Given the conditions in the Land of Exile, anyone who had a chance to leave had long since left. Only Wu Jinliang had stayed by his side. Last time, Miao Yilan had offered him a chance to remain at Wangbo Tower, but Wu Jinliang had turned it down and continued following him.
Why? Wasn't it because Shi Chun had something Wu Jinliang considered worth following?
Wu Jinliang was the only one left at his side, both a brother and a friend. If even Wu Jinliang looked down on him, that would truly be a bitter regret.
Faced with her relentless questioning, he replied, "I don't know. I won't ask which lineage you belong to, and don't ask about mine either. If you insist, then I'm just a Rogue Demon. Let's talk about what to do here instead. How do you want to settle this?"
His tone softened as well. Since they were all people of the Demonic Path, he didn't want to leave himself without a way out. All they had to do was report him to the Heavenly Court, and he would spend the rest of his life hiding. If he offended the Demonic Path as well, neither the lawful nor the outlawed would tolerate him. He would have no way to survive.
Feng Chi could understand why he refused to reveal anything. Who knew which lineage he served as a hidden agent? If he exposed his background without permission, that lineage might not spare him.
So she stopped pressing the question and sneered. "How else can we settle it? Let her go at once!"
Shi Chun said, "I'd like to let her go, but if I do, will you let us go?"
Feng Chi raised her brows and snapped, "Has water gotten into your brain? A great undertaking is at hand. The Three-Lineage Blood Alliance has sworn an oath to unite our strength and stop killing one another. Only fair competition is permitted; anyone who violates that will face us all. As members of the three lineages, we must all honor that pledge."
Shi Chun said, "An agreement is an agreement, but even if you attacked us, no one here would see it."
Feng Chi grew angry. "It's one thing for the Heavenly Court to belittle us, but what is this about looking down on ourselves? Do you think everyone on the Demonic Path is a despicable little man like you?"
Shi Chun said, "Despicable or decent, only those who survive have the right to choose what kind of person they become. Surely you don't think you can toss out a couple of words and make me gamble my life on them?"
Feng Chi said, "Didn't you say you weren't carrying the Deed of Sale?"
The Deed of Sale? Ever since learning that they belonged to the Demonic Path, Shi Chun had somehow felt that it was no longer a reliable safeguard. It might not serve as a shield anymore. Even if it did, once he released her, they could capture him and force him to surrender the Deed of Sale. He would certainly suffer terribly in the process.
But after a rapid bout of thought, he changed his mind again.
When first confronted with something like this, anyone would think about escaping, and he was no exception. But now that he had discovered he too belonged to the Demonic Path, especially after finding that Demonic Qi could solve the cultivation problem that had plagued him for so long, he was reluctant to flee.
The reasoning was simple. If he parted ways with these two Demonic Path practitioners, where would he find more such stalwarts in the future? Surely he couldn't go around asking about them? If asking worked, he would never get the chance. The Heavenly Court would have done it long ago, and the Demonic Path would already be extinct.
In the end, it was the same old habit he had developed in the Land of Exile: whenever he saw an opportunity, he wanted to reach for it.
So he changed the subject outright. "The biggest problem now is, if I release her, how do I get into Mount Wukang?"
Feng Chi said, "How you get into Mount Wukang is your business. It has nothing to do with us."
"Nothing to do with you?" Shi Chun shook the woman held in his arms. "I sold her to sever her relationship with Bian Weikang completely. Only then could I present that achievement to Bian Jixiong and make it easier to enter Mount Wukang.
"Now she's going into Mount Wukang too, so what does that make me? I went and redeemed a brothel woman to become the Bian family's daughter-in-law. I've slapped Mount Wukang's face swollen. If Bian Jixiong saw me in person, he'd probably want to kill me. And I still want to enter Mount Wukang? Even dreams don't work that way.
"Only if you stay out of Mount Wukang can I get in. If you go in, I can't. Tell me, does that have anything to do with you?"
That was also the main reason he had decided to sell Xiang Lan'er after seeing the situation outside Liyun Tower. Making money had merely been incidental.
Both Feng Chi and the captive Xiang Lan'er froze. So that was why he had redeemed her and then sold her.
Cen Futong had already confessed the truth about how he had maneuvered this transaction among all the parties involved. Thinking about it now, redeeming and selling her really was an excellent way to strike several birds with one stone. He had pleased both Bian Weikang and Bian Jixiong, and made money on the side.
Clearly, if he hadn't run into them, his calculations would have worked out beautifully.
Naturally, Feng Chi refused to accept his argument. "You're blaming us? Nobody invited you. You reached into our affairs all on your own. You brought this on yourself."
Shi Chun said, "Given her background, getting into Mount Wukang was already a problem. Under normal circumstances, Mount Wukang could never accept her. There's only one possibility: you've already made arrangements there. Since that's the case, getting one person in is no different from getting two in. How about taking me along?"
Feng Chi refused. "You take your road, and we'll cross our bridge. There's no need to tie ourselves together. You'll have to excuse us."
Shi Chun said, "A breakdown in negotiations won't help anyone. Why force me to drag Miss Xiang down with me? How about this: take me into Mount Wukang, and I won't interfere with your business or compete with you for anything. If there's anything you need us for, just say the word. Once I get what I want, I'll return the Deed of Sale to you. If we can both benefit, there's no reason to send the chickens flying and smash all the eggs. What do you say?"
He won't compete? Feng Chi was puzzled. Could his purpose be different from ours? Isn't he after control of Mount Wukang? She immediately asked, "What exactly do you want to do at Mount Wukang?"
Shi Chun said, "Find someone. I can't tell you any more than that."
Find someone? Puzzled, Feng Chi looked toward Xiang Lan'er. This was not something she could decide.
By rights, they needn't agree, but the hostage was in his hands.
So the younger woman he was holding was the one who made the decisions. Shi Chun realized this and immediately told Feng Chi, "Turn around."
Feng Chi also realized what he intended to do and turned around at once.
With a swift, clean movement, Shi Chun unsealed Xiang Lan'er's mute acupoint.
Who knew his good intentions would immediately make things worse? After being unable to speak for so long, Xiang Lan'er opened her mouth with a chilling command. "Kill him!"
Feng Chi turned back at the sound and looked at her questioningly.
Xiang Lan'er repeated emphatically, "I said, kill him!"
Feng Chi's face immediately filled with distress. The demand was far too unrealistic, far too emotional.
Shi Chun was amused. This woman had something wrong with her head. If Feng Chi could kill him, she would have done it already. Why wait until now? He breathed into Xiang Lan'er's ear and said, "The Demonic Path is still the Demonic Path. What Three-Vein Pact? What agreement not to kill one another? Do you believe that yourself? I'll ask one last time. Do you agree or not? If you don't, I'll strip you naked right now, and then we can take our time talking."
As far as he knew, women outside placed great importance on their chastity in such matters, valuing it almost as much as their lives.
Xiang Lan'er clenched her pearly teeth, her face frosty. "You wouldn't dare!"
They were already pressed tightly together, so Shi Chun didn't even need to move his hands. He sent his magical power across and tore open a fastening on her outer robe.
Feng Chi cried out at the sight, "Stop!"
But Xiang Lan'er shouted fiercely, "Let him strip me!"
"..." Feng Chi started to speak, then stopped, her face full of anxiety.
Yet Shi Chun had only undone a single fastening on the hostage's outer robe. He didn't dare continue. He knew full well that if he actually stripped her naked, he would make a mortal enemy of her.
He had only meant to frighten her, but she refused to fall for it. Helplessness crept over him, and he cursed inwardly. I've run into a ruthless one. Definitely Demonic Path-she doesn't play by the usual rules.
Xiang Lan'er refused to let him off. "What? Don't dare strip me anymore?"
Shi Chun didn't quite know what to say. He felt the situation had reached a deadlock, but he didn't dare gamble by simply releasing her.
Just as he was pondering how to reassure both sides, Feng Chi suddenly turned toward one side and shouted, "Who's there?"
Fearing a trick, Shi Chun didn't dare let his attention be drawn away in an instant. He remained highly alert to her while quietly observing that direction from the corner of his eye.
The Demonic Qi permeating the mountain forest suddenly rippled. A figure broke through it as though appearing out of thin air: a Shabby Old Man with disheveled, graying hair, holding a wine gourd. His tangled hair obscured his face, but his large, shiny red drunkard's nose was conspicuous. Slippers poked out beneath his filthy trouser legs, and he looked every inch a beggar.
The speed of his appearance startled everyone and set every nerve taut.
Feng Chi quickly glanced at Shi Chun. She had initially thought he was an expert from Shi Chun's side, but Shi Chun's reaction clearly showed otherwise, making her even more nervous.
If they all belonged to the Demonic Path, the oath of the three lineages could still resolve matters. If not, outsiders generally showed little mercy to the Demonic Path. Her first instinct was to flee, but the Saintess was being held hostage, leaving her in a terrible bind.
The Shabby Old Man tipped back his head and took a swig of wine. Then, belching, he pointed at the wisps of Demonic Qi still coiling around Feng Chi. "I wondered where this Demonic Qi came from. So it was you. I've visited Liyun Tower myself. Never thought you, its madam, would turn out to be a demon. Unlucky for you, running into me today!"
As he finished, he flicked a finger toward her, unleashing a force like a thunderstorm sweeping over a mountain ridge.
Feng Chi's face changed drastically. As she dodged at full speed, the Demonic Qi around her hastily formed a shield to protect her.
Boom! Like a thunderclap bursting apart, the shield of energy shattered. Feng Chi was blasted backward into the mountain forest like a meteor, the blood spurting from her mouth falling to the ground like mountain rain.
The bank notes she had searched out from Cen Futong also fluttered down slowly.
Both the captive Xiang Lan'er and Shi Chun seemed to have been struck by lightning.
Shi Chun in particular was utterly horrified. With a mere flick of his finger, the newcomer had crushed Feng Chi so thoroughly that his cultivation was obvious. Feng Chi was at least in the Advanced Martial Grand Completion Realm. Did this Shabby Old Man's cultivation even need stating? He was at least a Human Immortal.
After so long in the Land of Exile, where everyone had essentially operated at the same cultivation level, he had come out and taken his very first job, kidnapping someone, only to draw out one expert after another, each stronger than the last. He was growing numb. How was he supposed to keep playing this game?
After defeating Feng Chi with one finger, the Shabby Old Man turned his gaze toward them. Shi Chun's scalp prickled. Inwardly, he cursed himself furiously for courting death. Why couldn't I just stay a perfectly respectable man of the righteous path? Why become someone of the Demonic Path? Wonderful. I'm probably the shortest-lived Demonic Path practitioner in the world.
He bitterly felt that this damned life wouldn't give him even a single chance to choose.