Mu Chen looked at Old Shi and sighed. "Old Shi, you have said it like this―it will be hypocritical of me if I pretend to be modest. From now on, you can just follow me." Although Old Shi had tried to pit them before, Mu Chen didn't feel much animosity towards him.

Old Shi chuckled. "I've never followed someone as young as you before."

"There is a first time for everything," Mu Chen said. "You don't have to worry, I won't treat you unfairly. I won't force you to sign the blood oath contract. And I will stay true to my former promise―if I find a longevity fruit, I will save it for you."

Old Shi's eyes brightened on hearing Mu Chen's words. He looked at Mu Chen and his gaze was filled with appreciation. "I didn't expect you could be so wise."

"I will take that as a compliment," Mu Chen said. "Let's first find a place for you to recuperate."

Old Shi's situation was indeed worrying. Although Tan Jun didn't hurt his vitals, he hurt the bones. The bones had been pierced so many times, the pain couldn't even be imagined. If Old Shi hadn't finished bone forging, it was conceivable that the bones would have turned to powder. Without the help of healing pills, such an injury would take months or even years to recover.

"I have...a place," Old Shi said as he struggled to stand and walk with Mu Chen's support. "Can you remove these? It would make things easier."

"That..." Mu Chen scratched his head in embarrassment. "I don't have the key. Even if I had it, I wouldn't have been able to use it...I-I've yet to step into the spirit gathering realm."

"You―" Old Shi almost stumbled on hearing Mu Chen's words. He raised a finger and pointed towards Mu Chen, at a loss for words.

"Hey, Old Shi. It's too late to go back on your words now," Mu Chen said.

Old Shi shook his head. "I'm not―I just didn't expect..." He tried to recall and realized that he had never checked Mu Chen's cultivation. When Mu Chen was shackled, he didn't feel the need to inspect. Now, his cultivation base was sealed, and he couldn't check even if he wanted to.

"Haha, why else would I have been sent to do errands?" Mu Chen sighed. "My friends, they bully me too much. But it doesn't matter. Once you've recovered, you can help me get back at them."

"How could they bully you?" Old Shi was confused by Mu Chen's words. From what he had seen, it was Li Kun and Xia Ping who were following Mu Chen's lead. How did it turn into them bullying him?

"Never mind that," Mu Chen said. "Let me get you back to your place first. Then I can go call my friends―they can remove the shackles. Where is the place?"

Old Shi was still confused but answered, "It's not too far from here."

"Then you can guide." Mu Chen pulled a blanket from his pouch and draped it over Old Shi, covering his wounds and bloodstained robes and shackles and all. Only his face was free of any wounds. Tan Jun probably left it intact because he wanted to see the expressions. The thought crossed Mu Chen's mind and it made him squirm.

Mu Chen and Old Shi walked out of the building. It was getting dark outside. The street lamps had begun to flicker to life as the night approached. Old Shi gave directions, while Mu Chen helped him walk.

With a blanket over Old Shi and Mu Chen supporting him to walk, it looked like a filial grandson who was taking his old gramps out for an evening walk. None of the patrol guards bothered them. Some of them even smiled or waved at them with good intentions and nodded in approval.

"Old Shi!" Mu Chen growled. "Is this what you meant by not too far? We have been walking for an hour now." They had come a long way away from the central region. The number of residences had become smaller and they had become sparse.

Old Shi was speechless. The place wasn't too far, but that was in consideration of his normal traveling speed. "Just a little further. Take the left from here and go straight ahead…"

They came in front of a nondescript villa. It was small and had only two floors, but had a big courtyard. The villa didn't seem to be in use. The gate was rusted, weeds and bushes grew wildly in the courtyard.

Mu Chen kicked the gate open and entered and moved towards the door of the villa.

"Not there," Old Shi said. "The villa is just a front. Go to the back."

Mu Chen and Old Shi came to the backyard, where there was a fountain with a statue of a mermaid holding a chalice, depicting the action of drinking through it. Had the fountain been running, the water would have flowed through the chalice into the mermaid's mouth. It would be a beautiful scene to look at. Unfortunately, the fountain and the pond underneath it was completely dry.

Mu Chen brought Old Shi in front of the fountain. Old Shi leaned forward and squeezed his hand above the mouth of the mermaid. A few drops of blood dripped into the mouth of the mermaid. The drops of blood disappeared into the mouth and the statue began to glow with a dim light. The statue shuddered and shifted aside, revealing an underground tunnel.

Mu Chen and Old Shi entered the tunnel.
Several bright pearls were embedded in the ceiling of the tunnel, illuminating it. After walking through the passage for a while, both of them came to a rectangular hall. At the center of the hall, a praying mat was placed.

Once they arrived at the hall, Mu Chen felt a change in atmosphere. He took a deep breath and felt the pores of his body open. "Such thick spiritual qi. Just a single breath is enough to drive away your fatigue." Mu Chen found it hard to believe and looked around but didn't see any spirit stones. But he found some markings on the floor. He had seen such a similar design not too long ago. He looked at Old Shi with shock. "There is a spiritual vein underneath?"

"Hehe! How is it?" Old Shi didn't deny but looked at Mu Chen with a complacent look. "Although the vein isn't big, its grade is high, very suitable for cultivation."

"And the nobles let you occupy it?" Same as in Falling Stones City, all the spiritual veins in the Golden Sun City had been occupied by established powers. If outsiders wanted to cultivate using a spiritual vein, they had to rent it.

"It's all luck," Old Shi said. "They didn't know there was a spiritual vein here. Even I was unaware of its existence. I had just wanted a temporary residence that was close to the city. But then I found the basement was leaking. There was an underground stream here. I decided to close the mouth of the stream but ended up finding a spiritual vein instead."

"Old Shi, you are lucky. You got a spiritual vein for dirt cheap." Mu Chen marveled at Old Shi's luck. Finding a spiritual vein was a very difficult and time-consuming task. Although cultivators could use divine sense, it couldn't penetrate layers and layers of earth without limit. Searching for a spiritual vein was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"It did cost me a lot to buy this estate, but compared to what I obtained, it can be really considered dirt cheap," Old Shi said. "It was thanks to this spiritual vein, I was able to cultivate to this point."

Old Shi's talent was ordinary, so the amount of resources and the time he needed to cultivate was enormous. But with a spiritual vein, he didn't have to worry about being short of spiritual qi for cultivation. He could even harvest spirit stones and use them to buy longevity fruits to extend his life.

"Unfortunately, at that time I was already someone's retainer," Old Shi lamented.  "I couldn't just leave."

"I see," Mu Chen said.

"I see that as well." A voice fell into Mu Chen's ears, but it wasn't Old Shi who spoke.

Mu Chen and Old Shi turned around and saw a person in black robes standing at the entrance of the tunnel. He looked a bit effeminate. Streaks of white adorned his hair. He was eyeing the two of them with his hawk-like eyes, his lips curved into a smile. It looked like he had been standing there for some time, but neither Mu Chen nor Old Shi had sensed his presence before he opened his mouth.

Upon seeing the person, Old Shi's legs turned soft and he almost lost his balance. "T-Tan Jun!"

Mu Chen didn't have time to look after Old Shi. He turned his attention to Tan Jun. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Tan Jun chuckled. "Old Shi, why don't you introduce me to your little friend?"

"T-Tan Jun." Old Shi coughed. Blood seemed to have drained from his face. "H-how did―y-you were following us?"

"Old Shi, ah...Old Shi." Tan Jun snickered. He looked at the hall in amazement. "How can you be so selfish? You had such a treasure trove but kept it to yourself. Tsk, tsk...As your friend, I feel hurt. How are you going to compensate me?"

"I…" Old Shi stammered but no words came from his mouth. His previous calm had disappeared. Tan Jun had cast a shadow on his mind that wouldn't disappear any time soon.

"Are you the one who hurt Old Shi?" Mu Chen stepped forward, shielding Old Shi from Tan Jun's gaze.

"Little friend, you are bold," Tan Jun spoke as if he was praising Mu Chen, but his eyes were mocking him. "But you should know, those who are bold are the first to die―" He paused and stared at Mu Chen in surprise. "Hey! Your physique looks good. Could it be...you have finished tempering your muscles and tendons?"
Tan Jun's eyes widened but soon his expression turned into delight. "Excellent! Excellent! I didn't expect to pick up such a fine specimen. Although Old Shi's bones are hard, his muscles have long since atrophied due to old age. Compared to him, you are much more suitable as a test piece." Tan Jun rubbed his hand in excitement and looked at Mu Chen with fiery eyes.

"Keep dreaming!" Mu Chen snorted and prepared to draw his sword.

Tan Jun saw Mu Chen draw his sword but wasn't nervous at all. "Boy, don't kid yourself. You haven't even stepped on the road of cultivation. Just obediently become my test piece–perhaps you will live a bit longer…"

Tan Jun grinned and flicked his sleeve. A black rope streaked out and wrapped around Mu Chen, tying him up from head to foot.

Mu Chen lost his balance and fell. He twisted his body around trying to break free from the bindings, but the rope was tough and wound tightly. "Bastard, let me go!"

"Don't struggle too much," Tan Jun said, but watched Mu Chen struggle with relish. "It won't be good if you hurt yourself before I do. Be a good boy and stay still while I deal with Old Shi."

"Damn!" Mu Chen cursed and struggled harder. But he couldn't break free even after using all his strength. Knowing it was futile, he stopped struggling and gasped for breath.

Having dealt with Mu Chen, Tan Jun stepped over him and moved towards Old Shi. Old Shi retreated but his foot got caught into the blankets and he tumbled.

"Y-you...stay away from me," Old Shi yelled.

"Old Shi," Tan Jun said. "I never thought letting you stay alive for a bit would bring me such a great reward." He looked around him, and his eyes turned red with greed. "A spiritual vein! There is a spiritual vein here! To think I always looked down on you for being a broke old ass." Tan Jun glared at Old Shi in annoyance. "I hate to admit― Old Shi, you hid too deep." Tan Jun flicked his sleeve and a black dart appeared between his fingers. "But it doesn't matter anymore, everything is mine now. With the help of this spiritual vein, I will―"

Tan Jun had a feeling of extreme danger and dodged to his side. A sharp blade that was over two feet long flashed by almost touching his waist. But before Tan Jun had a chance to rejoice his narrow escape, his waist exploded with pain.