“What kind of goods? I’m very interested.”
In response to the shop assistant’s probing smile, He Qiu returned a meaningful smile of his own.
Black Feather immediately understood, nodding with a knowing grin before signaling for He Qiu to follow him inside.
He Qiu didn’t hesitate and boldly followed him in.
The room was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items, including abandoned iron swords, worn-out clothes, and strange jade stones.
Yet, among the clutter in the corner, an inconspicuous treasure chest caught He Qiu’s attention.
The moment he entered, his gaze locked onto the chest, and he remained transfixed for a long time.
His intuition told him that the precious merchandise the shop assistant had mentioned was this seemingly worn-out and utterly ordinary chest!
“Customer, you certainly have a good eye~”
Seeing the youth immediately focus on the treasure chest containing Bai Muxue, Black Feather instantly understood.
Sure enough, his analysis had been correct. This youth was the contact sent by Wan Caimei!
After all, even if an ordinary person wandered into this general store, how could they possibly single out such an unremarkable, hidden chest at first glance, before he had even introduced it?
This white-robed youth clearly knew that Bai Muxue was inside, which explained his unusual interest.
“Customer, just five wen, and the fine merchandise inside this chest is yours.”
The shop assistant pulled the chest out from the pile of clutter and handed it to He Qiu.
He Qiu looked surprised but accepted the chest anyway. He then reached into his robes, took out five wen, and handed them over.
‘Are things really this cheap at general stores these days?’
‘Why does it feel like this shop assistant is practically begging me to take the chest? And he only charged five wen!’
Meanwhile, Black Feather accepted the coins and smiled knowingly.
He could sense the aura of a Demon Cultivator lingering on them.
Sure enough, this youth was Wan Caimei’s contact!
“Well then, take care, customer~”
After watching He Qiu leave the general store, Black Feather pulled a towel from his waist and wiped the cold sweat from his face.
Honestly, having Bai Muxue hidden in his little shop all day had made him extremely uneasy. He had constantly feared that government officials might show up at any moment and force him to hand over the city lord’s daughter.
But now everything was fine.
He had safely handed Bai Muxue over to the contact, completing his mission perfectly. He could finally pack up and flee!
Just as Black Feather breathed a sigh of relief and turned back toward the shop, a familiar, seductive feminine voice suddenly came from behind him.
“Hm?”
Turning around, Black Feather spotted Wan Caimei running toward the general store from the other side of the street.
The seductive woman was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
‘Strange. Why is she covered in sweat and in such a hurry?’
‘Wait, something’s wrong…’
‘Why would Wan Caimei be coming down this street and running toward my general store?’
‘Didn’t I just hand Bai Muxue over to the contact she sent?’
Pushing aside his doubts, Black Feather stepped forward to greet her.
“Young Sect Master, what brings you here?”
“Obviously, I’m here to retrieve the chest!”
Wan Caimei panted heavily and nervously scanned her surroundings. After confirming that the furious silver-haired Saintess hadn’t caught up with her, she hurriedly spoke.
“Quick, Black Feather! The plan has changed. Give me Bai Muxue!”
“Ah?”
Black Feather stared at her in bewilderment, his mouth stiffening as he replied.
“Didn’t I just hand her over to the contact you sent?”
“???”
This time, Wan Caimei was the one left utterly dumbfounded.
At that moment, Black Feather also realized that something was wrong. He hurriedly turned around and discovered that the white-robed youth standing not far away was watching them as well.
Seeing this, Wan Caimei turned in confusion and met the gaze of the familiar white-robed youth holding the treasure chest.
For a moment, the three stared at one another from a distance, each seemingly understanding what had happened without needing to say a word.
Then, the youth made the first move!
Whatever realization had struck him, he immediately turned and bolted, clutching the chest as he sprinted away at incredible speed.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Wan Caimei and Black Feather finally reacted.
“Damn it! Stop right there!!!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The wind roared in He Qiu’s ears as he desperately raced down the street with the treasure chest in his arms.
Honestly, He Qiu had no idea what was going on either.
All he knew was that he had taken a treasure chest and then encountered the host of last night’s meeting on the street.
That seductive woman seemed to be named Wan Caimei, and she appeared to be the organizer of the Demon Sect gathering.
Since such a dangerous woman had recognized him and was now targeting him, He Qiu naturally wasn’t going to stand around waiting to be captured.
He wasn’t with the Longyin Sect cultivators at the moment, and without the protection of his two invincible Senior Sisters, he didn’t dare confront the Demon Sect’s leader head-on.
The memory of being chased across half a mountain by several Demon Cultivators after rescuing Miss Meng’er was still fresh in his mind.
If Senior Sister Luo Qianning hadn’t appeared back then, he might already have been dead.
Therefore, upon encountering the Demon Sect’s leader again, He Qiu immediately turned and ran, determined to get as far away as possible!
However, the seductive woman had no intention of letting him escape.
“Damn it! You bastard! You’re actually a Righteous Path Cultivator!”
“You despicable villain! How on earth did you infiltrate our Demon Sect’s meeting?!”
“Stop right there! Put down the chest!”
Behind him, Wan Caimei wore a ferocious expression as she chased him like a ravenous wolf or tiger.
Even after pursuing He Qiu through eight streets, she still hadn’t managed to catch him.
Her expression was dark and furious because the chest He Qiu was carrying contained Bai Muxue, who was also a crucial part of her master’s subsequent plans!
The plan to detonate the demon crystal using the Purple Nether Altar had already collapsed before her master’s negotiations had even concluded.
Now, Bai Muxue had also been snatched away by a Righteous Path Cultivator.
Wan Caimei was absolutely livid!
At that moment, she finally understood what had happened.
Why had the Longyin Sect received news of Bai Muxue’s kidnapping and mobilized its disciples to descend the mountain and investigate just one day after the Demon Sect kidnapped her?
Why had the Longyin Sect cultivators discovered Cloud Dance Pavilion’s secret base after only a single day of investigation?
And why had this white-robed youth known that the treasure chest contained Bai Muxue and cleverly tricked Black Feather into handing it over?
So it had all been this brat’s doing!
Wan Caimei had assumed that this white-robed youth, with his flowing sleeves and unfathomable aura, was some mysterious Demon Cultivator expert.
She had never imagined that he was actually an undercover agent from the Righteous Sects!
“Damn it! You Righteous Path Cultivators are all so damn devious! This is infuriating!”
Wan Caimei was so enraged that she completely abandoned her usual elegance and began cursing loudly in the middle of the street.
At the same time, she deployed clones created by her Illusion Technique, repeatedly flashing into different positions as she drew a dagger and lunged forward.
Her intention was to kill the white-robed youth running desperately ahead with a single strike!
“Die!”
The Illusion Technique clones rapidly closed in.
Wan Caimei hurled a flying dagger, and in the next instant, she was about to catch up with He Qiu.
But at that critical moment, when only a fraction of a second remained, time itself seemed to slow down.
Everyone on the street began moving sluggishly, and the entire world appeared to slip into slow motion.
“Oh no!”
Wan Caimei turned her head and saw terrifying silver spiritual energy erupting in the distance.
An irresistible wave of extreme cold swept toward her, threatening to seal everything in ice.
The Primordial Saintess had caught up!