Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

Chapter 10

The small room was in complete disarray, with tables and chairs toppled over and broken pieces of cups scattered everywhere.

Jian Huan hadn't escaped unscathed either.

The cheap room, while appearing clean and tidy from the outside, was filled with dust and cobwebs under the bed. After crawling there for nearly half an hour, her light green clothes were covered in dust, like tender spring shoots coated in a thick layer of sand.

Her high ponytail had come undone, with several strands of black hair falling loose and clinging to her slender, fair neck.

In the end, it was Shen Jizhi who let go first, though not in surrender.

He said, "The usual rule - split it half and half."

Jian Huan had no objections: "Fine."

The Mustard Seed Pouch in her hand wasn't much different from a regular purse. Made of indigo fabric, it was embroidered with a lifelike golden qilin that its owner clearly cherished.

Jian Huan knelt beside the unconscious Shadowless Hand, trying forcefully to open the Mustard Seed Pouch.

But after tugging at it for a while, well... the seal wouldn't budge at all.

Jian Huan pouted and tossed the Mustard Seed Pouch to Shen Jizhi in disgust.

The Mustard Seed Pouch was bound to its owner, making it difficult for others to open.

But Shen Jizhi was an equipment forger - there wasn't a lock he couldn't pick.

Spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips as he gradually dissolved the spiritual threads binding the Shadowless Hand to the Mustard Seed Pouch.

Jian Huan switched from sitting to squatting, rubbed her hands together, and began searching the body with a mischievous grin.

Her search was thorough, yielding one half-full bottle of wine, one hammer, one jade waist ornament, and one golden crown.

Just then, Shen Jizhi had managed to open the Mustard Seed Pouch and emptied its contents.

Several dozen spirit stones and over ten wine bottles emerged, though only two were full - the rest were empty.

Jian Huan counted the spirit stones one by one, muttering, "How can a thief who made it onto the wanted list have so little on him?"

Shen Jizhi replied coolly, "Fugitives usually don't have much money."

Jian Huan sighed, accepting the reality: "True enough."

Seemingly distrustful of Jian Huan, Shen Jizhi searched the Shadowless Hand again after she finished.

Before searching, worried that the Shadowless Hand might wake up, Shen Jizhi dislocated both his arms, legs, and jaw.

Hearing the crisp sound of bones and watching his fluid movements, Jian Huan asked suspiciously, "Do you do this often?"

They say sword cultivators are usually upright and honorable, but looking at this one - despite his decent appearance, he fought dirty and didn't hesitate to dislocate bones.

Shen Jizhi: "Just occasionally."

Jian Huan: "..."

He was being quite modest, wasn't he?

Jian Huan had searched thoroughly, and Shen Jizhi hadn't found anything new. He stood on tiptoe, crouching down as his gaze slowly swept over the Shadowless Hand's clothes.

This fugitive's clothes appeared to be of quite good quality.

He lowered his eyes and began removing the clothes.

Jian Huan, holding the thirty-one spirit stones she had counted, looked up at him with a complicated expression. Her gaze moved from his face to his hands, then back to his face, his waist, and his legs.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Such beautiful hands, such a handsome face, such a lean and muscular waist - what a shame about the things he did for a living.

Ah, if he wanted to, he could easily make a living with his looks. And his stamina was clearly good, his core strength presumably excellent too.

But these were thoughts Jian Huan dared only keep to herself.

...

With most of his bones dislocated, the Shadowless Hand lay there wearing nothing but...

A pair of shorts and shoes.

His boots were actually quite nice, but after some consideration, Shen Jizhi decided not to take them.

Clothes could be cleaned with a few purification spells and remade into something new, but boots with foot odor—

Never mind.

He did have standards, after all.

Leaving the Shadowless Hand temporarily aside, they piled his belongings in the middle as Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi sat opposite each other to divide them.

First were the thirty-one spirit stones.

Jian Huan spoke first: "Sixteen for me, fifteen for you."

Shen Jizhi wouldn't argue over a single copper coin, but a spirit stone was worth fighting for: "Why?"

Jian Huan crossed her arms and sneered: "You still owe me a hundred thousand spirit stones."

"First of all, it's ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven spirit stones," Shen Jizhi looked up, his light brown pupils reflecting Jian Huan's figure, blood still at the corner of his mouth. "Secondly, that's a separate matter. We can't mix the two. I won't short you what I owe, but we agreed to split this half and half."

Jian Huan raised an eyebrow and challenged: "How do we split it evenly? Break the last spirit stone in half?"

Shen Jizhi: "We can exchange it at the money house for one tael, five hundred copper coins each."

Jian Huan: "..."

Jian Huan closed her eyes briefly, pushed fifteen spirit stones to him, kept fifteen for herself, and set one aside for later discussion.

They each took one of the two full wine bottles, setting the half-full one aside.

The hammer, jade waist ornament, and golden crown were all pushed over to him.

Finally, there was the Mustard Seed Pouch.

It was the most valuable item, and both Shen Jizhi and Jian Huan wanted it.

They both knew the other wanted it and neither would easily give in, so the room fell into silence for a moment with neither speaking.

Jian Huan planned to store her spirit stones, talismans, and other valuables in the Mustard Seed Pouch, and Shen Jizhi had similar intentions.

In the Jade Clarity Sect's wooden house, they could sleep together as man and woman without reservations.

But sharing a Mustard Seed Pouch was absolutely out of the question.

Shen Jizhi pondered for a moment: "I just checked, this Mustard Seed Pouch is about fifty square units. Perhaps I could try to split it into two twenty-five square unit pouches."

Jian Huan's eyes lit up: "Then do it!"

Shen Jizhi looked at her quietly: "But I don't know how to do it right now."

Jian Huan responded matter-of-factly: "Then learn!"

Shen Jizhi: "?"

Learning doesn't guarantee success, does it?

After a moment of silence, Shen Jizhi finally said: "I'll try when we return to the sect."

Jian Huan encouraged him: "You can definitely do it."

Shen Jizhi lifted his lips perfunctorily and looked at the lone spirit stone: "This one spirit stone will be the labor cost."

Jian Huan didn't argue with him: "...Fine."

Shen Jizhi took the spirit stone and put it in his robes, nodding to Jian Huan: "Thank you."

Jian Huan scoffed: "You're welcome."

As for the remaining items like the hammer, neither wanted them, so they decided to pawn them and split the money.

Regarding the clothes—

Jian Huan looked at the mess around them: "You clean up this mess, and you can have the clothes."

They would have to check out at dawn, and if the landlady saw this state, she would definitely make them pay for damages.

Better to let Shen Jizhi fix everything, repair the chair legs and such, to avoid paying compensation.

Shen Jizhi had no objections: "Agreed."

He kicked the Shadowless Hand under the bed and began cleaning up the mess.

The table was already wobbling, and Jian Huan lay on the bed continuing to draw talismans.

But drawing the Thousand-Jin talisman had nearly depleted her spiritual energy, and her Fasting Pills were...

All gone. Exhausted and sleepy, she persisted in drawing fifty talismans before finally laying her head on the pillow and falling into deep sleep amid the sounds of Shen Jizhi's repairs.

Fixing tables and chairs was child's play for Shen Jizhi, and he quickly restored the room to its original state.

He was also very tired, but he still had several swords to repair, so he couldn't sleep.

He was different from Jian Huan.

Though Jian Huan was poor now, she had no debts.

He still had twenty debts to pay, plus the one to Jian Huan, making twenty-one in total.

Thinking of this, Shen Jizhi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to squeeze out every last bit of energy.

The spiritual energy in his body was like a flattened tube of toothpaste - if you gritted your teeth and squeezed, there was still some left.

His head was fuzzy, and a bone-deep pain swept through his entire body as the Shadowless Hand let out an agonized moan.

His eyelids were heavy and wouldn't open for a long while, but he could hear someone talking nearby - a clear female voice.

"Oh, sir, please look, isn't this the thief Shadowless Hand?"

"...Indeed it is... how did you capture him?"

"My senior brother and I were cultivating in our room last night when he suddenly appeared to rob us. Fortunately, we reacted quickly and weren't fooled!"

"You were lucky then. This Shadowless Hand specifically targets Qi Condensation stage cultivators. Those who fall into his hands lose not just their money but often their virtue as well... but why isn't he wearing clothes?"

"Ahem," the girl paused, her tone becoming evasive, "The fight last night was quite intense, and his clothes were accidentally torn off."

"Oh, oh, I see..."

"Sir, my senior brother and I are in a hurry, about the reward?"

"Here, three thousand spirit stones, though you'll need to provide your own Mustard Seed Pouch..."

The girl exclaimed jubilantly, her voice almost soaring: "We have one, we have one!"

The sound of spirit stones pouring into the Mustard Seed Pouch was melodious and clear.

After receiving the money, the girl bid farewell, "Thank you, sir. We'll be on our way!"

As the footsteps of two people gradually faded away, the half-conscious Shadowless Hand felt hatred rising in his palm, and his eyes suddenly snapped open.

It was a summer afternoon, with scorching sunlight hanging high in the sky.

The sky was pristinely blue without a trace of impurity, thick and fluffy white clouds were scattered about, and cicadas chirped incessantly.

Due to the intense heat, there were few pedestrians on the street. A tall man in white robes with his hair tied up was effortlessly carrying two large sacks, following beside a girl in green clothing.

The girl, who was a head shorter than him, walked while keeping her head down, counting the spirit stones in her Mustard Seed Pouch: "...two thousand one hundred, two thousand one hundred and ten, two thousand one hundred and twenty..."

The two walked slowly, the Mustard Seed Pouch swaying with their steps, revealing its indigo pattern...

That was his Mustard Seed Pouch!!

Shadowless Hand sat up straight, his hands reaching out involuntarily toward the two, but his arms remained limp at his sides.

He widened his eyes and looked down, discovering that he couldn't muster any strength in his limbs, and he was wearing nothing but white underwear!

Shadowless Hand was so furious that his blood surged, and he could taste the distinct metallic flavor in his throat.

Since ancient times, he had always been the one robbing others! And even when he did rob people, he at least left them with some clothes!!

These two people, these two people...

With his dislocated jaw, Shadowless Hand could only mumble incoherently: "Ah-woo-wa-la-ah-la-gua—"

An official from the Imperial Pacification Office slapped him: "Keep quiet, stop making noise!"

Shadowless Hand was consumed by impotent rage, his face contorted: "Ahhhhhhh... Ahhhh!"

The commotion was quite substantial, causing Jian Huan to look back, blowing a grateful kiss toward Shadowless Hand.

She turned to whisper in Shen Jizhi's ear: "This bounty was quite easy to earn, faster than my talisman painting."

Shen Jizhi glanced at her, rather speechless: "Wipe your mouth, you're about to drool."

Jian Huan pretended to wipe the corner of her mouth, looked up at the sky, and sincerely prayed to the sun: "I hope more like him come along, I'll treat them well."

Shen Jizhi: "."