Chapter 0.5: Come With Me
Qin Yuan’s eyes, blood red, personally ended the lives of Gu Yinjiu and the withered old man. Then, with overwhelming strength, he easily dealt with all the demon race members present.
“Who exactly are you?” Gu Feiyan was filled with confusion, but for some reason, just hearing Qin Yuan’s frenzied muttering earlier inexplicably stirred a deep sadness within her soul. It felt as if she shared his pain.
“I am Qin Yuan, yes, it’s just as you think, don’t doubt yourself. I cannot explain things too clearly.” Qin Yuan looked at Gu Feiyan with a grave gaze and said, “Now it’s my turn to ask, are you willing to be a mere decorative vase, useful only for your looks?”
“What?” Gu Feiyan’s dark eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Qin Yuan chuckled, “What I mean is, will you always hide behind someone, only knowing how to express thanks when moved, and solely take?”
“What kind of joke is this?”
“You refuse?”
Qin Yuan slowly extended his fair palm, his hands that could twist fate. “Come with me, Old Gu. You are the most beautiful woman in my heart, and in the future, you will be the peerless empress of this Cultivation World, the most powerful pillar of support that will make Old Qin feel ashamed of himself.”
…
In a small city within the Tian Kun Dynasty.
The bustling streets were teeming with people. A woman of peerless elegance sat on the ground, holding a few dice and a dice cup. Her clear and pleasant voice reached the ears of passersby: “Come, come, bet high or low, place your bets, guaranteed to win!”
Many were drawn in by her stunning beauty.
“Has this young lady gone mad? Setting up a game in broad daylight like this? If the officers see, they’ll break her legs.”
“Heh, look at her appearance and attire, can she be naive and inexperienced? Perhaps she has some background.”
“Haha, I won, Miss, please pay up.”
Zhao Xinting smiled brightly and generously handed over the money. After a while, people seemed to have figured out Zhao Xinting’s trick. For some reason, the dice she rolled always resulted in ‘small’ numbers. Everyone just needed to blindly bet on ‘big’ to win. Could she be a benevolent fairy, deliberately giving benefits to everyone?
One moment, the number of participants grew. The bets piled up in front of Zhao Xinting like a small mountain, making her smile even sweeter and more approachable.
“How dare you.”
“Such insolence.”
“In broad daylight, under the vast heavens, how dare you scum gather to gamble?!”
“Don’t run, follow me back to the yamen to await the lord’s judgment.”
Suddenly, led by Qin Gou, seven or eight men in yamen runner uniforms, wielding their ‘water and fire’ clubs, charged in with furious killing intent. They scattered the crowd, swiftly apprehended Zhao Xinting, and confiscated all the illicit gains. They came and went in a hurry, leaving behind a crowd of disheartened gamblers shouting about their bad luck.
Back at their prearranged secluded spot, Qin Gou and Zhao Xinting generously divided their haul among the seven or eight idle ruffians dressed as yamen runners.
“So much?”
“Thanks, Brother Cheat.”
“Thanks, Brother Cannon!”
Zhao Xinting, nicknamed ‘Sissy’, waved her hand magnanimously and said with a warm smile, “It’s nothing.”
Zhao Xinting had now spent a month with the ‘Great Liar’ brother, who was full of schemes. They roamed through various cities playing their ‘black-eating-black’ trick; no, it was more like ‘punishing evil and promoting good,’ and they had played it to perfection. This carefree life of avenging wrongs had made Zhao Xinting’s days incredibly exciting and pleasant. She even seriously considered if, by continuing like this, and not collecting the grateful power of faith, but instead finding another path to become an immortal legend among Jianghu tricksters and thieves, she could successfully pass the mortal transformation stage.
Wasn’t this exactly what she had always yearned for?
But could ‘Great Liar’ brother survive for that long? Without this best partner, relying on herself alone would inevitably be a bit lonely.
“By the way. Brother Cheat, Brother Cannon, has there been any interesting news recently? I heard there’s a very powerful cultivator lord who will set up a grand altar near our Red Square City’s Spring Eye Mountain to preach to all, and it’s said that not just cultivators, but ordinary people like us can also join in the fun, regardless of background.” One of the ruffians casually mentioned.
“Scoundrel, don’t talk nonsense and harm the two brothers. I heard that cultivator lord is not from a righteous path. Other cultivators privately call him ‘Demon Master’… just hearing that name tells you he’s no good. If we dare to go, we’ll definitely be refined into pills and eaten one by one.”
“That’s not right, what I heard was different. It’s Celestial Master Lord Qin Gou, not some Demon Master?”
Qin Gou listened, bewildered. In this world, was there actually someone daring to impersonate him? Had they never experienced the harshness of society? Weren’t they afraid of being easily crushed by the troublemakers like Ye Qishuang and Qiu Qianyue?
However, a flicker of unconcealable fear crossed Zhao Xinting’s eyes.
Why was this happening?
First, Mystic Maiden Raksha Palace, and now here. Why did Master always seem to follow her like a shadow? Was his Reverence doing it on purpose? He spoke of preaching to all, but the real purpose was likely to find her whereabouts.
What should she do if she really fell into Master’s hands? Should she break the seal and flee with the great liar brothers? That was probably the best outcome. After all, facing her Master at full power, she didn’t have absolute confidence that she could escape alive.
Noticing Zhao Xinting’s abnormality, Qin Gou asked with concern, “Are you alright?”
Zhao Xinting forced a smile with difficulty and shook her head, “I’m a bit tired, let’s go back to the inn.”
After bidding farewell to their group of subordinates, Qin Gou and Zhao Xinting returned to their temporary inn. Moreover, even though both of them were now flush with cash, they still shared a room, eating and sleeping together.
Qin Gou bluffed that it was a code of honor in Jianghu, to share hardships and joys. After all, what they did wasn’t exactly glorious, and it was inevitable that one day their actions would be exposed. At that time, good brothers would run together, and die together. This quite moved Zhao Xinting.
However, not long after entering the room, and before the two could even have a cup of tea to relax, a slender, fair, and tender small hand abruptly appeared above Zhao Xinting’s head and slammed down. The pitiful Demon Lord directly smashed into the table, unconscious.
At some unknown time, a beautiful young girl, wearing a pleated flower skirt, gently smoothed the hem of her skirt in front of Qin Gou. She curtsied deeply, a sweet smile on her face, and blinked her playful, bright eyes, making hearts race.
“Long time no see, Celestial Master, you are still so dashing and handsome.”
“Continue, continue talking, don’t stop.”
Yi Chengying: …
