Chen Li was exceptionally careful on his way back.

The four heavy sacks felt like four small mountains.

Ten thousand taels of silver was quite heavy. Even with his Cultivation at Qi Realm Perfection, he couldn’t completely muffle the sounds he made while moving.

Relying on the Perception Power of his Qi Realm Perfection, Chen Li navigated the narrow, dark alleys of the Luoyan Collection, easily avoiding the occasional pedestrian on the late-night streets.

As he neared the Celestial Gate Inn, Chen Li breathed a small sigh of relief. Once he was back in his room, the huge sum of money would be safe for now.

He was just about to turn into the dead-end alley behind the inn, which was piled high with junk, when something unexpected happened.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The fierce clash of metal rang out from ahead, and the faint scent of blood drifted on the night wind.

Chen Li froze, pressing his body flat against the wall and suppressing his presence to the absolute minimum.

His gaze pierced the darkness, landing on the corner of an abandoned warehouse up ahead.

Two figures were locked in a fierce struggle in the shadows, beyond the reach of the moonlight.

One of them had a slender figure and moved with swift grace. She wielded a Short Sword that danced like the wind, creating glints of cold light. It was the woman in red from the main road.

Now, however, she was clearly on the defensive.

Her red martial attire was stained with large, dark patches—clearly blood.

Her opponent was a gaunt middle-aged man in tight, dark purple clothes.

The man had a sinister face, and his triangular, snake-like eyes glinted in the dark with a venomous light.

The snake-eyed man’s Martial Arts style was exceedingly strange and vicious.

He didn’t use a weapon. Instead, his pair of withered hands glowed with a faint, bluish-black hue. The wind from his fingertips cut through the air, carrying a nauseating stench.

His Body Technique was even more erratic, like a phantom’s. He would dodge the woman’s blade by a hair’s breadth, yet his claws struck relentlessly at her vitals, like maggots clinging to bone.

"Hmph. Little girl, you dare try to steal with such paltry Martial Arts? Hand over the item obediently, and I’ll grant you a quick death."

The snake-eyed man’s voice was hoarse and grating, like sandpaper.

"In your dreams!"

The red-clothed woman clenched her jaw. Her pretty face was pale, and her forehead was beaded with sweat.

She was clearly injured now. Her movements were no longer as agile as before, and she was running on sheer ferocity alone.

"So stubborn."

A vicious glint flashed in the snake-eyed man’s eyes. His figure suddenly accelerated, his withered palm whipping up a foul wind as it clawed straight for the woman’s injured right shoulder.

The woman’s pupils shrank. She threw herself sideways and slashed back with her Short Sword, trying to force him to retreat.

But the snake-eyed man’s move was faster. His other hand silently clawed at her abdomen.

PSSH!

Although the woman did her best to dodge, the claw still grazed her.

With a muffled grunt, she staggered back. The fabric over her abdomen was instantly torn, revealing a wound so deep the bone was visible. Blood gushed out.

The intense pain made her vision go dark, and she could barely stay on her feet.

The snake-eyed man sneered and closed in. "Then die!"

Chen Li took it all in, his brow furrowed slightly.

He recognized the woman in red, but he had no intention of helping her.

’Getting the silver home is my top priority.’

’Getting involved will only bring trouble.’

Seeing that the fight was nearly over, he didn’t hesitate. With a flicker of his body, he silently skirted the battlefield like a phantom, preparing to slip into the inn’s back alley from the other side.

He unleashed his Body Technique, moving faster than lightning without stirring even a whisper of wind.

Back in his room, he bolted the door shut.

"Hooo..."

Chen Li let out a long breath.

With this silver, he now had the resources to attempt his breakthrough to the Meridian Passage. For a long time to come, his family’s expenses and the silver coins for his son’s Martial Arts training would be more than covered.

He hid the sacks in the deepest corner under his bed and was about to change his clothes and rest.

Suddenly.

A whoosh of air sounded as a figure burst into the room.

It was the gravely injured woman in red!

Just moments before, she had been struck by the snake-eyed man’s palm and severely wounded.

In her desperation, a sudden burst of survival instinct took over. Without a second thought, she used her last ounce of strength to throw a pouch of lime powder, then immediately turned and fled into the inn.

THUD!

The red-clothed woman collapsed to the floor the moment she entered.

Her face was ashen, her eyes unfocused, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. The wound on her abdomen was horrifying to behold.

"Who are you?" In an instant, Chen Li had his long staff pressed against her neck.

The woman coughed up a mouthful of blood and stammered, "I am... the daughter of Jiangzhou’s... River Patrol Chief... Mu Wenyuan... Mu Yuanying. Help... me... We’ve met..."

With that, her head lolled to the side, and she passed out completely.

"???"

Chen Li was speechless. A powerful sense of impending trouble washed over him.

He quickly moved to the door and slid the bolt firmly into place.

He pressed his ear to the door, listening for any movement in the corridor. For the moment, no one was coming up.

In the faint candlelight, he could see the woman on the floor. Her face was as white as paper, her lips colorless. The wound on her abdomen, deep enough to reveal bone, was still steadily seeping blood, staining a large patch of the floor red.

The thick smell of blood filled the small room.

Chen Li’s expression was as dark as water.

He had wanted to quietly retrieve the silver and leave, but this woman had dragged him into her mess.

The inn was small; it wouldn’t be long before her pursuer came searching door to door.

There was no way to hide the thick stench of blood. If he was discovered, escaping would be difficult.

’I must have the worst luck in the world.’

Chen Li’s brow furrowed as he cursed inwardly.

He strode to the bed and took out a small bundle.

Inside were some emergency supplies he had bought in the county town, including hemostatic powder.

He deftly tore away the fabric around the woman’s wound, exposing the gruesome injury.

The flesh at the edges of the wound was mangled and curled back, revealing the bone. Blood gushed out.

Chen Li quickly and evenly sprinkled the hemostatic powder onto the wound.

"Hsss..."

As the powder touched the wound, the unconscious woman’s body instinctively convulsed. A pained groan escaped her lips, and her brows knitted together tightly.

Chen Li wrapped a fine linen cloth tightly around the wound, applying pressure to bandage it.

Soon, the wound was securely wrapped, and the bleeding had slowed considerably.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Just then, a series of rough, urgent bangs on the door sounded like a drumroll, shaking the door panel in its frame.

"Open up! Open up! The Government Office is arresting a fugitive! Open the door now!"

A coarse voice bellowed arrogantly from outside.

It was followed by the flustered voice of the inn’s Shopkeeper: "Officer, Officer! What... what’s going on? This is a respectable establishment..."

"Enough nonsense! Get out of the way!" the coarse voice interrupted the Shopkeeper. "If you don’t open this door, I’m breaking it down!"

Chen Li’s eyes narrowed.

’The Government Office?’

After a moment’s thought, Chen Li picked up Mu Yuanying, hid her in the wardrobe in the corner of the room, and covered her with the bedding from the bed.

He ripped the sheet off the bed, wiped up the blood Mu Yuanying had coughed up, and hid the soiled cloth under the bed. Then, he moved a table and chairs to cover the bloodstains on the floor.

A commotion erupted in the main hall, followed by the thumping of footsteps coming up the stairs.

Chen Li went to his door and peered out through the crack. The inn had a typical square courtyard layout, with the second floor open in the center, allowing for a clear view of the inn’s interior.

On the corridor not far away stood four or five men dressed in the blue uniforms of Constables, holding sabers at their waists.

The leader was burly-faced with a ferocious gaze and a coarse voice—the same man who had been shouting at the door.

These Officials exuded a vicious air. Chen Li could tell at a glance that they were impostors.

Behind them was the inn’s Shopkeeper, his face pale and his hands wringing helplessly.

"Officer, our guests are all traveling merchants, honest folk. How could there be a wanted fugitive here...?"

"Shut up! Just open the doors when I tell you to!"

The leader of the fake Officials shoved the Shopkeeper aside and postured as if to kick the door in.