"So, you want me to stay in the brothel?" Li Xue frowned.
"Exactly. Since you're running away for that very reason, there is no way a woman like you will be hiding in the brothel."
Li Xue looked down for a moment, pondering. She never thought of that possibility, but this was precisely the reason why her pursuer wouldn't think about it either.
"I just have to wait and recover in the brothel?" Li Xue asked.
"Not at all. How long do you need to fully recover?"
"I have spent all my resources before coming here. So, I can only naturally recover from my injury. That will take about two weeks."
"What if you have the resources?"
"I can speed it up to only one week or even less." Li Xue fell silent as if noticing something. With an unsure tone, she asked, "Do you have the resources?"
"No," Hao Yu shook his head helplessly.
"Right? There is no way someone like you would have it," Li Xue sighed in disappointment.
At this time, Hao Yu raised his finger as though indirectly telling her to shut up. "But if we follow my plan, you can get all the resources you need."
Li Xue was speechless. Hao Yu might be a government official, but there was no way Hao Yu would have it, considering cultivation resources would be managed not by the individual but the entire government. This was a precious resource to negotiate with the cultivators, after all.
There were several ways to get cultivation resources, but from Hao Yu's situation, there was only one method. Li Xue gasped, never thinking Hao Yu was this bold. "Don't tell me... you're planning to kill my pursuers?"
Hao Yu smiled. "I'm glad that we're on the same page."
"Are you insane? They will most likely send more than one person. Since one 7-Star Expert is enough to severely injure me, there will probably be two people of the same level coming. You can't even do anything to them."
"But you're not rejecting the plan." Hao Yu chuckled. If Li Xue rejected, Hao Yu would know that he couldn't cooperate with her to kill more cultivators.
"Do you have any idea how to kill a 7-Star Expert?" Li Xue asked. "Even though I have the same strength, I can only muster a portion of my strength."
"It's pretty simple. I think I have shown you the technique earlier."
"Huh?" Li Xue recalled what happened earlier and realized that Hao Yu was talking about how he managed to sneak up on her. "Are you the one who will kill them? I don't know how you do it, but a 7-Star Expert is not that easy to kill."
"Of course. But that changes if they are my 'friends' since they will drop their guards. All I want you to do is to distract them. Just for one or two seconds... As long as you can do that, I'll eliminate them."
"Are you really a mortal? You should know that you're dealing with a cultivator of the Iron Mountain Sect. If the sect hears about this, they will definitely send an expert to kill you and probably decimate this city." Li Xue shivered at the thought of Hao Yu's boldness.
"That's why you're here. The scenario will be like this: the first wave of pursuers will come, and we'll eliminate them together. Seeing there is no news, the second wave will come and die as well. This time, the mastermind will realize that something is wrong and act personally. I'll give that chance to you. I'm sure you want to eliminate him, right?"
Li Xue's body shook when Hao Yu approached her and whispered those temptations to her ears. Did she hate them? Probably yes. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to harbor that thought.
However, Hao Yu gave her that hope. If everything went according to his plan, she could exact her revenge.
"Still, even if you feel indebted to that cultivator, do you think I believe that you are only doing it for that reason? What do you want me to do?" Li Xue squinted her eyes, pressuring Hao Yu.
It was extremely clear that Hao Yu's debt and gratitude weren't enough to kill cultivators. He could assist them in any way, but if that story was true, he wouldn't plan to kill these people.
In other words, Hao Yu must want something else. Hao Yu continued with his scenario, "What will happen after your revenge will be you coming back to the Iron Mountain Sect to re-enact your position. However, that will only happen after one more week of spending in this place."
"Huh?" Li Xue became confused. If she stayed longer than she needed to, the outer elder might send someone strong to handle this matter. When that happened, even with Hao Yu's help, there was nothing they could do.
Hao Yu smirked. "I'm exactly targeting what you're thinking right now."
"!!!" Li Xue gasped and asked out loud, "What? Why? How?"
Li Xue was so shocked that she couldn't think of anything and just blurted out everything in her mind.
Hao Yu remained silent but showed a confident smile.
Li Xue added, "You should know that the person who will be coming next is much more powerful, right? There is a possibility that they will be either 9-Star or 10-Star Expert."
"That's right. If I have to say the reason, then it's to help you." Hao Yu smiled.
"To help me?" Li Xue was startled, never thinking a mortal would do all this just to help her.
"Yes. If you return to the sect after your revenge, that outer elder will definitely press you by using his influence. There is a chance that he has joined hands with other elders before you do it. That's why you can't trust anyone once you return."
Li Xue thought for a moment as she could see how she got tricked by an elder who acted like he was on her side. "But..."
"But everything will be different if you eliminate the next person. Since they are sending someone strong, they will think you've gotten something good along the way, and your strength has rivaled if not surpassed that strong expert. You're creating an illusion that you can easily break through to 10-Star if not reaching a higher realm."
"Because of that talent, the others, who might have joined sides with that elder, will think twice. And from the looks of it, they will side with me because of that talent since it's not good to offend a rising star who might come back for revenge." Li Xue continued Hao Yu's words.
Hao Yu had created a perfect scenario that Li Xue couldn't help but admit that everything would happen according to his plan.
Even without any secret help, as long as she got a lot of cultivation resources, she could somehow reach 10-Star within the next few years. This should show enough of her talent.
Not only did Hao Yu think about her revenge, but he also thought about her future.
Li Xue couldn't help but ask, "Who exactly are you? Why are you helping me so much?"
Hao Yu shook his head helplessly. "I have told you my story. If my action is excessive in your mind, then please think of it because I'm charmed by your beauty." As he said those words, his finger rubbed the dirt on her face.
Li Xue's body trembled. On the one hand, her beauty was the one that caused all this mess. On the other hand, that very beauty helped her meet this person, the one who would change her fate. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
But one thing was for sure. If she followed his plan, she could turn everything around.
After considering the pros and cons, Li Xue finally agreed, "Alright. I'll follow your plan."
"Thank you. I'll arrange everything so that you won't be bothered by the customers of the brothels. The detailed plan will be sent later. You can read, right?"
"Of course, I can. That's probably the rudest thing you've said until now." Instead of getting angry, Li Xue only sighed, showing a sign of trust.
Hao Yu nodded. "In that case, let me guide you to an inn first where we'll tend to your injuries. I'll arrange your new stay in the brothel during that time."
With that agreement, Li Xue and Hao Yu left the alley.
Remembering that conversation, Li Xue couldn't help but look at Zhao Xin and Su Han, who were lying lifelessly on the ground. And the one who killed them was none other than a powerless mortal without a single shred of Spiritual Qi.
"I guess everything went well." Li Xue tried to strike up a conversation.
Hao Yu didn't reply immediately. Instead, he bent down and checked Zhao Xin and Su Han's belongings before taking out a ring from their finger. He tossed the two rings to Li Xue and said, "Those rings should have some resources, right?"
Li Xue remembered that Hao Yu wanted her to use that resource not only to recover from her injury but also to get stronger. She asked, "Still, you should get some of it. I didn't do much, so I would feel bad for taking everything."
"No. You can have them. I want you to focus on recovering first. We can talk after that." Hao Yu rejected her.
Li Xue didn't realize that she had changed. From Hao Yu's help to giving her these rings, it had made Li Xue completely trust Hao Yu. There was a desire in her heart to repay Hao Yu after all this was over.
Though, the latter only said, "I'll dispose of these corpses, so I want you to moan as hard as you can to fool everyone."