The Most Difficult Favor to Bear is a Beauty's Grace

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Lei Dong, however, immediately cast aside his wandering thoughts and gratefully accepted the bottle of Sha-dispelling Pills.

"No need to thank me. If you want to thank me, you should thank me for that Upper Grade Law Shield first," Ding Wanyan said, slightly relieved to see Lei Dong accept it readily. However, she thought of something else, her delicate eyebrows arched as she couldn't help but chuckle, "But speaking of which, Junior Brother Lei, you actually made me take the blame for you. It's only right that you share some of the spoils with me. But isn't it a bit too little? That Ghost Fiend's son had far more wealth than this."

Ugh, is my Ancestor a gossip? How did he reveal such a top-secret matter to Ding Wanyan? Lei Dong felt a surge of annoyance. It wasn't that he didn't trust Ding Wanyan, but this matter was too significant for him to afford any mistakes. However, he couldn't possibly admit to it, so he could only force a bitter smile and shake his head. "Senior Sister, with my mere Qi Refining Level Six strength, how could I possibly be a match for the Ghost Fiend's son? Please don't wrongly accuse me."

As if seeing through Lei Dong's attempt to play dumb, a hint of slyness flickered in Ding Wanyan's clear eyes. "Just as I guessed. I was wondering why Ancestor would bestow the Upper Grade Law Shield upon me for no reason and remind me to owe the favor to Junior Brother Lei. After thinking about it, and combining it with how you kept pretending to be foolish when the Ghost Fiend arrived, trying to cover it up, I began to suspect you might have done it. A casual test, and you indeed showed your hand. Keep pretending. Do you know that pretending in front of the Ghost Fiend might make him think you're weak? But in front of Ancestor and Senior Sister, you might as well give up. Who doesn't know that your true strength already surpasses Junior Brother Zuo, and it's not much different from even me, Senior Sister? If you didn't have something on your conscience, why would you go to such pains to pretend to be so pitiful?"

Lei Dong finally understood. He had been wondering why Ancestor was so certain he was the culprit. So the problem lay here. Indeed, as Ding Wanyan said, his flaw was in overacting. It's difficult, though. Ancestor and Ding Wanyan, knowing my true strength isn't weak and that I'm a calm and collected person, would see through me.

Fortunately, deceiving the unfamiliar Ghost Fiend wasn't a big problem. He didn't suspect him at all. Instead, Senior Sister Ding and the renowned Dongfang Fu had attracted a lot of attention.

Seeing Lei Dong's astonished and embarrassed expression, Ding Wanyan found her daring junior brother somewhat amusing. She remembered when he was very young, he had killed a personal disciple of the Extreme Yin Cave. Afterward, he had pretended to complain to her about being bullied, making her genuinely believe the three of them had been severely wronged and she had eagerly wanted to help them fight. Who would have thought that under Lei Dong's lead, they had not only avenged themselves but also looted everything, feeding the corpses' souls to the Ghost Soldiers. She had even worried for them.

"Uh, hehe. Senior Sister is incredibly intelligent and has a keen eye. How could my petty tricks deceive Senior Sister's discerning gaze?" Lei Dong gave a dry laugh, flattering her with a pitiful and fawning demeanor. "However, I still need Senior Sister's help to keep this quiet. Otherwise, I am insignificant and frail, and I cannot withstand the might of that old Ghost Fiend."

Seeing him put on such a pitiful act and flatter her incessantly, Ding Wanyan couldn't help but smile. She gave him a playful glare and huffed, "If Junior Brother is sensible, I, your Senior Sister, can help keep your secret for a while. Otherwise, I might as well sell you to that old Ghost Fiend and get a large sum of Spirit Stones."

"How could you say that?" Lei Dong suddenly patted his chest, looking righteous. "Since I was young, Senior Sister has always taken good care of me. In fact, even if Senior Sister hadn't brought this up or helped me take the blame, I would have thought of ways to show my filial piety to Senior Sister. How about this: as long as I have anything useful to Senior Sister, just take it. I won't even frown."

"You say that nicely, but why don't you show me the spoils from the Ghost Fiend's son?" Ding Wanyan pouted her delicate lips, her huffs unabated.

"Alright, alright. I'll get it out now..." Lei Dong saw that his banter seemed to have gotten him out of trouble, and he resigned himself to a painful expenditure.

Just as he was about to retrieve the items, Ding Wanyan immediately stopped him, a slight smile of satisfaction on her face. She gave him a sideways glance and said, "Forget it, forget it. As your Senior Sister, how could I truly covet the spoils you risked your life for? I was just teasing you. Look at your pained expression, aren't you ashamed?"

"No, no, Junior Brother was speaking the truth. Over the years, I have benefited greatly from Senior Sister's care. When I get something good, I don't mind giving half to Senior Sister," Lei Dong said with a solemn expression, looking very serious. "However, as Senior Sister knows, this matter is of great importance, and I dare not be careless."

"You're not heartless after all," Ding Wanyan nodded slightly, then her expression turned serious as she advised, "Junior Brother, it's not that I, Senior Sister, want to nag. It's just that you were too reckless. That Ghost Fiend's son had so many Upper Grade Magic Items; even I wouldn't have had much confidence in taking him down. But you went and killed him without a word. With the slightest slip-up, would you still be alive? You are forbidden from being so impulsive in the future, understand?"

"Yes, Senior Sister. I understand," Lei Dong said, feeling a touch of emotion. He had to admit that Senior Sister cared about him deeply.

"Here, this Magic Shield. Ancestor spent a lot of effort re-refining it. Even the Ghost Fiend wouldn't recognize it," Ding Wanyan said, raising her hand. A Magic Shield, shrouded in spiritual mist, ethereal and of extraordinary quality, floated in the air before her. "I've named it the Spirit Mist Shield. Take it and refine it quickly, get used to it."

Lei Dong was somewhat surprised. It was one thing for Senior Sister Ding not to want other spoils. However, this Magic Shield was personally taken by Ancestor to be given to her, and he had given it willingly. Why was she returning it to him? After all, any Upper Grade Magic Item was not easily obtained. Ancestor had accumulated them for many years, and his treasury only held a few dozen Upper Grade Magic Items. This showed the rarity of Upper Grade Magic Items.

Only personal disciples like Lei Dong had the chance to obtain Upper Grade Magic Items. Rogue cultivators outside the sect would often fight tooth and nail for even a decent Lower Grade Magic Item.

"Senior Sister, this..." Lei Dong said, somewhat embarrassed. "This Magic Shield, Junior Brother truly gave it to Senior Sister willingly. Please don't make things difficult for me."

"Then consider it as Senior Sister lending it to you," Ding Wanyan seemed to have made up her mind to return the shield to Lei Dong. She directly stuffed it into his hand and turned to float away. With a flick of her hand seal, her figure became indistinct, and she disappeared into the gloomy Sha Qi, leaving behind a drifting voice: "I don't really like fighting with people anyway. You, on the other hand, like to cause trouble outside. It's good to have it for self-preservation."

The Yin Sha Escape technique was indeed marvelous, especially in this place shrouded in Sha Qi. In almost an instant, Ding Wanyan completely vanished from Lei Dong's sight and Spiritual Sense. He called out "Senior Sister!" several times, but received no response.

Lei Dong looked at the shield floating in his hand. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see that it was the same Magic Shield that was once shrouded in black Qi and adorned with fierce ghost and demon carvings. Indeed, he couldn't see any trace of the original Magic Shield. He chuckled wryly and shook his head. Did Senior Sister Ding really think he was that easy to fool? This was clearly not the original Magic Shield, although its quality was in no way inferior to the black shield. Even if Ancestor had nothing better to do, he wouldn't have spent so much effort to alter the shield so drastically.

With a soft sigh, he put away all his miscellaneous thoughts and took a Sha-dispelling Pill. He then held his breath and entered a state of Qi Refining meditation. The True Qi within his body was constantly circulating slowly. Under refinement, it was becoming purer, drop by drop. Time was steadily passing. The only sounds were the howling of the Yin Sha blowing past, like fierce ghosts. And the loneliness grew more intense. However, Lei Dong's heart was like a stone, unmoved. If one couldn't even endure mere loneliness, how could they talk about defying heaven with their cultivation?