disciples of the Jade Clarity Sect?!

They wouldn’t let him go, they wouldn’t let him go.

The people of the Jade Clarity Sect were all lunatics. Rumors had it that falling into their hands made even death seem like a luxury.

Thinking of this, an overwhelming sense of panic spread through his entire body. Despite having his limbs crippled, the third brother suddenly puffed up his cheeks. Almost the instant Jian Huan and the others turned to look at him, he opened his mouth, sending a spray of bloodied teeth flying toward the five of them.

As everyone dodged, the spirit pig—who had just traded a head for a piece of spirit paste but had only gotten two bites and was still craving more—lit up with excitement!

Its four short legs sprang off the ground, not giving Jian Huan and the others any chance to retaliate. It quickly plopped down, crushing the third brother to death.

The spirit pig was visibly thrilled. It dragged the flattened body of the third brother over to the silent Yang Ye, grunting and squealing as if seeking praise.

Yang Ye: “…”

Yang Ye silently handed over another piece of spirit paste.

He miscalculated. He should’ve just taken the hit from the teeth and finished off the third brother himself. That way, he could’ve saved a piece of spirit paste.

This pig was too cunning.

……

Jian Huan and the others returned to the clearing where they had first entered the secret realm.

This place, being the starting point, was usually avoided by demonic beasts. Injured cultivators would rest here, waiting for the exit to open.

The three survivors from the Wind Blade Gate were here as well. When they saw Jian Huan and the others, they quickly stood up and ran over to greet them: “Honored ones!”

Yang Ye gave the spirit pig a look, and it waddled over, dropping the corpse in front of the three Wind Blade Gate disciples.

For a moment, the three of them were overcome with mixed emotions, looking at each other with both joy and sorrow, almost unable to speak.

The scar-faced cultivator took a deep breath, bowed deeply, and said with great emotion, “Thank you, honored ones, for avenging our fellow disciples! If you do not mind, once we leave the secret realm, please visit the Wind Blade Gate for a few days. We will surely treat you well!”

“We’ll see. We might not have the time,” Jian Huan said, holding up the dozen or so Mustard Seed Pouches they had confiscated. “Take a look and see which ones are yours.”

The three of them sorted through the pouches, picking out the ten that belonged to the Wind Blade Gate.

They carefully placed the pouches of their seven fallen fellow disciples in their arms and handed their own pouches to Jian Huan.

Jian Huan: “?”

The almond-eyed female cultivator explained, “There’s not much inside, just some spirit herbs we gathered over the past few days and a few demonic beasts we killed. Please don’t think poorly of it.”

Jian Huan nodded, understanding their intention.

She opened the three pouches, rummaged through them, and took out exactly 2,300 spirit stones. Then she returned the pouches and their contents: “No need. We agreed on 2,300, so 2,300 it is.”

The almond-eyed female cultivator was taken aback: “But…”

“No buts,” Jian Huan interrupted with a smile. “We should be thanking you three. If we hadn’t met you, we wouldn’t have gained so much.”

The Mustard Seed Pouches of those three brothers were filled with treasures!

Plus, the demon core of the Wolf King and the Silver Trace Grass—once sold, the spirit stones they’d split would be no small sum.

Once they returned, they could start building the main house. Hehe.

Jian Huan was ecstatic.

Behind her, at the entrance to the dense forest, Shen Jizhi leaned against a tree trunk, his snow sword half-cradled in his arms. His expression was calm, and he didn’t urge them to hurry.

But Jian Huan could sense a hint of impatience from him.

Not wanting to linger, she bid farewell: “We have urgent matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave now. Take care, everyone.”

The three Wind Blade Gate disciples quickly clasped their fists: “Take care, honored ones!”

Jian Huan exchanged a glance with Yin Yusheng and the others, then swiftly departed, soon disappearing from sight.

The three Wind Blade Gate disciples were left staring blankly in the direction they had gone.

The Wolf King had been slain, and the Silver Trace Grass had been harvested. There shouldn’t be anything better left in this secret realm.

What urgent matters could these five honored ones still have?

The Wolf King’s lair was hidden behind a secluded cliff.

It was also autumn in the secret realm, and the afternoon sun was blazing, casting the scattered red maple trees in a fiery glow.

The pungent smell of blood filled the air, and the ground was splattered with blood and the shattered bones of Three-Eyed Mystic Wolves.

The three brothers had picked through the remains, but they had only taken the more intact corpses, leaving the fragments behind.

Jian Huan and her group arrived in a hurry and immediately began scavenging.

The five of them worked at an astonishing speed, with Shen Jizhi even leaving afterimages as he moved.

Near the cliff, two cultivators slowly approached.

The taller one asked, “Are you sure it’s this way?”

The shorter one nodded: “The sounds of fighting last night seemed to come from this direction.”

The taller one: “Let’s take a look. We can’t leave this secret realm empty-handed.”

The shorter one: “It’s really bad luck! Those five people looked impressive, but they didn’t leave even a single wolf hair for us!”

The taller one: “We misjudged them. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Forget it, let’s not follow them. There’s a lot of commotion here, so there must be something good to scavenge—”

As they rounded the cliff, the taller one’s eyes widened, and he swallowed the words he was about to say.

Heavens!

Why were those five people here too?!

Jian Huan tossed a wolf bone into the sack she was holding. Hearing the noise, she turned around sharply, her gaze landing on the two unexpected visitors.

The two men, faced with the eerie, ghostly stares of the five and the spirit pig baring its teeth at them, felt their hearts skip a beat. They immediately turned and ran.

Jian Huan was slightly surprised: “Who were those two?”

Shen Jizhi, his hands moving rapidly as he scavenged wolf bones and fur, replied indifferently, “Secret realm freeloaders.”

As someone who had transmigrated into this world and wasn’t native to the Nine Provinces, Jian Huan wasn’t familiar with some of the common knowledge: “Secret realm freeloaders?”

“Yes,” Shen Jizhi said without looking up. “Low-level Qi Refining cultivators who are short on money will enter low-level secret realms and scavenge behind others.”

“I see,” Jian Huan nodded, then suddenly had an idea. She paused her movements and called out to him, “Shen Jizhi.”

Shen Jizhi pried a wolf tooth out of the dirt, blew off the soil, and tossed it into the heavy sack, his movements smooth and practiced, as if he had done this many times before: “What is it?”

Jian Huan had been suspicious for a while now.

Before Yang Ye joined the Jade Clarity Sect, he often went into secret realms.

But Yang Ye wasn’t as fast as Shen Jizhi at scavenging.

Not only was Shen Jizhi fast, but he could also find fragments that others had missed.

Jian Huan, who had been squatting on the ground, took a step closer to Shen Jizhi. She lifted the hem of her skirt, her eyes shining with curiosity: “Did you used to be a secret realm freeloader?”

Shen Jizhi nodded.

Freeloading in secret realms was generally looked down upon and wasn’t something to be proud of.

He stood up, holding the sack.

The lair was right next to them, and he was about to enter when his gaze inadvertently fell on Jian Huan.

She was smiling, her expression carrying a hint of—

Admiration?

The two of them walked into the lair together, Jian Huan scavenging as she spoke: “To be honest, I’ve been worried that you wouldn’t be able to pay back the debt you owe me within three years.”

Shen Jizhi: “.”

Jian Huan glanced at his hands, which should have been used for playing the qin, chess, calligraphy, or painting, and felt satisfied: “But now, I think there’s a good chance you’ll manage it.”

Shen Jizhi replied flatly, “Is that so.”

Outside the lair, Wen Jiu was about to enter when Yin Yusheng stopped her: “Let’s scavenge out here.”

Wen Jiu looked slightly puzzled.

Yin Yusheng smiled: “Those two have been with us for the past few days. Let them have some time alone.”

Wen Jiu suddenly understood, her face flushing as she moved to another area to scavenge.

Inside the lair, unaware of the little scene outside, the two of them continued their casual conversation.

Of course, it was mostly Jian Huan asking questions.

“But speaking of which, why are you so willing to help your master pay off his debt?” If it were her, she’d rather leave the sect.

Shen Jizhi paused slightly, lowering his eyes as he replied evasively, “My master saved my life.”

“But my grandfather also saved your life…” Jian Huan trailed off, then suddenly turned her head: “Wait a minute, Shen Jizhi. Both of them saved your life, so why are you only paying me back 100,000 while you’re helping your master pay over two million?”

Isn’t that a bit of a big difference?

Shen Jizhi silently glanced at her.

Wasn’t that her own suggestion? Did she expect him to say that 100,000 wasn’t enough and that he should pay more?

He wasn’t crazy.

Jian Huan also belatedly realized this.

But the reason she had mentioned 100,000 spirit stones was because, in the original story, he himself had said he would repay 100,000. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time—how could she have known that he was helping his master repay two million?

“No,” Jian Huan said. “This isn’t fair. I want to raise the price!”

“?” Shen Jizhi responded. “That’s not how it works. What’s agreed upon is agreed upon.”

“Why not?” Jian Huan threw the bone in her hand fiercely into the bag, producing a sharp clatter. “I feel very unbalanced right now.”

“It was my master who saved my life, who brought me into the Jade Clarity Sect, and who asked me to repay the debt as gratitude for his care and upbringing,” Shen Jizhi said calmly. “It was your grandfather who saved my life, and he asked me to marry you as repayment for that life-saving favor.”

Shen Jizhi raised his eyes, his gaze resting quietly on her. “So, if you want to raise the price, are you suggesting we get married?”

“You…” Jian Huan choked.

His gaze was calm, but somehow, it made Jian Huan feel a sense of pressure.

Though she was crouched in the cave, it felt as if she were submerged at the bottom of a lake, struggling to breathe.

Jian Huan quickly averted her eyes, focusing on her own thoughts. “But didn’t you say yourself that you’re devoted to the Dao and have no intention of marrying? Since you don’t want to marry, of course, the price should be raised. I’m not being greedy—how about one hundred… no, fifty thousand?”

“I did say that,” Shen Jizhi replied, his gaze shifting back to the blood-stained wolf fur in his hand. He closed his palm, slowly tightening his grip on the fur. “But on second thought, marrying you would erase the debt between us. You’re a dual-spirit talisman cultivator. You can earn money by drawing talismans, and you’ve already saved up tens of thousands. In the future…”

He trailed off, his voice soft. “You won’t be short on money, and I… don’t seem to be at a loss either.”

Damn!

Jian Huan’s heart skipped a beat, and a herd of ten thousand alpacas stampeded through her mind.

The scales had unknowingly tipped.

His offer of 100,000 spirit stones was based on his refusal to marry and his affection for the female lead.

But now, the plot had completely changed.

After learning about her engagement to Shen Jizhi, Jiang Qiaoqiao had left the Jade Clarity Sect and gone on a journey with Jing Chi. With the male and female leads together, their relationship was bound to develop rapidly.

And this original antagonist, damn it, was now hanging out with her.

What he said made sense too. Jian Huan also felt she had great potential to earn money.

Look, she now had land, her cultivation was steadily improving, and her savings were gradually growing.

Shen Jizhi was good-looking, but he had too much debt and the risk of turning into a demon.

Jian Huan had been a staunch advocate of staying single in her modern life, let alone in the cultivation world?

She exhaled imperceptibly and smiled sweetly. “How could I not be short on money? Look, buying talismans costs money, talisman brushes cost money—everything costs money. And talisman cultivators only make money by selling talismans. You sword cultivators have it better. You can take on missions later, land big contracts, and earn money much faster than me. For you sword cultivators, the rewards come later.”

“Forget it, forget it. We’ve been through life and death together these past days, so we’re friends now. I won’t raise the price.” Jian Huan handed the wolf leg in her hand to Shen Jizhi, her smile sweet. “Let’s keep things as they were before—still 100,000, okay?”

Shen Jizhi’s face was tense as he took the wolf leg. After a moment, he reluctantly let out a soft “Hmm.”

Jian Huan breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her burlap sack, and went to the other side to gather more.

Good heavens, this topic must not be brought up again. She couldn’t provoke him.

Shen Jizhi placed the wolf leg into his sack and, after a while, allowed a faint smile to curl his lips.