Drawing the Map

Cao Jinxing fought back the discomfort in his abdomen, took a deep breath, and limped down from the platform toward the thatched hall.

The bandits had already set out a table and spread a white cloth over it.

Yan Baihu and Wang Xuanying also came over to the table.

The other bandits kept their distance.

Without a word, Cao Jinxing picked up the brush and casually sketched a map of Crouching Tiger Mountain, filling in every known trail and secret passage in meticulous detail.

The three chiefs exchanged glances, each seeing the surprise in the others' eyes.

This required tremendous mental ability. Most people could not have drawn so smoothly even while copying.

Yan Baihu held up the earlier piece of cloth to compare the two. They were identical!

Once the map was finished, Cao Jinxing asked cautiously, "Where should I change it?"

Yan Baihu and Wang Xuanying both looked at Han Dang. Anything requiring brains had always fallen to this second chief.

"Just one spot."

Han Dang pointed to a horseshoe-shaped mountain trail in the latter half of the map, over five hundred meters from the stronghold.

A mechanical crossbow array had been installed there. Once triggered, a fast, dense rain of arrows would fill the sky. No matter how good someone's movement skills were, they would be finished.

That spot had been prominently marked on the previous map. "Cao Jinxing" had circled it as a special warning to take extra care.

"Change this to a pit trap. Leave everything else alone."

"All right."

Cao Jinxing readily complied. Whatever they said went.

He filled in the other locations exactly as before, then changed "crossbow array" at Hoof Pass to "pit trap."

Three men, six eyes, watched him intently, comparing every spot for fear he might secretly slip something in to leak information.

Yet Cao Jinxing proved astonishingly obedient, playing no tricks at all with the sole alteration.

The two maps might as well have come from the same mold.

Only then did the three begin to believe him.

He really did not care whether the Embroidered Uniform Guard lived or died!

Nine truths and one lie were the deadliest combination!

With this alteration, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would surely perish beneath the arrow rain at Hoof Pass, making Cao Jinxing their chief accomplice.

Yet he remained so calm throughout that he clearly had accepted it, disregarding all consequences to save his own life.

The three relaxed.

Han Dang continued, "How do you make contact?"

Cao Jinxing answered without hesitation, "There's no need to meet anyone. Once the map is done, I just have to bury it beneath the boundary marker of Crouching Tiger Town at the foot of the mountain. Someone will collect it."

"They're already down there?"

"The agreed half month should be up by now."

"Who's coming? What martial arts do they use?"

"Well..."

Cao Jinxing looked utterly sincere. "...I really don't know. I came too early to know the later plans, and my rank and position are too low for the pacification commissioner to bother explaining. I imagine it'll be a few company commanders."

"Then they..."

"Please forgive me, chiefs. The Pacification Commission has fourteen battalion commanders and over a hundred and forty company commanders. Most are assigned duties outside, and I only see them a few times a year. I don't even recognize all of them, much less know their martial arts."

"..."

Han Dang fell silent for a moment, narrowing his eyes at Cao Jinxing to watch for any change in his expression.

Cao Jinxing remained perfectly composed.

"Chen Long. Take our young friend to the holding cell and look after him properly."

"Yes, Second Chief."

The lackey who had whipped Cao Jinxing earlier strode forward, gave him a sidelong look, and said coldly, "Come with me."

Without a change in expression, Cao Jinxing limped after him and slowly disappeared from view.

"Why not kill him?"

Wang Xuanying asked as he watched Cao Jinxing's retreating figure.

Han Dang replied indifferently, "He's just a pawn. Some of the Embroidered Uniform Guard experts coming here might happen to be people he knows. Keep him alive. He's only at the fifth Acquired stage. What if he proves useful?"

"Then this map..."

"There's nothing wrong with it. I watched carefully. Even the handwriting and brushstrokes in the altered spot match everything else perfectly. He really didn't tamper with it."

"Good. When do we act?"

"At dusk. Find someone with a build like his to bury the map. In the meantime, we can make more preparations and ensure nothing goes wrong."

"Good. That's settled!"

The three rubbed their hands in anticipation, determined that none of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would return alive.

The holding cell was where the Crouching Tiger Gang imprisoned hostages for ransom. These were unusual times, and the stronghold had done little business lately, leaving the cell completely empty.

"Get in there!"

After opening the door, Chen Long kicked Cao Jinxing. Unable to keep his balance, Cao Jinxing fell to the floor.

Very good.

First, I'll figure out how you're going to die...

A vicious gleam surged in Cao Jinxing's eyes, but he said nothing. Chen Long snorted. "You dared sneak into the Crouching Tiger Gang with that pathetic ability? You were asking to die!"

He stepped outside, shut the door behind him, and secured it with a large brass padlock, leaving Cao Jinxing utterly alone.

"Next, heal my injuries..."

Time was short. Cao Jinxing immediately sat cross-legged, positioned his palms and soles upward, and began circulating his internal cultivation method.

His rank was low, so he possessed only the most ordinary martial arts issued by the Pacification Commission.

One manual for the "Origin Embracing Art."

One manual for the "Wild Wind Blade Technique."

The former was an intermediate internal art of the Mount Hua Sect with healing properties. The latter was a somewhat renowned martial art whose blade moves were extremely fast.

Both were eighth-grade martial arts, utter trash.

Before playing the game, Cao Jinxing had read up on its basic setting on the official website.

This world was far from simple.

Martial arts, divine weapons, and natural treasures were all divided into three tiers and nine grades. Eighth grade belonged only to the lowest [Mortal] tier.

Above it were the [Spirit] and [Immortal] tiers-those two words alone left plenty to the imagination.

But he had no choice. He would have to make do for now.

Cao Jinxing steadied his breathing and focused his mind, gathering his energy and holding it as one as he began circulating the art according to his inherited memories.

Almost instantly, a strand of true qi responded, rising from his dantian and circulating through his body at his mental command.

Cao Jinxing immediately felt an enormous difference.

Previously, his cultivation had been sluggish and lifeless, slow and weak. Now, however, the true qi inside him surged like a fiery dragon, vast and powerful, flowing with exhilarating ease!

This was "natural aptitude."

The higher his [Strength], the harder his strikes and the greater his killing power; the higher his [Agility], the faster his dodges and the stronger his parries.

The higher his [Comprehension], the better his learning ability and the faster his mind worked; the higher his [Constitution], the faster his true qi grew and the better his healing.

These four were the game's most important attributes.

And Cao Jinxing had been born with three of them at their maximum.

Even his weakest attribute, Strength, was first-rate by this world's standards.

If cultivating before had been like trundling along in an oxcart, now it was like riding a rocket into the sky.

Before Cao Jinxing knew it, his external wounds had scabbed over. Another moment of inattention, and his true qi was brimming-he had already broken through to the sixth Acquired stage...

At the same time, countless insights into the "Origin Embracing Art" and "Wild Wind Blade Technique" came to him. Everything that had previously felt awkward suddenly clicked, and his proficiency shot upward!

"This is absurd. It's even faster than I expected!"

Had he not known that his current aptitude was among the finest in the world, one in ten thousand, he would genuinely have suspected he had suffered cultivation deviation.

Cao Jinxing shut out all distractions and devoted himself to cultivating.

His combat power soared!

Before he knew it, dusk had arrived. The sun sank westward, its golden light spilling through the cracks in the door into the cell. Cao Jinxing opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them.

The eighth Acquired stage!

"Those three bandits probably never dreamed that the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't even need to come up the mountain. Give me a little time, and this 'fifth-stage' small fry can send every last one of you to your graves!"

"They should be setting up defenses at Hoof Pass now, leaving the stronghold undermanned. First, I'll find the 'insecticide'..."

The thought of having been forced to swallow a bug made Cao Jinxing want to vomit.

"That bastard Han Dang!"

He ground his teeth and swore inwardly, I'll force ten of them down your throat! One less, and I'll take your surname! And that Chen Long...

Speak of the devil.

Cao Jinxing had just thought of the lackey who had whipped him when footsteps sounded outside the cell, followed by a nasty voice. "Get over here and take your food!"

Your timing couldn't be better...

Cao Jinxing smiled.

It was a chilling smile.

He slowly stood and walked over.

The little hatch at the bottom of the door rattled. As though feeding a pig, Chen Long tossed in a bowl of spoiled food, and a foul stench hit Cao Jinxing's face.

Outside the door, Chen Long wore a vicious grin. Abusing these prisoners and watching them grovel gave him a heady sense of superiority.

Especially when he stood before officials he once could only kneel and look up to, that pleasure reached its peak!

"Your chiefs told you to 'look after' me, and this is how you do it? You really taught yourself how to throw your weight around as someone else's lapdog..."

A calm voice came from inside.

Chen Long flew into a rage. "What did you say?!"

Cao Jinxing drawled, "Didn't hear me? I said you're a dog. A dog! A dog!!!"

His voice grew louder with every word.

Chen Long nearly burst with rage. "You! Want! To die!"

He had seen how easily the second chief had captured "Cao Jinxing" and knew he was only at the fifth Acquired stage, with pathetic martial skills. He immediately grabbed his cleaver, opened the door, and swung straight at Cao Jinxing's head!

But before the blade could fall, a hand shot out like lightning, clamped around his throat, lifted him, and slammed him hard into the floor!

Crack!

Ribs snapped! Dust flew!

Agony struck. Chen Long instantly spat a mouthful of blood toward the ceiling, and incomparable terror flooded his mind!

"You..."

"Shh. Don't speak."

Cao Jinxing looked down at him and began settling accounts without expression. "You whipped me thirteen times and kicked me once. I've always been fair. Whatever someone does to me, I repay tenfold. So...I'll be gentle enough for you to survive it all. Don't be afraid."

Chen Long was even more terrified. His eyes went wide, cold sweat streamed down him, and he trembled uncontrollably.

"One."

Cao Jinxing drove his fist down!

"Aaaah!!!!!"

A piercing scream instantly filled the holding cell!