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n

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nQu Bo’an was stunned. Before he could react, Luo Qiping’s eyes blazed with fury. “Don’t you bully us!”

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nPow!

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nXiao Ran appeared in front of him and slapped his face, knocking him to the ground. He said disdainfully, “So what if I bully you?”

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nQu Bo’an rushed over and helped him up from the ground. He scolded him sternly, “Hurry up and apologize to Senior!”

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nLuo Qiping was indignant, but he was scared of getting hit again, so he dared not challenge him anymore.

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n“I am sorry!”

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n“The toll will be doubled.” Xiao Ran extended a finger.

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nFearing that he would cause more trouble, Qu Bo’an spoke first. “We have no objections.”

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nHe took out a stack of banknotes.

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n“This is a million taels.”

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nXiao Ran looked at them scornfully. “Your lives are worth so little money?”

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nQu Bo’an kept quiet. He then took out another stack of banknotes and handed them over.

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nIncluding the earlier one million taels, it was now a total of five million taels.

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nSeeing that Xiao Ran was unmoved, he took out all the money he had with him.

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n“Twelve million taels. There’s really nothing else.”

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nXiao Ran looked at Luo Qiping.

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nThe latter was smarter this time. He did not even dare to look at him. He silently took out all his money.

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nIncluding the money from Qu Bo’an, it was nearly twenty million taels in all.

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n“It’s all we have. We really have no more,” said Qu Bo’an.

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n“The weapons in your hands are not bad. The gems on your clothes are also quite nice,” Xiao Ran said.

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n“You…”

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nSeeing that Xiao Ran was about to attack again, Luo Qiping hurriedly corrected himself. “You’re right. I think so too.”

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nHis heart bled as he handed over his Numinous Treasure, the Evil Dragon Red Moon Sword.

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nQu Bo’an was speechless. He thought he was going to have to fight head-on again.

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nHe looked longingly at the fan in his hand. This was also a Numinous Treasure.

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nHowever, under the circumstances, no matter how reluctant he was, these were just worldly possessions compared to his life.

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nThereafter, he pried the gems off his shirt.

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nThus,

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nthe two of them became paupers. Xiao Ran put away the banknotes and gems. He held the folding fan in his hand and opened it, revealing the scenery of mountains and rivers. The precious light swirled and he nodded in satisfaction.

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n“You guys should be glad you didn’t do anything evil here this time. Otherwise, you’d already be on your way to report to Hades.”

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nThe two of them smiled apologetically.

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n“Don’t come secretly next time. Be more courageous and go by the official paths,” Xiao Ran advised.

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n“As you say so, Senior.”

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n“Go! Bring more money with you when you come again. Don’t be so stingy like this time.” Xiao Ran waved his hand to let them go.

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nAfter receiving his permission,

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nthe two of them did not dare to delay for a moment. Qu Bo’an grabbed Luo Qiping and shot into the heavens, quickly escaping from there.

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n“Please come again,” Xiao Ran shouted at their fleeing figures.

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nWhen they heard that,

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nthe two of them ran even faster.

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nXiao Ran’s eyes flickered. If not for the fact that they were still useful for plotting against the Great Zhou Imperial Court, he would have gotten rid of them just now.

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nHe looked at the remaining demonic aura around him.

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nWith a palm strike, Immense Righteous Energy gushed out and decimated the remaining demonic aura.

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nHe then activated the Traversing the Heavens in Twelve Steps. As the twelve steps landed, his speed increased by twelve times and he swiftly left this place.

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nAt the Ning County,

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nwhen Xiao Ran rushed back, Ling Qing’er had yet to wake up. She was severely injured by Xuan Guang’s palm strike. Even with the purifying spiritual force helping her to recuperate, she would not be able to wake up in a short period of time.

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nHe pushed open the door and went in.

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nWith a tap of his finger, he withdrew the Spawning Soldiers from Beans skill, and the golden-armored man reverted into a Stars Sand again. He put it away.

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nHe walked up to Ling Qing’er.

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nPlacing his palm on her chest, the purifying spiritual force surged out again to treat her injuries.

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nA while later,

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nXiao Ran retracted his palm. In her unconscious state, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly before she opened her large eyes.

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nShe looked at Xiao Ran and frowned. “You saved me?”

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n“Yes,” Xiao Ran replied.

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n“What about the Heavenly Yin Sect members?”

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n“When I arrived, they were already dead. I happened to see you being captured and killed some of their disciples to save you,” Xiao Ran said.

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nLing Qing’er thought about it for a while.

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nCould there be other experts secretly getting involved?

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n“Thank you!”

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n“Why are you here?” Xiao Ran asked curiously.

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nLing Qing’er sat up from the bed and smiled bitterly. “It’s a long story…”

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n“Go on.”

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nLing Qing’er explained the situation briefly.

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nHer mother pretended to be sick and tricked her into coming back. As soon as she got home, she arranged for her to go on blind dates. There were twenty-one of them a day. Young handsome men queued up one after another. If this one didn’t make the cut, the next one would be summoned in.

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nIn a nutshell, they would keep coming until she was satisfied.

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nAfter finding an opportunity, she sneaked out.

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nCoincidentally, she found out about what happened in Ning County. As for the rest, Xiao Ran was already aware.

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n“Your status is so prominent and your skills evolution level is so high. Yet your parents still forced you to go on blind dates?” Xiao Ran asked in surprise.

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nThinking of Little Zhou, he thought that the two of them were quite similar.

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n“So what if it’s high? When I meet my parents, I would still get scolded!” Ling Qing’er lamented bitterly.

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n“What about you? Why are you here then?”

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n“The Divine Sword Guards of Horizon Prefecture asked for help from the higher-ups. I was sent here to deal with this matter. Other than me, there’s also Little Zhou,” Xiao Ran said.

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n“Where is he?”

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n“Still in Chen County.”

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nLing Qing’er’s beautiful eyes darted around. Her beautiful peach shaped eyes were glistening like dew, causing Xiao Ran’s heart to flutter momentarily.

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n“What… what are you doing?” Xiao Ran subconsciously took a step back and clutched at his chest.

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nPfft!

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nLing Qing’er covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. She then rolled her eyes at him. “Look at you. Even if I really do something to you, you’ll be the one getting all the advantage!”

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n“Do me a favor!”

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nXiao Ran had already guessed what she was going to say. “Pretend to be your husband?”

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nLing Qing’er’s exquisite face blushed and she replied shyly, “Yes.”

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n“Isn’t this like role-playing?”

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n“Role-playing?”

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nXiao Ran shrugged and mumbled, “Nothing.”

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n“Is that a yes, then?”

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n“Can I refuse?”

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n“No!”

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n“Then I have no choice, right?” Xiao Ran said.

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nThey both left the room.

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nThe deserted streets had become more lively. The commoners of Ning County had recovered, but their faces were still very pale. After a short period of recuperation, they would be fine.

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n“Although the matter here has been resolved, there are still some loose ends to tidy up,” Xiao Ran said.

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n“Get someone to inform Little Zhou and let him handle it. You come back with me now.”

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nXiao Ran was at a loss for words.

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nHe sent someone to Chen County to inform Little Zhou that the plague had been resolved and also to ask him to go to Horizon Prefecture to assess the Divine Sword Guards there.

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nThen, he informed the county governor to let him take over to settle the people down.

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nAs for the county magistrates of the four counties, and some of the lesser officials who had escaped, they were held accountable and punished or imprisoned accordingly.

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nAfter he finished giving out his instructions,

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nunder Ling Qing’er’s lead, they rode towards Anyang County.

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nAnyang County was not far from here, less than fifty miles away.

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nWhen the two of them arrived, they stopped outside a large courtyard dwelling. There was a plaque hanging at the door that said “Ling Residence”.

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nWhen the guards at the door saw that Ling Qing’er had returned, one of them ran inside excitedly and shouted, “Master, Madam, the Eldest Miss has returned.”

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