Chapter 45: Preparing to Act

Why is a feudal dynasty in a world of Cultivation so strictly controlling of martial arts manuals?

Ruan Xing had never considered this layer, so when she saw the man's slightly smug smile, she knew her original plan was no longer effective.

Thus, taking advantage of the time spent bowing her head in silence, she activated the Simulation in her mind.

Seeing that Ruan Xing did not answer, Sun Erlang knew that one sentence had successfully seized her weak point, and he laughed: "Gang Leader Ruan, this is you delivering the handle into my hands yourself. Now, Sun has no choice but to believe that Gang Leader Ruan is indeed here to help me with sincerity. Rest assured, I will keep your secret."

Ruan Xing was unhurried and continued to follow his lead: "Since you have already received my sincerity, Erlang, what about your sincerity? Keeping a secret alone is not enough."

"Gang Leader Ruan is quite greedy. The only two places in this world with Luoqi Pill are the Imperial Palace Treasury and the National Teacher Palace, neither of which are easy places to go. Very well, this case is of vital importance to me. If Gang Leader Ruan spares no effort to assist me fully, I have a method here that can allow Gang Leader Ruan to enter the National Teacher Palace, but this method must be kept secret for now."

He tapped the table and said mysteriously in a low voice.

Ruan Xing said, half-understanding and half-troubled: "That is natural. However, can you give me a guarantee, Erlang? Otherwise, if I take the entire gang's lives and livelihoods to work with you just like this, I have no peace of mind."

A guarantee? Sun Erlang thought for a moment, "Shall I give you a written letter of proof?"

"Agreed!" Ruan Xing laughed and responded immediately, waving her hand to summon the servant by the carriage to hand over a brush and paper.

Sun Erlang flourished his brush and casually wrote a passage of text sufficient to prove it was a personal secret order, though he did not explicitly write the names of the Red Head Gang or Ruan Xing. Ruan Xing pretended not to see the hidden scheme he had tucked away and instead urged him eagerly, "And your personal seal."

"Naturally, I would not forget." Sun Erlang took off the silver hairpin from his head, twisted the end into two halves, fitted one half onto the thumb ring he was wearing, joined them together seamlessly, dabbed them in ink paste, and stamped it onto the secret order.

He put away the silver hairpin and said happily: "With this, Gang Leader Ruan can rest assured, right?"

"Rest assured, rest assured. Our entire Red Head Gang will listen to your orders. To keep your identity secret, I cannot host a banquet for you, so I can only use tea instead of wine to toast you!" Ruan Xing called the shopkeeper to bring two more bowls of fresh tea.

Just as Ruan Xing picked up her bowl to drink, Sun Erlang picked up the half-bowl he had been drinking from earlier: "I will just drink this bowl."

"You are indeed right to be cautious while out and about." Ruan Xing did not care at all about the defensiveness Sun Erlang displayed; the two finished the tea in their bowls and smiled at each other.

After bidding farewell, Ruan Xing tucked the secret order into her bosom to keep it close, then turned and boarded the carriage.

After closing the door, she wiped the smile from her face, and with a cold expression, she whispered orders: "Tell Hong Xi, Lu Youqi, and Wang Dongxing to meet me at headquarters in one hour. Now, we go to the Qianshi Mansion."

The accompanying gang disciples went to carry out the order, and the coachman, seemingly sensing her bad mood, drove the horses forward without daring to even breathe loudly.

Ruan Xing sat in the carriage with her eyes closed to rest, her mind filled with the results of the simulation just now.

【Simulation in progress】

At age six, you reach a cooperative relationship with the new City Lord, Sun Erlang, in your capacity as the Red Head Gang Leader. To win your trust, Sun Erlang writes a personal letter for you.

Afterward, you lead the Red Head Gang to await Sun Erlang's orders. Three days later, while he is secretly investigating the case and collecting evidence, he sends you to lead the Red Head Gang in a night raid on seven locations, including the Weaving Workshop and the Silk Shop. You capture three criminals who failed to escape, twenty-seven others with minor involvement, and three hundred and nineteen uninvolved persons who were implicated. While Sun Erlang interrogates them on the spot, he orders you to take a few people to disguise yourselves as criminals and flee into the Household Tax Division. You strike from within and without, entering in one blow, but encounter fierce resistance. The Red Head Gang suffers heavy casualties, but in the end, you do not let any relevant personnel escape. Sun Erlang highly commends you, promises to reward you, and guarantees that you can enter the National Teacher Palace to obtain the Luoqi Pill.

The following month, Sun Erlang escorts all the criminals back to the Capital for trial. Ten days later, you are assassinated by several experts, and you die.

【Simulation ended】

After choosing the memories, Ruan Xing's mood was somewhat heavy. At the moment of her death, those experts searched her body and took away that personal letter. Perhaps because there is no need to fear the dead, she also heard the conversation between them. The content was unimportant, but the voices were extremely effeminate, allowing Ruan Xing to judge without even thinking that they were eunuchs.

No matter how nicely Sun Erlang spoke, he was deceiving her. Once he returned to the Capital, he would reveal to the palace that she possessed a Post-Heaven Cultivation Technique.

She could not let him return to the Capital alive.

Therefore, when Sun Erlang wrote that secret order, she relied on the nimble fingers brought by Gambling Entry to poison his tea without him noticing. To ensure he would drink that cup of tea, she had deliberately asked for two new cups of tea to toast him.

Sure enough, out of his defensive nature toward her, Sun Erlang did not drink the new tea she requested, but drank the old tea instead.

The poison she used was the same kind Hu San had previously put in Ruan Fu's medicinal soup, so he looked fine now, but when he became emotionally agitated, he would suddenly collapse and die.

She leaned against the carriage wall and closed her eyes, whispering to herself silently: "I am very sorry, I did not intend to kill you. And thank you, for letting me know such important news."

The carriage soon arrived at the Qianshi Mansion. As soon as Ruan Xing got off, she was recognized by the servants of the Qianshi Mansion, who hurried to report her arrival.

Ruan Xing did not have to wait long before Young Master Liu hurried over, frowning: "What happened? Why did you come to find me without notifying me in advance?"

"Is the Qianshi awake? I want to see him." Ruan Xing said directly.

Looking at Ruan Xing's expression, Young Master Liu knew that if it were not an urgent matter, she could not have come in such a rush. He swallowed the words he was originally going to say and instead said: "He is awake and is drinking medicine. I will take you there."

Inside the room, the Qianshi's face was like gold paper, and he was weakly leaning on Liu Yiniang's shoulder, laboriously drinking the restorative medicinal soup spoonful by spoonful.

Seeing Young Master Liu and Ruan Xing enter, he cast a glance at Liu Yiniang. The latter understood immediately, took the medicine bowl, placed several soft pillows behind the Qianshi to help him lean back comfortably, and then withdrew.

He looked at Ruan Xing with a gentle expression, "Gang Leader Ruan... is it? I have heard Shouye mention you."

His voice was hoarse, as if even breathing was difficult. Ruan Xing found it hard to bear the thought of persuading him to go to his death in such a miserable state.

After a long silence, Ruan Xing asked: "Is the Qianshi well? Can you still walk?"

"If I force myself to stand, I can naturally walk a few steps, cough, cough..." The Qianshi made a joke, but could not help but cough violently for a while before continuing: "I haven't thanked you for saving my life, Gang Leader Ruan. You didn't come to see me just to watch me walk a few steps, did you..."

A look of heartache appeared on Young Master Liu's face, and he could not help but go to the bedside and gently pat his chest to help him catch his breath. Ruan Xing did not waste words and directly took out Sun Erlang's personal secret order, placing it before the Qianshi for him to see.

He widened his eyes and read it word for word, "This..."

After a long pause, he took another heavy breath, "What does Gang Leader Ruan want to do with this broken body of mine?"

"This is a secret order from the new City Lord for you. Naturally, he hopes you can get up and assist in capturing the main criminals." Ruan Xing said calmly: "So I am asking you, do you dare?"

The Qianshi pondered for a moment and said softly: "I dare."

Young Master Liu said hurriedly: "But your body..."

The Qianshi stopped his words with a look, "I am naturally aware of my own body... It is just, Gang Leader Ruan, I am afraid that if I get up, I will not be able to last until the end..."

"I have a secret medicine here that overdraws one's energy." Ruan Xing took out a medicine bottle, "If you feel you cannot hold on, you can take one pill."

"Good... what, time?"

"Tonight." Ruan Xing turned away, unable to bear looking any longer. Kindness and cold-bloodedness were contradictorily intertwined within her. She could release the souls within the Triangle Flag to save the Qianshi and those Ling Guards without asking for anything in return, but when she herself was in danger, she could unhesitatingly drag innocent people in to die.

No matter who it was, no matter what kind of person they were, none were as important as her own life.

"Before tonight, I will send someone to inform you of the plan in detail. Now... you can cherish this time with your family."

After saying this, Ruan Xing strode away, hoping to leave the Qianshi with enough time to spend with his family.

Young Master Liu did not speak, but hot tears dripped onto the back of the hand he had placed on the Qianshi's chest. The Qianshi laboriously reached out and covered Young Master Liu's hand, sighing: "You have grown up, you are a Commander now, you are not allowed to cry anymore..."

Young Master Liu choked with sobs: "I have not grown up. If you leave, what will happen to my sister, what will happen to A Cheng? I do not have your great ability, I cannot protect them..."

A helpless smile hung on the Qianshi's face, "Even if I did not agree, my body would not have many days left, would it? Heh, no need to hide it from me. You grew up by my side since you were a child, do you think I cannot see through you?"

"You lost your parents as soon as you were born. Your sister had a very difficult time supporting the household alone. As an unmarried woman, guarding such a large family business, she inevitably suffered bullying. She begged me, saying she wanted to be my concubine. I said it would be a grievance for a young lady of a great family to be my concubine, but she said she did not mind being aggrieved as long as the family business did not fall into the hands of others. She wanted me to protect you, to protect the Liu family's foundation. I agreed, so I named you Liu Shouye. In the blink of an eye, sixteen years have passed..."

His gaze was gentle and lingering, lost in memories.

"Shouye, cough, cough... what you must guard now is not just the Liu family's foundation. This time is an opportunity. Although Gang Leader Ruan pushed me to my death, she also gave me a chance to perform a meritorious service. As long as I have this credit and obtain the Emperor's pity, your official career will be smooth sailing from now on... I have cleared the path for you, you must walk it well, do you understand?"

"... Yes, brother-in-law." Liu Shouye's eyes filled with tears, and he answered with a trembling voice.

"Good..." The Assistant Minister smiled with relief, "Go, call your sister and A Cheng here; I want to see them, mother and child, a little more."

One hour later, Red Head Gang headquarters, meeting hall.

"Everyone is here." Ruan Xing sat in the main seat, her gaze sweeping across the circle below. The overly serious atmosphere made Wang Dongxing put away his usual cheeky grin, his face carrying a touch of gravity.

"Wang Dongxing." Ruan Xing called his name first, "Your status is rather special. Since I didn't call your mother over, I won't make you do anything ungrateful. Take this portrait. Didn't you just have a batch of new faces arrive under your command? Let them do it. You must not have physical contact with the other party, and you must not cause any injury to the other party's body, but you must make the other party angry. You must keep watch over him and not let any other unidentified people approach. Your role is very critical. This matter must be completed before dusk. The Housekeeper is watching his location; go and ask the Housekeeper."

Ruan Xing handed the portrait made by the old gentleman who was good at drawing wanted posters to Wang Dongxing. The latter took the portrait with both hands, bowed, and replied, "This subordinate accepts the order!"

"Lu Youqi." Ruan Xing called another person's name, looking at the first person she had met in the Red Head Gang. The gang members under his command who practiced martial arts were recognized by all the Red Head Gang Guans as the most numerous and the strongest; even some of the thugs in other Guan halls had come from his hall. "Gather all the brothers under your command who can be mobilized, assemble before dusk, and wait for my orders. You must be low-key and discreet, do you understand?"

Lu Youqi bowed solemnly, "This subordinate accepts the order."

"Hong Xi." Ruan Xing's lips moved, pausing for a few seconds before finally saying: "How is the matter with the Luoqi Pill?"

"This subordinate is ashamed, I still have not been able to find news of it..."

"No need to look anymore." Ruan Xing interrupted him, "Gather all the gang members who have come into contact with this matter. Tonight, you will lead them as the vanguard."

Hong Xi's head hung low, his expression invisible, only a low voice was heard, "This subordinate... accepts the order."

After arranging everything, all that remained was to wait.

There were two hours left until dark.

The sweltering heat waves in the afternoon made people irritable, and even the iced melon served by the Maid could not provide relief. Ruan Xing ate a piece of melon cut into small cubes and waved the Maid away, intending to simulate the outcome of the battle.

Soon, a few seconds later, the first simulation ended. Ruan Xing began to check her memory to plug leaks and fill gaps. The list of wanted criminals and evidence she possessed had been organized by Sun Erlang; she only knew the surface but not the underlying details. In reality, there would be many loopholes when executing it. Fortunately, with the Simulator, she could find those loopholes over and over again and fill them until this operation was flawless.

It was just that in different simulations, sometimes the gang members she had sent out to scout for the Luoqi Pill would betray her, and she would then be assassinated by several old eunuchs a few days later, unless she had all those people die in this operation under the name of the vanguard unit; only then could she avoid this branch line.

She did not know what variable was influencing it, but she did not want to face this variable and could only nip it in the bud.

Lying exhausted on the beauty couch, Ruan Xing pressed her temples and thought to herself, how tiring... when will I be able to touch the threshold of Cultivation? After this matter is over, I will go to the Capital. There are still more than ten years until the plot begins; if she goes to the Capital now, she shouldn't be affected by the luck of the male and female leads. She set two small goals for herself: the first is to inquire about the Sect that takes the male lead away in over a decade, and the second is to sneak into the National Teacher Palace to obtain the Luoqi Pill.

With the lesson from Sun Erlang's precedent, she must be even more careful and cautious this time.

Wailing, I brought the sister over early after listening to the comments, but a big bug appeared that I scratched my head over all night and couldn't fix, I'm collapsing...

(End of this chapter)