Rising Conflict

Lei Mingxing and Chang Liuyun leisurely bathed in the river until they had both rid themselves of all the blood and dirt from the day before.

It took quite a while.

And although Chang Liuyun didn't mind the water as much thanks to Lei Mingxing's company, a decade-old fear couldn't be solved with a single bath.

They quickly finished their bath and stepped out of the river.

Fortunately, both of them were fire cultivators, so there was no need for a towel or change of clothes, they simply used some of their inner Qi to dry their clothes and body.

Well...,

Lei Mingxing dried what remained of her clothes.

A new problem, because as they were now, Lei Mingxing couldn't possibly walk around town, with her arms and legs mostly exposed!

There were even a few holes around her lower back area. All of that would only garner her negative attention and an even worse reputation.

Not that she cared about the latter, the scorn of others wasn't something she hadn't experienced before.

What worried her was the attention. It was precisely what they were trying to avoid at all costs.

Sure, the ever-changing flow of new mercenaries from different nations helped to conceal them for now, but that effect could only last for so long. Especially since it would take at least a few weeks' time until they had the funds to leave Dark Spirit Town.

Ultimately, they settled for Chang Liuyun giving her his wide outer robe to cover herself with until they got to the next clothing store. It still left Chang Liuyun looking 'inappropriate', but it was miles better than the other way around.

As Lei Mingxing wrapped the dark outer robe around her body, she couldn't help sighing with regret.

After only wearing them for a few days, her new clothes were already ruined... She really liked them too...

But there was nothing she could do about it now.

With a final sigh, Lei Mingxing walked over to the tiger carcass and grabbed it once more. They continued their arduous walk back to town.

Gradually, more and more mercenaries of varying strengths and nationalities crossed their path, and they all eyed the beast Lei Mingxing was dragging behind her.

Although none actually did anything.

That was until one party directly obstructed their way.

"Did you kill that beast?"

A lanky mercenary asked with a broad, friendly smile as he stepped in front of Chang Liuyun and Lei Mingxing.

If the expressions of the other mercenaries behind him hadn't been downright malicious and gloating, Lei Mingxing would have almost believed him to be truly friendly.

...

On second thought..., probably not. Even with her terrible social skills, that guy was just way too fishy.

Pulling up one of her eyebrows, Lei Mingxing swiftly hid part of her face with the collar of Chang Liuyun's outer robes. She would rather not have these random troublemakers know her face.

First, the lanky mercenary shot a quick provoking glance at Chang Liuyun, giving the impression that the of them knew each other, although Chang Liuyun was more confused than anything by it.

Before he turned to look at Lei Mingxing with a greasy but intimidating smile.

"Isn't that much too heavy for you, girl? Here, let us take the beast for you."

The lanky mercenary, probably the leader of the group, took a few steps forward, as his teammates did the same thing.

Even though his aim was Lei Mingxing and his teammates' the tiger behind her.

He continued speaking in a casual tone, as he comfortably stretched out his arm to wrap it around Lei Mingxing's shoulders:

"Are you friends with that guy? Let me tell you little girl, an iron-rank mercenary like him that doesn't know how to keep his head down won't survive too long in Dark Spirit Town. You should leave him when you still have the cha-"

Lei Mingxing's eyes grew dark, her expression frosty as she directly met the leader's gaze and took a step back, blocking the tiger carcass with her body. Chang Liuyun joined her as well, intensely glaring at the lanky mercenary, straightening his back.

Despite the mercenary's rather tall physique, Lei Mingxing still stood half a head taller than him when she stood straight like this. Not to mention Chang Liuyun who was a whole head taller.

The mercenaries halted their steps, somewhat intimidated by Lei Mingxing and Chang Liuyun.

But it barely had any effect on the leader.

"Don't you want our help?" The lank mercenary asked with feigned surprise.

Not receiving an answer from either of the two, a 'regretful' grin appeared on the mercenary's face as he shook his head.

"That's too unfortunate... Well, blame yourself."

He then motioned for his fellow mercenaries to move.

Chang Liuyun got into a fighting stance, his eyes set on two certain mercenaries. One was the lanky mercenary, the other some unknown guy with a copper badge hanging at his waist, both of them were at Qi Foundation stage.

After he broke through to Qi Condensation, theoretically he should be able to take on two late-stage Qi Foundation cultivators at the same.

If he wasn't injured that is.

In his current state...

...He had no other choice but to try.

He only hoped that Lei Mingxing would be able to fend against the other mercenaries. Two of which were at Qi Foundation mid-stage and the last one at Qi Foundation low-stage.

Meanwhile, Lei Mingxing had the exact same thought, just the other way around.

She furrowed her brows, a determined expression on her face.

This was her time to step up!

With Chang Liuyun injured, she had to be the one to defend their duo!

They were all around the same strength anyway.

Both fired up in their own ways, the fight began.

Chang Liuyun stepped in front and let the blade of his sword freeze over, before sending a flick of his blue flames in the direction of his two chosen opponents.

The two mercenaries avoided Chang Liuyun's attack easily and instead of feeling scared at the sight of the magic weapon, the greed inside the leader's eyes grew even bigger.

What a steal, an adult Horned Red Jade Tiger and a magic weapon!

The other party was truly a fool for revealing such a treasure from the start, the leader ridiculed Chang Liuyun in his mind as he closed in on the latter.

This left the other three mercenaries to attack Lei Mingxing, rushing at her with ferocious expressions and sneers on their faces.

But Lei Mingxing wasn't scared in the slightest. She swiftly let go of the tiger and pointed her palm towards them, ready to conjure a ball of flames to throw.

Maybe it was overconfidence from her advancement yesterday, but she felt that as long as she got one of her flames to hit them, and she amplified it, the fight was basically over.

So, with the prospect of finally being able to rage freely, Lei Mingxing's inner Qi excitedly surged inside her body.

But she never got to test her idea.

Just as a blood-red spark dyed her palm, a voice suddenly chimed in.

"Stop at once!"

Lei Mingxing quickly extinguished the spark in her hand and stifled the fire beneath her skin as best as she could.

Seeing the other mercenaries unexpectedly halt their actions, Chang Liuyun also returned his sword to normal while looking at the source of the voice.

A sedan chair surrounded by guards stopped in front of Lei Mingxing and the three other mercenaries, the voice that had interrupted them originated from inside the sedan chair.

"Whose Horned Red Jade Tiger is this?" the voice asked.

Hearing this question, the eyes of the mercenaries lit up and the leader could barely conceal the triumphant expression on his face.

Today was truly their lucky day!

With a 'wronged' look, the leader opened his mouth, but how could Chang Liuyun not realize the other's intentions?

"The two of us hunted it yesterday."

"Our group of mercenaries, Young Master Suan."

They both said in unison.

Chang Liuyun and Lei Mingxing's expressions darkened while the mercenary leader had a gloating smile on his face.

Now it was their word against the mercenaries'.

And the worst thing, the new 'judge' and the mercenaries were obviously acquaintances.

"I would like to purchase it..." the voice stated languidly, "But you are both insisting on having hunted the Horned Red Jade Tiger."

The voice paused for a moment, there was a quiet rustling sound from inside the sedan chair, as if the person inside was sitting up.

"Tell me, which one of you is lying?" the voice continued with a chilling tone "If the liar doesn't come forth now, they will face heavy punishment."

A short flash of fear appeared in the mercenaries' eyes, but they quickly shrugged it off as the mercenaries' leader continued confidentially.

"Young Master Suan, these two are the worst! My brave brothers and I slayed the beast after a long and desperate battle. We wanted to bring it back for you, Young Master, but in a brief moment of inattention due to our exhaustion, these two detestable thieves struck!"

The mercenary leader cried, accusingly pointing at Chang Liuyun.

""...""

Chang Liuyun and Lei Mingxing speechlessly stared at the shameless mercenary leader for a moment, before Chang Liuyun finally explained their side of the story.

"We are no thieves, we hunted the tiger yesterday. Unfortunately, because of the impending night at the time, we weren't able to go back until this morning. When we did, these mercenaries suddenly stopped us and wanted to take our game by force-"

The mercenary leader almost didn't let Chang Liuyun complete his point as he suddenly shouted.

"What nonsense! Why would we, a group of mighty mercenaries, steal from petty thieves like you?! Also, do you think Young Master Suan is a fool? You are barely at Qi Condensation and Qi Foundation there is no way you hunted that demon beast!"

The leader glanced at Chang Liuyun with a hidden victorious smirk on his face, like a predator cornering its prey.

"Everybody knows that Horned Red Jade Tigers are among the strongest third-rank demon beasts, on the verge of fourth-rank. There is no way you two could escape the beast unscathed like this, let alone fight it!"

Small theater:

Lei Mingxing: Sigh...Sure enough, the tallest trees experience the strongest winds.

Chang Liuyun: *nodding with an aggrieved expression*

Chang Liuyun: The winds around you are really too strong.