Twenty-Fifth Chapter: There Wasn't Much Time Left for Her

There was nothing greater than freeing your mind. Thinking in reverse was important.

After his previous failures, Fu Qian's plan this time was simple: you couldn't spend every day trying to catch thieves and every day guarding against them, too.

Instead of worrying about how to keep Wen Li alive, he would put her somewhere absolutely safe and have her advance as quickly as possible.

As the old saying went, give time a task, rather than give a task time.

Miss Wen spent a full ten minutes trying to compose herself, but even after she stopped crying, she was clearly still reluctant.

"I don't understand."

Her voice was dry.

"You don't need to understand. You just need to make a choice."

"Use every second to advance, or make tomorrow's headlines naked."

"Also, just so you know, even if you die here, it won't change what I do tomorrow."

Fu Qian reminded the beauty of the harsh reality she faced.

A beauty who wouldn't forget to wipe her face even when her life was hanging in the balance.

He was sure that when faced with this kind of threat, she had boundless potential.

"Can you at least tell me why you're doing this?"

Wen Li was clearly capable of sound reasoning, and quickly accepted her fate.

Even so, she couldn't help asking the question on her mind.

Yes, why were you doing this?

To save her life? He had already saved it more than once.

But why make such an outrageous demand?

Was he some powerful pervert who enjoyed toying with people?

"You may be overthinking it. I, Fu, was just passing by the other day when I saw that you had the makings of a great cultivator. I decided to give you a little guidance and bestow an opportunity upon you."

"Can I turn down this opportunity?"

"When Heaven offers you a gift, you don't get to refuse."

"But... my ability is heavily affected by my emotions. I really don't think I can advance under these circumstances."

"Didn't I already slap that Young Master Ye to cheer you up?"

"Why would that cheer me up... Wait, how did you know?"

In the end, Miss Wen was forced to accept her fate and gradually quieted down.

She sat upright with her eyes gently closed, adjusting her breathing. In the quiet space, she seemed almost ethereal.

Dealing with smart people really was easy!

Watching Wen Li sit with her back to him, Fu Qian felt deeply reassured.

"Jade must be carved before it becomes a useful vessel. I'm glad you're so eager to improve."

Wen Li's seated body visibly shuddered.

"Friendly reminder: you have 23 hours and 35 minutes left."

He saw Wen Li's shoulders tremble slightly, as if she were crying again.

Satisfied that she wouldn't slack off, Fu Qian nodded and stood still with his eyes closed.

He wasn't going to sleep. Quite the opposite: he had all his senses alert, covering every corner.

Wen Xiuxian had described this place as impregnable, but that was based on his own common sense.

Fu Qian had seen the Lightning Railgun. To him, these impenetrable walls were only good for preventing minor inconveniences.

Like the one happening now.

Fu Qian suddenly opened his eyes and blew toward the space in front of him.

The air wavered almost imperceptibly. A nearly transparent filament drifted aside in the breeze.

Without a sound, a deep groove appeared in the wall.

Its original target had been his neck.

The air stirred again. More than ten similar filaments shot toward him from every direction.

This time, Fu Qian didn't move at all. He let them wrap around him.

The razor-sharp filaments quickly wound around him from head to toe. Then they tightened, trying to mince him into pieces.

Feeling the filaments nearly bite into his flesh, Fu Qian took a deep breath.

The next instant, sharp snapping sounds rang out. The filaments wrapped around him broke into pieces and scattered through the air.

Found you.

At the same time, Fu Qian leaped up and tore open the ventilation duct above him.

More filaments tried to coil around his hand, but he grabbed them and yanked hard.

"Hmph!"

A figure jumped out of the ventilation duct and glared at Fu Qian.

It was someone he knew.

He looked at the poker-faced middle-aged woman in front of him.

"Team Leader Tan, your hair's going gray early."

Fu Qian blew on the broken filaments in his hand.

No longer imbued with power, they had turned opaque, each one now a gray-white strand of hair.

A section of Tan Mingxue's hair was noticeably shorter. Unless her hairstylist had had an accident, it was obvious where those strands had come from.

The Night Watchers had arrived pretty quickly.

Thinking of Mr. Ji's earlier performance as the Jade Emperor, Fu Qian had to admire how quickly they called in reinforcements.

"Who are you?"

Age really was a woman's worst enemy. Tan Mingxue had initially looked one-third grave and one-fifth confused.

After Fu Qian's remark, almost all that remained was killing intent.

Visible bloodlust poured out of her.

Fu Qian didn't react. From his previous dealings with her, he knew she had a pretty fiery temper.

Given the situation, he had kidnapped the Wen Family's young lady and injured an innocent bystander. The only way they could have a peaceful discussion was if he surrendered and went with her.

And that was out of the question.

Better to provoke her and make her lose her head. Maybe she'd leave a few more openings.

"Team Leader Tan, you just tried to kill me. You really don't know who I am?"

Fu Qian blinked.

"There's something wrong with the way you enforce the law."

"That's not for you to judge. Answer my question or say your last words. Take your pick."

Tan Mingxue's gaze was icy. She was an experienced transcendent, after all, and didn't lose her composure further in her anger. Fu Qian was rather disappointed.

"Ah—"

Fu Qian ignored her and stretched out in a long yawn.

"I choose neither."

"Stubborn fool!"

Tan Mingxue said no more. The next moment, her long hair lifted and fanned out in every direction without a breeze.

It stood straight out, like hair charged by a static ball.

The ends of her hair extended, turning into those transparent filaments again. They nearly covered the entire room.

As the filaments whipped about, the air was repeatedly sliced and churned.

The whole room became an invisible meat grinder. One wrong step, and you'd be cut to pieces.

You're playing rough, so don't blame me.

Fu Qian raised both arms and did a chest stretch.

He needed to finish this quickly. The arrival of reinforcements had clearly drawn Miss Wen's attention. She was still sitting there, but she'd stopped concentrating and was even sneaking glances behind her.

He needed to help her focus as soon as possible.

After all, there wasn't much time left for her.