The Rong Family head had suffered the karmic backlash and taken severe damage to his vitality. But Lang Jiuchuan, who had slain two evil beings in succession, was not faring much better — she too had suffered deep damage to her vitality. Repeatedly driving the lightning arts had consumed vast quantities of her spiritual power and refined essence. In her old body, she would never have dared to push herself like this. It was only because the last time she had helped Ning Zhe survive his lightning tribulation that she had absorbed lightning power and expanded and strengthened her meridians — only that gave her the confidence to do it now.

Even so, she had exhausted herself and injured her essence. Fortunately, the aftermath of the river sprite’s rampage at Qiong River was being handled by Gong Qi and the others. So she found a mountain valley and entered a deep period of closed cultivation.

Time passes without measure in the mountains, and in cultivation even more so.

When Lang Jiuchuan emerged from the Small Nine Pagoda and returned to her physical body — which had been kept wrapped in water essence all this while — she opened her eyes to find Fuqi and Jiangche both cultivating in the distance.

Jiangche had still been absorbed in breaking through to the next stage when she slew the two evil beings, so she had left it behind at the Ten Thousand Affairs Shop and hadn’t brought it along. Now it had long since awakened, its spirit sense fully merging with its tiger body — its white fur smooth and thick, its pair of golden tiger eyes commanding and fierce, radiating a powerful killing aura.

It had become a magnificent little tiger cub.

Sensing Lang Jiuchuan’s movement, it flashed and leaped through the air in an instant, landing on her shoulder. It licked her face and said with some frustration: “Next time you’re slaying evil, try to wait for me.”

It hadn’t expected that after absorbing the lightning power and the feedback of Heaven and Earth’s spiritual energy, it would take so long to digest it all — long enough to miss fighting alongside Lang Jiuchuan. Seeing how heavily she had depleted her vitality, it knew those had been two fierce and dangerous battles.

Jiangche was deeply vexed at having been unable to help.

Lang Jiuchuan felt her shoulder sink with its weight. She grabbed it and pulled it down, her eyes lighting up at the sight of its dense, thick fur. She immediately reached over and ran her hands through it a few times — only to frown.

“The fur is too coarse.”

A true great tiger’s fur would never be as soft as a person’s hair — it would become a weapon in its own right. The greater the power, the more skillfully it would be used.

Jiangche knew her habits well. It reined in its aura — and by some means unknown, its fur became soft.

Lang Jiuchuan was satisfied. She hadn’t missed its low mood, and said: “There will be plenty of time ahead — opportunities to fight side by side are many, no need to rush. This little tiger is still young and weak. No matter how strong your power, your teeth aren’t sharp enough yet — you’d likely just die pointlessly alongside me, which would be a terrible loss.”

Jiangche looked up at her with those great golden eyes, her reflection caught in them, and said: “That’s not quite right — how have you gotten to where you are? I’ve been watching you this whole time. Did you ever show fear even once?”

Lang Jiuchuan smiled.

No, she hadn’t.

But she thought back to the moment when Daoren Ruoxu had attacked the dying half-demon while she herself was utterly spent — that helplessness had stayed with her, nagging at her deeply.

She hated that feeling of helplessness.

Ruoxu’s target had been the half-demon. But what if he had not cared about that, and thrown that talisman at her instead? Even with her fierce will to survive, she would have been at a disadvantage simply because her strength was insufficient.

That feeling of being at the mercy of others — she deeply disliked it, and she never wanted to feel it again. It also taught her that no matter what she was dealing with, she must always leave herself one last way out.

She still wasn’t strong enough.

Lang Jiuchuan pinched the scruff of Jiangche’s neck, storms of thought surging behind her eyes.

A crack of footsteps.

Fuqi walked over. Lang Jiuchuan said: “Innkeeper, why aren’t you back at the Ten Thousand Affairs Shop minding the store?”

“We’re not short on money. We have money.” Fuqi said four cold, hard words: “You are more important.”

He had gone to excavate the genuine tomb of a corrupt official from a former dynasty, donated most of the findings for the building of roads and bridges, and kept a few good things — among them no small number of precious antiques and jewels.

So running the shop — it didn’t matter if business was slow. What truly mattered was that Lang Jiuchuan had to be safe and sound. She appeared strong and formidable, but she stood alone, with no one truly behind her. Who could she rely on — the Marquis Kaiping’s residence?

Her powerful enemies were the Rong Family, the Xuan Clan, and even the Tantai imperial family. The stronger she became, the more of a threat she was to them — enough to make them sit as if on a bed of needles, filled with fear and alarm.

Those not of one’s kind must harbor different intentions.

An uncontrollable yet powerful person would cause many with shared interests to unite against them.

She would become a thorn in all their sides.

How then could he leave her to go into closed cultivation alone when her vitality was so severely depleted? What if someone chose this moment to strike? Someone had to stand guard and protect her.

Lang Jiuchuan: “…”

She said nothing. She just sat there running her hands through Jiangche’s fur, watching Fuqi — whose face was cold and heavy, emanating waves of lethal intent — and smiled.

“Let’s go home.”

Who said she stood alone and had no one? Were these companions not always at her side?

When she emerged from closed cultivation, time had long since moved into the Month of the Five Poisons, and the Dragon Boat Festival had already passed. Yet Wu Jing was unusually lively. Lang Jiuchuan made a trip to the Surveillance Division, and only then learned that the young Rong heir was preparing to marry Tantai Cong in a grand wedding.

So suddenly?

Gong Qi said with meaningful deliberateness: “The Rong Family head slew a centuries-old flying cadaver demon at Pingshan and suffered severe damage to his vitality and cultivation — his family needs a celebration to drive away the ill fortune. Besides, the young Rong heir is of age — marriage is perfectly natural.”

Lang Jiuchuan laughed. “Drive away ill fortune? Suffering severe damage from slaying a centuries-old flying cadaver demon — do you believe that?”

What a coincidence — she had just slain the half-demon, and whoever held that half-demon’s contract would inevitably suffer the backlash. And then in the very next breath, the Rong Family head happened to sustain serious losses to his vitality and energy from a great battle with a flying cadaver demon. Who would believe that?

Gong Qi said flatly: “Believe it or not — that’s for each person to judge. The Rong Family prepared this excuse well in advance; the flying cadaver demon is a real thing.”

Lang Jiuchuan gave a contemptuous smile. “True enough. After all, they are a Xuan Clan lineage over a hundred years old — covering up a rumor isn’t difficult. They could probably even produce a flying cadaver demon for the occasion. A family with that kind of deep foundation can manage such things.”

The insinuation was layered — and also took a jab at the Gong Family while she was at it.

Gong Qi gave a wry smile. “No matter how well-prepared their cover story, the Law Enforcement Hall and the Surveillance Division are both investigating. Keeping a half-demon for personal use goes against the harmony of Heaven.”

Lang Jiuchuan remained noncommittal. It didn’t matter to her anymore — she had never counted on rumors actually killing a Foundation Establishment master cultivator. She needed to save that for killing him herself.

“The Rong Family is in such a hurry — it’s clear the Rong Family head’s cultivation truly suffered greatly.” Lang Jiuchuan looked at Gong Qi. “I’ve heard the Rong Family has a great protective formation around their clan grounds, and outsiders may not enter freely?”

“You’re not thinking of forcing your way in, are you?” Gong Qi immediately caught the hidden meaning in those words. He gave her a sideways look and said: “The Rong Family had an ancestor who cultivated all the way to Core Formation — that ancestral protective formation was laid by that elder. With her will sustaining it, and with regular upkeep over the years, if you enter without a clan member to guide you, you’ll be lost in the illusory realm within the formation. If no clan member finds you in time, you’ll likely lose your life inside it.”

Lang Jiuchuan’s eyes flickered, then she asked: “When the young Rong heir gets married, from which gate will she depart?”

Gong Qi looked at her long and deeply: “You’re planning to cause trouble?”

“How could I? The young heir of a Xuan Clan is getting married — at the very least I should send her a great gift.” Lang Jiuchuan said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Her smile was deeply unsettling. Gong Qi couldn’t help but wonder whether that great gift might be made of spirit paper and grave money.