Chapter 77 My Price Is Lower Than Yours

Chu Tianfeng casually swept his senses across the area, discovering that the short-browed middle-aged man possessed mid-level Internal Force cultivation, while the square-faced young man was even weaker, only at the late-stage Hidden Force. With such strength, Chu Tianfeng was rather disdainful; to put it bluntly, he could blow them away with a mere yawn.

“Who are you?” Chu Tianfeng didn’t even lift his eyelids.

The short-browed man snorted coldly and turned his face away, clearly displeased with Chu Tianfeng’s attitude.

“I am Fei Yuanding from the Celestial Master Sect, and this is my senior brother Tong Hanwen. Young lady, meeting us is your luck; otherwise, you wouldn’t even know how you died.” Fei Yuanding spoke with exaggerated seriousness.

“Celestial Master Sect?” Chu Tianfeng suddenly understood. The last time he left Thousand Bird Lake, he had heard two unaffiliated martial artists mention the Celestial Master Sect, saying that every disciple of this sect could see ghosts.

Now, these two had come to him, probably because of Xiya Zi.

“That’s right.” Fei Yuanding waved his wooden sword. “Young lady, you’re in luck. We haven’t had a client in quite some time. Today, we’ll exorcise evil for you, and we’ll give you a fifty percent discount.”

To hell with your discount! Chu Tianfeng cursed inwardly. He had painstakingly raised a little ghost; how could he bear to kill it?

“How did you know I encountered something unclean?” Chu Tianfeng was particularly concerned about this point. If every disciple of the Celestial Master Sect possessed spiritual senses, it would not bode well for him.

“Look.” Fei Yuanding pointed to the compass in Tong Hanwen’s hand. “Our sect’s compass can fully detect the local aura and energy fluctuations.”

So that’s it!

Chu Tianfeng couldn’t help but chuckle silently. After all that, they were merely relying on their compass for detection. He had thought their cultivation techniques were unique, almost frightening himself.

“Forget it.” Chu Tianfeng slung his bundle over his shoulder and stood up. “I’m terribly poor. I can’t afford to hire two masters.”

“Wait!” Tong Hanwen, who had been standing quietly and acting aloof, suddenly spoke. “Did I say you could leave?”

Hearing this, Chu Tianfeng rolled his eyes dramatically. “Can’t I refuse your exorcism?”

Had it been nighttime, he certainly wouldn’t have been so polite; he would have let Xiya Zi teach them a lesson. With their level of cultivation, whether they could defeat Xiya Zi was questionable.

“Of course not, little girl. Since we’re here, we won’t leave empty-handed.” Tong Hanwen gestured to Fei Yuanding.

Fei Yuanding immediately stepped forward, brandishing his wooden sword. “Young lady, don’t be ungrateful. Ten thousand, flat rate. If the evil isn’t fully eliminated, we won’t take a penny!”

“Does the Celestial Master Sect always behave so unreasonably?” Chu Tianfeng’s temper flared. Outrageous! This was nothing short of extortion!

“Young lady, I’ve already reasoned with you. Only ten thousand. You must know, when my brother Tong takes action, he won’t even consider it for less than eighty or a hundred thousand.”

With that, Fei Yuanding thrust his sword straight at Chu Tianfeng’s lower abdomen.

He had seen Chu Tianfeng sitting cross-legged on the ground earlier and knew Chu Tianfeng was a martial artist.

But seeing Chu Tianfeng alone, it was clear she wasn’t from some major sect or family. He assumed her cultivation wasn’t high and thus underestimated her.

Moreover, his move was rather indecent; when fighting a woman, attacking her breasts or lower abdomen was tantamount to harassment.

Fortunately, Chu Tianfeng wasn’t truly a woman and paid no mind to Fei Yuanding’s provocation.

His hands had already formed the necessary seals. As the wooden sword approached, he dodged nimbly, avoiding the strike, and simultaneously kicked out.

Fei Yuanding’s strength was far inferior to Chu Tianfeng’s, and his underestimation only worsened the outcome.

Bang!

Chu Tianfeng’s kick landed squarely on Fei Yuanding’s waist.

Ah!

Fei Yuanding let out a miserable scream, his body flying like a rubber ball straight toward Tong Hanwen.

Tong Hanwen was startled and hurriedly reached out to catch him.

But he too had made the mistake of underestimating his opponent!

He couldn’t bear to drop his compass, so he caught Fei Yuanding with his left hand alone.

Caught off guard and using only his left hand, he managed barely fifty or sixty percent of his strength.

With a thunderous crash—

Tong Hanwen was knocked backward several steps, his internal energy surging chaotically.

Fei Yuanding fared even worse, falling to the ground and groaning incessantly. His wooden sword had vanished somewhere.

A single kick—just a casual kick—had easily defeated them both. Their opponent’s cultivation was obvious.

At least late-stage Internal Force, perhaps even at its peak!

A peak Internal Force master in their twenties! Tong Hanwen’s mind reeled at the thought.

Chu Tianfeng strolled leisurely over to Fei Yuanding and delivered another swift kick.

Fei Yuanding tried to dodge, but his speed was pitiful, slower than a snail.

He barely shifted his body before Chu Tianfeng’s right foot landed again on his waist.

Bang!

Fei Yuanding was sent flying once more.

Ah—

Fei Yuanding screamed again.

Damn you! Fei Yuanding cursed inwardly as he soared through the air, beginning to suspect the opponent was from the national women’s soccer team—her only technique seemed to be kicking.

This time, Fei Yuanding didn’t fly toward Tong Hanwen but toward a nearby pine tree.

Tong Hanwen felt fortunate.

Crash!

Fei Yuanding smashed the pine tree clean in half, collapsing with the two sections.

“I can tell you both are haunted by evil spirits and need an exorcism,” Chu Tianfeng remarked, glancing at the unconscious Fei Yuanding and turning to Tong Hanwen. “My fee is even cheaper—a flat rate, eighty thousand.”

Xiya Zi, inside the Spirit-Nourishing Wood, rolled her eyes.

Tong Hanwen looked like a bullied child. “We can exorcise ourselves. No need to trouble you.”

“That won’t do. I’ve already started—I can’t stop halfway.” Chu Tianfeng slowly approached Tong Hanwen.

“Little lady, I advise you to take it easy. Our Celestial Master Sect is not to be trifled with.” Tong Hanwen, seeing his pleas fail, switched to threats.

“Is that so?” Chu Tianfeng smiled faintly and threw a sudden punch.

Tong Hanwen was prepared. Knowing he wasn’t Chu Tianfeng’s match, he dodged left.

However, Chu Tianfeng’s spiritual senses locked firmly onto him—escape was impossible.

Chu Tianfeng flashed forward, keeping pace with Tong Hanwen, and kicked out swiftly with his right foot!

This time, Tong Hanwen couldn’t dodge and took the full brunt.

Bang!

He too was kicked in the waist, his body flying up and tracing an irregular arc in the air.

Crash!

Tong Hanwen landed in a patch of weeds, rolling over and over, his compass spinning wildly.

Chu Tianfeng leapt beside him, blocked his body with a foot, then rapidly struck his acupoints with both hands to immobilize him.

“Who are you, really?” Blood trickled from the corners of Tong Hanwen’s mouth; he was clearly badly injured.

Chu Tianfeng ignored him, quickly tearing the bundle from Tong Hanwen’s back.

The evil had been exorcised; now it was time to collect payment.

Unfortunately, after searching the bundle thoroughly, he found only a Soul-Summoning Banner and not a single coin.

“Where’s the money?” Chu Tianfeng pocketed the banner and kicked Tong Hanwen.

Damn it, who goes out without cash? When he dealt with those petty thieves from the Tomb-Raiding Sect last night, each had several thousand on them.

“My junior brother has the cash; I only have a bank card,” Tong Hanwen answered, full of grievance.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier!” Chu Tianfeng kicked him again, then turned toward Fei Yuanding.

Tong Hanwen, inwardly, cursed Chu Tianfeng and his entire family countless times, tossing in Chu Tianfeng himself for good measure.

Chu Tianfeng remained oblivious to Tong Hanwen’s inner calculations. Hearing that Fei Yuanding had money, he happily approached him.

Moments later, a sweet, furious voice rang out: “Heavens! Is this all you have? Has your Celestial Master Sect never seen money?”

Bang!

Chu Tianfeng kicked out.

Ah!

Fei Yuanding was jolted awake by the blow.

“Only two thousand three hundred!” Chu Tianfeng still refused to let up, delivering another kick. “The economy is bad—don’t you know to save a little?”

Fei Yuanding nearly fainted again from the blow.

Chu Tianfeng turned, glaring at Tong Hanwen, who felt as if a venomous snake was staring him down, numb from head to toe.

“I have over three hundred thousand in my bank card,” Tong Hanwen hesitated, then added, “and our compass is worth something—you can sell it.”

Chu Tianfeng was no fool. Even if Tong Hanwen’s card had three million, he wouldn’t dare withdraw it.

Tong Hanwen could easily cancel the card or report it to the police as soon as Chu Tianfeng left.

Cash! Cash was king!

As for the compass, Chu Tianfeng had no interest whatsoever.

He had already scanned it with his senses and knew it was just a spirit-detecting array plate, utterly useless for cultivators.

He had managed to pull off a robbery, only to find he’d robbed two paupers, poorer than himself.

Chu Tianfeng was deeply frustrated, so he gave them each a few extra kicks, then picked up his alchemy furnace and strode away.

——————

In truth, Tong and Fei were even more frustrated.

Seeing the compass indicate something unusual, they thought they could catch a high-level ghost and make some quick money.

Unexpectedly, not only did they fail to catch a ghost, they ended up thoroughly beaten.

“Stop moaning and come help me unlock my acupoints!” Tong Hanwen, already upset, grew even more annoyed hearing Fei Yuanding’s inconsistent groans.

“Brother Tong, I think my ribs are broken!” Fei Yuanding whined.

Chu Tianfeng’s first two kicks had been particularly hard—he never went easy on those who tried to rob him.

“Take some medicine first, then we’ll talk,” Tong Hanwen replied, utterly dejected.

Fei Yuanding shakily searched for painkillers.

“Ugh, that was a nasty fall,” Tong Hanwen muttered to himself. “Which sect does she belong to, possessing such terrifying cultivation at such a young age?”

“I don’t know. She looked unfamiliar; I’ve never seen her before,” Fei Yuanding finally found some medicine and swallowed it quickly. “I heard the Long family has a young girl with extraordinary cultivation—maybe it’s her.”

“No, I’ve seen Long Yue,” Tong Hanwen shook his head firmly. “Definitely not her.”

“Brother Tong, we’ve made an enemy for sure. Should we report this to our uncle?” Fei Yuanding pressed his waist and asked with difficulty.

“I can’t move—you make the call,” Tong Hanwen frowned deeply. “Hopefully, uncle can handle this young lady and find out where she comes from.”

He couldn’t help but worry. Clearly, the opponent’s cultivation was astonishing for her age; her background must be extraordinary.

She was likely from a prestigious sect, possibly on par with the Celestial Master Sect.