Mainly, I never expected that the master of the Yearning Gate could be so shameless.

Su Ji lingered no longer; he turned and left the marketplace.

Instead of returning to his wooden hut, he skillfully navigated his way to the inner sect area.

Vaulting over the wall, he landed softly.

His movements were as smooth as flowing water, not disturbing a single fallen leaf.

Su Jiu's courtyard was dead silent.

Su Ji muttered to himself that he was getting far too accustomed to sneaking through this little fox's back door.

He lightened his footsteps.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided against pushing the door open.

It would be far too awkward if he stumbled upon a scene he wasn't supposed to see again.

Just at that moment, however...

Creeeak—

The back door swung open toward him on its own.

Su Ji stiffened, his first instinct to find a place to hide.

But before he could make a move, the whistling sound of something tearing through the air rushed toward him.

Su Ji's eyelids twitched. Acting almost purely on instinct, he dodged sideways and reached out his hand.

A freezing sensation met his grasp.

Looking closely, he realized it was actually the Bright Glimmer Spear?

Su Ji: ?

He looked up toward the doorway of the backyard.

Su Jiu stood there gracefully.

Her face was expressionless, seemingly unsurprised by Su Ji's arrival.

It was as if she had long gotten used to Su Ji taking the back door.

"Senior Brother, I fixed your spear for you."

Su Jiu's voice was cold and clear, devoid of any discernible emotion.

She simply stared at Su Ji, as if waiting for his reaction.

Su Ji's mind went blank for a moment.

During the last spiritual energy tide, he had been too busy watching that rare spectacle to even notice this piece of junk.

When did Su Jiu pick this garbage back up?

And she even fixed it?

Su Ji looked at the completely bright white spear in his hand. At the joint between the shaft and the spearhead, there was a faint, nearly invisible micro-crack, clearly showing it had been reforged using profound artifact refining techniques.

This craftsmanship was even better than that of the Golden Core street vendor.

Su Ji's heart was filled with mixed feelings.

He certainly remembered the nonsense he had made up back then.

"The people of this world are restless; in their pursuit of stronger magical artifacts, they can easily discard the very weapons that accompanied them through their hardest times."

"It is like how I miss my childhood. Was it the cicada that I failed to catch that day, or the summer that I can never return to?"

"The first time I drew Qi into my body, the first time I grasped that spear."

"The joy brought by that moment cannot be compared to any subsequent realm or any other magical artifact."

But he never expected that Su Jiu, this little fox, would actually take it seriously.

Looking into Su Jiu's eyes, which hid a trace of anticipation...

Su Ji knew that if he didn't put on a look of ecstatic, tearful gratitude right now, this little fox would probably beat him up on the spot.

Therefore, a somewhat exaggerated smile instantly bloomed on Su Ji's face.

His body even began to tremble slightly from his excitement.

"Junior... Junior Sister!"

Su Ji's voice carried a perfectly timed choke of emotion.

"You... you actually..."

Holding the Bright Glimmer Spear, he examined it over and over, as if cradling a peerless treasure.

He stroked it with his left hand and wiped it with his right. The expression on his face shifted from shock to wild joy, then to deep gratitude, and finally settled into a look of profound, nostalgic affection.

His acting was so good that the Oscars would have forged a solid gold statuette for him overnight.

"I knew it! I knew you had me in your heart, Junior Sister!"

Su Ji stepped forward and grabbed Su Jiu's hand, his eyes turning red.

Su Jiu was caught off guard by his sudden action and instinctively tried to pull her hand back.

But Su Ji held on too tightly.

Seeing his genuine outpouring of emotion and hearing his heartfelt confession, the slight awkwardness she felt about him sneaking through the back door instantly vanished into thin air.

She turned her head away, not daring to look into Su Ji's eyes anymore, and simply gave a soft "Mhm."

"I... I saw that Senior Brother seemed to really like it, so... so I just fixed it in passing."

Seeing this, Su Ji knew he had successfully passed this hurdle.

Only then did he reluctantly let go of Su Jiu's hand. Instead, he hugged the Bright Glimmer Spear tightly to his chest, affectionately rubbing his cheek against it.

"My good brother, you have suffered."

Watching him, the corners of Su Jiu's mouth twitched upward uncontrollably, though she quickly forced the smile back down.

Su Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He dropped his exaggerated expression and replaced it with a serious look.

"Junior Sister, down to business."

Su Jiu nodded and turned to walk inside the house.

Su Ji followed her in, casually leaning the Bright Glimmer Spear against the door.

"Junior Sister, regarding that important item from the Acacia Sect, do we absolutely have to take it?" Su Ji got straight to the point. "How about... we just run away first?"

Su Jiu's hand, which was pouring tea, paused for a moment.

She looked up at Su Ji in confusion.

"It wouldn't be too late to come back for it when we are stronger next time," Su Ji sighed, a look of frustration appearing on his face. "To be honest, I miscalculated this time."

"I suffered a loss due to my lack of experience."

"Mainly, I never expected the sect master of the Acacia Sect to be so shameless."

"She clearly promised to give us our reward after the matters in Anyang City were settled, but up until now, she hasn't uttered a single word about it."

"I keep getting the feeling she is plotting something wicked."

Su Jiu fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"We... probably cannot leave anymore."

Su Ji raised an eyebrow.

"I can feel it. Someone has been watching us since a few days ago." Su Jiu's voice was kept very low.

"This time, I was also a bit too presumptuous."

Su Ji's heart suddenly sank.

So, that prickly feeling on his back the other day was not an illusion.

They had actually been targeted!