"You'll find out soon enough," Richard said with a smile.
Evan Yang also smiled, leaving Lora Luo and Happy puzzled as to what he and Richard were talking about.
Meanwhile, Harlan and Redmond were locked in fierce battle, but Redmond had no intention of fighting to the end—he was only looking for a chance to escape.
Redmond fought quickly, seizing the right moment. When Harlan was preparing a powerful attack, Redmond suddenly darted away—straight toward Evan Yang and his group.
Anyone could see that Redmond was trying to escape—and heading right for Evan Yang and his companions. His goal was clear: grab a hostage and get away.
Even Harlan realized what was happening and shouted angrily, "Damn it!"
The distance between them grew, and Harlan had to abandon his attack. In that brief moment, Redmond had already reached Evan Yang.
Just as Lora Luo and Happy watched in terror as Redmond reached out toward Evan Yang, Evan smiled and said, "You’d better stay put inside."
As soon as he finished speaking, a light screen suddenly appeared, rebounding Redmond and sending him back. The move caught Redmond completely off guard—he never expected there’d be something invisible here. Harlan arrived just in time and slammed his palm down on the stunned Redmond.
Redmond was now severely injured. He glared at Harlan and shouted, "You dare sneak attack me!"
"Hmph, you’re trying to run again! Once more you’ve tried to trick me," Harlan said angrily.
Redmond, realizing his escape had failed, was furious—but now, gravely injured by Harlan, he could only lie on the ground.
Harlan regretted agreeing to fight this treacherous bastard—it was nothing but trouble for himself.
"When did you set up a formation here?" Harlan quickly realized there was already an array running nearby.
Evan Yang waved his hand, dispelling the formation, and smiled, "Just now."
Harlan looked at Evan Yang suspiciously. He found Evan simply incredible—able to set up a formation in such a short time. Though it wasn’t powerful, it was enough to block Redmond, who was in a hurry to escape.
If Redmond had noticed the formation earlier and attacked it head-on, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
Redmond glared at everyone. Harlan, impressed by Evan Yang, turned to Redmond and said, "Let’s go!"
"Fine, let’s go," Redmond spat angrily.
Of course Evan Yang didn’t trust him—Redmond was too cunning and would surely try to escape. So Evan stepped forward and sealed him. Redmond glared at Evan and shouted, "You—!"
"This way is safer. Anyway, the contest is already settled. I’ll leave Redmond to you, Senior Harlan," Evan Yang said.
"You brat—damn it! I really regret not using my full strength," Redmond snarled.
"Too late. You only get one chance," Evan Yang replied.
Redmond glared at Evan Yang, but there was nothing he could do. Harlan spoke up, "Move it. No more nonsense."
Defeated, Redmond was led away—his entire power sealed by Evan Yang.
When they reached Harlan’s cave, Harlan said, "Thank you for your help this time."
"You’re too polite, Senior. We were just doing what we should," Evan Yang replied.
Harlan nodded, then smiled, "Looks like not all outsiders are bad."
Happy was overjoyed. "See, Uncle? I told you so!"
"Yes, good job. Looks like I didn’t spoil you for nothing," Harlan said with a smile.
"Fake," Redmond snorted from the side.
"You think every outsider is like you?" Harlan retorted.
"Hah, that’s because you’re easy to fool," Redmond said.
"Just wait—I’ll deal with you later," Harlan said angrily, then knocked Redmond out.
Evan Yang hadn’t expected Harlan would actually do it—knock Redmond unconscious. Afterward, Harlan smiled and said, "Go ahead, tell me what you need help with."
"The Nine-Heaven Ice Lotus. We want to know where it is," Evan Yang said.
Harlan frowned. "Normally I wouldn’t tell you, but since you kept your promise, I’ll share it. Deep in the snowfields, there’s a place called Snow-Ghost Valley. There used to be a Nine-Heaven Ice Lotus there. But it’s extremely dangerous—almost no demons who enter ever come out. Take my advice: don’t go there."
Evan Yang, Richard, and Lora Luo exchanged glances. Harlan made it sound very dangerous, but Evan and Richard had already made up their minds—they weren’t afraid. Evan smiled and said, "Thank you for the warning, Senior. We have to go."
"If you see countless lights in the snow, don’t approach," Harlan warned.
"Why not?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"I don’t know. It’s an ancestral warning—those lights can kill, and they’re a sign of Snow-Ghost Valley’s danger. Why they appear, I have no idea," Harlan said.
Evan Yang nodded. "All right, we’ll be careful. How do we get to Snow-Ghost Valley?"
"I’ll tell you the location," Harlan said, and then he gave Evan Yang the directions. When Evan finished listening, he said, "Thank you, Senior. Let’s head out."
"You’re not staying a bit longer?" Harlan asked.
"No, time is tight," Evan Yang replied.
Harlan understood that Evan Yang and the others were busy, so he didn’t press further. He escorted Evan Yang, Richard, and Lora Luo out of the cave.
Happy was a little reluctant to part. "Will you come back again?"
"I’m not sure, but if we pass by, we’ll definitely return," Evan Yang answered.
"All right, you’re always welcome," Happy said with a smile.
Evan Yang nodded and left with Richard and Lora Luo.
On the way, Evan Yang asked, "Did Happy say anything to you?"
"Yes, I was curious—how did you know he wouldn’t betray us?" Lora Luo asked.
"His eyes, I guess. I took a gamble—and won." Evan Yang said with a smile.
"What? You used me as a bet? What if he really betrayed us?" Lora Luo said, feeling depressed.
"Because I believe he wouldn’t." Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Enough, you just said you used me as a bet." Lora Luo said, still feeling depressed.
"All right, I was just joking. So, what really happened?" Evan Yang asked.
Irrelevant webnovel platform prompt. Skipped in translation.
"It’s like this—he came from the Immortal Realm, which means he had a master. He got along well with his master, so he likes humans. When he saw us, he didn’t dislike us and had no intention of betraying us." Lora Luo explained.
"I see. No wonder—I thought he seemed excited." Evan Yang muttered.
"How could you tell?" Lora Luo asked, curious.
Richard was curious too, since Lora’s question confirmed Evan Yang’s judgment was right—that meant Evan could judge someone’s feelings.
Evan Yang smiled. "That’s a secret."
"Hey, what secret? You have to tell us!" Lora Luo demanded angrily. Evan Yang didn’t answer, instead flying ahead. Lora chased after him, while Richard just smiled and followed behind, thinking to himself, "Snow White, I didn’t expect Evan to be so capable. We’ll definitely get the Nine-Heaven Ice Lotus."
Evan Yang didn’t expect Richard to have such high hopes for him.
Back in Happy’s tribe, Hash was still furious and unwilling to accept things. Even though his cultivation had returned, he was angrier at Evan Yang and Happy.
At that moment, he was discussing with two companions in the woods how to deal with Happy.
"Have those guys left yet?" Hash asked.
"Yeah, they left. It’s been several hours," one companion replied.
"Good. This time, I’ll really teach Happy a lesson and let out all the anger I’ve built up these days." Thinking about being turned into an ice sculpture and everything else that annoyed him, Hash grew angrier. He only knew Happy was responsible, not that Evan Yang was behind it all.
"But the leader said not to bother Happy anymore," one companion said. "That’s not so easy. We can secretly deal with Happy—just don’t let the others know, and especially don’t let Happy know it was us," Hash replied. "So what’s your plan?" another companion asked. Hash frowned, and just then, a demon appeared behind the three bear demons.
The three bear demons were alarmed when they saw it was an outsider.
"Who are you?" Hash asked.
"Just answer one question," the demon said.
"Why should we?" Hash said angrily, his temper flaring.
The other two bear demons refused as well.
The demon sneered, "Fine, then I’ll teach you a lesson first." With lightning speed, he beat up the bear demons.
When they saw he was a Demon Lord, the three bear demons surrendered. Hash quickly knelt and pleaded, "We were wrong, please spare us."
"Spare you? Fine, but you must answer one question," the demon said.
"Okay, okay, we’ll tell you everything we know," Hash said.
The demon snorted, then waved a hand. A portrait appeared before the three bear demons—it was none other than Evan Yang. The demon asked, "Do you recognize this demon?"
The three bear demons immediately recognized Evan Yang, especially Hash, who exclaimed excitedly, "Yes, we know him!"
"Really?" The demon was delighted—he’d searched many places before finding someone who recognized him.
"Yes, but what’s your relationship with him?" Hash asked, curious. "That’s none of your business. Just tell me where he is and how to find him, or else…" The demon threatened. This demon was none other than Black Mountain Imp.
Hash quickly knelt and pleaded, "Spare us, Senior! We really don’t know where he went." "Then why did you say you knew him?" Black Mountain Imp snorted.
"That’s because he was here just a few hours ago," Hash replied, frowning.
"Oh? What’s going on?" Black Mountain Imp asked, suspicious.
"It’s like this…" Hash began to explain.
After Black Mountain Imp finished listening, he said, "So the last one he saw was this Happy you mentioned?" "Yes, that’s right, it was him," Hash said. Hash actually used this opportunity to teach Happy a lesson, and he felt he wasn’t lying—Evan Yang’s last contact was indeed Happy.