Righteous thief?

Being targeted did not surprise Chen Ye.

He had caused such a massive commotion earlier that it would be strange if the big shots of Cui County were unaware of it.

Sending a young girl to tail him wasn't particularly odd, but tailing was one thing; leading him here directly in hopes of inciting a conflict between him and this group of martial artists meant the person behind it had malicious intent.

Chen Ye was not prepared to be polite to such people.

The vengeful spirits of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner gripped the young girl tightly, waiting only for her confession.

But even with eyes full of panic, the young girl insisted, "Young Master, you misunderstand. I have no grudge against you, why would I want to harm you? Seeing your heavenly grace, I couldn't like you enough. As long as you are willing, I would even offer myself to you, so how could I bear to..."

"Oh, really?"

Chen Ye walked over to Lan Shi, untied the black mask from her face, and revealed a youthful face that looked to be not even fifteen years old. His palm, prepared to tease her, stopped in mid-air and was eventually pulled back.

He had just wanted to act the part of a man blinded by lust to see if he could scare the girl into confessing, but upon seeing this face, Chen Ye couldn't bring himself to continue the act.

Lan Shi had been gritting her teeth, prepared to endure some humiliation, but seeing Chen Ye stop, the young girl was stunned.

The scene before her was truly bizarre.

Panicked martial artists were scattering in all directions, while over a dozen men had their heads shoved into the floorboards, blood pooling across the ground.

The man who looked like a great demon stood before the frail girl, yet he had developed a sense of compassion upon seeing her youthful appearance.

Lan Shi suddenly chuckled softly and said to Chen Ye, "Young Master is a gentleman; I'm afraid you aren't cut out to play the part of a lecherous scoundrel."

Having her thoughts seen through by a young girl didn't make Chen Ye feel awkward; he admitted it generously, "Having lived for many years, I truly haven't tried doing anything evil, so my experience is slightly lacking. But it doesn't matter; learning to be bad isn't difficult, it just depends on whether you force me to learn."

The two locked eyes; Chen Ye's gaze was calm, which instead made Lan Shi feel afraid.

Although the man before her was a gentleman, a gentleman's word was likely as binding as a team of horses.

If she didn't explain herself clearly, this gentleman might really learn how to be a bad person.

Lan Shi said helplessly, "This place is not suitable for a long stay. Please, Young Master, release this spell, and we shall find a quiet place where I will tell you everything."

Chen Ye shook his head, saying, "I came here to find trouble, why would I want quiet? Besides, didn't you lead me here to find trouble? You should be satisfied now."

Lan Shi was silent for a long time before finally confessing, "What you said is correct, Young Master. I had been waiting outside the Baiye Teahouse for two days."

"Waiting specifically for me, for what purpose?"

Lan Shi did not answer, instead asking, "Are you truly an immortal, Young Master?"

"I know a little bit of magic, but I cannot be considered a true immortal."

Lan Shi looked at the martial artists planted head-first into the ground and said in surprise, "You call this 'a little bit'?"

Chen Ye couldn't be bothered to explain. To mortals, this scene might be shocking, but it was truly just a minor trick. The vengeful ghosts in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had already taken their revenge and were no longer particularly ferocious.

If they were in the hands of the monk Ku'e, it wouldn't be as simple as knocking their heads into the floor; they would have long since been reduced to a pile of mangled flesh.

Chen Ye warned Lan Shi, "Young lady, you had better answer my question. I don't have much patience."

"Fine. Surely you know about the forced conscription of young boys and girls in Cui County? I led you here, in truth, to save people."

This answer from Lan Shi caught Chen Ye quite off guard. He sorted through the various clues in his mind before urging, "I am all ears."

Lan Shi seemed to have resigned herself to her fate and confessed, "Although I am a thief, I could no longer stand by and watch as Cui County forcibly conscripted thousands of young boys and girls. But I am alone and weak; it is impossible for me to save these children, so I went everywhere to inquire, hoping to uncover the truth behind the scenes..."

Her words sounded sincere, and Chen Ye didn't find any flaws, but he interrupted her, "Wait, you told me earlier that Young Master Jiang gathered these martial artists to save people. Then why did you want me to clash with them?"

Lan Shi gritted her teeth and said, "Because they have no intention of saving anyone. Look at these people, Young Master; they are all notorious villains in the martial world—murderers and arsonists who commit every evil deed. If they disagree, they bully the weak. How could they possibly save anyone? Those with true chivalry have long since been captured by the government, and many have already been executed.

"The Hengdao Inn is able to operate in Cui County because the imperial court is backing it; otherwise, how would the Cui County magistrate allow so many martial artists to gather here? It's just that they hid it well before, making it hard for outsiders to notice.

"That Young Master Jiang uses the guise of saving people to gather martial artists. He takes the villains into his service, and the chivalrous ones are reported to the government. Every time someone joins, Young Master Jiang throws a grand banquet to get them drunk, and that very night, the government comes to make arrests. This tactic has already harmed many people. When I was gathering information, I went to the government prison and happened to overhear the news, which is how I learned the truth."

Chen Ye hadn't expected the government to be so ruthless.

When he first arrived in Cui County, he had indeed heard that some martial artists were dissatisfied with the forced conscription and had caused several murders. To solve this problem, they simply let the martial artists dig a pit to lure chivalrous heroes into a trap?

This move was vicious and insidious, but it was certainly effective and could reduce many losses.

Martial artists definitely couldn't defeat an army, but they had many ways to come and go as they pleased. If they were truly determined to play dirty, the magistrate's office would be left in a state of chaos.

But it was simple for martial artists to deal with other martial artists; they could openly use any means necessary without the constraints the government faced.

It seemed that the magistrate of Cui County was not just a corrupt official, but a cunning one.

Lan Shi continued to explain, "That Young Master Jiang has extremely high martial arts skills, and he has many martial artists under his command. I am no match for him alone. I have no confidence in poisoning him, and I lack the skill for assassination. Later, I heard about you, Young Master, and that you were an immortal descended to earth. I wanted to ask for your help, but who knew I would have to wait for days.

"I saw you from afar outside the inn today and guessed your identity, so I pretended to have a chance encounter."

The story was reasonable up to this point, but Chen Ye asked again, "Then since you saw me today, why didn't you explain the situation instead of leading me here and inciting a conflict?"

Lan Shi replied, "I did intentionally approach you, but you were also playing along. When I mentioned Room Four of the Heaven Wing, you didn't clarify the misunderstanding. I couldn't guess your intentions, but I didn't dare to tell you the truth rashly. What if you were in cahoots with Young Master Jiang?

"I only have one life, and only one chance. So I had to try, at least to lead you to them and confirm your true relationship. It is true that I intentionally incited the conflict; the culprit himself wasn't there, and the group under his command only knows how to drink and cause trouble. This was the best opportunity. Regardless of your original relationship with them, as long as a fight broke out, it would be enough.

"I just didn't expect that you, Young Master, were truly an immortal descended to earth."

Having said this, Lan Shi lowered her head, as if she no longer dared to look Chen Ye in the eye.

Chen Ye carefully pondered the young girl's words and found the logic sound; everything could be explained. The only problem was that it was all hearsay, and there was no evidence whatsoever.

However, it didn't really matter.

Chen Ye waved his hand to recall the vengeful spirit that had been holding Lan Shi, and said to the young girl, "Since you were the one who deliberately stirred up trouble, then consider it a debt you owe me."

Lan Shi hurriedly looked up, her small head nodding repeatedly as she said, "Young Master is right, I owe you. I will definitely repay you, I am willing to do anything."

"Anything at all?"

Lan Shi said without hesitation, "Yes, anything. Please give me a chance to make amends for my crimes, Young Master."

"Then go and fetch some things for me."

"Ah? So it's just fetching things?" Lan Shi said with a hint of regret.

What was with this young girl's tone? Chen Ye felt as if he were the one being taken advantage of.

"Cui County is forcibly conscripting young boys and girls, likely under imperial orders. Go to the county office and steal all the relevant documents for me. Also, bring me every piece of evidence regarding the county magistrate colluding with martial artists to frame others; don't leave a single one behind."

Lan Shi said with some difficulty, "This... the Cui County office is guarded even more strictly than the prefectural government. I'm afraid..."

Chen Ye said mercilessly, "If you're afraid of death, then enter my Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Once you're dead, you won't be afraid of death anymore."

Upon hearing this, Lan Shi hurriedly said, "No, no, no, Young Master, spare me. I'll go right now."

The young girl unleashed her light-body technique, moving like a bird spreading its wings.

It had to be said, her light-body technique was truly excellent.

Chen Ye stared in the direction the young girl had left, remaining silent for a long time.

Mo Ci's voice rang out, "What, you didn't truly intend to let her go? Do you really want to use her to break your pure yang body?"

Chen Ye laughed, "That would be my loss. I just feel that this young girl is more than just a simple righteous thief."