Chapter 32: Righteous Thief?

Being targeted did not surprise Chen Ye.

Given the commotion he caused earlier, it would be strange if the big shots in Cui Xian did not know.

Sending a young girl to spy was not particularly strange, but while spying was one thing, leading him directly here in hopes that he would fall out with these martial artists meant the person behind it had ill intentions.

Chen Ye did not intend to be polite with such people.

The resentful spirits of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner held the young girl firmly, waiting only for her confession.

Yet even with eyes full of panic, the young girl insisted: "Young Master, you misunderstand. I have no grudge against you; why would I harm you? Seeing your heavenly talents, I would be honored to like you. If you are willing, I would even offer myself to your bed; how could I bear to..."

"Oh, is that so?"

Chen Ye walked over to Lan Shi, removed the black cloth covering her face, revealing a youthful countenance that looked not yet fifteen. The hand prepared to tease hovered in mid-air before finally withdrawing.

Just moments ago, he had wanted to play the part of a lustful fool to see if he could frighten the young girl into confessing, but upon seeing her face, Chen Ye could no longer act.

Lan Shi had been gritting her teeth, prepared to endure humiliation, but seeing Chen Ye stop, the young girl was stunned.

The scene before them was truly bizarre.

Panicked martial artists were scattering in all directions, while a dozen or so had their heads stuffed into the floorboards, blood flowing everywhere.

A man resembling a great demon stood before a weak and powerless maiden, yet upon seeing her youthful features, he felt a pang of compassion.

Lan Shi suddenly let out a light laugh and said to Chen Ye: "Young Master is a man of integrity; you are likely incapable of playing the role of a licentious lecher."

Having his thoughts seen through by a young girl, Chen Ye felt no embarrassment and openly admitted: "Having lived many years, I indeed have never tried doing evil; my experience is slightly lacking. But it does not matter; learning to be bad is not difficult; it depends only on whether you wish to force me to learn."

The two locked eyes; Chen Ye's gaze was open and honest, which instead made Lan Shi fearful in her heart.

Although the one before her was a man of integrity, a gentleman's words are hard to take back once spoken.

If she truly did not explain clearly, this gentleman would truly learn to be a villain.

Lan Shi said helplessly: "This place is not suitable for lingering. Please, Young Master, release this spell. Let us find a quiet place, and I will tell you everything."

Chen Ye shook his head and said: "I came here to cause trouble; why seek quiet? Besides, did you not lead me here to cause trouble? You should be satisfied now."

Lan Shi remained silent for a long time before finally confessing: "Young Master speaks truth. I was waiting outside the Hundred Leaves Teahouse long ago; I have waited for two days."

"Waiting specifically for me; what for?"

Lan Shi did not answer but asked instead: "Is Young Master truly an immortal?"

"I know a little magic, but I cannot be counted as a true immortal."

Lan Shi looked at the martial artists lying head-down on the ground and exclaimed in surprise: "You call this knowing a little?"

Chen Ye was too lazy to explain; to mortals, this scene might seem shocking, but it was truly just a small trick. The fierce ghosts in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner had taken their revenge and were no longer very ferocious.

If this were in the hands of the Monk of Suffering, it would not be as simple as bowing heads into the floor; they would long ago have become a bloody, blurred mass.

Chen Ye warned Lan Shi: "Miss, you should answer my question; I am not very patient."

"Very well. Young Master must know of the forced conscription of boys and girls in Cui Xian. I led Young Master here precisely to save people."

Lan Shi's answer surprised Chen Ye considerably; after sorting through various clues in his mind, he urged: "I wish to hear the details."

Lan Shi seemed to have accepted her fate and confessed openly: "Although I am a flying thief, I could no longer bear the forced conscription of over a thousand boys and girls in Cui Xian. But I am alone and weak; I could not save these children. So I searched everywhere, wanting to uncover the truth behind the scenes..."

Her words were sincere, and Chen Ye sensed no flaw, but he interrupted Lan Shi: "Wait. You told me earlier that that Young Master Jiang gathered martial artists specifically to save people; then why did you want me to clash with them?"

Lan Shi gritted her teeth and said: "Because they do not truly wish to save people. Young Master, look at who these people are; they are all notorious villains in the Wu Lin, committing murder and arson without restraint, oppressing the innocent at the slightest disagreement. How could they possibly save people? Those with true chivalrous hearts were long ago arrested by the authorities, and many chivalrous figures have already been beheaded.

"The Hengdao Inn could open in Cui Xian only because the imperial court backs it; otherwise, how could the Cui Xian government office allow so many martial artists to gather here? It is just that they concealed it well before, making it hard for outsiders to notice.

"That Young Master Jiang gathered martial artists under the false pretense of saving people; villains were taken into his ranks, while those with chivalrous hearts were reported to the authorities. Every time someone pledged allegiance, Young Master Jiang would hold a grand banquet, get them drunk, and that very night, the authorities would come to arrest them. This scheme has already harmed many people. When I was gathering information, I went to the government prison and happened to overhear news, thus learning the truth."

Chen Ye truly did not expect the authorities to be so ruthless.

When he first arrived in Cui Xian, he indeed heard that martial artists were dissatisfied with the forced conscription of boys and girls, causing many deaths. To solve this problem, they directly had martial artists dig pits to trick chivalrous heroes into walking into a trap?

This move was vicious enough and sinister enough, but it was indeed effective and could reduce many losses.

Martial artists certainly could not defeat the army, but they possessed many high-flying techniques; if they truly set their hearts on using underhanded tactics, the government office would be driven to distraction.

But dealing with martial artists using martial artists was simple; they could use all their tricks openly without the many restrictions the authorities faced.

It seemed that the magistrate of Cui Xian was not just a corrupt official, but a cunning one.

Lan Shi continued explaining: "That Young Master Jiang possesses extremely high Wu Gong, and has many martial artists under his command; I alone am no match for him. Poisoning was uncertain, and assassination was beyond my ability. Later, I heard news about Young Master, saying you were an immortal descended to the mortal world. I originally wanted to seek Young Master's help, but who knew I would wait for several days.

"Today, I saw Young Master from afar outside the inn, guessed your identity, and thus pretended to meet by chance."

The story sounded reasonable up to this point, but Chen Ye asked again: "Then since you saw me today, why did you not explain the situation, but instead lead me directly here to stir up trouble?"

Lan Shi said: "I did indeed deliberately approach Young Master, but did you not play along with the plan? When I mentioned Room Four of the Heavenly Division, you did not explain the misunderstanding. I cannot guess Young Master's thoughts, but I dared not rashly tell you the truth; what if you and that Young Master Jiang were of the same feather?

"I have only one life and only one chance. So I had to try; at least lead you before them to confirm your true relationship. Indeed, I deliberately stirred up trouble. Fortunately, the chief culprit was not present; the group under his command only drank and caused disturbances. This was the best moment. Regardless of your original relationship with them, as long as a fight broke out, it would suffice.

"I just did not expect that Young Master is truly an immortal descended to the mortal world."

With words spoken thus, Lan Shi lowered her head, as if she dared no longer look Chen Ye openly in the eye.

Chen Ye carefully pondered the young girl's words, finding the logic reasonable and everything explainable; the only problem was that it was all spoken, with no evidence whatsoever.

However, it did not matter.

Chen Ye waved his hand, recalling the resentful spirit holding Lan Shi, and said to the young girl: "Since you deliberately stirred up trouble, then you owe me."

Lan Shi quickly raised her head, nodding her small head repeatedly and saying: "Young Master is right; I owe you. I will definitely repay it; I am willing to do anything."

"Anything, truly?"

Lan Shi said without hesitation: "Willing, willing. Please, Young Master, give me a chance to atone for my crimes."

"Then go and fetch some things for me."

"Ah? So it is just fetching things?" Lan Shi said with slight regret.

What was with this young girl's tone? Chen Ye instead felt as though he had been taken advantage of.

"Cui Xian is forcibly conscripting boys and girls, suspected to be an order from the imperial court. Go steal all relevant documents from the county government office for me. Also, bring me the evidence of the magistrate colluding with martial artists to design a frame-up; not a single one must be left out."

Lan Shi said somewhat reluctantly: "This... the Cui Xian government office is guarded more strictly than a prefectural government; I fear..."

Chen Ye said mercilessly: "If you fear death, then enter my Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Once dead, you will not fear death."

Lan Shi heard this and hurriedly said, "No, no, no, Young Master, spare my life. I'll go right now."

The little girl used lightness skill, like a small bird flapping its wings.

One must admit, her lightness skill was truly good.

Chen Ye stared at the direction the little girl had left, speechless for a long time.

Mo Ci's voice rang out: "What, you didn't truly mean to let her go? You really wanted to use her to break your Pure Yang body?"

Chen Ye smiled and said, "Then I'd be the one at a loss. I just felt that this little girl is not merely a righteous thief."