Their conversation flowed smoothly. Yang Ning nodded gravely and turned to Xu Yinyin beside him. "This is a regular customer. I need to take care of him."
Xu Yinyin didn't think much of it and nodded. "Then I'll come in to work tomorrow."
"Mm, all right."
After getting Yang Ning's answer, Xu Yinyin gently set the Urea Bag on the ground, then skipped away, looking back every few steps. She left the grounds of the Myriad Things Come shop, her figure gradually disappearing at the end of the Bamboo Trail.
Once Xu Yinyin was gone, the "customer" finally stepped up beside Yang Ning and lowered his voice. "Tsk, tsk, not bad, Sixth. The Law Enforcement Hall Master's prized disciple personally escorted you back."
Yang Ning glanced helplessly at the man beside him—the leader of the Sword Sect's undercover agents, Sun Kai, deputy hall master of the Law Enforcement Hall, codename Poison Bee. Yang Ning was the sixth child Sun Kai had taken from the camp, so Sun Kai had always called him Sixth.
"I took a job from the Law Enforcement Hall and made some extra money."
Sun Kai nodded, pulled a small Porcelain Bottle from his robe, and held it out to Yang Ning.
"What's this?" Yang Ning took the bottle and examined it carefully in his palm.
Sun Kai pulled out a cigarette as well, tucked it between his lips, and channeled True Qi through his fingertips. A small flame sprang to life. He took a deep drag, smoke curling from the corner of his mouth.
"The day before yesterday, one of our men at Dan Peak was caught after a slipup. The connection between the Household and the talisman on his heart was severed, too. I'd wager Lei Lifeng took care of it himself. That means the talismans we've been using aren't reliable anymore if we get captured."
Sun Kai glanced at the Porcelain Bottle in Yang Ning's hand. "You have to take the antidote every day, or you'll die. If you do get captured, at least you won't end up revealing the Household's secrets."
Yang Ning shook the bottle. There were quite a few pills inside—nearly a hundred. A bitter smile tugged at his lips. "Do I have to take them?"
Sun Kai took another drag. Through the swirling smoke, Yang Ning couldn't make out his expression. "Don't make this hard for me. When I handed out medicine to the other undercover agents today, I didn't tell anyone it was poison... I only told you."
Yang Ning nodded, uncorked the bottle, and tipped out a pill. Then he tilted his head back, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed.
"Thanks." Yang Ning handed the bottle to Sun Kai.
Sun Kai drew in a deep breath, eyes narrowed.
"What have I done to deserve your thanks? You ought to hate me. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have ended up in the Sword Sect, living every day with your head on the chopping block."
Yang Ning looked at Sun Kai, his gaze complicated. "That's exactly what I have to thank you for. At least... I didn't have to stay in the Demon Realm forever."
Sun Kai finished his cigarette. He knew what Yang Ning had been through at the "camp," so he said nothing more. He tossed the butt to the ground and ground it out underfoot. "By the way, back then you had no Root Bone, but you did have a Bloodline Power. How did it suddenly disappear?"
Seeing Yang Ning fall silent, Sun Kai sighed. "Forget it. Pretend I never asked." He pointed toward the Bamboo Forest ahead. "I'll leave your daily antidote over there." Then he set off along the bamboo path.
"Poison Bee!"
Sun Kai turned around. Yang Ning had pulled a pack of Lanzhou cigarettes from his robe and tossed it over.
"Take it easy with those."
Sun Kai caught the cigarettes and smiled knowingly. He waved, turned, and stepped onto the Bamboo Trail, his figure soon vanishing amid the emerald bamboo.
Watching Sun Kai disappear into the distance, Yang Ning unconsciously rubbed his chest, then ran a hand over his abdomen and sighed.
"Sigh... One problem isn't even solved yet, and now I've got another."
Then Yang Ning pinched his fingers together, and a pill appeared in his palm. He'd just taken the poison, but when he'd tipped the pills from the bottle, he'd taken one extra to keep as a spare.
Yang Ning bent down, picked up the Urea Bag, unlocked the door, and walked into the Myriad Things Come shop.
The next morning, Qiao Bin had just finished a night of searching when, as usual, he flew down on his sword outside the Myriad Things Come shop.
Yang Ning was stretched out on a Sun Chair, a pair of sunglasses perched on his face. On the little table beside him sat a can of chilled Cola, beaded with cold.
"Brother Ning? Brother Ning?" Qiao Bin called softly.
Yang Ning slowly took off his sunglasses and gave Qiao Bin a speechless glance. "I'd just fallen asleep."
"Heh." Qiao Bin scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry to bother you while you were resting, Brother Ning."
Yang Ning didn't answer. He simply picked up the Cola beside him and took a sip through the straw.
"So? Did you find anything in the Law Enforcement Hall?"
Qiao Bin glanced around, then lowered his voice. "We actually found one last night. He was a disciple in charge of paperwork. We found a purple Magic Stone under his bed. He's locked up in Zhaoyu Tower now."
As he spoke, Qiao Bin took out the phone Yun Zishan had taken yesterday and handed it to Yang Ning.
Yang Ning sat up and took the phone. "What, your Hall Master doesn't use this thing anymore?"
Qiao Bin replied, "It's a bit hard to use—not very convenient. The Hall Master already used a Sound Recording Stone to make another recording of the confession. Early this morning, she took it to see the Sect Master. She said she wanted the whole sect investigated."
Yang Ning glanced back at the shop behind him. "No wonder business is so slow today. Everyone's gone back to hunt down undercover agents."
Before you continue