Inner City of the Nether Capital, the Jin family's old residence.
"How many?"
Jin Qing furrowed her brows and asked indifferently, "Is there a problem?"
The green-haired youth looked miserable. "My Lord, you're not joking, are you? Five thousand jars of God-Demon Drunk? Where on earth am I supposed to get that for you?"
Jin Qing said leisurely, "If you don't have it, go buy it."
"Where do I buy it?"
Jin Qing shouted, "If you can't buy it, can't you just go and rob it?"
The green-haired youth lowered his head and remained silent, his expression looking more uncomfortable than if he had eaten filth.
Jin Qing said impatiently, "Go!"
The green-haired youth tested the waters weakly. "Maybe... it's better to just kill him instead."
Jin Qing swept her cold eyes over him and glared.
The youth tactfully shut his mouth, clutched his chest, and withdrew. It was a gesture of respect, but his chest truly did ache.
"I'm giving you exactly one day," Jin Qing reminded him.
The youth in green said nothing, silently walking out of the grand residence. He looked up at the sky with a look of despair, rare words of complaint escaping his lips: "Just kill me already."
...
The little girl returned to the dilapidated courtyard. Xu Xian was still cultivating. When he asked about the wine, she forced a smile and said it would be delivered tomorrow.
Xu Xian smirked and continued his cultivation.
The little girl continued cleaning and settled in.
That day, the man in green visited every member of the heavenly demon race in the Inner City. Except for the Demon God Palace, he went to every prince and marquessate's manor, purchasing God-Demon Drunk on a massive scale.
It caused quite a stir.
Everyone knew the green-haired youth worked for the High Priest. Since he was buying so much God-Demon Drunk, it naturally concerned the High Priest, which inevitably attracted the clandestine attention of the Demon God Palace.
In particular, those demon gods who had always opposed the High Priest opening the Nether Hall were full of conjectures.
None of them understood what use the High Priest had for such a vast quantity of God-Demon Drunk.
They exerted great effort to track the movement of the goods, which naturally included the Crimson Demon Palace.
The next morning, dozens of carriages set off on a bumpy journey from the outer city district adjacent to the Inner City. They traversed dozens of alleys and drove majestically into the slums beyond the Outer City.
This drew countless onlookers, causing a temporary commotion.
The recipients of the goods were a white-haired youth and a white-haired little girl.
Five thousand jars of wine—not a single jar more, not a single jar less.
Those who didn't understand the situation just watched for the spectacle, thinking this white-haired youth must have quite a background. He was remarkably generous, and so many carriages had arrived for him.
From a distance, people discussed and gestured, the chatter never-ending.
Why would such a wealthy person come to this impoverished backwater? There must be something strange going on.
However, it stopped at mere discussion.
Even the most illiterate beggar child could see that the youth was not one to be trifled with. With a simple wave of his sleeve, the wine brought by over a dozen carriages vanished instantly.
What did that mean?
It meant he was a genuine demon cultivator. How could these common folk dare to harbor any ill intentions? As for those with a bit of influence or strength, they dared even less.
One after another, they kept a respectful distance.
Those carriages belonged to the Qing family's industry. If the Qing family's horses were willing to lower themselves to deliver wine to this broken place, that kid couldn't be simple. He definitely had some connection with the heavenly demon race's Qing family.
In the Demon Abyss, who didn't know that the Qing family was the primary favorite in the High Priest's eyes? Offending the Qing family was the same as offending the High Priest.
That wasn't just a matter of losing one's life; if things went poorly, the entire clan might be buried alongside them.
Every witness secretly swore to stay far away from this courtyard and even further away from the white-haired youth.
The news was not limited to the isolated outer city area.
The commotion was significant, and the spies from the Demon God Palace naturally reported the news back.
Upon learning that the God-Demon Drunk purchased by the Qing family at a high price had been delivered to the slums...
And that it had fallen into the hands of a white-haired young man, the circle of the heavenly demon race instantly boiled over.
That was God-Demon Drunk! Was it something a third-class lowly demon could enjoy?
Even for them, as ordinary members of the heavenly demon race, they were only given a fixed ration every year.
Now look at this—the Qing family had directly sent five thousand jars, dozens of carriage loads.
How could they not overthink it?
There was definitely something happening here.
Especially those demon gods who knew some of the inside story. After receiving the news, they immediately guessed that this white-haired youth was very likely the person the High Priest had mentioned back in the Nether Hall.
That was the mortal demon youth who had saved Chi Ji.
They still remembered him; the youth was called Bai Mang.
Although it was just a guess and there was no so-called evidence, they couldn't think of any other possibility besides this.
They thought it surely couldn't be that the High Priest had fallen in love with another mortal demon man just like before, could it?
But...
They couldn't fathom why the High Priest would do this—sending wine to a mortal demon, and so much of it.
Was there some kind of unspeakable deal between the two?
Or was it that she wasn't sending it to the youth, but to the person behind him?
That was the mysterious person who had unleashed that sword strike outside the Ze Capital.
They also couldn't understand why the delivery was made with such fanfare, as if she were afraid they wouldn't know.
Speculations were extremely heavy and numerous.
If the High Priest was secretly making contact with the person behind the scenes, they would be placed in a passive position.
They met privately, sending out people to secretly monitor the situation and continue gathering intelligence.
The Crimson Demon had been monitoring Xu Xian all along, so he knew a bit more.
However, the people monitoring on that side hadn't discovered anything unusual.
Except for a child who suddenly appeared and entered the dilapidated courtyard, Xu Xian hadn't contacted anyone.
It was just that he said the child was merely an ordinary child.
The Crimson Demon also guessed a few things, and similarly, worries and concerns arose within him.
He didn't understand the High Priest's purpose or intention in doing this, but he understood her temperament very well.
She would still open the Nether Gate.
If she really managed to secretly reach a cooperation with that mysterious sword cultivator, it would be he who was in trouble.
He sought out the Small Priest to ask about the situation. The Small Priest was completely in the dark, claiming she didn't know anything. The two of them discussed for half a day and speculated for half a day.
They parted on bad terms, having achieved nothing.
Even Chi Ji received the news. After hearing it, she was basically certain that the person was Bai Mang. She was relieved that Bai Mang was fine.
She felt a bit of secret joy that Bai Mang hadn't left, but she felt a deeper worry for his situation.
As expected.
Her and Bai Mang's previous guesses were all correct. The High Priest had already discovered Bai Mang's existence and knew she had lied.
But she couldn't understand why the High Priest was pretending not to know, nor could she fathom how Bai Mang had gotten involved with her.
Was it really a transaction, like others were saying?
Or had Bai Mang already been threatened and brought under control?
She wanted to go see Bai Mang but was afraid of causing him trouble, leaving her pacing in agitation.
In contrast, on Xu Xian's side, it was as if nothing had happened. Every day, aside from cultivating, he just cultivated, never leaving the house.
Even though at this moment, he had already become the focus of the entire Nether Capital.
Outside his residence, dozens of eyes had appeared overnight.
Xu Xian knew he was exposed.
The culprit was this little girl.
From the moment she grandiosely delivered the wine to him, Xu Xian knew he was in real trouble.
As for why she did it?
On a small scale, it was a grudge—retaliating against him for tricking her out of her wine.
On a larger scale, she likely wanted to mire him in trouble so he would be forced to take action, allowing her to learn his hidden trump cards.
It was a test, and it was her counterattack for her dissatisfaction with him.
Xu Xian cursed more than once in his heart, thinking this little thing was vengeful, cunning, and thoroughly wicked.
But...
He had no defense. Who told him to be greedy?
Regardless, it didn't matter. He had known from the start that he couldn't shake off this trouble.
Since it couldn't be shaken, he would make the trouble even bigger, involve more people, and muddy the waters.
She acted deliberately.
Xu Xian was happy to see it succeed.
To some extent, Xu Xian could now cultivate with even more peace of mind.
With this girl here and so many eyes watching in the shadows, none of them would be the first to move.
The current situation was that he was the cicada, while the people outside, including the little girl, all wanted to be the oriole and were unwilling to be the mantis.
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