Qin Shuang seemed to understand, yet not quite, a trace of confusion on her face.
Shen Bai said slowly, "The Heavenly Oversight Bureau already knows about the lost Bizarre Item, and they also know exactly what it does."
"What benefit do you think he could fish out in such circumstances?"
Qin Shuang pondered. "None. The Heavenly Oversight Bureau isn't made of straw."
Shen Bai smiled. "Then he'll muddy the waters. As more and more people get involved, the Heavenly Oversight Bureau's attention will inevitably be obstructed. The murkier the water, the more scattered their gaze becomes, and the easier it will be for him to find good things in the Grand Tomb."
"I have to say, this traitor from your Thieves' Gate has a brain."
Qin Shuang nodded. "That does make things more and more complicated."
"A person's energy is limited."
Shen Bai rose and paid the bill. "With more people involved, the Heavenly Oversight Bureau's efforts will be spread thin. They won't be able to cover everything."
Qin Shuang followed him. "Then what do we do?"
"Wait and see."
Shen Bai headed toward the pawnshop. "Our target is the tomb. As for that fellow from Upper Evil Gate, the Heavenly Oversight Bureau can deal with the headache. Of course, if I can find him, I wouldn't mind ending his life with one stroke of my sword."
Qin Shuang looked at Shen Bai's retreating back. Hearing the Killing Intent in his words, she shuddered, then hurried after him.
Back at the pawnshop, Shen Bai resumed business as usual.
Qin Shuang sat off to one side, curiously observing Shen Bai's daily routine.
"You really are a pawnshop owner."
"What else would I be?"
"With your strength, why would you be willing to run a pawnshop?"
"I need to eat too."
"You could eat better in Maple Forest Province."
"I can eat better here too."
Shen Bai went over the accounts while chatting with Qin Shuang.
Qin Shuang grew increasingly curious.
In her eyes, Shen Bai's identity as a pawnshop owner did not seem faked. His every move was simply too practiced, as though he had truly been a pawnshop owner for a very long time.
After finishing the accounts, Shen Bai inspected the various pawned items one by one before finally lying down like a salted fish.
"Has Old Zhang become so enamored of home that he's forgotten the way back?"
Zhang Chaofeng still had not come. There were only a few days left of the leave Shen Bai had granted him, yet there had not even been a reply.
Shen Bai still missed the days when Zhang Chaofeng was around. At the very least, with Zhang Chaofeng here, he could go to the back courtyard and grind proficiency.
The two chatted idly, picking up one topic after another.
After talking for quite a while, someone suddenly entered from outside.
"Old Shen, don't go out lately. I'm about to leave Ascending Cloud County."
The moment Zhou Qing entered, he raised his voice and shouted.
Before he could finish, Zhou Qing spotted Qin Shuang sitting beside Shen Bai, looking exceptionally well-behaved, and immediately froze.
"What's... going on here?" Zhou Qing asked curiously.
Shen Bai pointed at Qin Shuang. "A distant relative. She came here to escape disaster."
Qin Shuang nodded vigorously, looking very cooperative. "Escaping disaster."
Zhou Qing said oddly, "Your parents died early, and now a distant relative suddenly shows up?"
Shen Bai spread his hands. "I don't know either. I'm taking her in for now."
The simpler the explanation, the better. Besides, their friendship was solid enough that Shen Bai had no need to say much.
Zhou Qing came back to himself and did not press further on the matter. Returning to the main subject, he repeated why he had come.
"Since yesterday, more martial wanderers have been arriving in the county seat. I heard it has something to do with a Daoist Grand Tomb."
Shen Bai already knew this, but he did not interrupt, waiting for Zhou Qing to continue.
After a brief pause, Zhou Qing went on. "Wasn't there a Bizarre Hunter who got injured not long ago?"
Shen Bai thought of the middle-aged swordsman who had come to pawn his sword.
"We healed his injuries, and he told us how to find the Fox Girl. We're preparing to set off at once, so I hurried over to tell you."
Zhou Qing said, "Ascending Cloud County has been chaotic lately. Don't keep the shop open too late."
Shen Bai asked, "Old Zhou, there's actually a way to find the Fox Girl?"
Zhou Qing nodded. "That Bizarre Hunter has a Bizarre Item that can locate the Fox Girl's trail. But it can only be used three times, and there are only two uses left."
Shen Bai understood.
If it was a Bizarre Item, then everything made sense.
Bizarre Items possessed all manner of strange abilities. One capable of locating the Fox Girl was nothing unusual.
"I'm leaving."
Zhou Qing stood. "Old Shen, you must be careful."
Pressed by official duties, Zhou Qing did not stay any longer and turned to leave.
Watching Zhou Qing's departing back, Shen Bai rose and gripped the sword at his waist.
Qin Shuang had been watching the show from the side. Seeing Shen Bai stand, she asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Shen Bai turned his head. "Following them to see what happens next."
Since there was a lead, Shen Bai intended to investigate.
If he could deal with the Fox Girl ahead of time, then when the Grand Tomb opened later, Shen Bai would have one less opponent.
And an opponent from Upper Evil Gate at that.
Qin Shuang thought for a moment, then took out a sachet and tossed it to Shen Bai.
Shen Bai caught it and looked it over. Its fragrance seemed to be Qin Shuang's own scent.
Qin Shuang explained, "The Thieves' Gate made this. It can conceal one's aura, and once the fragrance fades, it becomes useless. The reason I made so little noise when searching the pawnshop before was also because of this sachet."
There were far too many strange and bizarre abilities in this world, so Shen Bai did not ask how it worked.
But Qin Shuang's actions gave Shen Bai an idea.
It seems I'm still lacking an art for concealment. When I get the chance, I can try looking for one.
Though the thought arose, Shen Bai did not dwell on it. After taking the sachet, he left the pawnshop with Qin Shuang.
From the pawnshop to the yamen, Shen Bai discovered that the sachet was exactly as Qin Shuang had described.
They were clearly walking along the streets, yet none of the surrounding townsfolk even glanced at them.
The two followed the streets for some time before arriving at the yamen.
At that moment, the yamen constables had already gathered and were heading out under Chief Constable Zheng's lead.
Zhou Qing and the middle-aged Bizarre Hunter were conspicuously among them.
Shen Bai and Qin Shuang exchanged a glance, then followed from far behind, silently leaving Ascending Cloud County.
A stretch of wilderness.
After leaving Ascending Cloud County, the middle-aged Bizarre Hunter held a compass-like object in his hand, guiding the constables onward.
After roughly half an hour of trekking, they finally arrived beside a clear river.
Shen Bai and Qin Shuang looked up and saw wooden stakes standing all around the river.
"Those... are people!"
Shen Bai frowned at the sight.
More than ten corpses had been tied to the wooden stakes, their internal organs hollowed out until their insides were utterly empty.
Not far away by the riverbank, a fox lay sprawled over one of the corpses, gnawing at it with loud, rasping breaths.
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