Chapter 190: Teammates Like Gods, Missing Limbs and All

Spirit Ore Shop.

Ji Mingyue kicked the door open and stormed in, startling both Lian Mu and the shopkeeper. Behind her, she was dragging a man whose arms were turning black, his whole body trembling as he stumbled along.

Lian Mu: “?”

The shopkeeper jumped in fright. A scene like this happening in his store was bound to cause misunderstandings, so he quickly said, “Uh… ladies, this really isn’t appropriate, is it?”

Lian Mu exchanged a glance with Ji Mingyue. The latter said nothing, and Lian Mu immediately sensed something was off. “I need to speak with my friend in private. Could you give us a moment?”

The shopkeeper was all too happy to oblige. “Of course. Head to the right—there’s an empty room in the back. Hardly anyone goes there.”

Lian Mu and Ji Mingyue entered the empty room. As soon as the door shut, Ji Mingyue raised her foot and kicked the man, sending him sprawling to the floor.

“Please, ladies, have mercy! I swear I won’t do it again!” he whimpered, groveling on the ground.

Lian Mu frowned. “What’s going on? Weren’t you just going to check on some spirit plants? Why’d you bring someone back halfway?”

“He tried to steal from me and got poisoned,” Ji Mingyue replied. “But he’s a strange one—doesn’t seem like your average thief.”

Lian Mu studied his face. She didn’t recognize him at first, but when Ji Mingyue handed her a mask, it clicked.

The mask bore a fox pattern—identical to the ones worn by the assassins Linghu Meng had sent after her before.

“You’re one of Linghu Meng’s people?” Lian Mu held the mask up to his face for comparison. “He’s still playing these cheap tricks?”

She’d thought his last attempt at revenge was already laughable, but apparently, he could stoop even lower.

Clearly, Linghu Meng wanted her to know it was him stirring up trouble—but not in a way she could pin anything on him.

This guy didn’t have the same air as the others Linghu Meng had sent. Had he run out of proper lackeys and resorted to using this little rat?

Lian Mu wasn’t particularly shaken—just a bit exasperated. That Bai Su had promised to deal with Linghu Meng, yet here he was again, bringing people to cause trouble. Wasn’t that blatant favoritism?

“You’ve got guts, going after her,” Lian Mu said with a chuckle, half-joking. “Even I wouldn’t dare mess with her. And you, a guy with no cultivation at all, had the nerve? Not afraid of being torn apart by her bugs?”

Ji Mingyue rolled her eyes. “Cut it out. I’m not that scary.”

Her venomous insects weren’t like her Green Bean—they didn’t just eat anything in sight.

“I’ve never even met the guy,” Ji Mingyue said. “He was probably after you. Lian Mu, why do you manage to piss people off everywhere you go?”

Lian Mu shrugged. “Can’t help it. There’s always someone who can’t take the loss. The guy who sent him has lost to me twice. His first attempt at revenge failed, so now he’s trying to get to me through you.”

Ji Mingyue snorted. “Could’ve at least sent someone smarter… Snatching a spatial pouch in broad daylight? Even if I hadn’t stopped him, he’d have been caught eventually.”

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Lian Mu asked.

“With his skills? Please. He’s not even close to being able to hurt me.”

Lian Mu thought for a moment, then turned to the man. “Where is Linghu Meng? Tell me, and I’ll spare your life.”

“I… I don’t know,” the man stammered.

Ji Mingyue narrowed her eyes. “Still playing dumb?”

“I swear I don’t know!” he said, panicked. “He only found me a couple days ago. I was desperate for money, so I agreed to help. He told me to lure the lady into an alley and… and break her arms and legs. That was all his idea! I was just doing the job!”

If he’d known it would cost him his life, he wouldn’t have come for all the money in the world.

By now, Linghu Meng had probably fled the moment he realized his pawn had been caught.

“……”

Neither of them intended to kill him—after all, this was the Flying Sea Pavilion. Causing a death on someone else’s turf would be a major headache.

Since the man refused to give up Linghu Meng’s location, Lian Mu contacted the Flying Sea Pavilion and had them take him away.

But as for the poison in his system, neither of them had any intention of curing it. Ji Mingyue had only meant to scare him—it wasn’t lethal, but it would cause his limbs to rot and melt away. She had plenty of deadly poisons, but wasting them on this kind of trash would be overkill.

“You messed with the wrong person,” Ji Mingyue said coldly. “Let this poison be a lesson.”

If she hadn’t been prepared, she might’ve been the one in trouble today. Whether he was just doing a job or helping out of loyalty, the moment he targeted her, he forfeited any chance of walking away unscathed.

Letting his limbs rot was Ji Mingyue showing mercy.

The man was terrified, thinking he was as good as dead. He froze for a moment, then suddenly lunged at her, snarling, “You promised! You said if I came with you, you’d give me the antidote!”

Lian Mu grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall, leaving a gaping hole.

He was just an average man—no match for a real sword cultivator. Blood spurted from his mouth on impact.

The next moment, a group of silver-masked figures burst through the door. They seized him and vanished like a gust of wind, their silhouettes flickering past the window before disappearing entirely.

They didn’t say a single word to Lian Mu, like emotionless puppets carrying out a mission, not even recognizing her.

“Why’d you call the Flying Sea Pavilion?” Ji Mingyue asked, puzzled.

Lian Mu wiped her hands. “To test their stance. Linghu Meng came after me once and they let it slide. Now he’s back again. If there’s a third time, we’ll know the Flying Sea Pavilion isn’t worth staying in. Once we’ve made our money, we leave.”

Ji Mingyue nodded. “Makes sense. Bai Su only invited us here because of Green Bean. Once she gets what she wants, she might not keep favoring us.”

“I’m not handing over Green Bean until we’ve gotten enough out of this,” Lian Mu said. “Once it’s released from the beast contract, it won’t be under my control anymore. After I give it to Bai Su, what happens next is none of my business.”

Out of rare sentiment, Ji Mingyue spoke up for the little creature. “It’s been with you for so long. Don’t you feel even a little attached?”

“What’s there to miss? Bai Su’s just borrowing it for a few days. If it wants to come back, what can I do?” Lian Mu said with a carefree smile.

When the time came for her to dissolve the contract with Green Bean, Bai Su wouldn’t have any grounds to question her. Green Bean had always been stubborn—if it didn’t like Bai Su, it would find a way to escape and come back. It was never something that could be locked in a cage. Its body could turn to mist, slip through any barrier, and reassemble on the other side. Even Xuan Che couldn’t catch it, so she seriously doubted the Flying Sea Pavilion had that kind of capability.

As for why she was so sure Green Bean would come back… it was because she had tried countless times to shake it off, but no matter where she hid, it would always show up out of nowhere, staring at her with those big green bean-like eyes.

And that was before they had even formed a contract. Back then, it could already track her down by scent with uncanny precision.

Ji Mingyue understood her plan. “…Of course it had to be you.”

Anyone else would’ve had to choose one or the other, but she could have it both ways without losing a thing.

Green Bean’s attachment to Lian Mu was beyond what most people could imagine.

No wonder, Ji Mingyue thought. She had been wondering why Lian Mu, knowing the value of a Spirit Beast, would so easily sell it off. Turns out, she had it all figured out from the start.

If Green Bean ran back on its own, the Pavilion Master of Flying Sea Pavilion wouldn’t have any reason to come after her. After all, Lian Mu had done everything by the book.

Lian Mu changed the subject. “How did things go at the spirit herb shop?”

“Meh. The spirit herbs in the Seventh Domain aren’t as good as those in the Third Domain of the Star-Plucking Tower. The Flying Sea Pavilion has been in the spirit pet business for years, and the demonic beasts in the Seventh Domain are already scarce. The spirit herbs they cultivate aren’t great either. The Third Domain, on the other hand, is overrun with demonic beasts and is closer to the Shifang Nether Soil. Whether it’s beast materials or spirit herbs, the quality is generally higher,” Ji Mingyue said. “Still, I managed to get enough ingredients to make common emergency pills. We didn’t prepare last time, but tomorrow, you can fight without worry. As long as I’m around, nothing’s going to happen to you.”

Lian Mu smirked. “I’ve got pretty good luck—I doubt I’ll die. And if I do lose a limb or two, with your skills, I’m sure you could stitch me back together, right?”

Ji Mingyue was speechless at her next-level self-jinxing. “…Why would you lose a limb in a beast fight?”

At most, it would just hurt a bit in the mindscape.

“I’ve got a feeling tomorrow won’t be peaceful. Just wanted to ask in advance,” Lian Mu said.

Ji Mingyue nodded. “Makes sense. That fox guy got away, and we’re out in the open while he’s lurking in the dark. If he tries something again, the Beast Fighting Arena’s crowded and chaotic—easy place to get caught off guard.”

Just as she finished speaking, a knock came at the door, followed by a man’s voice: “General Bean, the raw stones you ordered have been packed up by the shopkeeper. Could you come out and collect them?”

The two exchanged a glance and silently dropped the topic.

Lian Mu went to open the door. Outside stood a short young man, who handed her a spatial pouch.

As Lian Mu reached out to take it, her fingertips brushed against his hand, and her brow furrowed slightly.

The boy, aware he shouldn’t linger, quickly turned and left after delivering the goods. He moved so fast that Lian Mu didn’t even get a clear look at his face.

“Did you find any suitable Refined Jade?” Ji Mingyue asked.

Lian Mu weighed the pouch in her hand, wondering if that fleeting sense of detachment had just been her imagination. “No. The high-grade Refined Jade ores were all bought up by the Flying Sea Pavilion. But I did find some decent-quality tempered jade. It can’t be used for upgrading, but it can improve the purity of Spirit Artifacts. I don’t need it, but we can bring it back for people in our sect.”

“How much did you get?” Ji Mingyue asked.

“About a dozen pieces. I did the math—each ore should yield around twenty units of tempered jade. That’s enough for a few hundred people.”

Mineral-type Spirit Materials were measured in “units.” One unit of jade was roughly equivalent in weight to ten standard third-grade Spirit Stones. Twenty units… that much tempered jade would be worth at least several hundred thousand, if not more.

Looking at Lian Mu in front of her, Ji Mingyue couldn’t help but touch the top-grade alchemy furnace at her waist—Lian Mu had gotten it from Feng Tianche and gifted it to her.

Lian Mu must’ve mentioned her to Master Feng, which was why he remembered to send one her way too.

She sighed inwardly. Being teammates with Lian Mu meant you never knew when fortune might fall right into your lap.