The man flew into a rage. "You’re asking for it!"

He charged at Shen Yanchuan, and the others followed suit, closing in on him from the front and back!

The man was outrageously arrogant, but no matter how skilled he was, he was still outnumbered. They were determined to capture him today!

Shen Yanchuan shifted his stance slightly. He raised his eyes, a cold glint within them.

"Since you’re unwilling to part with it, I’ll just have to take it myself."

...

Ye Chutang headed for the city gate. Even before she arrived, she could see from a distance that the number of guards had increased significantly.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

’To mobilize such a large force so quickly... It’s clear the entirety of Shiluan City is already under their control.’

With a quick movement, she ducked into a nearby alleyway.

The rain tapered off. A moment later, a plainly dressed woman with an ordinary face emerged from the end of the alley.

She made her way to the city gate and, just as expected, was stopped by the guards.

"Halt!"

Ye Chutang lowered her head, her expression turning timid, as if she were just an ordinary woman who had been frightened.

One of the men glanced her over. Seeing her plain, pale face, he grew more impatient. "Move along! Don’t just stand here in the way!"

Ye Chutang flinched, stuttered out a thank you, and then headed out of the city.

Only after walking some distance did she look back.

’They were convinced the intruder at the mines last night was a man, so they didn’t pay me much mind. That saved me a lot of trouble.’

Then, as they had agreed, Ye Chutang went to a spot twenty li outside the city to wait for Shen Yanchuan.

An hour later, just as Ye Chutang was beginning to worry that something had happened to Shen Yanchuan, a familiar figure finally came into view.

She let out a quiet breath and went up to meet him. "What took—"

Suddenly, her voice caught.

The road was wet and muddy from the rain, and the hem of Shen Yanchuan’s robes was spattered with mud.

A speck of crimson, almost imperceptible.

If it weren’t for her keen sense of smell, allowing her to catch the scent of blood on him immediately, she might not have noticed it at all.

Her brow furrowed. "Are you hurt?"

Shen Yanchuan’s gaze fell upon her face. She was in disguise, but those eyes, dark as stars, were unmistakable.

He followed Ye Chutang’s gaze downward and said nonchalantly, "It’s not my blood."

’So he wasn’t hurt?’

Ye Chutang’s expression eased.

’Those people had deliberately set a trap, waiting for them to walk right into it. The men they sent were certainly not useless. She had no idea how Shen Yanchuan had dealt with them, or how he’d managed to get out of the city.’

Shen Yanchuan didn’t miss the subtle change in her expression, and the faintest of smiles touched his lips.

"Don’t worry, I’m fine."

As he spoke, he handed over a wooden token.

"The thing you wanted."

Ye Chutang’s eyelid twitched. ’The pattern on it... it’s exactly the same as the one I saw back then!’

A torrent of images flashed through her mind.

She silently clenched her fist, her nails digging into her palm.

Suddenly, she felt a warm touch on the back of her hand.

Ye Chutang froze.

Shen Yanchuan took her hand and firmly placed the wooden token in her palm, giving her no chance to refuse.

Ye Chutang came back to her senses. After a moment of silence, she said,

"Thank you."

She knew very well that it couldn’t have been easy to get the token and escape safely.

’This time, I owe him one.’

As if reading her thoughts, Shen Yanchuan raised an eyebrow.

"Given our relationship, there’s no need to be so formal, is there?"