The Biggest Time Bomb

After explaining to the Yu Family Three Sisters that the Human Grade Room was this size, and that the inn did not provide common sense services like delivering dressing tables into the room, Jiang Beiran finally settled all five of his Junior Sisters into their rooms. Though this time, all five of them were extremely unwilling.

"Bang."

Closing the door to his own room, Jiang Beiran breathed a slight sigh of relief. These five pampered young ladies were even more lacking in common sense than he was when he first transmigrated here. In their worldview, inns could actually provide services like silk quilts, Purple Forest Grass incense, and petal baths.

This made Jiang Beiran very curious about what kind of inns they had stayed in before, because as far as he knew, even the Heaven Grade Rooms in some county town inns wouldn't offer these luxuries.

As expected, money makes the world go round, huh?

After a short rest, Jiang Beiran took off the Invisibility Set and changed into inconspicuous coarse cloth clothes before leaving the inn. Since he had come down the mountain for once, he naturally had to go out and trigger some options.

"Hey! It's Martial Grandfather! What would you like today?"

"Give me two pieces of fatty meat, minced as finely as possible."

"Sure thing~ Just you wait and see."

Passing by a meat stall and overhearing the conversation, Jiang Beiran watched as the butcher chopped two prime cuts of foreleg meat into mince, then carefully took out two sheets of bamboo paper to wrap them separately and tie them up with string.

"Martial Grandfather, your meat is ready. That'll be 20 wen."

The strong man, addressed as Martial Grandfather by the butcher, took the meat and casually said, "Same as usual, I'll owe you for now and settle up at the end of the month."

Upon hearing this, the butcher's face fell. He said nervously and fawningly, "Martial Grandfather... you still owe from last month..."

"En!?"

Just as the butcher was halfway through his sentence, the strong man called Wu Kui glared at him fiercely.

"What, you don't trust me, Wu Kui?"

The courage the butcher had finally mustered vanished instantly. He repeatedly apologized with a smile, "How could I dare, how could I dare? I was just asking casually, just asking casually. You take care."

At the same time, three options popped up before Jiang Beiran's eyes.

[Option 1: Step forward and help the butcher uphold justice. Completion Reward: Heavenly Wolf Sword (Yellow Rank High Grade)]

[Option 2: Act in secret and teach Wu Kui a lesson. Completion Reward: Vairocana Helmet (Yellow Rank Middle Grade)]

[Option 3: Stay put. Completion Reward: Random Basic Attribute Point +1]

Jiang Beiran chose Option 3. After watching Wu Kui say "Sensible" and then leave swaggering, disappearing around the street corner.

"Sigh... How am I supposed to get by?" The butcher sighed, his face full of melancholy. In the end, he couldn't help but pick up the wiping cloth on the chopping board, cover his eyes with it, and rub them hard.

"Boss, two catties of pork."

The butcher, who was feeling miserable, quickly put down his rag upon hearing that. He flashed a big smile and said, "Alright, which cut would you like?"

"Neck meat, and some pig ears too."

"You sound like an expert, sir. Would you like me to slice it for you?"

"No need, just wrap it up for me."

"One portion of neck meat~ One portion of pig ears~ Here you go, please take it. The pig ears are cheaper, so that'll be 18 wen."

"Here's the money."

"Okay, please wait a moment, I'll count... Hey, where are you going!? Hey! Come back! I haven't counted yet! Come back! You scoundrel!!!"

But as soon as the butcher grabbed his knife and chased after the stall, he found that the young customer had already vanished into the crowd. No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find him.

"Damn it! Don't let me catch you! If I do, I'll skin you alive!"

As soon as he finished roaring, the butcher saw a crowd of townspeople gathering to watch. In his anger, he brandished his cleaver and shouted, "What are you looking at! Get on your way!"

Seeing that the butcher had gone mad, the townspeople he had yelled at didn't dare to talk back and dispersed one after another.

"Sigh..."

After the onlookers had all left, the butcher let out a long sigh, his body seeming to have lost all its strength.

He listlessly returned to his stall and glanced at the small cloth bag the scoundrel had left in the corner.

"Bastard!"

The butcher roared as he grabbed the bag, intending to throw it on the ground. But he felt a slight weight inside. Although he didn't think it could be money, he still opened the bag with a sliver of hope.

"This!?"

The butcher's eyes widened. Inside the bag were three pieces of broken silver.

"Three... three taels of silver!?"

The butcher whispered in disbelief.

He suddenly looked up again in the direction the young man had disappeared, his mouth agape.

Finally snapping back to reality, he kowtowed three times with loud thuds, "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!", and slapped himself hard.

"You scoundrel, acting so wild, not even saying thank you to your benefactor!"

After scolding himself, the butcher vowed in his heart that if he ever saw his benefactor again, he would thank him properly. But in his mind, he couldn't recall the young man's appearance at all.

Strange... I can usually remember every customer's face, so why did I forget my benefactor's face!? Oh dear! Wang Fugui, Wang Fugui! You're such an idiot! Completely useless when it matters!

He slapped himself hard again.

At this moment, Jiang Beiran, carrying two bags of meat, had arrived at the end of the street, wondering what expression the boss would have when he saw the three taels of silver in the cloth bag.

'Sigh, surviving in this chaotic world, everyone has a hard time. This is all I can do to help.'

Although Jiang Beiran had resolved to be a refined egoist when he first transmigrated due to various tragic experiences, he ultimately couldn't maintain his "heart of stone" after witnessing the miserable plight of countless commoners.

To this end, after carefully studying the various meanings of the system options, he formulated a comprehensive set of "helping rules."

Simply put, under the premise that his own safety could be guaranteed, he would find indirect ways to help in certain situations.

Firstly, he couldn't help people he frequently interacted with. For example, those Senior Brothers in the Returning Heart Sect, whether he knew them or not, Jiang Beiran would not bypass the system's options to help them, as this could easily lead to subsequent events.

Just like how Liu Zijin found him this time, it was highly likely because Jiang Beiran always softened his heart when he was the Iron Seal.

Most of the time, knowing he had to keep a low profile, Jiang Beiran tried his best to appear "ordinary" in everything he did. Therefore, when he was the Iron Seal, he had thought several times about deliberately not intervening, causing the new disciples' trial missions to fail, so that the 100% success rate on his record as an Iron Seal wouldn't be so conspicuous.

But every time those Junior Disciples looked at him helplessly and asked, "Senior Brother, what should I do?" Jiang Beiran's heart would soften, and he would end up comforting himself with the excuse, 'The system hasn't given me any warning that maintaining this success rate would be dangerous anyway.'

This led to his reputation as an Iron Seal being too high. Although Jiang Beiran had told them not to spread the word about him, it was inevitable that some unexpected individuals like Liu Zijin would appear.

Secondly, when the system options displayed words like [Leave this place], [Pass by], or [Do nothing], Jiang Beiran would not help. He would leave without the slightest hesitation.

Under these two absolute premises, Jiang Beiran would sometimes help those oppressed commoners, treating it as payment for some attribute points or skill points.

Two hours later, Jiang Beiran, having triggered nearly a dozen options, was content and no longer intended to continue "strolling" around the town streets.

This wasn't because he disliked earning points, but because on one occasion, he had triggered over 30 options in a single day. Feeling like he had struck it rich, he found that when he went out the next day, the system options suddenly stopped appearing.

This made Jiang Beiran, who had grown accustomed to relying on the options to avoid trouble, feel very insecure. He stayed in his room all day without going out. It wasn't until the third day that the options returned to normal. This also made Jiang Beiran realize that he couldn't over-trigger the system options, or they would "go on strike."

Furthermore, after walking around all night, he not only gained a large number of points but also gained a preliminary understanding of the dark forces within Sunset Glow Town.

Before transmigrating, when Jiang Beiran read Wuxia Novels, he always admired the Great Heroes who acted righteously and punished evil. However, after transmigrating to this world, he suddenly realized that these "Great Heroes" were sometimes no different from gangsters.

Were there truly Great Heroes who acted for the country and the people without seeking reward? Of course, there were, but they were very, very few.

Many Wandering Knights or Gallants formed various gangs, often becoming Sworn Brothers, forming one force after another. These forces had no regard for national laws, only Jianghu Rules. If anyone dared to violate these rules, someone would act as a Judge and carry out a Jianghu Settlement.

And when such forces expanded to a sufficient size, they became an extremely powerful entity.

Some developed into "Evil Cults" in the eyes of the government and righteous sects, while others formed Heroic Clans with strong clan and family characteristics.

Within these, the Clan Leader was the Boss, and the Family Rules were the Gang Rules. All the Gang Members shared honor and disgrace as if they were one family.

And whether it was an Evil Cult or a Heroic Clan, there was no shortage of experts. After all, not every cultivator had a pure heart and practiced their skills solely to repay society and benefit humanity.

Most of it is just for selfish desires.

So even if it's just a stronger thug in a small town, after someone acts heroically and beats him up, they might discover he's actually an outer member of some cult or gang.

Suddenly, he'd pull out a firecracker and shout at you, "One arrow pierces the clouds, and ten thousand cavalry will come to meet you!"

These gangs value face the most. Even if the outer member you beat has nothing to do with them, they'll mobilize their entire force. The reason is simple: you didn't give their gang members face.

That's why whenever Jiang Beiran arrives at a new place, he checks whose territory it is while triggering options, just to be safe.

And the investigation process is simple. Just go to any taverns or small inns, and it won't take long before you hear a few thugs loudly shouting, "We've booked this place today, XX Gang!" or "In this territory, who dares not give our XX Association face?"

For example, when Jiang Beiran passed a tavern earlier, he heard a drunkard shout, "Brother, don't worry. In Sunset Glow Town, just mention my name, Ma Dajiao of the Yellow Gang, and everyone will give you three parts face."

Jiang Beiran had heard the name Yellow Gang many times when he descended the mountain. It's a gang organization that has risen in recent years. Rumor has it that there are experts at the Great Profound Master level in this gang, so their development speed is quite fast.

Having earned enough points and gathered the information he needed, Jiang Beiran walked back to the inn and entered his room.

He closed the door, lit the oil lamp on the square table, and sat down. He then took out a few stalks of Wula Grass from his Universe Ring.

The Invisibility Set performed very well throughout the day, allowing his five junior sisters to go completely unnoticed. Therefore, Jiang Beiran decided to continue refining this set and further enhance its stealth capabilities.

He researched until late into the night. Looking at the dozen or so straw hats of various shapes on the table, Jiang Beiran fell into deep thought, wondering what other functions he could add.

"Haa~"

As he was thinking, Jiang Beiran yawned. Feeling a wave of sleepiness, he put all the straw hats back into his Universe Ring, deciding to deal with it tomorrow.

After chewing a "Fragrant Pill" he had made himself with Calm Heart Grass, Jiang Beiran, having cleaned his mouth, was about to collapse onto the bed when he saw three options pop up.

[Option 1: Go to sleep directly. Completion Reward: Changing Stars (Earth Grade Middle Rank)]

[Option 2: Go and remind the junior sisters again not to run around. Completion Reward: Golden Snake Crane Capture Fist (Mystic Middle Grade)]

[Option 3: Go to the inn entrance and observe secretly. Completion Reward: Random Basic Skill Point +1]

The reward of Earth Grade Middle Rank directly jolted Jiang Beiran awake. What sleep? He decisively chose option three, took out a set of his specially made Nightwalker Outfit from his Universe Ring, put it on, flipped out the window, and arrived at the inn entrance.

In less than ten minutes, Jiang Beiran saw a figure emerge from the inn. It was Fang Qiuyue, who should have been obediently staying in her room right now. Fortunately, the Invisibility Set was still on her.

Sigh... This girl is indeed the biggest ticking time bomb.

Jiang Beiran had thought his words in the afternoon would make her reflect a little, and he wanted her to digest them slowly. However, it seemed now that her digestion was completely useless...

Peeking out a few times and seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Fang Qiuyue swaggered out of the inn and headed towards the place where the tofu pudding stall was overturned when they first arrived.

At the same time, three options appeared before Jiang Beiran again.

[Option 1: Drag Fang Qiuyue back to the inn. Completion Reward: Azure Cloud Dance (Mysterious Grade High Rank)]

[Option Two: Make Fang Qiuyue realize your existence and consciously return to her room. Completion Reward: Swallowtail Divine Spear (Profound Grade Low Rank)]

[Option Three: Follow her stealthily. Completion Reward: +1 Random Basic Skill Point]

Seeing these three options, Jiang Beiran understood the system's intention after a moment's thought.

Is it planning to let this girl get beaten by society?

Shrugging his shoulders, Jiang Beiran thought it was a good idea too. He chose Option Three and leaped onto the rooftop, stealthily following Fang Qiuyue.

PS: A 4000-character chapter, combining two chapters into one. Otherwise, there would be a soul-stirring cliffhanger. (I'm afraid of your razor blades.)