Thousand Faces

Lianshan Xin could tell that Little Qi had been stuck at the peak of Qi Condensation for quite some time, and it seemed he would have a hard time breaking through on his own.

Otherwise, he would not have been demoted to "Little Qi" so quickly.

It made sense. What unyielding hero of the martial world, the sort who would rather break than bend, would join a secret service organization?

Naturally, they were all "progressives" like Lianshan Xin.

"Steward Qu, Brother Qi thirsts for that pill. Why not help him fulfill his wish?"

Lianshan Xin turned his gaze back to Steward Qu.

Steward Qu very much wanted to help, but he lacked the ability.

"Young Master Xin, the master and young master keep the storeroom keys. I can only patrol outside. The master never lets me inside."

Lianshan Xin's eyes lit up. "Of course. Since President Qu belongs to the Demon Cult, he might also be responsible for transporting supplies for them. The Qu Family's storeroom could well contain treasures the Demon Cult needs, along with rare Heavenly Treasures required for cultivation."

At that, Qi Wenbin's eyes lit up too.

"Little Jiu."

"Done."

Du Jiu walked over carrying a ring of keys.

Qu Junjie, meanwhile, lay twitching on the floor.

He clearly was not dead yet, but he had been tortured for information.

Lianshan Xin had no intention of seeking justice for Qu Junjie. Great Yu's laws did not protect criminals.

Besides, full members of the Nine Heavens were theoretically outlaws, exempt even from many of Great Yu's laws.

"These are the keys to the Qu Family's storeroom."

All three of them focused on the keys in Du Jiu's hand.

Qi Wenbin's breathing quickened.

Du Jiu, on the other hand, hesitated.

He was still young and had not reached a cultivation bottleneck, so he had no pressing need to break through his current realm.

Most importantly:

"The Qu Family is a hidden Demon Cult base. If we really seize treasures worth a fortune... the three of us won't be able to handle them. We could easily bring fire down on our own heads."

Du Jiu's expression had now traded places with Qi Wenbin's, becoming extremely grave. "Young Master Xin, Brother Qi, an ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a jade makes him guilty. We can't bring ruin upon ourselves."

Qi Wenbin took a deep breath, reason overcoming greed. "Little Jiu is right. If the Qu Family were merely an ordinary merchant association, it would be fine. But being a Demon Cult base makes this tricky."

Lianshan Xin was somewhat surprised by the caliber of the Nine Heavens' ordinary members.

Remaining rational in the face of immense wealth was no easy feat.

"Of course we can't bring ruin upon ourselves."

Lianshan Xin first established that principle.

Du Jiu felt reassured.

He had genuinely worried that Lianshan Xin would fail to control himself and make the three of them targets for every arrow.

"We'll report this to Third-Place Qi and let her decide."

If the sky fell, the tallest would hold it up first.

Qi Shiyun practiced Immortal Cultivation and was certainly no ordinary figure within the Nine Heavens. She should be able to shield them in this matter.

"Brother Qi, what are the Nine Heavens' rules for confiscating a household's property?" Lianshan Xin asked.

In theory, all confiscated assets should go into the public coffers.

But that was only in theory.

In practice, those conducting the confiscation would certainly hold some back.

As for how much they held back, that varied from organization to organization.

Qi Wenbin answered honestly. "This is my first time confiscating a household's property too."

Lianshan Xin said, "...Brother Jiu, do you know?"

Du Jiu smiled bitterly. "I'm just like Brother Qi. This is my first confiscation assignment. Normally, newcomers like us should just quietly follow the veterans."

It was only their good fortune that Qi Shiyun had assigned them to Lianshan Xin.

"Looks like we'll have to ask Third-Place Qi."

"No."

Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin spoke in unison.

Lianshan Xin was a little surprised.

Du Jiu explained, "Third-Place Qi is a heaven-born genius. Upon joining the Nine Heavens, she became a disciple of a Chosen of Heaven and rose straight into the clouds. She... has always acted openly and honorably. She wouldn't involve herself in this sort of thing."

Lianshan Xin was astonished. "Third-Place Qi is that upright?"

Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin both nodded.

"That's just how it is. Whatever a prodigy like Third-Place Qi needs, someone will prepare it for her. She has no need to touch those gray areas. When you're as gifted as she is, there are plenty of things you don't need to scheme for yourself. Everyone takes it for granted that peerless prodigies receive special treatment," Qi Wenbin said wistfully.

His voice was full of envy, but not jealousy.

Once the gap grew large enough, jealousy disappeared.

Lianshan Xin thought it over and found he could understand.

The academicians doing scientific research in his previous life had also enjoyed treatment far beyond that of ordinary people. Just as Qi Wenbin had said, everyone took special treatment for peerless prodigies for granted. That was reasonable.

Most importantly, Qi Shiyun's talent lay in immortal cultivation.

She had said he could practice Immortal Cultivation too.

Lianshan Xin suddenly grew excited.

Special treatment was great.

He liked an environment that respected prodigies.

"It's fine. I'll talk to Third-Place Qi."

Lianshan Xin did not believe for a second that Qi Shiyun could have everything without having to plan for herself.

No such person existed in this world.

Even those mighty academic stars and geniuses had to deploy every trick they knew to win an academy seat.

Academicians still had to scheme when seeking more funding for their projects.

Even Emperor Yu, who held this world beneath his might, could not accomplish many things. Otherwise, the Demon Cult should no longer exist.

Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin had spent too long in the Nine Heavens, and they clearly viewed Qi Shiyun through rose-tinted glasses.

Lianshan Xin did not.

"Don't let that Demon Cult fiend escape!"

"Surrender, and we'll spare your life!"

"Stubborn fool!"

Suddenly, shouts and sounds of fighting came from outside the room.

Lianshan Xin also heard Qi Shiyun's voice.

Without betraying any emotion, he positioned Qi Wenbin and Du Jiu protectively in front of himself.

After some thought, he dragged Qu Junjie over too, placing him alongside Steward Qu, both safely in front of himself.

It would not do much good, but it offered some small psychological comfort.

Seeing Lianshan Xin's actions, Qi Wenbin could not help laughing. "Brother, don't worry. Everyone who came to Jiangzhou with Lord Heavenly Sword is an expert. Capturing these Demon Cult fiends will be child's play."

"And yet you let the elder escape."

It was not Lianshan Xin who spoke. He was not that tactless.

The speaker was Qu Junjie.

Qi Wenbin glanced at Qu Junjie with a chuckle, not bothering to explain.

Du Jiu gave a mocking laugh as well.

Watching their reactions, Lianshan Xin sensed something strange.

But he did not ask.

About a quarter of an hour later, quiet returned outside.

Qi Wenbin's ears twitched, and he told Lianshan Xin, "It's fine now. Those meant to face justice have faced justice, and those meant to escape have escaped."

"Escape?"

Lianshan Xin caught the key point.

"Escape? How could you let them escape? Aren't the Nine Heavens supposed to be powerful?"

Qu Junjie reacted far more strongly than Lianshan Xin.

That was perfectly natural.

If the Demon Cult fiends escaped, he would suffer the harshest retaliation for betraying them.

"You had so many people catching turtles in a jar, and you still let the Demon Cult fiends escape?"

Qu Junjie was close to breaking down.

Lianshan Xin clearly had no intention of comforting Qu Junjie.

He motioned for Qi Wenbin to open the door.

Then he saw Qi Shiyun seated in the place of honor at the center of the Qu Family estate.

Her clothes were bloodstained, and she was wiping her precious saber with a silk cloth while blood still dripped from its blade.

At her feet lay two corpses, their eyes still open in death.

Nearly half the Qu Family estate had been destroyed.

Lianshan Xin did not know how to describe what he felt, because besides Qi Shiyun, he also saw several corpses mangled beyond human shape.

It was no small shock to him.

Still, Lianshan Xin told himself he needed to get used to such things early.

"Third-Place Qi, was the Demon Cult elder executed?" Lianshan Xin asked the question that concerned him most.

That would be the greatest contribution, enough to earn him a Qi Condensation Pill outright.

Unfortunately, Qi Shiyun's answer disappointed him.

"The Qu Family was indeed sheltering a Demon Cult elder. However, even President Qu himself didn't know that the person he was sheltering was a stand-in."

"A stand-in?" Lianshan Xin's heart jolted.

Had the person he saw with his innate gift been a stand-in too?

"Yes, a stand-in. Lord Heavenly Sword's quarry is the Thousand Faces Demon, the foremost of the Demon Cult's four great elders. Thousand Faces excels at disguise and concealment, and his art of disguise is unmatched beneath heaven. Otherwise, he could never have hidden in the White Deer Grotto Academy for twenty years or escaped unscathed from Lord Heavenly Sword.

"The Qu Family was a smokescreen Thousand Faces prepared for his escape. He probably deliberately sent out that stand-in to draw attention. Of course, it might also have been a test for the Qu Family.

"Now, I'm afraid we've stirred the grass and startled the snake."

At that point, Qi Shiyun noticed Lianshan Xin's expression darkening and offered some reassurance. "This has nothing to do with you. Although we failed to capture Thousand Faces, the Qu Family was indeed hiding Demon Cult fiends. You still deserve credit, not blame. Thousand Faces is a towering figure of the demonic path who can escape even Lord Heavenly Sword's blade. It's only natural that you and I couldn't catch him."

Lianshan Xin took a deep breath and sighed with heartfelt feeling. "How many great heroes there are beneath heaven."

Even with his cheat, he had to remain humble and cautious.

He must never underestimate the heroes of the world.