Sauntering out from the gambling hall, Bubai tossed a gold tael up and down in his hand, wearing a smile on his masked face.

Beside him, the invisible fairy chirped incessantly, "See, see, what did this fairy tell you? This fairy is a genius in making money!"

Uh huh. Only because they cheated. But, even with their advantage, they still lost some rounds. Obviously, the dealer was a fellow practitioner from the same crooked sect.

Of course, Bubai didn’t make trouble by pointing it out. After all, he already earned his hush-hush fee of five low-grade spirit stones, thanks to the fairy.

Strolling further down the dark night streets, Bubai abruptly felt the soft fairy clinging to his arm, acting like a baby as she cooed into his ear, "Fairy brother, why don’t we go back and stay a little longer? We can make so much more."

Bubai chuckled softly, "I’m afraid if we stay longer, we might have to punch our way out."

His words wasn’t just paranoia this time. Bubai could already sense the presence of sneaky fellows shadowing them, clearly up to no good.

Shu Ling’s voice hummed in his mind, "Do you need this fairy to make a move?"

"I can handle it." After his assurance, Bubai stuffed the gold tael into his pouch.

Then, with a sudden burst of energy, he picked up his pace and veered into a nearby alley.

Seeing this, the men lurking in the shadows quickened their chase, converging at the mouth of the alley.

A motley crew of rough and unkempt men exchanged wordless glances before silently signaling to one another. With nods of agreement, they surged forward into the narrow passageway, eager to split their quarry.

Unexpectedly, the alley led to a dead-end, but… it was empty, save for a piece of cloth blanketing the ground!

As the rag-tag group halted in disbelief, a puzzled exclamation escaped one of the men, "Huh? Why is there a blanket here?”

“Idiot! Instead of that, worry about where that guy went!”

“Oh- That’s right! Where did he go?!”

A haunting whisper suddenly echoed from above, "Looking for me, boys?"

Startled, they craned their heads upwards, only to be met by a billowing cloud of white powder!

"Cough! Cough! Cough!" Amidst fits of coughing, one of the men exclaimed, "No, it’s knock-out powder!"

But many were too late to react, and they sputtered and toppled over as the knock-out powder took effect.

Desperate to escape, one of the men stumbled toward the alley's entrance, only to collide with the cloaked figure waiting outside, stumbling back as if crashing into a sturdy tree.

The masked man was kind enough to offer a helping hand, seizing the disoriented man by the jaw to prevent his fall, conveniently shutting up the poor man.

The masked man flashed a sinister grin, "Well, well. Where are you going? Stay and have a good chat with me, won’t you?"

Ignoring the muffled protests of his captive, the cloaked figure dragged him back into the alley, disappearing into the darkness once more...

Not long after, the unmasked Bubai emerged from the alley, brushing dust off his hand while murmuring with a hint of dissatisfaction. "Poor ghosts, even the underworld won’t accept them.”

“Fufufu…” The fairy’s melodious laughter echoed in his mind as she gradually materialized next to him, as if shedding an invisibility cloak.

Bubai arched a brow, intrigued. "What secret technique is that?"

With an elegant smile and a playful blink of her eyes, Shu Ling teased, "Fairy brother, you know to call it a secret technique. So, do you think granny will be happy if this fairy tells you?"

Rolling his eyes at her playful evasion, Bubai pressed on, "Then what about the technique you used to talk to my mind?"

Shu Ling placed a finger on her lips, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Hum, that is just the divine transmission technique… Granny mentioned fairy brother should be able to learn it. This fairy doesn’t mind teaching you."

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Divine transmission. Divine sense. It wasn’t difficult to draw inferences from the context.

As for the fairy’s implications…

Honestly, it wasn’t too surprising that his quirkiness was discovered, especially since the old lady had a front row seat to his foundation establishment promotion show, where his divine sense was uncontrollably used for the first time.

Some secrets had long been leaked. Now, it’s just putting it on the table.

Bubai felt no harm in admitting it. So, his gaze focused on the skill instructor. "Now?"

“Fufufu…” Shu Ling gave him a meaningful smile, "Hum, we can talk about it on the way back, but first..."

The fairy stuck her hand out towards him, blinking her eyes coyly.

Bubai was reluctant, but didn’t renege on his debt. Well, just treat it as the lesson fee.

Clapping his hands together, he produced a pouch, letting it fall into the outstretched palm of the fairy.

Hearing the clinking of taels within, Shu Ling's eyes sparkled with delight as she opened the pouch, withdrawing a gold tael and caressing it against her cheek. "Fufufu… this fairy finally gets to see baobao again.”

Bubai rolled his eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

Honestly, he didn’t mind accompanying this cheery fairy, but noting the growing light of dawn, he could only suggest, "We should get out of here before more flies come to bug us."

Shu Ling shot him an unhappy glare, "Fairy brother can’t even let this fairy enjoy shiny babies a bit longer. You know granny will take them away once this fairy returns."

“Ahem.” Coughing awkwardly, Bubai suggested, “If fairy doesn’t mind, I can help you-”

The pouch of taels had disappeared into the fairy’s satchel before his words could finish, and Shu Ling had already shuffled a few steps back, staring at him as if he were an enemy.

"Humph! Even if this fairy haven’t seen the world much, granny still has taught this fairy plenty of common sense. And granny said that line is the favorite line of bad men!"

Bubai's lips twitched with amusement as he raised his hands in surrender. "Okay. Okay. Don’t worry, I won’t touch your money. Fairy should understand my character by now."

Shu Ling assessed his sincerity with a suspicious gaze for a moment longer before finally nodding. "Hum, hum. This fairy will trust your words this time."

“And you’ll continue to trust in my words.” A gentlemanly smile accompanied the response as Bubai courteously offered his right arm, "Let’s go?"

Seeing the bent elbow, an elegant smile graced Shu Ling’s face.

With an all-too-natural mannerism, she walked up to Bubai, delicately slipping her hand under his arm and curling her hand back over it.

As the duo strolled towards the growing morning glow, the fairy’s melodious voice chirped, "Hum, seeing how you made this fairy happy today, this fairy will teach you for free this time. Listen carefully..."

Tower. Lounge.

Reclining in a chair by the tall window, Bubai cradled the violet-haired pillow in his arms, staring out at the sect residences bathed in the warm, golden hues of the afternoon sun.

Though the streets were less bustling compared to the plaza, they were now alive with the presence of disciples, a stark contrast to the emptiness during the lull.

Bubai’s face was calm as he enjoyed the comforting warmth, yet the beauty listening to his heart beat seemed to sense something different.

Xiao Lan slowly sat upright. Her face showed no emotions, yet her slender fingers tenderly tracing the contours of his face showed her concern, "Okay?"

Bubai nodded, clasping her hand in his and tenderly caressing it, "Fine, just thinking about some stuff."

Xiao Lan pursed her lips for a moment before she offered with a calm face, "If you need me to, just say."

Bubai looked at the serene face, giving her a peck on her lips, "Don’t worry. I won’t break my promise."

Xiao Lan searched his eyes in silence for a bit before she stated, “Train with me later?”

Bubai arched a brow, but nodded, “Okay.”

After receiving his affirmation, the expressionless Xiao Lan settled herself back against his chest, letting his heartbeat lull herself to sleep...

Bubai smiled tenderly, staring back out at the tranquil east district scenery, his deep eyes a stark contrast to his smiling expression.

Despite his displayed peacefulness, he personally knew that time was running out.

He had lost an important umbrella that shield him from the rain. Now, he will have to weather the storm himself.

However, it wasn’t totally bad news.

There lingered a glimmer of silver lining - escaping the demoness's clutches was a victory in itself, a long-term wish fulfilled.

Yes, WeiWei was protecting him, and Bubai couldn't deny the myriad benefits she had brought him, but he had never forgotten… she was his greatest threat.

WeiWei was a cunning demoness who had delved into the secrets of his mysterious golden finger like no other, and keeping her close was akin to dancing with the devil.

Before, it was unavoidable. For survival, he could look past her appalling transgressions and accept her.

Though it was just a verbal acceptance at first, after a couple of exchanges, he did get used to her. So, he really couldn’t deny that he did indeed miss the charming little devil.

Regardless, being free from her influence was undeniably a relief.

Of course, this meant that there were some things that could no longer be hidden.

Thanks to his basic mastery in the Turtle Breathing technique he got after asking the fairy about the statues guarding the exit of the secret tunnels during one of their many exchanges, he was able to restrain his Qi and vitality, reducing his presence in the face of surface-level inspections.

This let him pass the earlier inspection today because the golden core old geezer unexpectedly respected his privacy.

However, Bubai knew he won’t be fortunate enough to receive a shallow probe every time.

Sooner or later, a deeper scan or interrogation would come, and he would be forced to confront the inevitable showdown.

A certain deadline had already been inadvertently set by the old geezer. One month.

Once the poisonous rose comes to harvest him, it would mark the beginning of a whole new chapter of fun… whether he wanted it or not.

Before that fateful moment arrives, Bubai knew he had to act if he wanted to gain some semblance of control over what to reveal and how he reveals it.

And to maximize his chances of coming out on top, some plans had to be set into motion… even if they were vile and depraved.