Chapter 24: A Token of Gratitude

"Please calm yourself, Young Hero Qin — I will give you a satisfactory answer!" Chen Guanxiang hurried forward to placate him, then immediately turned on his disciples with fury. "Who did this?! Get out here right now!"

Seeing their own Elder lose his temper, the Yunlan Sect disciples exchanged glances with each other, all wearing expressions of innocence.

"May I ask, Miss Rou'er — do you know the names of those two men?" Chen Guanxiang turned to Nan Rou and asked urgently.

"One was called Brother Long, and the other one... I think his name was A-Liang," Nan Rou replied.

Upon hearing this, Chen Guanxiang's heart sank, and he immediately sensed that things had taken a very bad turn.

The "Brother Long" Nan Rou mentioned had to be Jiang Long. That young man was a notorious lecher who, relying on the fact that his uncle was an Inner Sect Enforcement Elder, had committed no shortage of vile acts against the sect's female disciples.

He had only been brought along on this expedition into the Secret Realm as a favor to his uncle — and yet the moment he stepped outside, he had stirred up this enormous mess.

"Elder Chen, those two aren't here. When we were leaving the Secret Realm, I saw them head straight off on their own — they said they had urgent business back at the sect!" a disciple quickly reported.

Hearing this, Chen Guanxiang's expression darkened so severely it looked as though he could wring water from his face. He desperately wanted to slap Jiang Long and that A-Liang to death — those two bastards had made the mess and left him to clean it up.

"Bring those two to the Nan Family within three days. If you don't, I will personally pay Yunlan Sect a visit." Qin Guan fixed Chen Guanxiang with a cold stare.

Hearing Qin Guan say he would personally come to Yunlan Sect, the Yunlan Sect disciples immediately showed expressions of contempt.

Yes, a fourth-gate Martial Artist was indeed formidable — but placed within the entirety of Yunlan Sect, that level of strength was only middling at best. And he was going to personally visit Yunlan Sect? What arrogance!

Yet at that moment, Chen Guanxiang's expression grew grave. When Qin Guan said he would personally visit Yunlan Sect, he surely meant he would bring the power behind him along.

Though he still didn't know exactly what force stood behind Qin Guan, everything the young man had demonstrated so far showed he didn't even put Spirit Sword Academy in his eyes — let alone Yunlan Sect, which was weaker than Spirit Sword Academy.

With that thought, Chen Guanxiang said hastily, "Young Hero Qin, there is no time to waste — I will go drag those two little bastards back right now!"

Chen Guanxiang finished speaking and immediately led the Yunlan Sect disciples away.

Once the Yunlan Sect members had gone, Nan Yunqi hurried to Qin Guan's side with a worried look. "We've already made an enemy of the powerful Spirit Sword Academy, and Rou'er and Qiao'er are both unharmed, so perhaps we should..."

"Unharmed? If something had actually happened, it would have been too late!"

Before Nan Yunqi could finish, Qin Guan cut him off with a low, firm voice, then took Nan Rou's hand and walked away.

Watching Qin Guan hold Nan Rou's hand tightly while she leaned against him like a little bird nestling close to its companion, Nan Qiao felt an inexplicable pang of bitterness rise in her heart.

When Qin Guan had learned that she herself had nearly been violated, he had barely reacted — but the moment he heard that Nan Rou had nearly suffered the same fate, he had instantly transformed into a raging beast.

A man who would step forward and protect his woman like that... should have been hers.

Having nearly been humiliated in the Secret Realm, having her Cultivation Technique stolen — the repeated mistreatment had made her realize just how weak she still was. No matter how outstanding her talent, without good resources and protection, it was nearly impossible to rise above others — one could even be crushed before ever getting the chance.

Yang Ao was a perfect example of that.

Now, watching Qin Guan dote so completely on Nan Rou, she understood in her heart that she had begun to feel some regret — even jealousy. She simply refused to admit it.

* * *

The various factions within Ten Thousand Demon Valley were still locked in fierce battle. The ground was littered with the dead and wounded, rivers of blood flowing freely — everyone had gone completely red-eyed with killing.

Qin Guan walked ahead with Nan Rou, while Nan Yunqi and the others followed close behind.

In an open clearing, Tianbao Pavilion and Wei Kingdom were locked in a standoff, both sides having suffered considerable injuries.

"Wei Kingdom, you have a lot of nerve — you dare steal from Tianbao Pavilion!" Elder Xu glared at Wei Hongyan and the elder called Hong, his voice low and stern.

"What a joke. Everything in the Secret Realm goes to whoever is capable of taking it — how can you call it stealing?" Elder Hong sneered.

At that moment, Jiang Lianyue looked toward Wei Hongyan. "Wei Hongyan, let's fight one-on-one. Whoever wins gets the Jade Bone Immortal Orchid — what do you say?"

Wei Hongyan responded with a cold smile. "Miss Jiang, the Jade Bone Immortal Orchid is already in my hands. Why would I put it up as a wager?"

"Just because it's in your hands doesn't mean it belongs to you, does it?" Jiang Lianyue said in a firm tone.

The Jade Bone Immortal Orchid — when consumed, it could improve one's constitution, making the skin as fair and smooth as jade. It was a divine herb that countless female Cultivators dreamed of obtaining.

Earlier inside the Secret Realm, the two women had fought tooth and nail over this herb. In the end, Jiang Lianyue had come out on top and claimed it — only for the herb to be snatched back by Wei Hongyan in the very last moment as the Secret Realm collapsed.

So the moment both sides emerged from the Secret Realm, they had immediately come to blows.

"Since there's nothing to negotiate, then let's continue!" Jiang Lianyue's beautiful face turned cold.

Just as both sides were about to clash again, Qin Guan suddenly walked over from nearby.

Seeing Qin Guan, Jiang Lianyue's beautiful eyes immediately lit up. She had been thinking of cooperating with him earlier, but the mechanics of the Secret Realm had given them no opportunity to do so. Still, she and Qin Guan did share a degree of acquaintance — if he stepped in, Wei Hongyan would surely yield and hand over the Jade Bone Immortal Orchid.

"Miss Jiang, what's going on here?"

Qin Guan walked up to Jiang Lianyue and greeted her.

Seeing that Qin Guan knew Jiang Lianyue, the expressions on Wei Hongyan's side immediately became unpleasant.

"Qin Guan, Wei Hongyan stole my Jade Bone Immortal Orchid. Could you help me get it back?" Jiang Lianyue looked at Qin Guan and asked.

Hearing about the Jade Bone Immortal Orchid, Qin Guan felt somewhat exasperated. Was it really worth making such a huge fuss over a herb for beauty and skincare?

He glanced at Wei Hongyan, feeling conflicted. He had heard from Nan Rou that it was Wei Hongyan's black-armored soldiers who had saved her and Nan Qiao — that was a tremendous debt of gratitude in his eyes. How could he possibly raise a hand against Wei Hongyan and her people?

But Jiang Lianyue before him had also helped him considerably — it was she who had informed him about this Secret Realm, and going forward he would still need to rely on her to gather intelligence about the remaining Secret Realms.

He was caught between two obligations.

After a moment's thought, Qin Guan smiled. "Miss Jiang, please wait a moment. Let me take care of my own matter first."

With that, Qin Guan walked toward Wei Hongyan's side.

Seeing Qin Guan approaching, the dozen or so black-armored soldiers of Wei Kingdom and Elder Hong immediately closed ranks around Wei Hongyan, every one of them on high alert — they had witnessed Qin Guan's strength firsthand.

"Everyone, please don't misunderstand!"

Qin Guan quickly smiled and cupped his fists, then turned to look back at Nan Rou. Nan Qiao had also followed along.

The two young women stepped forward and bowed to the two black-armored soldiers. "Thank you both so much for saving us inside the Secret Realm!"

At that, the Wei Kingdom side immediately relaxed. So he wasn't here to cause trouble — he was here to express gratitude!

"Ha ha! We simply couldn't stand by and watch injustice — no need for thanks, ladies!" One of the black-armored soldiers, a broad-shouldered and powerfully built man, laughed heartily.

"Indeed — when the road is uneven, those who see it lend a hand. No need to be so formal, ladies!" The other black-armored soldier also smiled and nodded.

At that moment, Qin Guan stepped up to the two soldiers. "May I ask your honorable names?"

"Zhang Meng!"

"Li Qing!"

The two men clasped their fists.

"I am Qin Guan. Should you ever find yourselves in difficulty in the future, please come find me at the Nan Family — I will do everything in my power to help."

Having said that, Qin Guan then produced two medicinal Pills. "A small token of appreciation — please don't think it too little."

When everyone present saw the two second-rank Qi-Gathering Pills in Qin Guan's hand, their eyes went wide, all of them staring fixedly at the Pills.

Second-rank Qi-Gathering Pills!

The second-rank Qi-Gathering Pill was a critical medicinal aid for Cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage when attempting a Breakthrough to the Spirit Refinement Realm. Such Breakthroughs were prone to failure, and a failed attempt could cause a Cultivator's Cultivation to regress.

To reduce this risk, many Qi Refining Stage Cultivators who had the means would go to great lengths to obtain a Qi-Gathering Pill to increase their chances of success.

Yet in Luyun City, not a single family had the means to prepare Qi-Gathering Pills for their disciples — not because they lacked the money, but because even with money, they couldn't buy them.

Second-rank Alchemists could be counted on one hand across the entirety of Qingzhou, which meant that Pills with high demand like the Qi-Gathering Pill simply never appeared on the open market.

"No, no — Brother Qin, this is far too precious. We can't accept this!" Zhang Meng and Li Qing waved their hands in refusal.

Their Cultivation had already reached the eighth level of the Qi Refining Stage — just one small sub-level away from breaking through to the Spirit Refinement Realm. Truthfully, they both desperately wanted the Qi-Gathering Pills in Qin Guan's hand.

"Since this is Young Master Qin's kind gesture, you two should accept it." At that moment, Wei Hongyan stepped forward.

She had originally assumed Qin Guan had come on Jiang Lianyue's behalf to demand the Jade Bone Immortal Orchid — she never expected that her own subordinates had saved his wife and sister-in-law. This debt of gratitude had come at a most fortunate time!

"Take them."

As he spoke, Qin Guan tossed the two Pills toward Zhang Meng and Li Qing.

The two men scrambled to catch the Qi-Gathering Pills, cradling them in their palms with the utmost care.

"Many thanks, Young Master Qin!"

Zhang Meng and Li Qing immediately bowed deeply to Qin Guan.

Watching Zhang Meng and Li Qing each receive a Qi-Gathering Pill, the onlookers were consumed with envy and admiration. They couldn't help but think — if only they had been the ones to encounter Qin Guan's wife and sister-in-law being harassed in the Secret Realm and casually saved them, how wonderful that would have been. If such an opportunity ever arose again, they absolutely had to seize it!

As for the Nan Family members, they were heartbroken — especially Nan Yunqi, whose heart felt as though it were bleeding. Two Qi-Gathering Pills, just casually given away like that...