The black-robed maiden walked deeper into the alley. Occasionally, a household would hang out festive red lanterns. Unlike others, the veiled maiden lacked the meticulous preparations of a family, the subtle foreshadowing spanning thousands of miles. She was alone, venturing into the small town.

Not far away, a young man in brocade robes stood, his hands held high, cradling a cyan jade seal. It was the size of a child’s palm, carved with dragons coiling and tigers crouching. Bathed in sunlight, it gleamed brilliantly, faint wisps of colorful light flickering within. The young man looked up, squinting at the treasure in his hands, his face filled with delight.

Beside him, a tall old man knelt on one knee, carefully wiping the mud from the young man’s boots with his sleeve.

The young man in brocade robes had long noticed the strange maiden from the corner of his eye. She wore a shallow-brimmed veil, a green-sheathed narrow saber hanging at her waist. Her steps were steady, making it clear she was not a local.

However, the young man paid her no mind, still carefully examining the ancient jade seal that had been silent for millennia. Deep down, he even hoped the maiden would have the thought of seizing the treasure, otherwise it would be too boring.

He had already obtained two items, a harvest far exceeding his expectations. If he didn’t find something to do, he would have to leave with the old servant. For the young man, something would feel missing.

It was like back at his home, thousands of miles from the town, where he wore a golden robe embroidered with nine pythons. Alas, it always lacked one claw.

Each chosen one who came to this town could bring three tokens, placed in embroidered silk pouches. He had already given one pouch to the gatekeeper, a toll that must be paid. Regardless of the gatekeeper’s status, no matter how dilapidated the gate, even a monarch or a sect patriarch had to abide by this rule. The other two pouches meant they could obtain at most two treasures from the town, otherwise, no matter how many treasures they gathered here, they would have to return them one by one. The tokens in the pouches were three specially shaped copper coins: lucky coins used by commoners to celebrate house-raising, New Year coins hung on peach wood charms in the palace, and offering coins held in the palms of City God statues. Though called copper coins, their material was exceptionally rare gold essence. For most mortals “below the mountain,” even government-issued silver was rare, let alone a pouch full of heavy “gold,” which was enough to make people willingly sell their family heirlooms.

The young man in brocade robes had studied the three copper coins, unrecorded in official history, all the way here, but could not figure out their secrets.

Ahead, the maiden, exuding a cold aura, walked straight ahead, treating the master and servant in the alley as if they were nothing.

(End of this chapter, please turn the page)

The young man in brocade robes changed his mind, putting away the jade seal and placing it in a prepared cloth bag, tied around his waist. But he remained standing in the middle of the alley, showing no intention of yielding.

The tall, pale-skinned old man also stood up, his voice soft and feminine, saying in a low voice: “Your Highness, this person is a martial artist who has attained considerable skill. We cannot be careless. Outside the town, naturally we wouldn’t care. But here, even my body, purely focused on martial arts, is constantly suppressed by this world, making it extremely uncomfortable. Once I fully circulate my breath and open my acupoints, it will be like a sea overflowing, with my meridians and acupoints flooded, impossible to control. If I die, that’s a small matter, but Your Highness’s safety is paramount. If my lack of care causes even the slightest mistake in Your Highness’s grand undertaking of cultivation, how will I answer to His Majesty and Her Majesty back home?”

The young man in brocade robes mischievously said: “Grandpa Wu, you’ve become more talkative since leaving the palace. Before, you only repeated the same few sentences all year round, even less interesting than the silly parrot my sister keeps.”

The old man referred to himself as “this one,” his servility ingrained in his bones, especially proud of it, a loyal eunuch of the palace.

Seeing that his young master didn’t seem to understand his implied meaning, he had to be more direct: “Your Highness, this person in the alley already poses a potential threat to you here.”

The young man in brocade robes lazily smiled: “Although I’ve long heard that on the path of cultivation, there are all sorts of people, many heretical and unconventional paths, but we’ve only just met. Is she going to become greedy and kill for treasure? That’s unlikely, right? If everyone ‘on the mountain’ was like this, wouldn’t the world be in chaos?”

The old man sighed. The dynasty below the mountain and the immortal families above the mountain were outwardly harmonious but actually despised each other.

The young man in brocade robes felt somewhat disheartened, “Forget it, forget it, putting this mess on a girl’s head isn’t something a real man would do.”

The maiden walked up to him, her left hand pressing on the hilt of her saber.

The young man in brocade robes smiled, stepping aside to let the maiden pass.

The black-robed maiden also slightly slowed her pace, slightly turning her body, her eyes behind the veil filled with wariness.

When the elderly eunuch noticed the maiden’s injured hands wrapped in cotton cloth, he couldn’t help but frown.

“Impudent!”

Suddenly, the old man shouted angrily, like a thunderclap in spring. His feet seemed to slide, and his tall figure came before the young man in brocade robes. The old man gently leaned back, using a clever force to push the young man against the wall of the alley, while simultaneously opening his left hand, spreading his five fingers.

A muffled impact sound came from the center of his palm.

It turned out that someone had used a pebble as a hidden weapon, aiming at the side of the young man’s head.

The force was astonishing, almost enough to pierce a wall.

The old man shattered the fist-sized pebble in his palm, but instead of attacking the assassin, he punched the black-robed maiden with his right fist.

The saber-wielding maiden hesitated for a moment, forcibly suppressing the instinct to draw her saber. Instead, she tilted her head, just dodging the powerful, fierce punch.

The force of the fist instantly disrupted the thin gauze of the maiden’s veil.

The tall old man changed the straight punch into a horizontal sweep, the fist hitting towards the maiden’s head.

The fist’s momentum was smooth and fluid, without any stagnation.

The maiden had to quickly raise her arms, placing the backs of her hands together, crossed in a defensive posture, protecting her ears and blocking the fist’s path.

In the next moment, the maiden slid sideways for a dozen steps.

The maiden gently exhaled a breath of turbid air, reached out with the hand where blood had soaked through the cotton cloth, and straightened the slightly askew veil on her head.

She was a little angry.

The maiden turned around, looking at the tall old man who was looking around, and said matter-of-factly: “If it wasn’t for me, you would already be dead.”

The old man ignored her, but compared to before, the old eunuch, experienced in assassination attempts, had lowered the maiden’s level of threat to second place. The top spot was now given to the person who had attacked from the other side of the alley.

Of course, besides the master and servant, there were only two true outsiders in the alley.

On the other side of the alley, stood a tall, thin masked man.

His arms were extremely thick, the muscles bulging like iron balls.

He had two bags hanging from his waist, filled with round objects.

He just stood there, as if saying that the previous attack was just a warning.

His cold gaze swept over the maiden.

The man grinned, stuck out his tongue, his eyes burning with desire.

The maiden chuckled and said three words.

“Come back!”

As soon as she spoke.

A sword passed through the head.

The flying sword came to the maiden’s side, circling her rapidly, like a child acting spoiled.

She said angrily: “Get lost!”

The flying sword disappeared in a flash.

The master and servant were dumbfounded.
(End of chapter)