Zhu Lan had known she was going to lose, so she had fled without the slightest hesitation. Five million Heavenly Crystals—this was practically all the liquid cash the wealthy families of Heavenly City could scrape together through collective fundraising. No one knew how many Heavenly Crystals had been borrowed for this, but they definitely made up more than half of it. A huge gamble witnessed by the entire Heavenly City could not be reneged on, so how was Zhu Lan supposed to fill this hole now?
Not running would have been foolish.
I did not immediately give chase, because I had already anticipated this move. Besides, Heavenly City was not large. Trying to escape without some special channel was nothing short of wishful thinking.
Sure enough, before I could even order the pursuit, Xu Xuan came striding through the air with Zhu Lan gripped by the back of her neck. Ever since this old man had received plenty of benefits from me, he had naturally been eager to perform. He was now waiting for the Heaven-Mending Pill to cleanse and temper his marrow before making a push for the Central Origin Continent, so he had kept an exceptionally close eye on Zhu Lan.
"Hmph, this little girl tried to run, but this old man caught her. I only have one condition." Xu Xuan dropped Zhu Lan to the ground.
"Go ahead. Is it the Heaven-Mending Pill? This time, I'll restore whatever is missing from your spiritual root." I smiled.
"Heh heh, that won't be necessary. My spiritual root is already seventy to eighty percent restored. You brat are far too shrewd, actually trying to use this condition to compensate me." Xu Xuan gave me a disdainful look, then pointed at Zhu Lan on the ground. "I want her."
"Have you