After circulating Chaos Dragon Force through his body for three full cycles, Evan Chu finally opened his eyes. Glancing at the sky, he saw dawn was approaching, and in the distance, a brightly lit area suggested the presence of a town.
Without hesitation, he flew straight toward the town. Right now, Evan’s greatest desire was to return to Frostbane Sect, seize the Sect Master’s throne, and establish his own power base in the Azure Tide Ruins.
In a flash, he covered several li and slowly descended from the sky, preparing to enter this first town he’d encountered in the Azure Tide Ruins.
There were already travelers coming and going along the road, and soldiers stood guard at the city gate. Judging by its scale, this town was several times larger than Flowing Cloud City.
Evan knew almost nothing about the power distribution in the Azure Tide Ruins. After flying thousands of li, he still had no idea which sect controlled this area.
As he approached the city gate, he was shocked to find his own portrait posted right there. The notice bore dozens of words, stating that he was a top criminal wanted by Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. No one was allowed to shelter or hide him; anyone who reported his whereabouts would be rewarded with a thousand high-grade Starstones. Anyone who captured and handed him over to Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion—dead or alive—would receive ten thousand high-grade Starstones.
Seeing the wanted notice, Evan couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath. Was his life really worth that much, or was Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion just that rich? They were willing to spend tens of thousands of Starstones just to take his head. Clearly, leaving without looting was a huge mistake.
The Nine Great Sects surely had bottomless resources. He should’ve checked the Hall Mistress’s storage ring for treasures before leaving—he’d been far too careless. Now it was impossible; if he went back, she might skin him alive.
Evan was filled with regret, while far away at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, the Hall Mistress was absolutely furious. Especially when she saw the glaring bloodstains on her bedsheets—she was so enraged she wanted to destroy the entire room.
Even a fool could guess what those two uneven bloodstains meant. That bastard had already defiled a woman in her chambers before she even entered—Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s reputation had been utterly ruined in his hands.
"If I ever catch you, I’ll tear you to pieces! To do something so beastly and still act so arrogant—this is just bullying to the extreme!" the Hall Mistress of Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion spat.
She snatched up the bedsheet and, with a forceful tug, shredded it into pieces that scattered across the room. Then she strode out.
"Someone, bring Ruby to me—I have questions about what happened that day!" the Hall Mistress ordered one of her disciples.
The disciple hurried away, and soon the girl called Ruby was brought in. Seeing the Hall Mistress, Ruby immediately asked, "Mistress, what urgent matter do you need me for?"
"Come, we’ll talk in my study. I have something to ask you," the Hall Mistress said, heading for a nearby room.
"Close the door. Ruby, do you still remember that youth’s face? I need you to answer honestly—this is very important," the Hall Mistress asked.
"Mistress, even if that thief turned to ash, I’d still recognize him! He killed so many of my pavilion sisters—if he isn’t executed, even the heavens wouldn’t tolerate it!" Ruby declared.
"Aside from you, is there anyone else who remembers his face? This is crucial for tracking him down—there can’t be any mistakes," the Hall Mistress said seriously.
Ruby felt honored and quickly replied with a smile, "Mistress, everyone else who saw that thief was killed by him. If the Grand Elder hadn’t sent me to notify you, I’d be dead too. Besides me, no one else saw his true face."
"Oh, so that’s how it is? Very good! Very good!" the Hall Mistress replied with a cold, fake smile.
"By the way, Mistress, when you ordered a wide search for that thief’s whereabouts, I personally drew several portraits of him. His likeness should be posted in every town under Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s control by now," the girl said.
After speaking, she glanced proudly at the Hall Mistress, hoping for praise. Little did she know, the Hall Mistress’s face changed dramatically, her anger flaring so fiercely that the girl dropped to her knees, not daring to look up for a long time.
"Draw another portrait of that thief—I want to see for myself what kind of person dares to cause trouble in my Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and kill our people. If I ever meet him, he won’t escape me," the Hall Mistress demanded.
The girl immediately fetched brush, ink, and paper from the study and began to draw. She was surprisingly skilled, and with the Hall Mistress watching, she put extra effort into the portrait. Soon, Evan Chu’s likeness was vividly rendered on the paper.
"Mistress, it’s finished—please take a look!" the girl said respectfully, handing over the completed portrait.
Taking the portrait, the Hall Mistress was stunned—the man in the painting looked completely different from the youth she’d seen. Was it someone else? She quickly dismissed that idea, remembering he’d described the whole incident himself. The only explanation was that he’d used a disguise technique.
What confused her was which face was the real one—the one she’d seen, or the one in the painting? If it was the latter, things could get messy. He’d probably show his true face in public, and that would make him the target of a land-wide manhunt.
"Are you sure this is the thief and not someone else?" the Hall Mistress asked.
"Absolutely! It’s him. I was born with a photographic memory—I couldn’t possibly mistake his face," the girl replied at once.
"You’ve done well. Here, take this Spirit-Gathering Pill as your reward—it can raise you by two realms and is extremely precious. Swallow it now, and I’ll help you circulate your energy to absorb the medicine," the Hall Mistress said, taking out a red porcelain vial from her storage ring and dispensing a pill.
The girl accepted the pill with a happy face. "Thank you, Mistress, for your kindness. I’ll work hard in my cultivation and won’t let you down."
She swallowed the pill on the spot, while a trace of helplessness flashed across the Hall Mistress’s face. In her heart, she muttered, "Nemesis, you’ve forced me to poison my own disciple with my own hands. My conscience will never be at ease!"
Sometimes, women are the most foolish creatures—once possessed by a man, their minds grow numb. Even knowing it’s wrong, they’ll still go all in for him. Right now, the Hall Mistress was just such a woman.
After taking the pill, Ruby immediately felt a wave of heat in her abdomen. At first, she thought it was the medicine’s power spreading, but soon, a stabbing pain gripped her belly, so intense she couldn’t help but roll on the ground.
Within a few breaths, she stopped moving, her eyes wide open in a death stare—clearly dying with bitter regret, looking straight at where the Hall Mistress stood...
PS: The internet was down all afternoon and there was no electricity all night, so I could only upload this at the internet cafe.