Chapter 28

Realizing that it was hard to communicate with this little girl, Jiang Yuanqi quickly changed tack and shifted the topic. “I’ve finished drawing this map. Next, we just need to wait for the stronghold leader to summon us.”

“Oh.” Shang Shan subtly shifted to the right, blocking his line of sight, before she said, “Why did they capture you?”

New Year’s Money finished licking its paws and grooming its fur, only for Jiang Yuanqi to ruffle it again. He laughed. “They want money, of course. It’s not like they brought me back as a guest.”

Seeing the girl lost in thought, Jiang Yuanqi recalled what he had just said and probed, “Do you know what ‘kidnapped’ means?”

This was truly underestimating her. Shang Shan lifted her chin. “Who are you looking down on? I’ve been kidnapped before too.”

Seeing her indignant expression, Jiang Yuanqi smiled wryly. “Sorry, I misspoke.”

Shang Shan said, “Hmph. Then let me ask you, are you strong?”

Jiang Yuanqi replied, “So-so.”

Shang Shan said, “My eyes are sharp as snow. Since even the cat listens to you, I think you have some strength. So why wait for the stronghold leader’s summons? Why not just fight your way out?”

Jiang Yuanqi said, “I’m not one who likes bloodshed. If I can solve things without violence, that’s for the best.”

The male protagonist was born into a family filled with bloody malice. He couldn’t accept that kind of atmosphere and didn’t like the sinister techniques he had mastered. So when handling problems, even if he could crush with strength, he preferred not to strike directly. Instead, he acted as a disruptor, letting events develop to their worst and collapse on their own.

“Besides, this place is strangely laid out, with buildings scattered chaotically. Without first scouting the locations of the hostages and treasures, and checking for tricky mechanisms, what if we rashly kill everyone and can’t find them in the end?”

“Moreover, we only need to kill the leader. Beyond that, I don’t want to create unnecessary karma.” Jiang Yuanqi lowered his gaze, poking at New Year’s Money’s paw pads. “Once the bandits lose their backbone, they’ll fall into chaos on their own. Then the officials can handle the rest.”

Shang Shan said, “I see. You’re pretty kind-hearted.”

Jiang Yuanqi’s brows and eyes curved with a smile, as if drawn to her. “You actually understand me.”

Shang Shan looked puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Jiang Yuanqi sighed. “I thought you’d find me lacking in manly spirit, dithering and hesitating like this.”

Shang Shan said, “If manly spirit means killing indiscriminately regardless of right or wrong, then I say skip it.”

Even if she didn’t often encounter bandits, she knew not everyone chose this path willingly. If they were coerced or forced, they might still have a chance to return to the righteous path.

Whether they deserved death, what crimes they committed, how severe, and what punishment they should receive—that was for the authorities to judge.

“I’m not done! I’ve always thought that people who can do bad things should also be capable of doing good. If you put that strength in the right place, you curb the bad and promote the good—killing two birds with one stone!” Shang Shan fiddled with her fingers, sharing her idealistic vision.

Jiang Yuanqi seemed moved. “You’re different from everyone I’ve met before. We should get along well. Allow me to sincerely befriend you. I’m Wen Jingfeng. May I ask the young lady’s name?”

“Shang Shan.”

The cell was so small that their entire conversation poured into her ears unblocked, leaving one utterly speechless.

Mu Qian Tan couldn’t help but ponder. Were these cliché melodramas always so popular?

Her impressions of TV dramas and light novels stopped at elementary and middle school, when it seemed all the rage for cunning male leads to meet silly sweet girls and think, “This one is different from the others.” Then they’d pay extra attention, fall in love at first sight, and inexplicably love her to the bone.

She hadn’t expected that after all these years, this trope was still ever-popular.

Unfortunately, she still had to wait through quite a bit of plot to seize the lingzhi. For now, she could only stick by the female protagonist’s side and watch this childish romance unfold—without skipping. It was boring as hell.

New Year’s Money waved its white-gloved paws, swatting away Jiang Yuanqi’s meddling hand. Then it elegantly stood, straightened the conical hat on its head, hopped over the wooden bars, and nestled into the girl’s arms.

“Wow! She’s throwing herself at me!” Shang Shan laughed and immediately hugged the cat, afraid it would run away. “She likes me!”

The girl’s face still had mud from earlier in the day, now somewhat dried and cracked, looking rather funny stuck to her skin. Jiang Yuanqi said, “There’s dirt on your face. Let me help you get it off.”

He reached through the wooden bars, almost touching her, but she turned her head away. Shang Shan held New Year’s Money under its armpits, lifting the long cat body, and headed toward the woman. “Master, look, kitty!”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Scram.”

“Oh.” Shang Shan sat back down.

New Year’s Money hadn’t expected rejection. It widened its eyes, thrashed its tail furiously, and jumped back to the next cell, staring incredulously at the woman.

Jiang Yuanqi withdrew his hand, his gaze flicking to the woman as he tilted his head and whispered to Shang Shan with a smile, “I hear that people who don’t like small animals are all ruthless. You should be careful around your master.”

Mu Qian Tan pursed her lips, her thin eyelids twitching lightly.

It had started just moments ago—this dog of a man really knew how to put on an act.

Someone from the Taihang Feng Clan, trained in killing from childhood, more cold-blooded than anyone, yet pretending to be a gentleman. Utterly hypocritical.

The female protagonist was an idiot too, led around by the nose, believing whatever people said, with less brainpower than that stinky cat.

These two—one foolish, one fake—were both outrageously lucky. What a detestable perfect match.

Shang Shan, however, said, “Not necessarily. What if they’ve been hurt before? If they’ve been scratched or bitten by a cat, they might fear them and not like them.”

Fine, even this brain-damaged dragon had her moments of wit.

Jiang Yuanqi couldn’t help but chuckle. “True enough.”

No one came to the cell from outside the whole time. The sky gradually darkened, with only faint traces of daylight left, making the cell even gloomier.

In the dim murk, New Year’s Money’s flexible long tail swept across the young man’s arm. Both the human and cat eyes seemed to smile, hiding who knew how many schemes beneath their deceptive exteriors—smiling tigers through and through.

Still, in a fleeting glimmer of light, Mu Qian Tan caught a shadow of Jiang Zhouyao on his face. No wonder they were siblings; they shared at least forty percent similarity in looks.

At that moment, muffled grunts came from outside, like someone whose mouth was stuffed, still cursing desperately in agitation. Voices of two others conversed amid it.

“Deputy Miao got beaten again?”

“You saw it too? His head’s all wrapped up—fresh wound.”

“What rotten luck. He’s the deputy leader, yet lives worse than us lowly grunts.”

“Always going against the stronghold leader—how could he not suffer?”

A steady male voice interrupted. “Enough talk.”

A pull came from above. Shang Shan leaned back with the force, turning to look. The evil mask was back on the woman’s face. She had also picked up the chains, reattaching them to her wrists and twisting the damaged part back.

At the same time, Jiang Yuanqi pushed straw over the map on the ground. New Year’s Money straightened its hat and retreated into the shadows.

Footsteps grew nearer. Three people appeared outside the cells.

Li Cheng was in front, shoving a girl whose mouth was stuffed with cloth and hands bound behind her back. Two stronghold bandits followed, each holding a torch with blazing flames.

The girl looked somewhat familiar. In the flickering light, a slightly dark face emerged. It was actually Tan Que, whom they had seen during the day.

Li Cheng opened the cell door next to theirs, threw the girl inside, and locked it. One bandit behind him said, “I heard that Toad Princess thought she was some beauty, but she’s really a toad—ugly enough I didn’t dare look twice!”

The other chimed in, “Yeah, who knows what Deputy Miao wants with her.”

Tan Que struggled harder, rubbing her face against the floor to prop herself up, but with hands and feet bound, she lost balance and fell back into the straw pile.

After checking and securing the lock, Li Cheng let go. “Let’s go.”

Passing Jiang Yuanqi’s cell, one of them said, “Young master, between this cell and your fancy manor—which is more comfortable?”

Jiang Yuanqi replied, “Used to golden roofs, trying a rundown shack now has its own flavor.”

The man spat. “Pah, flavor my ass. What a lucky bastard—you get to experience everything. This cell’s too nice, though. Half a day in and you’re still unscratched. Pretty boy’s skin is thick.”

Jiang Yuanqi said, “Body and looks are gifts from parents—not my choice.”

The man knocked the door with his blade. “Hey, getting cocky? All trussed up like fish meat and still yapping.”

Li Cheng had meant to leave directly but paused at the quarrel, glancing irritably into the cell. Then his gaze focused on one spot.

He turned sideways, his thick brows and sharp eyes fixed on the broken bars. Sensing something off, he opened Shang Shan’s cell door, stepped in, drew his blade, and barked, “Who did this?”

Shang Shan said, “It was from years of disrepair…”

Mu Qian Tan cut her off. “The young master next door. He has quite the strength.”

Jiang Yuanqi froze, then said helplessly, “I see. You really hold a grudge.”

Li Cheng coldly swept his gaze over them, then approached Mu Qian Tan. His eyes traced from the evil mask down to her hands on her lap, sensing something strange.

Li Cheng turned, snatched a torch from one bandit’s hand, stepped back in, and half-squatted, bringing the light close to those hands.

The beauty’s slender hands were exquisitely carved, yet shackled in crude black iron. Mortal hearts might soften, but Li Cheng remained unmoved.

Shang Shan had grown tense, fearing he’d notice the chains had been bent open and closed again. She gripped the bars, craning her neck to watch.

Li Cheng examined for a moment, then lifted his blade and prodded the chains with the tip. Seeing the red chafe marks on the skin below, he stood and checked the break in the wooden bars.

Pushing aside the straw, all the wood chunks and splinters were on this side, confirming it had been smashed from the other side. The woman was right.

Li Cheng abruptly stood, went to the next cell, pointed his blade at the man, and bellowed, “You have this kind of strength—why not escape? What’s your goal?”

This was clearly the hole the woman had threatened to smash earlier, yet she calmly framed him. Jiang Yuanqi smiled bitterly. “Nothing. You’ve opened my eyes.”

Li Cheng turned his head and ordered, “Go fetch Great Immortal Heaven-Flipping Mirror.”

The two bandits acknowledged and hurried off.

In Flying Dragon Stronghold, the three with the highest status and ability were Stronghold Leader Dao Liangduan, Deputy Miao Cunfu, and the great immortal Heaven-Flipping Mirror, whom the deputy had brought to bolster the stronghold’s defenses.

So-called great immortals were mostly frauds in the jianghu, self-proclaimed yet full of scams. Tianyu Sect had even published anti-fraud pamphlets widely distributed for this reason.

But Heaven-Flipping Mirror wasn’t entirely useless; he had real skill, shown in his artifact.

Traveling the jianghu, he always carried a palm-sized eight trigrams mirror. Shine it on someone’s back, and it captured their shadow. With incantations, it projected a shadow figure from head to toe, wielding ninety-nine percent of the original’s power. Let it fight, wear the foe down, then reap the spoils—foolproof.

It was nothing against true immortals, but perfect against soldiers and villagers.

Seeing Jiang Yuanqi wrongly accused, Mu Qian Tan thought, ‘How’s that? Helped you vent.’

From Li Biyuan’s side came the AI mechanical voice: ‘Actually, you wanted to vent.’

Mu Qian Tan said nothing indifferently.

While waiting for the great immortal, Li Cheng kept his blade trained on the youth, unmoving. He demanded, “You pretended to be captured—what’s your purpose? Speak!”

Wind pierced the cell, making the firelight flicker. Jiang Yuanqi’s face caught the faint glow, his flawless brows and eyes smiling with a touch of wildness. “Along the way, I observed you’re quite clever and cautious—unlike those dumb bandits. So why work for the tiger?”

Li Cheng snapped, “Answer my question.”

Jiang Yuanqi’s voice drifted like smoke. “I studied many weapons as a child, so I have a keen eye. You’re not used to the blade, right? More thrusts than chops. Did you use a sword before? Why abandon the gentleman’s sword for a knife—and wield it so clumsily? You haven’t been with Flying Dragon Stronghold long.”

Li Cheng glared furiously, silent. Jiang Yuanqi’s gaze sharpened, hitting the mark. “You have a child.”

Li Cheng, exposed, exclaimed, “How did you know?”

Jiang Yuanqi tapped his forehead with two fingers and smiled. “There’s an ugly earthworm on your headscarf.”

Li Cheng yanked off the scarf. Red fabric bore an embroidered flying dragon, but in the lower right corner, ink sketched a twisted black dragon—childish handiwork, crude enough to look like an earthworm.

Li Cheng’s stern face suddenly softened a bit, ripples actually appearing in his eyes. Jiang Yuanqi asked, “Why did you suddenly become a bandit? Did they grasp your weakness, or did they promise you something?”

Li Cheng moved his lips, as if he couldn’t help but say something.

At that moment, a hunched-backed old man in gray robes walked over. His single eye was sharp like an eagle’s, his nose tip hooked downward, his face a ghastly green, his features twisted in terror—it was precisely that Great Immortal, the Heaven-Flipping Mirror.

Li Cheng immediately lowered his head and stuffed his headscarf back in place. That flicker of emotion from before was swiftly concealed and vanished without a trace.

The Heaven-Flipping Mirror swept his gaze over the cell, his voice hoarse and muddy. “Just some young brat. Is this worth summoning this immortal for a trip?”

Li Cheng said, “He has some skill. Please have the Great Immortal test if he is a cultivator.”

The Heaven-Flipping Mirror said, “Do you think just anyone can be a cultivator? With that short-lived ghost look on his face, how does he qualify to walk the immortal path?”

Jiang Yuanqi said, “You can’t say that. Whoever this young master calls over to take a look has to admit he’s dignified and handsome. Where does ‘short-lived ghost’ come from?”

The Heaven-Flipping Mirror practically looked down his nose at him. “Ignorant of heaven and earth. Even talking to a child like this is beneath my dignity.”

He flicked his sleeve, making as if to leave, but then suddenly unleashed a mass of spiritual power that struck Jiang Yuanqi squarely in the chest. Jiang Yuanqi crashed back into the wall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

It was Li Cheng’s first time seeing an immortal cast a spell—one that could attack from afar with that blue light. Miraculous as it was, it couldn’t help but send a chill through him.

The Heaven-Flipping Mirror turned back around and stared deadly at the youth through the bars before smiling sinisterly. “He is not a cultivator.”

Li Cheng asked, “How can you tell?”

The Heaven-Flipping Mirror said, “If he were an ordinary practitioner of cultivation, even with meager spiritual power, he would instinctively use spiritual power to defend himself when suddenly attacked. But he had no reaction at all and took the hit head-on. Either he’s an idiot, or he has never set foot on the path of cultivation.”

Jiang Yuanqi cupped his hands. “The Great Immortal is astute. This one gladly yields.”

The Heaven-Flipping Mirror shook out his sleeves and let out a hearty laugh, his eyes gleaming brightly. “I first pretended to leave to lower your guard, then struck. You know, a sneak attack is about… catching people off guard!”

The last four words turned sharp and vicious as he unleashed another strike—this time aimed at Mu Qian Tan. But Shang Shan, who had been watching his movements closely, noticed it. She immediately rose to block and took the blow for her.

Shang Shan was smashed into the woman’s arms, where she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her chest burned and throbbed with numbing pain as she shouted, “You damn old geezer, don’t hit her!”

Suspicion flickered in the Heaven-Flipping Mirror’s eyes. “After seeing me use immortal arts, you two brats are far too calm.”

Li Cheng’s shock from moments ago had been the normal reaction of a mortal. Yet these two next door showed no reaction at all, as if they were already used to such things.

Mu Qian Tan had already gathered spiritual power in her palm, a flicker of surprise on her face—but the mask hid it. With Shang Shan falling into her arms, she naturally dispersed her spiritual power and avoided detection.

She thought to herself: This old fox is truly insidious.

Her mind raced as Mu Qian Tan replied, “I don’t believe immortal arts really exist in this world. You’re just a charlatan using fake sorcery, aren’t you?”

The Heaven-Flipping Mirror burst into laughter and sneered, “Ignorant!”

He had wondered why she was so calm—it turned out she simply didn’t believe immortals existed. The Heaven-Flipping Mirror ignored her and turned to Li Cheng instead. “People these days get full of themselves with just a bit of skill. Have more people keep an eye on them; they’re nothing special.”

For all his words, he still slapped a few talismans onto the cell door before flicking his sleeve and departing.

As if nothing had happened, Li Cheng also withdrew from the cell and relocked the door.

Silence returned to the cell as a fine drizzle began to fall outside.

Shang Shan coughed a few times, turned her head, and grinned happily. “My reaction was quick, right? Otherwise, you would’ve been found out!”