Chapter 130: A Person Without a Home

The Bluff!

All of this was a judgment based on seemingly reliable information, yet its actual existence remained uncertain. As for knowing how to use it, that was even less likely. They were completely bluffing the two people in front of them. Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were indeed a bit confused by what was said. If such a good thing truly existed, then what was the point of all the immense risks they had taken before?

However, these two were not so easily fooled.

Besides, they had killed the other party's people; how could they easily admit it?

Shi Chun: "Xiang Lan'er, I don't understand what you're rambling about. You're talking about Sun Shigang from Luoyue Valley, aren't you? Didn't he flirt with you and wasn't he your enemy back then? How did his item become something you know how to use? What exactly are you talking about?"

Wu Jinliang: "Yeah, I'm completely confused by what you're saying."

Xiang Lan'er counter-questioned: "You've been gone so long, and you haven't responded to any of our messages. What have you been doing?"

Shi Chun: "My cultivation was about to break through, so I went into secluded training. You were searching for Worm Essence Crystals, and I was in seclusion; I didn't want to be called away to work, so naturally, I didn't respond to you."

Wu Jinliang said matter-of-factly: "I had to protect him during his cultivation; I couldn't go to work with you."

Xiang Lan'er was startled. "You broke through in cultivation?"

Shi Chun nodded, then suddenly leaped high into the air, bouncing up before lightly descending. The height of his jump and landing demonstrated his current cultivation, which was his way of providing solid proof.

Xiang Lan'er frowned. If that were truly the case, then their reason for taking the talisman and leaving would indeed be valid. Could Sun Shigang's disappearance truly be unrelated to these two, and was it due to some other accident?

But their disappearance on the same night was too coincidental.

If the two had really done something but adamantly refused to admit it, she had no evidence.

She could only continue to probe with deception, so she changed her approach and said: "Where did you get that Wind Scale? The Wind Scale on Sun Shigang had a secret mark." She reached out, gesturing for them to hand it over for verification.

The two nearly burst out laughing. Sun Shigang didn't have any 'Wind Scale' on him! The five of them were dirt poor and had nothing valuable on them at all.

As soon as she said this, the two immediately realized she was trying to trick them. Wu Jinliang readily handed her the Wind Scale for inspection. "We picked this up from a scene of a fight. It has nothing to do with Sun Shigang. Don't go pinning false accusations on us."

Xiang Lan'er, holding the Wind Scale and examining it, was somewhat perplexed. From their ready compliance, she knew for sure that the Wind Scale was not Sun Shigang's. After a brief look, she tossed it back to Wu Jinliang and then scrutinized the clothes he was wearing. "You didn't have these clothes on before you came. Where did you get them?"

Crucially, the clothing he wore not only fit him perfectly but also had a subtle sense of noble elegance in its color scheme. It clearly belonged to the high-end, sophisticated type. Even this large man, with his big saber, no longer looked as clumsy; instead, he exuded a graceful and unrestrained aura, truly embodying the saying that clothes make the man.

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "Don't even try to say these are Sun Shigang's clothes again. Sun Shigang's build wouldn't even fill these. We stripped these off a dead person and found them along with the Wind Scale."

Shi Chun, who had been observing for a while, now understood that this woman had no evidence whatsoever and was just rambling. So, he spoke up, "What exactly happened to Sun Shigang? From your demeanor, it seems he's one of your people, isn't he?"

Xiang Lan'er lied: "At first, I didn't know either. Only after coming in did I realize he was one of us. His earlier disrespect towards me was just a pretext to facilitate later contact."

Shi Chun said, "Oh," and then asked, "It's not just Sun Shigang, is it? Where are the rest of your people?"

Xiang Lan'er: "Without Sun Shigang's items, everyone is idle."

Shi Chun probed: "How many people are there?"

Xiang Lan'er: "Do you think I need to tell you that clearly?"

Shi Chun chuckled and looked around. "Standing on a mountaintop is too conspicuous. Let's go down and find a place to talk slowly."

He then gave Wu Jinliang a look, and the latter immediately agreed, descending the mountain with him.

They didn't fly down; they walked down the slope. As expected, Xiang Lan'er was impatient with this pace and instantly teleported to the bottom.

Once they were alone, Shi Chun immediately asked in a low voice, "Was there anything special among Sun Shigang's belongings?"

Now that his cultivation had entered the high-level martial arts realm, he had the confidence to stir up trouble. He had actively returned to find Xiang Lan'er this time precisely because he wanted to use the power of the demonic path to acquire the Worm Essence Crystal. Now that this situation had arisen, if there truly was a way to enter the Moon Sea to find the Worm Essence Crystal without risk, only a fool would desperately engage in fighting and killing.

Wu Jinliang: "Didn't you throw all his things into the bag? You've seen them; there was nothing special."

Shi Chun: "You searched all five of them. Did you search Sun Shigang's belongings thoroughly?"

Wu Jinliang paused, then recalled, "I searched everything, and I took out all the items from their bodies. But I couldn't carry everything on me, could I? My pockets couldn't hold it all, so I only picked out what seemed important..."

"Wait," Shi Chun interrupted, suspiciously. "You could tell what was important?"

We've all just been released from prison; we don't have much experience. My point is quite clear.

Wu Jinliang: "How else would I distinguish? I just picked up whatever looked valuable. As for some useless junk, there's no need to carry it around and take up space, right?"

Shi Chun raised a hand to rub his forehead, feeling exhausted. He didn't blame him and continued in a low voice, "She was willing to expose her connection with Sun Shigang to us, which shows the matter is truly significant. Sun Shigang might genuinely have had something important on him. If there truly is an item that makes it easier to go to the Moon Sea to find the Worm Essence Crystal, then there's really no need for us to risk our lives again. Even if our lives aren't worth much, we shouldn't give up on ourselves, should we? Where did your so-called 'useless junk' go?"

Wu Jinliang: "Where else could I throw it? In the same cave in the valley where you were in seclusion, the one I dug out."

Shi Chun pondered for a moment and nodded slightly. "That's good. It's not far from where Bian Weiying is hiding. We can use that as an excuse to go back and check. Later, we'll point out Sun Shigang's items and find an opportunity to place them together with the other junk in that cave. Let that woman take a look; if what she's talking about is there, she'll recognize it."

Wu Jinliang asked, "Wouldn't that expose the fact that we killed Sun Shigang?"

Shi Chun asked him, "That depends on what we compare it to. If it's nothing, then of course we deny it to the death. But if it can help us achieve our primary goal, then how the person died is entirely up to us to say. If she doesn't believe us, we'll find a way to make that woman believe us. We can't just give up our previous goals easily just because there might be trouble."

"Right," Wu Jinliang, carrying his large saber, nodded in deep agreement.

Shi Chun suddenly added, "The key is that those Heavenly Court personnel saw us kill him with their own eyes. Can he help us keep this a secret?"

"Ah, don't ask me about this," Wu Jinliang replied, "You'll have to ask them."

Neither of them was a person to dwell on consequences. Trouble or no trouble, they would first deal with the problem at hand.

Shi Chun immediately took out his communication talisman and contacted Bian Weiying, telling her they had found Xiang Lan'er and asking if she wanted to meet.

How could Bian Weiying say no to seeing her?

So, after meeting Xiang Lan'er below, Shi Chun immediately told her, "I just told Bian Weiying that we found you. She misses you very much and wants you to come meet her."

Xiang Lan'er hesitated, "Isn't it too much trouble to keep running back and forth?"

"Nah, it's no trouble," Shi Chun said. "I have a magic treasure; we can travel back and forth very quickly. I'm more than happy to serve a beautiful lady."

Wu Jinliang pulled out the Wind Scale as if instructed, and without waiting for Xiang Lan'er's refusal, he immediately cast a spell to control the Wind Scale, sweeping the three of them into the sky, soaring far, far away.

By the time the two found their way back to Bian Weiying's hiding place, it was already late night. Bian Weiying herself hadn't expected to see Shi Chun again so quickly, and upon seeing him, she simply ignored him.

After their reunion, Bian Weiying and Xiang Lan'er did have things to discuss.

Xiang Lan'er noticed that the Gantang Jade was missing and naturally asked about it. Bian Weiying felt very guilty about this and could only say that the Gantang Jade had been lost in the Moon Sea. The matters of that dark world were not something she dared to mention.

Since they were already there, and it was inconvenient to travel at night, they had no choice but to stay for the night.

Late into the night, Bian Weiying, who had been sitting cross-legged in meditation, suddenly stood up and said, "Shi Chun, come out for a moment."

Shi Chun paused slightly but still stood up and followed her out. Stepping out of the cave, he immediately saw the brilliant starlight filling the sky, the vast galaxy a romantic and pleasant sight.

Bian Weiying suddenly took his hand and, soaring, carried him far away.

Inside the cave, Xiang Lan'er listened intently, then spoke up, "They seem to have gone quite far. What are they doing?"

Wu Jinliang snickered, "What else could they be doing? Probably went off to kiss-kiss!"

"Kiss-kiss?" Xiang Lan'er was confused. "What does that mean?"

Wu Jinliang didn't want to explain the truth. "Oh, come on, why worry so much? They're stepping aside to talk, so they obviously want to avoid us." Away from the gully, they flew to a solitary stone peak in the wilderness. The moment Bian Weiying landed, she eagerly embraced Shi Chun, murmuring with a comfortable expression, "Are you mad at me?"

Shi Chun kept his hands to himself, not touching her. "Why would I be angry, Senior Sister? You're quite different by day and by night."

Bian Weiying: "I don't know. In broad daylight, with people around, I just can't bring myself to do it."

Shi Chun suddenly turned his head and said, "Someone's coming!"

Bian Weiying's body visibly stiffened. She immediately let go of him and looked around. Only when she saw Shi Chun leisurely sit down did she realize she had been tricked. She was instantly both annoyed and amused. She leaped down and playfully bumped his head twice, knocking him over, then threw herself on top of him, half-lying on his chest.

Shi Chun, with his arms crossed and hands behind his head, watched the starry sky. Bian Weiying lay on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, feeling his breath and body temperature.

A gentle breeze occasionally swept by. After a long while, Bian Weiying murmured, "What kind of person are you, really?"

Shi Chun remained silent.

Bian Weiying looked up at him, gazing for a long while, before gently lying back down.

After a moment of silence, Shi Chun suddenly asked, "Must you be the Sect Leader of Wukang Mountain?"

Bian Weiying reached up a hand and touched his cheek, then his chin, murmuring, "Give me a reason not to."

Shi Chun remained silent. He understood her words, but he couldn't utter words of responsibility because he couldn't bear that responsibility.

After a long wait for the answer she desired, a pained expression appeared on Bian Weiying's face. She murmured again, "Whether it's your own reasons or my father's and their reasons, you and I both know that you are merely a transient visitor to Wukang Mountain. You won't take me with you. Only by doing what I must can I avoid feeling this pain..."

Shi Chun released one hand and touched her cheek. A finger gently sealed her lips, as if to prevent her from speaking further. She, however, bit down hard.