The market of the Myriad Pill Hall bustled with activity.

Han Lie, feeling generous, purchased a medicinal pill worth five thousand Spirit Stones. He tossed it to the cat-girl perched on his shoulder. Xiao Zi caught it mid-air, her eyes lighting up as she devoured the expensive treat, happily patting her full belly. She didn’t know why her master was suddenly so lavish, but she wasn’t about to complain.

“Give me… twenty Profound Spirit Pills!”

Just as they were about to leave, a shrill, unstable voice cut through the noise.

Han Lie paused. A female disciple pushed past him toward the counter. Her face was deathly pale, her eyes bloodshot and darting with a frantic, almost manic energy. She looked like a junkie on the verge of collapse.

Han Lie frowned. The silhouette was familiar. He took a step back, peering closer.

“What are you looking at?” the woman snapped, baring her teeth like a cornered rat. “Haven’t you ever seen a fairy before?”

Han Lie’s lips curled into a cold, cynical smile.

“Heh. This Senior didn’t mistake you. It really is you.”

It was Yun Fei. The same woman who, years ago, had accepted a bribe from Zhou Ze to ambush and kill him when he was nothing but a weak old man.

Yun Fei stared at him, her drug-addled brain struggling to process the face before her. The Han Lie she remembered was a withered, dying geriatric. The man standing before her now was middle-aged, handsome, and radiated the terrifying pressure of a Golden Core Perfection cultivator.

But the eyes were the same.

Realization hit her like a sledgehammer. Her pupils contracted to pinpoints. She didn’t even wait for her pills; she spun around and bolted.

“Hmph. Trying to run?”

Han Lie blurred. With a simple Shunpo, he appeared behind her, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck like a misbehaving kitten.

“Ah!”

Yun Fei’s legs gave out. She collapsed to the floor, clinging to Han Lie’s leg in a pathetic display of terror.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please, spare me!” she wailed, tears streaming down her pale face. “I only took eighteen hundred Spirit Stones back then! I’ll give it back! I’ll give it all back!”

She fumbled with shaking hands, producing a Storage Ring and thrusting it toward him. “There are two thousand three hundred stones in here! The extra is interest! Just please don’t kill me!”

Han Lie looked down at her with undisguised contempt. “Oh? You weren’t this spineless when you tried to murder me.”

“I was wrong! I was blind! Daoist Han, please, you are a great man, spare this lowly one!” Yun Fei smashed her forehead against the floor repeatedly, the sound of bone on stone echoing in the quiet market.

Han Lie snatched the ring from her hand. Two thousand Spirit Stones were pocket change to him now, but it was the principle.

“Get up,” he said coldly.

Yun Fei froze, looking up with hope in her eyes. “You… you’ll let me go?”

Han Lie’s eyes narrowed dangerously. A cruel idea formed in his mind.

“I might,” he said slowly. “But I have a condition.”

“Anything! I’ll do anything!”

“You rely on Spirit-Burning Pills to cultivate, don’t you?” Han Lie observed, noting the tell-tale tremors in her hands. “From this moment on, if you take even one more of those pills, I will come for your life.”

Yun Fei’s face turned ashen. For an addict, withdrawal was a fate worse than death.

“I… I can’t…” she stammered. “Daoist… please, change the condition! Anything else!”

“I can change the condition,” Han Lie agreed smoothly. “You can change your status from ‘living’ to ‘deceased’ right now.”

Yun Fei choked.

Slap!

Han Lie’s hand lashed out, striking her across the face. The force sent her sprawling, a bright red handprint blooming on her cheek.

“I am sparing your life, wretched woman,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried more weight than a scream. “Do not dare to bargain with me.”

He straightened his robes, looking down at her one last time. “Behave yourself.”

He turned and walked away, leaving Yun Fei slumped on the floor, weeping in despair.

Han Lie sent Xiao Zi home and made his way to the Law Enforcement Peak.

His funds were running low. The five thousand he spent on the cat was a significant chunk of his liquid assets, and he needed to replenish his war chest. The Law Enforcement Hall was the best place to find high-paying missions.

Six months had passed since the humiliation of the Sun Moon Sect. Old Ghost Yin Mei was not the type to swallow a loss quietly. Han Lie expected the friction between the sects to have escalated into open conflict.

War was profitable.

Law Enforcement Hall. Mission Center.

The hall was crowded. Han Lie pushed his way to the Golden Core section of the mission board. As he scanned the notices, his suspicions were confirmed.

[URGENT]: Sect Mine #4 under attack by Sun Moon harassers. Suppress immediately.

[URGENT]: Sect Mine #5 compromised. Retake at all costs.

[ATTACK]: Infiltrate Sun Moon territory. Sabotage Earth-grade Mine #1.

The board was a sea of red. The “friction” had become a meat grinder.

His eyes settled on a notice at the very top, pinned with a red seal.

[CRITICAL]: Sect Mine #1 under joint siege by Sun Moon Sect and Myriad Sword Pavilion disciples. Risk of total loss imminent.

[Requirement]: Golden Core Late Stage minimum.

[Reward]: 200,000 Spirit Stones (Base).

[Bounties]: 1,000 per Foundation Establishment kill. 30,000 per Golden Core kill. 80,000 per Golden Core Late Stage kill.

“This is the one,” Han Lie muttered.

The base pay alone was substantial, but the bounties… if he played his cards right, he could walk away with half a million stones. Enough to fund his cultivation well into the Nascent Soul stage.

He reached out to tear the notice from the board.

“Um… excuse me?”

A voice, dripping with artificial sweetness, interrupted him.

Han Lie turned. Standing there was a petite female cultivator. She was undeniably pretty, dressed in flowery robes that accentuated her figure, but her aura screamed “trouble.”

“Can I join you on this mission?” she asked, blinking her large eyes excessively. Her voice was pitched an octave higher than natural. “Don’t worry, big brother! I won’t drag you down!”

Han Lie raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down with open skepticism.

“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself!” She giggled, seemingly oblivious to his judgment. “I’m Xiao Qingge from the Spirit Treasure Hall. And you are?”

“Han Lie.”

“Oh, Brother Han! Please, let me join? Pretty please?” She clasped her hands together, giving him a “puppy dog” look that was clearly practiced.

Han Lie scanned her cultivation. Golden Core Late Stage. Not bad.

“Fine,” Han Lie said bluntly. “But let’s be clear. The base reward is split 70-30. I take the seven. As for the bounties, you eat what you kill.”

Xiao Qingge’s smile didn’t falter. “That sounds fair! Brother Han is stronger, so he should get more. Little sister is happy with thirty percent!”

“Cough.” Han Lie cleared his throat. “Can you… speak normally?”

“Huh?” Xiao Qingge looked genuinely confused, her lower lip trembling slightly. “But… this is my normal voice! Does Brother Han not like it? Should little sister just… stay quiet?”

Han Lie stared at her for a moment, then sighed. “Forget it. Speak however you want.”

“Hehe! Brother Han is so understanding!”

She immediately latched onto his arm, pressing herself against him with a familiarity that set off every alarm bell in Han Lie’s head.

“Let’s go then, big brother!”