"Young Master," the Young Master was injured before, "so we needed this carriage; he absolutely couldn't ride a horse," said Wang Dong, the leader of the Soul Devourer squad, his forehead beaded with sweat. It wasn't from fear, but from stifling it. The man had never concocted a lie before, much less one this flimsy? Finally, with a flash of quick wit, and recalling the severe beating he received earlier for violating military discipline, he managed to patch up the story.

"Quickly, quickly! Help the Young Master into the carriage, and check on him right away," urged several Soul Devourer members anxiously. Though they were hardened killers, it seemed every one of them was a passable actor.

Dugu Xiaoyi jumped down in a rush. "Let me see, let me see! Oh dear, hurry, lift him into the carriage first. This person, really—" she exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us you were hurt sooner?"

Everyone broke out in a sweat, and the group clumsily lifted Jun Moye's unconscious body into the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Guan Qinghan wanted to say something, but ultimately held back, shaking her head and looking helplessly at the "unconscious" Young Master Jun with a strained, wry smile. She understood the nature of her little brother-in-law better than most.

Dugu Xiaoyi, still bowing her head, frantically peppered them with questions: "How did he get hurt? When did he get hurt? What kind of injury is it? Is it serious? Do we have medicine? What medicine should be used? Who injured him?"

The barrage of questions left the cold-blooded, ruthless Soul Devourer members tongue-tied, unsure how to answer. They had barely managed to cover the previous lie, but these probing questions were impossible to answer directly. The fact that the Young Master was beaten for breaking military discipline was hardly an honorable tale. Moreover, his bruises from the beating had long since healed—he was fine!

"Xiaoyi! Come in now, stop pressing them," Guan Qinghan's voice broke through. Only then did the little girl pull her head inside. As soon as she did, she bombarded Guan Qinghan: "Sister Qinghan, what should we do? What are we supposed to—oh dear, how could this person be injured? It’s so worrying—"

Outside, every member of the Soul Devourer squad wiped away a cold sweat.

"Pfft," Guan Qinghan couldn't help but laugh. Just then, Jun Moye conveniently and timely "stirred awake," asking in a "weak" voice, "Where am I?"

Before Guan Qinghan could speak, the little girl burst out excitedly, "In the carriage, you're in the carriage! Oh my, you person, ah, you're finally awake! What is your injury, tell us quickly so we can treat it! I'll help you heal!"

Guan Qinghan rolled her eyes. This little girl was truly, utterly naive.

"I'm injured? I did suffer a minor injury before," Jun Moye murmured, "but it’s healed. The reason I’m so weak isn't because of the injury—it's because I was poisoned," he continued, groaning, subtly twitching his nose to inhale deeply twice. Damn, men and women are certainly different; he'd been in the carriage for days without any scent, yet as soon as these two dust-covered beauties stepped in, the air became fragrant.

"Ah! Poisoned?!" Dugu Xiaoyi’s eyes widened in shock. "What poison? Is it serious? Do you know what kind of poison it is? Is it hard to cure?"

"Alas," Jun Moye sighed with infinite regret, "I was careless, and someone managed to poison me. Speaking of which—cough, cough—it’s a long and complicated story. I just need two days of quiet recuperation. Telling you all will only cause distress; you wouldn't want to treat my poison anyway."

"Who said that? How could we not want to? Tell us quickly! Quickly, how do we cure it?" Dugu Xiaoyi was frantic. Why was this man so reluctant? He was poisoned and still dawdling, didn't he know she cared deeply for him?

"Cough, cough, the poison I've taken is called the 'Yin Yang Harmonious Dispersion' (Yin Yang He He San)." Jun Moye stealthily raised his head, attempting to gauge their expressions. He immediately saw Guan Qinghan staring at him with icy, forbidding eyes and shuddered, stopping mid-sentence.

"Yin Yang Harmonious Dispersion? Ah! Just hearing the words 'Yin Yang' sounds terrifying. Tell us how to cure it!" Dugu Xiaoyi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan; her delicate little nose even began to sweat.

"This Yin Yang Harmonious Dispersion, well, it's hard to cure if you say it’s hard, and easy to cure if you say it’s easy..." he chuckled slyly, "Heh-heh—cough, cough," Jun Moye nearly grinned wickedly, quickly coughing twice. "Because this poison cannot be cured with medicine. To remove it, the method is simple, but perhaps a bit... difficult to ask for. Furthermore, this requires a very great sacrifice from you."

"It’s fine! For you, no matter what sacrifice I have to make, I am willing," the little girl thumped her chest confidently. Meanwhile, Guan Qinghan faintly sensed that this matter was becoming increasingly suspicious.

This brat was clearly faking even being unconscious. Only Xiaoyi, the silly girl, was too worried to notice. But now, what devious plan was he about to pull?

"Alas, it simply requires a mutual exchange between a man and a woman—cough, cough—a single coupling, and the poison will be cured," Jun Moye said, looking deeply embarrassed, covering his mouth and coughing a few times. "Otherwise... within three days, I will certainly die consumed by burning desire. Alas, I know this puts you in a difficult spot. Forget it, perhaps this is just my fate."

Young Master Jun looked utterly dejected.

"Ah? What?! To cure the poison, I have to... with you—with you?" Dugu Xiaoyi’s eyes widened instantly, and her face flushed beet red as she grew bashful. Though she was young and innocent, she certainly understood the term "coupling."

Guan Qinghan, though she had suspected her little brother-in-law was up to mischief, never imagined he could be this shamelessly lazy and indecent, pulling off such a stunt. Upon first hearing the strange name "Yin San," she had already felt something was amiss with this situation. However, Guan Qinghan was still an untouched maiden and naive about matters between men and women; she had underestimated Jun Moye’s level of shamelessness, never imagining he could stoop so low!

Allowing him into the carriage was already a huge concession, and now he demanded—

"Jun Moye!" Guan Qinghan's delicate eyebrows shot up, her phoenix eyes blazing with anger. "Have you made enough of a fool of yourself, you scoundrel? Do you want me to throw you off the carriage again? It was already generous of me to let you board; don't be so greedy!"

"Sister Qinghan, don't be angry!" Dugu Xiaoyi looked worriedly at Guan Qinghan. "He's still poisoned; it's a life-threatening matter," she tried to "reason."

"He has no injuries, he wasn't poisoned, there is no 'Yin Yang Harmonious Dispersion' at all!" Guan Qinghan was even more furious. "He was fine in the carriage just now, but as soon as he was asked to ride a horse, he fainted. What outsiders claimed was an injury became poisoning by the time it reached his lips! Sister Xiaoyi, how long are you going to let him deceive you? Can't you clear your head slightly and use that little brain of yours?"

"Ah? Sister Qinghan, please don't be angry. You... you mean—he was faking it? He wasn't poisoned at all?" Dugu Xiaoyi’s face instantly flushed crimson, her mouth gaping as if ready to bite. She was nearly dying of anger.

Thinking that she had actually believed him, and was already contemplating how to trick Sister Qinghan out of the way so she could "detoxify" him herself, Dugu Xiaoyi was overwhelmed with shame. In an instant, even her neck turned red, and she buried her face in Guan Qinghan's embrace, crying out from behind her hands, "Sister Qinghan, I—I don't want to live anymore!"

"Ah, you weren't actually planning to cure him, were you?" Guan Qinghan felt a genuine chill. This little girl was too gullible!

"Uh, I think I remembered incorrectly. I wasn't actually poisoned," Jun Moye said, coughing awkwardly a few times, softly.

Both women rolled their eyes simultaneously: He could mix that up?

Jun Moye calmly sat up, smiling broadly. "The road ahead is long, and time stretches endlessly. It's so boring. How about I tell you a story?"

The two women stared at Young Master Jun, their mouths agape in utter astonishment. They simply could not believe that anyone’s skin could be so thick! His lies had been exposed, his wicked scheme uncovered, and his dirty intentions laid bare for all to see. Yet, the man wasn't blushing or breathless, without even a flicker of embarrassment on his face. He was shamelessly suggesting telling a story to ease the awkward atmosphere?

What kind of person was this? What was his skin made of?

A delicate shout erupted as Dugu Xiaoyi lunged at him: "I'll make you lie to me! I'll make you—you bad, bad man!"

The days passed one by one, and the Great Pioneer Jun became increasingly comfortable. Putting aside the plundering and extorting along the route—Young Master Jun had already made a fortune. Day and night, he was accompanied by the two beauties, surrounded by rich fragrances and soft, warm intimacy. Jun Moye was practically starting to forget his duties.

If not for the Creation Function within his body automatically running and cultivating without pause, this scoundrel would have likely forgotten even his practice.

However, on this journey, amidst his utter contentment, the bottleneck in Young Master Jun's Creation Function had loosened again. If this were Xuan Qi, he would have already broken through the Mid-Jade Profound level and was approaching the peak of the Jade Profound realm.

Outside, the Crippled Heaven and Soul Devourer troops had engaged in bloody skirmishes almost every day, their morale growing increasingly dense and focused. The two hundred-plus men showed faint signs of breakthroughs. When the two hundred and fifty men gathered, the resulting fierce killing aura was enough to shock anyone to the core!

Originally, Young Master Jun had hoped this pleasant journey would last a few more days, but because the Crippled Heaven and Soul Devourer squads were engaging in combat less frequently, Young Master Jun deduced something—

The mountain terrain ahead was clearly steeper, the roads more treacherous, and the forests denser and more overgrown. This should have been a paradise for forest brigands, but surprisingly, robbers and bandits were growing scarcer. This was only because they were getting closer to the Blood Soul Manor, causing the petty thieves to disappear.

"Young Master, in another six hundred li, we will reach our destination, the Heaven's Punishment Forest! The location of the Blood Soul Manor is slightly off to the side, beyond the Heaven's Punishment, on the outskirts of Tiannan City. It occupies the two mountain ranges directly facing the Heaven's Punishment Forest!" Wang Dong pointed and reported to Jun Moye. "A whole month? Weren't you much faster last time?"

"Young Master, that was a light-load, forced march! It's not like this time where we have so many concerns. Last time, everything was about speed. We rode day and night, covering at least 1,300 li in a single day and night. Besides, the route we took to the Heaven's Punishment Forest was in a different direction. There weren't many high-level Xuan Beasts there; mostly low-level ones we could handle. If we entered from this side, perhaps none of our three hundred men would have made it out alive. Also, this time we are traveling with the main force. Although we are the vanguard, moving ahead, we cannot stray too far from the main body... We also had to suppress bandits along the way. At this pace, it is actually quite fast," Wang Dong explained.

"Oh." Jun Moye stepped down from the carriage, releasing his divine sense. He vaguely felt that the forest was teeming with active wild beasts, and most of them were incredibly fast, far quicker than ordinary animals. "It seems a large number of Xuan Beasts are active here! Tiannan... truly is a good place."