The sun dipped below the horizon, casting the mountain peak in the blood-red hues of twilight.

Birds returned to their nests, their calls fading into the silence of the high altitude. On the summit, shielded by a concealment formation, the eight surviving cultivators of the Wuji Market raid sat scattered across the rocks.

In a secluded corner, Qin Lu sat with the Gu siblings and Lu Anchen. The others were deep in meditation, regulating their breathing to recover from the fierce battle.

Qin Lu, however, was wide awake.

He sat cross-legged, but his spiritual energy remained dormant. His eyes darted repeatedly toward the cliff’s edge, where Li Qingdu stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

The sect leader’s profile was serene, a faint smile playing on his lips. The mountain wind tugged at his robes, giving him the air of a transcendent master gazing into the void.

To Qin Lu, that serenity was terrifying.

Half an hour ago, Li Qingdu had promised them a “surprise.” When pressed for details, he had offered nothing but a cryptic command to wait. Then, he had set up a concealment array and gone silent.

It didn’t make sense. They were deep in enemy territory. They had just slaughtered a squad of Foundation Establishment experts. Logic dictated they should flee immediately, not loiter on a mountaintop waiting for a prize.

The longer they waited, the colder Qin Lu felt. A dark thought, born of his cynical nature, began to take root in his mind.

He’s going to burn the bridge after crossing the river.

Li Qingdu needed them to kill the enemy. Now that the job was done, were the loose cultivators just liabilities? Was he planning to silence them to keep the spoils—or the glory—for himself?

Qin Lu watched him like a hawk for twenty minutes. Li Qingdu didn’t move. He showed no killing intent, no accumulation of Qi. He looked perfectly natural.

Am I overthinking this?

Qin Lu hesitated, but his survival instinct screamed for caution. He quietly slipped a talisman from his sleeve.

Hum.

He activated the [Soundproofing Talisman]. A shimmering, transparent barrier instantly enveloped the four of them, cutting them off from the rest of the peak.

The sudden fluctuation of spiritual energy startled his companions. They opened their eyes, looking at Qin Lu with confusion.

“Brother Qin?” Gu Can asked. “What’s going on?”

Qin Lu kept his back to Li Qingdu, leaning in close. He covered his mouth with his hand, his voice a harsh whisper.

“We need to be careful. Something feels wrong.”

“Wrong?” Lu Anchen looked around, perplexed. “What do you mean?”

Gu Yue, her face still pale from blood loss, cast him a questioning glance.

Qin Lu lowered his voice even further. “I suspect Li Qingdu intends to kill the donkey now that it’s done grinding. He might be planning to silence us.”

“Huh?”

The three of them stared at him, eyes wide with shock.

“Pfft!”

Gu Yue let out a weak laugh. She shook her head, a tired smile gracing her lips.

“You… you really are paranoid. You see ghosts in every shadow.” She sighed, adjusting her posture. “People aren’t plants; they have feelings. We just helped him achieve a massive victory. He’s probably thinking of how to reward us, not kill us. Don’t be so cynical.”

“She’s right,” Lu Anchen added, nodding earnestly. “We are the Market Master’s subordinates. Why would he kill his own men? Stopping here must be part of the plan. Uncle Qin, you’re worrying too much.”

Qin Lu stared at them, stunned by their optimism.

Gu Can grinned, nudging him. “Heh, Brother Qin, why so gloomy? Did Li Qingdu steal your lunch money once or something?”

Qin Lu frowned, glancing back at the cliff. “Doesn’t it strike you as strange? Stopping the spirit boat in the middle of nowhere?”

“Relax,” Gu Yue said, closing her eyes again. “You’re just tense from the fight. He said it’s a surprise, so it’s probably good news. Just wait.”

“Yeah, Uncle Qin. It’ll be fine,” Lu Anchen agreed.

Qin Lu opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. Their trust was absolute. To them, Li Qingdu was the benevolent leader who had led them to victory. To Qin Lu, he was a variable that could end their lives on a whim.

He glanced at the sect leader one last time. Li Qingdu hadn’t moved. He hadn’t noticed their private conversation—or simply didn’t care.

Maybe I am paranoid, Qin Lu thought.

But as he watched his friends return to their meditation, he hardened his heart.

No. You can never truly know what another person is thinking. Caution preserves the ship for ten thousand years. If they won’t prepare, I will.

He deactivated the soundproofing barrier and pretended to relax. Casually, he reached for the storage bag at his waist—the one he had looted from the square-faced giant.

He flipped the bag into his hand. Gu Can immediately leaned over, eyes lighting up.

“That’s the old ghost’s bag, right? Open it up! Let’s see the loot!”

They had killed the giant together, so the spoils belonged to them.

“Right.”

Qin Lu injected his spiritual sense into the bag. The internal space opened up in his mind, and his breath hitched.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s wealth was on a different level entirely.

A quick scan revealed piles of glittering stones. There were over four thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. But nestled among them were stones of a different quality—larger, smoother, pulsating with a much denser energy.

Qin Lu pulled one out. It was heavy in his palm, about twice the size of a standard stone. The spiritual pressure radiating from it was intense.

“Whoa,” Gu Can whispered, drooling. “Medium Grade Spirit Stones? How many?”

“See for yourself.”

Qin Lu handed the bag to Gu Can while he examined the gem.

Spirit Stones were the lifeblood of the cultivation world, categorized into four grades: Low, Medium, High, and Supreme.

A single Low Grade stone was the standard currency for Qi Refining cultivators. A Medium Grade stone held a stable exchange rate of roughly one to one hundred.

Qin Lu counted mentally. There were over a dozen of these in the bag.

That meant the square-faced giant was carrying the equivalent of nearly six thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones in cash alone. Add in the artifacts, pills, and materials, and the total value likely exceeded twenty thousand.

They were rich.

“We came to the right place! We really came to the right place!” Gu Can muttered, his hands trembling as he rummaged through the bag.

They divided the spoils quickly and quietly. Gu Can, recognizing that Qin Lu had done the heavy lifting in the fight, insisted on a split that favored Qin Lu—taking only about thirty-five percent for himself.

Qin Lu didn’t argue. He swept his share into his own storage bag.

Beyond the wealth, two items caught his attention.

First was a technique manual titled Breath Concealment Mantra. As the name suggested, it taught the user how to mask their cultivation base—a skill Qin Lu desperately needed to maintain his facade.

The second was a medium-sized spirit boat.

It was sleek, faster, and more durable than the standard green leaf boats. Qin Lu’s mind raced. If Li Qingdu turned on them, this boat would be his only chance to escape the mountain alive.

He was just about to inspect the boat’s controls when Gu Can stiffened.

The young man stood up abruptly, pointing toward the horizon.

“Wake up! Someone’s coming!”

Qin Lu was on his feet in an instant. He squinted against the dying light.

In the distance, a small spirit boat was tearing through the sky, heading straight for their hidden peak. Several figures stood on the deck, their silhouettes dark against the sunset.

Qin Lu’s hand drifted to the hilt of his Seven Star Sword, his knuckles whitening.

Here comes the surprise.