They had already spent all the spirit stones Wang Xingwei had on him.
Cheng Yao had no choice but to return dispiritedly to the Spirit Herb Garden and carry on as its little farm girl.
Not long afterward, in a deserted alley not far from the robe shop Cheng Yao and Wang Xingwei had visited, in a spot the sunlight could not reach.
A figure was cautiously emerging from the shadows, while another figure beside her spoke gently to her.
Moving as slowly as a tortoise, the first figure seemed about to step out of the shadows.
But just then-
Voices suddenly sounded at the mouth of the alley.
They were not loud, yet the figure about to emerge from the shadows instantly shrank back like a startled rabbit, reflexively clamping both hands around the arm of the person beside her.
It was as though the voices coming from the alley entrance belonged to some terrifying evil spirit.
With his arm held in a death grip, Qi Hanmo's face immediately stiffened with discomfort.
He often wore a long white gown, had a rather romantic air about him, and enjoyed playing music, giving the impression of a charming, carefree man of talent.
In truth, however, Qi Hanmo came from a scholarly family. Under his father's and grandfather's tutelage, he had studied the ancient sages' classics from childhood and strictly observed their moral teachings and rules of propriety.
Far from being a ladies' man, he was rigidly conventional, especially serious about maintaining boundaries between men and women. He believed unmarried men and women should not touch.
Now that the woman beside him had grabbed him, he immediately moved to pull his arm free.
But when he turned, he saw eyes filled with utter terror, like those of a stray cat suddenly