"Heh heh, to tell you the truth, it's also because Ling Song Hua that woman didn't know what's good for her. If she had just given the Fire Mink to our boss from the start, none of this would've happened. But she just had to play the fool and ticked our boss off. Now, our boss wants both the mink and her, aiming for a windfall of wealth and beauty," the skinny guy with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks said smugly.

"You have no idea, that broad is seductive enough to ensnare souls; that face, that figure…" Another fellow snickered lewdly, prompting laughter and jeers from the others.

"You, lad, are short-sighted, only caring about such trifles. What I value is the woman's Artifact Refining skills. Once we get our hands on her, she'll be a money tree we can keep at home, heh heh…" the bald man derided.

"But if I remember correctly, Ling Song Hua already has a Daoist companion, doesn't she?" Yuan Ming furrowed his brow and said.

"He's just old firewood nearing its end, hoarding such a beauty for himself, it's truly a waste of heavenly gifts. Heaven knows what that woman was thinking, even bearing him a child," the bald man scoffed dismissively.

"What does the boss plan to do with them?" Yuan Ming's eyes narrowed slightly as he asked.

"Naturally, we'll slaughter the old one to feed the Fierce Beasts, and sell the young one into slavery…" The bald man was saying, but he seemed to sense something amiss mid-sentence.

Yuan Ming was looking at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.

After a brief pause, the bald man suddenly turned to Yuan Ming with a fierce tone and asked, "How does a newcomer like you know about that woman's Daoist companion?"

"What do you think?" Yuan Ming's mouth curved into a brilliant smile.

The next instant, the ground cracked open as seven or eight roots broke through the soil, darting towards those men. To s&u%p.por-t- our w^o.rk,* p%l%e%ase re^ad* on *.

In a moment, the woods were filled with screams of agony.

When silence returned to the surroundings, only withered corpses littered the ground.

Yuan Ming's Divine Thought had already enveloped the entire valley, and naturally, he had spotted the small courtyard in the center of the valley.

He immediately leaped forward, hurrying towards it.

...

In the courtyard, Li Zhui was gently rocking Li Yu in a recliner in his embrace.

Under the thatched gate of the yard, a copper bell that hung there suddenly started to ring with a "clang, clang."

His expression suddenly changed, and the stone gate of the cave on the cliffside also shot up abruptly.

Ling Song Hua's figure charged out from inside, coming to his side.

"They've found us?" she asked, her eyebrows tightly furrowed.

"Not until the last Forbidden was breached did they alert us, we probably won't have time to escape." Li Zhui nodded, his expression solemn.

Ling Song Hua's gaze flitted back and forth between Huo Chan'er and her daughter Li Yu, already considering letting the Fire Mink take her and flee first.

"Don't be foolish, in these vast mountains filled with Fierce Beasts, Huo Chan'er couldn't possibly keep the child alive if he took her. Song Hua, don't be stubborn this time, take them and go quickly; I'll hold those people off," Li Zhui said without a hint of panic in his eyes, as if he had long been prepared for this scenario.

"With your current Cultivation, you can't stop them. Let me stay. They won't easily kill an Artifact Refiner like me. If I stay, there's still a sliver of a chance." Ling Song Hua spoke.

"Don't think I don't know what you've been refining these past days. A Sky Shattering Bomb, right? You're planning to go down with them. I can't let you do that. Little Carp can't grow up without her mother. Go now, if you don't leave now, it will be too late." Li Zhui patted her shoulder, urging her.

Ling Song Hua's eyes reddened, her firmness dissolving instantly into a sorrowful countenance.

So it had come to this.

If it weren't for her daughter, she would never choose to cling to life, but for her child, she couldn't die.

"Go on."

Li Zhui handed his daughter into Ling Song Hua's arms and took off a white Storage Bag from her waist.

He knew that the three Sky Shattering Bombs were inside it.

Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside, followed by a knocking at the door.

"So quick!" Ling Song Hua's face underwent a drastic change.

Li Zhui's brow furrowed as he gripped a Sky Shattering Bomb and walked towards the door.

Just before reaching it, he waved to his wife and daughter, signaling for them to hurry and leave.

"Is Elder Fisherman present?" a voice called out from behind the wooden door.

At this voice, at this address, Li Zhui was taken aback, seeming somewhat familiar.

Then another inquiry came.

"Are the Three Cave Masters present?"

At the same time this inquiry sounded, both Li Zhui and Ling Song Hua's expressions changed again, looking at each other with disbelief.

Elder Fisherman, Three Cave Masters... there were now very few who could call them by these names at the same time.

Before they could reply, Huo Chan'er, who had been right beside Ling Song Hua, suddenly stood up on his hind legs, peering towards the door while sniffing the air intensely.

Suddenly, Huo Chan'er's eyes lit up, and he leaped out at once, jumping over the courtyard wall and landing outside.

Ling Song Hua hurriedly followed.

What she saw when she "squeaked" the wooden door open was a young man in a green robe, cradling Huo Chan'er in his arms, smiling at them.

Huo Chan'er, as excited as if he had tasted the finest Fire Jade, snuggled up and down, licking the man's face with his tongue.

Recognizing the man's face, Ling Song Hua stopped dead in her tracks.

Although there were some changes from what she remembered, it was certainly him!

"Yuan Ming?" Li Zhui's voice came from behind, filled with disbelief.