One cannot touch pitch without being defiled.

"You... you want a reward from me?"

Under the scorching sun, the girl stared wide-eyed at Ye Shu, who had his hand outstretched toward her. After a long pause, she finally came to her senses, pointing at the sacred medicine in her hand and saying in disbelief, "And you want the sacred medicine I'm holding? The very one in my hand?"

"No seats."

Ye Shu nodded, looking serious.

"Not that!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes wide as she pointed at his nose, nearly twisting her mouth in anger. "So before you came, I was being robbed of this sacred medicine by these guys, and after you came, I still have to give it to you? Doesn’t that mean you came for nothing?"

"Ah, miss, you’re mistaken there."

Ye Shu waved his hand and chuckled.

"It’s not for nothing. I still have the sacred medicine, plus I’m taking all the belongings of these guys behind me, right?"

"How is that for nothing?"

"Besides!"

"If I hadn’t come, miss, you might have lost more than just a single sacred medicine—you could have lost your honor, or even your life."

"Now the bad guys have been taught a lesson, and you’ve kept your life..." Ye Shu was about to go on, but the girl raised her hand to cut him off.

"Stop, stop, stop! You just want the sacred medicine, don’t you?"

After listening for a while, the girl finally lost her patience and said irritably, "I’ll give you one, won’t that be enough?"

"What do you mean I ‘just want’ the sacred medicine?"

Hearing this, Ye Shu’s eyes widened, and his tone turned stern: "I’m telling you, little girl with the headscarf, I saved your life and got you out of trouble. You have an obligation to reward me—it’s my right, understand?"

"Have you ever heard the story of Zi Lu ransoming people?"

"With just one person like me, you save one sacred medicine. With ten people, you save a hundred sacred medicines. With a hundred people, you save a hundred sacred medicines."

"With so many heroes saving beauties all over the world."

"Think how many sacred medicines you’d all save!"

Listening to Ye Shu’s relentless rambling, the girl blinked, frozen in place, her mouth slightly open, as if completely baffled by his twisted logic.

"Heh, enough."

Seeing the girl’s silence, Ye Shu smirked disdainfully, convinced she had been swayed by his reasoning. "I feel like my words have touched your soul. I won’t say more—someone will tell you later."

With that, he picked up the sacred medicine and turned to leave.

Without any effort, he had done a good deed, gained plenty of merit for saving a damsel in distress, and conveniently pocketed a sacred medicine plus the treasures of those sect disciples. What a massive win!

Seeking opportunities? Nothing beats feeding off others!

Just before leaving, he turned back to flash the girl a kind smile.

Then, he spun around and eagerly examined the sacred medicine.

As a half-immortal!

He was now on par with his master as an alchemist. Since he was inside a relic, he could start preparing the pills to restore his body.

After all, the Grand Astral Array wasn’t working.

But no matter what, having a body capable of normal cultivation would still greatly boost his combat power.

As they say, more options, more paths.

"Hahaha!"

The thought of this sacred medicine soon turning into fragrant, round pills made Ye Shu laugh out loud.

But the next moment—

Clatter, clatter!

The sacred medicine, which had been glowing with a soft radiance, suddenly transformed. Golden chains burst from its branches, binding the defenseless Ye Shu in an instant.

???

Question marks immediately appeared over Ye Shu’s head.

What the hell is this?

A sacred medicine turning on its owner!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

At the same time, a silvery laugh rang out from behind Ye Shu.

"Surprised? That wasn’t a sacred medicine at all!"

"Haha!"

The once-innocent Linen Girl had somehow appeared not far behind him, hands on her hips, laughing so hard she was bent over, her eyes squinting into crescents.

"You... you tricked me?"

Ye Shu gritted his teeth, his face dark.

"Oh dear~ It’s not really a trick." The girl clasped her hands behind her back, nowhere near the timid look she’d worn before. Instead, her face shone with a mischievous, lively gleam.

She circled around Ye Shu, swaying her head.

"I was just planning to act pitiful and lure some idiots into stealing my ‘sacred medicine,’ then catch them all in one go. Who knew I’d end up hooking a big fish!"

The Linen Girl’s mouth was nearly splitting with glee.

"I thought I was done for, that I’d have to let those guys go to you. But you were so greedy—stealing from them wasn’t enough, you wanted my sacred medicine too."

"Oh dear~"

"What was I supposed to do when you just walked right into my trap?"

"Are you... returning kindness with enmity!"

Ye Shu struggled fiercely, grinding his teeth. "This is entrapment! You’re not a good person! Animal! Bastard!"

"This is outright demonic behavior!"

"Witch!"

"Curse all you want~" The Linen Girl winked at him playfully. "Anyway, all your belongings are mine now!"

With that, she clapped her hands and tapped lightly in front of her.

The tightly bound Ye Shu fell stiffly to the ground, like a little bride tied up and tossed onto a wedding bed, his eyes wide as he watched helplessly while the Linen Girl’s filthy little hands rummaged through his possessions.

"No... don’t..."

Ye Shu’s eyes welled with tears as he twisted his body in protest.

"Stay still!"

The Linen Girl slapped him hard, then eagerly picked up his storage ring. Her face instantly fell with disappointment.

The storage ring was completely empty, with nothing inside.

"What’s this?" the Linen Girl exclaimed, eyes wide. "No way! How can it be completely empty?!"

She checked it over and over, but it remained barren.

After a moment, she threw the storage ring aside in disgust and spat.

"What a broke loser."

Not giving up, she searched again.

This time, with Ye Shu’s poor status in mind, her method was far less gentle, carrying a "I don’t believe you don’t have anything valuable" kind of ferocity. She went over every inch of him—even the soles of his shoes and the seams of his clothes.

Finally, she pulled out a small, seven-colored tree.

"What’s this?"

The Linen Girl stared at the glowing tree, her eyes lighting up. She chuckled. "I knew it—how could you not have something good?"

"Let me see what it does."

She held up the tree, looking it over.

Just as she was examining it curiously, Ye Shu, lying on the ground, let out a low shout.

"Freeze!"

"What?"

Before the Linen Girl could react, the seven-colored tree suddenly transformed into countless fine golden threads, crawling like living things up her hand and spreading rapidly. In an instant, she was bound tight.

The next second, she fell with a thud, landing face-to-face with Ye Shu on the ground.