Good Person's Assist

Sticking close to the ground like a silent black python, the black-clothed man slid along the wall to Qin Yang's door. With a flick of his wrist, a ribbon coiled around his arm slithered through the crack in the door like a living thing...

Inside the room, Qin Yang was staring blankly at his doppelganger. Now that he had the doppelganger, the key was how to escape smoothly...

Just as he was lost in thought, he saw a black ribbon slither in through the door crack, slowly creeping up along the door edge, then wrapping around the door bolt, inch by inch pulling it open...

The whole process was utterly silent, even the sound of friction was muffled because the ribbon lifted the door bolt...

Qin Yang watched this scene quietly and couldn't help but grin. Talk about a pillow arriving just when you're drowsy—his luck hadn't been great lately, but at critical moments, heroes always showed up to lend a hand...

He'd just been racking his brains over how to escape cleanly, and now he didn't need to think anymore. With a petty thief here, he could stir up some chaos, make a big racket, and his escape difficulty would plummet from hellish to ordinary...

"What a fine good person, delivering himself from a thousand miles away..." Qin Yang murmured softly as he watched the door bolt slowly slide open...

He'd finished his disguise, completed the doppelganger, and only the final escape remained. This little thief came to deliver an assist—if that wasn't a good person, what was?

The guy outside couldn't hear anything inside, probably thinking everyone was sound asleep...

Just as the door was about to open, Qin Yang tore down the Autumn Cicada Talismans from the four walls. These were nearly useless now, but to leave no trace, he casually stuffed them into a storage bag.

Then, after a moment's hesitation, he took out another storage bag, placed his corpse-processing tools inside, along with some First Grade Spirit Stones, a tattered garment, and a few odds and ends, then hung it on the doppelganger's waist...

After doing all this, Qin Yang sat down on a chair, hidden in the darkness, calmly watching the door swing open.

Creak...

A faint sound of the door opening. It didn't open fully, just enough for a gap, and then a black shadow slid in along the floor. The door closed again in the blink of an eye...

Once the shadow entered, it slowly rose upright. Only then did the black-clothed man suddenly see Qin Yang sitting in the corner, eyes wide open, staring at him with a faint, knowing smile...

The black-clothed man froze motionless, then glanced at the doppelganger leaning against the wall, and noticing the Tricky Ring around its neck, he too broke into a smile.

The two of them, one standing and one sitting, stared at each other for a long while before the black-clothed man finally couldn't hold back. In a hoarse, smoky voice, he spoke quietly.

"Water from the Great River floods the Dragon King's temple—didn't know a fellow traveler was here. I broke the rules this time. First, my apologies to you, sir. Give me a dock to send a boat message, and I'll gift you a free boat message another day as compensation."

The black-clothed man raised his hand and made a gesture with curled fingers, seemingly missing one digit. Then he slowly stepped back, ready to open the door and flee at any moment...

His words were the jargon of thieves: if one mark had a fellow operative already working it, others had to stay away—at least until the first one left. Running into each other like this risked exposure for everyone.

The so-called "dock" was where messages were received, and a "boat message" meant news of a fat sheep. The backward step signaled retreat—let's all get along. As for the hand gesture, it was a way of announcing one's affiliation.

An outsider wouldn't understand the words, let alone the actions. But Qin Yang had spent a year in the western part of Green Forest City, seen plenty of Triangle Nine Floors, and carried countless corpses from the lower rungs of society—how could he not understand?

Just as the black-clothed man was about to reach the door, Qin Yang let out a soft laugh.

"Quick on the uptake..."

"I go, you stay—this is an accident. If you're not satisfied, I'll send two boat messages another day..."

Qin Yang stood up, and a surge of True Essence rippled from his body. Sensing this fluctuation, the Tricky Ring around the doppelganger's neck began to slowly rotate, as if awakening...

"Don't be rash! That's no good for either of us!" The black-clothed man's voice carried a note of alarm. He recognized the Tricky Ring—if it exploded, experts from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce would arrive in no time.

"Smell the Mind-Calming Incense?"

"Huh?" The black-clothed man stepped back again, the ribbon around his wrist slowly slithering out through the door crack, ready to yank the door open at any moment...

"There's a Mind-Calming Incense trap outside, and more inside, but the two formulas are slightly different. If you've breathed in both, the effect multiplies tenfold. Far stronger than your Third-Rate Incense—at least it lacks that obvious sweet scent..."

The black-clothed man stopped his movements, startled. Sensing carefully, he realized a drowsiness had crept into his head, and a wave of fatigue washed over him. Silently, his whole body felt like it was softening, desperate to close his eyes and sleep...

Damn, capsized in a ditch...

This guy was sharp—he knew I'd figured it out. Where the hell did he come from, sneaking into the Corpse Collectors and boldly stealing the map here...

"Brother, I give in. I surrender. We're both here for the map. I've got it now, including the unassembled fragments. Let's get out of here first, talk later. This is no good for anyone."

The black-clothed man reached into his robe and pulled out the assembled portion of the Human Skin Map, flashing it to show Qin Yang he held a weighty bargaining chip.

Qin Yang nodded, a bright smile spreading across his lips. Got the map? Perfect...

Opening the door, the black-clothed man went out first, Qin Yang following. Just as they were about to step out, the black-clothed man paused: "Brother, can you give me the antidote first? I can't hold on much longer. I'll give you half the map..."

"Sure." Qin Yang replied casually, tossing the black-clothed man a black pill.

The black-clothed man tossed back the half of the Human Skin Map.

Once they each had their prize, the black-clothed man sniffed the pill lightly and swallowed it...

But...

The moment Qin Yang stepped out, the ribbon on the black-clothed man's wrist shot out, winding toward Qin Yang.

Qin Yang bared his teeth in a grin, flicked his wrist, and five Burning Talismans and five Fireball Talismans appeared simultaneously. With another flick, all ten talismans flew out...

Fireballs the size of a human head exploded, blasting through the wall. The Burning Talismans turned into raging flames, igniting everything around. Inside the room, sensing the violent disturbance, the Tricky Ring spun rapidly, then burst with a bang, blowing the doppelganger to pieces...

"Your damn..." The black-clothed man was furious, hopping mad. His voice was no longer the hoarse, smoky tone but a sharp, youthful one...

As the ribbon was about to wrap around him, Qin Yang shouted.

"Map for you!"

With that, he flung the half of the Human Skin Map toward the blazing fire, while his other hand slapped Wind Travel Talismans and Autumn Cicada Talismans onto himself, retreating swiftly.

The black-clothed man was livid but couldn't bear to let the Human Skin Map be destroyed. The flying ribbon changed direction midair, snatching the map back.

In that split second, when he looked again, Qin Yang was already gone...

Outside the Three Mountains Gang, an angry shout rang out as a figure shot through the air on a flying sword...