Chapter Fifty-One: A Sudden Impulse

Soon, the woman pushing the wheelbarrow entered. Hao Fei flicked his robe sleeve and was just about to step forward when a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, followed by a familiar voice: “Xiaofei, what a coincidence!”

Hao Fei turned around to see Xue Baiqi, his face brimming with a smile. Hao Fei smiled as well. “What brings you here?”

“Nothing much, just out for a stroll. I was planning to head home, but then I spotted you,” Xue Baiqi replied.

The two fell into lively conversation as the woman with the wheelbarrow slowly passed by them. She glanced at Hao Fei and Xue Baiqi but had no inkling of how close she had come to death.

After the woman had walked some thirty meters away, Hao Fei’s smile faded. He lowered his voice: “What’s going on?”

“I found some secret documents in the Zong family’s hidden stronghold. The Zong family has connections with the Demon Finger Sect,” Xue Baiqi said. “On a whim, I decided to leave this thread for now. If we follow it properly, we might gain even more.”

“Does the master know?” Hao Fei asked.

“There wasn’t time to tell him,” Xue Baiqi shook his head.

“That’s... not so good, is it?” Hao Fei hesitated. “What if it causes trouble for the master?”

“No worries. I’ve already spoken with Mo Yan,” Xue Baiqi said.

“The master’s intention is that the news of him having mastered the Sirius Strength must not leak out. The secret message should be on that woman,” Hao Fei said.

“Mo Yan saw clearly. The woman only took a gold note. The message must be hidden in it,” Xue Baiqi replied. “Don’t worry, she won’t get far.”

Just then, a group of children, about eleven years old, burst out from a nearby alley. They were dressed in rags, yelling and chasing each other. Suddenly, one of them crashed into the wheelbarrow, nearly tipping it over and scattering red dates everywhere.

“You little mischief-makers! Why can’t you be careful?” the woman shouted furiously.

The children, realizing their blunder, immediately knelt down to pick up the red dates and placed them back in the wheelbarrow, displaying surprising courtesy.

The area around the wheelbarrow descended into chaos. The woman was surrounded by the children, protesting, “Leave it, leave it! They’re dirty, just forget about them!”

Yet, many hands make quick work, and in no time, the scattered red dates were all picked up. The children then ran off, shouting and laughing in the distance.

The woman breathed a sigh of relief. As she prepared to push the wheelbarrow onward, she caught sight of one boy in the corner of her eye, holding up a gold note and waving it triumphantly. The children around him cheered with excitement.

Instantly, the woman’s face turned ashen. She patted herself down, then spun around and ran after the children. “Thieves! You little devils! Stop right there! Stop!”

The children darted into an alley, where a few burly men emerged to block the way. The leader ruffled a child’s hair affectionately, but when he saw the pursuing woman, his expression turned cold.

The woman stopped abruptly, glaring at the men. “You stole my gold note!” she spat out, her voice trembling with fury.

“Don’t go making baseless accusations. Do you have any proof?” the leader sneered.

“Return my gold note, and I’ll spare your lives!” the muscles on the woman’s face twitched uncontrollably.

The men burst into laughter as though they’d heard the world’s greatest joke. At that moment, a voice called from behind: “Niu Mang, causing trouble again?”

The men turned to see a group of constables striding over. The lead constable was dressed in a black official robe, with a fierce tiger embroidered on his chest. At the sight, Niu Mang lowered his head respectfully. “Chief Qian, how could we dare? Someone’s just picking a fight with us.”

Chief Qian’s gaze shifted to the woman. She realized she had no hope of retrieving the gold note for now. She shot a venomous glare at Niu Mang before turning away. When she passed her overturned wheelbarrow, she paused only briefly before moving on, leaving it behind.

Niu Mang then sauntered over to Chief Qian, grinning, and surreptitiously slipped something into his palm, keeping his hand hidden beneath his sleeve.

“Boss Mo sends his regards,” Niu Mang said with a grin.

“Tell Boss Mo I appreciate his concern,” Chief Qian replied. “You’d better keep a low profile for the next few days. Last night, one of the Zong family’s retainers was killed. Master Zong made a scene at the Prefect’s office. The Prefect summoned all chief constables and gave us ten days to catch the culprit. If you lot stir up trouble now, don’t blame me for hauling you in as scapegoats!”

“Someone actually dares to cross the Zong family?” Niu Mang remarked.

“There’s always someone brave enough,” Chief Qian sighed. “Just don’t cause any trouble during this time.”

Niu Mang’s eyes shifted. “Chief Qian, I won’t treat you like an outsider. Honestly, doesn’t everyone know who did it? I heard there were wolf paw prints all around the Double Fragrance Tofu Shop. If the Prefect really wanted...”

“Think you’re smart?” Chief Qian snapped. “You think we don’t know? Or that the Prefect doesn’t? Never mind, talking to you is like playing music to a cow.”

“Well, isn’t my surname Niu—Cow?” Niu Mang retorted with a grin.

“You simpleton...” Chief Qian shook his head, signaled to the constables, and strode away.

Once the constables and thugs had left, Hao Fei said abruptly, “Niu Mang might be in danger. That woman won’t let him off.”

“Mo Yan is watching,” Xue Baiqi replied. “Xie En’s fine these days; he’s always with Mo Yan.”

“By the way, why hasn’t Mo Yan acted yet?” Hao Fei looked up at the sky.

In the night market, the old man had already turned and was walking back the way he’d come. Xie En stepped out of the restaurant, unhurriedly following behind him.

They were about ten meters apart. The old man, sensing he was being watched, grew alert. After only a few steps, he sensed something was amiss and slowly turned to look at Xie En.

Xie En stared directly at the old man—his pupils contracted to pinpoints, and a murderous aura began to spread from him.

The old man drew a deep breath, knowing this was no friendly encounter. He started circulating his internal energy, and pedestrians, sensing something was off, quickly moved to the sides.

After a brief moment, Xie En suddenly smiled, stopped channeling his energy, and the murderous air dissipated without a trace.

The old man was taken aback. At that instant, he felt a sudden darkness overhead. The next moment, his head exploded without warning, blood spraying out like a burst of fireworks.

Bang—a single arrow pierced the flagstone in front of Xie En’s feet with unimaginable speed, passing through the stone as though it were tofu, leaving just half an inch of fletching quivering above the surface.

The street erupted into chaos. Passersby scattered in terror, vendors abandoned their stalls and fled with the crowd, screaming.

A blood-soaked fragment of skull, half the size of a palm, struck Xie En before falling to the ground. Xie En glanced at it, then ground it to dust beneath his foot.

“You got off easy,” Xie En said coolly. “I despise traitors most. If you’d fallen into my hands... heh...”

With that, he turned and walked toward the end of the street. In the span of ten or so breaths, the entire street was deserted, leaving only the old man’s headless corpse standing in the middle of the road.

****

In the Ye family’s residence, Ye Xin reclined in his chair, listening to Xue Baiqi recount the events. Ye Ling was there as well. Ever since she’d learned Ye Xin’s secret, her curiosity and enthusiasm had exploded. She suddenly realized how pale her previous life had been.

Cultivating at the academy, idly discussing grand affairs with friends—Ye Ling had once believed the world belonged to her generation. But Ye Xin had opened a window, revealing another world to her.

Xue Baiqi related everything in detail. Ye Xin pondered for a long while, then nodded. “Well done, Baiqi.”

“Young master, as long as you’re not angry about us acting without orders,” Xue Baiqi smiled.

“No matter how capable I am, I can’t be everywhere or handle everything myself. I need you all to make quick decisions at times,” Ye Xin said.

“This is the gold note we stole,” Xue Baiqi placed it on the table.

Ye Xin picked it up, turned it over, and saw a few tiny lines of writing on the back. After reading it for a moment, he lit a candle with a flint and held the note to the flame, watching it burn to ashes.

“There's a link between the Zong family and the Demon Finger Sect?” Ye Xin asked.

“Yes.” Xue Baiqi handed him a scroll. “This is what I’ve managed to gather so far. There’s much more I haven’t had time to go through.”

Ye Xin unrolled the papers and leafed through them, while Ye Ling craned her neck curiously. He didn’t stop her, though she was much slower at reading; before she’d finished even a tenth, Ye Xin had already set down the page and picked up another.

After about twenty minutes, Ye Xin had finished reading. His gaze flickered uncertainly. “It seems... they’re playing a very large game of chess.”

“The Zong family knows how important these documents are. Their reaction will be fierce,” Xue Baiqi said. “I’m afraid General Qiu will run into some trouble.”

“You think they fear trouble?” Ye Xin smiled. “You haven’t seen them in action. Unless Zong Bieli personally steps in, the Zong family will get nothing for their efforts.”