After fleeing for some time, Austin and Tessa had reached considerably far away from the Crystal Mine Mountain.
As they kept running away from the mountain, Austin had firmly held Tessa's hand tightly in his.
Although the intimacy between them made Tessa flush with shyness, she didn't withdraw her hand from his.
"Austin, what was that shadow in the Crystal Mine Mountain? What happened?"
Tessa cleared her throat and asked out of curiosity.
She had been the nearest person to Austin when the shadow of the Sword Emperor had shown up. She had been a clear-eyed witness to whatever that had happened.
"It's a part of an ancient potent cultivator's soul.
I'm sorry but I can't explain the whole details to you now.
Four potent Master Realm cultivators have come to the Crystal Mine Mountain. We have to get away as soon as possible.
As for the details, I'll explain everything to you later,"
Austin said as he urged the two of them forward at full speed.
Knowing that the situation was quite urgent, Tessa stopped asking about the shadow of the Sword Emperor. She followed him silently as he held her hand and ran away quickly.
"Faye, did you see that guy's face? It's the man who peeped at us when we were bathing in the lake some days ago!"
When Austin and Tessa passed by a certain point, two girls suddenly appeared out of the blue.
One of them was a beautiful girl wearing a purple dress. She had big bright eyes and long curly eyelashes. She pointed at Austin and yelled at her companion with some sort of excitement.
"Yes, you are right, Dahlia. Now that I look at him carefully, the similarities are endless!" the other girl agreed.
She was dressed as a servant and looked less beautiful than the other.
They were the same two girls that Austin had met when he had left the Holy Tomb of the Veritable Demon Sect.
"He surely is a pervert! How dare he take a girl's hand like that. Look how he's forcing her, that too in broad daylight!
There's no doubt that she must have been threatened by him and is merely following him in obedience because she has no choice! The poor girl!
Hurry up! We must bring this asshole to justice today!"
Dahlia announced with indignation.
She outstretched her hand and flipped her palm over. Suddenly, on her palm appeared a tiny, delicate model of a boat. It had a beautiful green color.
"Dahlia, when did you steal your father's Wind Boat from him? And more importantly, how did you even do that?"
Her servant, Faye, asked astonished at her audacity.
"Humph, mind your language! I didn't steal it!
You know, it will be my birthday a few days later! And this Wind Boat would ha
aye turned to Tessa and said seriously.
"Stop! Cut your crap now! What the hell do you want?"
Austin was now losing his temper. The constant allegations were getting on his nerves. He couldn't help but shout at them furiously.
"I don't even know who you are. How is it possible that I have done anything wrong to you?
If you keep fabricating stories, rest assured - I will show no mercy!"
"You brute! You peeped at our naked bodies when we were bathing in the Holy Lake. Do you still want to pretend that nothing had happened?
I won't let you go easily!"
Dahlia rebuked, her eyes widening with fury.
The Holy Lake...
Naked bodies...
Those words suddenly reminded Austin of an event he had long forgotten about.
"Oh, it's you! I remember that now!"
All of a sudden, Austin had gone back to the time that had happened. He remembered the day when he had just left the Holy Tomb of the Veritable Demon Sect and had seen two girls bathing in a lake there.
"You asshole! You now have the courage to admit it? Now that you're caught you're acting all innocent, huh!
The fact that a lecher such as you was the first man to see my pure, holy body makes me upset to no end!
There's no way I can accept it!
You must pay for this!"
Dahlia waved her fists furiously as she rushed toward Austin.
"Austin, what on earth had happened?"
Tessa, still confused, repeated her question.
"Eh, well..." Austin stammered.
Now that he had remembered what had happened, he couldn't keep his cool any more. It embarrassed him to death that he was the one in the wrong while he had been acting righteously just a few moments ago.
"I happened to pass by when they were bathing in a lake. That's it. Nothing more had happened!"
Austin answered vaguely.