The girl stood frozen, her eyes wide with disbelief.
She could not accept what had just happened.
She, the pampered young lady of a prominent family, had been subdued by a filthy little beggar. Worse still, this beggar had dared to touch her, restrain her, and threaten her, all in front of so many people.
Humiliation burned hotter than fear.
"You—" she wanted to shout, but the cold edge of the dagger at her neck forced the words back down her throat.
At that moment, a calm, low voice broke the tension.
"My niece has been spoiled since childhood," the middle-aged man then said slowly. "She acts rashly and lacks restraint. If she offended you just now, this old man offers his apologies."
Aurora lifted her eyes.
The speaker was indeed the middle-aged man at the head of the group. His tone was measured, his expression composed, as if the situation were entirely under his control. To be able to suppress his anger and speak so evenly at a time like this was not simple.
Aurora smiled faintly, though the smile never reached her eyes.
"Used to arrogance?" she replied lazily. "Does being used to arrogance include taking lives whenever you feel like it? If I hadn't reacted quickly just now, I'd already be a corpse by now."
Her gaze sharpened as it locked onto him. "And you call that merely rudeness?"
She lowered the dagger slightly.
A thin line of blood appeared on the girl's pale neck, bright and eye-catching.
"Ah!" the girl cried out softly in pain, instantly sobered by the sting. Her body stiffened even more, panic flooding her face. "D-don't… don't move it…"
"Oh, my apologies," Aurora said lightly, her tone almost gentle. "Your arrow frightened me earlier. My hands are still shaking. I didn't mean to cut you."
The middle-aged man's expression darkened at once. The last trace of false courtesy vanished from his face.
He stared at Aurora, his voice calm but heavy. "What do you want?"
Aurora's eyes curved slightly as she smiled. "I haven't really thought about it. I was just wondering… if there were something yellow and shiny to steady my nerves, maybe my hands wouldn't tremble so much."
The meaning was unmistakable.
The middle-aged man turned his head and glanced at the young man beside him.
The young man nodded, stepped forward, and removed a small, plain-looking pouch from his waist. He reached inside and took out two gold ingots, holding them up.
"Will two gold ingots be enough to calm you?"
Aurora's gaze flicked briefly to the pouch in his hand.
A storage pouch.
According to the memories she carried, such items were rare and valuable. The fact that this man carried one so casually meant only one thing.
This group was not ordinary.
Her eyes returned to the gold ingots. She clicked her tongue softly. "Are you joking? Two gold ingots to buy my peace?"
The young man's face tightened. A trace of displeasure flashed across his eyes, though he hid it well. Without another word, he reached back into the pouch and added two more gold ingots, placing all four together.
"Is this enough?"
Shen Yu glanced at the gold briefly, then looked away.
Gold was useful among mortals, but in the world of cultivation, it was nearly worthless. Without crystal coins, many things could not be bought at all. From his perspective, this woman's bargaining was crude.
Aurora, however, did not care what anyone thought.
She weighed the gold with her eyes, then nodded faintly. "Fine."
She lifted her gaze to the middle-aged man. "I'll let her go. In return, you won't attack me again. No arrows, no ambushes, or revenge."
"That is only fair," the middle-aged man replied without hesitation.
Aurora leaned closer to the girl, smiling as she asked softly, "What about you? Any objections?"
The girl clenched her teeth, humiliation and anger burning in her eyes, but she still nodded stiffly. "As long as you let me go," she said through gritted teeth, "I won't shoot you again."
Only then did Aurora loosen her grip slightly and glance toward the young man holding the gold. With a tilt of her chin, she signaled him forward.
The young man stepped closer, casting a wary look at the girl before handing the gold ingots over.
Aurora accepted them without ceremony, weighed them briefly in her hands, and then stuffed them into her clothes. Once the gold was secured, she withdrew the dagger from the girl's neck and casually tossed it back.
The young man took a step back and caught the dagger cleanly.
The moment the blade left her throat, the girl spun around, rage finally breaking free. She lashed out with a kick toward Aurora, her voice sharp with fury. "You damn little hooligan! How dare you take advantage of me!"
Aurora had already been on guard. As soon as the gold was in her possession, she had retreated several steps. The kick swept through empty air, missing her completely.
The girl wanted to charge again, but a stern shout stopped her cold.
"Come back." The middle-aged man's voice carried authority.
"But Second Uncle!" the girl protested, stamping her foot. She turned to argue, only to meet her Brother-in-law's warning gaze and her elder brother's silent, disapproving look. Her lips trembled. In the end, she bit down hard and reluctantly retreated, swallowing her fury.
Not far away, Aurora was happily counting her spoils. Six gold ingots gleamed faintly in her hands. Worried about crushing the herbs hidden inside her clothes, she took them out and, without much thought, held them up toward Shen Yu as if showing off.
"Brother-in-law, look," she said cheerfully. "I'm rich now. When we get out, how about I treat you to a drink?"
Shen Yu glanced at her once, his expression unreadable, then turned and continued walking.
Aurora immediately followed, quickening her steps. "Brother-in-law, wait for me!"
Behind them, the young man watched their retreating figures, a cold glint passing through his eyes. He leaned toward the middle-aged man and asked quietly, "Second Uncle, why didn't we just kill that kid?"
The middle-aged man's gaze darkened as he looked in the direction Aurora and Shen Yu had gone. "The man in black is not ordinary," he said slowly. "I can't see through his cultivation at all. As for that child… she's even stranger. Someone who truly has no cultivation could not move like that. She is definitely not a simple beggar."
He paused, then added in a low voice, "This trip is too important. We cannot afford unnecessary trouble. Let this matter end here. Don't mention it again."
"Yes," the young man replied, though unwillingness lingered in his eyes.
The girl clenched her fists, resentment churning in her chest, but when she thought of the purpose of this journey, she forced herself to calm down. After a moment, she asked with forced curiosity, "Second Uncle, is it true that a powerful beast has appeared in Fengyue?"
The middle-aged man nodded, looking toward the depths of the forest. "All the major families have received similar news. The beast is either already here or will soon reveal itself somewhere within Fengyue. We must hurry. If we're too slow, we'll miss our chance."
Hearing this, the young man pondered briefly and said, "Then what about those two? They're also heading deeper. Could their goal be the same as ours?"
A cold light flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. "If it is," he said quietly, "we'll find an opportunity on the road… and eliminate them."
With that, he led the group onward, their figures quickly swallowed by the forest.
Meanwhile, Shen Yu suddenly stopped.
His deep, sharp eyes swept the surroundings with quiet vigilance, as if he had sensed something unusual.
Taking advantage of the pause, Aurora quickly removed her outer garment and tied it into a simple bundle. She carefully took out all the herbs she had collected, tucked them inside along with the gold ingots, and bound the bundle securely to her body. She wore several layers anyway. Losing one made little difference.
When she finished and looked up, her expression froze.
From the shadows of the surrounding woods emerged a massive figure. Its body was as strong as a bull, its muscles coiled with power, and its mouth gaped open to reveal rows of sharp, bloodstained fangs.
Aurora blinked, then calmly turned her head toward Shen Yu and asked, with genuine curiosity, "Brother-in-law… does this thing eat people?"