Evan Yang could only give an awkward smile in response.
"Disgusting," someone muttered under their breath.
Seeing everyone fall silent, Tara Chu flashed a satisfied smile and said, "Now I'll go stroll around the city with my dear. The rest of you stay here at the inn."
She left behind the stunned, unbelieving guards and maids.
"Dear? Looks like Miss Chu really has lost her mind. I’d better contact the family and report this to the patriarch." The steward wiped his brow and sighed as Tara Chu walked off.
As for Evan Yang and Tara Chu, as soon as they entered an alley, the two immediately started quarreling.
"Kid, did you really take advantage of me?" Tara Chu said angrily.
"Miss Chu, wasn’t it you who dragged me out here holding my hand?" Evan Yang replied, looking wronged.
"I was acting, okay? Acting! You idiot, you can’t even act right. Look—your dog paws made my hand dirty." Tara Chu explained, glaring at her hand with its dark marks.
"Then go find someone else to act with!" Evan Yang retorted, unhappy.
"Oh, you dare talk back! Be careful or I won’t give you the antidote." Seeing Evan Yang argue, Tara Chu perked up and laughed instead of getting angry.
"You..." Evan Yang almost wanted to say he’d already absorbed the essence of the poison pill, just to see her reaction.
"Speechless, huh? Just follow me and do whatever I tell you. Once things are settled, a mountain of riches and glory will be waiting for you." Tara Chu tossed out this tempting promise with a smile.
Evan Yang thought for a moment and decided it wasn’t time to split ways yet—he’d at least stir up some benefits first. He put on a pitiful, submissive face and said, "Fine, you win."
"That’s more like it. Next time, be smart—when I signal you, just do what I say. But don’t push your luck." Tara Chu glanced at her hand and patted it as she spoke.
Evan Yang nodded, signaling his agreement.
Tara Chu gave a satisfied grunt, and the two walked out of the alley to start wandering White Slope City.
A beauty already draws attention, but add a beggar and you’re bound to be famous. Soon, jokes started spreading—about a beggar tagging along with a beauty, and how the beauty even flirted with the beggar.
These rumors reached Tara Chu’s ears and made her feel delighted, but to Evan Yang it felt like he was a lazy toad stuck to a swan.
Evan wasn’t the only one who thought so—most people did. Some even suspected the beauty was crazy. Anyone who tried to take liberties with her got their arms broken or worse by Tara Chu, so now they only dared whisper from the sidelines, not approach.
"You're really violent," Evan Yang said, walking beside Tara Chu. He'd just seen her in action—cracking bones and breaking a guy into five or six pieces, ribs and shinbones all snapped.
Tara Chu just laughed, unconcerned. "Serves them right for provoking me."
"Whew, glad I didn't piss you off," Evan thought to himself, but his eyes darted around and he noticed a lot of people glaring at him with malicious looks.
"Kid, looks like you're in trouble," Tara Chu noticed the jealous stares. They feared her, but all that resentment was aimed at Evan.
Evan wiped sweat from his brow and forced a bitter smile. "Miss Chu, could you not mess with me like this in the future?"
"Heh, I'm not messing with you. This is just how things go. People used to walk with me all the time," Tara Chu said, tossing her hair with a laugh.
"What happened to them?" Evan was curious about their fate.
"Hmm, I think they got mobbed or something. By the time I found them, I couldn't even recognize them," Tara Chu said, touching her forehead as if remembering something.
"Are you trying to trick me?" Evan was shocked, but just gave a bitter smile. "Miss Chu, let's check out this shop instead."
"Spirit Treasure Hall? You've got a good eye," Tara Chu said, reading the sign and giving Evan a nod of approval.
Truth was, Evan's 'good eye' had nothing to do with it—his Heaven-Cold Seed was acting up, drawing him toward the shop. He just wanted to see what good stuff might be inside.
Hearing Tara Chu praise his 'good eye,' Evan played along, "What does Spirit Treasure Hall do? Is it famous?"
"Spirit Treasure Hall specializes in buying and selling herbs. They've got branches all over the continent, so you don't have to worry about fakes or being cheated. Everything's fair here, and if anyone causes trouble, the consequences are serious," Tara Chu explained as she led Evan inside.
Evan listened as he stepped over the threshold. He saw rows of medicine cabinets, all perfectly aligned in height, width, and length. Professional disciples handled transactions, and there were stairs leading to the second floor.
"Oh, if it isn't Miss Chu from the Chu Family," a chubby, middle-aged man—half a head shorter than Evan—walked up, smiling at Tara Chu.
"Isn't that Old Li from the Bai Family?" Tara Chu squinted, recognizing an old acquaintance—not a friend. Evan could tell from her tone she wasn't thrilled to see him.
Old Li didn't mind at all. He turned to Evan and asked, "And this is?"
"This is my partner," Tara Chu said, grabbing Evan's grimy hand and smiling.
Old Li almost burst out laughing. "Come on, Miss Chu, don't joke around. You think this will help you avoid our young master?"
"So they're old acquaintances?" Evan muttered to himself, but his hand started stroking Tara Chu's hand, making her want to slap him. But for the sake of the act, she just smiled and said, "Old Li, who I choose as my partner is my business. Tell your young master to stay home and drink milk instead of bothering me."
Tara Chu said it on purpose, knowing the chubby guy must've followed her a long way and was just looking for an excuse to get close. Now he finally had a reason to stir things up at Spirit Treasure Hall.
Old Li didn't buy it, sneering, "Miss Chu, you'd better wait for our young master. He'll be here soon."
"I don't care when your young master comes. He's my partner now. If any of you try to hurt him, I'll never let it go!" Tara Chu snorted, then pretended to be furious and dragged Evan out of Spirit Treasure Hall.
"She really doesn't know her place, hmph!" Old Li thought, glaring at Evan, who looked back curiously. Old Li made a mental note to remember Evan's face.
Seeing the fat man's glare, Evan quickly looked away and muttered, "Ugh, this is their mess. Why am I involved?"
Once they were far from Spirit Treasure Hall, Tara Chu finally let go of Evan's hand. Her face wasn't relaxed—instead, she looked sad.
"What's wrong?" Evan asked, curious about the sudden shift from mischievous to melancholy.
"Nothing," Tara Chu said, trying to pack away her feelings. But Evan could tell she wasn't fine. He didn't ask further, which annoyed Tara. "Can't you ask a little more?"
"Miss Chu, are you for real? I just asked, you said nothing, and now you're mad at me? I've never met a girl who changes her mood so fast," Evan said, baffled.
"You..." Tara Chu was caught by Evan's innocent look and finally sighed, "Just stick close to me these next few days. Don't wander off."
"Why?" Evan was confused.
"I'm afraid someone might try to assassinate you," Tara Chu said, covering up her sadness with a laugh. Evan was shocked, but kept calm and asked, "Do you have any lifesaving pills or herbs? If I get hurt, I might need to save myself."
"Pills? Herbs? You think pills are easy to refine? Herbs are precious too. But I do have a few pills I keep for emergencies. If you ever get seriously hurt, swallow this and you should survive for a while," Tara Chu said, taking out a small bottle and pressing it into Evan's hand.
"What kind of pill is this?" Evan sniffed it and found the smell almost overpowering.
"Just remember it's an immortal pill," Tara Chu said, wanting to explain, but realized Evan was just a beggar—he wouldn't understand anyway.
Evan knew she was bluffing. No way a pill she casually handed over was really an immortal pill.
"Stop daydreaming and get back to the inn," Tara Chu said, knocking Evan on the forehead.
"Ow, that hurt!" Evan complained, rubbing his head.
"Serves you right for spacing out," Tara Chu snorted.
"No more shopping?" Evan asked, rubbing his forehead.
"No, let's head back. Someone might come looking for us soon," Tara Chu said, glancing around.
Evan didn't really get what she meant, but followed Tara Chu back to the inn. The floor she rented was crowded, and they had to squeeze their way in.
Someone recognized Tara Chu and called out, "Miss Chu is back!"
Then a young man's cheerful voice rang out, "Tianlan, where are you?"
"Damn it," Tara Chu cursed inwardly, grabbed Evan, and squeezed through the crowd to an open spot. Standing before Evan was a white-robed youth holding a cage with a bird-like creature hopping inside.
"Huh? Tianlan, where'd you find this little beggar?" the youth asked, surprised to see Tara Chu holding Evan's hand.
Tara Chu ignored the youth and smiled at Evan. "This is my partner."
"Your partner? Tianlan, that's a weird joke," the youth said, glancing at Evan and laughing.
"Does it look like a joke?" Tara Chu wrapped both arms around Evan and smiled at the youth, making things awkward. Some of his followers wanted to beat Evan up, but he waved them off.
The youth gave a strange smile. "Tianlan, don't get this little brother killed." He glared at Evan, but Evan just glanced at him and looked away, which pissed him off. He unleashed his qi pressure toward Evan.
"He hasn't broken through Foundation Establishment, probably tenth layer of Qi-Refining at most," Evan thought, but kept up the act. "Ah, I can barely breathe!"
"Gavin Bai, that's too much!" Tara Chu unleashed her own aura—also tenth layer Qi-Refining, Evan estimated.
"Tianlan, he's just a beggar. If you marry me, our families can unite, and with two geniuses, we'll shine," Gavin Bai said, withdrawing his aura but unwilling to give up.
"Gavin Bai? That's a weird name," Evan thought, but kept a pained look on his face.
"Who wants to marry you? I already have a partner. Go home and drink milk, and stop bothering me!" Tara Chu snapped.
"It's not that easy. Just wait and see how your Chu Family arranges things!" Gavin Bai snorted, then left with his followers.