Demon, come and cultivate for me.

They've taken the bait!

Sensing the fluctuations of the array barrier, Zhou Chu got up and jumped off the bed. Sure enough, he saw a dark figure bounced back by the barrier outside the window and fell to the ground.

Zhou Chu stepped forward and pressed the blade against his throat: "Hand over the item!"

The dark figure rolled to the side and got up to escape again.

Zhou Chu reached out to grab him, but his hand slipped away.

The dark figure turned out to be just a phantom, completely intangible.

Zhou Chu thrust out his sword again, but still failed to harm him in the slightest.

The shadowy figure seemed to sense that the other party posed no threat, so it stopped dodging and said:

"Undo the formation and let me go, then I'll return your things to you."

You think you can just kill someone and run away? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"Enough with the nonsense, hand over the stuff first," Zhou Chu said sternly.

"You break the formation first." Clearly, the shadowy figure was not willing to give in easily.

Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Zhou Chu threw the Binding Spirit Rope at him, intending to tie him up.

But the spirit-binding rope couldn't touch the other party and missed.

The shadowy figure flashed and disappeared again, its whereabouts unknown.

At this moment, Zhao Ji, having finished dressing, came over and asked:

"How is it?"

Zhou Chu said, "I don't know what kind of monster it is."

Zhou Chu realized that since physical methods couldn't harm the other party, he had to use non-physical methods.

Close the door and release Chen Xiangzi.

Zhou Chu led Zhao Ji out of the formation, while Chen Xiangzi, Xu Yuan, a group of Qi soldiers, and many neighbors surrounded them.

After Zhou Chu explained the general situation inside to Chen Xiangzi, he let Chen Xiangzi enter the formation.

Xu Yuan said that the homeowners were not killed, but were injured by a sharp weapon. They had just called a doctor and were now fine.

Trapped inside, the petty thief stole from every single household on the street overnight.

The first resident to discover the incident ran to the government office to report it to the authorities. It took more than half an hour for the night watchman to arrive.

Zhou Chu was worried that Chen Xiangzi couldn't handle the shadowy figure alone and feared something might happen to him, so he entered the formation to help.

As soon as they entered the room, they saw Chen Xiangzi throw a paper talisman at the dark figure.

The moment the paper talisman touched the shadow, it burst into flames, and the shadow instantly collapsed to the ground, turning to ashes and leaving a black humanoid mark on the ground.

"This guy isn't human," Chen Xiangzi said, putting away the remaining paper talismans in his hand.

"I see." Zhou Chu looked around, trying to find the missing map: "A ghost?"

Chen Xiangzi said, "It's not a ghost, it's a spirit. One of the seven spirits among the three souls."

"You mean, when someone extracts their own soul to commit theft?"

"It may not be your own soul; it could be someone else's soul that's been extracted."

"What kind of evil magic is this?"

Chen Xiangzi explained: "In the state of Chu, there is a kind of soul-separation technique. After killing a living person, their soul is collected into a soul banner and used by the spellcaster."

This kind of magic is too vicious and is strictly forbidden in the State of Chu. If anyone is found practicing this evil art, their entire family will be implicated.

"So, the perpetrators were from your state of Chu?"

As Zhou Chu was speaking, he noticed a corner of a bundle on the roof beam.

Upon closer inspection, it contained hundreds of taels of broken silver, as well as some gold and silver jewelry and other items. The map was among these treasures.

Zhou Chu breathed a sigh of relief, carefully placed the map close to his body, and deactivated the formation.

Several henchmen entered the room, saw the human-shaped mark on the ground, and exchanged glances.

One of them said, "This is the notorious thief who has been wanted by the government for half a year. Thank you both for your help."

After saying that, he pointed to two bundles and said, "These stolen goods must be handed over to us and presented to the prefect as evidence to close the case."

Zhou Chu didn't think much of it and tossed the bundle to the servant.

The bundle that the paper figure stole from the inhabitants of the house had already been kept by Zhou Chu.

Several henchmen, carrying bundles, swaggered out of the room and addressed the crowd gathered outside:

"The stolen goods are here. Anyone who has lost something can bring the receipt to the government office to collect it."

Some people objected and said they wanted to open it and see for themselves, but were sternly stopped by the servants:

"You say it's yours, he says it's his, how can you tell the difference? Let's go to the government office together tomorrow to collect it. At that time, as long as you can prove that it's yours, you can take it."

After saying that, he turned and walked out without looking back.

The residents who had lost their belongings were immediately disheartened upon seeing this.

They say they'll collect it from the government, but who can produce any proof?

If the money isn't signed with a name, it'll be a mess when it comes to the authorities. Of course, it's not impossible for someone with connections to recover their losses.

But in the end, most of this money will inevitably go to the government.

After the servant left, everyone dispersed.

It was only the third watch of the night, and Zhou Chu told Chen Xiangzi and the others to hurry back to their rooms to rest, as they had to travel early the next morning.

After everyone left, only Zhou Chu and Zhao Ji remained in the courtyard.

Zhou Chu yawned and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Is this house still habitable?" Zhao Ji asked, pointing to the human-shaped mark at the entrance.

"What should we do then?"

They had occupied all the habitable rooms in the host's house, and there were no extra rooms available.

Zhao Ji said, "Let's go to your room."

"..."

After Zhou Chu led her to his room, he said, "You stay here, I'll go to Xu Yuan's room to deal with him."

"Could it be that you have homosexual tendencies?" Zhao Ji asked, raising her eyebrows.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It doesn't mean anything." Zhao Ji pulled Zhou Chu into the room and closed the door.

"You... I'm not that kind of person," Zhou Chu said, waving his hand.

If I get too casual, I won't treat you like a human being.

"Little brother, you've never been with a woman before, have you?" Zhao Ji raised her hand and gently pinched Zhou Chu's chin.

She was a head shorter than Zhou Chu.

Zhou Chu looked down and saw a beautiful landscape.

Is this Zhao Ji a proper princess? She's much more proactive than the "princess" from her previous life.

"No, I haven't touched it."

Zhou Chu's words were both a lie and the truth.

In this life, my body has indeed never experienced the pleasures of a woman.

At seventeen or eighteen, it's a time when one's blood is boiling and one is easily ignited.

Although the woman in front of me looked to be only twenty-eight or twenty-nine, her appearance was absolutely stunning and captivating.

But Zhou Chu found it hard to accept the fact that she was actually over fifty years old.

Upon closer inspection, Zhao Ji's face was smooth and supple, and the skin on the back of her neck was fair and radiant, making her look like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

Zhao Ji took Zhou Chu's hand, looked at him with seductive eyes, and slowly backed towards the bed.

Zhou Chu was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

To leave or to stay?

I am not a casual person, but I am not a saint either.

Besides, I didn't want it, but she insisted on giving it to me...

This woman is very cunning; she probably has some kind of scheme up her sleeve.

On second thought, they were all in a foreign land, sharing the same mission, like grasshoppers tied to the same rope...

Without realizing it, Zhou Chu had convinced himself.

He took Zhaoji's hand and pulled her close, his other hand around her waist, and he lowered his head to slowly approach Zhaoji's fair face...

The two were pressed tightly together, and Zhao Ji tried her best to cooperate with Zhou Chu, but her movements seemed extremely clumsy.

Zhou Chu felt a little strange. This behavior was not like that of a fifty-year-old woman at all, but more like that of a girl with no experience.

The arrow was already on the bowstring; it had to be released.

Zhou Chu picked her up by the waist and strode towards the bed.

"Brother, candles..." Zhao Ji's voice was barely audible.