Not far inside the village, there was a rustic farmhouse courtyard.
The Old Immortal Sage led the way. Just before stepping through the courtyard gate, he paused, turned his head slightly, and glanced at Elder Leonard Huo behind him. His voice was calm: "If I refuse your demand, what will you do?"
The Old Immortal Sage’s sudden question made everyone behind him stop in their tracks.
Melissa Mu and Uncle Victor Li instinctively looked toward Elder Leonard Huo, while Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang also sensed that something was off with the atmosphere.
Evan Lin’s gaze remained calm, but the three Maiden Spirits in his backpack were visibly restless.
Elder Leonard Huo stared at the Old Immortal Sage and answered without hesitation: “Then I’ll simply kill you.”
Kill you, just like that.
The moment those words left Elder Leonard Huo’s mouth, the air instantly filled with a chilling murderous intent. The summer breeze blew past, but it felt icy cold on everyone’s skin.
“Are you serious? Killing someone? That’s illegal, you know.” Fang You muttered quietly.
Even Yolanda Fang looked bewildered, frowning at the group in front of her, indignant: “Is there not a single normal person here? Who just casually talks about killing someone? Everyone’s brain is seriously messed up!”
After speaking, Yolanda Fang looked furious. She grabbed Lynn Chen’s wrist and turned to Evan Lin: “Are you coming or not?”
Yolanda glared at Evan, her eyes wide.
She really didn’t want to stay here any longer. Originally, she’d agreed to come just to see the famous Old Immortal Sage and maybe get her fortune told, even though she didn’t believe in that stuff. She was just bored and curious what the legendary old man looked like.
But Yolanda hadn’t expected that as soon as they met this so-called Old Immortal Sage—before he even had a chance to play fortune-teller—everyone was already talking about fighting and killing. It was like they were all lunatics!
“Me?” Evan glanced at her, then shook his head. “I’ve got a few things to take care of.”
“What could you possibly have to do?” Yolanda retorted, waving her hand impatiently. “Forget it, suit yourself!”
Lynn was still being dragged along by Yolanda: “Hey, I wanted to see the drama! Leaving now is so boring—I haven’t even seen the good part yet!”
Lynn was anxious, but Yolanda whipped her head around and glared. Lynn instantly zipped her lips, seeing how angry Yolanda was. She quickly put on a righteous face: “Let’s go! Nobody here is normal! We’re leaving right now!”
Then Lynn shot Evan a pleading look, but he ignored her completely, making her stomp her foot in frustration.
Lynn really wanted to stay and watch the chaos, but seeing how mad Yolanda was, she weighed her options. She was worried something might happen on the way back, so she reluctantly followed Yolanda out of the village.
“Yolanda, don’t go! I’ll protect you!” Harvey Xie was still hoping his master would show off soon, so Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang could see how awesome he was.
Then he could find an excuse to beat up Evan Lin right in front of them and finally get revenge for all the grudges of the past few days.
But Harvey never imagined that just as things were about to kick off, Lynn and Yolanda would suddenly turn and leave!
“Protect yourself first, will you? Try not to get beaten up again! Embarrassing!” Lynn’s parting shot made Harvey’s face turn pale, then red.
Yolanda waved at Evan: “Hey! Make sure you watch the show and tell me all about it when you get back! I’ll miss you!”
She looked genuinely bummed about missing the drama, but also had that mischievous ‘let chaos reign’ vibe. Evan could only shake his head at her.
Melissa Mu quickly stepped forward, seeing Harvey’s sour expression. She smiled sweetly and said, “Don’t worry about them, Young Master Xie. They’re just a couple of ignorant village girls.” When she mentioned Lynn and Yolanda, her face was full of disdain.
Just as she finished speaking, a whistling sound split the air.
Harvey turned, confused, while Evan spotted something flying through the air. He quietly flicked his right finger, sending out a thread of qi to intercept it.
Melissa had just finished her sentence when she sensed something and turned her head—only to see a dusty white flat shoe rapidly growing larger in her view.
Smack!
The sole of the shoe landed squarely on her face.
“Oh yeah! It actually hit! Village-girl team scores one point!” Lynn, already some distance away, cheered and pumped her fist, shouting back toward the group.
If Evan hadn’t secretly intervened, that shoe definitely wouldn’t have hit its target.
“You village girl! Are you looking for trouble?” Melissa Mu yanked the flat shoe off her face, fuming with rage.
Uncle Victor Li’s face darkened. He snorted coldly, fingers flying through a spell gesture, and a flicker of flame shot toward Lynn.
But the flame vanished halfway through the air, snuffed out instantly.
Lynn and Yolanda didn’t notice; Lynn just saw Yolanda nail Melissa with the shoe and quickly dragged her away.
Yolanda hopped along on one shod foot, looking exhausted. The mountain path was rough, and going barefoot would definitely be torture.
Evan shook his head—there was just no dealing with Yolanda’s wild personality.
“Uncle Victor! Make her pay!” Melissa shouted, but then realized Victor looked uneasy.
That spell he’d just cast shouldn’t have fizzled out so easily. It was supposed to work, but it vanished halfway.
Victor’s face was grim as he turned to look at the Old Immortal Sage. In his mind, only the Sage here could’ve stopped him.
Evan Lin didn’t even register as a threat in his eyes.
“Since you’re all here, come on in. I have matters to settle as well.” The Old Immortal Sage shook his head, said no more, and pushed open the wooden fence to step into the courtyard.
“Miss, don’t worry. Once Elder Huo takes down the Old Immortal Sage, I’ll make sure you get justice!” Victor snorted coldly.
Melissa still had a dusty shoe print on her face. She was furious, but she got Victor’s message. Spotting Evan nearby, she sneered, “Why are you still standing here? Shouldn’t you be telling your two friends to run? Once Victor is free, they’re going to pay!”
“No one’s ever dared hit me with a shoe before!”
She shouted at Evan.
Evan glanced at her, walked forward, bent down, picked up Yolanda’s shoe from the ground, and—without hesitation—pressed the sole onto Melissa’s face again.
Melissa’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Evan’s voice was playful: “If I want to smash you with a shoe, I’ll do it—what’s with all the ‘dare or not’ nonsense? Quit acting like you’re some kind of princess.”