Jiang Chen Lost

"That's good, then."

Kalina nodded in satisfaction and finally let him off the hook.

She took Lin Luoluo's little hand and turned to leave.

But after only two steps, she suddenly stopped and looked back.

This time, the smile had vanished completely from her face, replaced by an icy warning.

Her gaze swept slowly over every Jiang Family member present before settling on Jiang Chen and Jiang Chutian.

"Let me remind you all of one thing. Luoluo is a good friend of mine.

"What happened today ends here.

"If I find out that anyone in the Jiang Family dares pull anything behind her back..."

"Laying a hand on her is the same as laying a hand on me, Kalina. It means declaring war on the Carter Family."

"The Dawnlight Academy assessment will be held soon. If I don't see Lin Luoluo at the academy on the day of the assessment, or if so much as one hair is missing from her head..."

She left the sentence unfinished, but the threat in her eyes sent a chill through every Jiang Family member present.

"When that happens, I'll make sure the Jiang Family pays."

Only after saying that did she truly turn around and lead Lin Luoluo toward the Mine Tunnel's exit without looking back.

In Lin Luoluo's arms, Bai Chen listened to Kalina's words, and his opinion of her changed considerably.

Though the Western girl seemed careless and breezy, she was unexpectedly meticulous when it came to her friends. She had even remembered to protect Xiao Luoluo in the future this way.

Now this was a friend worth having!

Only after they had completely left the Jiang Family's temporary resting area, rounded a bend, and lost sight of those people did Lin Luoluo let out a long breath.

Her taut nerves finally relaxed.

It wasn't for any other reason. Lin Luoluo had been carrying the Jiang Family's Spirit-Capturing Box throughout the fight.

Every one of these precious items bore a unique family mark and was a strategic resource.

When the Jiang Family counted its people and found two capable subordinates missing, they would surely discover the Spirit-Capturing Box was gone as well once they checked their supplies.

They would inevitably grow suspicious then.

Before the Jiang Family discovered that those two members had been killed, they had to hurry and release the Contract Spirit inside, then dispose of the Spirit-Capturing Box.

They absolutely couldn't keep this thing on them!

If the Jiang Family discovered it and followed the trail back to her, she would be in serious trouble.

At least for now, Lin Luoluo had no means of confronting the Jiang Family openly.

Kalina's protection was useful, but it couldn't be relied on at every moment.

True safety could only come from relying on herself.

As she pondered, Lin Luoluo and Kalina reached a place near the Forest Grotto's exit.

Light shone in from the entrance ahead, dispelling the gloom in the mine passage.

The air was thick with rock dust and a faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood.

In the distance, shouts from other teams of Contract Spirit Masters and the clash of metal could be faintly heard.

Quite a few teams of Contract Spirit Masters who had finished exploring had gathered in the mine tunnel, whose exit was not particularly wide.

The place was like a miniature cross-section of society.

Some teams were beaming, spittle flying as they boasted about the day's haul. Their backpacks bulged, clearly packed with spoils.

Others were dejected. Several people squatted in a corner, sighing and complaining that they had made the trip for nothing and hadn't even earned back their costs.

More of them looked as though they had just come off a battlefield, everyone wounded and exhausted.

Just then,

Bai Chen's gaze fell on a small team passing by.

Most of the team were Second Tier Contract Spirit Masters, and only their captain was Third Tier. There were six people in all.

But they were in terrible condition. One of them was being supported by two others. He had a ghastly wound on his abdomen, blood had stained almost half his body red, and his face was as white as paper.

The others had all sustained injuries of varying severity as well.

After watching for a moment, Bai Chen thought the captain at the head of the group looked somewhat familiar.

He was a burly middle-aged man with a full beard and a resolute gaze, though his eyes were now full of anxiety and regret.

A moment later, realization struck him:

"Xiao Luoluo, look! Isn't that the captain of the Mining Team who offered eight thousand Silver Coins back then, only to go back on his word?"

"What?" Lin Luoluo froze at Bai Chen's words, then remembered as well.

The moment their eyes met, the captain, who was urging his companions to hurry, saw her too.

"I remember now too, Xiao Bai. They're the captain of the Iron Axe Mining Team. That man's name is Tie Jun," the girl said to Bai Chen in her mind.

Lin Luoluo had a fairly strong impression of Tie Jun.

"Most of the Contract Spirit Masters on his team came from poor families. He came from a commoner family himself, and with nothing but D-Rank talent, he fought his way up step by step from the lowest level of Contract Spirit Master to where he is now.

"Back when I was still at school, our teacher often held him up as an example for us."

Although Tie Jun had offered the high price of 8,000 Silver Coins back then, he had gone back on his word after learning that her legs were disabled.

But Lin Luoluo didn't actually harbor any ill feelings toward Tie Jun.

After all, she came from a commoner family too, and she knew how hard life was for commoners.

The high price of 8,000 Silver Coins was enough to hire a Third Tier Contract Spirit Master with some reputation.

For a team of commoners like theirs, who had to split every coin in half before spending it, that money had to be spent on the cutting edge.

It was only natural that he didn't want to place a big bet on a newcomer whose future was unclear.