At this moment, Li Yaner finally poked her head out from the collar,
"Huh... Shiyi, it was so frightening just now. I felt as if something heavy was pressing down on me, making my whole body uncomfortable, and it felt like my soul was about to leap out of this body..."
Gu Shi Yi gave a wry smile,
"Perhaps we got too close to the excitement just now and that man noticed us. When he left, he glanced at me. It's one thing for me as a mortal, but you're a soul residing in a body and naturally can't withstand his pressure. Luckily, he bore us no malice..."
But even so, just one look almost caused Yanyan's soul to detach, leaving me feeling as if someone had seen right through me, from the inside out. It was truly terrifying!
Still shaken, Li Yaner exclaimed,
"Just a glance... it was so powerful. Is this... what a Great Cultivator of your realm is like?"
Previously, Yanyan had only heard Shiyi talk about it, but tonight was the first time she witnessed a battle between Great Cultivators, as well as that indescribable, invisible pressure peculiar to Great Cultivators. It was something she had only read about in novels from her world!
Li Yaner sighed with emotion, but Gu Shi Yi was worried that someone else might find them,
"Now I understand why Master was so furious that I used the Tongxuan Bright Mirror. Those five might have been just the first group..."
The thought of similar Great Cultivators coming after him one after another filled Gu Shi Yi with a chilling dread from the soles of his feet upwards, and while thinking about it, he suddenly sneezed,
"Ah... Achoo..."
Gu Shi Yi huddled his shoulders, tugged at his damp clothing, and thought to himself,
"I need to hurry back and change into dry clothes..."
Taking advantage of the time left before dawn, they planned to sleep for a bit, then use the Female Ghost's seal to withdraw Silver, and after that, quickly escape on a boat!
Busy bringing Li Yaner back, the two returned to the inn, woke up the reluctant Little Shopkeeper Brother, got a big bucket of hot water, and Gu Shi Yi enjoyed a comfortable hot bath. As she dried her hair upon coming out, she slapped her thigh when she saw the empty table,
"Damn! I've forgotten Big Boss!"
Then, with her hair all disheveled, she hurriedly rushed to the dock to find the little tree seedling. When she arrived, she saw the tree seedling thrown on the ground, covered in mud, and the new clay pot was nowhere to be found. Big Boss saw Gu Shi Yi and immediately started crying loudly,
"Gu Shi Yi, Gu Shi Yi, you... why did you only come now... wah, wah, wah... why did you only come now!"
Its shrill and piercing cries carried far into the night, frightening Gu Shi Yi, who rushed over to grab it and stuffed it into her bosom, tearing open her clothes,
"Are you trying to get killed? Keep it down!"
"Wuu, wuu, wuu..."
Big Boss knew it couldn't make a scene, so it wept quietly in her embrace. Gu Shi Yi held it and sneaked back to the inn, locking the door behind her before taking it out and placing it on the table,
"Gu Shi Yi... you... how could you just leave me there and forget about me..."
Big Boss had cried all the way and was now exhausted. It began to complain, and Gu Shi Yi let out a dry laugh,
"It was just so sudden, it completely threw me off guard, and I forgot about you for a moment. You... are you alright?"
Big Boss said angrily,
"You tell me if it's alright! Not only did you abandon me there, but then there were cultivators fighting in the sky, with evil aura one moment and Sword Qi the next. It scared me so much I almost wanted to jump into the river..."
Big Boss too was among the Spirits and Monsters, equally sensitive to such things; feeling the pressure, it was naturally frightened!
"This... this wasn't the scariest part... Later on, I don't know where an Old Woman came from, she... she saw me... pulled me out, threw me to the ground, and took my pot... wuu, wuu, wuu..."
Big Boss was extremely distressed; though it was just a clay pot, it was nevertheless new and intact, and the Old Woman had simply shaken out the soil and taken it away!
"Wuu, wuu, wuu..."
As it wept, Gu Shi Yi broke out in a cold sweat, hastily comforting it,
"It's alright, it's alright. The old must go for the new to come. Tomorrow, I'll buy you a new one. We'll get one made of porcelain, a white porcelain one..."
"Wuu, wuu, wuu... I... I want one with colors on it..."
"Alright, alright... we'll get one with colors!"
It was not until Big Boss had been thoroughly comforted that the sky had brightened. Gu Shi Yi glanced at the daylight outside,
"Well... no point in sleeping now. We better go get the Silver first!"
So they took the Ruby ring and headed out, finding a money shop on the main street. Upon seeing the ring, the money shop clerk brought out a ledger, checked it, and said,