Chapter 240

The next day, morning.

Zhuang Buran walked outside the Yong'an Pawnshop and heard the noise inside.

"Jingtian, it's one thing to be absent from work without cause, but not long after you returned, you gave away our Yong'an Pawnshop's treasure to a strange woman. Has your heart been covered by pig fat!"

"What stranger? This is my sister!"

"What sister? I know how many people are in your family. Hurry up and make her take it off."

"Anyway, I already owe you decades of wages. Just consider this 'Wide-Sleeved Flowing Immortal Dress' as me buying it. You can add a few hundred more years and let my descendants work for you. That should be enough, right?"

"Fine, you said it yourself."

Hearing this, Zhuang Buran had already walked into the Yong'an Pawnshop and saw the stout Xu Maoshan, the thin youth He Biping, the cunning Yong'an Pawnshop manager Zhao Wenchang, and the appraiser Ding Shiyan.

And sitting beside Jingtian was a gentle and virtuous young girl in blue.

"Manager Zhao, I have come specifically today to redeem Jingtian's freedom."

"Who are you?" Zhao Wenchang looked suspicious.

"His name is Xu Changqing; he is my subordinate." Jingtian, as if seeing a great savior, stood up and walked over to ask in a low voice:

"You are a Daoist from the deep mountains; do you really have the spare money to redeem me?"

Zhuang Buran said softly:

"A Sword Immortal who uses a flying sword to enter the blue sky and fly across mountains and rivers—how could he be troubled by the necessities of life?"

"That's great! Help me redeem Mao Mao, Biping, and Uncle Ding as well." Jingtian said excitedly.

Zhuang Buran casually took a money bag from his cloth bag and handed it to Zhao Wenchang:

"This should be enough, right?"

Zhao Wenchang opened the money bag, and everyone present, except for the young girl in blue, showed expressions of astonishment. The bag was actually filled with gold.

"Subordinate Xu, you are actually this rich!"

Zhuang Buran smiled and said:

"Brother Jingtian, the mission is urgent. We should set off."

"Fine, I'll take Mao Mao and Biping to pack their things first."

Jingtian smacked his lips, glanced at Zhao Wenchang, who was counting the gold incessantly, and led the people to the back hall with a full face of smiles.

Before long, only Zhuang Buran and the young girl in blue were left at the table.

"Miss, I heard Brother Jingtian say just now that you are his sister. May I ask how I should address you?"

The young girl in blue lowered her head, feeling somewhat guilty:

"Long Kui."

"You seem to have an injury on your leg. Do you need me to treat it for you?"

"No need."

"Brother Jingtian and I will be leaving Yuzhou City in a moment. Are you sure?"

"Then I'll trouble you."

While Zhuang Buran was using magic to heal Long Kui, Zhao Wenchang came over with a pot of good tea and said:

"Master Changqing, actually we can talk about other business, for example..."

Zhuang Buran interrupted him directly:

"Manager Zhao, the gold I gave you just now should be enough for you to give us an oil-paper umbrella, right?"

"Naturally." Zhao Wenchang beamed:

"Master Changqing, actually we can talk about other business. For example, I think you are more suitable to be the owner of the Yong'an Pawnshop than I am."

Zhuang Buran politely refused:

"I have important matters to attend to and it is not convenient for me to stay in Yuzhou City for long."

Having said this, he finished treating the young girl in blue's leg injury and said:

"Miss Long Kui, the sun is scorching outside and your constitution is weak. It is best to carry an umbrella."

The young girl in blue was slightly stunned, her eyes filled with surprise.

A quarter of an hour later.

Zhuang Buran, Jingtian, Long Kui, and Xu Maoshan were outside Yuzhou City when a panting shout suddenly came from behind:

"Hero Changqing... Hero Changqing, wait for me."

"Miss, with your bag and sword, could it be that you want to go out and roam the world?"

Jingtian scratched his head:

"Something's not right. How did you know we were preparing to leave Yuzhou City?"

"Hmph, Zhao Wenchang is related to my third uncle. Naturally, I can know some things immediately."

Tang Xuejian glanced at Jingtian and immediately said to the young man in white carrying a sword:

"For these past days, my grandfather has been saying that my experience is too shallow and complaining that I am progressing too slowly."

"So, when I found out about Hero Changqing's news, I rushed over immediately."

Zhuang Buran said calmly:

"Miss Tang, you are running away from home."

Tang Xuejian smiled sheepishly:

"Still couldn't hide it from Hero Changqing, but I left a letter for my grandfather. He will definitely be at ease with me going out to roam the world with you."

She didn't forget to add at the end:

"I definitely won't hold you back. Before leaving, I specifically brought along the sect's treasure, the Five Poison Beast."

Jingtian did not want to travel with this willful and headstrong Tang Sect young lady, so he immediately spoke up:

"Hey, we have an important mission. You should hurry back, lest the Tang Fortress Master worry about you."

"You are still as annoying as ever. Your martial arts aren't good enough to be a hero, you don't strive to be a good manager of the Yong'an Pawnshop, and you only know how to gamble when you want to get rich."

Tang Xuejian looked at him with contempt:

"If someone like you can go with Hero Changqing to complete a mission, why can't I?"

"One should look at a person with new eyes after three days of separation." Jingtian said haughtily:

"Miss, let me tell you, I am not the Jingtian of the past. And the 'Hero Changqing' you speak of is now my subordinate."

Tang Xuejian said in disbelief:

"What?"

"Brother Jingtian, the mission is paramount. Since Miss Tang is willing to come, it counts as one more person and one more strength."

After Zhuang Buran finished speaking, Jingtian suddenly thought that the Tang Family Fort was the local power in Yuzhou City. If he drove this young lady back, there was no telling how she would stir up trouble, so he cleared his throat:

"Fine, for your sake, and for the sake of the Old Tang Fortress Master, let her complete this urgent mission with me."

"Since there are many of us now, let's take my Mount Shu Immortal Ship."

Zhuang Buran took a small object from his bag and, while chanting a spell, the object in his hand flashed with light.

Everyone widened their eyes as they saw a flying ship, four or five zhang long and resembling a dark green dragon, appear before them. The hull was flowing with golden spiritual light and was covered with various talismans.

Jingtian said with envy:

"White Tofu, you Mount Shu people really have all kinds of magical artifacts."

"The Guteng Forest is in Anning Village. Let's set off immediately."

Zhuang Buran boarded the ship first, and the others followed, looking around with curiosity.

More than an hour later.

The group arrived outside a relatively peaceful village, and Jingtian said:

"Let's go into the village first and find an inn to stay in, then we can take the opportunity to ask about the situation in the Guteng Forest."

"Too much trouble. I sense the aura of a fox demon. This should be the local tyrant. If we find her directly, everything should be clear."

"A fox demon?"

Jingtian and Xu Maoshan couldn't help but hide behind the young man in white carrying a sword.

Tang Xuejian originally wanted to hide as well, but seeing their cowardly appearance, she didn't feel as afraid.

"It's just a thousand-year-old fox spirit; there's no need to be like this."

Zhuang Buran shouldn't have said that; the two behind him trembled even more.

"And you say this thousand-year-old fox spirit isn't scary!" Jingtian said, his scalp tingling.

"According to my perception, there are a few other fox spirits with a hundred years of cultivation outside the village. So, are you coming into the village to catch the demons with me, or are you waiting outside?"

"What?"

Xu Maoshan hurriedly grabbed Jingtian's arm:

"Boss, I feel like we didn't arrive at Anning Village, but rather at a fox spirit's den."

"Now that you mention it, I feel the same way." Jingtian looked around nervously.

"Hey, can you two stop making such a fuss?" Tang Xuejian rolled her eyes beautifully:

"With Hero Changqing here, what demon could hurt us?"

Upon hearing this, the two first looked at the calm and composed young man in white carrying a sword, then looked at the bustling market in the village, and the fear in their hearts diminished quite a bit.

"Let's go. Follow me to see this thousand-year-old fox demon."

Zhuang Buran strode into Anning Village, and the others hurriedly followed.

Not long after.

In the village market, under the guidance of the young man in white carrying a sword, the group saw a beautiful woman who was suspected to be the thousand-year-old fox spirit.

She seemed to sense something and was just about to pack up her things and leave quickly when a voice entered her ears:

"Monster, do you think you run faster, or is my sword faster?"

The beautiful woman's face froze. She felt an extremely fierce sword intent descend upon her, causing her heart to shatter and her hair to stand on end; she almost revealed her true form.

(End of chapter)