Chapter 48 The Undisappeared Mark

Chen Mu's brows were tightly furrowed, but his gaze was firmly drawn to the black cat in her arms. He looked it over, then asked with a hint of confusion,

"This cat..."

"My pet. Just bought it. Got a problem?"

Jiang Huoyu glared at him, clearly quite displeased that he only cared about the cat and not her.

Not a lackey of the Beimang Sect... Chen Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief, though his expression remained stern.

"Coming to my door in the middle of the night, acting all sneaky, and bringing a cat to spy on me? The fact that I didn't slice it in half with my sword is already me showing mercy."

"Who's acting sneaky! I hadn't even had a chance to knock before you..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huoyu couldn't help but defend herself, puffing out her chest and placing her hands on her hips, looking quite indignant.

"Enough. Why have you come looking for me?"

Chen Mu didn't want to argue with her; he just wanted to get rid of this troublesome woman as quickly as possible. Her appearance always reminded him of that night at White Tiger Ridge.

That woman clearly possessed the strength of the Dao Entry Realm at the time, yet she pretended to be weak, watching him fight the White Tiger Demon Beast.

Afterward, she even left a hidden mark on him, her movements unpredictable.

How could he easily trust someone so calculating and with such an unknown background?

Jiang Huoyu was interrupted, and sensing his intention to send her away, she suddenly rolled her eyes and pointed at her arm.

"Chen Mu, you wounded me. How are we going to settle this?"

Chen Mu glanced at her shoulder. The wound was covered tightly, with no blood seeping through, so it shouldn't be anything serious. He replied indifferently, "You were spying without permission. You brought this upon yourself."

Hearing this, Jiang Huoyu was so angry she laughed. She put her hands on her hips, ready to hold him accountable.

"Are you a reasonable person at all? I was just standing at your door. Does that count as spying?"

"Fine, even if you are an official of the Demon Suppression Division, if you say it's spying, then it's spying. But you have to compensate me for this injury, right?"

"With that sword strike of yours, my Origin Qi was heavily damaged. Not to mention anything else, the medical fees, shock fees, supplement fees... it all adds up to quite a bit of silver. Tell you what, I won't ask for much. Just give me one thousand taels of silver!"

Chen Mu's eyelid twitched, and the corner of his mouth spasmed slightly. He didn't reply, just looked at her as if she were an idiot.

One thousand taels of silver? Did this girl take him for a sucker? He would have to save for decades without eating or drinking just to earn that much. Compensate her?

Chen Mu shook his head, his tone firm. "I don't have it."

"Then eight hundred!" Jiang Huoyu took a step back.

"I don't have it."

"Five hundred! That's as low as I can go!"

"I don't have it."

"You..."

Jiang Huoyu glared at him, her tone filled with disbelief.

"Chen Mu, you're an official of the Demon Suppression Division, after all! You can't even come up with five hundred taels of silver?!"

Chen Mu nodded calmly. "The monthly salary of the Demon Suppression Division is twelve taels. I have been in the division for less than a month, so it hasn't been issued yet."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huoyu stared at Chen Mu for a long while, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"After all that, it turns out you're just a poor wretch!"

With her laughter, the tense, confrontational atmosphere dissipated for the most part.

Watching her laugh, Chen Mu didn't mind her mockery, but he noticed that she was keeping her left arm tightly tucked against her side, her posture somewhat awkward.

His gaze narrowed slightly, and he reached out, pointing vaguely at her left arm.

"Your arm..."

Jiang Huoyu's laughter stopped, and a trace of smugness flashed across her face.

She released her left arm, revealing the inner side, and Chen Mu finally saw her arm clearly.

There was a bloody scratch; although obvious, it was indeed just a flesh wound.

More importantly, when his sword had pierced through the door panel earlier, he had clearly felt the blade being caught by something, dissipating most of the force.

Jiang Huoyu had caught the blade with her arm.

Chen Mu's pupils constricted.

What fast reflexes this woman had! What precise judgment!

Although he hadn't used his full strength in that strike, the speed of the Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique was immense.

To think Jiang Huoyu could react like that in such a situation.

It seemed this woman was truly not simple.

Chen Mu's vigilance deepened. He didn't want to get too entangled with this woman of unknown origin and mysterious strength, so he immediately issued an order to leave.

"Since the injury isn't serious, Miss Jiang, please return home."

"It's the middle of the night, and we are a man and a woman alone; I fear it might invite gossip."

Jiang Huoyu, as if she hadn't heard him, rubbed her arm and then shouted indignantly.

"I'm hungry! You have to treat me to a meal!"

Chen Mu was taken aback, then frowned. "Can't you buy some food yourself?"

"I have no money."

"Where's your money?" Chen Mu felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of irritation.

"I bought a cat."

Jiang Huoyu patted the head of the black cat in her arms. The cat let out a "meow" and rubbed against her palm.

Chen Mu snorted. "You have money to buy a cat, but no money to eat? Miss Jiang's tastes are certainly unique."

Jiang Huoyu immediately began to act shamelessly. "Anyway, I'm penniless right now, and I'm injured, so you have to take care of me!"

Chen Mu didn't want to tangle with her any longer and turned to close the door.

"Hey, don't leave!"

Jiang Huoyu hurriedly called out to him, her tone softening.

"I... I just couldn't find Uncle Xiong, otherwise I wouldn't have come looking for you again..."

Chen Mu's footsteps faltered.

"Uncle Xiong?" He slowly turned around, staring at Jiang Huoyu. "Zhao Xiong?"

Jiang Huoyu nodded. "Yeah, don't you know each other? That day at the city gate, he even gave you something."

Chen Mu's thoughts raced.

Zhao Xiong... he really was connected to Jiang Huoyu.

That day at the city gate, Zhao Xiong had taken the initiative to help him out of a tight spot and even gifted him the crucial bear paw gloves. He had felt something was wrong at the time; they were strangers, so why was he so enthusiastic?

Now that he thought about it, Zhao Xiong probably misunderstood the relationship between him and Jiang Huoyu, which was why he had helped.

And what did it mean that Jiang Huoyu could find him here today?

He had clearly washed carefully and used his internal energy to check, confirming that he had cleared away all marks. Yet she still found him...

Unless the mark she or Zhao Xiong had left on him was more sophisticated and concealed than he had imagined.

Alarm bells rang in Chen Mu's heart, but his expression remained calm.

Thinking of the debt of gratitude for Zhao Xiong's gift—those bear paw gloves had indeed been a huge help in Sangye Village, saving his life several times—and not wanting to offend an expert like Zhao Xiong, Chen Mu was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I'll make you some noodles to eat."

Jiang Huoyu was stunned, not understanding: "Noodles? What noodles?"

Chen Mu had already turned and walked toward the kitchen. "Wait there."

In the kitchen, Chen Mu started a fire, boiled water, and cooked the noodles.

His movements were efficient, but his mind was elsewhere. As he boiled the noodles, he sorted through his thoughts.

Zhao Xiong's sudden appearance and disappearance, the missing memories of the guards, Jiang Huoyu showing up again...

These clues, when strung together, pointed to an unsettling conclusion.

There was likely some kind of undetected mark or sign on his body.

Otherwise, how could Jiang Huoyu have found him here?

And how did Zhao Xiong recognize him at a glance at the city gate and gift him such a valuable treasure?

And Zhao Xiong's disappearance was even more suspicious.