It was too late to dig a last-minute tunnel, but there was an already-made tunnel outside the Zhu Cultivation Town!

The Wang Clan had recently made their getaway in a single night. Zhang Zhengdao followed them through that tunnel, which had an exit in a valley right outside the town. Zhang Zhengdao beelined towards it.

“Rumble!”

Once entering the underground tunnel he made the rocks near the entrance collapse to block it.

“Squeak! Squeak!” 

………………

The group of cranes stopped in front of the collapsed entrance; all of them eventually turned their eyes to Zhang Shenxu in great frustration.

“Senior apprentice-brother Shenxu, the bastard Zhang Zhengdao hid underground. What should we do now?” asked an anxious Golden Crow Sect disciple.

“Can he hide forever? Besides, even if he’s underground, our cranes can still detect his movement. We’ll dig him out wherever he escapes to. Let’s see how he tries to hide!” said Zhang Shenxu. His eyes were looking coldly at the tunnel entrance.

“Roger!” His juniors replied.

“Also, I thought Zhang Zhengdao was on the run while carrying Wang Ke; I was wondering how he could have that much essence energy to fly this long. It was actually a strawman! Wang Ke wasn’t with him from the start!” Zhang Shenxu said with a deep voice.

“What should we do then?” a junior disciple asked, still perplexed.

“Some of us will stay here and keep an eye on Zhang Zhengdao. The rest, no, all the cranes continue flying in the sky to search in all directions. Wang Ke must be near. Find him and report immediately when you do!” Zhang Shenxu ordered solemnly.

“Roger!” his juniors acknowledged.

“Don’t worry, senior apprentice-brother, our cranes’ eyes are sharper than those of hawks. We’ll make sure that Wang Ke has nowhere to run if he dares to come out!” a junior disciple said as he rubbed his fist.

-----------

Zhu Cultivation Town. The She Clan!

Wang Ke knew that the Golden Crow Sect disciples were nearby. There was no way he would expose himself again!

Wang Ke moved and stood in one of the halls after ramming down She Clan’s gate. No crane would be able to find him while having a roof offering cover, even if there were ten thousand of them.

He no longer needed to deal with the She Clan; the protestors’ fury had been fanned into fiery flames already.

The She Clan was used to bullying others, but they had no idea there would be that many people waiting to get revenge. The tables had turned; now the bullied ones were going after the She Clan members.

“Have you found her? Did anyone find Mrs. Wang?” someone shouted.

“No, not yet! She Tianba is missing too!”

“Continue the search. I need Mrs. Wang to get my refund for the financial products!”

“There must be a secret chamber of sorts somewhere. Search, quick!”

…………………………

………………

……

Everyone began to help Wang Ke in the search for Princess Youyue without him saying a word.

All the She Clan members were badly beaten up and brought to the open square, outside the hall where Wang Ke was hiding.

“Stop beating me! I really don’t know where my Clan Lord is!”

“Stop beating me! I have no money! No money!”

“That’s my enchanted artifact, my weapon! Not yours! Don’t snatch it!”

……………………

………………

……

At one glance, the She Clan had fallen into chaos.

“What are you doing? Clan Lord Wang is still here. He brought us here to get back our hard-earned money, not to plunder! Quickly, hand over the money and artifacts you stuffed in your pockets just now!”

“Yeah! And those pills, the antiques too. Are these yours? Do these belong to you? This is plain robbery!

……………………

………………

……

Wang Ke’s “touters” took the moral high ground and vilified the greedy ones who wanted to take advantage of the situation, but they just didn't listen. However, the clan lords had yet to get back their money; of course, they wouldn't allow their men to do as they pleased.

Soon, all the plundered money, artifacts, medicinal pills, and artworks were piled up in the courtyard. The eyes of all the people present were bloodshot as they waited for Wang Ke to distribute the goods generously.

The latter could only sigh as he saw this. He then said, “Let’s do this. Fellow Clan Lords, let’s take things slow since we haven’t found She Tianba. How about we use these goods to clear the pending accounts for the financial products?”

The clan lords were raring to plunder, they realized that it wouldn’t be enough to make up for all their losses; finding She Tianba was key. And now—with his heightened status as a Golden Crow Sect disciple—Wang Ke made that request. They had to honor it.

“Sure!” the clan lords agreed.

“Right, everyone, please take out your contracts for the financial products; they will be refunded accordingly!” Wang Ke instructed.

“Sure!” Many among the crowd cheered.

The employees of Gongyi Teahouse deftly took up the refunding task.

Using the She Clan members’ belongings to clear Wang Ke’s debt from the financial products! To be generous with other peoples’ wealth… No way would Wang Ke turn that down!

Thousands of people were looking for money; to make all those belongings end up in his pocket was too far fetched. It would be so much better to play the generous card to win credibility for himself at the expense of others. Why not?

“Continue interrogating. My wife is in the She Clan for sure. One of their members has to know! You will see your relatives suffer if you don’t speak up. Tell me now, where’s my wife!” Wang Ke threatened.

“Ahhh!”

The She Clan members were still being beaten. A few of them looked as though placed on a tough spot. Should I tell?But the Clan Lord ordered not to tell anyone. What should we do now?

Oh right. There’s so much going on here, I’m sure the Clan Lord can hear it. He hasn’t come out, so it means that he still wouldn’t allow us to reveal his location. Let’s grit our teeth and persevere!

--------------

Inside the She Clan’s water dungeon.

She Tianba refined his flying sword for a while before he heard a faint yelling coming from outside.

“What is going on over there?” She Tianba looked toward the dungeon entrance out of curiosity.

“They’re coming to my rescue!” Princess Youyue laughed.

“Rescue you? Hahahaha. Princess, you’re overthinking! Who can rescue you? I’m like Heaven itself to the Zhu Cultivation Town. No one can save you!” She Tianba laughed in disdain.

“Aren’t you going out to take a look?” Princess Youyue asked, giggling.

The princess knew what was happening outside. She knew that Wang Ke had the advantage; there was nothing to fear at this point.

“Why should I listen to you? I won’t go anywhere today! Not until my ancestral aunt arrives. Humph!” She Tianba snorted indifferently.