The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Chen Dong wasn't from the Floating Shadow Realm, after all, so he didn't harbor the same deep-seated hatred for the Demon Race.

"The aura of the power you're gathering is faint and inconsistent," he said softly. "It's obvious you're severely injured and your Realm has even dropped. You're no match for me. Attacking rashly would be suicide. If you alert anyone else, even I won't be able to save you."

"Hmph!" The girl snorted. "You think I'd fall for the silver tongue of a human? I'd rather die fighting than be taken alive by you!"

Chen Dong said calmly, "I mean you no harm. Someone willing to risk exposure to save a helpless little wolf cub can't be all that bad, for a member of the Demon Race."

The girl remained wary, her eyes fixed on Chen Dong, searching for a chance to land a fatal blow.

Chen Dong's brow furrowed. His Divine Sense detected a patrol of city guards approaching. The City Defense Army wasn't made up of ordinary soldiers. Most were disciples of the Cyan Sky Sect, with only a small fraction from other minor sects. They were all at least at the Foundation Establishment Stage and could form a Battle Array at a moment's notice to repel the Demon Race.

The girl sensed the soldiers too, and her gaze on Chen Dong turned even more murderous. 'Patrols never come this way. He must have called them.'

In truth, the girl had misjudged Chen Dong. The tightened patrols were a direct order from City Lord Fu Xiao. A few days prior, a demonic aura had been detected lingering near the Guardian Array's exit. It was clear that a stranded member of the Demon Race was attempting to cross back into their own territory. Since Lexian City was adjacent to the Guardian Array, its security had been heightened as a matter of course.

The girl gritted her teeth. Even if the man before her was a Nascent Soul master and she could find no flaw in his stance, her only option was to risk it all on a single, desperate strike. If she waited for the soldiers to arrive, she would lose any chance she had.

A brilliant light gathered at her fingertips. She raised her arm, preparing to slash her claws across Chen Dong's face.

But Chen Dong had already seen through her intent. As the girl stared in disbelief, he gently tapped a single finger between her brows.

The girl slumped into unconsciousness. The small wolf she held leaped straight at Chen Dong, only to be struck by a Silver Needle and collapse, unconscious as well.

Chen Dong lifted the girl into his arms, grabbed the small wolf, and vanished on the spot.

The girl awoke groggily late at night. She found herself not bound by any Array, nor shackled with Demon-Sealing Chains. Instead, she was in an incredibly luxurious room where the Spiritual Qi was exceptionally dense. The Earth Rock Wolf cub was beside her. She was bewildered. 'What on earth is he playing at?'

'But that doesn't matter. With this much Spiritual Qi, I can finally start healing.'

She never would have risked entering Lexian City if she hadn't been completely out of resources. Two years ago, she'd tried a similar ploy—disguising herself as a human to pass through their exit—but the Guardian Array had seen through her deception. All of her kin who had been with her at the time were killed, leaving her as the sole survivor.

Over the next year, she had used up her last Spirit Stones just to maintain her Realm. She didn't dare attack members of the Human Race to rob them of Spirit Stones, nor did she have any desire to kill. She realized she couldn't keep this up; sooner or later, her cultivation would drop to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and she wouldn't even be able to maintain her human form.

A few days ago, in a last-ditch effort, she had tried to force her way through the Guardian Array and flee back to the Demon Race's territory, only to be grievously wounded by its backlash. Her Realm, which had already fallen to the Early-stage Golden Core, deteriorated even further.

The Spiritual Qi in the wilderness wasn't even enough to sustain her current Realm, much less heal her wounds. Her only hope was to come to Lexian City, which was built atop a Spirit Vein and had much denser Spiritual Qi. But then, she couldn't stop herself from saving that little wolf, and ended up being discovered.

She still had no idea what this human was planning, but this incredibly dense Spiritual Qi was exactly what she desperately needed.

Just as she was greedily absorbing the Spiritual Qi, overjoyed at her recovery, Chen Dong's voice drifted over. "If you just sit there and meditate, how long do you think it'll take to heal your wounds?"

As he spoke, he tossed out two Top-Grade Spirit Stones and a bottle of pills.

The girl then noticed that Chen Dong had been sitting by the door the entire time, a jade slip pressed to his forehead.

'If I weren't so badly injured and my Realm hadn't fallen, how could I have been knocked out by a single touch from this Golden Core Stage human? That Nascent Soul-level Divine Sense... he's probably just naturally gifted with an unusually powerful Divine Sense, that's all. And I was actually afraid of him! What a disgrace!'

The girl shot Chen Dong a hateful glare, but then picked up the Spirit Stones and the bottle of pills. It was better than simply meditating. She wasn't the least bit worried about Chen Dong tampering with the pills; detecting such things was her innate talent. She could tell with a single glance if they were safe. A faster recovery meant a higher chance of survival—there was no reason for her to refuse.

Swallowing a pill, the girl asked, "Why are you doing all this?"

Chen Dong gave a faint smile. "No rush. I had a bit of a breakthrough with my Cultivation Technique today. You focus on recovering. We'll talk tomorrow."

Then, Chen Dong wrinkled his nose. "There's a bathroom with a hot spring next door. You can go wash up. And don't even think about escaping. I mean you no harm. It's much safer for you here than out there."

The girl saw the look of disgust on his face and flared up in anger. "I only look like this for the sake of my disguise! Your Divine Sense is stronger than mine—I'd die before I'd ever bathe with you around!"

Chen Dong's gaze swept over her contemptuously. "As if there's anything worth looking at."

The girl wanted to tell him this was just the form her innate talent took, but then decided there was no need to explain herself to him. Besides, she had to admit she was rather grimy and smelled awful. While she could use Spiritual Power to cleanse herself, the thought of a nice, long soak was tempting—she hadn't been in a hot spring in two years, and it used to be her favorite pastime.

And so, she averted her face, trying her best not to look at Chen Dong, and mumbled, "I... don't have... any clothes!"