She was the mysterious woman evil woman everyone had been ranting about. The person who was trying to get together with a child!

The four men grew anxious at the thought of her. They had seen Gu Xijiu before; twice, in fact. The first time was during the wedding of the Divine Lord, and the second was on Shen Nianmo's birthday. They had witnessed both her appearances, so she had certainly left a strong impression on them.

Clearly, they knew that they should not mess with the woman. Even the Divine Lord would stay away from her. The Emperor Immortal, too, chose not to antagonize her.

"Are you the master of the mussel?" Tie Zheng, one of the Great Guardians, questioned her.

The bottle gourd on the ground caught Gu Xijiu's attention. The size of the bottle gourd was quite huge. It was basically as big as a small hill. She could hear the mussel crying hoa.r.s.ely in the bottle. Apparently, it was undergoing some kind of torment.

Lu Wu and the mussel were great friends. Therefore, it immediately rushed forward angrily. "What have you done to the mussel? Release it now!"

Lu Wu was quick, but not quick enough. Tie Liu, the third Great Guardian, swiftly cast a spell on the bottle gourd. Almost instantaneously, the bottle shrunk in size and flew rapidly towards Tie Liu's palm.

Tie Liu was generally known in Saha World for his speed, which was something he could be proud of. This time, however, someone was obviously quicker than him. Before the bottle gourd could even reach his palm, it was intercepted mid-air by someone else. Tie Liu was stunned!

The other Great Guardians stood in shock as well. The one who intercepted the bottle gourd was the mysterious evil woman. At this moment, she had already retreated about thirty feet away from them. On her delicate palm, lay Tie Liu's precious bottle gourd. 

The mussel in the bottle seemed to have sensed something. It stopped moving, all of a sudden. "Mussel, are you all right?" Gu Xijiu was concerned.

Soon, the mussel replied in a timid voice, "Master…" Its voice was soft, but Gu Xijiu could tell that it was filled with guilt and grievance.

"Release it!" Gu Xijiu threw a harsh look at Tie Liu. The bottle gourd was a magical item. Without specific incantation, Gu Xijiu would not be able to open it.

Gu Xijiu had heard about these magical items, so she knew that the bottle gourd was nothing ordinary from the very first sight.

It took Tie Liu some time to comprehend what had happened. He tried to keep a calm composure and responded scornfully, "It is the criminal that we have been looking for! We cannot simply release it. As its master, you have connived with it to commit such crimes. You will not get away from the punishment as well."

Gu Xijiu refused to argue with him anymore. "It is innocent, so let it out. If you refuse to cast the spell, I shall release it on my own. By that time, I am afraid that your bottle gourd will not be in one piece."

Tie Liu hesitated but was not fully convinced. The bottle gourd could not be damaged that easily; not even fire, a sword, water, or boiling oil could scratch it the slightest bit. So far, no one had ever done any damage to the bottle. It was basically unbreakable.

He was not really concerned about the bottle, even if it was in Gu Xijiu's hands. "I have said it before, and I am saying it again, it is a criminal, so I will not release it. Give it back to me, or I will impose severe punishments on it."

Streaks of golden rays started to emerge on his fingertips. Through the light, there were all sorts of incantations floating in the air. "If I cast these incantations on the bottle, the temperature within it will rise tremendously; high enough to melt metals. Everything in the bottle will turn into piles of ash."