Spectator

Last time, he had helped these people, only to receive a few mocking remarks in return.

Fan Lang would not make the same mistake twice. Even if everyone from the Silver Moon Merchant Guild died before his eyes this time, he would not lift a finger!

Right now, he only wanted to be a spectator and watch the show from the sidelines.

He and Li Yunyan leaped onto a tree, looking down at the battlefield from above. They were still far from the fighting and would not be caught up in it.

"Here, have some melon." Fan Lang took two melon-like fruits from his Storage Card, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Li Yunyan.

Eating melon at a time like this truly suited the occasion.

Fan Lang ate with great relish, crunching loudly as sweet juice filled his mouth.

The Silver Moon Merchant Guild members, on the other hand, had no such ease. They were locked in a bitter battle with the beast horde. Nearly all of them had been wounded, and several corpses already lay on the ground.

Bang!

The Jade Bone Beast charged fiercely, piercing a Silver Moon Merchant Guild member through with the horn on its head. The man died on the spot, his scream cutting off abruptly. The Jade Bone Beast flung the corpse aside with a toss of its head and attacked its next target.

The Silver Moon Merchant Guild members fell one after another, and the situation grew increasingly dire.

The Qiu Sisters fought shoulder to shoulder, struggling to hold on. Both sisters had been injured, crimson blood soaking through their dresses.

Seeing that things were going badly, Qiu Shuihan swung her sword and drove back a demonic beast, shouting, "Everyone, gather together! Fight as we retreat!"

Everyone followed her command and moved toward the Qiu Sisters. Along the way, more people were killed by the demonic beasts, their bodies brutally torn apart.

Qiu Shuiqing hurried to her sister's side and said anxiously, "Sister, there are two figures in that tree over there. They seem to be the two people we met that night!"

Qiu Shuihan looked into the distance and spotted Fan Lang and Li Yunyan standing in the tree, eating melon. Her spirits immediately lifted!

She had witnessed Fan Lang's strength. If those two were willing to help, escaping this danger would be no problem!

She opened her mouth to call for help, but the words caught in her throat halfway through. That night, her sister had said several unpleasant things and directly driven Fan Lang and Li Yunyan away. Asking Fan Lang for help now was simply too humiliating.

"Forget it!"

Qiu Shuihan gritted her teeth, abandoned the thought of asking for help, and continued fighting desperately.

In the distant tree, Fan Lang was still eating melon and watching the show.

"Pah." Fan Lang spat out a few seeds, then said, "I have a guess."

"What guess?" Li Yunyan asked.

"This Jade Bone Beast may have followed the scent here to avenge itself. The Jade Bone Beast that died before may have been its mate. Of course, that's only a guess. There's no way to know whether it's true."

"That guess makes some sense."

"Of course. I'm a reasonable man."

"Then let me make some sense too. This time, no matter what, I won't help them. These people aren't worth saving. They deserve to die," Li Yunyan said coldly.

"Haha, we think alike. We really are on the same wavelength. Come, give me a high five!" Fan Lang laughed and held out his hand.

Li Yunyan was a serious person and did not indulge Fan Lang in such childish antics, leaving him somewhat deflated.

As they spoke, over half of the Silver Moon Merchant Guild's people had already been killed or injured. In Fan Lang's eyes, this really was quite a show.

Both Qiu Sisters were wounded. Together with their few remaining companions, they struggled to hold on while surrounded by the beast horde. The leading Jade Bone Beast in particular put immense pressure on them. Its scarlet eyes made their hearts tremble.

Qiu Shuiqing felt death closing in and was terrified beyond measure. She treated Fan Lang and Li Yunyan in the distance as her last lifeline.

"Hey! You two, don't just stand there watching! We can't hold on any longer. Please, come help us! All the spoils afterward will be yours!" Qiu Shuiqing shouted.

Her voice carried all the way to Fan Lang's ears, but he remained completely unmoved and continued crunching away at his melon.

"I was wrong before. I said things that offended you. You're a magnanimous man, so please don't hold it against me. If you're willing to help, I can give you additional compensation!" Qiu Shuiqing continued pleading.

But she still did not understand. This had nothing to do with money.

It had not been about money that night, and it was not about money now.

Crunch.

Fan Lang took the last bite of melon and tossed the rind down. His eyes were calm as still water. These people's deaths would not stir even the slightest ripple in him, much less pity.

"Thirty thousand taels! No, fifty thousand taels! As long as you come save me, I'll give you fifty thousand taels!"

"Please, come save me. I'm still young. I don't want to die yet!"

"If you save me, I'm willing to give myself to you and become your wife!"

"You heartless bastard who stands by and watches us die! If you refuse to help, then I'll drag you down with me! Even if I die, I'll make you die with me!"

After failing to beg forgiveness, Qiu Shuiqing's resentment surged without end. She simply turned hostile and planned to lure the beast horde toward Fan Lang, dragging him into the mess.

The ideal was full, but reality was harsh. These demonic beasts would not obediently listen to Qiu Shuiqing. To lure the beast horde away, she would have to carve out a bloody path.

Yet that was something she simply could not do.

Battle, death, battle, death.

By the end, only the Qiu Sisters remained from the Silver Moon Merchant Guild's party. Both sisters regretted it bitterly. They should never have driven Fan Lang away over such petty profit, only to bring this deadly disaster upon themselves today. It was too late for regret now. Everything had been decided.

The Jade Bone Beast let out a long howl and charged forward with the beast horde for one final assault.

Crack.

The Jade Bone Beast charged straight through the Qiu Sisters' sword qi, opened its bloody maw, and bit down on Qiu Shuihan's neck. Its sharp teeth pierced through. Blood sprayed wildly from Qiu Shuihan's wound as she died an untimely death.

Qiu Shuiqing came next. The Jade Bone Beast stomped her beneath its foot, while the other demonic beasts pounced on her, tearing and biting.

"Ah! I hate this! I hate it!"

Qiu Shuiqing's voice came to an abrupt stop.

The pair of sisters both met their end beneath beast fangs and claws.

If Qiu Shuiqing had not said those unpleasant things back then, this would not have happened. Unfortunately, there were not so many ifs in this world.

The past could not be undone.

Fan Lang straightened up, stretched lazily, and grinned. "The show is over. Now it's our turn to act. Let's go down and clean up the leftovers. These demonic beasts, and all the valuables on those people, are ours."

Profiting from the dead had always been one of Fan Lang's sources of income. The Silver Moon Merchant Guild mainly dealt in trade, so these people should have been carrying quite a few valuables.

"You usually take the lead. Today, let me do it." Li Yunyan drew her twin blades and leaped down. Her figure flashed, transforming into a streak of light as she charged toward the beast horde, fierce winds sweeping up in her wake.

"You're quite motivated." Fan Lang smiled and followed close behind.

Let alone now, when this beast horde was already wounded and exhausted, even at full strength, they would have been no match for Fan Lang and Li Yunyan.

A one-sided slaughter began.

Li Yunyan's twin blades whirled through the air, blade light circling her with incomparable sharpness. Anything they touched was wounded.

Fan Lang's eyes shone as he activated his Spirit Eye, taking in everything around him. He locked onto the most troublesome Jade Bone Beast, then slammed his fist hard into the ground.

Bang!

His fist erupted with mountain-shattering force. Violent power spread forward through the ground, forming visible ripples as the earth cracked apart with loud snaps and surged rapidly toward the Jade Bone Beast.

Five-star combat skill, Shockwave!