To ensure the auction proceeded without a hitch, the city lord acted with incredible speed, immediately dispatching the guards to the Su family’s residence to capture Su Yulin, who had been publicly accused by name.
Before long, Su Yulin was caught completely off guard and taken into custody.
When he learned that his arrest was due to Yaomei’s report, he was nearly fuming with disbelief. How could someone be so shameless in this world?
“You’re mixed up with the demonic path from Wanhua Valley, yet you’re here accusing me of consorting with them? Who’s the real demonic spy here?”
But Su Yulin had no way to express his frustrations; he could only repeatedly insist he was innocent and had no dealings with the demonic path.
True, he did have some dealings with an organization called the Black Dragon Society, but that was not the demonic path!
As the young master of the Su family, it was hardly wrong to seek external alliances to benefit himself. The city lord couldn’t possibly interfere with every family matter, could he?
Yet no matter how much he explained, the city lord refused to believe him. After all, Yaomei had come with disciples from Yaochi to report Su Yulin, and her testimony carried weight—better to be safe than sorry.
In the end, whether Su Yulin was innocent or guilty didn’t matter; he was to be detained until the auction ended.
……
With only a few days left before the auction began, such a major incident exploded like a bomb dropped onto the calm surface of Huiyue City, shattering its outward peace completely.
When the various families learned through their channels about why Su Yulin had been arrested, they found the situation bizarre.
The internal strife within the Su family had reached such a grave level that even the demonic path was involved?
And who exactly was this Yaomei that had become the center of the storm?
Amid all the rumors, the Su family remained oddly silent. They neither spoke nor acted, as if the person arrested wasn’t even one of their own.
Neither the ailing old patriarch nor the clearly designated heir, the eldest young master Su, was to be seen—they seemed to have vanished into thin air.
The only one still wandering in public view was the infamous useless young master, who was busy chasing after some mysterious girl he had his heart set on.
……
“You’re really here!”
Su Yusheng didn’t let Su Yulin’s arrest shake him emotionally; his entire focus these days was on finding someone, and today he had finally found the girl who haunted his dreams.
Gazing at the white-robed masked girl standing alone in the abandoned courtyard, he couldn’t help but take a few eager steps forward, his eyes shining with longing.
“You shouldn’t have come.” The girl sighed softly.
“Huh?”
Su Yusheng was at a loss, and Huajian looked helpless.
“Sigh… the city has been chaotic lately, with all sorts of forces clashing openly and in secret. It’s dangerous for you to come see me now.”
“Ha! So that’s what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, it’s just that Su Yulin got arrested. Our Su family doesn’t lack his kind,” Su Yusheng laughed heartily, completely unconcerned by Su Yulin’s predicament.
In his mind, Su Yulin was a dispensable nuisance, and he secretly hoped the accusations of Su Yulin’s demonic corruption would be proven true.
“Enough of that. Little Young Master Su, why have you come to me? I don’t have any extra tokens left to sell you.”
“I don’t want tokens. I want you to help me!” Su Yusheng’s eyes reddened as he spoke.
Unlike cautious Su Yulin, Su Yusheng was oblivious to the faintly strange fragrance in the air he was breathing. After so long, his mind was completely ensnared, losing all reason.
He spoke without thinking, emotion overpowering logic, willing to risk everything to accomplish what he desired.
All these negative effects combined to make Su Yusheng little more than a puppet Huajian could manipulate at will.
“Oh? How do you want me to help you?”
“Help me get rid of that bastard—make him disappear forever…”
“That’s not so simple, Little Young Master Su. Have you thought about how much you’re willing to pay me?” Huajian laughed lightly, her voice like a silver bell.
The clear laughter made Su Yusheng’s heart itch. Without hesitation, he said, “Whatever you want, just ask!”
Spiritual stones, power, status—anything he could offer was on the table.
But Huajian didn’t want any of those things. What she desired was information.
“I want to know Yaomei’s secret. Why did Su Yulin target her? What was Su Yulin hoping to trade her for?”
“Tell me these secrets, and I’ll help you send Su Yulin straight to hell.”
As she spoke, Huajian stepped close to Su Yusheng, a verdant vine sprouting from her palm, spraying a colorful mist onto his face.
The spray plunged Su Yusheng into complete confusion; he forgot who he was and what he was supposed to do—only that he must carry out the task Huajian had assigned.
Watching Su Yusheng stagger away like a shambling corpse, Huajian stroked her chin and let out a soft puff.
This guy’s resistance to the mist was way too low; she had really pushed her technique to its limit.
The cultivation method she practiced was a nameless one she’d found under a bed, likely passed down in her family.
When she transmigrated, her parents were already gone, leaving no way to trace its origin.
The manual said that if cultivated to the extreme, a single sleeve flourish could topple the world, and a dance could ignite chaos everywhere—grandiose claims indeed.
But everyone knew those boastful claims on cultivation manuals were never to be trusted. Every manual had such lines, boasting of greatness far beyond reality.
Like Huajian’s technique, a single sleeve flourish did cause people to topple over—but the reason was somewhat questionable.
When the mist sprayed on a person’s face, if they didn’t fall, something was wrong.
Her attack on Su Yusheng was the first time she’d unleashed her technique at full power, relying on the fine spiritual energy control she’d learned from a grass-planting spell.
She had painstakingly controlled the mist’s amount—not too much, not too little—just enough to cause confusion without complete unconsciousness, so Su Yusheng would remember her words as his own ideas and obsessions once sober.
At least, that’s what the cultivation method said; as for the actual effect, Huajian herself wasn’t certain.
It was her first time trying after all; cut her some slack.
Just as she was about to leave, a chill suddenly shot up her spine.
Almost instinctively, she activated her escape technique; her body instantly disintegrated into countless multicolored flower petals.
The next moment, a ball of black fire descended from the sky, engulfing the spot where she had stood moments before.
If she hadn’t reacted in time, she would have been consumed by the flames and died.
The petals regrouped a short distance away, and Huajian’s expression turned grave as she looked up at the black-clad figure hovering above the courtyard.
From the spiritual pressure radiating off him, this man was a Spirit King—a fairly strong one at that.
The strike just now wasn’t his full power; if he had gone all out, she could only run—and might not even escape.
Still, Huajian wasn’t worried the man would use full strength. His attack reeked of demonic energy, and Huiyue City was already on high alert.
If a Spirit King demonic cultivator acted recklessly here, it would be suicidal.
She could use her escape technique to buy time; even if she wasn’t killed outright, the city lord’s guards would soon arrive to deal with the intruder.
Realizing this, Huajian felt no fear. She bet this Spirit King wouldn’t dare risk his life fighting her. Even if he got reckless and tried, she had ways to stall.
The gap between Spirit King and Spirit Master wasn’t huge; with full escape technique, the Spirit King couldn’t catch her quickly.
The pressure he exerted was far less than from Youye.
“So impolite of you to greet me like that,” she said, looking up at the black-clad man, who bore a strikingly similar disguise, his face completely hidden.
“Do you think I don’t know what you’ve done? Su Yulin was the one you sent in, right? Ha, having connections at the city lord’s mansion—no wonder,” the man said coldly.
Huajian immediately understood: she’d been branded as a villain of Wanhua Valley again.
But at this point, being misunderstood was almost a good thing; villain-to-villain communication was smoother than villain-to-hero.
Without this misunderstanding, the black-clad man probably wouldn’t have shown up.
“What are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.”
“I advise you to do what’s best for yourselves. That person doesn’t belong to you. If you hand them over now, maybe I can pretend nothing happened.”
Another threat. Huajian crossed her arms and scoffed. She wasn’t easily intimidated.
“Best for yourselves? No, I think those demon scoundrels are the ones who should be careful.”
Backed by the city lord, Huajian could indirectly mobilize most of Huiyue City’s forces. What was this little Spirit King in comparison?
“That person doesn’t belong to you. Then does that mean they belong to us? Treasures naturally belong to the virtuous. Since they are in our hands, they are ours,” Huajian retorted.
“Are you determined to oppose us to the end?”
“No, no, you misunderstand. It’s not us opposing you; it’s you opposing us. That’s the question I should be asking you.” Huajian shook her head, unwilling to admit they were the provocateurs.
But the truth was clear: the black-clad man’s faction had been provoking her all along.
Before this, Huajian had never met them. This ambush was their first move—a blatant provocation.
As for the Yaoxiao matter… well, she had just stumbled upon it. If the black-clad faction’s name was written on that treasure, what was she supposed to do?
If they were too weak to seize it, why blame her for passing by?
“I want you to recognize the facts. We never intended to be your enemy; you’ve been pushing aggressively all along,” Huajian responded seriously.
“We’re no pushovers. If you keep forcing us, don’t blame us for striking back!”
The black-clad man narrowed his eyes. Those Wanhua Valley women had guts to talk like that—who gave them such boldness?
They really thought having Huaxinyuan, that Spirit Emperor, backing them meant they could run wild? Ha, wait till his senior brother arrives—let’s see if they still act so arrogant!
“Looks like you’d rather drink the bitter wine than the sweet. I’ll be the first to strike!”
“Come then! I want to see who dies first—me, or the city’s guards!”
Their gazes clashed midair, sparking invisible flames. Huajian’s tone was brazen: she would run and stall, sure he couldn’t kill her quickly.
If this were anyone else, the black-clad man might have wasted words to provoke a direct fight, but against Wanhua Valley people, he had no such thoughts.
He knew well that if a fight broke out, Huajian would turn and flee, not fight him.
Wanhua Valley cultivators had always been shameless, lacking any proper pride or self-respect.
After all, their former name was Hehuan Valley, known for cultivating through promiscuity.
With that origin, could anyone expect them to have any dignity?
“Hope you still have that kind of luck next time,” the black-clad man cursed venomously and vanished in flames.
Huajian remained alert, standing guard a while longer. Only after she was sure her enemy was gone did she swiftly leave the scene.
“Wow, that Spirit King was shameless—he actually had to ambush a Spirit Master like me!”
Back at the inn, Huajian immediately found Linglong to vent. This demonic Spirit King was so unprincipled, resorting to sneaky attacks!
Watching Huajian sitting opposite her, wiping tears while cursing, Linglong suspected she was faking it.
Knowing Huajian well, this girl wouldn’t be so rattled by a single ambush.
Undoubtedly, Huajian was playing the victim.
And her goal was probably to gain something from Linglong.
With that in mind, Linglong had a good idea.
If Huajian was pretending to be pitiful, why couldn’t she take the initiative to compensate her? Who held the upper hand mattered a lot.
“So dangerous,” Linglong nodded, then stood and walked over to Huajian.
“Sorry for dragging you into trouble again.”
Huajian was so surprised by such a sincere apology that she was almost at a loss for her rehearsed sob story.
Wow, how could Little Dragon Girl be so pure-hearted? I don’t even feel like faking tears anymore…