"Haha! Here it is, I found it! I knew Junior Sister would keep it on her at all times, and sure enough, I was right!" Senior Brother Lu, wild with joy, rummaged through the pile of belongings and pulled out a small red wooden box.
The lid was already open, but because of the angle, Han Li couldn't make out what was inside. His curiosity only grew, yet he didn't dare make a move.
After all, the guy across from him was vicious enough to lay hands on his own female companion. If this "Junior Brother" of his was discovered, there would be no question—he'd be killed to tie up loose ends, chased to the bitter end.
Moreover, he had personally witnessed the power of the other's wind-attribute spells. Whether for attack or defense, they were razor-sharp, nothing like the half-baked techniques he himself could manage. On top of that, the other's magical power was far deeper than his own—around the mid-twelfth level. In every respect, whether spells or raw power, Han Li was at a clear disadvantage. The odds of victory seemed nonexistent.
Yet Han Li believed that if he truly threw everything he had into a fight, he could still hold his own. After all, his original magic tools combined with his newly acquired ones were no ornaments. When it came to a real brawl, who ended up killing whom was anyone's guess.
Still, Han Li had no interest in gambling his life on some hero-rescues-the-beauty act. That "Junior Sister Chen" had nothing to do with him. She'd been blind enough to choose a white-eyed wolf for a lover and walked straight into the trap herself—whose fault was that? To risk his life for her without any reason at all? Han Li was far from that noble-minded.
So he planned to watch this little drama through to the very end, then go his separate way from "Senior Brother Lu," never to cross paths again. Of course, in the future he'd need to keep an extra close eye on this "Senior Brother Lu." A man this cruel and heartless was something Han Li had truly never encountered before, and when it came to ruthlessness, he readily admitted defeat.
With that thought, Han Li quietly activated the Breath Concealment Technique he had recently learned, afraid that the other might sense his presence and force a life-or-death confrontation.
At that moment, "Senior Brother Lu" tucked the wooden box into his storage pouch, then let out a few sleazy laughs and sidled back up to "Junior Sister Chen."
Excitedly continuing to tear at the woman's clothes, he muttered his innermost thoughts aloud, and the words sent a chill of revulsion down the spine of the hidden Han Li.
"Junior Sister, don't blame me! There was really nothing I could do about this. You see, that little shrew Dong told me outright that if I severed all ties with you and instead dual-cultivated with her after Foundation Establishment, she would personally beg her great-aunt in the sect—Grand Aunt Hong Fu, the Honorable Elder—to take me as her disciple and pass on earth-shattering divine techniques to me. This is a heaven-sent opportunity to soar to the skies! Your Senior Brother simply can't afford to miss it, so I'm afraid you'll have to bear with this, Junior Sister."
Lying on the ground, eyes blazing with fury, "Junior Sister Chen" heard these heartless words and shook from head to toe with rage. She wished she could spring up right now, charge over, and sink her teeth into this faithless man to vent her hatred.
But the cruel truth was that this heartless lover had long since bound her entire body with the Wind Binding Technique. She couldn't move a single muscle, couldn't even open her mouth to curse. All she could do was submit to his whims.
And what the traitor said next made her go ice-cold all over, nearly causing her to faint on the spot.
"Hmph! If Junior Sister weren't the sole daughter of the Chen family head, I might have let you go. The truth is, I'm terrified that you'd turn your love into hatred, use the Chen family's power to take revenge on me, and spread this affair everywhere, completely ruining my reputation. And I've heard that Grand Aunt Hong Fu despises heartless, faithless men above all else. So for the sake of your Senior Brother's bright future, and for my reputation, Junior Sister, you'll just have to vanish from this world! Surely no one would suspect me—we were such a loving couple before, after all!" Senior Brother Lu said hypocritically, his hands never stopping. In the blink of an eye, "Junior Sister Chen's" clothes were in tatters, leaving her completely bare.
"Senior Brother Lu" gazed upon the sight before him, his eyes blazing with lustful light. His fingers began to trace slowly across her smooth skin, wearing the expression of a man savoring a feast, and he went on:
"But what really has me excited is that Junior Sister, just like me, still has an unused Foundation Establishment Pill. I imagine you were planning to wait until your foundational technique reached completion before taking it? After all, doing it that way gives a much higher chance of success." He clicked his tongue appreciatively.
"But now that you're about to give your pristine body to your Senior Brother, surely you wouldn't begrudge this Foundation Establishment Pill! I was a bit worried before—one pill really doesn't feel like a sure thing, and I was afraid of failing at Foundation Establishment. Even those with variant spirit roots can fail, after all. But now, with your pill as well, there's absolutely no way Foundation Establishment could go wrong."
Saying this, "Senior Brother Lu" withdrew his hands and pulled out the wooden box he had just stowed away along with a cyan porcelain bottle. He looked from one to the other, his face beaming with smug satisfaction.
Hidden behind the rock, having overheard every word, Han Li's mind began to race.