Chapter 37: Fencing Stolen Goods (Please Keep Reading)

Hearing that familiar voice, the two of them froze where they stood. Slowly raising their heads, they saw a straight, pine-like figure standing before them, and were so startled that they fell to their knees with a thud. Their legs had turned to jelly; mouths open, but unable to find the words, they looked utterly terrified, on the verge of tears.

“G-great hero…” one stammered.

Li Guanxuan frowned. “I was gone for only a short while, and already you thought to help yourselves to my spoils?”

“N-no, that’s not it…” The two were nearly scared out of their wits.

Desperately, they tried to explain, but Li Guanxuan waved a hand dismissively.

“Ah, forget it. In times like these, it’s hard for anyone to survive… This time, I’ll let it go. Leave the storage pouches, and you may go.”

Go?

The two of them were stunned. Was this for real? This hero was willing to let them leave? In situations like this, anywhere else, even escaping with their lives would be a miracle…

Could this hero really be so easygoing?

Seeing the pair hesitate, Li Guanxuan narrowed his eyes, his wariness rising. The explosive boy at the sixth level of Qi Refining appeared quietly by his side, his eyes like bottomless black holes, ready to swallow the two at any moment.

In the world of cultivation, you couldn’t survive without a certain vigilance—especially with so many treasures about. Who knew if these two wouldn’t let greed get the best of them?

“Th-thank you, great hero, we’ll put them down right away…” The male cultivator hurriedly placed the storage pouch from his robes onto the ground, not daring to hold anything back, fearing the cold puppet would launch a flurry of attacks at them.

The female cultivator, equally cautious, took out all her storage pouches, obediently laying them down.

Li Guanxuan reached out, and the storage pouches flew to his hand. He scanned them with his spiritual sense; finding nothing amiss, he finally accepted them with some relief.

Without another word, Li Guanxuan left the scene with the explosive boy.

When the two saw that Li Guanxuan had really gone without making things difficult for them, they let out a long sigh of relief, sitting heavily on the ground. To them, the day had been nothing short of surreal.

First, they had been attacked by bandits and had barely survived. Many cultivators had passed by, but upon seeing the situation, each had chosen to avoid trouble, not one offering help.

Such things were commonplace in the world of cultivation. After all, the times were harsh, everyone watched their own backs, and no one wanted trouble.

But what they hadn’t expected was that someone had indeed stepped in to save them…

So they felt truly blessed by the heavens, and wouldn’t dare covet those storage pouches any further.

Just as they were breathing easily, a figure dressed in white descended gracefully before them.

It was the elegant, peerlessly handsome young master in white.

“G-great hero…” The man and woman were stunned again, staring dazedly. They tried to rise and bow, but their legs wouldn’t obey.

Qin Jiyue’s gaze swept over the corpses and, seeing the storage pouches gone, she frowned in displeasure.

“So you’ve hidden the storage pouches? Hand them over—they’re my spoils.”

She had just arrived at Falling Moon Valley when she suddenly realized she’d forgotten to search the bodies after the fighting—a not insignificant windfall!

It would have been enough to keep her undercover system running for half a year.

“…” The two were dumbfounded.

The female cultivator hurried to explain, “Young master, the storage pouches were taken by the hero just now. We have nothing left!”

“Yes, yes, that’s right,” the man nodded quickly. “We even helped him search the bodies!”

“He took them?” Qin Jiyue was taken aback and then bit her lip in frustration.

So that fellow had run off so quickly because he remembered to come back for the storage pouches!

Scoundrel!

What a black-hearted rogue!

Grinding her teeth, Qin Jiyue still held out hope, her sharp eyes studying the two—perhaps they were lying and had really hidden the pouches…

The two didn’t dare move a muscle.

Though those at the eighth level of Qi Refining had yet to awaken spiritual sense, the razor-sharp aura that swept over them made their hair stand on end.

“Hmph, I’ll settle this with him later,” Qin Jiyue muttered, finding nothing on them.

And with her current status, she couldn’t act against them. After all, she was on the verge of becoming a core disciple—if word got out, it could easily be blown out of proportion.

Once the elegant young master in white had left, the two finally relaxed completely.

Fearing someone else might come, they quickly left the troublesome area, not daring to linger.

“Do you think… that hero had intended to collect the storage pouches from the start? Maybe, with his companion there, he didn’t want to do it himself, so he tricked us into doing the work for him for free?” the female cultivator wondered as they hurried off.

The man paused, recalling Li Guanxuan’s face and every move.

“It’s possible!” he said, almost in tears. “These two heroes really know how to toy with people! If they wanted the pouches, why not just take them? Why make us do all the work…”

…

After entering Qing’an City, Li Guanxuan found a quiet corner, burned his old clothes, changed into a fresh set, altered his appearance, and headed for the East Market.

“Good thing I remembered, or I’d have missed out on another windfall…” Li Guanxuan scanned the six storage pouches: inside were some pills, talismans, magical tools, and cultivation techniques.

He already had plenty of pills and talismans; first-grade magical tools no longer interested him. As for the techniques, he had enough for now, unless he found something at the Foundation Establishment level.

But the spirit stones inside added up to nearly five thousand—a wholly unexpected delight.

“Bandits at this level really do put everything on the line,” Li Guanxuan reflected.

As he sorted through the storage pouches, he unexpectedly found a book of puppet techniques.

“‘Profound Gold Flying Puppet’… once crafted, it’s as tough as a peak ninth-level Qi Refiner, and can even fly?”

Li Guanxuan was stunned.

Now this was a real surprise!

A puppet capable of flight would solve the problem of their clumsiness in combat completely.

And his explosive boy could hurl explosive talismans and then speedily withdraw, greatly reducing his own risk!

Perfect!

“What an unexpected harvest… I’d better sell off this loot at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.”

With that, Li Guanxuan entered the pavilion, found Zheng Huangjin, pocketed all the spirit stones, and tossed over the six storage pouches with a smile.

“Brother, you didn’t help out this time, but I’ll give you a ten percent cut—fair enough?”

Zheng Huangjin was taken aback. “You… have you taken up banditry now?”

“I was forced to fight back,” Li Guanxuan grumbled. “Now hurry up and tally it, then split the loot.”