In truth, Xiao Lanqi hadn’t cared at all about what those two humans had been asking. He’d simply been annoyed by the old woman’s rampant laughter and found her unbearable to look at, so he decided to show himself and give her a scare.
Having followed Lin Jin, Xiao Lanqi had practically witnessed the entire affair, yet he still couldn’t understand how those two fools from Yanyu Mountain had managed to turn such a simple matter into something so complicated. Human cultivators were always like this—hypocritical, obsessed with twisting simple things into knots, inventing endless rules that ruined all the fun, to the point where they could even be trampled on without daring to retaliate.
Xiao Lanqi had no patience for such nonsense.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. A flash of light passed through them, and the dry straw beneath the old woman’s feet suddenly ignited in blue-green flames, licking up the hem of her skirt.
She screamed in shock, frantically beating at the fire, writhing in utter disgrace.
Xiao Lanqi curled his lips faintly.
“I’m not like those sanctimonious human cultivators. Killing a mortal is as easy for me as crushing an ant. You can either confess obediently or be burned by this Azure Cloud Fire until your soul is reduced to nothing. Choose.”
In truth, Xiao Lanqi was bluffing.
What he said was true—he didn’t care about mortal lives—but there was still that damned beast-taming contract between him and Lin Jin. If he killed someone against Lin Jin’s will, Lin Jin would know immediately. And given Lin Jin’s nagging nature, that would be far more troublesome.
Just thinking about Lin Jin’s endless lectures made Xiao Lanqi irritable. Unbeknownst to him, his increasingly sour expression nearly scared the madam out of her wits.
She had never seen a green-eyed monster that could turn from a dog into a man and summon fire. And he sounded deadly serious—he really would kill her!
Terrified out of her mind, she broke down completely, crying with snot and tears everywhere.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk, alright?! Please put out the fire—put it out first!”
Xiao Lanqi finally felt a bit better. He lifted the corner of his mouth and magnanimously withdrew the flames. But just as the madam was about to confess, he impatiently waved a hand.
“Shut up. I’m not interested. Wait until those three humans come back—tell it to the one in green…”
He’d originally wanted to say “that idiot in green,” but on second thought, that guy had shown some courage these past two days and wasn’t entirely useless. Feeling unusually generous, Xiao Lanqi decided to retract that insult.
Still, calling him just “that guy” didn’t properly convey his disdain. After a brief pause, he amended,
“Tell it to that scrawny monkey in green.”
—
The “scrawny monkey in green” knew nothing of his new nickname. He was still running for his life.
Those burly men really were after him. Lin Jin pushed himself to the fastest speed of his life, his throat burning raw, but the distance between him and the shadow guards continued to shrink.
His legs finally gave out when he turned into a dead-end alley. Exhausted in body and mind, he collapsed face-first onto the ground.
He gasped heavily for breath, his nose filled with dust and the metallic smell of blood. He watched helplessly as the shadow guards closed in. Just as one of them was about to reach him, a thunderous boom echoed from the sky. A crude iron sword slammed into the ground with a clang, the shockwave forcing the guard several steps back.
“Are you stupid?! Didn’t you buy magical tools and talismans before coming? Why didn’t you use them?!”
Lin Jin struggled to push himself up, coughing twice.
“The teacher said we can’t use those on mortals.”
“You’re about to die—who cares if they’re mortals or not?!” Han Ao swore furiously. But when he caught sight of Liu Fuxin out of the corner of his eye, he immediately reined in his expression and returned to his usual, presentable self.
Lin Jin couldn’t even be bothered to look at him. With both heavy hitters now present, he felt much more secure. He dusted off his clothes and was about to say something when he suddenly glimpsed a flash of cold light flying toward Han Ao’s face.
“Watch out!”
Han Ao had been checking whether Lin Jin was missing any limbs. Hearing the shout, he turned just in time to see a hidden arrow streaking straight toward his right eye.
His heart leapt, and he froze, unable to react.
The glint of steel grew larger and larger in his vision. At the critical moment, a faint fragrance like night-blooming cereus drifted past. A slender, pale arm appeared before him, catching the arrow in midair.
Han Ao froze. Following the arrow, he saw Liu Fuxin’s pure white robes flutter gently in the breeze. She lowered her gaze slightly, then her eyes sharpened. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the arrow back. It struck the ground less than an inch in front of the shadow guard’s foot—several times faster than before.
She flicked her sleeve lightly and reminded him in a gentle voice,
“Master Han, when facing enemies, always stay alert.”
“…Okay.”
Han Ao stared at her blankly for a long moment before responding in a small, dazed voice.
Lin Jin shut his eyes in despair and twisted Han Ao’s waist hard.
“Could you stop acting so worthless?”
Han Ao yelped in pain, then quickly put on a nothing’s-wrong expression when Liu Fuxin looked over.
Lin Jin felt a headache coming on. He sighed inwardly, then raised his gaze to the shadow guards now forming a circle around them.
“I’ve only come to Zhongyun City to handle a few matters. I don’t know which important figure I might have offended to make you heroes chase me here. Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding. Might I ask to sit down and speak calmly with the person behind you?”
The shadow guards remained stone-faced, offering no reply, but they also didn’t attack again.
Just as Lin Jin was puzzling over the situation, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind the guards:
“I told you to invite them back to the manor. When did I ever allow you to attack them on your own? Besides, they’re immortals. If you really fought them, do you think you’d survive? You’ve grown bold from being indulged too long—bunch of useless fools!”
At the sound of the voice, the shadow guards stepped aside, creating a path. The one who had fired the hidden arrow dropped to his knees with a thud. Then several voices rang out together:
“Greetings, Marquis!”
A marquis?
Lin Jin instantly thought of the old Marquis Qin, the one who had wanted to take Xu Dongsi as a concubine.
Was it him?
Frowning, Lin Jin stared straight at the slender figure approaching from behind the guards. When he finally saw the man’s face, he felt a flicker of surprise—but on reflection, everything made perfect sense.
It was an elderly man with a white beard, dressed in a long robe—the very same “Second Master” he had seen earlier at Zui Xian Tower.
“Go back and receive your punishment.”
The Second Master said coldly to the shadow guards. Then he looked at Lin Jin, his kindly smile returning, and said slowly,
“My young friend, we meet again.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152