Ascending Cloud County's Grand Tomb

As Shen Bai finished speaking, the woman in front of him froze.

Shen Bai got a clear look at her face and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

The woman appeared to be around twenty years old, dressed in black pants and a black top.

Her face was like a peach blossom, her eyes clear and beautiful; her looks were even a cut above Cheng Shuang's.

Even the black clothes couldn't hide her impressive figure.

The woman in black looked terrified.

In her eyes, Shen Bai at this moment was holding a lantern in one hand and a sword in the other, radiating a fierce Malevolent Qi, like a Bizarre Entity in the darkness.

Especially his eyes, calm yet with a faint hint of killing intent.

The woman in black truly hadn't expected to encounter something so outrageous.

Such a capable person in a small Pawnshop.

And just now, there was even sword qi!

Unbelievable!

"Don't kill me!"

To Shen Bai's surprise, the woman in black clutched her head, looking terrified and trembling.

Among all the martial artists Shen Bai had met, she was the most cowardly.

Shen Bai said with interest, "Name, origin. Don't be afraid, I'm not a man-eating Bizarre Entity."

The woman in black cautiously raised her head, then buried it back in her arms: "Qin Shuang, my name is Qin Shuang. I'm a disciple of Thieves' Gate. I haven't dug up your ancestors' graves, please don't kill me."

Shen Bai: "?"

How did the conversation turn to ancestral graves?

Are people from Thieves' Gate always so direct?

Wait.

Thieves' Gate!

Shen Bai smiled and said, "So it's a disciple of Thieves' Gate who stole a Bizarre Item from the Heavenly Oversight Bureau. It seems you really are planning something, bringing it right to my doorstep."

As soon as these words left his mouth, Qin Shuang sharply raised her head.

Though she was afraid of Shen Bai, she stubbornly held her head high.

"Thieves' Gate didn't steal any Bizarre Item! Thieves' Gate would never steal Bizarre Items from the Heavenly Oversight Bureau!"

Shen Bai chuckled, "Oh, quite spirited, aren't we? If not Thieves' Gate, who else could take something from the Heavenly Oversight Bureau? If I hand you over to them, I'd get a lot of rewards, wouldn't I?"

At these words, Qin Shuang, who had just been so spirited, immediately deflated, looking utterly dejected.

"It really wasn't Thieves' Gate! Don't hand me over to the Heavenly Oversight Bureau! It was the Fox Girl, the Fox Girl took it!"

"I came here because I heard news of a Fox Girl, so I came to investigate and clear Thieves' Gate's reputation?"

Shen Bai frowned: "Fox Girl?"

"Wait, Thieves' Gate has a reputation?"

Shen Bai couldn't imagine what kind of reputation a faction that dug up ancestral graves could possibly have.

Qin Shuang said very seriously, "Thieves' Gate has always been responsible for its actions. If we dug a grave, we've never denied it. But this time, it's a frame-up!"

Shen Bai rubbed his chin and said, "How do you prove that the Fox Girl did this? A Bizarre Entity actively stealing a Bizarre Item—no one would believe that."

Qin Shuang shrunk her neck and whispered, "A Fox Girl wouldn't actively steal, but what if someone used a Fox Girl to harm themselves in order to steal?"

"Harm themselves?" Shen Bai said, "Explain more clearly."

Qin Shuang gestured: "Suppose you're targeted by a Fox Girl, and you then use the Fox Girl's characteristics to have her bring you good things. You just need to be able to bear the cost the Fox Girl demands... that's all."

Hearing this, a light suddenly flashed in Shen Bai's mind.

If it was really as Qin Shuang said, wasn't this just finding a delivery service?

The difference was whether one could bear the cost brought by the delivery service.

Qin Shuang continued, "The person who controls the Fox Girl is actually also a disciple of Thieves' Gate, but this guy is a traitor who joined Upper Evil Gate. I came this time specifically to investigate his whereabouts and gather evidence."

"He knows most of the people in the sect. I haven't been in Thieves' Gate for long, so he doesn't know me. It won't alert him."

Shen Bai paced back and forth, saying, "Do you have any clues?"

Qin Shuang shook her head and said, "No clues. I saw someone injured by a Fox Girl, and you were talking to the constable for a bit. Out of curiosity, I came to investigate and see if I could find any useful information, but I didn't expect..."

"Didn't expect what?"

"Didn't expect to be caught by you."

Qin Shuang said dejectedly.

Shen Bai fell into thought.

The room was silent, save for the sound of Shen Bai pacing back and forth.

"The Upper Evil Gate again. This organization truly clings on like a parasite."

"If it's as Qin Shuang says, with the Fox Girl arriving in Ascending Cloud County, someone controlling her and possessing a Bizarre Item, plus the Heavenly Oversight Bureau on its way, the entire Ascending Cloud County is going to descend into utter chaos."

"I need to be careful not to get burned. No, Zhou Qing's situation is going to be difficult."

All sorts of thoughts churned in Shen Bai's mind, but his biggest concern was Zhou Qing.

As a constable in the yamen, Zhou Qing was bound to get entangled in these matters.

In an Ascending Cloud County thrown into chaos, it was likely that Zhou Qing would be the first to face the brunt of it.

"The Fox Girl has Malevolent Qi and is connected to the Upper Evil Gate. For the sake of the Malevolent Qi, I reckon I'll have to get involved too. I'll wait for news from Zhou Qing first."

A moment later, Shen Bai made his decision.

Qin Shuang cautiously glanced at Shen Bai, then rolled her eyes. "Um… senior, can I leave now?"

She knew that this time, she had truly shot herself in the foot.

In this small Ascending Cloud County, a regular Pawnshop actually had a powerful senior here. Qin Shuang felt quite helpless.

Shen Bai snapped out of his thoughts and chuckled, "You can't leave."

"Huh?"

Qin Shuang looked stunned. "Why not?"

Shen Bai said, "Because I haven't gotten the information I want."

Qin Shuang was dumbfounded.

Shen Bai said calmly, "I'm not stupid. If the Thieves' Gate had no clues whatsoever, would an organization not skilled in combat send disciples here?"

"That would be like a blind man trying to describe an elephant."

"Tell me your real purpose. Don't pretend to be foolish; no one will believe it."

No clues, not skilled in combat, and they send people just to clear their reputation?

If that story got out, Shen Bai figured anyone who believed it must have something wrong with their head.

Qin Shuang bit her lip, saying nothing.

Shen Bai shook his head. "I really don't like doing overly bloody things, but if you insist on forcing me, then I have no choice."

With that, he raised his longsword and approached Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang clutched her collar and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Shen Bai chuckled, "You misunderstand. I'm not interested in your body. No, to be precise, I am very interested. Such a beautiful body, if it were torn into many pieces, it probably wouldn't be beautiful anymore."

Torn into many pieces?

Qin Shuang's eyes widened.

Then, a gruesome and terrifying image flashed in her mind.

Qin Shuang clenched her teeth.

She knew Shen Bai wasn't lying, because she felt that faint killing intent.

Seeing Shen Bai about to reach her, Qin Shuang could no longer hold back.

The foolishness vanished, replaced by shrewdness and intelligence in her eyes.

Everything just now had been an act.

"A Grand Tomb. There's a Grand Tomb in Ascending Cloud County. The Upper Evil Gate wants to steal from it using the Fox Girl, and that Bizarre Item is also a crucial element."