Chapter 539

"Xia He, one of the Four Madmen of Quanxing, known as the Bone-Scraping Knife—come with us."

Suppressing his shock at Zhang Jie’s abilities, Xu San turned to Xia He, whose delicate face still bore a solemn expression.

Feng Baobao, who had been following behind him, pulled out a pair of handcuffs from nowhere and advanced toward Xia He.

"Should we…?"

Xia He’s mind churned with a thousand thoughts.

The company’s prison was infamous even among Quanxing members.

If she were captured, even if she didn’t die, she’d likely lose a layer of skin.

But when she looked up at the golden figure perched on Zhang Chulan’s shoulder,

the resistance she had just mustered melted away like snow in summer.

There was still a chance to escape from the company’s prison—but if she angered this mysterious figure before her,

one flick of his finger and her head might just become a watermelon crushed by a sledgehammer…

Click.

Realizing this, Xia He surrendered meekly, letting Feng Baobao cuff her.

On the other side, Xu San did the same, cuffing the unconscious Lu Liang and Liu Yanyan.

Thus, all three Quanxing members who had attacked Zhang Chulan were captured.

Now that they had the captives, there was no reason to linger here.

Xu San and Zhang Chulan each carried a unconscious person on their backs, while Feng Baobao guarded Xia He, heading toward the edge of the forest.

"Assistant."

Hundreds of meters away, on the winding mountain road, a Tongtong employee waited to meet them.

"Get in the car."

Xu San called everyone to board, heading toward the Tongtong base.

Zhang Chulan and Zhang Jie sat together in the back seat.

Zhang Jie was no longer glowing golden—he had become nearly transparent,

vanished into the air, visible only to Zhang Chulan.

"Jie Ge, why do we feel like you went easy on that… that damn Xia He?"

Zhang Chulan whispered, loud enough only for himself and Zhang Jie to hear.

For Lu Liang and Liu Yanyan, who had tricked him here, Zhang Jie had given them several flicks,

sending them into infantile slumber—they still hadn’t woken up,

and soon they’d experience the surprise of waking up inside the company’s prison.

But with Xia He, Zhang Jie hadn’t even spoken harshly—this favoritism was too obvious.

'Could Jie Ge actually be smitten with Xia He?'

Thinking of Xia He’s appearance, Zhang Chulan had to admit—he was base, he was drawn to her body.

Judging by himself, he figured Zhang Jie might have similar thoughts,

since although Zhang Jie’s power far surpassed his imagination,

his age wasn’t much older than his own—he was still young, still prone to infatuation.

Besides, perhaps precisely because he was young and had high cultivation,

his blood was still hot, making him unable to resist a beauty like Xia He?

"You’ll find out later."

Zhang Jie gave a cryptic smile.

His restraint toward Xia He had nothing to do with being seduced by her beauty.

Though he had once confessed, "I have a weakness—I love beauty,"

Zhang Jie of Water Margin and Zhang Jie of Journey to the West had both committed absurd acts—kidnapping Emperor Zhao Huan’s empress,

killing Murong Fu, infiltrating Murong Manor, and declaring, "I’ll care for your wife and children—don’t worry."

But that was ancient history.

With greater power and experience, beauty had become merely a pastime for Zhang Jie—

neither necessary nor unnecessary, so he wouldn’t spare Xia He because of her looks.

Besides, Xia He was called the "Bone-Scraping Knife" not just because of her stunning appearance and voluptuous figure,

but more importantly because of her innate ability,

similar to the Sweet Fruit of Empress Bo Ya Han Kuke from One Piece—

it attracted the opposite sex, making men lose themselves in desire, becoming her devoted slaves.

There’s a poem: "A sixteen-year-old beauty, body like silk, a sword at her waist cuts down mortal men."

Though no heads fall, secretly it drains your marrow.

With Zhang Jie’s power and realm, Xia He’s ability could never affect him,

so in his eyes, she was merely an ordinary woman with above-average looks.

He spared her precisely because she had an… unclear connection with his old Heavenly Master’s last disciple,

the young uncle of Longhu Mountain, Zhang Lingyu.

Speaking of Zhang Lingyu, he truly deserved his title "Lingyu Zhenren"—a true gentleman, gentle as jade.

Even as a lay disciple training at Longhu Mountain, Zhang Jie had received much teaching and care from him.

And Zhang Jie was someone who responded to kindness, not force—he couldn’t bring himself to harm someone tied to Zhang Lingyu.

What if one day Xia He and Zhang Lingyu became a couple, turning her into his aunt-in-law? Wouldn’t that be awkward?

'Then again, the story of a righteous young hero and a demonic sect seductress is always entertaining.'

Zhang Jie mused inwardly.

His young uncle Lingyu came from Longhu Mountain’s Tian Shi Fu, the leading sect of orthodox Daoism, which dominated the yiren world.

He was upright, aloof, even somewhat "foolishly honest" and simple-minded,

always solemn, polite, and courteous—

yet he had become entangled with Xia He, a Quanxing woman reviled by all, infamous for her licentiousness.

Just thinking of it, one automatically imagined hundreds of dramatic scenes.

Was it that the righteous young hero succumbed to the demonic seductress’s temptation and fell?

Or did the righteous young hero, through his personal charm, redeem the demonic seductress and bring her to the righteous path?

'Compared to Zhenren Lingyu, this kid is leagues behind.'

Thinking of Zhang Lingyu, Zhang Jie recalled Zhang Chulan’s earlier pathetic behavior and couldn’t help sneering at him.

No matter who was top or bottom between Lingyu Zhenren and the demonic Xia He, as a man,

Zhang Lingyu, still safely serving as young uncle on Longhu Mountain, had clearly come out ahead.

But this fool before him had been manipulated by Liu Yanyan like a puppet.

If Zhang Jie hadn’t been here, he’d now be a babbling idiot,

reduced to saying "Aba, abba" under Lu Liang’s Ming Hun technique.

'Huh?'

Wait—Zhang Chulan has the chastity seal. Doesn’t Zhang Lingyu have one too?'

Thinking of Zhang Chulan, Zhang Jie recalled the chastity seal he’d left on him, the one that earned him the nickname "Moonlit Bird-Walking,"

and his thoughts drifted to Zhang Lingyu.

His grandfather Zhang Huaiyi, who had placed the chastity seal on Zhang Chulan, was from the Tian Shi Fu.

If he knew how, how could the old Heavenly Master, his senior, not know?

The chastity seal suppresses desire, protects the heart from lust, and accelerates thunder cultivation.

The old Heavenly Master wouldn’t have withheld it from Zhang Lingyu.

Yet despite that, Xia He had still developed a relationship with Zhang Lingyu beyond mere friendship.

'Could these two actually be doing pure love?'

Zhang Jie reached a conclusion that struck him as unbelievable.

When an opposite-sex person approaches the bearer with impure intent (e.g., seduction),

the chastity seal burns and stings, forcibly pulling the bearer back to clarity from illusion or enchantment.

Previously, it was precisely this seal that allowed Zhang Chulan to see through Liu Yanyan’s trap.

That meant, during her time with Zhang Lingyu, the notoriously licentious Xia He

had genuinely fallen for him—with no ulterior motive.

The Bone-Scraping Knife was doing pure love? A pure love warrior? Really?