Leave the fox?
Not only was Yan Zhao stunned, but Ah Ling was also greatly surprised.
“Boss, you…” Ah Ling was confused. How could the Head Chief so easily let this little thief who sneaked in go? Just for a fox? Was there something special about this fox besides its beauty?
The woman above waved a hand, stopping Ah Ling from questioning further.
She raised her chin towards Yan Zhao and asked, “Well?”
The fox lifted her head and locked eyes with the woman from below.
Under that pair of deep green eyes’ direct gaze, one could almost feel a flash of cold severity.
The woman’s lips curved. This was no ordinary fox.
Yan Zhao hugged Little Fox tightly and remained silent.
Ah Ling followed the Head Chief’s orders unconditionally. Seeing Yan Zhao like this, she raised her voice: “Our Boss is asking you a question! Are you deaf or mute?!”
After asking repeatedly, Yan Zhao still wouldn’t answer. Ah Ling grew impatient: “Boss, this little thief is clearly past caring! If you like this fox, just take it! Why waste words on someone who came to our stronghold to steal?”
Before she finished speaking, Ah Ling suddenly met Yan Zhao’s gaze, and the fierce light in those eyes made her flinch.
The Head Chief considered for a moment, then added: “Judging by your appearance, you’re not doing well in the Fuyun Sect either. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be stealing from my stronghold. Very well, I’ll add one hundred taels of silver and ten pieces of meat.”
Ah Ling was aghast: “Boss!”
It was just a fox. The mountains were full of them. Good-looking ones weren’t even that rare. There was no need to spend one hundred taels!
Ignoring Ah Ling’s protests, the Head Chief lifted her wine cup and took a sip. Gazing at Yan Zhao, she gave a final warning: “You have the time it takes one incense stick to burn to consider. Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit.”
Yan Zhao still remained silent. But Little Fox, held in her arms, felt her heart begin to pound.
Having been by Yan Zhao’s side for two days, Ren Qingyue had roughly figured out the girl’s nature.
The child wasn’t bad at heart. She had little concept of most things, but was exceptionally persistent when it came to food.
The reason wasn’t hard to guess.
The Fuyun Sect’s outer sect had a dedicated canteen offering spirit porridge and spirit food for disciples in the Qi Condensation Stage who couldn’t fast. More diligent disciples could also use sect contributions to buy Fasting Pills.
But Tianzhu Peak belonged to the inner sect. All its disciples could fast, so there was no canteen.
Yan Zhao couldn’t cultivate, couldn’t leave Tianzhu Peak, and had no one to care for her. She must have often gone hungry.
For the past three hundred years, what kind of life Yan Zhao had lived on Tianzhu Peak—Ren Qingyue wasn’t entirely ignorant. It was simply none of her business, so she hadn’t paid much attention.
No one taught her the rules. No one showed her any concern.
Ren Qingyue felt a wave of helplessness.
Thinking this way, even if Yan Zhao chose to leave her behind and take the money, she couldn’t really be blamed.
Yan Zhao stroked the fox’s head, then placed her on the ground.
Ren Qingyue sighed inwardly: As expected.
Unexpectedly, as Yan Zhao rose, her lips brushed past the fox’s ear.
“Get out of here. Wait for me at the bottom of the mountain.”
Little Fox’s pupils contracted sharply.
Yan Zhao grabbed her by the tail and, with a forceful swing, flung her out of the tent.
The little fox somersaulted through the air. The landing tugged at the wound on her belly, but her attention was so focused on the main tent that she didn’t even feel the pain.
The woman in the seat shot to her feet. Several bandits, brawny as oxen, lunged forward to subdue Yan Zhao and pinned her to the ground.
Yan Zhao’s face was pressed against the dirt. She managed, with great difficulty, to lift her head. Meeting the shock, incomprehension, and other complex emotions swirling in the little fox’s eyes outside the tent, she shouted: “Run!”
Several bandits burst out from the tent. Snapping out of her daze, Ren Qingyue’s form flickered into the shadows of a nearby building.
A Void Refinement Realm killer from the Fuyun Sect had chased her for days and nights without catching her, let alone this bandit stronghold full of ordinary mortals. As long as she didn’t deliberately show herself, no one could find her.
But… if she left, what would happen to Yan Zhao?
Half an hour later, the bandits sent to catch the fox returned one after another, all empty-handed.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy. The men didn’t dare make a sound. It had been a long time since they saw the Head Chief this angry.
Ah Ling glanced at Yan Zhao, who stubbornly refused to speak, and also felt irritated. “Boss, what should we do with this little thief?”
The Head Chief seemed deep in thought. She set down her wine cup and said lightly, “Lock her up for now.”
·
Yan Zhao was bound hand and foot and shoved into the woodshed.
The person locking her up deliberately shoved her hard. Her feet tripped on the rope, and with a loud thud, she fell. Then she heard the door close behind her.
It took her quite an effort to sit upright. Looking up, she was surprised to find there were two other people in the room.
They were tied to a pillar in the woodshed, both of whom Yan Zhao happened to know.
Luo Qi and Lin Chao.
When Yan Zhao was thrown in, Luo Qi had just spat out the cloth gagging him. Seeing her, he sneered, “Thought you were so capable, but you’re still just a waste! We told you to go down the mountain earlier, but you refused. Now look! There’s no one left to report back to the sect.”
Lin Chao tried to calm Luo Qi: “We’re in this mess, can you just say a little less?”
Then he turned and asked Yan Zhao, “What’s the situation outside? How did you get caught too?”
Yan Zhao ignored him. Offended by the cold shoulder, Luo Qi mocked, “You know her disposition. The sky could fall and she wouldn’t let out a fart. Talking to her is a waste of breath. Trying to play nice now? You had a part in what happened before too!”
Lin Chao knew what he meant. Embarrassed, he shut his mouth as well.
With no one speaking, the woodshed fell quiet.
After a while, Luo Qi heard rustling sounds. Finding it strange, he turned his head, and his eyes widened in shock.
At some point, Yan Zhao had untied the rope around her wrists. She was now sitting on the ground, using a beast fang to saw at the hemp rope binding her ankles.
He watched dumbfounded as Yan Zhao quickly cut through the ropes, stood up, lightly shook her hands, and stamped her feet. When she moved to peer through the crack in the door to observe outside, Luo Qi finally reacted: “Yan Zhao!”
Yan Zhao glanced at him.
Luo Qi wriggled his arms, straining his neck: “Hurry up and untie us too!”
Lin Chao jabbed Luo Qi hard with his elbow, lowering his voice: “Have you forgotten how we usually treat her? Think she’ll help with that attitude? You have to say something nice!”
Luo Qi had never looked Yan Zhao straight in the eye. He’d never truly considered her a fellow sect member. To think he’d have to humble himself and beg Yan Zhao for help—it felt utterly humiliating.
But Lin Chao was right. This was their chance to escape. If he refused to swallow his pride and waited for their master to get word and come rescue them, it would be too late.
He clenched his jaw. In the space of a few words, he almost bit his tongue. It was an immense effort: “What happened before… we went too far. I-I apologize! I promise it will never happen again!”
“Right!” Lin Chao chimed in. “Junior Sister Yan, we are your senior brothers after all. We wronged you before. Any resentment you hold, wait until we leave this stronghold, and we’ll submit to your punishment!”
Yan Zhao stood by the door, watching their performance coldly, utterly unmoved.
Luo Qi and Lin Chao pleaded for a long time, but Yan Zhao ignored them, clearly resolved to stand by and do nothing.
Realizing Yan Zhao absolutely wouldn’t help, Luo Qi panicked. A thought struck him: “If you don’t untie us, we’ll scream! Then nobody’s going anywhere!”
Lin Chao’s heart skipped a beat: Oh no!
But the moment Luo Qi said this, Yan Zhao actually started walking toward them.
Luo Qi shot Lin Chao a look: See? Did it work?
He swelled with pride. Scum like this couldn’t be given a shred of good treatment.
Yan Zhao walked silently up to Luo Qi. Luo Qi twisted his head back and urged, “Stop dawdling, do it fast!”
The next instant, a pain flared in the back of his head. His eyes bulged: “You…”
He didn’t finish his sentence before his vision went completely black, his head drooped onto his chest, and he fell silent.
“Ju-Junior Sister Yan.” Lin Chao’s face quivered. He was quite self-aware. “Please, be a little gentler…”
Yan Zhao gave him the same treatment.
Lin Chao passed out without even a grunt.
Before leaving, Yan Zhao noticed something on Luo Qi’s waist glowing faintly in the dark.
Looking closer, it was a dark purple jade pendant.
“That’s a nice piece of jade,” Yan Zhao muttered softly, and pocketed it on her way out.
·
The woodshed door wasn’t locked, and there was no guard posted.
Seemed these bandits had great confidence in their rope-tying skills.
The night was deep. Yan Zhao quietly pulled the door open a crack and slipped outside.
Most of the lights in the stronghold were extinguished, only a few torches burning through the night.
Bandits guarded the main gate in shifts. The odds of being spotted just walking out that way were very high.
Yan Zhao decided to go back the way she came. Carefully avoiding the night watchmen, she slowly moved towards her point of entry.
Just as she was about to reach that dog hole, a white blur suddenly dropped from a tree, landing with precision straight into her arms.
It was her little fox!
Yan Zhao caught her tightly, equal parts surprised and joyful. “You didn’t leave?”
