A tall figure draped in black robes stood blocking the entrance of the cave.

Long Xueyi narrowed her eyes as she tried to get a clearer picture of the intruder, but failed. Dark fog seemed to fill the hood of the person and any attempt to probe into the identity of the person seemed to be lost in a maze.

"Who are you?"

The person in the hood ignored her question and instead looked at the gold cauldron. He clawed with his hand and the cauldron was pulled by an invisible force toward him.

"Hmph!" Long Xueyi snorted and the cauldron stopped mid-air, held back by a thin chain connecting its body. Astonishingly, the other end of the chain had appeared in her hand which was previously holding the bottle.

Long Xueyi pulled the chain and the cauldron retreated to her side.

"Huh?" The hooded figure looked at Long Xueyi for the first time. "Little girl," the person in the hood said, "stay put if you wish to live."

Little girl? A vein on Long Xueyi's forehead throbbed. Other than her elders, who dared to call her a little girl?

"Hmph!" Long Xueyi raised her sword and a giant sword filled the space in the cave.

Boom!

The cave exploded in a brilliant flash of gold.

When the dust settled, only the figure of the hooded person was standing in a crater. Long Xueyi was nowhere to be seen.

"Dragon's daughter," the person in the hood chuckled, "you think you can run away?" He took a step forward and his figure disappeared in a wisp of mist and smoke.

Somewhere in the forest, a disheveled figure of Long Xueyi was running.

"Where did that monster come from?" Long Xueyi groaned as she sprinted at incredible speed leaving behind the adjacent trees in a blur. She couldn't see through the disguise of the opponent, but he gave her a strong sense of danger. So when she attacked, she didn't hesitate and used her complete strength. Yet, that person wasn't even fazed. From that one exchange, Long Xueyi knew they weren't on equal footing—her only option was to escape.

As she ran, several thoughts ran through Long Xueyi's mind. She had several means to completely hide her trace, unfortunately, they were useless unless she got rid of the spiritual sense locking her.

"Troublesome," Long Xueyi grumbled as she increased her speed. She flitted amongst the trees and took several random turns. The armor on her body flickered with a pale light. A shadow that was a spitting image of her jumped out of her armor and disappeared into the woods.

Long Xueyi sighed in relief as she felt the spiritual sense locking her loose, deceived by the decoy her armor had created. When the decoy had run far enough, she chose a different direction and began to move stealthily. Unbeknownst to her, the 'Fu' character on the base of the cauldron was blinking softly…

While Long Xueyi was running away, a trio of cultivators was speeding through the forest.

"Brother Huan, Brother Bai, are you sure we are heading in the right direction?" Fu Shen cast a doubtful gaze at his two friends.

"Brother Shen, you were meditating so you don't know," Ya Huan said, "a big fight happened between the barbarians and cultivators over the cauldron. We received news that the cauldron ran in this region."

"Really?" Fu Shen became excited.

"Yes, Brother Shen." Hong Bai also nodded. "This time you must capture the cauldron, otherwise we will become a joke."

"Hehe, the cauldron won't escape this time," Fu Shen said with confidence. However, there was a hint of vigilance in his eyes that went unnoticed by the other two.

The three of them continued to travel for a while when Fu Shen stopped abruptly.

"Brother Shen?" Ya Huan and Hong Bai also stopped and looked at Fu Shen in confusion.

Fu Shen was holding a wooden token in his hand. It was blinking with a faint light. As he watched it, Fu Shen's face was filled with delight.

"It's really here," Fu Shen laughed out loud. He turned to look at Ya Huan and Hong Bai, "I thought you guys were trying to cheat me, so I was skeptical. Turns out, I was too cynical."

Ya Huan and Hong Bai looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Before, I was not in the right state of mind and was rude to you," Fu Shen continued with a touch of apology, "Brother Huan, Brother Bai, please forgive me. Once I get the cauldron, I will certainly repay my debt to you." Fu Shen cupped his hands and gave a short bow to Ya Huan and Hong Bai. He raised his token, picked up a direction, and flashed away.

Ya Huan and Hong Bai stood in silence for a long time.

"Hey," Ya Huan finally spoke, "didn't the cauldron flee in the opposite direction? How did it appear here?"

"I don't know," Hong Bai was also confused. "What about the plan? Do we still carry it on?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"The plan…" Ya Huan frowned. The original plan was to lure Fu Shen into a remote area where the barbarians would ambush them. They were to force Fu Shen into a dire situation where his only choice was to escape the realm. Once Fu Shen left the realm, things would be simple. All they had to make sure was nobody else grabbed the cauldron. With the barbarians after the cauldron, it was within reach.

What they didn't expect was Fu Shen's change of attitude. Although the apology was rushed, the two felt his sincerity.

"Let's scrap it," Ya Huan said. "Since Brother Shen has repented, there's no need to aggravate the situation."

"But those barbarians…" Hong Bai said.

"What about them?" Ya Huan scoffed. "It's not like we owe them anything."

The two of them decided to bury this matter deep in their hearts and chased after Fu Shen.

Fu Shen didn't know he just dodged an arrow. He was so excited at the prospect of reuniting with his cauldron that he hardly paid attention to anything else.

Following the token's guidance, Fu Shen leaped from one tree to another. The cauldron appeared to be moving, albeit slowly. He was confident he would overtake it soon.

Four hundred meters…

Three hundred meters…

Two hundred…

When he was a hundred meters away, the cauldron suddenly stopped moving.

Fifty meters…

Fu Shen's heart beat wildly in excitement, as neared the cauldron. He recalled the last encounter with the cauldron and shuddered.

"No, I have to be calm," Fu Shen shook his head. He took a deep breath and controlled his excitement. He slowed down a bit and stepped cautiously. He must not alarm the cauldron, Fu Shen berated himself. This time, there won't be any mistakes.

Fu Shen trod over the fallen branches, careful not to make any noise lest he startled the cauldron. He had already begun reciting the mantra, ready to tame the cauldron in one fell swoop. Confident, he swept away the branches blocking his view and looked ahead, expecting to see the cauldron.

"Huh?" Fu Shen froze. He saw the cauldron. It was indeed where he thought it would be. Just, he never thought it would be hanging off someone else's waist.

Long Xueyi stood with a frown, staring in Fu Shen's direction warily.

When Fu Shen entered her range of spiritual sense, she immediately noticed. She was in no mood to confront strangers, so she stopped. However, to her surprise, the unknown individual headed straight toward her. With her safeguards, normal cultivators shouldn't be able to track her. Long Xueyi was hesitant facing this unknown individual, but the moment she saw Fu Shen's robes, she understood.

The two stared at each other.

"L-Long Clan's p-princess," Fu Shen stuttered, not expecting to run into such a baleful star.

"Get lost!"

"I-I," Fu Shen gulped. He looked at Long Xueyi and then at the cauldron, and steeled his heart. "M-my cauldron?"

"I'm borrowing it." Long Xueyi didn't wait for Fu Shen's response and simply turned and left.

"Wait!" Fu Shen was shocked for a while but once he came to his senses, he chased after Long Xueyi.

"Annoying," Long Xueyi grumbled when she saw Fu Shen following her. She pulled out her sword and slashed it.

Fu Shen jumped back in fear. The ground in front of him exploded and splattered him with dirt—a deep gash etched on it like a line, inches away from his feet. With Long Xueyi's skill, she couldn't have missed. Fu Shen knew Long Xueyi was warning him but he couldn't back down, not when the cauldron was in his sight.

"Miss Long," Fu Shen hurriedly said, "The cauldron is the property of my Fu Family, please return it."

"I'm borrowing it," Long Xueyi said. "I will return it to the Fu Family later."

Return it to the family? Fu Shen flinched. Unless it was the last option, he didn't want to rely on it. Not only would it reflect poorly on his capabilities, the key was the cauldron was still ownerless. Fu Shen didn't dare risk someone else contracting it first, whether an outsider or in the family. When it came to spirit treasures, there was a world of difference between being the first master and the second. Even if elders could relieve the contract, the damage would be done. He would never recover from such a loss.

"Miss Long, I must have the cauldron, now," Fu Shen couldn't help but raise his voice.

"Are you threatening me?" Long Xueyi narrowed her eyes and the temperature of the surrounding area dropped a few degrees. A chilling wind seemed to descend on Fu Shen.

"N-no, I wouldn't dare," Fu Shen stuttered. The killing intent made his legs soft. No number of protective treasures on his body seemed adequate when facing those golden pupils.

"Since you understand, scram!" Long Xueyi snorted. "If you try to follow me again, I will break your legs."

"I-I," Fu Shen hesitated, not knowing what to do. Although the cauldron was his, if Long Xueyi didn't want to return it, he had no way to force it.

Long Xueyi was about to leave when the trees behind Fu Shen parted and Ya Huan and Hong Bai arrived.

"Brother Shen, did you find the—"

The two looked at Long Xueyi in front of them and swallowed their words.

Fu Shen, however, felt relieved seeing the two. "Brother Huan, Brother Bai, you came just in time. Miss Long won't release my cauldron."

Ya Huan and Hong Bai heard Fu Shen's words and saw the cauldron hanging by Long Xueyi's waist. The two immediately understood the situation.

"Miss Long," Ya Huan said. "It's not good to deprive others of their belongings. Why don't you return Brother Shen's cauldron?"

"Yes," Hong Bai also said. "If word got around that the princess of Long Clan stole the cauldron of the Fu Family, it wouldn't be good."

"Hmph!" Their words fell on deaf ears as Long Xueyi simply ignored the three and turned to leave.

"Brother Huan, Bai," Fu Shen shouted.

"Please help me stop her." Ya Huan and Hong Bai hesitated. Fu Shen gritted his teeth and said, "I will triple your reimbursement. Just delay her for a bit till I establish the contract."

"Just delay?" Ya Huan and Hong Bai looked at each other. If it was an all-out fight, they didn't have the confidence even if there were three of them. But if it was just delaying, it was not impossible.

"The cauldron has already been stained by my blood," Fu Shen transmitted as recalled his last encounter with the cauldron. "I only need to finish reciting the mantra and I will have complete control over it."

"Brother Bai, you take the left, I will take the right," Ya Huan transmitted his intentions to the two of them. "Brother Shen, hurry."

Ya Huan and Hong Bai took out talismans and spread out, intending to attack Long Xueyi from two sides. Fu Shen retreated and began chanting his mantra.

"You two shrimps," Long Xueyi saw Ya Huan and Hong Bai move and snorted in anger. "You think you can stop me?" She stepped on a branch and vaulted towards Hong Bai. Before Hong Bai could react, she kicked him in his midriff.

Hong Bai's body flickered with light as several treasures on his body activated, protecting him. However, he couldn't stop himself as he was sent flying into Fu Shen. Fu Shen had just begun his chant when he was interrupted by Hong Bai who toppled him over.

After she kicked Hong Bai, Long Xueyi turned and threw her sword at Ya Huan. Ya Huan was charging his talisman when it was pierced by the sword. The talisman exploded and Ya Huan and the sword were knocked away.

Long Xueyi leaped through the air and grabbed her sword. Without waiting to see the results of her actions, she turned and spirited away.

"She is getting away!" Fu Shen screamed as he pushed Hong Bai away and chased after Long Xueyi.

Ya Huan and Hong Bai also jumped onto their feet and chased behind Fu Shen.