Why Am I the One Being Pursued?

"Noble Moral Acclaim +5"

"5/100"

Busy dealing with the Medicine King's Legacy followers, Bai Jun had no time to spare for the system notification in his head. After tying the two up like rice dumplings, the late-arriving Qing Que came jogging over. Though a faint blush still lingered on her cheeks, she had mostly composed her expression and voice, no longer as flustered as before.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Qing Que asked worriedly.

Bai Jun casually shook his head to tell her not to worry, then crouched down and searched the two men, finding the Apothecary seals that marked them as followers.

"The evidence is conclusive. These two are followers of the Medicine King's Legacy. Come on, let's hand them over to the relevant department. If I remember right, each follower comes with quite a hefty bounty."

"I-I won't go..."

Yet unexpectedly, Qing Que declined his invitation, turning down the reward that had practically been delivered to her lips. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground as she spoke.

Bai Jun had wanted to persuade her further, but then he remembered the fundamental rules of happy work Qing Que had once told him about—afterward, even if there was credit to claim, one should pass it on to one's colleagues. It did them a favor and planted a big tree for future shade.

So he stopped dwelling on it or feeling confused. He generously rubbed her hair and happily went to claim the reward by himself.

"Idiot..."

Qing Que fixed the hair Bai Jun had messed up, muttering quietly with a faint blush on her face. It was not that she did not want to go with him; what had happened earlier simply made her temporarily unable to look directly into those azure eyes.

More precisely, it was not that she could not, but that she did not have the courage.

Dragging the two Medicine King's Legacy followers along, Bai Jun turned around and returned to Shence Mansion. After handing them over to Jing Yuan and explaining the situation, he unceremoniously looted the last remaining Xun Di from Jing Yuan's wallet.

"Honestly, have you picked up some bad habit lately? Why do you look like you've fallen into a bottomless money pit?"

"I don't know either, but my expenses have indeed been a little high lately. The Earth-Balance Commission pays late, so I have to find some way around it. Besides, I have every right to this money. What, do you object?"

Bai Jun righteously returned Jing Yuan's wallet. The bounty on the Shence Mansion's wanted notice had been clearly listed—he had taken it with a clear conscience.

Jing Yuan looked helplessly at his shriveled wallet. Shence Mansion covered his everyday living expenses, and after work, he had no hobbies besides raising birds and watering flowers. There was nowhere he particularly needed to spend extra money. But when had this habit of people robbing his wallet whenever they pleased begun?

"Nothing. I'm merely curious why a dignified Hundred Refinements Master would worry about money. Within the Luofu alone, the people seeking a Hundred Refinements Master to forge for them could line up from Shence Mansion to outside the Stargate. As long as you wanted to, you could casually earn more than ordinary workers would make in several lifetimes."

"There's a saying: better nothing than something inferior. Blades and swords may have no flesh or blood, but people vary greatly. Some use famous swords to flaunt their status merely to make things easier for themselves. Some inherit fine family swords, then use them to bully the weak. Others wield powerful weapons and fall into the wrong path... Though every craftsman cannot decide the fate of what he forges, if it is all merely for money and fame, would that not be too vulgar?"

Bai Jun's reply was unusually calm. Shrugging, he answered honestly, "My rule is simple. Swords are only given to the right people. Otherwise, I'd be letting down the old man and Lord Yanting."

"Just as I thought. In this regard, you really are so much like him. No wonder you're martial brothers..."

Hearing that familiar answer, Jing Yuan's thoughts seemed to return to his first meeting with Ying Xing. He remembered how Ying Xing had coldly said much the same thing to him then. Had so much time truly passed without his noticing?

"What?"

Seeing Jing Yuan surrounded by an air of nostalgia and sorrow, Bai Jun felt rather baffled.

"Heh, take it as the ramblings of someone with one foot in the grave. Still, I recall that Yan Qing has been pestering you for a sword every day. He should qualify, shouldn't he?"

Jing Yuan shook his head and naturally changed the subject. At the question, a complicated expression appeared on Bai Jun's face.

"If we're only talking about qualifications, Yan Qing absolutely passes. It's just... his affections for swords are a little too excessive. You know, no one wants their precious daughter lured away by some unknown, fickle blond. Likewise, I don't want a sword I personally forged taken by someone whose affections run too rampant."

"In short, if you keep swords locked away in display cases all day, they'll cry, damn it!"

"Hahaha, that is true... I'll talk to him about it later."

Apparently imagining his swords being neglected and shut away in display cabinets, Bai Jun angrily punched the air. Jing Yuan felt somewhat awkward. Everyone had different interests, and Yan Qing was not really at fault; he had merely had the bad luck to touch Bai Jun's taboo. So Jing Yuan could only chuckle awkwardly and pat his shoulder, signaling for him not to take it too seriously. At the same time, he took a letter sealed with wax from a drawer.

"This is a letter from Elder Yan. Now I'm returning it to its rightful owner."

"A letter from the old man?"

Bai Jun accepted the envelope bearing Zhuming's emblem and opened it right in front of Jing Yuan without any hesitation. He had expected the usual message urging him to hurry back to Zhuming, but it turned out not to be so simple. His expression gradually grew serious.

That expression was quite rare on Bai Jun, to the point that even Jing Yuan became curious about the letter's contents.

"Mm, Jing Yuan, I remember you promised that after the concert tour, you'd give me a month of leave. Right?"

Bai Jun closed the letter and suddenly turned to ask Jing Yuan.

"That did happen. What is it? Did Elder Yan tell you something?"

"The old man asked me to go out and handle something. The place is some space station called a tower... Wait, let me check again..." Halfway through, Bai Jun pulled out the letter again to confirm it, then said, "Oh, it's the space station 'Herta.'"

"Madam Herta?"

An expression of understanding appeared on Jing Yuan's face. Though he did not know Elder Yan's purpose, this was Bai Jun's family matter, so he did not ask any further questions.

Jing Yuan still had a mountain of case files to deal with, so after a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two parted ways.

By the time Bai Jun returned home, evening was approaching.

Too lazy to cook, Bai Jun found somewhere to fill his stomach. The first thing he did upon returning home was repair the front door. After a tiring day, he finally had a brief moment of leisure.

After bathing, Bai Jun studied the Mask of a Thousand Faces for a while longer. This time, however, he detected no scent from the mask. He did not dare casually try putting it on again, so after a cursory examination, he put it away.

Since he still had work tomorrow, he planned to turn in early. But the moment he lay down, he noticed the storage box by his bedside. Inside was the armguard he had specifically forged for Xue Yi that morning.

"Almost forgot about that..."

Bai Jun sat back up. While he still had some energy, he intended to get everything taken care of so miscellaneous matters would not pile up again later.

After notifying Xue Yi through the Jade Omen, Bai Jun got dressed, tucked the storage box containing the armguard into his arms, and slipped the notebook Hanya had given him last time into his pocket. He left home and headed toward the location they had arranged through the Jade Omen.

"Ah, I'm so tired. I don't want to work."

Hanya, whose shift would begin shortly, rolled over on her bed once more. Her pert, lovely rear and sexy, long white legs formed an exceptionally alluring curve.

She had been in a terrible mood these past two days and had been completely unable to focus on work. Whenever her mind wandered, she would recall the sight of Bai Jun kissing her older sister, and her mood would worsen even further.

She felt she could not go on like this.

She suddenly got up from bed, bare feet stepping onto the cold floor. Walking to her wardrobe, Hanya did not take out her work uniform. Instead, she retrieved from a hidden compartment the clothes she had secretly brought back after going out with Bai Jun last time.

There was no doubt about it. These were the clothes Bai Jun had changed out of at the clothing store, and now they had fallen into her hands.

Staring intently at the clothes in her hands, Hanya's breathing gradually quickened. Her reason told her she absolutely could not do this, or else she would never be able to return to who she used to be.

But whenever she imagined the scene of her older sister kissing Bai Jun last time, the shame brought by that intense sense of transgression nearly crushed Hanya's reason...

She buried her face deep in the clothes. Her breathing grew hurried, her small reddened earlobes trembled faintly, and her beautiful lead-gray eyes turned hazy. Her fair, slender legs twisted together while her delicate toes scraped against the cold floor.

This would be the first time, and also the last.

"Th-this isn't my fault... It's all Bai Jun's fault. Yes! It's all because he forgot to take his clothes with him. If he had remembered to take them, I definitely wouldn't have become like this. So... it's all his fault!"

Deeply inhaling the pleasant scent clinging to Bai Jun's clothes, Hanya suddenly dropped to her knees with a thump, sitting on the floor with her legs folded beneath her. Her plump thighs pressed against the ground as she let out a mournful cry like a feathered beast.

"This is too awful. Why does it smell so good? Just the scent alone is already this intoxicating. If it went any further... I might just die, wouldn't I? But if I died, I would never see him again. Damn it, this is so agonizing..."

Knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the door, and a cool, pleasant voice carried into the room. "Little sister, are you there?"

Hanya, who had been immersed in something, instantly widened her eyes. Her voice broke terribly as the little reason she had left, nearly destroyed, returned. She immediately buried her mouth in Bai Jun's clothes, but Xue Yi outside the door still keenly detected something wrong.

"Little sister, are you in danger?"

"N-no! I'm completely fine, Sister!"

Her explanation came a step too late. Xue Yi had already kicked open the door. What met her eyes was Hanya kneeling on the floor, both hands hidden behind her back, cheeks flushed as if veiled in crimson gauze.

"Little sister, what are you..."

"I-I-I..."

Although she had hidden the clothes behind her back at the very last second, Hanya still felt as though her face were burning unbearably. Her reason seemed on the verge of collapsing again, and she did not even know how to do something as simple as speak.

"Your face is so red. Do you have a fever?"

Xue Yi walked over to Hanya's side and concernedly placed a hand against her forehead. It was a habit from when she had been alive, but the cold sensation quickly made Xue Yi realize that she was now merely a puppet body. She then wrapped one arm around Hanya's shoulders and slipped the other beneath her legs, carrying her in a bridal carry and placing her on the bed.

"Rest well. I shall ask a physician."

"N-no, I'm fine! Did you need something, Sister?"

As Xue Yi was about to turn away, Hanya anxiously grabbed her hand, stopping her from turning around. She was afraid Xue Yi would notice the clothes scattered on the floor.

"Do not force yourself..."

"I'm really fine, Sister!"

Seeing her little sister looking so pitiful that she seemed about to cry, Xue Yi could only answer honestly. "I wished to ask you to visit Sanyu Bookstore, receive Bai Jun's gift for me, and thank him on my behalf."

Yet the moment Bai Jun's name was mentioned, Xue Yi immediately turned her face away. Merely shifting her gaze discreetly would not have drawn too much attention, but she turned so swiftly that it was abrupt enough to seem like she was deliberately avoiding Bai Jun's name.

Hanya's expression gradually froze. The anxious, bashful emotions in her heart seemed to plunge instantly into a cold lake. She blinked blankly and subconsciously released Xue Yi's arm. "Why..."

"I-I do not know either... That is why I can only ask you, little sister..."

"I'm sorry, Sister. I have work later, so I'm afraid I don't have time."

For the first time, Hanya declined her older sister's request. Dazed, she got up and tried to put on her clothes, but for some reason, she could not fasten the buttons no matter what she did.

"Is that so... Little sister, do not push yourself. If you feel unwell, remember to consult a physician promptly."

Xue Yi wanted to reach out and stroke her younger sister's hair, but after her hand hovered in the air for a moment, it slowly fell again. She felt that perhaps now was not appropriate. As she turned away, her peripheral vision paused on the clothes on the floor for half a second, but she quickly stopped paying attention and left her sister's room.

Standing dazedly in the hallway, Xue Yi felt the already deathly still air around her grow even heavier.

Xue Yi could not face this "sincerity" of Bai Jun's. She did not know how to respond, and could not find an answer in her heart at all.

Thus, she lowered her scarlet eyes and considered what she should do. A strangely hollow whisper echoed within her heart.

"Lady Xue Yi? Lady Xue Yi, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with your mechanisms?"

A green figure appeared before her and worriedly waved a hand. Huo Huo had actually noticed Xue Yi standing dazed in the hallway long ago, but she had hesitated in fear for quite some time before daring to slowly approach.

"I am fine."

Xue Yi quickly shook off her confusion and returned to her expressionless, detached state. Looking at the little girl before her, she suddenly asked, "Huo Huo, do you remember Bai Jun, whom you met briefly last time?"

"Oh? This old man remembers him clearly!"

"T-tail, be quiet! Lady Xue Yi, I remember him."

Ignoring Tail's interruption, Xue Yi nodded after hearing Huo Huo's answer. She placed a hand on the girl's soft hair, and even her tone softened somewhat. "Good. I would like to ask Huo Huo to go to Sanyu Bookstore, find him, and accept his gift on my behalf."

"Eh!? M-me...? No, no, no, I absolutely can't do it!"

Huo Huo immediately shook her pretty face like a rattle drum. Her fingers, covered in bandages, uneasily twisted the hem of her clothes as she lowered her head, not daring to agree.

"Go, go, go! What does a little brat like you know? Hurry up and move! This great master doesn't want to spend tonight accompanying you to catch that bunch of boring evil spirits again!"

Before Xue Yi could say anything, Tail behind Huo Huo suddenly became excited. The green flames surged higher as he forcibly carried Huo Huo into the air, flying toward the space above Prison of Deep Seclusion.

"Waaah! No, I don't want to! I really don't want to!"

Facing Huo Huo's Tears, Master Tail Chose... (4.5k)

The long flute used to announce the time in Exalting Sanctum had sounded once, and night had fallen.

Unknowingly, the moon had risen above the lights of countless homes. The bustling streets had lost some of their splendor and gained a little more desolation.

The Luofu's markets differed somewhat from those in other regions. Usually, each realm was specifically divided into morning-market and night-market areas. This made markets easier to manage while also avoiding disruption to residential districts' normal routines. In Exalting Sanctum, most people's nighttime activities were concentrated around Aurum Alley.

As for the shops on the main streets of the realm, they had long since closed their doors. With the crowds returning home from work, the streets now held little besides unmanned convenience stores and the occasional sparse passerby.

Sitting on a bench near Sanyu Bookstore, Bai Jun looked at the street, where pedestrians were gradually disappearing, and let out a long yawn.

"So sleepy, so cold. I want to sleep..."

The chilly night wind slipped through the lining of his clothes, making him draw his neck in.

His watch showed 21:37. More than half an hour had passed since his last conversation with Xue Yi. Although they had only agreed to meet at Sanyu Bookstore, waiting like this was not a solution, so he prepared to ask Xue Yi what was going on through the Jade Omen.

But just as he opened the Jade Omen, a sound came from the other end of the street. Bai Jun raised his head, and when his gaze swept over a green figure, his expression became puzzled.

The green-haired little fox girl walking down the street had been anxiously looking around from the very beginning. Every now and then, she would open her mouth and say a few words to someone unknown, only to be startled by the slightest movement around her and clutch her head as she trembled.

Bai Jun had always had an excellent memory. Especially after seeing the tail burning with green flames, he immediately recalled her name. She seemed to be called Huo Huo? He remembered that she was a little underworld officer who followed behind Xue Yi and Hanya, and that tail behind her was a rather formidable Suiyang.

Though he did not know why she had come here, it was surely related to Xue Yi. Bai Jun, who had just been leaning against the bench in a daze, immediately stood and walked straight toward the little underworld officer.

At the moment, however, Huo Huo's attention was entirely fixed on Tail, and she did not notice the figure walking toward her.

"C-can I not go? That Bai Jun, h-he's so strong. He feels much stronger than even Lady Xue Yi. It's so scary..."

"I'm only telling you to greet him and pick something up, not to fight him with real weapons! And are you an ostrich or something? Every time something happens, you hide inside yourself. Why are you so cowardly?"