Chapter 331: Code of Conduct

"So you're saying you originally knew that the Evil Cultivator had raised a spirit cat, and for profit you passed this information on to another practitioner, after which the Evil Cultivator rescued his spirit cat, slew the other cat‑stealing thief you brought, spared your life, and made you do his bidding?"

After a long while, Yu Die, having listened to Ni Qiu's endless rambling, suddenly wore an extremely odd expression; she had roamed the jianghu for years and had seen every kind of absurdity, yet this was the first time she saw something so outrageous, and she asked, puzzled:

"And you think he has a sadistic killing habit, that he lets you keep using the presence of a spirit cat here as a pretext to lure other practitioners, and in the end, according to his plan, the people you find are all the most heinous criminals?"

"Yes, yes, that's exactly it!"

Ni Qiu trembled as he spoke, hurriedly responded, and with a sidelong glance at the corpses scattered around, he pleaded:

"Miss Heroine, this Miss Heroine, although I've done bad deeds, the worst I've done is petty theft, I've never killed anyone; I was forced by that cultivator's threat to work for him, so please spare me this time!"

I promise, from now on, I—I—I will never do bad deeds again!

Judging from the corpses around, they are indistinguishable from the fatal wounds Fan Hongwei received when he first brought in the theft of Hei Mao Bu Tou, although we didn't see the exact details of that battle.

No need to think further; these bodies were likely killed by Wang Ping'an's hand.

Yet here, we haven't even seen Wang Ping'an, so nine times out of ten he was driven away by the female Sword Immortal before us, which shows how formidable this female Sword Immortal is.

If this female Sword Immortal took him for a comrade of Wang Ping'an, with her righteous aura, she would likely end his life with her own hand.

That said,

What he did could be called being Wang Ping'an's accomplice, but he was coerced.

He did consider, when Yu Die wasn't watching, using all his strength to vanish from her sight at top speed, but that thought lingered in his mind for less than three seconds.

And it was dispelled by himself!

Just now,

That Flying Sword that had stood before him, which Yu Die stored in her Storage Ring, now intermittently appears in his mind, warning him.

Here he begs Yu Die desperately, hoping she might show great mercy and spare his dog's life, but if he turns and runs, think nothing of it—he'll meet only death; no matter how fast he runs, he can't outrun the Flying Sword.

Had I known earlier.

Even if I starved to death back then, I shouldn't have entertained the idea of targeting Hei Mao Bu Tou.

Otherwise,

How could it have ended in such a tragic fate?

"Interesting, truly interesting—a Evil Cultivator who devours others' souls uses a spirit cat as a trap to lure practitioners, but specifically draws in the most heinous criminals!"

Yu Die's face wore a teasing smile; ignoring Ni Qiu's pleading eyes, her gaze roamed the surroundings, and she saw neither the Storage Bag on the Paper Person nor the spirit cat that should have been imprisoned.

Obviously.

That unknown‑origin Evil Cultivator had other accomplices who took his Storage Bag and spirit cat.

Leaving only a wooden plaque!

Yu Die briskly stepped forward, crouched, and picked up the wooden plaque from the ground; it was a relic of the Evil Cultivator—no, rather a relic that fell from the Paper Person controlled by the Evil Cultivator.

On closer inspection, it was a talisman case!

"What an exquisite talisman case!"

Yu Die gasped in surprise; the talisman case that appeared in her hand was only a basic one—she had owned such a case when she was very young, and now she even carries higher‑grade talisman cases.

Only,

The talisman case in her hand differs from the basic ones she once owned.

After a careful examination, she concluded that this talisman case is far superior to the basic ones she previously had.

Good enough to rival a mid‑grade talisman case!

Yu Die recalled that when she was about to deal with Wang Ping'an, a series of copper‑wall, iron‑shield, golden‑light talisman barriers manifested before him, whose defensive power was even stronger than ordinary copper‑wall, iron‑shield, golden‑light talismans. In an instant, Yu Die's curiosity peaked, and she lamented, "I really want to know, who exactly are you!"

If

Wang Ping'an is the type who disregards others' lives, practicing a heterodox path that cultivates by devouring others' souls; regardless of who Wang Ping'an is, she harbors a killing intent, yet Wang Ping'an does indeed cultivate by devouring souls.

But what he devours are the scraps of those who have committed every possible evil!

Between them, at most it can be called dog‑bit‑dog.

Had it been the freshly fledgling her, regardless of whose souls Wang Ping'an devours, merely by Wang Ping'an's soul‑devouring cultivation she would have to go to great lengths to locate Wang Ping'an and eliminate him as soon as possible.

To prevent a great disaster!

However,

Now, after years of wandering the jianghu, she possesses abundant experience and a personal code of conduct; she knows a principle.

She shouldn't, because someone might do evil in the future, strike first and play the righteous avenger; what she ought to do is, before anyone has done wrongdoing, deem them good, even if later she discovers they might commit acts that anger heaven and people, but before they act.

In this novel, you...

She should not lay a hand on this person!

At most,

That is, warn the other not to do evil!

She is an enforcer, not a prophet, nor a savior.

What Wang Ping'an does is contrary to basic morality, but as long as Wang Ping'an hasn't acted against the common folk, she should not slay him.

Moreover,

Wang Ping'an's dog‑bit‑dog, as long as his mischief involves the scraps of those who have done every evil, is a good thing whether it concerns her or the court.

All she can do is warn, even urge Wang Ping'an not to act against the common people.

Yu Die asked again, "Besides this, do you have any other knowledge about that Evil Cultivator?"

Ni Qiu, with a mournful expression, said, "Miss Heroine, that man looks like a truly vicious scoundrel; even if he lent me the courage of a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, I wouldn't dare have any thoughts about him.

I haven't tried to learn about him; perhaps he wouldn't regard me at all and might spare my dog's life, but if I went out of my way to investigate him, I might not even know how I die!"

Yu Die was somewhat disappointed but neither angry nor surprised; someone like Ni Qiu, who drifts through society and deals with all walks of life, knows how to protect his own life, and said:

"From now on, do a good job working for that person!"

"Huh?"

Ni Qiu let out a startled cry, never having imagined that Yu Die would say such words; his heart overflowed with joy, yet he was utterly bewildered, his voice trembling as he said:

"Lady hero, you, you, you mean, is, is, is to let me continue doing such things?"

"What, is there a problem?"

Yu Die asked back.

Ni Qiu's expression instantly turned extremely strange; although he was overjoyed to have saved his life, he could not understand Yu Die's purpose in having him do this, and he said:

"No, no, no problem!"

(End of chapter)