“When have I ever lied to you? You yourself said that as long as your wife is revived immediately, you are willing to pay any price.” Zhou Tianhao said directly to the Fourth Master. He had naturally seen that this group of people all followed this man’s lead, so he completely ignored Su Peisheng and spoke directly to the Fourth Master.

"But the villagers here say that the poison of this four-horned monster can be eliminated on its own after lying down for a few days. Why don't you say that?" Fourth Master stared at him and said.

“You rushed into my place and threatened my disciple that if your wife wasn’t treated, you would burn this place down immediately,” Zhou Tianhao said. “Since you are in such a hurry, I will naturally find the fastest way to wake your wife up.”

Lanqin's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. Si Hua didn't seem to have told her that Fourth Master was so domineering back then, actually threatening her to treat him immediately! But she was secretly pleased. It was a pity that she was unconscious at the time and didn't get to see Fourth Master in his domineering CEO style!

Fourth Master's lips twitched, thinking to himself: There's actually someone more vengeful than me!! He swindled my money just to get revenge for that harsh remark I made?

“That’s just because our master is in a hurry. You know that perfectly well, so why don’t you just say so? Instead, you tricked our master into going to the mountaintop to collect some useless herbs, but they were useless. They weren’t herbs at all for treating our lady!” Shui Ling suddenly interjected.

"I simply forgot to tell you. Your wife did not wake up immediately after drinking my medicine. I have not broken my word," Zhou Tianhao said.

"Does the Taoist priest intend to venture into that solitary slope alone?" Fourth Master suddenly changed his tune.

“My disciple is too young and cannot handle things, so I will have to go alone,” Zhou Haotian said.

"If you accompany the Taoist priest, can we make a deal? I won't ask the priest for the money; I'll just consider it a small contribution to his practice of healing the sick and helping the local people in these mountains and fields." Fourth Master said.

Zhou Haotian looked at Fourth Master with slight surprise. Perhaps he hadn't expected Fourth Master to say such a thing. After several changes in his expression, he asked, "What deal?"

"If you accompany the Taoist priest to Dumenpo, find the secret to cure Gouwa's poison, and never mention the ten thousand taels again, then the Taoist priest must take us into the Quanzhen Sect to see your grandmaster," Fourth Master said calmly.

Zhou Tianhao was even more surprised this time. He stared at Fourth Master and said, "What exactly do you want to see our sect leader for? It can't be just to admire the immortal aura, can it?"

Fourth Master raised a smirk and said, "What I'm discussing with you now is merely a deal between us. You only need to communicate with your sect's founder, and then I can see him. As for why I want to see him, that seems irrelevant to you. Besides, you seem to have already left the Quanzhen Sect, so why would you be so interested in this?"

This time, Zhou Tianhao gave Fourth Master a deep look, as if he was considering whether this deal was worthwhile.

"Come with me!" Zhou Tianhao said to Fourth Master after a moment.

So, Fourth Master followed him to the back of the house, leaving Lanqin and the others standing in the courtyard looking at the stars.

"Xiuzhu, what caused your master to fall out with the sect?" Su Peisheng asked.

Xiuzhu looked at Su Peisheng blankly and shook his head, saying, "I don't know. I was only a few years old at the time and don't have any memories of the sect. My master picked me up."

Lanqin walked over, looked at Xiuzhu, and said, "Xiuzhu, do you know who your parents are? Where did your master find you?"

Xiuzhu shook his head blankly and said, "My master said he found me by the river. My parents have never come looking for me. I don't know who my parents are."

Lanqin stared at Xiuzhu for a while before asking, "Who is your master closest to? Does he never go back?"

Xiuzhu said, "He only goes back when his master tells him to. But his master is actually very concerned about the affairs of the sect. He hates those fake Taoists who use our sect's name to swindle and deceive people."

Lanqin nodded, then told Xiuzhu to go back to her room. She herself went back to her room with the two maids.

Meanwhile, no one knows what Fourth Master and Zhou Tianhao discussed alone. When Fourth Master returned, Lanqin had already had her hair and face washed by two maids.

"You can all go and rest. You don't need to keep watch anymore," Lanqin instructed.

After they all left, Lanqin said to the Fourth Master, "It's cold today, Master, please wash your face with this water. I will serve you."

After saying that, Lanqin personally poured some more hot water into the Fourth Master's pot.

Fourth Master took off his hat and outer cotton robe and began to wash his face with Lanqin's help.

Lanqin personally pinned up the long braid at the back of Fourth Master's hair.

While washing his face, Fourth Master said, "Tomorrow I will take Lingfeng and go with that Taoist priest to that Dumen Slope. You all stay here and don't go anywhere."

"He agreed?" Lanqin asked.

"Yes. I assure you I'm not causing trouble for the Quanzhen Sect, and it won't do them any harm. I've already revealed my identity to him." Fourth Master lifted his head from the basin, water droplets clinging to his face. Lanqin quickly handed him a dry cloth.

“Master, perhaps there really are some unpredictable forces in this world. The villagers here all say that ghosts and spirits dwell on Dumenpo. Although we don’t know if it’s true or not, it means that there are some strange things there. Why don’t you take Gesang with you? He is very skilled in martial arts, and I will feel more at ease if there is another person protecting you,” Lanqin said.

Fourth Master put down the dry cloth in his hand and looked at Lanqin tenderly.

"Don't worry, there won't be any vengeful spirits. It's probably just that someone doesn't want people to get close to that place, or there are some natural phenomena. These mountain people are just ignorant and don't understand. I'll go take a look," said Fourth Master.

"Then I also want to go with you, Master. I'm worried about you staying here!" Lanqin suddenly bumped into the Fourth Master's arms. She remembered how the Fourth Master climbed the cliff to collect herbs for her and couldn't help but say emotionally.

This was the first time Lanqin had shown such reluctance to part in front of the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince was somewhat flattered and opened his arms to let Lanqin embrace him.

"Besides, it's freezing cold now, so we should bring more people. If we had known we'd run into this, we would have brought more guards," Lanqin pouted.

"No, it's precisely because the weather is too cold and it's not very safe that I can let you go on this adventure. You just stay here obediently and wait for me to come back," Fourth Master said.

"I am not as delicate as you think, and I know a lot, so I might be able to help you!" Lanqin said hurriedly.