Nora Xiu gripped her curved blade tightly as she stood at the edge of the window. She had already hacked into the inn’s surveillance and could clearly see someone leaping up from the back of the building—clearly here to capture her.
But right now, aside from making a sudden move from her hiding spot by the window, she had no other options. As for escaping, that would be suicide.
At this moment, she was starting to regret letting Joe Di stay here. She feared she hadn’t helped him, but had instead put him in danger.
......
Joe Di let out a sigh, and with ease, his divine sense formed a Rule Fireball. The moment the gray-clad man lunged at Nora Xiu’s window, the fireball enveloped him, reducing him to ashes. The man didn’t even have time to utter a sound.
After all, Nora Xiu had helped him once; it was only right for him to return the favor.
After killing the first gray-clad man, Joe Di’s divine sense swept outside the Route Inn—sure enough, there was another gray-clad man waiting.
Joe Di couldn’t be bothered with words; he tossed another Rule Fireball. The second gray-clad man was likewise reduced to ashes.
After eliminating the two gray-clad men, Joe Di returned to his Rule Cycle to dispel the Poison Dao Mark.
Joe Di soon noticed that as his divine sense gradually strengthened, his immortal essence was slowly recovering. At the same time, the suppression from the world’s rules was growing stronger, but each time it intensified, it would dissipate completely within his Rule Cycle.
"Bang bang bang!" Joe Di’s door was knocked on, waking him from his deep cultivation. His divine sense landed on Nora Xiu at the doorway, and he felt helpless.
Who told him he didn’t have the money to stay at the inn? If someone disturbed him, he could only accept it.
Joe Di opened the door and looked at Nora Xiu standing outside. "Is there something you need?" he asked.
Nora Xiu stared speechlessly at Joe Di. It was already checkout time, and yet he was asking if she needed something.
“Our time in the room is up. We have to check out and leave,” Nora Xiu said helplessly.
Joe Di was at a critical stage of recovery, and he truly felt safer here than outside. He was reluctant to leave. “Well, I’m still injured and want to stay a few more days. Could you lend me some money?”
Speaking of borrowing money, Joe Di suddenly remembered his spirit stones. Now that his divine sense could reach, he could easily take out a spirit stone from the True Spirit World and give it to Nora Xiu.
Nora Xiu practiced ancient martial arts, and spirit stones would be beneficial for her as well.
Nora Xiu hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I’m sorry..."
Joe Di waved his hand. "It’s fine. I’ll think of something else."
"I didn’t mean I had no money to lend you. In fact, I can lend you some. I said sorry because I might have dragged you into trouble," Nora Xiu hurriedly explained.
She’d waited by the window for a long time yesterday, but never saw anyone come after her. Later, when she checked the surveillance, she only saw a flash of intense light—and then nothing.
Whether those people last night were after her or not, she knew this was no longer a place to stay.
She’d been discovered, and with Joe Di staying in the same room, it would be strange if no one came looking for trouble with him.
"Don’t worry. I’m just a passerby..."
Just as Joe Di was considering whether to give Nora Xiu a spirit stone, she suddenly handed him a bank card. "There’s over thirty thousand in here. The password is two eight one two. You don’t need to pay me back. It’s just that my family is pretty formidable, so be careful when you withdraw money..."
"Thank you." Joe Di didn’t stand on ceremony. After all, he’d helped Nora Xiu out of a crisis yesterday, so taking this money felt justified.
Seeing Joe Di accept the bank card and pay no mind to her warning, Nora Xiu added, "You really need to be careful. My previous name was fake. My real name is Shana Shan, and I’m from the Shan Family..."
As Shana Shan spoke, she watched Joe Di’s expression. When she saw no change at all, she asked in surprise, "You’re not afraid of the Shan Family?"
"I’m not provoking them here, so why should I be afraid of the Shan Family?" Joe Di chuckled. He just wished Shana Shan would leave soon and not waste his time.
Shana Shan could tell that Joe Di truly hadn’t heard of the Shan Family. She found it hard to believe—was there really anyone left on Earth who didn’t know the Shan Family?
Even the top expert, Senior Zoe Shen, who had surpassed the Innate Stage and reached the Half-Dan Realm, deeply respected the Shan Family.
"They won’t bother reasoning with you. Staying here, you might very well be killed by them," Shana Shan warned again. If the Shan Family were reasonable, would she need to be on the run, hiding everywhere?
Joe Di laughed heartily. "Though immortality is my goal, if I really die, so be it. Life and death are fated, and fortune is in the heavens."
"Have you ever been married?" Shana Shan didn’t continue trying to persuade Joe Di. She didn’t have time for that—she needed to leave Dai City as soon as possible. She’d been hiding here for nearly a year, and leaving again was bittersweet, but she had no choice.
Joe Di thought about his past. Though he’d never truly loved anyone, he had been married. "I was married once, but we divorced."
"Well, if I ever have to get married, and you’re still alive, I’ll come find you. You’re the first person I’ve met who isn’t afraid of the Shan Family." Shana Shan finished speaking and took a photo from her pocket, handing it to Joe Di. "This is what I look like. I hope we’ll meet again someday."
With that, Shana Shan turned and left.
"Take care. If you ever need my help, you can find me at Lethe Temple in the Lethe Mountains..." Joe Di replied casually.
Hearing Joe Di’s words, Shana Shan instinctively stopped in her tracks. From childhood until now, no one had ever told her to take care, or said that if she needed help, she could come to them.
But she quickly set those thoughts aside and hurried out of the inn. She would never go to Lethe Temple to seek out Joe Di—she knew his future was already lost. In a way, she’d brought trouble upon him, but she couldn’t just force him to leave with her. Glancing back at Joe Di’s room, she sighed and rushed out of Dai City.
Joe Di looked at the photo in his hand—a stunningly beautiful and delicate face appeared before him. What a lovely girl. Shana Shan practiced ancient martial arts; if she cultivated like Ivy Snow, she might be even more refined.
Joe Di liked this kind of beauty—full of the vibrancy of life. Many women in the cultivation world were beautiful, but they lacked that touch of earthly warmth.
Putting the photo away, Joe Di once again entered deep secluded cultivation.
Bang bang bang! Joe Di’s door was knocked on again. With his spiritual sense, he saw a sturdy young man standing at the entrance, his eyes full of anxiety.
Joe Di frowned. What now? Would he ever get to finish his secluded cultivation?
He shook his head. It seemed he’d have to head for the Lethe Mountains after all. Now that he had some spiritual sense, reaching the Lethe Mountains shouldn’t take long. Once there, he’d set up a Guardian Array, purge the Fivefold Dao Mark poison, and refine the Lethe Bridge—no one would be able to disturb him.
"Who are you looking for?" Joe Di opened the door, his tone impatient.
"Are you Joe Di?" the young man asked urgently, ignoring Joe Di’s impatience.
Joe Di nodded. "That’s right, I’m Joe Di."
The young man said anxiously, "Yvette Fei has been captured. Before she was taken, she told me to find you as quickly as possible and warn you to escape. Otherwise, those people will soon come here and take you away."
"Yvette Fei was captured? Why?" Joe Di asked, confused.
"I don’t know either. I’m leaving—I have to find a way to rescue Yvette Fei..." With that, the young man hurried downstairs.
Joe Di no longer felt like continuing his secluded cultivation or purging the Fivefold Dao Mark poison. There were two possibilities for Yvette Fei’s capture. One, it was her own doing—she’d killed someone outside Dai City before, so maybe that led to her arrest.
The second possibility was because of him. Shana Shan was clearly fleeing her family. Now that she’d stayed with him, even she said the Shan Family might come after him. If that was the case, the Shan Family would trace him back to Yvette Fei and blame her.
But logically, the Shan Family should have caught him first, then gone after Yvette Fei...
Just as Joe Di thought this, two men in gray burst through his door.
Joe Di looked at the broken door. If he had the energy to set up a Guardian Array, these two would have been wiped out by the Strangler Array the moment they kicked his door in.
"Come with us," one of the gray-robed men said coldly, fixing his gaze on Joe Di.
"Did you take Yvette Fei?" Joe Di asked.
"Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. That’s not for you to know. Just come with us and don’t say another word. Otherwise, you might never speak again," the other gray-robed man snorted.
Joe Di didn’t bother with words. He threw a fireball—instantly, the gray-robed man who’d told him to shut up turned to ash and vanished without a trace.
"You..." The other gray-robed man finally realized—so the two who’d gone missing before had been done in by this man’s fireballs.
To be able to cast fireballs from a distance and instantly obliterate a peak Xuan-level expert—this power might be even greater than Senior Shen’s.
"Keep talking and I’ll give you another fireball. Just answer me—did you take Yvette Fei?" Joe Di’s tone was anything but polite.
After being interrupted again and again while trying to heal, and now with his door kicked in, Joe Di was already extremely annoyed. Now Yvette Fei had been captured because of him—he was barely holding back his anger.
"I don’t know. I’m just here to capture people..." The remaining gray-robed man’s voice trembled. He wasn’t afraid to fight, but faced with Joe Di’s terrifying fireballs, did he even have the right to try?
"In that case, lead the way." Joe Di didn’t waste another word. He had so much to do—now he had to waste time on this trivial matter.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)