I courted death and then tried to escape, so the whole sect wants to get rid of me.

The cool, refreshing ointment seeped into the wound, and Song Yao frowned slightly, finding it strange.

Is the fourth junior brother good or bad?

He Yu said he was cold-faced and aloof.

He was always harsh to himself and seemed very difficult to communicate with.

But then they applied the medicine to her twice in a row.

It's very disjointed.

Or is it that even if the fourth junior brother turns evil, he is still a kind-hearted kid with a cold exterior?

Of course, there is another possibility.

He recognized himself.

However, if he recognizes her when she is at 100% dark side, his first reaction should not be to apply medicine to her, but to break her legs.

Song Yao lowered her eyes, thought for a long time, and decided to test the waters.

Just as she was about to speak, the courtyard gate not far away creaked open.

Red plum blossoms fell softly as Zhu Zhao, supporting herself on the doorframe, slowly walked out.

Her face was still pale, her lips were so pale they were almost invisible, and her once bright eyes were covered with a layer of frost. When her gaze swept over the two people by the stone table, it paused on Xie Zhou's kneeling figure.

Song Yao's attention was immediately diverted. He stood up abruptly, bowed respectfully to Zhu Zhao, and went straight to the point: "Second Senior Sister, how are you feeling? I'm here to collect money on Master's orders. The pills you took in the Demon Realm cost a total of 180,000 spirit stones."

"How would you like to pay?"

Zhu Zhao scoffed, glancing sideways at the jar of translucent white ointment in Xie Zhou's hand, her tone chilling: "This Qingling Ointment was personally refined by the Master of Yunyao Valley. It's priceless, worth two hundred thousand per jar."

Song Yao: "?"

Zhu Zhao: "I'll take the loss. You don't need to pay me back the 20,000 that's owed."

Song Yao: "?"

-

She knew about Qingling Ointment.

Earlier, Master had traveled to Medicine King Valley and helped the Valley Master a great deal by bringing back several bottles to share with his fellow disciples.

Song Yao's domineering persona remains intact; she snatched four bottles by herself, leaving only Zhu Zhao's unclaimed.

Who would have thought that fortunes would turn around like this, and I'd actually be the one to suffer this fate today.

No wonder my fourth junior brother was so kind as to apply medicine to her...

So this is what they used to pay off their debt...

They really did turn to the dark side, becoming just as despicable as her.

The remaining ointment was stuffed into her hand, and Xie Zhou walked towards his courtyard, stepping on the fallen plum blossoms.

Zhu Zhao leaned against the door, seeing her standing there in a daze, and raised an eyebrow: "Want me to take you?"

"...Thank you, Second Senior Sister. I can walk by myself."

Before turning her gaze away, Song Yao glanced once more at her fifth junior sister's courtyard behind her.

strangeness.

Where are the eldest brother and fifth sister?

I haven't heard any news about them since I came back.

The eldest brother should be traveling with the sixteenth elder to help people heal their illnesses, but the fifth sister is weak and always stays in the sect and doesn't go out to wander around.

Why haven't we met yet?

Could it be that he was so angry with her back then that he hasn't recovered yet?

She opened her mouth as if to ask a question, but then swallowed her words, bowed to Zhu Zhao, and flew away on her sword.

The mountain breeze grew cool. Zhu Zhao stood there for a while, then turned and walked around to Xie Zhou's courtyard.

Without hesitation, he raised his foot and kicked open the courtyard gate with a "bang".

Xie Zhou was sitting cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by a thick, dark red, blood-like mist.

A circle of tiny, unpainted bronze paper figures, holding hands, surrounded him, their eye sockets empty, exuding an eerie aura.

He was holding a wolf-hair ink brush between his fingers, about to draw a talisman.

When he looked up at the noise, the demonic energy surging in his eyes had not completely subsided; they were dark and gloomy, making his handsome face look even more eerie.

Zhu Zhao walked straight up to him and said coldly, "You've decided to kill Song Yao?"

Xie Zhou slowly lifted his long eyelashes, his dark eyes still holding a faint golden light.

He parted his lips slightly and said, "Why would Second Senior Sister think of me like that?"

Zhu Zhao sneered: "She was the one who caused you to go mad with evil back then, and now you've fallen into a half-demon state, becoming this inhuman and ghostly creature, all because of her. Even your parents' remains were slightly damaged because of her. Do you dare say you don't hate her?"

Xie Zhou slowly put down his brush, stood up, turned to stand in front of Zhu Zhao, and gave a cool smile.

"If we're talking about hatred, Second Senior Sister probably hates just as much as I do, right?"

"She used to oppose you at every turn. She would take what you had and what you didn't have. She even ruined the broken mirror three times. Haven't you always wanted her dead? Now she's right in front of you, she could crush you with one hand. Why doesn't Second Senior Sister make a move?"

Zhu Zhao's face darkened: "Stop testing me here. I have absolutely no interest in killing her."

Xie Zhou laughed: "I have absolutely no interest, yet I've gone to Hundred Herbs Peak time and time again."

Zhu Zhao: "I just want to understand why she, who clearly died in the Earthly Realm, changed her identity and returned to the Nine Saints Hall, pretending not to recognize anyone. What are her true intentions?"

"..."

Xie Zhou stroked one of the paper talisman figures and asked casually, "Second Senior Sister, why did you ask me to say all this?"

"Of course, this is to warn you."

Zhu Zhao flicked his finger, and the little figure in his hand instantly burned to ashes. "Control your demonic energy. Before I figure out her intentions, if you dare to lay a finger on her, I will not let you off."

The door slammed shut with a bang, and the courtyard was left in a mess by Zhu Zhao.

Xie Zhou's hands, hanging by his sides, suddenly clenched, and the dark red mist in the courtyard instantly thickened to resemble blood.

He closed his eyes briefly, and a trace of crimson slowly seeped from the corner of his lips.

-

Back at Baicao Peak, Song Yao took out a small notebook and began to do the accounting.

The 900,000 yuan sold at Mingyanlou, plus the 200,000 yuan received from Jiang Jin, totaled 1.1 million yuan.

After deducting the 130,000 yuan cost returned to Dan Pavilion, 970,000 yuan remains.

She owed a total of 1,555,600 yuan, and was still short 535,600 yuan.

wrong.

There were also three furnaces that were blown up during the alchemy process.

Although the Seventh Elder said she wouldn't be responsible for these three furnaces, he himself was also burdened with debt, so she still had to find a way to help pay them off before leaving the sect.

If each beginner furnace costs 20,000, then she needs to earn about another 600,000.

It's not a huge amount, but it's not a small amount either. If I find the opportunity to enter the demon realm twice, and if I'm lucky enough to find some treasures, I can pay off my debt.

However, demon realms are usually located deep in the mountains and forests. Unless someone is specially assigned to survey and guide the way, it is difficult to find the entrance and it is easy to fall into a trap and get trapped.

In addition, she is now a pill cultivator, so it is inconvenient for her to act alone.

But there is also good news.

Now that she has reached the Golden Core stage, her monthly allowance has increased from two hundred spirit stones to a full one thousand spirit stones.

They don't have enough to pay off their debts, but they have plenty to eat and drink.

After much deliberation, Song Yao decided to lie down for the time being and recover her health before leaving the Nine Saints Hall.

Once she leaves, there won't be such abundant spiritual veins for her to nourish herself.

Although she thought so, someone prevented her from having her way.

That evening, the elders in the hall practically wore out the threshold of Baicao Peak.

Before Song Yao could even put away the account book, she heard the arguing outside growing louder and louder.

When He Yu dragged her out, they saw the elders, who used to be so dignified and otherworldly, blocking the doorway. They were all red-faced and ready to fight.

The Ninth Elder, his neck stiff with rage, roared, "Didn't you all say you'd take things as they come and not rob or steal?! What are you doing here now?!"