The crowd that had come to watch the drama quickly dispersed. Tara Chu helped Evan Yang back to his room, letting him rest quietly on the bed. Seeing Evan's pained expression, she couldn't help but say softly, "I'm really sorry."
"Did she change personalities?" Evan was startled by Tara Chu's sudden politeness, but he replied gently, "It's okay, I'm feeling much better now." He sat up, signaling that he was fine and had no problems.
"Sigh, here are some gold coins. You should leave." Tara Chu took out a bag of gold coins and tossed it onto Evan's bedside.
"Why?" Evan asked curiously.
"You're just an ordinary person. You can't possibly withstand these cultivators. I was too naïve before." After what happened just now, Tara Chu realized Evan was just an ordinary mortal. Even just their aura could have killed him, let alone if someone really wanted to harm him. If that happened, Evan would have no chance of survival.
Seeing Tara Chu so sad, Evan wanted to tell her he was fine, but after thinking about it, he decided not to. He picked up the bag of gold coins, found it quite heavy, and then asked uncertainly, "You're really giving this to me?"
"Really. You can go now," Tara Chu replied sadly.
"You don’t like that guy, do you?" Evan thought for a moment, got up, and prepared to leave. But before leaving, he turned back and asked Tara Chu.
Tara Chu collected herself and returned to her usual mischievous self, showing a look of hatred. "Of course. If I could, I’d rather die than become his partner."
"I hope you find your ideal partner. But before I leave, could you give me the antidote?" Evan suddenly remembered the poison pill he swallowed earlier. Even though the Heaven-Cold Seed absorbed it, he couldn’t just pretend nothing happened.
Tara Chu looked a little disappointed, but the truth was clear. Standing before her was always just a beggar, someone who couldn't even compare to an ordinary cultivator. How could he stand out or make a name for himself? Thinking of this, she could only helplessly take out a cultivation pill and say, "This is the antidote. Take it and you'll be fine."
"Thank you for the pill, and thank you for the gold coins." Evan Yang took the pill without hesitation, then said goodbye to this naïve and mischievous girl.
Watching Evan leave, Tara Chu sat on the bed and sighed helplessly. "What should I do? I can’t even use a beggar to anger that brat, and instead, he just hurts the people around me." At this moment, she really felt powerless. Even though she hated that person, it was as if he could sacrifice hundreds, even thousands, of partners she brought to him.
Evan left the room, smiling as he walked away under the gaze of the maids and guards.
The maids and guards couldn’t understand why their young lady invited a beggar, only to send him away right after. But the steward was pleased, hurrying to see Evan off.
"Where should I go?" Evan wondered as he stepped outside. Night had already fallen, so it wasn’t a good time to travel. He decided to stay in the city and see if he could get some herbs or cultivation pills.
Just as he walked a short distance from the luxurious inn, he noticed someone was following him.
"Doesn’t even know the basics of tailing someone?" Evan mocked inwardly after noticing the stalker.
The person hiding in the shadows had no idea a little beggar would notice him so easily. Instead, he kept stopping at a certain distance to observe Evan’s movements.
"Who could it be? Does Miss Chu not want me to leave, or are the Chu Family’s guards acting on their own?" Evan walked down the street, noticing the person behind him was sticking close, which made him even more curious.
Evan really wanted to know who the person was, so he started wandering around the city, making the stalker stomp his feet in frustration.
"Still following after all this time?" Evan muttered to himself, seeing the person still sticking to him. He started heading toward the city outskirts, wanting to see if the stalker planned any tricks behind his back.
Sure enough, after Evan walked a short distance outside the city, the stalker rushed forward, releasing his aura and blocking Evan's path. He shouted angrily, "Damn beggar!"
Evan glanced around, realizing he was alone, and smiled indifferently. "Brother, what did I do to offend you?"
"Damn beggar! A toad lusting after a swan! Today I'll turn you into a dead toad and see how you compete with my young master." The bearded, bear-like man roared at Evan.
"Only at the fifth layer of Qi-Refining? Ridiculous." Evan noticed the man's aura was just at the fifth layer and couldn't help but laugh inwardly. He finally understood who wanted him dead.
"A beggar who doesn’t stay in the inn and dares to come out? Heaven is truly helping me!" The man laughed loudly.
"Are you from the Bai Family?" Evan asked calmly, not nervous at all.
Seeing Evan so calm, the man stopped laughing and looked at him strangely. "Of course. Did you think you could escape? Go back and report?"
"Did I ever say I was going to run?" Evan sneered.
"Damn beggar, you sure talk big. Today, Master Hu will teach you a lesson—show you what a cultivator is, and what an ordinary person is." The roadblocker snorted coldly, seeing Evan so arrogant.
But before he finished speaking, 'pfft'—a mouthful of blood spilled from his lips. He stared at Evan in disbelief. "You... you're not a beggar." Then, with a thud, he fell backward onto the ground.
"The more confident a person is, the easier they die." Evan put away his dagger and said. Although he’d killed several people already, he still hesitated a bit before striking. Otherwise, he could have finished the job sooner and not let the man say another word.
He then checked the corpse and prepared to use Sparkfire to cremate it. Just as he was about to act, he noticed a small pouch tied to the man's waist. Curious, Evan opened it easily, glad it wasn't a high-grade bag. Inside, he found several cultivation pills and herbs.
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"This guy sure has a lot of stuff." Evan said with a grin as he rummaged through the pouch.
After checking the pouch’s contents, Evan collected himself and chuckled inwardly. "Looks like I can’t go back to the Chu Family for herbs, but you guys are delivering them right to my door. Heh, you want me dead? Then I won’t be polite."
After what just happened, Evan came up with a plan—not only would he ambush those who wanted to harm him, but he’d also take their herbs and cultivation pills. So, he didn’t immediately cremate the corpse. He wanted to lure out the next attacker, or even the mastermind, who was likely Gavin Bai. Thinking of Gavin Bai’s status, Evan’s blood boiled. "If you’re out to get me, don’t blame me for fighting back."
That night, in the top-floor suite of a luxurious inn, several people knelt before a fat man and a youth sitting with a birdcage in hand, angrily pointing at the kneeling crowd. "What’s going on? It’s been days, and not a single trace? Four Qi-Refining disciples dead!"
The kneeling men trembled, not daring to defy the youth. Only the fat man beside him spoke up, "Young Master, do you think the Chu Family is protecting him?"
"The Chu Family? Didn’t you investigate properly?" The youth was none other than Gavin Bai. He’d sent four Qi-Refining disciples to deal with a mere beggar, and not one had returned alive.
The fat man was Old Li, whom Evan had seen at Spirit Treasure Hall. He’d served Gavin Bai since childhood as a military adviser—whenever something happened, Gavin Bai would consult him, so he treated Old Li with some respect.
At this moment, even Old Li felt awkward. He’d never made a mistake before, but now he was uncertain. "Young Master, I heard from the Chu Family that the guy left days ago. They haven’t sent anyone to protect him."
"Could the Chu Family be throwing up a smokescreen?" Gavin Bai felt frustrated—four men dead, and still no results.
Old Li rubbed his big belly and said, "That’s unlikely. We’ve got spies inside. Any movement over there should be accurate."
"Are the spies reliable?" Gavin Bai asked Old Li, still suspicious.
This time, Old Li was at a loss, making Gavin Bai even angrier. "Old Li, no matter what, you must capture that beggar alive!"
"Yes, Young Master." It was the first time Old Li had seen Gavin Bai lose his temper at him. He felt frustrated but could only swallow his anger, directing all his resentment toward Evan.
"You’re in charge of these men. Make sure you catch him within five days, or there won’t be any more time," Gavin Bai said, calming himself.
"Five days? Young Master, are you really going?" Old Li asked in surprise.
"Of course. Didn’t you notice? Not just me—the Chu Family girl will go, and so will people from other clans and sects." Gavin Bai always knew the Chu Family wouldn’t stay here just to annoy him; their real goal was to reach the same place he wanted to go.
"That’s probably true. No wonder the Chu Family girl hasn’t left—she’s stayed here all this time." Old Li answered thoughtfully.
Gavin Bai got up to leave. Just before stepping out, he turned to the kneeling disciples and warned, "Make sure you catch that kid in the next few days, or you’ll go home and face punishment."
"Phew." Old Li wiped his brow and said to the kneeling disciples, "Get up."
The disciples stood up at Old Li’s command, some grumbling, "Who is this beggar anyway? He’s slippery as an eel—we just can’t catch him."
Old Li moved his big belly and sat where Gavin Bai had been. He said, "That beggar is just a nobody, but he’s killed so many of our people. No matter what, we have to find out who he really is. We can’t be so reckless anymore."
"Old Li, we only have five days left. What if he doesn’t show up?" someone asked worriedly.
"Five days is enough. Unless he leaves the city, we’ll find him. If he does, there’s nothing we can do." Old Li wasn’t worried about time—he feared Evan might leave White Slope City, making him impossible to track.
Evan had no intention of leaving the city. Instead, he stayed in the ruined temple—taking revenge on the Bai Family by day, cultivating inside at night. After several days, the seedling had grown taller, making Evan secretly proud.
"Phew, looks like I’m about to break through to the tenth layer." After cultivating the ninth layer of the Rising Sun Scripture, Evan smiled and began sorting through the loot he’d collected these past days. Aside from one pouch with plenty of pills and herbs, the rest only had basic herbs—which were now useless to him.