After listening to her Master Ji Qinglin's explanation, Yu Ye still found it hard to believe. Everyone had heard some legends about Immortal Remains, but no one had ever heard of or confirmed who possessed them. That meant that, as the pursuit of all Qi Practitioners, whoever kept such a thing would surely guard its secrecy and safety with the utmost care.
And yet, Master and disciple had actually obtained one from a flying thief.
Ji Qinglin had roughly analyzed Duan Tianpeng's intentions and guessed that this portion of the Immortal Remains was genuine.
Thinking of the legends surrounding Immortal Remains, Yu Ye asked curiously, "I never thought this thing would be in Duan Tianpeng's hands. Master, can it really help with cultivation?"
"I don't know. This is also my first time seeing the real thing. Legend says the Immortal Remains were left behind by a great battle during the era of historical rupture. If someone could gather all the Immortal Remains, they could attain the Dao and become an immortal. Some say they contain cultivation methods, while others say they hold an Immortal Dao Fruit. It is said that One God Four Sages and the Nine Overlords once fought over the Immortal Remains. As for whether those stories were true, and who had more or less, no one knew. But one thing I know for certain: if this thing is mishandled, it will bring a fatal calamity. If the people outside this door learn that we have obtained Immortal Remains, open and hidden struggles will soon follow. When that happens, one careless move and not only us—even Coal Boss won't be able to fly away alive."
"Caw?"
Coal Boss was smoothing his black feathers nearby. Though he could not understand what the two had been discussing, he had heard his own name at the end, so he cocked his head with an expression that said, "What the hell does that have to do with me?"
"Master, then should we just hand this thing, along with Duan Tianpeng's corpse, over to the authorities and police?"
Ji Qinglin shook his head. "You have to assume the worst. If we hand the Immortal Remains and the corpse over to the police, with the informants other forces have planted within them, those Qi Practitioners will soon come knocking. They'll question us, certain that if we handed over the Immortal Remains, we must have learned the cultivation methods written on them. By then, we won't even be able to explain ourselves."
"That's true. Then should we tell the police that we killed Duan Tianpeng?"
After a brief moment of thought, Ji Qinglin nodded.
"We definitely have to tell them. We'll follow the normal procedure of killing a wanted criminal and claiming the reward. Duan Tianpeng hid here for three days, yet neither West Chang District, the police, nor any other force came looking for him. That means no one knows he was the one who stole the Immortal Remains, so we can handle this normally. If we kill him and dump his body in the street, that would instead draw the attention and investigation of West Chang District and other forces. In a while, we'll take everything out of the bag. Then put a few pieces of your underwear inside and use his title of Lingerie Bandit as cover. His life can be said to have come full circle."
"Alright."
Yu Ye had originally found such matters rather embarrassing, but with life and death at stake, she did not hesitate in the slightest.
After saying that, Ji Qinglin placed the Crystal Arm in a drawer, intending to find a suitable place to store it once the storm had passed.
With a response plan in place, Ji Qinglin steadied himself and returned to his usual demeanor. Smiling, he said, "Come on, Yu Ye. You have good luck. See what else is in the bag."
Crazy Night: What are we trading for this time?
Yu Ye: Shut your crow beak!
Crazy Night: Are you talking about me or Coal Boss?
The remaining items were rather scattered. Yu Ye took everything out of the backpack and arranged it neatly across the table.
Apart from several concealed weapons Duan Tianpeng had kept, there was only a metal box left. At first, Ji Qinglin thought it was some kind of concealed weapon, but upon picking it up, he discovered that it was a single solid piece. Its surface had been polished quite smooth, making it look like a power bank without any ports.
Most importantly, five small words had been electroplated onto the back of the box.
Yu Ye noticed them as well and asked in confusion, "Zero Creates All Things?"
"It belongs to the Machina Gang. Those words are a doctrine they firmly believe in, because the earliest origin of their lives was binary. But even I can't tell what this is. That brat Duan Tianpeng stole quite thoroughly—he even took something from the Machina Gang."
"Then should we return it?"
"Under normal circumstances, I would certainly be willing to return it and let them owe us a favor. After all, the Machina Gang is considered the foremost gang in North New District. But since this thing appeared together with the Immortal Remains, and we don't know the full story, what if they have already determined that the person who stole this and the Immortal Remains was the same person? Then it will be even harder to explain."
Yu Ye nodded. "Alright, then I'll go erase all traces connected to the shop in the alley. At dawn, Master, you can contact the police to deal with Duan Tianpeng's body."
She had just risen to leave when Ji Qinglin stopped her again.
"Wait."
"What is it?"
Ji Qinglin raised his head and looked into Yu Ye's clear almond eyes. "As for the legend that Immortal Remains can allow someone to become an immortal, I have never heard of a single successful case. But I have heard plenty of stories about fellow disciples turning on each other, Dao companions becoming enemies, and brothers slaughtering one another over the fight for Immortal Remains."
Yu Ye understood what Ji Qinglin meant. In truth, when she had been speculating about the Immortal Remains earlier, she had already been worried that her Master might silence her for this thing. That was why she had remained on guard the entire time. After all, this was the dream of countless Qi Practitioners.
Now that her Master had made it plain, Yu Ye hurriedly explained, "Master, you don't think this disciple would dare set her sights on the Immortal Remains, do you? This disciple guarantees that she absolutely has no such thoughts. This thing naturally belongs to Master. Besides, with this disciple's meager cultivation, it would be impossible anyway—"
Seeing Yu Ye explain herself in such panic, Ji Qinglin frowned slightly and waved his hand.
"Stop, stop, stop. Has the bond between master and disciple become this shallow? Who said I was worried that you'd set your sights on the Immortal Remains? What I mean is, if you need it, come take it anytime. Don't go down the path of betraying your master and ancestors, forsaking what is near to seek what is far."
Yu Ye realized she had overthought things again and stuck out her tongue as she replied, "This disciple was overthinking it. I thought Master might mind this disciple studying such a treasure together with you."
Ji Qinglin gave a soft snort and smiled bitterly. "The only thing I mind is you being too lazy to study it, or studying it too slowly. After all, you're the one entering the Cultivation Grand Competition. It would naturally be best if you could gain some insight from it in advance. You can't possibly be like when you practice normally, waiting for me to fully understand every move and technique before chewing it up and feeding it to you one bite at a time, can you?"
Yu Ye's almond eyes widened even further. "Y-you still plan to teach this disciple the things you learn from the Immortal Remains?"
"Damn it, you're my only disciple. If I don't teach you, should I teach Coal Boss?"
"Caw?"
Hearing that, Yu Ye bit her lower lip lightly and nodded hard.
"This disciple will never disappoint Master!"
"Also, when you have time, go find Shen Bixin."
"Ask Doctor Shen about the details of the West Chang District chairman's Immortal Remains being stolen?"
"Ask my ass! I'm telling you to see her about your psychological problems. I think you more or less have persecution delusions!"
Thank you all, dear readers, for your support! I feel like I've come down with the 'unhappy whenever Monday arrives' disease.
Before you continue