Wu Shattered Star River

Back at the inn, Xuan Yuanqing was still unconscious, and Jiang Han collapsed on the bed, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Those twenty lashes had wounded his soul and greatly depleted his vitality. This was far more terrifying than physical injuries, and it would probably take at least half a month to recover.

Wu Yao'er and Fang Mengyao each took care of one person, first applying medicine to their backs to heal the wounds. After the wounds scabbed over, they tore off the tattered clothes from their backs and cleaned them with warm water…

Two young, unmarried women, each serving a man, both with flushed faces and a hint of shyness. Wu Yao'er was slightly better, but Fang Mengyao, being more introverted, had red ears and neck.

After taking care of them, the two women sat to the side. Wu Yao'er glanced at Xuan Yuanqing and whispered, "Mengyao-jie, Qing-gege is a good person. Put in some effort and win him over."

Fang Mengyao, her face red, glanced at Xuan Yuanqing and said, "I'm just afraid that I'm interested, but he isn't…"

"No!"

Wu Yao'er nudged Fang Mengyao and said, "I feel like Qing-gege has some feelings for you, so you should strike while the iron is hot! Find an opportunity to sleep with him, and everything will fall into place!"

"What nonsense are you talking about…"

Fang Mengyao glared at Wu Yao'er shyly, then looked at Jiang Han and said, "Why don't you find an opportunity to, you know, do that to Jiang Han?"

"Alas…"

Wu Yao'er sighed and said, "Jiang-gege is quite stubborn. He has Si Li-jiejie in his heart. I don't dare to mess around, afraid it will backfire. Otherwise, I would have made a move long ago…"

Seeing Wu Yao'er's dejected expression, Fang Mengyao patted her shoulder and said, "Since you know he won't give up on Si Li, why bother hanging yourself from one tree?"

"I didn't ask him to give up on Si Li-jiejie!"

Wu Yao'er said with a matter-of-fact expression, "I'm not competing to be the main wife; being a concubine is fine with me. As long as Jiang-gege gives me a small portion of his love, I'll be very happy…"

"…"

Fang Mengyao was speechless. She was stunned for a long while before saying, "Yao'er, you're so wonderful. Why do you have to wrong yourself? Being someone's concubine, this…"

"What's wrong with that?"

Wu Yao'er said nonchalantly, "I'm willing! The world is vast, and my happiness is the most important thing!"

Fang Mengyao shook her head, unable to accept Wu Yao'er's idea. Her gaze turned to Xuan Yuanqing's face, which was even more beautiful than a woman's, and then to the crisscrossing wounds on his back. Her eyes gradually softened.

…

Xuan Yuanqing slept for half a day, but Jiang Han slept for a whole day.

Xuan Yuanqing had been consuming various heavenly treasures since he was young, so his soul was a bit stronger than Jiang Han's. He just didn't have Jiang Han's ability to endure pain.

Both of them were very weak. Their physical injuries recovered quickly, but their souls needed time to heal.

After letting Fang Mengyao and the others return to rest and cultivate, Jiang Han turned to look at Xuan Yuanqing and said, "Qing-ge, why can this Dragon Bone Whip directly injure our souls? My soul defense treasures weren't activated. It's so strange!"

Xuan Yuanqing thought for a moment and said, "This Dragon Bone Whip might be a specially made treasure. The Dao patterns on it are very powerful. I don't know the specifics!"

"Let's heal our injuries!"

Jiang Han shook his head and said, "When our injuries are a bit better, we'll go find Sun Feifei. We were completely tricked by that fat bastard this time!"

"Finding him probably won't be of much use…"

Xuan Yuanqing frowned and said, "Ruyi Pavilion has a lot of influence. The token Sun Feifei had allowed us to easily reach the canyon, and Niu Gang didn't dare say anything. This Ruyi Pavilion… has a big background!"

Xuan Yuanqing paused for a moment and added, "Also, Sun Feifei wasn't wrong. He did take us to see Yanbei Hou. The contract stated that he was only responsible for taking us to see Yanbei Hou, and he wouldn't be responsible for anything else."

Jiang Han gritted his teeth and said, "He's playing word games. He's not wrong legally, but he definitely tricked us."

"You can go find him, but don't mess around. This isn't the Star Dust Realm. There are too many strong people here. We have no foundation. If we mess around, things could easily go wrong!"

Xuan Yuanqing looked worried and sighed, "Yanbei Hou has entered the Northern Underworld Realm. I don't know when he'll come out. Moreover… it'll probably be very difficult for us to get an audience with him!"

Niu Gang said something about the Northern Underworld City having an orderly hierarchy and the army having its own laws. This place is very particular about rules. If you mess around, it won't just be a whipping next time; you might be killed!

Jiang Han's expression darkened, and he stopped talking.

Images flashed through his mind as he thought about the tragedy that would occur if the Barbarians really descended. Would the humans of the Nine Provinces Continent and the Chaotic Star Sea be slaughtered?

Would Lan Lin die in battle? Would Jiang Li, Jiang Lang, and Zuo Yiyi be sent into the secret realm in advance? Would Si Li be sent away, or would she participate in the war? If she participated, would she be killed?

The more Jiang Han thought, the heavier his heart became, and the more anxious he felt.

But there was nothing he could do now. The four of them were too weak. Not only was there no way to return to the Star Dust Realm, but what could they do even if they went back?

The only way now was to find Yanbei Hou and have him send the message to the Northern Underworld King. He could then ask the Northern Underworld King to send troops to attack the Barbarian's stronghold and then lead troops into the Star Dust Realm to rescue the humans inside.

"I don't want to think about it!"

Jiang Han shook his head. The more he thought about this kind of thing, the worse he felt. It wouldn't help and would only make things worse.

He banished the distracting thoughts from his mind and began to heal his injuries while continuing to comprehend the inheritance left to him by Fu Huang.

He once again felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Relying on others was too difficult. Only becoming strong himself was the fundamental solution!

Xuan Yuanqing understood this principle and also went into seclusion.

Five days later, Jiang Han and Xuan Yuanqing had recovered some of their injuries. At least their faces weren't as pale as before.

In those five days, Jiang Han had comprehended some fragments of space-time laws, but there hadn't been much progress. He couldn't sit still any longer and decided to get up and find Sun Feifei. Even if he didn't cause trouble for him, he should at least get back the one million divine crystals he'd been tricked out of.

Xuan Yuanqing was worried about Jiang Han and followed him out. Fang Mengyao and Wu Yao'er stayed at the inn.

The two entered Ruyi Pavilion. A beautiful maid came up to greet them. Before she could ask anything, Jiang Han said bluntly, "I'm looking for Sun Feifei."

The maid guided the two into a secret room. After waiting for a moment, a meatball came in, smiling and saying, "My two dear brothers, what business do you have for me this time?"

Jiang Han and Xuan Yuanqing exchanged a glance. They were completely convinced by Sun Feifei's thick skin. Jiang Han said with a dark face, "We were whipped forty times. Isn't Shopkeeper Sun going to give us an explanation?"

Sun Feifei's expression immediately darkened. He said in a cold voice, "I made it very clear to you before that I was only responsible for taking you to see Yanbei Hou. Once you saw Yanbei Hou, our transaction was complete. Ruyi Pavilion isn't responsible for anything else!"

"Buzz ~"

Sun Feifei took out a black crystal stone and said, "I recorded the scene that day, and you personally agreed to it. There's also a contract. Ruyi Pavilion has fulfilled the agreement. If you're not convinced, you can go to the City Lord's Mansion to appeal to Lord Wu He. If Lord Wu He determines that we breached the contract, Ruyi Pavilion will compensate you tenfold!"

"Lord Wu He?"

Black lines appeared on Jiang Han and Xuan Yuanqing's foreheads. Finding Lord Wu He would be worse than not finding him. This dead fat man had tricked them and left them unable to refute him, forcing them to swallow their anger.

"Fine, you're ruthless. We'll meet again someday!"

Jiang Han didn't want to continue arguing. He got up to leave with a dark face, and Xuan Yuanqing reluctantly followed.

Sun Feifei glanced at Jiang Han and changed his expression again, smiling and saying, "Do you want to get an audience with Yanbei Hou? It's not like we don't have a way. Moreover, I can guarantee that Yanbei Hou will listen to your requests in detail. Are you two brothers interested?"