Huang Yingying hesitated to speak and stealthily glanced at Bai Qiru. An old habit—when discussing serious matters in front of Bai Qiru, she always lacked room to speak. In fact, he was also puzzled by what the woman meant by her previous voluntary advance, which made him lose interest in brothels.

Bai Qiru glanced at the mice spirits behind her, aware that they had never seen much of the world, so she took on the questioning role: "What's the condition for being under the protection of the Qingqiu Fox Clan?"

Yin Xu counter-questioned: "Do you know Shi Chun?"

Bai Qiru felt slightly startled. By now, she had learned the true identities of Wang Ping and Gao He. The last time she was captured and interrogated about Shi Chun's whereabouts, it would be strange not to know.

She turned back to look at the group of mice spirits.

Most of them appeared utterly bewildered, but Huang Yingying tried to respond: "I've heard of him, some first place in the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, and also winning some Divine Fire Covenant thing—could it be that person?"

Yin Xu was unsure whether they were pretending to be confused. After pondering, he said: "After going to Qingqiu, tell them you're introduced by their old ancestor's friend Shi Chun; they will naturally protect you. Of course, the condition is that you have a good relationship with Shi Chun to use this name, otherwise, you'll just be courting trouble. Moreover, people from the Extreme Fire Sect are keeping an eye on the Xun Gate exit, so after going out, even if you don't go to Qingqiu, you should quickly find a safe place."

With those words, she finished speaking and disappeared in a flash, directly flying away.

If it weren't for the inability to contact Shi Chun, she indeed wouldn't have appeared, nor would she have spoken such words before confirming these people's relationship with Shi Chun.

That was already the limit of what she could do after appearing, and it was already quite out of line.

The group of mice spirits looked at each other in bewilderment, suddenly experiencing something like this, it was hard to understand. They believed they had no enmity with the Extreme Fire Sect.

Only Bai Qiru could make some sense of it. She had already taken out the Mother-child Talisman to confirm messages with Wu Jinliang.

The clan leader Jinfu suddenly asked: "Who is Shi Chun? Is any of you familiar with this woman? Isn't her goodwill a bit inexplicable?"

Bai Qiru was initially reluctant to speak up, but she also sensed the urgency of Yin Xu's sudden appearance, so she revealed: "Shi Chun is none other than the errand boy Wang Ping from Chao Yue Hall."

"..." Huang Yingying was instantly dumbfounded.

A whole group of mice spirits were stunned, including the aged clan leader Jinfu.

The entire Golden-haired Rat Clan reacted like this; no performance could produce such unanimous consistency. Bai Qiru instantly understood that this group of mice spirits probably truly didn't know Shi Chun was Wang Ping, but from the looks of it, they seemed to recognize Wang Ping; otherwise, such uniform reactions wouldn't occur.

In the end, it was Huang Yingying who broke the silence: "Does Gao He know Wang Ping is Shi Chun?"

Bai Qiru glanced at the Mother-child Talisman, waiting for a message, "Yes, Gao He is Shi Chun's associate, originally named Wu Jinliang—they're on the same side."

"..." Huang Yingying paused for a while, still finding it somewhat unbelievable, "Shi Chun, someone who makes waves with various factions, why would he run to be an errand boy in a book hall?"

In his eyes, someone like Shi Chun was a big figure.

Bai Qiru thought, people come to Dazhi City to lay low, precisely to get close to you, but she couldn't say that out loud. She continued to add, "Just now, this owner of the Zhu Lang Pavilion is said to be a friend of Shi Chun."

Clan leader Jinfu hesitated, "It's a pity we can't confirm with Shi Chun."

Bai Qiru gestured again with the Mother-child Talisman, "I have the Mother-child Talisman to contact them, but there's been no response for a while. This owner might have come directly because she couldn't reach them either. The Qingqiu Fox Clan, you should have heard of them—they're not a place for messing around. I think we might follow her suggestion and give it a try. If there's a misunderstanding, then we've been misled and there shouldn't be much issue. By the way, this owner is said to be from the Qingqiu Fox Clan. The Extreme Fire Sect might truly be searching for us, so the clan leader needs to decide early."

A group of newly emerged mice spirits didn't have much capacity for decision-making; under Bai Qiru's guidance, they ultimately reluctantly agreed.

From this, Bai Qiru confirmed that the Golden-haired Rat Clan indeed had a connection with Shi Chun; otherwise, just as Yin Xu mentioned, if you're not familiar, how dare you go to Qingqiu Fox Clan and use Shi Chun's name…

On a boat amidst mountain streams, the boatman was absent, replaced by an imposter boatman. Shi Chun, wearing a bamboo hat, sat at the bow, gazing around.

Suddenly, a splash emerged at the stern, and a person broke through the water, landing on the boat before stooping into the cabin—it was none other than Situ Gu.

Shi Chun hurriedly abandoned the paddle, entered the cabin, and greeted him: "Greetings, Senior."

Situ Gu sitting down slightly frowned, "What matter requires meeting me here?"

Shi Chun replied earnestly: "Naturally, it's to fulfill a promise. Senior asked me to take Zhener away, right?"

This time, he came intending to throw Zhener into the Netherworld.

At this mention, Situ Gu paused, stroked his beard to ponder, "Forget it, she can stay by my side."

Shi Chun was taken aback, "Didn't Senior find her troublesome?"

Situ Gu: "After being kidnapped once, she changed her mind, acknowledged the importance of strength, and started to cultivate diligently without causing trouble anymore. Come to think of it, you're often scrambling for safety; unless absolutely necessary, there's no need for her to be with you—it's not safe."

These words made Shi Chun sigh deeply; his unconventional approach to standing out led to constantly hiding and escaping, which he indeed deserved—people weren't wrong.

However, looking at it differently, getting rid of the burden Zhener was also beneficial. If truly thrown into the Netherworld, and Situ Gu later wanted to visit, he'd have to block Zhener's mouth. It would be tiring to keep soothing her; it's better for her to stay with Situ Gu.

Situ Gu waved his hand and didn't mention it again. He changed the topic, saying, "Why did I hear that the East Victory Royal Court is after you?"

Shi Chun had come for this matter, but he didn't make a direct request. Instead, he followed the conversation and said, "I'm puzzled by this too. I also just figured out what happened. It seems someone intruded into the central area of the East Victory Royal Court, broke into the Queen's room causing trouble, and they suspect it was me, which is why they want to catch me."

Surprise flashed across Situ Gu's face. He only knew that the East Victory Royal Court was after someone. He had no idea that someone had gotten into the Queen's room within the heart of the Royal Court. Even when he inquired, he didn't know about it. He wondered where this kid got the information and asked, "So was it really you?"

Shi Chun spread his hands and bitterly smiled, "How could it be? I don't even know what the heart of the East Victory Royal Court looks like, let alone getting into the Queen's room. If I had such skills, would I still be here?"

Situ Gu casually said, "If the East Victory Royal Court still hasn't caught you by now, your skills aren't bad either."

Shi Chun chuckled dryly, "Senior, what you're saying sounds like praising my ability for surviving by the skin of my teeth. But all of this doesn't matter anymore; there's no point in hiding any longer. It wasn't actually me, and continuing to hide means taking the blame for someone else. I'm planning to surrender and cooperate with the East Victory Royal Court to clarify the issue."

Situ Gu nodded slightly, "That's sensible. You can't hide forever. The only way to resolve this is to face it directly."

"Hearing you say that, Senior, actually makes me nervous," Shi Chun said with hesitation.

Situ Gu: "Did I say anything that wasn't good?"

Shi Chun expressed concern, "In the eyes of those big figures, I'm as insignificant as dust. Even if it's clarified that I didn't do it, they might not let me go. For instance, they've been searching for the Secret Technique of the Divine Fire, or concerning Zhener's identity. Who knows if someone might seize the chance to settle scores while dealing with me?"

These words left Situ Gu silent. The concern was simple: if this guy falls into the wrong hands and exposes something he shouldn't, it wouldn't be good. Although he himself wasn't too fearful, what worried him more was the connection between Zhener and this guy. If anything happened to him, who knows what kind of uproar Zhener would cause.

Since things had reached this point and seeing that the other party was not responding, Shi Chun naturally needed to continue, "Hey, Senior, you have influence. Over on the East Victory Royal Court's side, can you protect me?"

Situ Gu: "Are you joking? I don't even know the specifics. How could I get involved?"

Shi Chun hurriedly said, "If it's proven that I didn't do it, could you lend me a hand and get me out of there?"

Situ Gu thought for a moment, "If it can be confirmed that it wasn't you, I can try to find someone to help."

Shi Chun didn't ask for a promise to succeed, only a guarantee that he would try. He quickly said, "Thank you, thank you, Senior. Let's settle it this way then. With that, I can comfortably hand myself in."

Situ Gu remained noncommittal.

After a bit of further discussion, Situ Gu left the ship and departed.

Afterward, Shi Chun went to Beijulu Royal City. After meeting with Lao Changtai, he took the well-prepared Lao Changtai back to the Netherworld.

After a long journey back and forth, seeing the sunshine again, he had returned to Juku State.

Upon returning, he was troubled, pulling out the Mother-child Talisman to see those old acquaintances advising him to surrender, one after another.

Ignoring it for now, he first met with Yu Xuanbing, from afar able to see the Phoenix Clan's Divine Mountain.

Loitering around this Divine Mountain for so long, Yu Xuanbing had already sensed something was off.

Indeed, Shi Chun, gazing at the Divine Mountain, said, "Have you ever been to the Divine Palace atop the mountain, Senior?"

Yu Xuanbing replied indifferently, "No, I haven't."

Shi Chun: "How about I take you there tonight to have a look?"

Yu Xuanbing turned to stare at him, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Shi Chun also turned to look at him, "I have a way to take the Beidou Refusal Array; tonight I want to take it away."

Upon hearing this, Wu Jinliang, who had been chuckling to himself, jerked with fright and could no longer laugh.

Yu Xuanbing: "What do you need me to do?"

Shi Chun: "The heart of the array is inside the Divine Hall. To take away the array, I need to enter the Divine Hall. We need someone to create a distraction within the Divine Mountain, luring people away from the Divine Hall so I can get inside."

Yu Xuanbing turned to face him, "Are you crazy? Entering the Divine Mountain and doing this implies that you and I must split up within the mountain, and separate to a considerable distance to effectively draw away their forces. Once alerted, if you're not able to secure it in time, with your cultivation, there's simply no way you could escape. If you can't get away, it means I'll be trapped in the array too."

Shi Chun directly deceived him, "It's simple. I'll give you a Magic Artifact to enter and exit the array. If anything goes wrong, you can flee immediately, without getting implicated."

Yu Xuanbing was surprised, "There are more than one Magic Artifacts to enter and exit the array?"

Wu Jinliang blinked his big eyes at Shi Chun.

Shi Chun calmly said, "I've refined about seventy or eighty pieces."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.