Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

Jian Huan stood up and glanced around the cave.

The ground was still stained with patches of blood, but the broken bones and wolf fur had mostly been cleared away, leaving only a small pile near Shen Jizhi.

So Jian Huan grabbed a sack and went outside to check, finding that the cleanup was nearly finished.

She decided to stay where she was and tie up the sack.

The surroundings were quiet, and she could clearly hear Shen Jizhi’s movements.

She heard him stand up, heard his footsteps echoing in the cave, heard him pause, and then the sound of something colliding with the stone wall—perhaps a wooden box.

Curious, Jian Huan turned to look.

At the spot where the Silver Trace Grass had grown, Shen Jizhi was carefully scooping soil into a wooden box.

Jian Huan: “!”

She hadn’t thought of that earlier.

Back at home, they had a Grade One Spirit Tree and a hundred seeds. This soil, which had nurtured the Silver Trace Grass, might have some extraordinary effects if taken back.

After tying the sack, Jian Huan smiled and praised Shen Jizhi: “You’re always so thoughtful.”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Shen Jizhi continued to carefully collect the soil without looking up. “It might not work,” he said.

Jian Huan placed the sack into her Mustard Seed Pouch, clapped her hands, and walked toward Shen Jizhi. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s take it back first.”

Suddenly, Jian Huan’s steps halted abruptly, her body almost tipping forward from the momentum. She quickly steadied herself.

Shen Jizhi straightened up and looked at her with slight confusion, but when he met her focused gaze, he was momentarily stunned.

Her expression reminded him of the way she had looked at him in his dream.

And now, she was indeed looking at him.

For a moment, the dream and reality overlapped, and thoughts that shouldn’t have surfaced began to creep into his mind.

Shen Jizhi instinctively tensed his back.

Jian Huan stood with her left foot forward, her right foot back, gazing deeply at Shen Jizhi.

It was a sunny afternoon, and beams of light streamed through irregular holes in the cave ceiling, casting glowing columns around them.

Shen Jizhi stood in one of these columns, his black hair and features softly illuminated, dust particles floating around him.

He looked like an immortal.

Jian Huan took a step back, then another, slowly retreating.

Shen Jizhi came back to his senses, lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze, and asked calmly, “Why are you looking at me?”

Jian Huan retreated to the cave entrance, her field of vision expanding as she moved. Shen Jizhi, who had been the focus of her gaze, now became part of the background.

Her eyes shifted to his left, right, front, and back, settling on the columns of light.

Those beams of light, the holes in the ceiling—they didn’t seem like ordinary natural formations. There was something mysterious about them.

Jian Huan tilted her head, staring at the cave ceiling, murmuring to herself, “This feels familiar…”

She must have seen this somewhere before.

Shen Jizhi: “…”

He turned and walked away without a word.

Oh, so she hadn’t been looking at him after all.

…

Jian Huan sat at the cave entrance, staring at the columns of light, entranced, as if under a spell.

The sun gradually set, and the brilliant evening sky rivaled the red maples outside. Inside the cave, the columns of light shifted slightly with the changing angle of the sun.

Realizing something, Shen Jizhi and the others didn’t disturb Jian Huan. They stayed nearby, organizing the spoils from their journey through the secret realm.

Yang Ye glanced at Jian Huan from time to time, his eyes burning with excitement, his breathing heavy. “They say some powerful cultivators might hide treasures in natural secret realms, but I’ve been to dozens of secret realms and never found one. This time… this time, could our luck really be this good?!”

The Wolf King’s demon core and the Silver Trace Grass had already far exceeded his expectations.

And now, a treasure trove? This trip might earn him enough to feed his spirit pigs for years!

“We’ll have to wait and see what Jian Huan says. Let’s be patient,” Yin Yusheng said as he worked on refining Fasting Pills. He paused and asked, “Do you all insist on the pills being in pill form? Would a paste be acceptable? It would save me some spiritual energy, and I could make more.”

Yang Ye waved his hand. “I’m fine with anything. Not picky.”

Shen Jizhi: “Whatever.”

Wen Jiu whispered, “That’s fine.”

Yin Yusheng smiled. “Good. Some people refuse to eat the paste, saying it’s unrefined. Should I make Jian Huan’s into a pill?”

He directed the question at Shen Jizhi.

Shen Jizhi: “She’s fine with anything too.”

Yin Yusheng nodded, satisfied. “Alright.”

Back outside the secret realm, when Yin Yusheng had bought the ingredients for the Fasting Pills, he’d asked everyone about their flavor preferences.

The others had no particular requests, but Jian Huan had said she wanted roasted chicken flavor.

Yin Yusheng was actually capable of making Fasting Pills that tasted like roasted chicken.

As evening fell, the aroma of roasted chicken wafted from the alchemy furnace. The spirit pig guarded the furnace, drooling so much that it formed a small puddle on the ground.

Yin Yusheng lifted the lid of the furnace and began dividing the Fasting Paste.

The spirit pig rubbed its head against Yin Yusheng, squealing sweetly.

Yin Yusheng remained unmoved, dividing the paste into five equal portions and handing them out to Shen Jizhi and the others.

The spirit pig had its own feed, provided by its owner, Yang Ye. While it could eat the Fasting Pills, it was better to keep that to a minimum.

When Yang Ye received his portion, the spirit pig immediately tugged at his clothes, desperate for a share.

Yang Ye broke off a tenth of his portion and tossed it to the pig, then quickly swallowed the remaining nine-tenths before the pig could react.

The spirit pig bared its teeth at him and hurriedly went to beg from Wen Jiu and the others, but no one was willing to give it even a tiny bit.

Spirit pig: “Oink oink oink!”

Outside the cave, Jian Huan’s gaze remained fixed on the interior, but she slowly extended her right hand, palm up.

Yin Yusheng handed the last portion to Shen Jizhi, signaling him to take it to Jian Huan.

Using spiritual energy to send it over risked the spirit pig intercepting it mid-air.

Shen Jizhi: “?”

What did this have to do with him? Why should he be the one to deliver it to Jian Huan? Couldn’t Yin Yusheng do it himself?

Shen Jizhi took the paste, stood up, walked over, and placed the roasted chicken Fasting Paste into Jian Huan’s palm.

Jian Huan withdrew her hand and gave him a thumbs-up with one hand.

Of course, Shen Jizhi didn’t know this was a gesture of approval.

She always had these strange hand signals.

Shen Jizhi walked away.

The spirit pig, which had been following him closely, began rubbing against Jian Huan. While taking small bites of the Fasting Paste, Jian Huan mercilessly pushed the pig’s head away.

Spirit pig: “Oink oink oink!”

In the past, when it rubbed against other cultivators, they would pat its head and share some tasty treats.

But this time, none of these people would pet its head or share their food!

Why?!

The pig couldn’t understand. It went to vent its frustration on its owner.

Late at night, the moon hung high in the sky.

Jian Huan stood up and slowly approached the area where the four of them were resting, a strange smile on her face.

The surroundings were silent, the evening breeze rustling the maple trees, leaves falling one after another without a sound.

A shadow fell over Shen Jizhi. Sensing something, he opened his eyes, but before he could focus, a ghostly face appeared before him.

Jian Huan, with her hair loose, grinned eerily, her eyes dark and her voice haunting as she stretched out her hands: “You scoundrel, give me back my life… give me back my life…”

Shen Jizhi leaped back three steps, his heart pounding, his sword drawn.

He thought Jian Huan had been possessed by some evil spirit—until he saw her mischievous grin.

Jian Huan pointed at him, laughing so hard she doubled over. “You’re scared of ghosts!”

Shen Jizhi: “…”

He sheathed his sword, still shaken, his voice cold with anger. “Are you out of your mind?”

“You’re the one out of your mind,” Jian Huan retorted, tying up her hair. Seeing the others waking up one by one, looking confused, she didn’t waste time. “Good, since you’re all awake, let’s get to work!”

Everyone: “???”

In the dimly lit cave, Jian Huan held a torch, using a bamboo stick to point at the holes in the ceiling. Moonlight poured down like water. “I read in the sect’s library that this is a gate formation.”

Yin Yusheng: “A gate formation?”

Yang Ye: “Meaning there’s a hidden treasure here?”

Jian Huan nodded. “Yes.”

“Only by opening the gate formation will the hidden treasure trove be revealed, allowing us to enter and search for treasures.” She handed the torch to Shen Jizhi.

Shen Jizhi, standing nearby with his arms crossed, glanced at her and took it.

Now free, Jian Huan walked around the cave with the bamboo stick, Shen Jizhi holding the torch to light her way.

She marked the spots she had deduced as the “life gates” of the formation, drawing shallow circles with the bamboo stick under the columns of light.

"I can open it, but we need to dig the ground first. At the same time, we must be careful not to touch the nearby death gates while digging, so it's best not to use spiritual energy to avoid accidentally triggering them. For the next few days, we’ll have to work hard digging the ground," said Jian Huan.

…

Trees surrounded them, and Shen Jizhi had brought along plenty of spare iron pieces.

He worked through the night to craft five shovels, and everyone began digging day and night, working with great enthusiasm.

There were other cultivators in the secret realm, and Jian Huan had considered asking them to join in the digging.

But she didn’t fully trust them. If they accidentally dug into the nearby death gates while working, this place would become everyone’s grave.

Forget it. Even though only five people were digging, making the process slower, at least it was safer.

Ten days later.

Outside the cave, piles of soil were stacked high. Inside, seventeen deep pits, resembling wells, were arranged in rows.

Over the past few days, fearing that the spirit pigs might cause trouble, Yang Ye hadn’t even dared to let them out.

In the last pit, Shen Jizhi was still digging.

Jian Huan squatted at the entrance of the pit and called out, "Shen Jizhi, are you done yet?"

The pit was so deep that Shen Jizhi was no longer visible from the entrance.

He was almost there. Shen Jizhi put down the shovel, crouched, and carefully brushed away the top layer of soil. Soon, a dark iron piece was revealed.

It was engraved with intricate array patterns. Though it showed no reaction at the moment, it exuded an unusual aura.

Shen Jizhi stood up, channeled a bit of spiritual energy to clean himself, and then flew up to the surface.

Above, the others didn’t look much better. Even though they could have used cleansing techniques, they couldn’t be bothered.

Jian Huan’s face was smeared with black and yellow patches, her entire body covered in dirt. The others were in a similar state.

Only Shen Jizhi remained pristine.

He lightly brushed off his sleeves and nodded. "It’s done."

Jian Huan gave an ‘ok’ gesture and was the first to leave the cave.

The other four followed her, mounting their swords and stopping on nearby tree branches.

Jian Huan stepped onto her green bamboo strip and flew to the top of the cave.

Hovering slightly in the air, the green bamboo strip in her hand shimmered with a crystal-clear glow. She closed her eyes, infused spiritual energy into the bamboo strip, and, following the instructions from the book, slid it toward the seventeen pits one by one.

Once she finished, Jian Huan didn’t waste a moment and quickly flew back to join Shen Jizhi and the others.

The five of them stood to the side, silently watching the strange phenomenon unfold.

Jian Huan used the green bamboo strip as a brush, and the spiritual energy she infused formed beams of light that pushed through the air, descending into the pits one after another and landing on the dark iron pieces at the bottom.

The spiritual energy gradually illuminated the array patterns on the iron pieces. Just as the patterns were fully lit, a massive surge of spiritual energy erupted from the ground, accompanied by a blinding flash of light!

The world seemed to lose its color. The five of them turned away, instinctively closing their eyes.

At that moment, the earth in the secret realm shook violently, and mountains and rivers trembled. The tree they were standing on swayed fiercely. Jian Huan, who had nearly exhausted all her spiritual energy, was on the verge of collapse. Her green bamboo strip tilted, and she almost fell.

Shen Jizhi reached out and grabbed her, pulling her onto his snow-white sword.

Jian Huan let out a sigh of relief, secured the bamboo strip, and glanced down. She lightly wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Thank you."

"…" Shen Jizhi almost lost control of his sword. "Let go."

Jian Huan: "…"

Considering his dislike of physical contact, she had been careful to use a gentleman’s hand…

Forget it, this man must have sensitive skin all over.

Jian Huan shook her head and instead grabbed onto his sleeve.

His sword was so narrow—how was she supposed to stand without holding onto something?

Shen Jizhi frowned slightly but ultimately said nothing more.

The shaking lasted only for a moment, and soon the earth calmed.

But above their heads, where the seventeen beams of light converged, the sky, as blue as a gemstone, now held a majestic and grand treasure hall silently standing atop the clouds.

The ground had somehow drawn closer to the sky.

The once unreachable heavens now seemed within arm’s reach as the treasure hall revealed itself.

Jian Huan narrowed her eyes and could clearly make out the four characters on the hall—

Fang Quan's Treasure Hall.