However, to his surprise, the shabby old man pointed at Xiang Laner and said, "This little lady, I've seen her at the Cloud Building too. Seems like she's in cahoots with that old madame. Young man, not bad, at such a young age you dare to boldly confront the Demon Path. Very good, very good, I really admire you. Think she's too pretty to lay a hand on? Come, let me handle it."

He gestured with his hands, signaling that Xiang Laner should be brought over.

Seen at the Cloud Building? Xiang Laner was nervous yet also very puzzled; this honorable person appearing at the Cloud Building was definitely not something she could forget.

However, Shi Chun was overjoyed, it seemed that the old man hadn't heard their earlier conversation, and he immediately squeezed out a flattering smile, "Senior, you've misunderstood. I am an upright gentleman, lustful yet decent. The reason I kept her is to thoroughly investigate her background, to dig to the root, not for anything else. Keeping her alive still serves a great purpose, it would be a pity to kill her right away."

The shabby old man took another swig of alcohol and waved his hand nonchalantly, "Fine, you dig to the root. I'll go check on that one from earlier, make sure she doesn't escape."

After finishing his words, he vanished into the woods with a flash, followed by sounds of surprise, "She really ran? Think she can escape? Not so easy."

His figure flickered in the mist before disappearing without a trace.

Shi Chun immediately removed the large knife from Xiang Laner's neck, slapping it on Wu Jinliang's face who lay on the ground behind him, "Jinliang, Jinliang."

Yet, the short blade in his hand didn't move away from Xiang Laner, still remaining alert.

Had he not slapped Wu Jinliang's face, it might have been fine; but after two slaps, Wu Jinliang actually started snoring, a small delicate snore, seeming to sleep quite sweetly.

Hey, Shi Chun felt a mix of anger and amusement. In such a tense situation, I was almost scared out of my wits, and you still managed to sleep?

There was no more time to delay, he immediately kicked him twice, hard.

"Hmm?" Wu Jinliang suddenly opened his eyes and seemed to remember something, abruptly leaping up and grabbing the large knife, looking around, he asked, "Chun Tian, where's that old madame?"

Shi Chun responded, "Quit the chatter, hurry up and pick up the banknotes and let's leave."

Upon hearing about picking up money, Wu Jinliang's gaze swept around, and he immediately spotted the scattered target; he rushed to quickly pick up the scattered banknotes.

Throughout this process, Shi Chun continued to hold Xiang Laner hostage, vigilantly watching their surroundings, afraid of deceit, wondering if the scene just now was a trick played by the Demon Path to rescue someone.

This time Xiang Laner cooperated quite well; even though she could speak now, she didn't make a sound, allowing Shi Chun to command her.

Suddenly seeing Wu Jinliang cleaning up the ground and trying to check the masked corpses pinned on the trees, Shi Chun immediately scolded, "We don't have time, hurry up, pick up Bian Weikang and let's go."

Though Wu Jinliang didn't understand the situation, knowing that the Master said this must have its reasons, he immediately abandoned his plan, quickly moved, picked up Bian Weikang, then followed behind Shi Chun in a frantic run.

The two of them desperately fled through the woods.

For Shi Chun, running was the only option. That old man was clearly set on eliminating demons, and he was a demon. What if Feng Chi got caught and exposed him? Running away was still the safest option.

Running and running, running for a long time, he himself didn't know how far he had escaped, but in the end, he simply couldn't run anymore.

"Chun Tian, I can't do this anymore, let's rest, let's just rest for a while, I really can't run another step."

Wu Jinliang, not caring whether Shi Chun agreed, dropped the large knife and Bian Weikang and carelessly collapsed on the ground, panting like a bull, his clothes soaked with sweat.

There was no other way. His knife could easily weigh as much as two or three men, and with Bian Weikang as well, he was indeed exhausted.

Along the way, Shi Chun tried to lighten his load by offering to take Bian Weikang from him, but he just asked to switch for something lighter, wanting to give Bian Weikang to Shi Chun and carry Xiang Laner himself.

Alright, Shi Chun immediately understood what he was trying to do and felt he shouldn't have been so kind, letting him continue carrying Bian Weikang.

It wasn't that Shi Chun wasn't considerate of his brother, but he couldn't let Wu Jinliang play around with this woman. If he angered this lady, everything else would be ruined too.

A heavily breathing Shi Chun also set down Xiang Laner, walked over to Wu Jinliang, and sat down with a plop, patting his belly, "The money, count it."

Speaking of money, even though he was out of breath and exhausted, Wu Jinliang regained his spirit, widened his eyes, took a few deep breaths, propped himself up and sat up, then panted like a dog, pulling out the banknotes from his chest.

Shi Chun grabbed them immediately, then pushed him back down to the ground to rest, but Wu Jinliang persistently propped himself up again, his head moving close, insisting on counting the money with Shi Chun.

Neither of them had ever seen such banknotes, only seeing complex patterns with words stating 'can withdraw fifty thousand Sandalwood Gold,' totaling four notes, meaning they were worth two hundred thousand gold.

Both uneducated, they had never expected Cen Futong to bring such banknotes for a cash-for-goods trade; outside the Cloud Building, they had seen real money worth five hundred thousand gold. If it weren't for this unexpected incident, under normal trading circumstances, they really couldn't tell the authenticity of these banknotes.

Luckily, these were found by Feng Chi, who definitely knew how to tell real from fake. Feng Chi didn't express any doubt, so they must be genuine.

That's better, certainly easier than carrying a pile of Sandalwood Gold.

The problem was how to divide it. Shi Chun glanced at Wu Jinliang who was eagerly looking on. According to what they had agreed earlier, giving Wu Jinliang twenty thousand gold would be enough, but all the notes were of fifty thousand gold face value.

He took out a note and told Wu Jinliang, "This is for paying back debts."

Wu Jinliang understood his meaning and nodded continuously as he returned the 50,000 gold to Miss Miao, "Of course."

Shi Chun took out a second note and said, "Half of this one goes to them."

Wu Jinliang knew exactly whom "them" referred to—Dong and his ilk, who squandered others' money on food, drink, and play. Having already promised 10,000 gold each as a helping fee, 25,000 gold in total was only appropriate, so he nodded in agreement.

For the last two notes, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang split them, one each.

Wu Jinliang, holding the note, found it hard to believe, even stopped breathing for a moment, and asked, "All 50,000 gold for me?"

He'd only invested 6,000 gold; with the agreed-upon double return, 12,000 gold would have sufficed. To suddenly receive 50,000, he felt surreal.

Shi Chun asked, "Is that generous enough?"

If he hadn't discovered that he was a person of the Demon Path himself, he really wouldn't have divided so much money to Wu Jinliang so suddenly. It wasn't about being stingy, but as a Master, giving benefits also had to be methodical. For example, outside Cloud Building, Wu Jinliang didn't trust him at first and was clutching the bag unwilling to invest. How should he have been taught then?

Now, he gave so much purely as compensation for the guilt he felt towards the almost non-human Wu Jinliang.

With a smile that nearly split his face, Wu Jinliang exclaimed, "Enough, enough, enough. Master, you're beyond reproach, brother will follow you to the death."

He kissed the notes several times, then happily stuffed them into his newly bought money pouch, patted his chest with a satisfied look of fulfillment, as if he could run another 30,000 li.

Shi Chun was also stuffing money into his money pouch.

Sitting under a tree, Xiang Laner watched the two guys cuddle their money like treasures, appearing inexperienced and naive, a look of disdain crossing her face as she said again, "Remove the restrictions binding me, and I promise to let bygones be bygones."

This wasn't the first time she'd said something similar, having repeated it several times during their escape.

The carry was quite embarrassing for her. Shi Chun carried her desperately, switching from left to right shoulder when tired, and tried running with her cradled in his arms or on his back; he had carried her by the thighs and even the buttocks, trying all sorts of postures repeatedly, making various intimate contacts between their bodies.

Especially her head and shoulders rubbing against his, the prolonged contact, where she felt his body temperature and breath, left a profound impression.

In essence, wherever Shi Chun's hands could and could not reach on her body, they grazed unintentionally.

Yet, Xiang Laner couldn't really complain, for she knew he only switched because he was tired and was trying to save her life by fleeing with her.

He actually saved her life when that old man wanted her dead—this despicable guy found a way to protect her, which was beyond her expectations.

He could have taken the opportunity to sever her neck to silence her, fulfill the old man's command, escape himself, and proceed to Wukang Mountain, even blaming the old man afterward.

But he didn't do that; he truly saved her life.

From the beginning, she dismissed the idea that the old man and Shi Chun were conspiring actors, excluding it in a way too embarrassing to mention. With their bodies pressed too tightly together during escape, she discerned subtle changes in Shi Chun's body.

She explicitly knew the physical reaction Shi Chun had when the old man suddenly struck; it wasn't an expression that could be performed on demand.

If not for the intimate physical contact at that moment, she could not have made such a judgment and would have to remain suspicious.

So, he saved her life and fled with her, and during their escape, some accidental frictions happened. What could she say?

All she could do along the way was repeatedly ask for him to let her go, but Shi Chun simply ignored her.

It wasn't hard to understand why—was he supposed to let her go and seek death? She naturally understood and, after the embarrassment and awkwardness, she somehow adapted.

Before these events, she was certain she would kill any man who dared to touch her improperly.

Afterward, she never imagined she'd get used to being touched by a man so quickly.

No matter how much she argued, it was useless. At this moment, Shi Chun simply glanced back at her and then ignored her; there was no way he would let her go.

Wu Jinliang, touching his money pouch, also glanced back. Having found an opportunity to speak during their escape, he said, "Tell me, Chun Tian, what exactly happened? We rushed off in such a hurry; I almost died running, and I still haven't caught my breath."

After thinking it over a bit, Shi Chun explained, "We stepped in shit; those two women from Cloud Building are from the Demon Path."

"Ah? Demon Path?" Wu Jinliang turned back sharply, re-examining Xiang Laner with a face full of disbelief.

"Demonic Qi attracted a shabbily-dressed old man passing by, who fought demons and defended the path, chased away Feng Chi. Using that chance, when he went after Feng Chi, I woke you, and we ran."

Shi Chun explained very simply.

Regrettably clapping his hands, Wu Jinliang said, "What a pity, I missed the spectacle of experts dueling. But wait, if the old man was fighting demons and defending the path, why did we run?"

Xiang Laner realized then that the foolish big fellow didn't know his partner was from the Demon Path. Watching Shi Chun, who was silently contemplating, she spoke again, "Let me go, and I will lead you into Wukang Mountain!"

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