Wu Liu circled him like a ghost, then floated in midair and pressed her icy palm against Pei Ling's face. In a gentle voice, she said, "Young master... What is it you want to ask, exactly? No matter what it is, remember: you can only ask one question. If you ask more, I'll get very upset... And then..."
She narrowed her eyes and gave him an eerie smile. "You wouldn't want to upset me, would you, young master?"
At that, Pei Ling asked without hesitation, "Miss Wu Liu, I want to know how to earn tens of thousands of spirit stones quickly!"
"Tens of thousands of spirit stones?" Wu Liu seemed to choke for a moment, then smiled again, her eyes curving into crescents. "Why bother racking your brains over such a small sum? Just ask your master for it!"
Pei Ling: "..."
Wu Liu added, "You could always slaughter a city and loot it. That'd be enough, too."
Pei Ling: "..."
Wu Liu went on, "Or you could kill that girl you've been so sweet with these past few days and peel off her skin for me. I could help you out in return. How about it?"
"...Miss Wu Liu must be joking." Pei Ling replied stiffly. Go ask Fairy Li for spirit stones? Heh! He'd be lucky if Fairy Li didn't slap him to death!
As for slaughtering a city, that was something only a true Demon would do... Besides, even if he went to slaughter a city, what would a mere cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4 be doing there—slaughtering the city or getting himself killed?
And then there was peeling off Chen Mei's skin...
Thinking of that, Pei Ling said solemnly, "Senior Brother Chen and Senior Sister Chen have been quite kind to me. How could I repay kindness with betrayal?"
"Kind?" Wu Liu gave him a strange look, then giggled. "Well, you've got a point. Then you can go figure it out yourself, nice and slow."
As she spoke, she turned into countless clouds of Black Mist and dispersed with a roar.
Pei Ling's brow furrowed at once. Wu Liu's final look had been very strange, as if... as if she were watching a show!
The moment he said Chen Huan and Chen Mei had treated him kindly, Wu Liu had seemed ready to watch a show?
In other words, in Wu Liu's eyes, Chen Huan and Chen Mei weren't the least bit kind to him. They even had ulterior motives?
Had everything he'd seen these past few days been a disguise put on by the siblings?
Realizing this, Pei Ling's heart sank. He didn't entirely trust Wu Liu either, but his life was at stake. Tomorrow, he'd have to find a chance to test Chen Huan and the others. If something really was wrong...
Just as he was thinking this, a booklet struck the ground in front of him.
The system's notification that it was recording an unfamiliar evasion technique rang out at the same time as Wu Liu's sweet yet icy voice in his ear: "Master says you have seven days to master it. Otherwise, you die!"
Pei Ling came to his senses. With a hand on his saber hilt, he went over and picked it up, only to find it was a handwritten copy, just like the Blood Fiend Saber Technique.
This time was even worse.
He didn't recognize a single character in its name... What was the character after "blood" again?
A moment later, the system said, "Ding-dong! Unfamiliar evasion technique recorded. Please name it!"
"...I'll call it Blood Snail Evasion Technique." Pei Ling chose a name at random. It was an evasion technique with "blood" in the name, which he'd obtained in Luoshan City. Blood Snail Evasion Technique for short. Nothing wrong with that.
He tucked the booklet into his clothes, and the scenery around him wavered slightly. The dusty, dilapidated courtyard was instantly replaced by a quiet garden lush with plants. An icy moon hung overhead, pouring moonlight down like silver frost. Insects chirped and frogs croaked, and all around him, life stirred.
Had he not been standing in the garden, with his wounds still on his body, he would almost have suspected that what had just happened was an illusion.
In the pavilions on either side, there was no sound from Chen Huan's quarters, aside from faint breathing. Judging from where it came from, it was probably the servants attending him. From Huang Xian's quarters, however, came the faint sound of laughter and teasing. He was most likely being waited on by beautiful maids.
Clearly, neither Chen Huan nor Huang Xian had noticed what had just happened. Even the owner of this estate, City Lord Duanmu, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, knew nothing of the strange turn of events.
Wu Liu was truly terrifying...
Pei Ling shuddered at the thought. Then he thought of Fairy Li, and another headache struck him.
If even a mere Specter maid was this terrifying, what could her master do? And yet, he'd gone and... No! He was a victim, too!
He let out a long breath and shook his head.
There were two things he needed to do most urgently: first, resolve the fine as soon as possible; second, figure out the real motives of Chen Huan and Chen Mei.
Thinking this, Pei Ling returned to his room without showing anything.
He looked through the booklet Wu Liu had just given him, but in the end, he didn't dare use the system to cultivate right away.
Wu Liu could come and go without a trace, and treated City Lord Duanmu as if he were nothing. Pei Ling didn't dare act recklessly and hand himself over to the system in Luoshan City.
Who knew whether that Idiot System would go steal something from City Lord Duanmu, take Chen Mei as its Dao Companion, or kill Chen Huan and the others to make them External Fiends?
He'd have to wait for a chance to find somewhere deserted to cultivate.
The rest of the night passed peacefully. The next morning, just after Pei Ling finished breakfast, Chen Mei came to see him and asked with a smile, "Junior Brother Pei, we're taking a day to rest today. My brother and the others need to prepare some things before leaving the city, but we don't have much to do. Do you have any plans?"
"Senior Sister, my cultivation is low, and the nonstop travel has left me exhausted. I need a good day's rest," Pei Ling replied calmly. "Of course, if you have anything you need me to do, just let me know."
Chen Mei's brows twitched at his reply. She seemed quite pleased. "No, no. I just came to ask. If you plan to rest, I won't disturb you."
With that, she took her leave.
After she was gone, Pei Ling suddenly turned to the maid beside him who was clearing away the dishes and asked, "Are there any places like a market in Luoshan City, somewhere good for a stroll?"
The maid hurriedly set down what she was doing, curtsied, and replied, "To answer you, Immortal Master, there is a market in the city. It's..."
After hearing her out, Pei Ling nodded slightly. For now, he needed to prepare for the worst: if Chen Huan and the others meant to make a move against him, what should he do next?
Running away seemed like an option, but in reality, it was a dead end!
If Chen Huan and the others dared to leave him here alone, they must have something to rely on.
Besides, even if Chen Huan and the others hadn't made any preparations, this was Pei Ling's first time in Luoshan City, and he was completely unfamiliar with the surrounding area. His cultivation was also two minor realms below Chen Huan's. How could he escape their pursuit?
But if he didn't run...
There was only one way to break the deadlock: borrow Wu Liu's power!
That was right—Wu Liu had promised him last night that his opponent wanted Chen Mei's skin...
Thinking of this, Pei Ling made up his mind. First, he had to determine whether Chen Huan and the others truly meant him harm...
So Pei Ling told the maid not to tell Chen Mei and the others where he was going, then slipped out through the back door of the guest courtyard and strolled toward the market.
Several hours later, outside Luoshan City, in a peach grove stretching for hundreds of miles, Xiao Tasha stood with her eyes closed. An array disc floated before her as she formed one hand seal after another. A moment later, the disc fell into her hand. She opened her eyes and shook her head helplessly. "No! The yang energy in this peach grove is too strong, and it clashes with the Soul Summoning Banner! It's not that we can't force the Soul Devouring Mother-Child Array into place here, but the souls we extract will probably be damaged, which won't help improve the Soul Summoning Banner."
"Then what do we do?" Huang Xian furrowed his brows. "Didn't you swear it'd be no problem?"
"This is our first time here, too. How was Junior Sister Xiao supposed to know this place wouldn't work?" Chen Huan hurriedly smoothed things over. "Luoshan is vast. We can just find another spot."
Huang Xian was still dissatisfied. "We've all come out to set up the array, leaving that kid alone in the city. That was already a bad idea. If we delay any longer, something could go wrong."
"Senior Brother Huang, don't worry. Nothing will happen," Chen Mei said. "I planted a tracking scent on him a few days ago. As long as he's within a thousand li, he won't escape the Tracking Bee!"
As she spoke, she tapped an insect perched on her sleeve. It looked like a bee, but was the size of a thumb. It resembled an ordinary honeybee only in broad strokes, and its mouthparts were especially vicious.
Yet under Chen Mei's hand, it was docile, affectionately rubbing its head against her fingertip.
Only after seeing the Tracking Bee did Huang Xian fall silent. Xiao Tasha, meanwhile, felt embarrassed. She lowered her head and studied the map for a while, then suddenly exclaimed in delight, "Let's go this way! There's a gorge here. Judging by its layout, it should work."
Before you continue