"This is a jade talisman that leads to the Apricot Realm. Leave a trace of your spiritual source on it and then crush it to activate it."
"This is the life-saving sound recording bead that Lord Shou mentioned. I hope you won't need it, but take it just in case."
"And here's a ring filled with teleportation portal wheels, all crafted by Lord Shou himself. I've only kept a few for myself and given the rest to you for your protection."
"This batch of elixirs is also for you. I've marked their effects. They come from… Well, you might not have seen it before, but there is a third-grade conducting alchemy cat in the Apricot Realm. I'm telling the truth… Ah, you've seen it before?"
"And this, this, and this are my personal contributions…"
Li Fugui kept pulling out items from his spatial ring, each one more valuable than the last. The pile on the table grew into a mountain, leaving Zhu Yike deeply moved.
"Lord Shou…"
Zhu Yike barely glanced at Li Fugui's personal contributions and gathered the rest of the treasures with reverence.
His eyes glistened with tears as he addressed Lord Shou. "I'll never forget Lord Shou's immense kindness!" He knelt on the ground in gratitude.
"What about me?" Li Fugui interjected, trying to regain some dignity. He pointed at himself with a hurt expression.
"You? Isn't it only right for us to help each other? We're all working for the benefit of the First Pavilion in the Sky. Why are you being so petty?" Zhu Yike replied, puzzled.
Me, petty?
Li Fugui was so incensed that he was momentarily speechless. All his resources were being depleted, and after being removed from the Flower Pavilion, it would be tough to regain those resources. He had exposed all his secrets to help Zhu Yike, only to be dismissed with a single sentence.
"Alright, enough fighting."
Lord Shou's voice cut through the tension. "Don't be ungrateful. Li Fugui has gone to great lengths for you."
Zhu Yike was immediately moved to tears. He cupped his fists and bowed deeply. "Lord Shou, I am enlightened. Zhu Yike thanks Li Fugui!"
Li Fugui could only look on in disbelief. Was this the height of insincerity?
Zhu Yike turned to Lord Shou. "Since you're here, can my mission of escorting Aunt Xiang be considered complete?"
"No," Li Fugui shook his head, his irritation clear. "If it were over this soon, I wouldn't have spent so much effort and resources coming here."
At the same time, Lord Shou's voice continued, "Li Fugui is correct. My main body is severely injured and unconscious, recuperating in the Apricot Realm. My clone is currently trapped in the god slayer ruins and cannot leave. The voice you hear is merely a fragment of my spiritual senses, sent into Li Fugui's body to survive."
Zhu Yike was astonished. "Lord Shou has such a rare and precious body. How can you lower yourself to use Li Fugui's vessel?"
"Why not entrust it to me? I promise I, Zhu Yike, can provide you with my spiritual source to your heart's content!"
Jin Ren was taken aback. Was this the point of what Zhu Yike was saying?
Li Fugui was equally shocked. Zhu Yike's bootlicking was almost as impressive as his Golden Gate Stealing Technique—or perhaps even better!
"I'm a mere talent, but you're just a hidden rat. What's the difference?" Li Fugui fumed.
"I'll be in the dark, and you'll be in the light!" Zhu Yike shot back.
"I'm still in the dark and can escape anytime. You reek so badly that even the Transformation Division can catch you easily," Li Fugui retorted.
"You're full of nonsense!"
"You're slandering me!"
"You scoundrel…"
"You old hag…"
"Enough!" Lord Shou's roar brought immediate silence to the room.
Both men scrambled to apologize.
"Lord Shou, I was wrong."
"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have engaged with the annoying Li Fugui."
"No, no, I was wrong first. Zhu Yike is mentally impaired. I should have understood him…"
"No, no, no. It's my fault. I shouldn't have…"
"The Tower Master wants both of you to shut up!" Jin Ren roared in frustration. How could they be so noisy?
These two were exemplary on their own, brave and resourceful in their respective fields. Why did they become so inept when together? If they had the courage, why not fight it out instead of just trading insults?
"Alright, Lord Shou."
"Yes, Lord Shou."
The two stood there respectfully, heads tilted toward the wall, silent.
"Shake hands and make peace," Lord Shou commanded.
As they locked eyes, the tension in the air crackled. Reluctantly, they reached out and shook hands.
"Ka ka ka…"
The wrestling began!
Their bones seemed on the verge of breaking!
"Alright, alright, alright. This is how you want to play,? If there are no broken bones today, we won't be able to discuss serious matters." Lord Shou's voice echoed.
The two immediately released their grips.
"I wouldn't dare."
"I wouldn't dare."
"If you don't dare, then I want you to smile for me!" Jin Ren's voice was sharp.
"Hehe…"
"Hehe…"
"That's it? Don't you need to say anything else?" Jin Ren sneered.
"Uh, good brother?" Zhu Yike forced a smile and draped his arm around Li Fugui's shoulder.
Li Fugui grunted in pain, feeling as though his shoulder blades were cracking. He managed a strained smile and responded, "Forever!"
Zhu Yike grunted, his eyelids twitching in irritation. This sneaky Li Fugui had hidden a thin needle in his palm—what a devious trick!
"Hahaha, no fight, no friendship," Zhu Yike chuckled, trying to mask his discomfort.
"Hehehe, if there's no argument, we can't get close," Li Fugui responded with a strained smile, clearly still irritated.
"Lord Shou, we have a good relationship… Oh!"
"Cough! Yes, yes, we're on the best terms in the world!" Zhu Yike added quickly.
Jin Ren fell silent, the room thick with tension. After a long pause, he spoke in a measured tone. "Since you two are so close, then hug each other and don't let go."
The room fell into an odd silence as Zhu Yike and Li Fugui begrudgingly embraced, both trying to hold onto their dignity. The only thing left on the floor was a pair of red briefs.
Jin Ren shook his head, trying to refocus. "Now, where was I?"
He paused, then continued, "The situation has changed. Now that Zhu Yike has the Apricot Realm jade talisman, he has a way out. We'll fish in the opposite direction next."
"Zhu Yike, take Aunt Xiang to Changde Town on Qingyuan Mountain. Find a place called Cao's Blacksmith Shop. There's a 'peerless genius' that Bazhun'an left for me. Bring The Four Pillars of Destiny Token with you."
"The Four Pillars of Destiny Token?" Zhu Yike whispered in Li Fugui's ear.
"It's in the second spatial ring I gave you," Li Fugui gritted his teeth, trying hard not to bite Zhu Yike's earlobe.
"Oh, that's good," Zhu Yike nodded. He was relieved he wouldn't have to act first.
Jin Ren continued, "In short, the situation is still unclear, and we'll have to adapt as things unfold. We're not sure if Bazhun'an's favor will be useful, but if anything goes wrong, you can escape into the Apricot Realm immediately."
"Alright, Lord Shou," Zhu Yike said with a newfound sense of security.
Lord Shou was still formidable. The situation seemed clearer now, and there was a glimmer of hope.
Zhu Yike then remembered something and asked, "Aunt Xiang is under a weapon prohibition order. She said that only Kui Leihan can break it. If he can't, can we bring her into the Apricot Realm?"
"No, we can't!" Li Fugui replied flatly.
"Li Fugui is right," Jin Ren agreed. "If something happens, abandon Aunt Xiang. She won't die; she'll just be trapped, and our mission will fail. We'll be back to square one, that's all."
"What if you catch a big fish, but the fish is too heavy?" Zhu Yike pondered, thinking about the terrifying Hallmaster Dao.
"If only Lord Shou were here…"
"I want to use the Ten High Nobles to fight!" Jin Ren interrupted. "I'll switch to you later. Whether this fish can be caught or not depends on Bazhun'an's prestige."
Zhu Yike's eyes brightened.
Li Fugui felt as if he'd been stabbed in the back by Lord Shou. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Lord Shou…"
"You are still in the dark and can be of various uses. Zhu Yike has already surfaced. There's only one way," Jin Ren explained, clearly exasperated with their bickering.
Li Fugui continued to tear up. "Lord Shou, you might be in danger…"
"The worst-case scenario is losing one's spiritual senses. Hurry up and get going!"
Li Fugui felt utterly helpless. He released Zhu Yike and extracted the silver needle, beginning the transfer of his spiritual senses to Zhu Yike using Lord Shou's method.
"Hehehe…" Zhu Yike smirked, clearly enjoying the turn of events.
Li Fugui was too exhausted to argue. "You'd better not die too soon. This is a battle with the Ten High Nobles."
"Don't worry." Zhu Yike's words were vague. "My life is tougher than Li's."
"Aunt Xiang."
Dongdong entered the animal pelt shop, looking around but not seeing anyone. "Where did that Li guy go?"
"He went to meet someone."
"Aunt Xiang, do you think we can really see Lord Shou here? He'll be still severely injured evem if he doesn't die fighting the Holy Emperor!" Dongdong picked up an animal pelt and glanced around.
"You and I can't understand someone like Xu Xiaoshou," Aunt Xiang replied with a sigh.
"Hu…" Dongdong hesitated, her concern evident.
"Why are you sighing?" Aunt Xiang asked.
"Aunt Xiang, why aren't you worried at all?" Dongdong's voice was laced with worry. "If Li doesn't give the antidote to the poisonous pill today, I might not survive…"
Dongdong's tone was bitter as she continued, "If I die, there'll be no one to protect you. That Li guy doesn't seem trustworthy…"
Aunt Xiang, having recovered from her shock, smiled. "You want me to help you get the antidote?"
Dongdong's resolve firmed. "Without spiritual source, moving is difficult. Dongdong even…"
Light footsteps interrupted her. Ah Yao, covered in dirt and carrying a small white tusk, ran over. "Aunt Xiang, they have silver jade white elephant ivory here. Ah Yao can use it to make the shaft… Look…"
Her voice trailed off as she noticed the tense atmosphere. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's fine." Aunt Xiang reassured her with a smile. "If you like it, then go ahead and buy it."
"I didn't bring any money…" Ah Yao admitted, embarrassed.
"No worries, Brother Li has it."
As she finished speaking, the old shopkeeper and Brother Li emerged from the back. Brother Li chuckled heartily, "Buy! How much is this small piece of ivory worth? I'll buy the entire shop for you…"
Zhu Yike's smile froze. His expression darkened, and a murderous glint appeared in his eyes.
"Good! Very good!" Zhu Yike exclaimed, his voice laced with menace.
The shop's occupants, including Aunt Xiang, Ah Yao, and the shopkeeper, were stunned by Zhu Yike's sudden shift.
"Brother Li, what do you mean?" Dongdong's voice trembled as she took a step back, scared by Zhu Yike's glare.
"What do I mean?" Zhu Yike's voice rose in anger. "I risked my life to bring the three of you here. You're asking me what I mean now?"
In a flash, Dongdong found herself caught by Zhu Yike's grip, her neck clutched tightly.
"I want to know—what is this Divine Secret aura on your body?" Zhu Yike's voice was cold with suspicion.
Dongdong's eyes widened in fear. She had been under surveillance all this time without her knowing.
Zhu Yike, deeply frustrated, wondered how Dongdong had used Divine Secret to communicate without spiritual source. Was it Dao Qiongcang? But how could she use Divine Secret without spiritual energy?
"Thump." The silver elephant jade ivory fell to the ground, the shop filled with tension.
Dongdong struggled and gasped for breath. "Aunt Xiang! It wasn't me! I'm not…"
Zhu Yike's fury was palpable as he glared at Aunt Xiang. "I told you to eliminate them one by one. Now look what's happened!"
Without hesitation, he crushed the City Leaving Token, followed by the slave jade talisman, which was stained with Dongdong's blood.
"Boom!" The room erupted in chaos.