The woman's expression remained unchanged as she listened to Han Li's first two questions, as though she had anticipated them. But when she heard the last question, she froze, a trace of panic finally showing through. She forced a smile and said: "Fellow Daoist, what an interesting thing to say. What kind of great trouble could I possibly have caused? The reason I panicked at the beginning was simply because—"
"Since Miss Yuan has no intention of telling the truth, there's no need to continue. I have no interest in hearing insincere words." Before she could finish, Han Li waved his hand and spoke flatly.
"You—"
Seeing Han Li's unyielding manner, Yuan Yao finally showed open irritation.
She stamped her delicate foot in frustration and stormed off in a huff.
Watching the woman's retreating figure, Han Li's expression betrayed nothing.
But a moment later, he glanced over toward Purple Spirit Fairy in the distance. She was speaking with a young male cultivator, her demeanor perfectly composed. When she noticed Han Li looking her way, she offered him a graceful smile, then turned back to whisper to the man.
Seeing this, Han Li withdrew his gaze with his expression unchanged. But before he could dwell on anything further, Xuan Gu Shangren's voice reached his ears through a secret transmission.
"Your pace is rather too slow! I was starting to think you couldn't even make it past a mere Ghost Mist. Could it be you ran into a Ghost King?" Xuan Gu Shangren's voice carried a hint of displeasure and suspicion.
Hearing this, Han Li turned around and glanced at the distant Ghost Mist, then replied coolly: "I did encounter a Vengeful Ghost on the way, but I dealt with it without much trouble. What consumed more effort was a large flock of Soul-Claiming Flying Spirits I ran into afterward — it took some doing to shake them off."
"Soul-Claiming Flying Spirits?" Xuan Gu Shangren's voice betrayed clear surprise.
"What's the matter? As a Senior who cultivates the Ghost Dao, surely you aren't afraid of such things?" Han Li asked evenly, a probing note hidden beneath his calm.
"How could I possibly fear such creatures? I'm merely curious — how did the three of you manage to escape them?" Xuan Gu Shangren deflected, avoiding the real point.
Han Li sneered inwardly but spoke with the same light tone: "There isn't much for me to say. I simply got lucky and narrowly escaped, that's all."
The moment these words left Han Li's lips, there was no need to ask — Xuan Gu Shangren silently cursed him as a "little fox." But after a brief pause, he had no choice but to continue via transmission: "Fine! Since you won't talk, I have no interest in pressing the matter. When we teleport again, we'll need to act together. I'll lead you to capture that Nine-Section Spirit Ginseng first. After that, you'll lend me a hand and help me destroy that traitor Grand Elder Ji Yin."
"No problem. As long as you truly hand the Nine-Section Spirit Ginseng over to me, I'll take the risk and act." Han Li answered without the slightest hesitation.
It was clear he had already made up his mind on this matter.
Such a decisive reply satisfied Xuan Gu Shangren considerably.
He chuckled softly and said no more.
But what he failed to notice was that after delivering his response, a faint mocking curve appeared at the corner of Han Li's mouth, while his eyes, gazing into the distance, occasionally flashed with cold light.
Suddenly, Han Li felt someone staring at him and casually turned his head to look.
He found himself meeting the watchful, predatory gaze of Grand Elder Ji Yin, in whose eyes glimmered a hint of pleasure.
Han Li turned his face back, expressionless, and his look immediately shifted to one of bitter resignation.
It seemed that even if he didn't want to settle things with Grand Elder Ji Yin, he had no choice. The man was clearly intent on hounding him without letting go.
He truly couldn't understand why this person had fixated on him in the first place.
Still, Grand Elder Ji Yin seemed to have his own reservations; otherwise, he would have tried to control Han Li right there in the hall long ago, rather than restraining himself until now.
Han Li sat down on a patch of grass in frustration, cross-legged.
The Ghost Mist had consumed a considerable amount of his Magical Power, and he naturally needed to restore himself to peak condition as quickly as possible to face whatever lay ahead.
That black-robed woman, Yuan Yao, was standing some distance away, still gazing at Han Li with a look of lingering unwillingness.
Her eyes held both irritation and a trace of loneliness.