Shi Chun was cautious around Duan Xiangmei, an outsider; Wu Jinliang could feel it—after the initial greetings, he hardly spoke in front of Duan Xiangmei, which wasn't hard to understand. After the introductions, he let Duan Xiangmei continue with her tasks.

After another walk outside the new house, Young Master Nan, having other matters to attend to, arranged a meal with Shi Chun before leaving.

Before leaving, he suggested Shi Chun keep a spirit pet in the mansion, basically saying that although the area was protected by a large protective charm, having something to guard the home wouldn't hurt. At the very least, it would be easier to be alerted if someone approached.

This suggestion implied that he thought Shi Chun's defensive capabilities were weak, and relying entirely on outsiders for protection was unreliable.

Then there was a discussion about how there is always more fish in the sea, and that a man shouldn't hang himself on one tree.

After sending Young Master Nan off, Shi Chun watched the departing vehicle and asked the person beside him, still somewhat puzzled, "Jinliang, what's this about there always being more fish in the sea? He seems to have said this to me several times before, always mentioning it—is there some deeper meaning?"

Wu Jinliang was curious, "Really? I'll ask him for you."

With the outsider gone, Shi Chun then asked about Xiang Laner's condition.

Wu Jinliang said that Xiang Laner was living in the house he had won; he had invited Xiang Laner to move over, but she declined.

Understanding the situation, Shi Chun said no more and called Wu Jinliang to join him in the quiet room inside the house used for cultivation.

Once they were isolated from outsiders, Shi Chun took out half of the twelve gourds.

Seeing the six big gourds, Wu Jinliang asked in curiosity, "Gourds? What are these for?"

He reached out to open one of the gourds to see what was inside.

"Don't open it without preparation; the contents shouldn't come into direct contact with the outside," Shi Chun said, stopping him with a hand.

He then demonstrated himself, sealing the mouth of the gourd before opening it, then, using a spell, he extracted some material suspended between illusion and reality from the gourd and directed it straight at Wu Jinliang.

To help him understand quickly, Shi Chun explained every step as he performed it.

Finally, pointing two fingers at Wu Jinliang, he said one word, "Freeze," and Wu Jinliang's curious face suddenly changed, and he was instantly immobilized.

However, he knew how to break the immobilization, and it wasn't long before he regained his freedom, exclaiming in surprise, "What happened?"

The items were meant for him, as Shi Chun needed powerful allies; by increasing his ally's strength, he was also helping himself. Thus, he did not hide anything, sharing the origin of the gourds with him and teaching him how to perform the immobilization skill.

Then he cautioned him about the dosage, pointing with his thumbnail, "About this much of it, approximately enough for a third-grade immobilization charm, should be enough to immobilize someone of High Martial cultivation."

Wu Jinliang was eager to try it immediately, and it was very successful—he managed to immobilize himself on his first attempt. After breaking free, he marveled, "This skill is so useful, much stronger than an immobilization charm. Introducing a charm makes people wary and cautious, but this skill catches them completely off guard. Chun Tian, how did you come up with this?"

Shi Chun replied, "It wasn't my idea. It's from the battle between Bian Que and the man in green—it was something Bian Que learned from him."

Wu Jinliang hummed in acknowledgment, then joyfully picked up a gourd and kissed it, "Good boy, this pot must be worth countless third-grade immobilization charms. Can a whole pot be considered as potent as a Fourth Grade?"

Shi Chun shook his head, "I don't know, I've never seen what a Fourth Grade immobilization charm looks like, we don't have exact measurements for ingredients, and it's not a good idea to ask too much from Weiying for now."

Speaking of quantity, Wu Jinliang frowned, "Chun Tian, I don't have your superpower of vision. I won't be able to see how much is left in the pot later on—the contents have no weight and could run out without me knowing. If something really happens, it would be troublesome if I ended up empty-handed."

Shi Chun thought for a moment, then took out a few sheets of discarded charm papers, opened each gourd mouth, threw a sheet into each, and then closed them up, "Use your spell to check the position of the charm papers."

Wu Jinliang promptly placed his hand on a gourd and checked with his spell—the charm papers were all floating near the mouth of the pot, and he understood the purpose, grinning, "Master, your wisdom shines through, such good stuff, truly excellent."

Without further ado, he collected all six gourds into his Qiankun Bag for future use...

Xiang Laner's house was in a good location as well, although it was a小 cottage, it was by a bustling lakeside.

The benefit was the nice view; the drawback was that it could be quite noisy.

After dusk, the road outside the courtyard wall was bustling, crowded with people, showing off worldly grandeur beyond words. Next to the road was a lake, dotted with many brightly illuminated flower boats.

Up in a building, where a window was pitch black, Xiang Laner leaned against it, watching the scene outside, silent.

Feng Chi, who was hidden in the shadows behind the window, rambled on, "Now, the higher-ups also think things are getting troublesome. Gong Shaoci's sudden appearance is tricky to handle, especially with experts protecting him, making underhand moves difficult. Lan Qiaoyan seems quite fond of this future son-in-law.

However, Miao Dingyi appears to be quite positive about Shi Chun. At the Sky Rain Meteor Conference betting pools, he actually placed bets in advance on Shi Chun winning first place—he seemed to have already determined that Shi Chun would take first place, otherwise, why bet on Shi Chun? Doesn't he know many people from famous sects? Why bet specifically on Shi Chun?

But that doesn't necessarily mean anything, appreciating someone and having them as a son-in-law are two different things. Of course, these are all irrelevant, the main thing is who Miao Yilan likes. If Miao Yilan insists on being with Shi Chun, it would be tough for Miao Dingyi and others to stop her, so the key issue is for Shi Chun to dare to pursue her. Miss, since he said he likes you, you need to find a way to encourage him to pursue you."

She had now changed her appearance, concealing her grace and assuming the identity of a common woman, someone Xiang Laner had found in the capital to look after her own needs.

Xiang Laner seemed distracted, speaking softly, "That kind of man, the skills he displayed at the West Pole, I saw how he treats women—he never truly likes or dislikes anyone. I don't believe such a person would be swayed by emotions. He might appreciate beauty, but I don't believe he would be influenced by it.

Does he lack beauty now? Just look at Wu Jinliang, surrounded by beauties on all sides.

He is not Bian Weikang, and when my tricks of seduction were played against Bian Weikang, he clearly saw them all from the side. How ridiculous would it be for me to try the same with him again? I find it disgusting myself. Sometimes, I really don't understand what the higher-ups are thinking."

Feng Chi: "That's your imagination, your feelings. The higher-ups don't see it that way. Just answer me this, if he doesn't like you, why would he confess to you, why would he show that he likes you? Besides your person and your beauty, what else can you bring to him?"

Xiang Laner: "I don't know. I can't see what he really wants to do."

Feng Chi: "You're the one with reservations in your heart, seduce him in whatever way you need to. Who can guarantee that every member of the Demon Path is loyal? It's not necessary, for the higher-ups, whether he truly likes you or not doesn't matter. What matters is making him useful to us. Why are you so hung up on whether or not he truly likes you? You just need him to get the work done.

He has returned to the royal capital, and what we need to worry about now is whether he will come looking for you again. If he has really lost interest in you, you should know what our fate will be. The higher-ups now want to know why he helped Bian Weiyin take over Wukang Mountain."

As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled out a mother-child charm, delighted to see that it was a message from Shi Chun, asking if they were home.

Soon, after returning from a banquet, Shi Chun came to their door.

Clearly, he wanted to invite the two of them to live with him; if they didn't, he planned to shamelessly move in with them, the type that you couldn't drive away.

Although living in a mansion is nice, cultivation resources are better.

Afraid that these two members of the Demon Path might suddenly leave and lose contact with the Demon Path.

Fortunately, before he even brought it up, Feng Chi started to complain, mentioning how Xiang Laner, upon being seen by several men while coming and going, kept getting harassed.

Although it was just an excuse, if needed, those harassing men could immediately come to the door.

Xiang Laner found herself unable to deny the face-saving measures, so she had to take the initiative.

Shi Chun thought to himself, it's really absurd, assuming that the Demon Path members are afraid of a few lechers harassing them. You guys harassing others are the issue.

Of course, publicly he immediately climbed on the bandwagon, expressing outrage and insisting strongly that the two must move in with him.

Xiang Laner presented herself as reluctant and worried about the harassment, while Feng Chi immediately helped agree on her behalf.

Wu Jinliang, watching from the side, blinked in disbelief, wanting to scold the two women, frustrated that his own words hadn't worked, but with Shi Chun's few words, they agreed to move? The hypocrisy was infuriating.

Didn't they consider that wasn't his home? Whether his invitation held weight was debatable, but mainly now, as a renowned lecher, earning the title "King Kui," Xiang Laner herself was previously the top Oiran of the Cloud Building, naturally having to avoid any association with Wu Jinliang to stick close to Shi Chun.

Of course, agreeing to move was one thing, but the questions still needed to be asked. Xiang Laner inquired, "You running back to Wukang Mountain, helping Bian Weiyin take control of Wukang Mountain, what's that all about?"

Shi Chun, anticipating this question, surprisingly asked, "Don't you want to control Wukang Mountain?"

"…" Xiang Laner and Feng Chi both paused, seeming to understand something.

Xiang Laner followed up, "For this, you didn't hesitate to use a promise given to you by Wei Mo?"

It wasn't a secret anymore. Once Wei Mo's pledge became known, naturally, people asked what it was about.

Although Wei Mo wouldn't explain it to everyone, he did explain to some, revealing that initially to honor Shi Chun's contributions to Sheng Province at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, he had given Shi Chun a promise. It was Shi Chun who found Wei Mo for Wukang Mountain.

The result was that Shi Chun, for Wukang Mountain, actually gave up the future promised by Wei Mo, thus the Wei Mo pledge hung over Wukang Mountain, backing it up.

Shi Chun, still looking puzzled, said, "Don't you want to control Wukang Mountain? Don't you like what I did?"

Whether he could really maintain control was uncertain. If the Demon Path truly wanted him to take an active role in controlling, he would definitely make Bian Weiyin reject him.

Of course, those were problems for later. For now, he definitely said all this, everything he did was for Xiang Laner.

Temporarily reducing any trouble the Demon Path might cause for Bian Weiyin was beneficial. After all, he had decided to stick with the Demon Path, even giving up the future Wei Mo had offered him.

Wu Jinliang, with his bushy eyebrows, seemed to understand as he began to chuckle mischievously at the side.

His chuckle was magical, able to express various effects appropriate for different scenes. This time it meant, "I've got your back, brother."

In reality, he couldn't help but laugh, realizing the Master was truly shameless. How could he say such things?

"…" Xiang Laner and Feng Chi were both stunned.

After all this trouble, it turned out he was quietly making sacrifices for the Holy Daughter, winning her favor.

And he turned the lost cause of Wukang Mountain around? Feng Chi's eyes truly lit up, knowing well that once reported upstairs, his usefulness would definitely be valued even more.

Xiang Laner, however, arrogantly turned her head aside, showing an unconvinced expression.

In reality, she, the most skeptical among them, was the most confused inside. There was no helping it; she truly felt his kindness toward her.

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