Stranger Danger

The sword wasn’t by Cao Xiaoting’s side because Ye Qing’s punch had sent it flying. Tang Shi licked his lips and lifted it into the air.

“It’s a Malice-class Strange Artifact! Hell yeah!” Tang Shi cheered silently while grinning from ear to ear.

This was just the beginning though. After putting away Blaze, Tang Shi proceeded to look at Poison, Disorient, and Shangguan Wuqing’s erhu. He was literally salivating as his eyes blazed with greed.

All three of Cao Xiaoting’s swords were Malice-class Strange Artifacts, and while they all had their uses, Disorient was easily the most valuable of the three.

Shangguan Wuqing’s erhu was named Heartbroken, and it was said to be made from the wood of a Heartbroken Tree. The Heartbroken Tree was a Hatred-class Stranger that gave off a bleak and sorrowful aura at all times. Any living creature that entered its range would automatically feel sorrowful and break into tears. In severe cases, the victim wouldn’t be able to break free from its effects and weep until they died. Hence the name.

This meant that Shangguan Wuqing’s Heartbroken was worth all three of Cao Xiaoting’s swords combined.

In fact, Shangguan Wuqing gained his infamy mostly thanks to his erhu. His cultivation art was called “The Miserable Wind and Rain”, and it gave him a large reservoir of internal energy and astral qi and the ability to affect another’s emotions. It was the perfect complement to Heartbroken. Through the use of sound waves, he could afflict his targets with drowning, inescapable sorrow before he shattered their heart and mind with true qi.

Yes, Heartbroken could be quite literal in some cases.

Shangguan Wuqing should’ve had a smooth journey until the Spirit Purification stage at least, but unfortunately he ran into Ye Qing. Most warriors were strong in one area and weak in all others, but Ye Qing was strong in body, true qi, and even spirit. It was as unfortunate as it was ridiculous.

But of course, none of this had anything to do with Tang Shi. In fact, he wanted Ye Qing to be strong. How else could he profit from his troubles?

Plus, the reason he came here in the first place was to gather information regarding Ye Qing and sell it to his attackers. The stronger Ye Qing was, the more trump cards he revealed, the higher the price he could slap on his intel. How awesome was that?

Tang Sih was pretty sure that he could live his ideal life when this business was over, which was visiting Hong Xiu every day and talking about life.

As for killing Ye Qing to claim the Way of Taiping’s reward for himself, he had extinguished the thought after recognizing how powerful the Patrolman was. Why on earth would he risk his life when he could earn his profit in a much, much safer way? Why would he give up on visiting Hong Xiu? Heck, why would he give up on life in general? He really didn’t get his jianghu brethren sometimes. Why did most of them want to die so badly?

Tang Shi’s face crumpled all of a sudden. It was because he noticed that Poison, Disorient and Heartbroken were closer to Ye Qing than he was comfortable with. It would be troublesome if Ye Qing noticed him, but he didn’t feel like giving up on the loot either.

“Oh right! If it’s dangerous to get close, then I’ll just do it without!”

Tang Shi mentally praised his own intelligence before producing a yellow talisman. When he crushed it, the ground beneath the three Strange Artifacts soundlessly transformed into a pool of mud and engulfed them all.

The mud talisman was a talisman that could transform a solid patch of earth into a pool of mud, but it was normally used to trap or restrict a target. The master who invented the talisman himself probably didn’t realize that it could be used to steal items as well.

Yes, I’m definitely the first person ever to discover this, Tang Shi thought with a smile while grabbing the three Strange Artifacts. I’m smart, honest and sharp unlike a certain Patrolman after all!

It would take a while before Tang Shi finally broke free from his own narcissism.

Tang Shi cast his gaze on Niu Ben and Granny Xiong’s bodies next. Poison, Disorient and Heartbroken were lying pretty close to Ye Qing, but since the Patrolman was facing away from the Strange Artifacts, he ultimately managed to come up with a plan to steal it. But Niu Ben And Granny Xiong’s corpses were right in front of Ye Qing, and not even a genius like him could think of a way of looting their bodies from right under his nose. The Patrolman wasn’t blind after all.

In the end, Tang Shi had no choice but to give up. “Fine, you can have their possessions. It’s bad form to work someone without paying their due compensation after all. Sigh, if only I’m not a good person.”

One should be satisfied with what he had, right?

Ye Qing’s men were going to wake up any moment now, so Tang Shi peeled his gaze away from his precious and got ready to leave. It was at this moment he heard a whistling sound that seemed to be coming from above him. He looked up just in time to see a big pot falling from the sky and smashing into his forehead.

“Ouch!”

The pot was big, hard, and painful. Since Tang Shi had been diverting most of his attention on Ye Qing, he never noticed the black pot until it was too late. It took him a while before he finally shook off the dizziness and stared at the black pot, ready to call it every name under the sun.

Suddenly, he recalled something and grabbed the pot. “Wait a second, this is Granny Xiong’s black pot! It’s a great item!”

Then, he recalled a different matter and slowly turned his head. He immediately saw Ye Qing standing beside him and staring with a curious smile on his face.

Ah fuck! This stupid pot! Of all the times you could’ve fallen from the sky, you choose now? And of all the places you could’ve fallen, you chose my head!?

It was his own fault, really. He knew full well that he was risking his life stealing Ye Qing’s loot from under his nose, but he just couldn’t control his greed. Now, it was too late for regrets.

“Good evening, my lord.”

Tang Shi smiled stiffly and slowly withdrew his hand from the black pot.

“Goodbye, my lord.”

He then dove into the underground and escaped.

The solid earth was like water to Tang Shi. Not only did it pose no resistance to him, it acted as a propeller and pushed him toward his destination swiftly and soundlessly.

The Earth Escape spell he practiced was called the Instantaneous Earth Escape. It was a kind of magic that allowed the user to travel tens of kilometers away in a single breath.

Of course, tens of kilometers was an exaggeration. At the very least, Tang Shi couldn’t perform such a feat at his current cultivation level. But a few hundred meters? That was well within his ability. It was why he dared to risk Ye Qing’s wrath.

Unfortunately for him, he had just traveled a few meters when the earth suddenly shook, and a tremendous force struck him squarely on the head. It felt just like when he was hit by black pot, painful and dizzying.

Tang Shi turned his plump body like a fish and took off in a different direction, but once again something struck him in the head as soon as he made a move.

Tang Shi hesitated for a moment and pulled out a few strands of hair from his head. When he blew them away, they transformed into him and took off in three separate directions.

All three doppelgangers shared the exact same shape and aura as him. Tang Shi himself withdrew his aura completely and stayed still. In his opinion, the reason Ye Qing could identify his location was because of his aura. That was why he decided to use his innate bloodline magic to create several doppelgangers that shared the exact same aura as him to lure him away. While Ye Qing was chasing down his doppelgangers, he could simply climb back out into the open and leave.

There was also a chance Ye Qing wouldn’t have the time to pick up the black pot. If he was lucky, he would be able to obtain a fourth Strange Artifact.

He was a man after all. A man should get back on their feet where they fell!

As expected, he heard a few rumbles and booms as his doppelgangers grew further and further away. It would continue until it was completely gone.

A few breaths later, when Tang Shi was sure that he couldn’t hear anything else, he poked his head out of the ground—not exactly where he was before, of course, that would be a little too bold—and looked around. Satisfied that Ye Qing was nowhere to be seen, he left the earth completely and walked over to the black pot, and picked it up.

He chuckled. “This is mine now. Hehehe! He has the brawn, but not the brain.”

As soon as he finished, he immediately heard a taunting voice, “Are you talking about me?”

Tang Shi’s reaction was swift. He took off like the wind as soon as he heard the first word and crossed fifty meters of distance in the blink of an eye.

“Do you seriously think you can run?”

Before Tang Shi could even breathe a sigh of relief, the taunting voice rang again like it had never left. In fact, it was even closer than before!

Flabbergasted, Tang Shi ripped an entire clump of hair from his head and scattered them in front of him. They immediately transformed into dozens of Tang Shi and took off in every direction.

“What a mistake! I’m going to turn bald at this rate!” Tang Shi complained to himself while hiding himself amidst his doppelgangers. However, he had just taken two steps when a violent gust of scorching wind blew across the area and ignited every single one of his doppelgangers. He was alone again before he knew it.

Tang Shi subconsciously reached out over his head to pull out another clump of hair, but he gave up the idea when his reason caught up to him. The doppelgangers he created with his hair could emulate his aura and move very quickly, but they were also extremely fragile. It was the perfect escape tool, but he could never use them in battle because they would break in a single hit. And now, it couldn’t even function as an escape tool because Ye Qing’s astral qi could encompass the area much faster than he or his doppelgangers could run. The only thing he would achieve by pulling out his hair was just that: making himself balder.

“Why did you stop? Keep pulling! It’s not everyday I get to see someone shaving their head manually!” The taunting voice said.

How can he say that as a fellow man!? Tang Shi grumbled mentally and turned around to see Ye Qing standing just ten meters away from him.

“Hehe, it’s just a misunderstanding, my lord.” Tang Shi put on an honest smile and began lying, “I was passing through the area when I heard the commotion. That’s why I decided to take a look. Really, that’s all I did.”

Look at my face! There’s no way an honest-looking guy like me would lie to you, right?

Ye Qing merely smiled. “Keep going. I want to know where you’re going with this lie.”

“I’m not lying, my lord! I really was just passing through the area! Everyone in the neighborhood knows that I’m an honest and reliable guy since I was a boy, and I’ve never lied even once in my life! There is nothing more I enjoy then performing good deeds without asking anything in return. I especially like saving poor women and caring for lonely housewives!”

Tang Shi ended with a perfectly straight and sincere face, “You must believe me, my lord!”

Saving poor women and caring for lonely housewives? You couldn’t come up with a more convincing lie?

Ye Qing’s mouth twitched. “So, it’s a coincidence my dozens of Strange Artifacts and martial arts manuals vanished into your pockets while you were ‘passing through the area’?”

Dozens of Strange Artifacts and martial arts manuals!?

Tang Shi nearly spat a mouthful of blood at Ye Qing’s face when he heard this. He had taken only two Nature’s Shell and four Strange Artifacts at most! Dozens of Strange Artifacts and martial arts manuals? It was clear that Ye Qing was trying to scam him.

“Hahaha, you must be joking. I picked up the items only because I didn’t want them to trip up an old man or a child or something. Even if the people are fine, it would be bad if they tripped up a cat or a dog, right?”

Tang Shi laughed innocently. “Like I said, I’m only performing my civic duty. I never knew that they belonged to you. Here, you can have them back.”

Tang Shi produced the Nature’s Shells and the four Strange Artifacts and tossed them in Ye Qing’s direction.