He had made up his mind that he would not let Concubine Lan continue to consume the treasures.
It could be said that Concubine Lan was given a lot of attention now. Seeing her walk to the Top-grade Crystal Palace, the keepers of the herb garden and the Holy Hall grinned.
Now it was the turn of the keeper of the Top-grade Crystal Palace to have a headache.
It was indeed a severe headache.
“Is she coming?” the keeper asked.
“Yes, she is,” answered one of his men.
“She can’t do anything to the Crystal Hall. Give her half of the remaining top-grade crystals and tell her that’s all she can have.”
The keeper gave the order. He didn’t even care to meet Concubine Lan.
“It’s said that the woman is quite good at extorting people and making trouble. The last time, His Lordship got a little mad, so I’d better stay away from her.”
Therefore, when Zhang Han arrived at the place, things went quite smoothly.
“His Excellency has instructed me that these are all the top-grade crystals we have, which should be enough for Concubine Lan to admire. There is really no extra, unless His Lordship agrees to tear down this crystal hall.”
“Well, these will do.”
Looking at the more than 100 top-grade crystals in front of him, Zhang Han didn’t get greedy and ask for more.
He quickly ordered, “Send these to Lanting Courtyard.”
“Yes.”
He had gained a lot in the morning.
After the Holy Spirit Water and top-grade crystals were delivered, Zhang Han began to build something with the crystals by the side of the seven treasures at the front of the courtyard. He piled the crystals into a small house, then made a square next to it with the Holy Spirit Water.
It seemed very neat.
As soon as it was done, City Lord Si Nan came in.
“Concubine Lan, why are you arranging these things on your own? Just let the servants do it. You should get more rest now that you’re expecting,” Si Nan said flatly.
There was a trace of annoyance in his eyes. He didn’t understand why Concubine Lan was fumbling with these things.
But given what she had contributed, he sure wouldn’t stop her if she wanted to play with them.
Si Nan didn’t bother to get involved. After a few words, he took off.
On this day, Zhang Han didn’t take any more action. But when Si Nan walked to the door, he whispered—
“It seems that there are not many spiritual herbs here. I’ll go get some fifth-grade herbs to decorate the garden.”
That remark made Si Nan stop in his tracks.
But he did not make a big deal of it. There were countless fifth-grade treasures in the herb garden. She could take as many as she wanted.
Night fell in the Ancient Mine.
However, some ordinary practitioners couldn’t tell the difference because the sky was still overcast, as it was day time.
On a mountain that was far away from Dragon Scale City…
Dong Chen, Mu Xue, and Chen Changqing had stayed there the whole time.
“Why hasn’t he come out yet?”
“How many days has it been?”
“I shouldn’t have let him go there!”
Dong Chen’s eyes were full of remorse. He could have stopped Zhang Han at that time, but why did he hesitate? He was really out of his mind.
“Master may be digging the treasures in there.”
Mu Xue creased her nose and said, “Senior Dong, don’t worry. Master will be fine. He is quite strong.”
“I believe there should be no problem. Let’s wait a few more days and see what happens.” Chen Changqing tried to comfort them.
In fact, he was a little worried as well.
“Of all the people who have visited the Ancient Mine, no one has dared to eye this city. Zhang Han has been the very first one to do so. I mean, we martial artists, when on our own, are no match for the Dark Warriors. This move is too risky. We could have gained resources by killing some fierce beasts on the mountain range. But he was too impatient.”
Dong Chen frowned and sighed again.
He was really worried. He didn’t do anything after he went down to the Ancient Mine other than sit here and wait.
Finally, the night in the Ancient Mine came to an end. Zhang Han sat in the garden for two hours early in the morning and seemed to be in a good mood.
After that, he went to the Holy Hall and arrived at the herb garden at the back of the mountain.
The keeper of the herb garden said with a fake smile, “Concubine Lan, what brings you here again?”
“Oh, I want to take some fifth-grade treasures. His Lordship knows about it.”
“Phew… Fifth-grade treasures are fine. Go ahead.” The keeper didn’t crack a smile until this moment.
“There are so many of the fifth-grade. You can take as many as you want.”
But as the keeper looked on, blue veins on his forehead gradually stood out.
“You’re really taking as many as you want, aren’t you?
“You’ve only picked these good ones and you’ve taken so many?
“Stop!
“Still want more?
“Is your Lanting Courtyard large enough to hold so many herbs?
“Don’t take any more!
“Or I’m really going to lose my temper!”
The keeper’s face had darkened a lot and looked pitch-dark now, as his skin was originally black.
“Ahem, Concubine Lan, your Lanting Courtyard can’t hold so many herbs, can it? If you plant those too densely, half of the spiritual herbs you take will wither.”
“What? Is that so?”
Concubine Lan suddenly showed a hint of enlightenment and then grabbed another three kinds of fifth-grade treasures.
This made the keeper’s heart jump with fear. She had already emptied a large patch of land, yet she still wanted more!
“Well, let’s call it a day. Send those to Lanting Courtyard. Starting tomorrow, I will start to plant these. Alas, I need to get some exercise during my pregnancy. Otherwise, it will not be good for the baby. These are not enough for me to plant for a year. I’m off.”
Concubine Lan looked at the keeper with a smile and walked away gracefully, leaving the dumbfounded keeper behind.
He wanted to make Concubine Lan give up some of the herbs, but she said that there were still not enough for her to stay busy in a year. If she didn’t exercise and that hurt the baby, he would be the one to blame again.
“What have I done to deserve this?”
The keeper patted his forehead and muttered, “If those can’t keep you busy for a year, then I’ll get you more so that you can have something to plant every day!”
The keeper stared fiercely at the large clusters of fourth-grade treasures. With a wave of his hand, a large number of treasures were uprooted and rose into the air.
After thinking about it, he eventually did not touch the fifth-grade treasures that Concubine Lan had ordered. With Concubine Lan’s petty character, she would blame him again if she discovered that any of them were missing.
Although he was also one of the lord’s trusted subordinates, he couldn’t afford to have Concubine Lan badmouth him to the lord.
Thus, quite grudgingly, he asked people to send these treasures to Lanting Courtyard.
On this day, Si Nan didn’t go to Lanting Courtyard, but he sent more maids there.
In the evening, a maid left Lanting Garden and mysteriously disappeared. Not long after, the team who delivered the materials left City Lord’s Mansion.
About two hours later…
Ling Mo returned to the backyard.
He went to Lanting Courtyard to pay his respects.
When he got back to his own mansion, the missing maid had already returned.
After several times of transformation, even with the strong Heavenly Demon Skin, Zhang Han still felt a tearing pain.
Now there was a problem.
“There are spiritual herbs in the east section. I’ve also planted some in the yard, where there are also more than 100 top-grade crystals and 22 bottles of Holy Spirit Water.
“In addition to Si Nan, there are a few others who occasionally check on that place. If I move all of the treasures away, they would soon find out.
“If I cast some illusions, they would definitely find out that it was done by a foreign martial artist. Since I have to come in here next time, it’s worth it if I have to go through some trouble now.
“It seems that I have to give up some.”
Zhang Han frowned and went back to his room. A few moments later, he sneaked to the yard to substitute the fake for the genuine.
He put away the Holy Spirit Water and filled the bottles with ordinary water. Then, he applied some Holy Spirit Water on each bottle so that the aura could temporarily confuse others.
He then replaced the top-grade crystals with low-grade ones and coated each crystal with the top-grade crystal powder.
As for the seven kinds of sixth-grade spirit treasures in the courtyard, he had no choice but to take them and put some fourth-grade spirit treasures in this small area instead.
Even if some thoughts wafted in to investigate, those small changes would not make them suspicious. They certainly would not immediately come to check this place.
“Fortunately, the houses here block out people’s thoughts. The Dark Shadow Clan values martial arts, so their thoughts are weak. That ought to buy me a few hours.
“Gotta get out!”
Zhang Han made up his mind.
After pretending to sit in the yard for a few minutes, he returned to his room.
Soon, the maid left Lanting Courtyard again.
Then, Ling Mo took off at once.
After getting out of Dragon Scale City and drawing some distance from it, Zhang Han looked back and smiled.
“Soon they’ll notice something is wrong. I wonder if they can find out the truth.
“But even if there are many suspicious signs, they may not consider the possibility that some martial artist from other regions had sneaked in. The people of the Dark Shadow Clan are not easy to imitate. If I did not have the Sky Demon Skin, I really would not have tried to steal from them.
“See you next time.”
Zhang Han shook his head and rushed to the place where Dong Chen and the others were.
The reason that he went in and out of Dragon Scale City with different identities was mainly to confuse the other party. When Ling Mo returned, he visited Lanting Courtyard first. Then, people found that something happened in Lanting Courtyard. Concubine Lan was missing, and the treasures were gone. By that time, Ling Mo had already left the city and disappeared.
Hence, all the suspicions were directed at Ling Mo.
However, the people who had disappeared might give Zhang Han away. It did not matter who was missing in Dragon Scale City, but when people in City Lord’s Mansion went missing, especially when it was those in the lord’s palace, the truth could soon be uncovered.
Of course, even if they couldn’t find anything, they would be on guard.
This time, they had lost a lot of resources. But what if the intruder murdered someone in the city next time?
They had to be on alert.
So, one could imagine how heavily guarded City Lord’s Mansion would soon be.
“Yet, I wouldn’t stick to just one sheep when doing the sheep shearing.
“Don’t forget that there are two other cities—White Lotus City and Lingxi City—that I can take advantage of.
“I prefer Dragon Scale City only because I’m more familiar with the situation there. Anyway, the treasures I scored this time are enough to sustain my cultivation for more than half a year.”
On that mountain not far from Zhang Han…
Dong Chen and the other two were sitting on a huge stone, roasting meat with no expression on their faces.
“If that brat still doesn’t come out today, I’ll capture some Heaven Realm members of Dragon Scale City. Go find Third Elder and get him here for inquiry,” Dong Chen said abruptly.
“Well, that’s the only way,” Chen Changqing said in a resigned tone, “But as far as I know, Zhang Han might have taken a lot of risks in the past, but ever since he had Mengmeng, he has been very careful to stay away from danger. Last time when we went to the Dark Abyss, Brother Han checked that place out before we went in. So when we were in there, we felt as easy as if we were walking on firm earth. I believe that he must have thought it through this time, and maybe he will come out tomorrow.”
“Hey, Senior Dong, you really don’t need to worry. My master is really super powerful. He can totally take down Dragon Scale City,” Mu Xue said light-heartedly.
But her tone was much lower.
Because Dong Chen was really in a bad mood.
“I hope so.”
Dong Chen sighed softly.
He was still mad. But because he had been angry enough for quite a few days, all he could feel now was apprehension. If the gate of the worldlet hadn’t been opened and Zhang Han had died in the secular world, he wouldn’t be pained much. But after these days he spent with Zhang Han, he had really taken a liking to Zhang Han and started to appreciate his talents.
The more one cared about something, the more worried he would be. It was a principle written in stone.
Just as he was worrying, something even more disturbing happened.
“Ahhhh!”
Suddenly, roars of rage came out from Dragon Scale City.
“It’s that City Lord!”
“Swish!”
Dong Chen rose to his feet in an instant, and his face hardened.
“Has he been caught?”
“Oh my, Master couldn’t have killed the Lord of Dragon Scale City, could he?” Mu Xue murmured in shock.
In her eyes, Zhang Han was invincible.
“He’s the devil king!”
“Something big must have happened!”
Chen Changqing said with a serious look, “This mountain is far away from Dragon Scale City, but the voice we heard still contained great energy. Obviously, that City Lord is furious.”
“I’m back.”
Just as Dong Chen’s heart was filled with concern, a familiar voice entered his ears.
