4: Chapter 4 Is this woman an immortal?

Outside the door.

The eight leaders pricked up their ears, listening to the "clatter-clatter" coming from the hall. Their necks couldn't help but shrink back in rhythm with the sound.

"What a sin! The King really went through with it!" The Third Leader, Scarface, looked pained and remorseful.

The Second-in-Command, One-Eyed Dragon, shook his head in even greater grief. "What a waste of God's gifts!"

At the back of the crowd.

The Seventh and Eighth leaders, two ladies who still retained their charm, had red eyes as they wiped away tears and sighed gloomily.

"The King... there's really no keeping him now..."

To be willing to strike such a beautiful woman with lethal intent, he likely no longer had any Mortal desires in his heart.

...

Sparks flew from the long blade in Chun Xiaobai's hand as he sawed, yet there wasn't even a scratch on the red rope. Instead, the sharp knife's edge curled first.

"If a measly red rope is this eerie, how incredible must that Purple Jade Bracelet be?"

Chun Xiaobai's gaze fell back onto the bracelet.

The box was lost, the necklace couldn't be taken off—relying only on that jade hairpin and this dress made of unrecognizable fabric, how much money could he get?

It probably wouldn't even be enough for the start-up funds to endure the hardships of the road!

His eyes narrowed, flashing with a hint of resolve.

I'll just have to chop off the hand!

"There is honor among thieves...!"

"Miss, please bear with it for a moment. When This Great King succeeds in cultivating immortality in the future, I will surely obtain miraculous Spirit Pills and return to help you with a limb Rebirth, and while I'm at it, find you a good family to marry into!"

Chun Xiaobai muttered, then grabbed her wrist while his other hand raised the curled-edged Ox-Ear Knife high.

After gauging where to strike, he steeled his heart and swung down violently!

"What... are you doing?"

A cold, ethereal voice suddenly rang in his ear, making Chun Xiaobai shudder. The sharp knife in his hand froze in mid-air.

He looked up.

He found that the unconscious Woman in Red on the table had, at some point, propped herself up into a half-sitting position and was glaring at him with a murderous look.

*Cough, cough!*

Chun Xiaobai's old face flushed red under her glare. He instinctively let go of her hand, hid the knife behind his back, and forced a friendly smile.

"Beautiful lady, don't misunderstand. This Great King just saw that your nails were a bit long and wanted to help you trim them!"

The Woman in Red ignored his nonsense. Her gaze swept over him indifferently before she surveyed her surroundings.

Greasy animal skins, rusted scrap metal in the corner, and the air mixed with the sour smell of roasted meat and cheap wine.

A pigsty.

She suddenly remembered what had happened by the stream before she lost consciousness. Her cold and elegant face sank, and the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted instantly.

"What kind of ghostly weather is this in the mountains? It gets cold just like that..."

Chun Xiaobai instinctively tightened his ragged hemp clothes. He released his Mountain King Aura and spoke in a negotiating tone.

"Beautiful lady, can I discuss something with you?"

If he could get this woman to lose some weight so her wrist would thin down, he wouldn't have to chop off her hand and could easily slide the bracelet off.

This kind of ant wouldn't even have the right to speak to her on a normal day, yet today he dared to presume to negotiate with her?

The Woman in Red didn't even spare him a glance and raised her fair hand.

On the weapon rack in the distance, an iron-spined long spear vibrated once, flew off the rack, and shot straight toward Chun Xiaobai's face!

"Holy crap!"

Seeing this scene that defied the laws of physics, Chun Xiaobai took a massive leap backward in terror, a chill rushing from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head.

"This woman is actually an Immortal?!"

As the Woman in Red raised her hand, she happened to touch her waistband and realized something seemed to be missing.

Her expression changed, and she immediately reached for her waistband.

The waistband was empty!

That was a treasure she had brought out from that "Unspeakable Place" at the risk of her life... and it was gone!

"Where are the things on my person?"

As soon as she spoke, the spear hovered three inches from Chun Xiaobai's forehead.

"Swish!"

His survival instinct exploding, Chun Xiaobai immediately pulled the Emerald Green Jade Hairpin from his robe. Holding it with both hands like an offering, he cautiously approached and gently placed it on the table.

"Beau... Beautiful Immortal, I was just keeping it safe for you temporarily. I absolutely, definitely had no intention of taking your treasure for myself!"

"I am not talking about this!"

The Woman in Red didn't even look at the jade hairpin.

"Not this?" Chun Xiaobai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, forced himself to stay calm, and said with an innocent face, "I only took this hairpin. I really didn't see anything else!"

He knew the woman must be looking for that hard box.

If she found out he had lost the box, he would be dead for sure!

Before an Immortal who could summon clouds and rain with a flip of her hand, the only end for a worthless Mortal was death.

As long as he didn't reveal the location of the box, there was still a sliver of hope for survival.

"You still dare to quibble!"

The Woman in Red's killing intent surged, and she was just about to command the spear.

Suddenly, her gaze locked tightly onto Chun Xiaobai's face, her pupils shrinking slightly.

"Breath of the Martial God?"

"This... this is impossible!"

Without a second thought, she waved her hand.

Chun Xiaobai felt his vision blur as an irresistible force struck him, and his entire body flew toward her uncontrollably.

A second later, his forehead was pressed firmly against the soft palm he had been planning to chop off just moments ago.

"Um, Immortal Sister, let's talk things over properly. My soul is quite messy and has no value; please don't extract it."

Outside, the group of bandits heard the clattering inside followed by a sudden silence. They all pricked up their ears and looked at each other, but no one dared to push the door open.

Their King was born with Divine Power. Dealing with a weak woman who couldn't even truss a chicken should be a piece of cake, right?

Inside the hall.

The Woman in Red pressed her palm against Chun Xiaobai's crown. A faint light flashed from her fingertips as a sliver of Divine Soul power attempted to probe into Chun Xiaobai's Sea of Consciousness.

However, as soon as her Divine Soul touched Chun Xiaobai's scalp, it was bounced back by an invisible barrier!

"The martial god tower is actually in his Sea of Consciousness?"

"This is impossible!"

She had been refining it for several years, yet not only had she failed to subdue it, she had also suffered a severe backlash. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been knocked out of the void space by a few ants.

The Woman in Red's exquisite face shifted once more. After two breaths of silence, she suddenly spoke.

"Do you... have the surname Wu?"

"Wu?"

Seeing her stop her hand, Chun Xiaobai quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Dammit, how did I end up kidnapping an Immortal?

It really lived up to the old saying: if you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet!

He quickly endured his numb forehead, his mind racing to find a way out.

He knew the key to his survival likely lay in this surname "Wu."

This person named Wu was either his relative or his enemy.

Chun Xiaobai glanced sideways at the woman's cold gaze, and an answer instantly formed in his heart. He immediately spoke.

"Beautiful Immortal, my father died early and left no instructions. The elders on the mountain gave me the surname 'Chun'—Chun as in pure—hoping that my Heart-Nature would be pure and my character kind!"

Hearing this answer, the Woman in Red was silent for two seconds. She slowly let go of his hand, and her cold killing intent dissipated slightly.

For the martial god tower to take the initiative to recognize a master, there was only the Martial Lineage in this world.

She sat up straight and reassessed Chun Xiaobai with her gaze.

Then, a faint, sinister smile appeared on her face.

"Haha!"

Chun Xiaobai's scalp tingled from her sinister laughter.

"I'm done for, this woman's brain seems a bit off!"

Immediately after, a twisted sneer erupted from the Woman in Red's eyes.

"Hmph! You lot, neither gods nor ghosts, probably couldn't imagine in your dreams that hidden in the desolate mountains and treacherous waters of this Mortal realm is a descendant of the 'Martial Lineage'..."

Since that's the case...

The Woman in Red adjusted her posture. Although her Aura was still weak, the air of one who had long held a high position had already returned.

She looked at Chun Xiaobai and said slowly in a tone that brooked no argument.

"I will now give you two paths."

"The first... is death."

Hearing the word "death," Chun Xiaobai breathed a sigh of relief. Life comes from death; at least the second path wouldn't be death.

"The second, be my Human Slave."

"I choose the third path!"

Chun Xiaobai blurted it out almost instantly, with absolute certainty.

According to the laws of probability, death was definitely the worst; being a Human Slave was somewhere on the edge of life and death.

But the third path, even if it didn't lead to wealth and honor, would at least be a way to live!

"Hmm?" The Woman in Red was slightly stunned.

In her Phoenix eyes, which had seen countless grand scenes, a hint of pure bewilderment appeared for the first time.

All along, she had only ever given others one path—death.

Making an exception today and giving the path of "Human Slave" was already the greatest mercy of her life.

This Mortal, covered in the smell of sweat, actually dared to bargain with her and ask for a third path?

This third path...

She had never even considered what a third path she could offer would be.