Getting Played

After the Feng Sect disaster, the cultivators in the southern region viewed Zhou Qiaolian's appearance as some sort of a rare beast that carries fortunate calamity.

Whenever she revealed her location, the beast hunters were ready to trap and capture her. And no matter what location it is, there will always be casualties.

This pursuit was probably because of the Feng Sect's official order to capture Lady Zhou with a generous fee. Or perhaps, some of those who were trying to capture her wanted to simply steal her elixir field for themselves. Every group has their own motive.

Either way, no one had been successful.

Huan Xue managed to rent a pavilion for a low-class traveler. Across his room were food stalls and restaurants owned by local business figures. And every time he would dine in one of those stalls, there was no instance that he would not hear a complaint from a group of beast hunters being able to spot Qiaolian.

It had been like a routine for Huan Xue to listen to the conversations of hunters in his days of stay. It might be considered as a usual scene for his amusement.

"Have you heard? One of the mansions owned by the Xuan Sect was burned last night! Lady Zhou must have caused the fire!"

"R-Really? No wonder there is a five million gold fee in Lady Zhou's head now! So, it was from the Xuan Sect!"

"Yeah. And the Feng Sect had increased their fee too!"

After days of hearing too many talks about Qiaolian, Huan Xue seemed to be in the mood to join the conversation.

"Why did Lady Zhou burn the Xuan mansion?" he asked in a mild tone while holding a cup of tea and casually taking a sip from time to time.

"Ahh! We don't know! This lady is not reasonable. So, she may just burn it to have fun!"

"Yes! Yes! That must be it! Even the heir of Feng Sect, she dared to cut his vital organ just months ago! That young master had not yet fully recovered. What a disaster!"

Huan Xue listened to the two and casually nodded his head. He crossed his legs and leaned his back on the chair. "Ohh... Q-Quiet scary indeed."

For some reason, whenever such a disaster would be mentioned, somehow, it would also cause Huan Xue to be conscious of his vital organ too. Even a strong beast did not force him to have such a level of alertness. But this news... it really imposed a mental fear!

"Ehh... Let's talk about something else. There were rumors that one of the daughters of a wealthy merchant will come here to open a store. They are looking for a laborer. Do you want to work? Come with me if you want to apply!" another person asked them.

Huan Xue shook his head in refusal. But the others immediately agreed and left their table.

"Master Xia said that there are many strong cultivators outside our Scarlet Island territory. However, up until now, I have not met any!" he mumbled in confusion and finished his tea. In the back of his head, he was even suspicious that the elder was just fabricating stories and was trying to scare him so he won't leave their place!

He could only sigh in frustration. The days he had spent in this region was totally too ordinary. He had not even refined his inner core anymore!

Just as he was about to stand and return to his rented place, he sensed a strange aura. He looked around but, he was not able to see a newcomer around the dining place.

Perhaps, the heavens heard his complaints. This time, he could tell that the owner of this aura was really strong... and even stronger than him!

"The criminal is here! Quick! Quick!"

The shout from the next restaurant erupted throughout the entire place. Everyone became alert and scrambled their feet towards the establishment.

Huan Xue must have been really bored because he had joined this commotion and ran too, while yelling loudly, "Where is the criminal? Where?"

If Master Xia would have been there and witnessed his actions, he would never recognize him as his acquaintance. The innocent expression on this man's face was just too convincing!

He quickly moved to the corner to avoid being pushed and sneaked inside the next restaurant. Many beast hunters and cultivators appeared and surrounded the entire area too.

They were all ready to fight. Swords were already sheathed and some weapons were also prepared for the inevitable clash.

But, after they stepped foot inside the restaurant, they were greatly confused. The place was completely empty! And an unconscious man was already on the floor.

Were they too late? But, they did not see any figure escaping their encirclement at all!

The cultivators quickly expressed their disappointment but did not leave the place. They continued searching the area hoping to see their target.

Out of a sudden, Huan Xue felt an intense gaze peering at him. When he turned in the direction, it happened to be the table that he occupied to drink his tea.

There was a calm figure wearing a faint blue robe staring at him as if it was trying to examine his power. Then, in the blink of an eye, the figure just vanished. He had not seen a face and could not confirm whether it was a man or a woman. All he saw was a silhouette.

"Master Xia, I was wrong... there are really strong cultivators outside our territory. I just haven't crossed paths with them," Huan Xue somehow found himself apologizing in the air after he realized that the one staring at him was beyond his match.

Meanwhile, on the side, the unconscious man suddenly regained consciousness. The beast hunters quickly interrogated him.

"Did you call us earlier? Where is the criminal?"

"Hurry tell us so we can capture the criminal!"

The man only shook his head, still too dazed to speak.

Seeing the lost expression of the man, Huan Xue did not wait for his response. He turned around and decided to leave the place.

The crowd of cultivators gradually dispersed too. But, as soon as they calmed down, there was another shout coming from a different location that made them run for it.

"Lady Zhou is stealing beast cores! Lady Zhou is stealing beast cores! Help!"

This time, it was not just some random criminal. The name was already identified! Huan Xue who had just been in his deep thought about the expert quickly followed the cultivators as they gathered at a different location.

However, just as the first, the same result happened. When they arrived to the beast core auction house, there was not even a shadow of Qiaolian!

In this busy street, such a scene was repeated more than five times, but Han Xue did not join the crowd during the third call for help. He seemed to have realized that someone was playing them around. Lady Zhou was probably making fun to the beast hunters and cultivators!

This time, Huan Xue just joined the local peddlers and watched those group of beast hunters and other cultivators running around. He stood on the corner while the crowd was moving from a certain direction to another location.

How childish!