As soon as Shen Bai finished speaking, the woman ahead of him went stiff-faced.
Shen Bai saw her features clearly and raised an eyebrow.
She looked to be around twenty, dressed entirely in black.
Her face was like a peach blossom, her brows and eyes exquisitely lovely; compared to Cheng Shuang, she was a notch finer still.
Even her black clothes could not conceal her proud figure.
The woman in black wore a terrified expression.
In her eyes, Shen Bai held a lantern in one hand and a sword in the other, his whole body steeped in fierce Baleful Intent, like some bizarre thing lurking in the dark.
Especially those eyes—calm, yet carrying a faint killing intent.
The woman in black truly had not expected to run into something so absurd.
How could such a tiny pawnshop contain a master like this?
There had even been Sword Qi just now!
Absurd!
"Don't kill me!"
To Shen Bai's surprise, the woman in black timidly hugged her head, trembling with fear.
Of all the jianghu people Shen Bai had encountered, she was the most cowardly.
Shen Bai asked with interest, "Name and background. Don't be afraid. I'm not some bizarre thing that eats people."
The woman in black cautiously raised her head, then buried it back against her arms. "Qin Shuang. My name is Qin Shuang. I'm a disciple of the Thieves' Gate. I've never dug up your ancestral graves, so don't kill me."
Shen Bai: "?"
How had they gotten onto the subject of ancestral graves while talking?
Were people from the Thieves' Gate all this straightforward?
Wait.
The Thieves' Gate!
Shen Bai smiled. "So you're a disciple of the Thieves' Gate that stole the Heavenly Oversight Bureau's Bizarre Item. Looks like you really are planning to stir up trouble—you've even stirred it up here with me."
The moment those words left his mouth, Qin Shuang abruptly raised her head.
Though she was terrified of Shen Bai, she stubbornly held her head high.
"The Thieves' Gate did not steal the Bizarre Item! The Thieves' Gate would never steal the Heavenly Oversight Bureau's Bizarre Items!"
Shen Bai smiled. "Oh? Quite spirited. If it wasn't the Thieves' Gate, then who else could take something from the Heavenly Oversight Bureau? If I hand you over to them, I should get plenty of rewards, right?"
As soon as he said that, Qin Shuang, who had just been brimming with spirit, immediately wilted, hanging her head in dejection.
"It really wasn't the Thieves' Gate. Don't hand me over to the Heavenly Oversight Bureau. It was the Fox Girl—the Fox Girl took it!"
"I came because I heard news about the Fox Girl. I wanted to investigate the cause and clear the Thieves' Gate's name."
Shen Bai frowned. "The Fox Girl?"
"Wait, the Thieves' Gate has a reputation to clear?"
For an organization that dug up other people's ancestral graves, Shen Bai truly could not imagine what reputation it could possibly have.
Qin Shuang said earnestly, "The Thieves' Gate has always dared to act and dared to own up to it. If we dug the graves, we have never denied it. But this time, we were framed!"
Shen Bai rubbed his chin. "How can you prove the Fox Girl did this? A bizarre thing taking the initiative to steal a Bizarre Item—no one would believe that if you said it aloud."
Qin Shuang shrank her neck and said softly, "The Fox Girl would not take things on her own initiative. But what if someone used the Fox Girl to harm themself in order to steal?"
"Harm themself?" Shen Bai said. "Explain it clearly."
Qin Shuang gestured. "Suppose the Fox Girl had set her sights on you, and you took advantage of her traits to make her bring you good things. You would only need to endure the price the Fox Girl demanded... that would do."
Hearing this, Shen Bai suddenly felt a flash of light streak through his mind.
If things were really as Qin Shuang described, would that not be the same as finding a porter?
The difference was whether one could bear the price that porter brought.
Qin Shuang continued, "The person controlling the Fox Girl is actually also a disciple of the Thieves' Gate. But that guy is a traitor. He joined the Upper Evil Gate. This time, I came to investigate his whereabouts and gather evidence."
"Most people in the sect know him. I joined the Thieves' Gate not long ago, so he doesn't know me. I won't startle the snake by beating the grass."
Shen Bai paced back and forth. "Any clues?"
Qin Shuang shook her head. "No clues. I saw someone injured by the Fox Girl, and then you spoke to the constables for a while. Out of curiosity, I came to investigate and see whether I could find any useful information. I didn't expect..."
"You didn't expect what?"
"I didn't expect you to catch me."
Qin Shuang said it in a thoroughly dejected tone.
Shen Bai sank into thought.
The room fell silent, leaving only the sound of Shen Bai pacing back and forth.
The Upper Evil Gate again. This force really is like maggots clinging to the bone.
If things are truly as Qin Shuang said, the Fox Girl has come to Ascending Cloud County, and the person controlling her has a Bizarre Item as well. With the Heavenly Oversight Bureau about to arrive, all of Ascending Cloud County will turn into a pot of porridge.
I need to respond carefully and keep the fire from burning onto me. No—Zhou Qing's side will be difficult to handle.
All kinds of thoughts churned through Shen Bai's mind. What worried him most, instead, was Zhou Qing's situation.
As a constable of the yamen, Zhou Qing would inevitably cross paths with these matters.
In an Ascending Cloud County turned into a pot of porridge, the first fire would likely burn straight to Zhou Qing.
The Fox Girl has Killing Intent and is connected to the Upper Evil Gate. For the sake of the Killing Intent, I'll likely have to involve myself too. First, I'll see what news comes from Zhou Qing's side.
A moment later, Shen Bai made his decision.
Qin Shuang cautiously glanced at Shen Bai, her eyes darting around. "Um... Master, can I leave now?"
She knew that this time, she had lifted a stone only to smash her own foot.
In little Ascending Cloud County, an ordinary pawnshop actually hid a master. Qin Shuang felt utterly helpless.
Shen Bai came back to himself and smiled. "You can't leave."
"Ah?"
Qin Shuang's face went blank. "Why?"
Shen Bai said, "Because I haven't gotten the information I want."
Qin Shuang froze outright.
Shen Bai said blandly, "I'm not stupid. If the Thieves' Gate had no clues at all, would a faction that doesn't excel in combat send a disciple here?"
"That would be no different from blind men feeling an elephant."
"Tell me your true purpose. Don't pretend to be foolish and naïve. No one will believe it."
With no clues and no skill in combat, they had sent someone here merely to clear their reputation?
If word of that got out, Shen Bai figured anyone who believed it had something wrong with their head.
Qin Shuang gritted her teeth and said nothing.
Shen Bai shook his head. "I originally didn't want to do anything too bloody, but you insist on forcing my hand. Then there's nothing to be done."
As he spoke, he carried his sword and approached Qin Shuang.
Qin Shuang clutched at her collar. "What are you trying to do?"
Shen Bai smiled. "You misunderstand. I'm not interested in your body. No, to be precise, I am rather interested. Such a beautiful body—if it were cut into many pieces, I imagine it would no longer be beautiful."
Cut into many pieces?
Qin Shuang's eyes widened.
Then a bloody, horrifying image surfaced in her mind.
Qin Shuang clenched her teeth.
She knew Shen Bai was not lying, because she could feel that faint killing intent.
Seeing Shen Bai about to draw near, Qin Shuang could no longer endure it.
That foolish air vanished, replaced by a clever, spirited gleam in her eyes.
Everything just now had been an act.
"Grand Tomb. There's a Grand Tomb in Ascending Cloud County. The Upper Evil Gate wants to use the Fox Girl to steal from it, and that Bizarre Item is also a crucial thing."
Before you continue