He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

Just as Leng Huan was dealing with the enthusiastic Zhao Yumin, a servant suddenly announced that the head of the family had arrived. Leng Huan immediately sat up straight and became very formal.

Upon seeing the imposing middle-aged man and beautiful woman approaching from afar, Leng Huan and Fu Xun both stood up as Zhao Yumin happily rushed forward to call out "Father" and "Mother."

"Father, these two are my friends. I barely escaped and almost fell into the river. Thanks to Brother Huan for saving me!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries with her parents, Zhao Yumin quickly introduced Leng Huan and his companion. When she mentioned Leng Huan, she unconsciously leaned closer to him, instinctively reaching out to hug his arm, only to be reminded by a cough from the Zhao family head:

"Ah, so it was you two who helped my daughter. Thank you so much! Truly, heroes emerge from among the young!"

Madam Zhao was very grateful for their help to her daughter. She and the head of the Zhao family cupped their hands in thanks: "You've finally made it to Nanjun. Why don't you stay a few more days? That way, we can show you some hospitality and express our gratitude."

The head of the Zhao family echoed his wife, "That's right, that's right."

Leng Huan and Fu Xun returned the greeting, exchanged a glance, and she stepped forward, cupping her hands again: "The two ladies of the family are kind, but we are planning to go to the east and cannot stay any longer."

The Zhao family head was a little surprised when he heard this. He carefully looked Leng Huan over, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. Then he looked at Fu Xun and immediately understood that neither of them were ordinary young men.

Hearing their explanation, Madam Zhao felt it wouldn't be right to insist they stay, so she nodded and said, "I see. You two should rest for a while and talk again after tonight. It'll be a good time to wash up!"

Neither Leng Huan nor Zhao Yumin objected to this. After agreeing to host a welcome dinner for them tonight, Madam Zhao and Zhao Yumin left first.

"Brother Huan, you all get some rest." Zhao Yumin winked at them before leaving.

—

Guest house.

"Gentlemen, you may ask the servant for anything." After the steward finished speaking, he left. Leng Huan waited until the steward's figure disappeared before looking at Fu Xun, shrugging, and going into his room to rest.

The courtyard had several rooms. Leng Huan led Sang Biao to choose one with good lighting, so Fu Xun had to go to the one next door.

The housekeeper quickly arranged hot water, and Leng Huan took a comfortable bath in his room. After he finished, he got dressed and threw Sang Biao in to wash as well.

The dog doesn't like taking baths, and Leng Huan spent ages trying to get it to stop. Meanwhile, Fu Xun was taking a bath next door while listening to Sang Biao's pitiful barking.

"Woof...woof, woof..."

The girl's voice was filled with gritted teeth: "Sang Biao, if you don't take a bath soon, I'll leave you here and not take you with me!"

"Woof...woof!"

Sang Biao finally obeyed. After washing the dog, Leng Huan wrapped it up completely, rubbed its fur dry, and was so tired that his back ached.

Once things quieted down next door, Fu Xun had finished washing up. He looked at the clothes the Zhao family had prepared on the tray, raised an eyebrow, and saw a moon-white, arrow-sleeved, round-necked robe. The color was somewhat similar to the Fu family's disciple robes, and to be honest, he found it quite distasteful.

However, he had no choice. Dressed neatly, he looked in the mirror and remained silent for a while. His expression was calm, and the person in the mirror was no longer the carefree and naive young man he once was.

Leng Huan looked at her round-necked robe and tried it on, feeling the new strips of cloth tighten around her chest. Luckily, she wasn't fat, and the robe was loose. She drew her eyebrows in front of the mirror to refine her face shape before feeling at ease.

I have to say, I look really handsome like this! She happily packed her bags, pushed open the door, went out, and called someone to clean the bathtub.

It was not yet dusk, so Leng Huan simply took a nap, but it felt like only a short while later, she heard Zhao Yumin's voice.

"Brother Huan! Are you up?"

"She's here!" Leng Huan rubbed his eyes, opened the door, and sure enough, she was there.

The palace lanterns on the eaves swayed gently, indicating that the evening lights were already on.

—

Banquet hall,

The feast was delicious, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely. As the party was ending, Madam Zhao pulled Zhao Yumin aside and looked at Leng Huan and his companion, saying softly, "I heard from Yumin about the hardships she endured on her journey. I appreciate the two of you taking such good care of her."

The Zhao family head had exchanged pleasantries before leaving, as he was a senior and couldn't stay with them for long. The fact that he personally met with them showed that he valued their kindness because of Zhao Yumin.

Leng Huan quickly replied modestly, "Madam, you're too kind. Miss Zhao is a lucky person. Even without us, she would surely have returned safely."

Madam Zhao smiled and said, "I've already heard from Yu Mian that Leng Huan has a Spirit-Binding Ring on him and wants to ask for help."

Leng Huanxin's heart tightened, fearing that the plan would fall through, and he cupped his hands and said, "Madam, to be honest..."

Madam Zhao was, after all, a lady from a prominent family, and like her husband, she was at the Golden Core stage. Even if it was due to the use of medicinal resources, it was not something that Leng Huan and Fu Xun could easily achieve at their current level. She gently raised her hand to stop Leng Huan and said directly, "I understand what you mean."

She beckoned to Leng Huan: "Child, come up here, let me take a look."

Zhao Yumin blinked: "Brother Huan, Mother can help you remove the Spirit-Binding Ring."

Upon hearing this, Leng Huan obediently stepped forward and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam." She revealed her left wrist, and Madam Zhao looked at it, gently raising her hand and casting a burst of spiritual energy onto the Spirit-Sealing Ring. Leng Huan only felt the ring heat up for a moment, and then with a crisp "crack!" the Spirit-Sealing Ring shattered.

I immediately felt refreshed, all the fatigue from days of travel vanished, and I felt completely invigorated, as if my meridians had been opened!

A surge of power filled his body. Leng Huan clenched his fist and felt a wonderful sensation. He felt light all over. Could this be the feeling of cultivation? This is the experience of a cultivator?

I have to say, the feeling of being filled with spiritual energy is amazing!

"Thank you, Madam!" Her joy was palpable. "That's wonderful, thank you so much!"

Seeing how naive she was, Madam Zhao smiled gently, then glanced at her again and said, "You're welcome."

Golden Core cultivators have exceptional eyesight and can tell Leng Huan's true identity without much thought. At first, because Zhao Yumin kept chattering "Brother Huan" in her ear, she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable, thinking that Leng Huan had abducted her precious daughter. But when she saw that she was clearly a beautiful young woman, she immediately treated her with sincerity.

She glanced at Fu Xun again, thinking to herself what a handsome young man he was. Thinking of the Spirit-Binding Ring, she vaguely guessed that the man and woman were probably eloping lovers.

"Since you are leaving tomorrow, I will give you some money." After thinking for a while, Madam Zhao clapped her hands lightly. The steward, who had been waiting for a long time, came out with a tray of gold and a money bag.

Huh? Leng Huan wasn't planning on accepting any more money, since it was already worth it to have the Spirit-Binding Ring removed.

"Madam, it was nothing more than a small favor..."

"Hehe, if you put it that way, then it's just a small favor for me to remove the spirit-sealing ring from your soul! Isn't that helping my daughter more important than that?"

"Uh..." The thick-skinned Leng Huan rarely felt embarrassed, and now she could only laugh awkwardly and scratch her head.

With a flick of her sleeve, Madam Zhao used her spiritual power to lift the tray and gently place it in front of Leng Huan, who had no choice but to raise her hand to catch it.

"..."

—

The moonlight is beautiful tonight, and Leng Huan is in a good mood too.

Having regained her spiritual power, she was very excited. She was very happy with the large sum of money that Madam Zhao had given her. Well, it would be a lie to say that she didn't want the money.

When she returned to her room and pulled Fu Xun to count the gold, she discovered that the money pouch was actually a storage pouch! It was full of spirit stones!

"Is this a spirit stone?" Leng Huan looked at Fu Xun with his eyes transformed into spirit stones, somewhat incredulous. The Zhao family is truly wealthy and powerful.

Fu Xun nodded: "Yes, I estimate it's 20,000 low-grade spirit stones." That's exactly 10,000 for each person; the Zhao family knows how to handle people.

"That's right!" Thinking of something, Leng Huan immediately put down the bag, ran to the bedside, rummaged through the bundle and found the original owner's storage bag. He eagerly opened it, probed with his spiritual energy, and was immediately disappointed.

Fu Xun asked, "What's wrong?"

"Damn it!" she finally blurted out, "How come there's not a single spirit stone?!"

The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Leng Huan found this storage bag in a small box on the shelf; thinking it was hidden so well, he assumed it contained a fortune!

The result is this!

After careful recollection, Leng Huan realized that the original owner, with her love-struck mind, had clearly intended this as a token of their secret affair.

Absolutely!

Leng Huan pulled out a jade-shaped folding fan. Oh my, there was a love poem inscribed on the fan: "Once you've seen the ocean, other waters are nothing; once you've seen the clouds of Wushan, other clouds are nothing."

Alright, alright, such a big storage bag, and it only contained this one fan? Fine, I wonder how long that woman saved up to give her this fan!

Leng Huan was disappointed. Holding the fan, he asked Fu Xun, "Xun, how much can this thing sell for?"

Looking at her series of changing expressions, Fu Xun thought about the love poem that had just caught his eye and shook his head: "This kind of thing is worthless."

"Fine, what a piece of junk!" Leng Huan was annoyed and threw the fan into his arms. "Never mind, you can use it to fan yourself."

Fu Xun picked up the fan and examined it closely, discovering a personal seal on the handle: Ziqi. Just then, he overheard Leng Huan angrily asking him, "Do you know Wen Ziqi?"

This time it worked. Fu Xun raised an eyebrow. This kind of token of love was taken out of the storage bag she always carried with her... Fu Xun felt a strange feeling rising in his heart, a little sour and astringent, like smoke that had just risen and had not yet fully spread before he quickly suppressed it.

"I'm fortunate to know that he's a member of a collateral branch of the Wen family in Beijun. I've heard he's quite talented." His voice was calm, but he gripped the fan handle a little harder.

Leng Huan slammed his fist on the table and roared, "What talent! He's clearly a hypocrite who takes advantage of the ignorant... the ignorant!"

Everyone in Beijun City knew that the original owner was betrothed to the Fu family. Wen Ziqi knew this all along, yet he still induced the original owner to have an affair with him! Taking advantage of the original owner's naivety and blind love, he used a little trick to get the original owner to secretly give him his resources for cultivation.

Leng Huan cursed inwardly, "Despicable and shameless!"

Fu Xun was puzzled. He put aside his chaotic thoughts and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Because... oh dear! I know his true colors. You've all been deceived by him. Oh well, let's just not associate with him." She figured she wouldn't have much interaction with Leng Huan anyway, since she would never go to Beijun City in her lifetime.

Hearing her start to act shamelessly, Fu Xun knew he wouldn't get anything out of her now. Suppressing his curiosity, he counted the gold, totaling one thousand taels.

He tapped the table: "We have enough money now. Let's hire a spirit horn carriage tomorrow."

Leng Huan naturally had no objections.

—