A Righteous Thief?

Being watched didn't surprise Chen Ye.

He'd made such a commotion earlier. It would've been stranger if the bigwigs of Cui County hadn't noticed.

Sending a young girl to tail him wasn't unusual. But tailing him was one thing; leading him here outright in the hope that he'd fall out with this crowd of martial artists was another. Whoever was behind it clearly meant him no good.

Chen Ye had no intention of going easy on someone like that.

The resentful spirits from the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had the young girl pinned down, waiting for her to confess.

Even with panic written all over her face, she insisted, "Young master, you've misunderstood. I have no grudge against you. Why would I try to harm you? You're so handsome and extraordinary, I can't help liking you. If you're willing, I'd even offer myself to you. How could I bear to..."

"Oh? Really?"

Chen Ye walked over to Lan Shi and untied the black cloth covering her face, revealing a young, tender face. She looked no older than fifteen. His hand, raised to tease her, stopped in midair, then finally lowered.

He'd wanted to pretend to be bewitched by her beauty and see if he could scare the truth out of her. But the moment he saw that face, he couldn't keep up the act.

Lan Shi had been gritting her teeth, bracing herself for humiliation. When Chen Ye stopped, she was stunned too.

The scene before her was downright bizarre.

The frightened martial artists were scattering in every direction, while more than a dozen heads had been shoved into the floor, blood spilling everywhere.

A man like some great demon stood before a delicate, helpless girl, yet the sight of her youthful face had stirred his compassion.

Lan Shi suddenly chuckled and said to Chen Ye, "Young master, you're a gentleman through and through. I doubt you could pull off playing a lecherous libertine."

Being seen through by a young girl didn't embarrass Chen Ye. He readily admitted, "I've lived for many years, but I've never really done anything wicked. I'm a little short on experience. But that's all right. It's not hard to learn to be bad; it just depends on whether you force me to."

Their eyes met. Chen Ye's gaze was calm and open, which only frightened Lan Shi more.

The man before her might be a gentleman, but a gentleman's word was as good as a team of horses.

If she didn't explain herself, he might really learn to be a bad man.

Lan Shi said helplessly, "This place isn't safe. Please undo your spell, and let's find somewhere quiet. I'll tell you everything."

Chen Ye shook his head. "I came here looking for trouble. Why would I want somewhere quiet? Besides, weren't you the one who led me here to stir up trouble? You should be pleased with how things turned out."

Lan Shi was silent for a long while before finally admitting, "You're right, young master. I've been waiting outside Baiye Teahouse for two days."

"You've been waiting for me. What for?"

Lan Shi didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "Are you really an immortal?"

"I know a little magic, but I'm no true immortal."

Lan Shi looked at the martial artists sprawled across the floor, their heads buried in it, and exclaimed, "You call that knowing a little?"

Chen Ye couldn't be bothered to explain. To mortals, the scene might've been shocking, but it was just a small trick. The vengeful ghosts in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had already avenged themselves, and weren't nearly as vicious anymore.

In Ku'e's hands, it wouldn't have ended with their heads knocked into the floor. They'd have been reduced to a bloody, mangled heap.

Chen Ye warned Lan Shi, "You'd better answer my question. I'm not a very patient man."

"Fine. I imagine you know that Cui County has been forcibly conscripting young boys and girls. I led you here because I wanted to save them."

Her answer genuinely surprised Chen Ye. He sorted through the clues in his mind before urging her on. "I'm listening."

Lan Shi seemed to accept her fate and confessed, "I may be a thief, but I couldn't stand by and watch Cui County conscript over a thousand children. I'm only one person, though, and I couldn't save them all. So I asked around, trying to uncover the truth behind it..."

Her words sounded heartfelt, and Chen Ye couldn't spot any flaws. But he interrupted her. "Wait. You told me earlier that Young Master Jiang had gathered those martial artists to save the children. So why did you want me to clash with them?"

Lan Shi ground her teeth. "Because they aren't truly here to save anyone. Just look at the people here. They're all notorious villains, guilty of every crime under the sun. They bully the innocent over the slightest disagreement. How could they possibly be here to save children? The ones with a true sense of chivalry were arrested by the authorities long ago. Quite a few have already been executed.

"The Hengdao Inn couldn't have opened in Cui County without the court's backing. Otherwise, how would the county authorities allow so many martial artists to gather here? They've just been good at hiding it until now, so outsiders had a hard time noticing.

"That Young Master Jiang uses the pretext of saving children to gather martial artists. He takes the villains into his ranks, while the chivalrous ones get reported to the authorities. Whenever someone joins him, Young Master Jiang throws a lavish banquet and gets them drunk. That very night, the authorities come to arrest them. He's already ruined many lives this way. I went to the county jail while gathering information, and happened to overhear something. That's how I learned the truth."

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

When he'd first arrived in Cui County, he'd heard that some martial artists were outraged by the forced conscription of children and had caused quite a few deadly incidents. To solve the problem, the authorities had simply dug a pit for the martial artists and tricked the chivalrous ones into falling right into it?

It was a vicious, underhanded trick, but it worked. It could prevent a great deal of trouble.

The martial artists definitely couldn't beat the army, but they had plenty of ways to come and go as they pleased. If they truly set their minds to covert attacks, the local authorities would be left scrambling.

But getting martial artists to fight other martial artists was simple. They could use every trick in the book without the authorities' many scruples.

It seemed the magistrate of Cui County wasn't just corrupt—he was a cunning sort of corrupt.

Lan Shi went on, "Young Master Jiang is highly skilled, and he has many martial artists under his command. I'm no match for him alone. I couldn't be sure poison would work, and I don't have the skills to assassinate him. Then I heard about you, young master. They said you were an immortal descended to the mortal world. I wanted to ask you for help, but who knew I'd have to wait for days?

"When I saw you from a distance outside the inn today, I guessed who you were. So I pretended we'd met by chance."

The story seemed reasonable enough, but Chen Ye asked another question. "If you saw me today, why didn't you explain the situation? Why lead me here and provoke a fight instead?"

Lan Shi replied, "I did approach you on purpose, but you were playing along too. When I mentioned Room Four of the Heavenly Wing, you didn't correct my misunderstanding. I couldn't guess what you were thinking, young master, but I didn't dare tell you the truth rashly. What if you and Young Master Jiang were birds of a feather?

"I only have one life, and one chance. So I had to test you. At the very least, I had to bring you face-to-face with them and confirm what your true relationship was. I did deliberately provoke a fight. The real culprit happened to be away, and the people under him knew nothing but drinking and causing trouble. It was the perfect moment. Whatever your relationship with them had been before, all that mattered was getting a fight started.

"I just never expected you to really be an immortal descended to the mortal world."

Having said her piece, Lan Shi lowered her head, seeming afraid to meet Chen Ye's eyes so openly again.

Chen Ye carefully considered the girl's words. The logic held together, and everything could be explained. The only problem was that it was all based on her word, with no evidence at all.

Still, it didn't matter.

Chen Ye waved a hand, recalling the resentful spirit that had been holding Lan Shi. "Since you deliberately stirred up trouble, you owe me."

Lan Shi quickly raised her head and nodded over and over. "You're right, young master. I owe you, and I'll repay you. I'm willing to do anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything, anything. Please give me a chance to make up for it."

"Then go get something for me."

"Huh? You only want me to fetch something?" Lan Shi said, sounding a little disappointed.

What was with that tone? Chen Ye almost felt like she was the one taking advantage of him.

"Cui County's forced conscription of children seems to be an order from the court. Go to the county yamen and steal every document related to it. Also bring me all the evidence that the magistrate colluded with martial artists to frame people. Don't miss a thing."

Lan Shi looked troubled. "But the county yamen in Cui County is even more heavily guarded than the prefectural government. I'm afraid..."

Chen Ye showed no mercy. "If you're afraid of dying, join my Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Once you're dead, you won't be afraid of death."

Lan Shi hurriedly said, "No, no! Spare me, young master. I'll go right away."

The young girl used her lightness skill and darted off like a little bird taking wing.

There was no denying it—her lightness skill was excellent.

Chen Ye stared in the direction the girl had gone for a long while without speaking.

Mo Ci's voice rang out. "What, you didn't really mean to let her go? Were you actually planning to use her to break your pure yang body?"

Chen Ye laughed. "Then I'd be the one getting the raw end of the deal. I just think there's more to this girl than a righteous thief."