Lee Yang arrived in front of the two almost immediately. He had begun utilizing his ki to increase his speed when the shouting began and used it to close the distance.

When the bandit girl that took his money had been caught by a young man he was already moving his maximum speed. He was able to avoid collision by stepping to the side and moving past them.

He slid to a stop and turned around with one fluid motion. His companions were a distance away but would catch up shortly.

When he came to a stop his eyes immediately went to a bag on the ground that the young man had dropped to free his hands. From the spot he currently held he could barely see inside the bag where there was glowing petals and even a flash of gold that could be jewelry. Clearly the man was carrying treasures he had discovered in the mountains back to the city.

Next he examined the man holding the girl. Lee Yang was not a smart man, but as an entrepreneur he was adept at estimating the strength of people he would deal with as well as estimating their wealth as any good businessman should be.

The young man's clothes were neat, tidy, and clearly a good fabric and a chain could be seen on his neck which indicated weath. His stance was that of a cultivator, but was full of openings indicating that he wasn't very practiced or extremely confident. He also appeared to be good natured and willing to assist those in need like himself.

Lee Yang quickly came to a conclusion that the young man was the perfect mark and the look of avarice that appeared in his eyes showed that he was already determined to help teach the young man a valuable life lesson.

Finally he saw the look of surprise and hint of fear in the girl's eyes which left him with a very relaxed and pleasant feeling.

"Ahhh young master thank you for helping us. This shameless woman here stole some of my hard earned money. I wish to not only retrieve my money, but bring her to justice as well. If you could just hand her over I'd be greatly appreciated."

Lee Yang was greedy and stupid, but even he could count to two. If he tried to...educate the young man right away then the two might team up and fight him. He first needed to get a hold of the girl and stall for time as his men arrived and started to get into position.

The young man replied back with a snort and in an apathetic voice with a hint of disdain asked; "How much?"

"Just a small amount of coins in a tiny pouch that is hanging there on her waist."

The young man glanced down and the bag disappeared.

'A SPACE RING!! This isn't just any whale, but a king of the ocean!' Lee Yang thought.

After a moment of considering the young man moved his hands to hold onto the girl's wrist and released the other. The bag appeared in his hand and he tossed it over.

"Here. Take it and go. I'm going to the city so I'll bring her in."

"How could I trouble young master like that? Surely it would slow you down and you are not involved. It's best if I bring her and make the report."

The young man considered for a moment, but then shook his head and a small smile appeared on his face.

"I wasn't going to make a report, but I intend to make sure she's punished."

Lee Yang did everything he could to prevent himself from reacting. It seemed the good young master wasn't so good and shared similar desires. In Lee Yang's heart the beauty was already his so how could he not get upset? He had been cautious before and a bit tepid about robbing the young man, but now he swore to deal with this kid who was taking his woman.

"That's fine, but my heart would not be at ease if you leave without crippling her. Perhaps in the future she will come and take my money or even worse my life?"

The young man took his time considering again and Lee Yang smiled to himself. His men were in position. Once they were ready he would attack without regard. His men could hold them down with arrows while he used his skill to kill the young man and it would be easy to subdue the woman then.

"You have your money so go. I won't repeat myself."

Lee Yang dropped his act. The young man was already preparing for a fight and his men were almost in position he just needed a few more seconds of time.

"Ha! You dare? Don't you know who I am? My na-"

Sun Jiao had waited long enough. He had hoped they would leave once they got their money back even though Xiaobo had correctly predicted they wouldn't. If they did leave then things would be resolved, but since they weren't he knew a fight was unavoidable.

Now that he was surrounded he let go of the girl.

Anger and disappointment filled his voice as he spoke softly; "I don't give a fuck who you are."

With that declaration Sun Jiao used his Sun and Cloud steps to arrive behind Lee Yang as his blade appeared in his hands. He thrust it through Lee Yang's back and out again with one fluid motion before he even had time to react. 

Xiaobo, enjoying the show, threw in a reminder.

Sun Jiao rolled his eyes as chased down the bandits who hadn't begun to flee even with their leader dead.

He had hoped it would be an entertaining fight to distract him, but it was just mindless slaughter.

Shocked by his speed Fang Yuehai watched from the spot he had left her. She considered grabbing his bag and running, but he wasn't a despicable person like the bandit leader. Instead she waited until he was finished and returned to the road.

Sun Jiao appeared next to his bag, his eyes never having left it, and lifted it over his shoulder. Without a word he turned and approached the dead bandit leader. Having already lost Xu Rong he wasn't interested in Fang Yuehai regardless of her beauty. Instead he put the body into his ring and then pulled the coin purse out and casually tossed it over his shoulder to the stunned Fang Yuehai.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Sun Jiao almost coughed up blood, but quickly suppressed it.

Sun Jiao had almost perfect memory at this point in his cultivation, but having access to all the information doesn't mean you can remember it! His brain was like having a library full of books, but without knowing which book he needed he wouldn't be able to find the information.

Fang Yuehai had caught the bag and then tried to thank him, but he had ignored her as he walked away as though he was lost in his own thoughts.

She had shouted to get his attention several times and was not used to being ignored. This caused all of her favorable opinion of the young man to turn to anger. They say love and hate are just different sides of the same coin after all.

Sun Jiao was walking so it didn't take long for Fang Yuehai to run ahead of him and throw out her arms to block his way.

"HEY! Don't you know it's rude to not give your name? Why are you ignoring me?"

Sun Jiao's mood was already leaning towards irritated and so the look of displeasure given to Fang Yuehai came as natural as lightning in a thunderstorm. With his face already having an innate disposition towards evil scowl it gave his eyes a cold gleam that sent a chill down Fang Yuehai's spine filling her with thoughts of regret.

"AH! I mean to say I am Fang Yuehai and would like to know the name of the person who saved me so as to thank young master properly."

"Scram beggar lady I don't have time for your thanks."

Fang Yuehai's previous regret was replaced immediately by the impulse to hit him. 

"How rude! I just want to say thanks! Accept my thanks!"

With a slight smile Sun Jiao quickly retorted.

"So you don't deny the beggar part?"

"Argh!" Fang Yuehai was getting frustrated. She couldn't understand how could this young man be so difficult to handle!

"I am NOT a beggar! I just want to say thank you! Now tell me your name!"

Sun Jiao sighed and rolled his eyes. Rather than answering he instead used his sun and cloud steps to slip past her and put a small distance between the two in order to continue on his way.

Sun Jiao nearly tripped.

Frustrated Fang Yuehai caught up, but didn't block his path choosing instead to walk alongside of him.

"HEY STOP STARING OFF INTO SPACE! Look. Sorry for before. Let's start over. My nam-"

"Is Fang Yuehai the beggar. I remember."

"Oh so you did hear my name? Hey wait I'm not a beggar. See? See?"

Fang Yuehai took out her personal coin purse and opened it to show a handful of silver coins and a couple of gold coins which was considered quite wealthy for a commoner.

"Oh? Did you steal that from some bandits too?"

"I did NOT steal it Thank! You. Very. Much! I...err...got it from my father."

Fang Yuehai blushed and looked off to the side avoiding Sun Jiao's eyes. She had actually stolen the money from her father when she snuck away, but was too embarrassed to admit it.

"Bullshit. You actually took that from someone? Wow I wasn’t serious before, but now I'm impressed. You're quite the thief! Wait did you say FANG Yuehai?"

Hearing the last question Fang Yuehai chose to ignore his other remarks and answered with a haughty laugh.

"OH? So you have heard of me? Of course you have I am the top beauty from the famous Fang clan! Surely my name is synonymous with great beauty in the capital city no?"

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Really enjoyed writing the last part of the chapter. Got a little writer block about halfway through or this chapter would have been out yesterday. Some times though you sleep on it and it just comes out the next day!

Side story:

Jia Cho traveled to the Red Ribbon Army base. Not that anyone called it that unless they were monkeying around.