Stranger Danger

“We need to save him!”

Chu Nianjiu’s table was silent for an instant. Then, they shot to their feet and tried to rush to Ye Qing’s rescue. However, Xue Shiwu’s table “coincidentally” got in the way and prevented them from getting to Ye Qing in time.

At the same time, three jianghu warriors suddenly pounced toward unconscious Ye Qing with every intention to kill him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They had just reached Ye Qing when a man suddenly appeared over the Patrolman and waved his hand casually. The attackers immediately exploded into showers of blood and gore.

He was none other than Gu Suitang.

Gu Suitang lifted Ye Qing by the scruff of his neck and cast a cold look at the surrounding people. “You were given every opportunity to kill him just now, but you were too scaredy-cat to meet in the arena. Now that he’s out of the arena and unconscious, you guys immediately jumped on him like a pack of hyenas. Spineless cowards, that’s who you are.”

“What happens in the arena stays in the arena, but what happens outside the arena falls under the Pacification Bureau’s jurisdiction. Starting now, I will tear anyone who so much as lifts a finger in the wrong direction to pieces. Just try me.”

The only response he got was dead silence.

“Hmph.”

Gu Suitang left with the unconscious Ye Qing after that.

After he returned to the Pacification Bureau, Gu Suitang dropped Ye Qing on the ground and said lazily, “There’s no one around. You can stop pretending now.”

“Come on, chief. I’m hurt from head to toe, you know?” Ye Qing grimaced as he climbed back to his feet and sat down beside a nearby chair.

“You brought this on yourself.” Gu Suitang rolled his eyes at him. “Anyway, are you really going to leave Luo Shui? The blame doesn’t lie with you, you know. So long as you are still in the Pacification Bureau, I, Gu Suitang, swear on my name that no one can lay a finger on you or force you to do anything you dislike.”

Ye Qing chuckled, but it sounded mirthless and resigned. “It’s fine. I know I’m blameless, but the people of Luo Shui are also innocent. Right now, I’m a typhoon who puts everyone around me in trouble whether I like it or not. The only way to protect the people… is if I leave this place.”

“Plus, I’ve already taken out my frustration on my wrongdoers and squeezed them for all their worth. There is no need to play with these idiots any longer. I just need to leave Luo Shui and wait a year or two for the matter to die down, and Luo Shui will be open to me once more.”

“Fair. Unnecessary risk is unnecessary.”

Gu Suitang nodded. “But are you sure you want to leave tonight? Isn’t that a little too soon?”

A smirk crossed Ye Qing’s lips as he leaned lazily against the chair. “Oh no, it’s just right.”

“Everyone saw me falling unconscious in public today. They would never think that I would leave Luo Shui tonight. By the time they caught on to our ruse, the trail would’ve turned cold a long time ago.”

“Heh. You’re playing all of Luo Shui and the jianghu like a fiddle. I have no doubt you’ll become a man to be reckoned with if you survive this tribulation, Joyless,” Gu Suitang praised from the bottom of his heart.

Ye Qing shrugged. “I don’t really care about that, but I do know that I’m an exceptionally narrow-minded person. When I’m strong enough, I’m going to murder every single one of these chickenshits to the last person.”

“Hmph! You sure dream big for someone so young. Let’s focus on your survival first, shall we?” Gu Suitang shook his head before saying, “Go rest up in our secret room. I’ll make the announcement and arrange your departure.”

“Thank you, chief,” Ye Qing said before following Gu Suitang into the Pacification Bureau’s secret room.

A silhouette outside the window disappeared after they were gone.

……

Inside the secret room, Ye Qing asked, “Are you sure the spy will send the message, chief?”

Gu Suitang confirmed, “He definitely will. He’s the one who leaked what you did at Sky Gate Abyss to your enemies. I see no reason why he wouldn’t do the same this time.”

“Are you sure you want to do this though? It’s even riskier than your crazy arena idea!”

Ye Qing smirked a smirk that didn’t reach the eye. “Hey, I’m not the one who started this. If they want to play, then I’ll play. It’s the only way to end this farce once and for all.”

“This isn’t enough though. I need to go and make some preparations. Please cover my exit, chief.”

Gu Suitang slapped him on the back of his head and rebuked him jokingly, “Who do you think you are? I’m your boss, dammit!”

Every time I take one of these slaps, I feel like I lost more than a few brain cells. No wonder Wei Yueshan is so dumb.

Ye Qing grumbled internally as he put on a cheeky smile. “I can’t help it that you’re so capable, chief! Plus, I’m doing this for the Pacification Bureau!”

Gu Suitang sneered. “Sure, keep telling yourself that. Anyway, do whatever you want. It’s not like I can stop you once you’ve set your mind on something. Just make sure you don’t accidentally throw away your life in the process.”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose. “Oh, don’t you worry about that. I cherish my life more than you think.”

……

Inside a small diner, Tang Shi exclaimed in surprise, “Lord Ye? You’re not dead?”

Ye Qing had donned a disguise before he exited the Pacification Bureau, but Tang Shi had very sharp eyes. He saw through the disguise practically the minute he saw him.

“No. But you might be dead if you don’t control your mouth,” Ye Qing glared at the stall owner. He was this close to saying fuck it and murder the guy.

“Ahem. Sorry.” Tang Shi coughed to cover up his embarrassment. “It’s just that everyone and their mothers said that you’re dead. Some people said that you died before you returned to the Pacification Bureau because of the wounds you took from the Sword Gentleman, some said that you were in a deep coma, and it’s uncertain if you’ll ever awake, and some even said that the Pacification Bureau is in the process of preparing your funeral…”

Ye Qing: “...” Old Gu sure is a fast and efficient worker.

Obviously, Gu Suitang was the one behind this. It was so that they could carry out the next step of their plan.

“Are you… truly fine, Lord Ye?” Tang Shi looked Ye Qing up and down like he was looking at a monster. And how could he not? Ye Qing had killed at least dozens of late-stage Astral Refiners and even defeated the famous Sword Gentleman Chen Cang, and yet the man was sitting opposite of him and drinking tea like he was perfectly fine.

“I’m fine.” Ye Qing sipped his tea to wet his throat before continuing, “And let’s cut to the chase. I came to ask for your help with something.”

“Okay? What is it?”

“I’m leaving Luo Shui tonight.”

“What? You’re leaving Luo Shui?” Tang Shi blurted.

“I dare you to scream that again.” Ye Qing rolled his eyes at Tang Shi before confirming, “Yes.”

Tang Shi let out an awkward laugh even as he realized that he wasn’t acting like himself. Thank goodness this diner was mostly empty and somewhat out of the way, or this would be a very awkward conversation indeed. He lowered his voice and said, “That’s a good idea. Although you managed to intimidate the jianghu for now, the human heart is a fickle thing. Who knows when these people would find their courage and try again?”

“But why are you telling me this? Wait, you’re not planning to…”

A terrifying possibility suddenly occurred to Tang Shi. He’s not planning to silence me, is he?

Tang Shi broke out in cold sweat as he grabbed a talisman. He looked like he might take off if Ye Qing so much as twitch in the wrong direction.

“Are you stupid?” Ye Qing realized what Tang Shi was misunderstanding and rolled his eyes. Do I look like the type who kills anyone without reason?

“I want you to spread the fact that I’m leaving tonight.”

“You what?” Tang Shi felt like his surprise was neverending. “I apologize for what I’m about to say, but have you gone mad?”

Ye Qing replied in an indifferent tone, “No, I’m not crazy. In any case, all you need to do is to spread the rumor.”

Tang Shi wrestled with the insane idea for a bit. Then, realization struck him like thunder. “Are you plotting something bad again, my lord?”

Ye Qing rolled his eyes again. Why do you have to make it sound like that? I’m just trying to save my own life, okay?

“Just focus on what I want you to do, okay? This is your reward.”

Ye Qing tossed three Malice-class Strange Artifacts into Tang Shi’s hands and rose to his feet. “There’s something else I need to do, so this is where we part ways.”

“Also, you’re footing the bill.”

……

At the central hall of the Heavenly Heart Clinic, Feng Qingyou poured a cup of tea and smiled at Ye Qing. “You’re not dead, Joyless?”

Ye Qing: “...” Did Tang Shi teach you that? He totally did, didn’t he?

“No time for jokes, Qingyou. I came to ask for a favor.”

“A favor?” Feng Qingyou handed the tea to Ye Qing while smirking. “But you’re the man who defeated the warriors of the jianghu singlehandedly. What can this humble doctor possibly do to help you?”

“Warriors? More like the rabble!” Ye Qing scoffed. “Seriously though, I really need your help with something.”

Feng Qingyou finally stopped joking and asked, “What can I help you with?”

Ye Qing answered, “May I know what cultivation level is Uncle Feng? Is he a Spirit Master at least?”

“Hmm?” Feng Qingyou shot him a meaningful look. “You must be plotting something bad, aren’t you?”

Ye Qing: “...” Okay, she definitely learned that from Tang Shi.

Ye Qing sighed. “Yes, I am. I’m planning a big heist tonight. I’m going to rob everyone and anyone who wants to kill me of their lives.”

“Interesting. And how do you plan to do that?” Feng Qingyou asked curiously.

Ye Qing replied, “It’s like this. I’m going to leave Luo Shui tonight, but not for real, of course. I’m putting myself out there as bait so that I could draw them all in one place.”

“I’ve already done the necessary preparations and spread the rumors. I’ve already humiliated the jianghu warriors during the day, but now I’m faking weakness and plotting to escape from right under their noses as well. What do you think they’ll do when they hear this?”

“These so-called warriors have no skill but plenty of excess pride. I have no doubt that they’ll come after me when they learn that I’m playing them like a fiddle. Add to the fact that I’m not protected by the Pacification Bureau outside of Luo Shui, and I have no doubt that they’ll come out in full force. The mastermind behind all this would definitely show themselves as well.”

“I’ve already communicated my plan with Chief Gu. He will follow me in secret and join in on the fun when the time is right. We’ll crush all the dissidents and unsavory elements in one fell swoop.”

This was Ye Qing’s true plan, the upgraded version of his original plan so to speak. At the beginning, he was just catching the small prey. Now, he was fishing for the big ones. Everything he did until now was in preparation for this ultimate plan.

The reason he challenged the jianghu warriors at the Luo Shui Arena wasn’t just to fan the flames, but also to make sure that they would come after him when he pretended to leave Luo Shui. The part where he killed his attackers and profited from their deaths were just the side benefits.

He and Gu Suitang had purposely discussed their fake plan out in the open to trick the traitor into bringing false information back to the mastermind, namely Wen Zailai and Wang Luori. However, he didn’t just want to catch the two bastards. After all, it felt unsatisfactory to end things with just Wang Luori and Wen Zailai’s deaths after all the trouble he had gone through.

Why fish with a fishing rod when you can catch them all with a net?

Also, acting was far more tiring than people thought. If he could minimize the number of times he had to put on an act, then why not?

That was why he told Tang Shi to leak the fact that he was leaving Luo Shui tonight to the jianghu warriors. There was no way they wouldn’t come after him after realizing that he had played them like a fiddle, and he would be able to catch all the fishes in one go. Only then could he resolve this farce once and for all.

The thought of running away had never crossed his mind.

The only true way to end this, was to kill everyone who would do him harm.