“Hell, how would I know that those women will be so damn clingy? I think from now on, I will only target those who are married. They are the most straightforward and would always part smoothly and cleanly after the act,” said Han Mu.

“Where you think you are going, Han Mu?” a roar sounded the distance. Then, the brawny middle-aged man could be seen rapidly closing the vast distances between them. His midgod henchmen were also flying behind him at high speed.

Han Mu and Han Shui turned to look at each other. They did not expect to be caught up soon after escaping from the fort with great effort. They felt somewhat helpless.

That middle-aged man whose face was covered with scars was an early-stage highgod of fire. He launched an attack while flying towards the two. A raging stream of fire shot towards the sky, flew over the heads of Han Mu and Han Shui, and formed an enormous fire-wall in their path. The flame traveled much faster than the two and it overtook the two in no time.

Although Han Mu and Han Shui had a profound understanding of the energy they cultivated, the energy contained in their body, however, was lagging far behind. When the fire produced by a highgod raged in their path, they had no choice but to stop flying.

“Why don’t we try to break through this fire-wall by merging our energy using the Formation? As long as we make it through this plain and enter the dense forest ahead, they wouldn’t be able to catch us!” Han Mu proposed to Han Shui. He was confident that with his mastery over the energy of life, once they entered a dense forest, no one will be able to locate them.

“Too late, it seems!” said Han Shui in a grimace. The pursuing party arrived as they spoke. It was indeed too late to try anything.

“Ah fuck! Godamnit!” cursed Han Mu softly. After looking all around him, for the first time ever, he felt a sense of remorse. He thought that he shouldn’t have pulled Han Shui into the mess.

“Han Mu, accept your fate,” said the brawny middle-aged man as he approached them step by step. “As long as you marry my daughter, I will let bygones be bygones. Or else, I will give both of you hell!”

“I have absolutely no feelings at all for your daughter. What’s the point in forcing me to marry her?” said Han Mu in a wry smile. His eyes had been constantly scanning the surroundings.

“Capture them!” The brawny man seemed to know that Han Mu was excellent in the art of fleeing. He stopped wasting words with them and instructed his men to capture the two before they could try anything.

The midgods had wanted to give the two a good whacking long ago. They charged at the two upon hearing the command.

It was at this time that an ear-piercing whistle abruptly sounded in the night sky. Multiple shadows that were as incisive as knives pieces into those midgods who tried to capture Han Shui and Han Mu. Then came an explosion. A burst of sinister energy pounded the midgods and threw them off balance. None of them could touch Han Mu and Han Shui.

“Big brother!” cried Han Mu and Han Shui simultaneously in surprise. They could not be happier.

Little Skeleton, or Han Hao, swept his cold eyes across all the midgods that had been paralyzed before slowly turning to that highgod of fire. He raised his three-meter long bone spear at the middle-aged brawny man and in an emotionless face, he warned, “You step forward, you die!”

The middle-aged brawny man was enraged when he was that his henchmen were paralyzed after being struck by a strange energy. When he was about to make an attack himself, he suddenly noticed that the space all around him was filled with terrifyingly wicked energy that came out of nowhere. After creasing his brows and carefully sensing the energy, the man turned pale with fright. He cried, “Who are you? What’s your relationship with Han Mu?”

Han Hao did not answer but stared at him indifferently for a moment. Then, Han Hao turned to the inexplicably excited Han Mu and Han Shui and said, “Let’s go,” before walking in the direction of the Ethereal City as though the highgod of fire wasn’t there.

Han Mu and Han Shui giggled mischievously while making an insulting hand gesture at that highgod of fire. Then, they too turned their backs at the highgod and left with Little Skeleton happily.

The few midgods who had finally got back to their feet felt so insulted by the trio that they nearly lost their minds. As soon as they got up, they started cursing and charged at the three, wanting to chop them into pieces.

“Stand down!” commanded the middle-aged brawny man. When his henchmen looked at him with puzzled gazes, he again shouted, “Do not pursue!”

“But, my Lord... “

The middle-aged brawny man raised one hand to stop his henchman from complaining and gazed at Han Hao who was slowly leaving. He said, “Don’t speak. We will go home.”

Although the group of midgods was puzzled, they did not dare to ask or complain. They hung their heads down dejectedly and followed their master home.

“Father? Did you catch him? Where is he?” shouted the beauty called Mimi excitedly.

“From now on, you will not mention that Han Mu guy anymore!” The brawny man suddenly put on a stern face and instructed in a deep voice, “He is not a person that we could touch. For the sake of our family clan, you better forget about him, the sooner the better!”

“Why, father? How could you do this to me?” Mimi’s father had never been so stern to her before. Tears had started rolling in the rims of her eyes.

“I cannot let the entire family clan be annihilated just because of you! Mimi, bear this in mind – you will never ever again look for Han Mu! Or else, I will just lock you up!” warned the brawny man coldly without sparing Mimi’s feelings.

“My Lord, those two youngsters, do they have that kind of strength?” asked one of the confused midgod henchmen.

“Han Mu and Han Shui do not have that strength. But as to that youngster who showed up after, he’s definitely not one that I can defeat!” The brawny man turned to his henchman and said, “That youngster carried a strong killing intent. He is definitely not a merciful person. Had we recklessly attacked just then, all of us would have died, myself included.”

The midgods were dumbstruck after hearing those words. Even Mimi turned silent and she no longer blamed her father for being so harsh.

***

“What was that about?” Han Hao asked his younger brothers soon after they stepped into an expansive mountain range just outside Ethereal City.

“Ask that fucker!” said Han Shui as he glared at Han Mu.

Han Mu felt a guilty conscience when Han Hao also started stared at him. He told Han Hao a summary of his deeds.

Han Hao was a great listener. It was after Han Mu gave the whole story that he creased his brows slightly and reprimanded, “Be more careful next time. And put more energy on cultivation instead!”

“Yes, brother,” replied Han Mu with his heads low. He was a little afraid of Han Hao and didn’t dare to make rebuttals.

“All that left is the two of you. Father has been very anxious. He is going to leave the city to look for you if you don’t get there soon.”

Han Mu and Han Shui were excited when Han Shuo was mentioned. They simultaneously asked, “How is Father doing?”

Han Hao thought for a moment and replied, “Very good.”

.....

***Ethereal City, the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy.

Baum personally came to visit Han Shuo’s pharmacy. After walking around the shop, he followed Han Shuo into the guest’s lounge. He casually asked, “Right, I heard that there have been thieves who tried to raid the shop. How are you dealing with it?”

“We get clowns who try to sneak inside every once in a while. Don’t worry, City Lord, they can’t do us any harm,” replied Han Shuo smilingly. Then, he gestured at Rose, Han Huo, and Han Tu to retreat before he asked, “City Lord, have you come here with an update?”

Baum nodded. He withdrew a magical mirror and it began hovering in mid-air. He explained, “That friend of mine does not live in Ethereal City. I usually communicate with him with a magical mirror. Instead of meeting face-to-face, is it alright if you talk to him through the device?”

Han Shuo bunched his brows and thought for a moment before he replied, “Fine.”

Baum then proceeded with inserting a strand of his divine energy into the magical mirror. The energy crystals embedded around the mirror started shining. A blurry figure appeared in the mirror and gradually turned clear.

“I’ve long looked forward to meeting you. I’m very honored to do business with Celestial Pearl Pharmacy!” a hoarse voice sounded from the mirror as a middle-aged man with messy red hair appeared.

“You are?” Han Shuo immediately put all his attention on the person. He could not detect the aura of this person through the magical mirror and therefore could not determine his strength.

“I’m Lehi. I’m currently in the Light Dominion,” the red-haired middle-aged man briefly introduced himself before he put on a big smile and said, “I have full confidence that Celestial Pearl Pharmacy will produce quality products. As long as you agree, we can begin our cooperation right away. Baum can hand you the first batch of payment immediately.”

“Bryan, if you agree, I can deliver you Lehi’s five hundred thousand black crystal coins right now. Here, this list. All that you need to do is deliver me the medicines written here!” interrupted Baum as he handed Han Shuo a long list of medicines.

Han Shuo took just one glance at the little piece of paper and took no time to notice that most of the medicines listed were illegal substances. If Baum, the City Lord of Ethereal City cooperated with him on the transaction, there shouldn’t be any problem for Han Shuo in Ethereal City. It seemed as though no harm could come out of the deal.

However, Han Shuo did not immediately accept the business proposal. Instead, after smilingly receiving the list from Baum, he replied, “I will not take the crystal coins for now. I need to ask my pharmacists if they could get me the medicines on the list. We will talk again if they think they could do it.”

Lehi seemed rather surprised as though he did not expect Han Shuo to be such an overly careful person – to be so cautious even when there seemed to be nothing for Han Shuo to lose and everything to gain. As he looked at Han Shuo in a somewhat baffled manner, he asked, “Given the ability of Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, you are definitely capable of producing the medicines on the list. Baum is the City Lord of Ethereal City. Do you have any other worries?”

“Well, not really. It’s just that I have too few pharmacists over here. I’m not sure if I can produce the medicines on time, even with five hundred thousand black crystal coins. That’s why I need to communicate with them first,” replied Han Shuo politely as he provided a fair excuse.

Lehi thought for a moment before he nodded and smilingly said, “Very well, I like your approach at doing business – you have a sense of responsibility to your customer. Alright, I look forward to hearing good news from you!”

Lehi then cut off the telemeeting. Baum did not say any other things regarding the transaction but talked about some random, irrelevant things with Han Shuo before he took his leave.