The old yellow bamboo mat by the small window was lowered, and the fiery red maples in the courtyard were reduced to faint silhouettes, their vibrant colors cut off from view.
Beside the window, Jian Huan leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, her glistening dark eyes reflecting the figure of the young man by the bed.
Shen Jizhi stood sideways to Jian Huan, his slender, bamboo-like fingers meticulously and patiently loosening his belt.
The ck robe hung loosely as he gently gripped the cor and let it slide off his shoulders, revealing a thinyer of white undergarments and trousers beneath.
The old bamboo mat had several holes of varying sizes, and the autumn afternoon sunlight streamed boldly through them.
A few rays fell on the ground, while a couplended on Shen Jizhi, leaving oval-shaped patches of light on his body.
Suddenly, the light patches trembled violently, as if stirred by a gust of wind.
Shen Jizhi turned slightly, his half-open white undergarments exposing the smooth, mountain-like contours of his muscles, which now caught Jian Huan’s gaze.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
As he turned, the light that had been resting on his hair shifted to illuminate the ridges of his muscles.
The light stretched into a beam, with countless specks of dust swirling within it, like tiny fireflies.
The fireflies seemed to dance, as if gently kissing the mountains, tender and lingering.
The autumn afternoon was always quiet.
So quiet that Jian Huan could hear the beating of her own heart, steady and rhythmic.
Shen Jizhi asked leisurely, “Well?”
Jian Huan instinctively straightened up, tucking a strand of ck hair behind her ear to hide her ears, which felt like they were burning.
She forced herself to sound calm, though her voice came out a bit dry. “Not bad, but nothing special.”
“Is that so?” He raised an eyebrow.
A gust of wind swept by, and in the next moment, Shen Jizhi appeared right in front of Jian Huan.
Jian Huan’s breath hitched for a moment. She kept her eyes down, resisting the urge to step back, and straightened her posture, speaking with feigned confidence. “From the way you were acting earlier, I thought you had some amazing physique, but now that I see it—”
She nced down, her eyes glistening even more, though she quickly suppressed it.
Her gaze darted back to his face. “It’s nothing special. You should keep working on it.”
Jian Huan reached out, pinching the cor of his half-open undergarments with her delicate fingers and closing it with a look of disdain. “Ugh, cover this up. It’s so ugly, it’s hurting my eyes.”
Shen Jizhi chuckled softly. “Today, I’ve truly learned what it means to lie through one’s teeth.”
Just as Jian Huan was about to retort, Shen Jizhi reached out, half-embracing her waist, and firmly pushed her out of the room.
Jian Huan steadied herself and turned around quickly, her eyes wide. “What are you doing?”
Shen Jizhi’s high ponytail had loosened, with a few strands falling loose. He leaned against the doorframe, one hand holding the wooden door ring, his voice soft and moist, as if it carried a hint of water. “Whates next isn’t for your eyes.”
With that, the door mmed shut.
Jian Huan stared at the closed wooden door, blinking once, then twice.
When the meaning of his words finally sank in, her cheeks flushed as red as the maples outside the courtyard.
W-What’s that supposed to mean? Who wants to see that anyway? She might get an eye infection from looking at something like that!
Jian Huan had said she was going to pack her things, but in truth, she didn’t have much to pack. It only took her the time it took to drink a cup of tea to finish.
Having stayed here for four days, the old woman of the house was reluctant to see her go and brought over a basket of bright yellow oranges. “Here, take these for the road. My husband grows these orange trees in the countryside. They’re homegrown and very sweet.”
Jian Huan, who had been sitting at the table, quickly stood up and walked over to hug the old woman, smiling warmly. “Thank you, Auntie. You’re so kind. Your cooking is amazing!”
“I’m d you liked it,” the old woman said, patting Jian Huan’s shoulder. “I need to go check on the fields, so I won’t see you off. Just close the courtyard gate when you leave.”
Jian Huan nodded, taking the basket of oranges. “Got it.”
Standing by the window, Jian Huan watched as the old woman left, carrying a shovel and a bag of wood ash. After a moment of thought, she took out a small pill from her storage pouch.
Sinceing out of seclusion and having plenty of spirit stones, Jian Huan hadn’t been too hard on herself.
She had bought various medicinal baths and spirit herbs to aid her cultivation. It was an investment, after all. Once she reached the Nascent Soul stage, she would surely earn more spirit stones than she did at the Golden Core stage.
Jian Huan formed a hand seal, and a sh of golden-green spiritual energy carried the tiny pill to the well in the courtyard, where it dissolved into the water.
It might not have the power to extend life, but it would certainly protect the old woman and her family from illness and keep them in good health.
After finishing this, she leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and picking up a brush to write while waiting for Shen Jizhi to call her.
Even though some time had passed since she left his room, the image of him half-dressed, his abs partially exposed, kept shing in her mind.
As she wrote, Jian Huan couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
When she first met Shen Jizhi, she had thought he was a hypocrite. Despite his cold and noble appearance, she had always suspected he had a dirty mind.
And now, he had revealed his true colors.
Of course, it wasn’t surprising. A poor boy who had grown up in the streets and even worked as an errand boy in a brothel—how could he not know such things?
She had to stay strong.
Everything had to wait until he repaid his debt. If she gave in too soon, given Shen Jizhi’s dirty mind, he might just weasel out of paying her back.
No, no.
Finishing thest stroke, Jian Huan cleaned the brush with a cleansing spell and stored it in her pouch.
The half-open gate creaked as it was pushed wider. Jian Huan’s bedroom had a view of the front courtyard, and hearing the sound, she looked up, her gaze freezing for a moment in surprise.
It was mid-afternoon, and the autumn sun hung low in the sky.
The person entering was dressed in a light pink robe, with a few brighter peach blossoms embroidered on the cor.
His usually tied-up ck hair was now half-down, flowing gently in the breeze behind him.
Jian Huan recognized the outfit—it was something they had confiscated from an ountant in the Dark Hall.
Shen Jizhi usually wore ck, asionally white or green.
This was the first time Jian Huan had seen him in pink.
The cold elegance mixed with the vibrant allure of peach blossoms made him look like a peach blossom demon, effortlessly captivating.
The peach blossom demon stopped by Jian Huan’s window, leaning down slightly and tapping the window frame with his knuckles. “Let’s go.”
Jian Huan uncrossed her legs and hopped out of the window, closing it behind her. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the pink robe, and she couldn’t help butment, “Why don’t you just wear ck?”
Shen Jizhi asked casually, “Why?”
“You in pink…” Jian Huan nced at him and snorted, “looks terrible.”
Shen Jizhi chuckled lightly, his gaze falling on her own pink dress. “It’s fine. Whoever looks worse should feel embarrassed.”
He had learned this phrase from Jian Huan a couple of days ago when they had encountered two people wearing the same style of dress on their way to the Ningzhang City Lord’s Mansion. Jian Huan had muttered it under her breath.
Jian Huan: “…”
Jian Huan shot him a re, gritting her teeth. “What do you mean by that? Who are you saying looks bad?”
“Me,” Shen Jizhi said, lowering his gaze and stepping forward to push the gate open wider, letting Jian Huan pass first. He repeated calmly, “I’m saying I look bad.”
“Good that you know it,” Jian Huan said, finally looking away. She waited at the door for him to close it, then opened her palm to admire what she had written.
Shen Jizhi walked over and asked casually, “What did you write on your hand?”
Jian Huan smiled at him and raised her palm to his eye level.
In her palm, the characters “100,000” were written boldly and confidently, the stroke of the “10,000” character almost piercing through the ground.
Jian Huan waved her palm, tilting her chin up with a roguish grin. “Pay up, Shen Jizhi. 100,000 spirit stones, Shen Jizhi. I know you’ve got about 80,000 on you now. Don’t even think about cheating me, got it?”
Shen Jizhi: “…”
Shen Jizhi stared for a moment, then suddenly reached out and lightly pinched her fingertips. His muchrger palm brushed against hers, and a sh of five-colored spiritual energy passed between them.
His hand, calloused from years of wielding a sword, left a faint shiver in its wake.
Before Jian Huan could react, Shen Jizhi released her hand and walked ahead.
Jian Huan stood still, flipping her palm over to see that the bold characters “100,000” hadpletely vanished.
Furious, Jian Huan drew her silver sword and swung it at him. “Ah—Shen Jizhi, I’m going to kill you!”
Shen Jizhi neither turned his head nor avoided her, the pink hem of his robe fluttering in the wind, much like the slight curve of his lips at that moment.
The two of them bickered and teased each other all the way, traveling from Ningzhang City to Zhangzhou City, then taking the fastest teleportation array, arriving at Jiuzhou City, the most bustling and lively city on the Nine Provinces Continent, by nightfall.
On the Nine Provinces Continent, some cities were predominantly inhabited by ordinary folks, while others had a mix ofmoners and cultivators.
In Jiuzhou City, however, cultivators made up the majority.
A moon partially obscured by clouds hung in the sky. Though it waste, the streets of the city were still crowded.
Teahouses and taverns were especially lively.
As Jian Huan passed by, she eavesdropped on a few conversations, most of which revolved around the theft of the Bodhi Pagoda.
"To me, the thief might be one of the four gatekeepers who were on duty that night!"
"I think so too. Where are those four elders now?"
"They''re being interrogated at the Imperial Pacification Office..."
"I don’t think it’s them. If it were confirmed that the elders did it, the major sects would have found some clues by now. Would they really need to mobilize everyone and offer a reward of a million spirit stones?"
"That’s true. By the way, did you visit the Jiuzhou Treasure Hall today? Did you notice anything unusual?"
"To my shame, I didn’t find anything..."
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi exchanged a nce.
The thief hadn’t been caught, and no one knew how they had infiltrated the Treasure Hall to steal the Bodhi Pagoda. After the incident, all the other treasures in the hall had been moved, leaving the Jiuzhou Treasure Hall empty, open for investigation.
With their eyes on the million-spirit-stone reward, the two wasted no time and hurried to the Treasure Hall.
An old steward with low cultivation was left to watch over the hall. Hunched over and carrying antern, he led Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi inside. "You’re here to take a look sote?"
"Are we disturbing your rest?" Jian Huan smiled sweetly, her voice soft and gentle, as she was well aware of the trouble they were causing. "My brother and I are just too anxious. We just arrived in Jiuzhou City and wanted to see for ourselves. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight."
At this, she paused, tilting her head to look at the pink-robed young man beside her, herughter tinkling like silver bells. "Right, brother?"
Shen Jizhi’s steps faltered for a moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.
He knew Jian Huan was intentionally calling him that. During their journey to Jiuzhou, the two had been bickering nonstop, dredging up old grievances.
Somehow, it had reminded Jian Huan of how he once imed he disliked this form of address.
He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
Truthfully, it wasn’t that he disliked it.
The old steward shook his head, his voice raspy as if phlegm clung to his throat. "Not at all. At my age, I don’t sleep much anyway." He chuckled, the deep wrinkles on his face creasing further. "When I was young, I cultivated with dreams of immortality, but I had no talent. After all my efforts, I only reached the lowest level of Qi Refining. An old man at the Qi Refining stage isn’t much different from an ordinary person. When you’re old, you’re just old, useless..."
The others who usually worked with him had all gone to the new hall, leaving him alone to guard this empty one.
The old steward seemed disheartened, mutteringints under his breath.
Jian Huanforted him, "That’s not true, Grandpa. You’re still strong and capable!"
Shen Jizhi nced over, his gaze shifting from the frail steward to Jian Huan, who was tantly lying through her teeth, and shook his head slightly.
Jian Huan continued chatting with the old steward. "Grandpa, did you notice anything unusual on the night the Bodhi Pagoda was stolen?"
The old steward liked lively and spirited youngsters like Jian Huan, so he answered her patiently with a smile. "No, it wasn’t much different from usual. Not just me, but the four elders said the same. I was guarding the main gate, and the four elders were guarding the Treasure Hall, but none of them noticed anything. They all believed they were doing their duty properly..."
The old steward lowered his voice, his sunken eyes scanning the dark, shadowy halls around them.
The intricate flying eaves and brackets that looked magnificent during the day now resembled eerie, nameless monsters lurking in the darkness, sending a chill down one’s spine.
The old steward shrank back, a bit frightened himself. "Those four elders—three at the Nascent Soul stage and one at the Deity Transformation stage—such powerful figures, yet none of them noticed anyone entering or leaving the Treasure Hall. They didn’t even realize the Bodhi Pagoda was gone. Isn’t that strange?"
Shen Jizhi, who had been listening quietly, frowned slightly. "Elder, I heard the four elders are temporarily detained at the Imperial Pacification Office. Has anyone searched their memories?"
"They couldn’t," the old steward replied, handing thentern to Jian Huan and pulling out a formation key from his waist. He tossed it toward the hall’s entrance, and as the key touched the formation, the ancient doors slowly creaked open. "The elders all imed they had nothing to do with it and reacted fiercely, refusing to let anyone search their memories. But then again, even the most upright person might have secrets in their memories. If it were me, I wouldn’t agree either."
At this, Shen Jizhi pursed his lips, his face slightly flushed, and fell silent.
Jian Huan handed thentern back to the old steward, who took it and led them to the white jade tform where the Bodhi Pagoda had once been ced.
Shen Jizhi reached out, gently running his fingers over the surface of the jade tform as the old steward continued rambling.
"The elders refused, so the Imperial Pacification Office didn’t dare act rashly. These elders were sent by the major sects, so they couldn’t be easily dealt with." The old steward paused, muttering, "Elder Gao, for instance, is the younger brother of the Tian Yan Sect’s leader. Quite the influential figure."
Hearing this, Jian Huan’s steps halted, her eyes slowly lighting up in the darkness.