24: Chapter 24

24

By joining forces, the two of them might just be able to deal with these three monsters.

"This is..."

Qin Qinglan was taken aback.

Of the three potions, she only recognized one—she had seen Jiang Haojie drink something similar before, but she had never seen the other two.

"I'll hold them off first. Drink those and then come help me."

Jiang Haojie didn't explain much. He stuffed the potions into her hand and immediately lunged toward the demonic creatures.

Gazing at his back as he charged away, Qin Qinglan bit her lip. No longer hesitating, she tilted her head back and downed all three potions.

She trusted that he wouldn't harm her—if he truly harbored ill intent, why would he go to such lengths to save her?

The moment the liquids hit her throat, a warm current surged through her body. Qin Qinglan's pupils constricted slightly as she felt power flooding back into her limbs and bones.

Qin Qinglan felt a strange warmth rising within her. Although the lingering pain from her previous injuries hadn't vanished completely, most of it had faded.

What surprised her even more was that her exhausted stamina was rapidly returning, and even her latent energy had recovered by nearly half.

Just what was this? To have such miraculous effects.

She suddenly realized that the sight of that man's wounds healing instantly after drinking a green liquid during their first encounter hadn't been an illusion.

If this item were to appear in the world, it would likely incite a bloodbath among Bounty Hunters.

With a dull thud, Jiang Haojie was slammed hard onto the ground. A metallic sweetness welled up in his throat, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out.

His internal organs felt as if they had shifted, and agonizing pain swept through his body like a tide.

He gave a bitter smile in his heart. He had overestimated himself after all—killing two heavily injured Tier 3 demonic creatures had given him the illusion that he could contend with Tier 3 monsters at their peak.

Now, facing three of these ferocious beasts in perfect condition, he had been wounded after only a few exchanges.

He turned his head to look, only to see Qin Qinglan still standing there in a daze. Anger suddenly flared in his heart. "How long are you going to just watch!"

Qin Qinglan snapped back to her senses, a flash of embarrassment in her eyes. Her form shifted as she transformed into her Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox state and dashed in front of Jiang Haojie.

She lowered her voice and said urgently, "I can trap them for three breaths at most. Do you have a way to deal with them?"

Under normal circumstances, her talent was enough to imprison enemies for five breaths, but since she hadn't fully recovered, three breaths was her limit.

Jiang Haojie gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, wiping the blood from his lips. "I can't take them all out, but I can try to slay one while there's an opening."

He calmly assessed the situation—while they had no chance in a direct confrontation, if the opponent was caught off guard, a fatal blow wasn't impossible.

"Roar—!"

The monsters' roars cut off their conversation as three black shadows pounced, bringing with them a foul wind.

Qin Qinglan's gaze sharpened, her eyes glowing with a faint purple light. The three beasts' charge halted instantly, as if they had stepped into a quagmire.

"Quick!"

Without needing to be urged, Jiang Haojie had already lunged out the moment the change occurred.

He flashed to the side of the nearest monster and let out a sudden, thunderous roar directly at its ear canal, the Lions Roar Technique carrying the power of a Critical Hit deep into its skull.

Lines of blood immediately seeped from the monster's orifices, yet it still wasn't dead.

"ROAR!!!"

The imprisonment suddenly shattered. The other two monsters broke free from their restraints and lunged at Jiang Haojie in a frenzy.

Qin Qinglan's heart jolted—his attack was powerful enough to shake off her talent's imprisonment? She spun around to block the way in front of Jiang Haojie, her nine tails fanning out like a screen to withstand the claws and fangs of the two monsters.

"Hold them back, I'll finish this one!"

Seeing this, Jiang Haojie didn't hesitate. His palm wind, carrying the force of a dragon's cry, slammed down.

The first form of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, Dragons Repentance, struck the monster's crown squarely. The sound of its skull shattering was as crisp as cracking ice, and the hideous head instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

The monster collapsed amidst its own dying roars. Jiang Haojie's figure flickered as he landed beside Qin Qinglan.

Their eyes met, and without a word, they simultaneously faced the remaining two monsters.

With Jiang Haojie joining the fray, the pressure on Qin Qinglan's shoulders lightened considerably, and her breathing became a bit smoother.

The two monsters suddenly let out low growls, a hint of wariness flashing in their beastly eyes—perhaps the death of their companion had triggered their lingering sense of fear.

They abruptly turned around, their limbs kicking off the ground, and vanished into the depths of the ruins in the blink of an eye.

Neither Jiang Haojie nor Qin Qinglan pursued them.

At this moment, both were exhausted. Rashly chasing after them would be no different from walking into a death trap.

Jiang Haojie took out a light blue potion from his storage space and downed it.

His wounds didn't heal immediately, but the burning pain gradually subsided.

Just then, a crisp sound that only he could hear rippled through his mind.

"Mission accomplished."

"You may select one internal art or martial technique to level up."

Jiang Haojie pondered for a moment.

The Dragon God Art and the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms were still at the primary stage; logically, he should prioritize them.

But the memory of that feeling of near-total internal energy depletion when he had used the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms with full force earlier that morning was still fresh.

He finally spoke: "Level up Shifting Stars."

"Shifting Stars has been upgraded to Advanced."

The moment the voice faded, a warm and majestic power welled up from his dantian, spreading through his limbs and bones like a tide.

The previously sluggish points in his meridians were suddenly cleared, and the speed of his internal breath circulation more than doubled.

Jiang Haojie gently clenched his fist, feeling the new life force surging beneath his skin.

Qin Qinglan walked up to him, the waves of emotion in her eyes not yet settled. "I haven't had a chance to thank you yet."

Her voice was soft, but every word was clear. "If it weren't for you, I would have ended up in a beast's belly by now."

"No need for thanks."

Jiang Haojie took out his communicator. "One hundred and sixty thousand crystal coinss."

Qin Qinglan was stunned. All the words she had prepared got stuck in her throat, turning into a flicker of absurd astonishment. "What?"

"Forty thousand for saving your life, and forty thousand for each of the three potions. A total of one hundred and sixty thousand."

Jiang Haojie's tone was calm, as if he were stating a perfectly ordinary transaction.

Qin Qinglan was silent for a moment. The soft light in her eyes gradually faded, and a faint, mocking smile played at the corners of her mouth. "My communicator is broken."

"Leave your number. I'll contact you once I've gotten a new one."

She could almost be certain—this man had definitely never had a partner.

Jiang Haojie recited a string of numbers.

He wasn't worried about her defaulting; her name would always be on the roster of Beichen Academy.

The two decided to leave this Fallen Zone.

On the way, Qin Qinglan suddenly turned her head: "How should I call you?"

"X."

She frowned, but in the end, she said nothing, and there was no more conversation for the rest of the way.

Jiang Haojie was happy for the peace and quiet.

After passing through the last broken wall, they parted at a crossroads, each vanishing into the neon shadows of the city.

The silhouette of the Hengyuan Residential Area gradually became clear in the night.

"Sister Liu, what is the meaning of this? We already gave you the rent, and now you're actually trying to kick us out."

Jiang Shangquan frowned as he looked at Liu Hui.

Just a moment ago, Liu Hui had suddenly come over and said she wouldn't rent the house to them anymore, telling them to move out immediately.

Wasn't this just bullying? If she wanted to kick them out, she should have at least told them in advance. Telling them to leave right now, where were they supposed to find a place to go?

Xiao Yufen also asked in confusion, "Sister Liu, what's going on exactly? Why are you suddenly kicking us out?"

Although they had owed two months' rent before, Xiao Hao had already made up the payment.

They didn't owe any rent at all now.

"Don't blame me. Everyone in the neighborhood knows you've brought trouble upon yourselves. Everyone is on edge, so you'd better just leave quickly."

Liu Hui pulled a stack of crystal coinss from her bosom and slapped them onto the coffee table.

"This is your deposit. I'm giving it back to you. Now get out, fast."

Jiang Shangquan suppressed his anger. "We can leave, but give us three days. We need time to move."

"Jiang Shangquan, don't be ungrateful when I'm being reasonable. When I tell you to leave, you leave. Don't force me to get nasty with you."

Liu Hui's face darkened.

"Fine, we'll move right away."

Jiang Shangquan wanted to say more, but Xiao Yufen stopped him.

Liu Hui crossed her arms, the fat on her face trembling. "Hmph, then move faster."

Although Jiang Shangquan and Xiao Yufen were furious, they were helpless and could only start packing their things.

Even though the house they lived in wasn't large and there were no major valuables,

They realized as they started moving that there were quite a lot of things—dozens of large bags and small bundles.

Not to mention the large appliances.

Most people in the neighborhood watched Jiang Shangquan and Xiao Yufen move, but not a single person offered to lend a hand.

"They're finally moving out. I've been living in fear these past couple of days."

"Tell me, how did the Jiang family get mixed up with such terrifying people? Weren't they usually quite honest folk?"

"Hehe, you wouldn't know. It's the most 'honest' people who do the shadiest things."

Hearing the neighbors whispering and pointing at them, Jiang Shangquan and Xiao Yufen both looked miserable.

However, they didn't argue with these people and silently quickened their pace.

The couple went back and forth, running up and down the stairs dozens of times until they were drenched in sweat from exhaustion.

Jiang Shangquan in particular was already injured; after all this exertion, his face grew even paler.

By the time the couple finished moving, the sun was about to set.

Looking at the pile of bundles on the ground at the entrance of the neighborhood, Xiao Yufen's tears began to fall uncontrollably.

Who had they offended? Why were they being treated like this?

The security guard at the gate looked at Jiang Shangquan and the others with a face full of disgust. "Why haven't you left yet? What are you doing leaving your things here? Get out of here!"

"We've put them outside the neighborhood! We aren't blocking the road, so what does it have to do with you!"

Jiang Shangquan could no longer suppress his anger.

He wasn't lingering here because he didn't want to leave, but because he was waiting for Jiang Haojie to return before they moved on.

The onlookers began to gossip and chime in, their arrows all pointed at Jiang Shangquan and Xiao Yufen.

"To be honest, you'd better just leave quickly."

"Once you're gone, those troublemakers will naturally disperse, and everyone won't have to be on edge all day."

"That's right. You should bear the consequences of your own actions. Don't drag your neighbors down with you."

"Move along. Standing here is affecting everyone."

Jiang Shangquan and Xiao Yufen exchanged a glance and could only silently move their luggage into the shadows of a corner wall.

At a nearby alley entrance, A Liang pulled out his phone with a cold expression and skillfully dialed a number.

"Madam, they've been kicked out."

"Very good. Keep watching them."

On the other end of the line, the corners of Xu Jing's lips curled into a smile.

This was exactly the result she wanted.

This morning, she had intentionally gone to see Su Baili to indirectly inquire about the relationship between the Su Family and Jiang Haojie, only to be warned by him instead.

She would remember this debt—the Su Family was powerful, and Su Baili wanted to protect Jiang Haojie, right? She couldn't touch him openly, but could Su Baili really keep an eye on her secret maneuvers every second of the day?

***

"Xiao Hao."

Jiang Haojie had just reached the entrance of the Hengyuan Residential Area when he heard someone calling him.

Turning around, he saw his mother, Xiao Yufen, standing by the roadside.

"Mom?"

Jiang Haojie was startled. "What are you doing here? Didn't you go home?"

"We can't go back..."

Before Xiao Yufen could finish her sentence, her tears started rolling again.

"Don't cry. Tell me slowly. What exactly happened?"

Jiang Haojie's heart tightened.

Xiao Yufen led him to a corner where Jiang Shangquan was squatting by a wall, guarding several large bags of luggage.

After listening to his mother's fragmented account of what had happened, Jiang Haojie's brow gradually furrowed.

He looked at the messy bundles on the ground, and a surge of fury rose from his heart.

The matter was definitely not as simple as his mother described.

There was bound to be Xu Jing's shadow behind this.

She was truly pressing them step by step, leaving no room at all.

Jiang Haojie sneered inwardly, yet his face remained calm as he gently reassured his parents, "Dad, Mom, don't worry, and don't get upset. Let's find a hotel to settle in first. I'll take care of the house situation."

He reached out to help the two elders up, but Xiao Yufen pointed at the luggage. "These... we have to take all these with us."

"Don't worry, they won't get lost."

Jiang Haojie took out his phone and quickly contacted a storage and consignment company.

Before long, a small freight truck arrived and hauled all the luggage away.

Although this kind of storage service was quite expensive, it was safe and reliable. For the current Jiang Haojie, this small expense was nothing.

After settling the luggage, Jiang Haojie took his parents to get something to eat and then began looking for a place to stay.

The elderly couple was used to being frugal and insisted on finding a cheap little inn, so Jiang Haojie had to compromise and chose a clean, tidy guesthouse.

Inside the room, Jiang Haojie gently placed a card into his mother's hand. "Mom, take this card. Use it for whatever you need. I'll resolve the housing issue as quickly as possible."

As the night deepened, Jiang Haojie gently placed a card on the corner of the table in front of Xiao Yufen.

The more than four hundred thousand crystal coinss stored in the card were enough for this family to live peacefully for a long time.