Zhou Kai was about to rummage through his storage bag for some healing pills when Wang Qiaoqiao moved faster.

With a soft rustle of silk, her fair hand swept over the small table in front of her. A neat pile of bottles and talismans appeared instantly.

“Sister Shen, see if these are suitable?” Wang Qiaoqiao asked, her smile bright and her voice crisp. “Three bottles of Jade Marrow Pills for healing, two bottles of Spirit Nurturing Pills for restoring Mana, and a few Vajra Talismans and Godly Speed Talismans. Although their grade isn’t high, they should be enough for emergencies.”

The corner of Zhou Kai’s mouth twitched.

His wife was really… good at stealing the spotlight. And excellent at currying favor.

He understood her game perfectly. Wang Qiaoqiao saw Shen Hanyi’s immense potential. She didn’t know the Chen sisters well, but Shen Hanyi looked dashing, radiating an aura of “I’m the most beautiful and dangerous woman under heaven.” This was an early investment, a blatant attempt to secure a powerful ally before anyone else could.

Shen Hanyi glanced over the items. She paused, looking at Wang Qiaoqiao with her clear, cold eyes.

“One should not accept rewards without merit.”

“Ah, Sister, you’re being too formal,” Wang Qiaoqiao said warmly, reaching out to pull Chen Ziyi and Chen Ziqing closer. “We are all family with Zhou Lang. Since you are Zhou Lang’s… friend, then naturally you’ll be our sister in the future too. Isn’t it only right for sisters to help each other?”

Shen Hanyi fell silent.

She was truly penniless, and her injuries urgently needed treatment. Refusing further would seem affected and prideful.

She gave a slight nod. “In that case, thank you.”

Her voice remained cool, but it carried a touch more warmth than before.

“That’s more like it!” Wang Qiaoqiao beamed, pushing the pile of resources toward Shen Hanyi.

The atmosphere inside the Spirit Boat cabin immediately thawed. Under Wang Qiaoqiao’s adept social maneuvering, even someone as aloof as Shen Hanyi began to open up.

“When I was at the fourth layer of Sword Control,” Shen Hanyi began, her gaze drifting into reminiscence, “I was ordered by my sect to descend the mountain and eliminate a wicked demonic cultivator. The intelligence stated he was only at the second layer of Qi Condensation.”

Everyone nodded. For a prodigy like Shen Hanyi, killing a second-layer Qi Condensation cultivator while at the fourth layer of Sword Control should have been effortless.

“But the intelligence was wrong,” Shen Hanyi said calmly. “That demonic cultivator was actually at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. His methods were bizarre, and he was skilled in concealment and escape.”

Zhou Kai frowned. “Then you…”

“If I decide on something, I do not change my mind,” Shen Hanyi stated simply. “That demonic cultivator committed countless evils, refining living souls. Since I encountered him, there was no reason to let him go.”

“I pursued him all the way from the Lone Goose Palace’s territory. He fled; I chased. He was cunning as a fox; I was patient as a hunting dog. The chase lasted for over a year.”

“A year?” Wang Qiaoqiao exclaimed, eyes wide. “Sister, you spent a whole year just chasing one person?”

“Not entirely,” Shen Hanyi said. “Along the way, I also encountered some injustices.”

She didn’t elaborate, but everyone could imagine it. With her temperament, “seeing injustice” inevitably led to drawing her sword. Who knew how many battles she had fought or how many matters she had intervened in during that year?

“So, your injuries…” Zhou Kai murmured thoughtfully.

“Injuries accumulated over the year. Finally, near Crouching Tiger Mountain, I managed to cut him down. But old injuries were aggravated, leading to the sorry state Senior saw me in initially.”

Zhou Kai’s eyelid twitched.

Good heavens.

Fourth-layer Sword Control going head-to-head with seventh-layer Qi Condensation, chasing him for a year while moonlighting as a wandering vigilante. No wonder her reputation was so resounding despite her low cultivation. This fame was literally carved out of blood and bone.

This Sword Immortal was the epitome of stubbornness. A single-minded pursuit—a single sword cleaving through until the end of time.

“What about your sect…” Zhou Kai couldn’t help but ask. “Didn’t they look for you? Or send support? You were gone for a year with no news.”

Shen Hanyi shook her head. “I left a sword talisman message stating all was well. My intention was to temper my Sword Heart. If I rely on the sect for everything, how can my sword remain pure?”

Zhou Kai smirked. He strongly suspected the Lone Goose Palace wanted her back, but this wayward disciple ran so fast and so far that they probably couldn’t find her even if they tried.

“That demonic cultivator’s intelligence was wrong; why didn’t you return to report before making plans?” Chen Ziyi asked softly. She felt it was too risky.

Shen Hanyi glanced at her. “For every day he existed, one more innocent might fall victim. Since I locked onto him, I could not give him another chance to escape.”

Right. Another reason.

Zhou Kai rubbed his forehead. Trying to reason with a sword cultivator was futile. Their logic was a straight line: see evil, cut evil.

“Sister Shen, earlier you said it wouldn’t be long until you reach mid-stage Spirit Shaping. Is that true?” Wang Qiaoqiao asked, eyes sparkling.

From seventh-layer Sword Control to mid-stage Spirit Shaping—that was crossing six minor realms plus a major realm threshold!

Shen Hanyi nodded. “My situation is special. Once my accumulation is sufficient, I can break through realms. It’s just…” She paused. “If the timing isn’t right and I force a breakthrough, there will be a long period of weakness afterward.”

Zhou Kai stared at her. Is this really something you should just casually tell everyone?

…

The Spirit Boat sped through the night.

Zhou Kai took out a jade vial and handed it to Shen Hanyi. “These are three Dew Return Pills. Take them to regulate your breathing. We arrive at Wangchuan City tomorrow morning.”

“Dew Return Pills?” A flicker of surprise passed through Shen Hanyi’s eyes. She knew this second-grade healing medicine was valuable.

She didn’t refuse. “Thank you.”

She swallowed one immediately and sat cross-legged, circulating her energy to heal.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, the Spirit Boat descended outside Wangchuan City.

As a major hub in the Eastern Region, Wangchuan City was bustling. An endless stream of cultivators flowed through the gates, a testament to its prosperity.

Zhou Kai found a quiet inn in the eastern district and settled the group. After taking the Dew Return Pill, Shen Hanyi’s complexion had improved significantly, though she remained in meditation to consolidate the effects.

Once everyone was settled, Zhou Kai turned to Wang Qiaoqiao. “Qiaoqiao, come with me. We need to buy some supplies.”

“Alrighty, Zhou Lang,” she agreed readily.

They walked arm-in-arm through the broad streets of Wangchuan City.

Wang Qiaoqiao leaned close, whispering, “Zhou Lang, that Sword Immortal is truly formidable. Last night, after she took your pill, her aura fluctuated. That concealed sword energy felt terrified. I estimate ordinary Qi Condensation Great Perfection cultivators wouldn’t last one exchange against her.”

Zhou Kai nodded. An innate sword physique made fighting above one’s level routine.

But his mind was on something else. Shen Hanyi is top-tier muscle.

If he could make her a… cough… close confidante, wouldn’t he gain a massive asset? A fierce character who could punch above her weight class?

And there was Li Youci, too. She could withstand Golden Core cultivators. One dark, one white. Both long-legged, both deadly… Tsk, too beautiful.

Zhou Kai shook his head, suppressing the untimely fantasy. Business first.

They arrived at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Zhou Kai sold the Rotting Bone Judge’s Brush he had looted from Fu Sheng, along with some miscellaneous junk, exchanging them for Spirit Stones. He then purchased a batch of spiritual herbs for pill refining and replenished his stock of common talismans. Finally, he bought multiple Spirit Beast Bags for the insect eggs that were about to hatch.

Meanwhile, in the Western District of Wangchuan City.

A young man sat upright in a Grand Master’s Chair, a voluptuous maidservant massaging his shoulders and legs.

It was the Young Master of the Golden Copper Dock, Fu Weilun.

He had set a dragnet along the route from Minshan Lake to Calamity Abyss Valley, waiting bitterly for over two months. Yet, he hadn’t seen even a ghost of Han Cheng or Han Lan. His patience had long run dry.

Coincidentally, the Yin Ruins Sect had matters to discuss, and the location was set here in Wangchuan City. Fu Weilun had simply moved his operation here.

He was completely unaware that the person he was hunting, “Han Cheng,” was currently in the same city, just a few miles away.