Chapter 85: Forced by the Female Constable (5K, First Update)

Why is it always me who gets hurt?

Keeping her head lowered to hide her expression, Shi Xue kept pondering this question.

Did I fail to check the almanac before leaving the house?

Or was this calamity destined in my fate today?

How did I first get entangled with the most troublesome woman, and then get seen in this embarrassing state by an even more troublesome guy?

And what made her feel the most uncomfortable was that she couldn't afford to offend either of these two people.

One had a status even more noble than hers, was currently the talk of the town in Wentian City, and was the object of pursuit for countless people.

The other was mysterious and unfathomable, someone even her second uncle regarded with special attention.

So what should she do now?

Should she continue to back down?

"... Back down?"

Thinking of this, Shi Xue froze.

"Back down? How could I think like that?"

Was it because she had seen too many incidents in this Chongzhou City that she had also become slick and worldly?

"... Heh, hehehe."

Is it because of my previous concessions that you all think I, Shi Xue, am someone easy to bully?

You really think I have no temper, right?

You all want to see me go crazy, don't you?

Fine.

I will satisfy you.

Slowly raising her head, all emotion vanished from her face, and she said indifferently to the three people still in a stalemate:

"Let go."

"Otherwise, I will die right here."

Shi Xue did not avoid the blade anymore; instead, she leaned her slender neck directly toward the sharp edge!

Since I cannot make a move against you, surely it is no problem for me to hurt myself, right?

Her soft skin was easily sliced open upon touching the blade, and a few drops of fresh blood flowed out.

Ren Yidao:?

Threatening with self-harm?

No, that's not it, this temperament...

Shi Xue was not joking.

Ren Yidao raised an eyebrow; he saw a sense of déjà vu in Shi Xue at this moment.

In his eyes, Shi Xue was no longer the energetic, dream-filled Constable he saw on ordinary days.

She was a dead person.

A pink skull, a pile of white bones, devoid of any vitality.

And this cold temperament lingering about her, which held no regard for any life, was something Ren Yidao had only seen in Shi Anqi before.

And this coldness even included her own.

Ready to die at any moment, willing to sacrifice everything, including herself, to achieve a goal.

Looking at this gaze, which was like that of a dead soldier, Ren Yidao licked his lips.

"... Interesting."

It was absolutely abnormal for Shi Xue to possess such a dead soldier's temperament.

It was not her own will, but rather seemed more like a special inheritance within her bloodline.

The special nature revealed by this uncle and niece, Shi Anqi and Shi Xue, was enough for Ren Yidao to infer many details.

For instance, the Shi Family did not just happen to rise to power by relying on Shi Anqi once assisting Li Long in taking the throne.

The fact that Shi Anqi was able to become a member of the Imperial Guard from the start was not due to himself, but because the Shi Family was already among the noble clans!

It was just that it wasn't until Shi Anqi's generation that they gradually stepped from the darkness into the light, appearing to be a newly risen prominent family with shallow roots.

"Would such a family have left no traces behind before?"

When a wild goose flies, it leaves a trail; when the wind blows, it leaves a sound.

He did not believe such a family could just pop out of thin air; they must have left clues somewhere.

"They probably changed their appearance and identity."

He would investigate the specific details carefully once he reached Wentian.

"This trip has added another interesting matter."

And compared to Ren Yidao's contemplative state, Li Qiushui's reaction was much greater.

"Xiaoxue! Don't be impulsive! I'll listen to you, you must stay calm!"

Li Qiushui was clearly somewhat flustered; disregarding everything else, she pressed a hand onto Ren Yidao's wrist, trying to force him to lower the sword.

But as a cultivator of mere mortal flesh, how could she compare in strength to the human-shaped Demon Beast that was Ren Yidao?

Ren Yidao did not move an inch, not even blinking his eyelids.

The term 'human-shaped Demon Beast' here is not an exaggeration, little girl.

"Xiaoxue! Listen to me, we will let go immediately..."

While soothing Shi Xue, Li Qiushui kept signaling to Ren Yidao with her eyes to hurry up and do as she said.

【What are you still standing there for? Let go!】

But Ren Yidao decided to pretend to ignore it.

This young lady, who do you think you are?

Are you teaching me how to do things?

I'm not listening.

Besides, shouldn't you take care of your subordinate first?

That brother over there has been staring at my back the whole time!

I'm afraid he's harboring evil intentions toward me.

Also noticing Ren Yidao's playful gaze, Li Qiushui glared resentfully behind her and shouted angrily:

"Did you not hear what I said!?"

"I said put it down!"

Tsk!

The man in black glared at Ren Yidao's back, then unwillingly sheathed his long blade.

Click.

And after he sheathed his blade, Ren Yidao immediately put away his sword edge.

Watching the fun is one thing.

If it weren't absolutely necessary, Ren Yidao wouldn't want his tail to be stained with a friend's blood.

Ren Yidao and the man in black stared at each other, while Li Qiushui hurried to Shi Xue's side and asked worriedly:

"Xiaoxue, are you okay? You scared me just now."

And Shi Xue, looking at the concerned Li Qiushui, did not return to her usual self, but instead coldly spat out a sentence.

"Move aside."

After speaking, she pushed Li Qiushui, who was blocking her path, directly aside and walked straight ahead.

"Don't follow me."

"Xiaoxue..."

Li Qiushui called out a few times, but Shi Xue turned a deaf ear, showing no intention of stopping at all.

She wanted to catch up, but was worried that Shi Xue would turn into that state again, so in the end, she just stayed where she was, heartbroken.

Compared to her own pain, she was more worried about Shi Xue's safety.

But Ren Yidao was different.

He chose to follow directly.

I already said, don't teach me how to do things!

In this vast Chongzhou City, I go wherever I want to go.

Before slowly following Shi Xue, Ren Yidao specifically took a few extra looks at Li Qiushui.

The villain who had just arrogantly said she would leave him with one hand no longer had the leisure to care about him.

Li Qiushui looked at Shi Xue's receding back with a heartbroken expression, raising her hand several times to call out, but in the end, she bit her lip and lowered her hand.

Even dressed in men's clothing, it could not hide the sense of fragility she felt at this moment.

I see a tragic actress.

Her behavior made Ren Yidao's originally firm thoughts become a bit indecisive.

... Is there really something going on between you two?

Ren Yidao even had a few moments where he wondered if he had played the villain for once, ruthlessly crushing a lily flower that was about to bloom.

But before he could start reflecting, he let it go himself.

Whether you are heartbroken or not, what does that have to do with me?

Abandon the idea of helping others, respect the fate of others.

Besides, Shi Xue clearly doesn't have that intention; it's you who are being wishful here.

The fallen flower has the intention, but the flowing water is heartless.

How pitiful.

While passing the black-clad guard, Ren Yidao specifically cupped his hands and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. Brother, you have such fine skills; you were just a tiny bit away from cutting me."

"What a pity, I'll definitely give you this chance next time."

Guard:???

Pressing his hand on the hilt of his blade, his fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

And seeing him like this, Ren Yidao started to laugh.

Yes, that's right, it should be exactly like this.

Some might say that killing someone is just a matter of a head point, and since it's already like this, don't stir up any more trouble.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

This is not necessary, but extremely necessary.

To kill, one must strike at the heart!

Feeling the opponent's brain temperature rising, Ren Yidao was preparing to take the trash talk to the end.

"Let's spar again when there's a chance, I'll wait... eh?"

The man in black finally revealed a flaw under his loss of composure, and his breath-concealing technique showed a trace of disorder.

And then it was directly detected by Ren Yidao.

???

His nose twitched, Ren Yidao blinked his eyes, and blurted out:

"Eh!? How come you're a woman too?"

Well, that's great!

After all that fuss just now, it turns out I was the only man in that alley?

Clang!

The black-clad female guard, in a fit of rage, no longer intended to hold back her strength and suddenly drew her blade!

Narrowly dodging the blade's edge, Ren Yidao realized the opponent truly had murderous intent and did not engage in a direct confrontation.

He used Incense Substitution three times in a row and escaped on the spot.

That was close, that was close; I almost messed up.

It seems I accidentally poked the opponent's reverse scale.

"What's with the big reaction? I wasn't slandering you."

"What's wrong with being a woman? I'm shivering with anger!"

Too easily agitated; that's not good.

Taking a look from afar at the black-clad guard who was still murderously searching for him, Ren Yidao decided to just leave her be.

When he was a child playing hide-and-seek with others, he had already mastered a winning tactic.

As soon as the game started, he would go straight home to sleep.

As for whether he would come back, that depended on whether he could wake up in time.

You keep looking~

I'm off.

"As the saying goes!

Attack where the enemy must save, and you will subdue them without a fight!

You two are like that, your relationship looks very unusual, she definitely can't let anything happen to you, so she must be hesitant.

The saying also goes!

For a good brother, one can go through fire and water.

Since we can't be good brothers, then it's only reasonable for me to stab you twice, isn't it?

The saying also goes... wait!

Miss Shi, don't go!

Just listen to me continue to sophistry with you..."

Ren Yidao followed a few steps behind the furious Shi Xue with a smile, neither moving closer nor staying too far away.

Getting close meant risking a kick; she had already tried kicking him a few times just now.

Staying too far away... wouldn't that mean there's no fun to watch?

The previous farce had taken a bizarre turn due to Ren Yidao's inexplicable sword strike.

Li Qiushui, who was dressed as a man, didn't get the beauty, the guard sheathed her blade in frustration, and the most miserable one was Shi Xue, who was first pinned against the wall and then threatened with a sword.

There were no winners among these three; everyone lost.

Then who is winning this farce?

Naturally, the one who enjoys the fun.

Because they do not contend, no one in the world can contend with them.

The one who enjoys the fun doesn't care about winning or losing, so no one can cause them to have a Broken Defense.

Since there is no way to make Li Qiushui and Shi Xue happy at the same time, it's better to make them both unhappy.

The main focus is on an extreme approach.

Ren Yidao's Recording Stone had captured precious evidence, and he had also enjoyed the anxious and worried expression of the woman in men's clothing, as well as the confused expression of the female knight.

This is truly Qin Shi Huang touching an electric gate—winning to the max.

After walking a long way behind the pouting Shi Xue, Ren Yidao finally stopped his muttering once he was certain that Li Qiushui and the others trailing behind had given up and left.

"I say, Miss Shi, it's getting late, shouldn't you stop being angry? If you don't answer me, I'm going home to eat..."

Tap.

Pausing her steps, Shi Xue turned to look at Ren Yidao.

The youth kept a safe distance from her, smiling with an indifferent look, showing no signs of guilt at all.

Her teeth felt a bit itchy with hatred, but in the end, Shi Xue didn't curse out loud, only turning that anger into a sigh.

"... Hmph!"

She couldn't bring herself to hate him.

When it came down to it, Shi Xue wasn't a headstrong person by nature, and having stayed in Chongzhou City for so long, she understood many worldly ways.

Their friendship wasn't deep, so naturally, the other party had no obligation to risk his life for her.

The other party was originally just an innocent passerby, not only dragged into this farce but also nearly injured.

Although the final handling was unexpected, looking at the result, he had indeed saved her from Li Qiushui's hands...

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she felt, and Shi Xue stomped her foot hard.

"Tsk!"

Smacking her lips in annoyance, she glared at Ren Yidao and shouted angrily:

"Are you hungry!?"

Ren Yidao:!

Why are you being so fierce?

Are you my mother urging me to eat!

"Uh, a little?"

Hmph!

With a forceful hmph, Shi Xue turned her head and walked in one direction, suppressing her anger as she said:

"Follow me! I... I'll treat you."

Ren Yidao tilted his head, unable to grasp the female knight's train of thought for a moment.

What kind of new-style tsundere is this?

Oh!

Shi Xue is very angry inside → but her upbringing forces her to not leave without saying goodbye → treating him to a meal counts as a thank-you gift → but she is still very angry, so her attitude is terrible...

Oh my, you child, why are you being so polite?

I'm so close with your uncle, isn't this what I should do!

"Hey! What are you still standing there for?"

Watching the female knight's frustrated and unwilling expression, Ren Yidao was amused, nodding with a chuckle as he followed.

"Alright, alright, coming right up."

Sorry, Yu Yu.

Foster Father is going to hang out with the female knight for a while.

Well, she forced me!

……

……

Chongzhou City, Zuixian Small Pavilion.

The sound of strings and bamboo was pleasant to the ear, accompanied by a few silver-bell-like giggles that stirred up ambiguous ripples, and the air was filled with a fragrance that made one's nose itch.

Shi Xue looked at Ren Yidao with blurred eyes and slowly spoke:

"Daoist Ren, are you... ready?"

And Ren Yidao was expressionless, nodding lightly:

"Miss Shi, I am ready."

Gazing at each other, the distance between the two grew closer and closer, and then...

Clang!

Watching Shi Xue, who was holding a wine cup but had smashed her head onto the table, Ren Yidao's face twitched, and he lowered his voice:

"Miss Shi, if you can't drink, don't drink."

I beg you.

You can't drink, so don't go challenging others to a drinking contest.

It makes it look like I'm deliberately trying to get you drunk.

Am I that kind of person?

It's a good thing this is a private room; if this were in the main hall, I'm afraid it would cause some trouble.

"... Cough, cough, cough, I'm fine."

After bowing her head over the table for a while, Shi Xue slowly raised her head, squinting at Ren Yidao, and spoke while swaying:

"I am still, not drunk!"

"Alright, alright, you're not drunk, I'm the one who's drunk, okay?"

I know, I know, every drunkard says that; can't you guys come up with a novel excuse?

"Come, big shot, please have some tea."

Handing the Sobering Tea to Shi Xue, she didn't continue to be stubborn and obediently drank it down.

After another while, there was more clarity in Shi Xue's eyes, but her mood had sunk.

"Do you feel better?"

"... Yes, thank you, Daoist, I've caused you trouble today."

Yo, so obedient?

"It's nothing, after all, I happened to run into it, so helping out was only right."

Ren Yidao only mentioned the result and didn't say a word about the process.

If asked, just don't meddle in other people's business; saving the person is victory.

Having finished the wine, Shi Xue was in a low mood and didn't care about these things.

"Daoist, you might get into some trouble because of this."

"Oh? Is that Li Xiaojie's capacity for tolerance really that small?"

Ren Yidao didn't feel like it was.

If Li Qiushui didn't even have that bit of tolerance, he wouldn't have been able to leave so easily just now.

But Shi Xue shook her head, pointing out the detail Ren Yidao had overlooked.

"Daoist, you are a person outside the world and don't understand the rules and regulations of the secular world."

"Qiushui might not care, but in the Beigan Dynasty, there are many people willing to solve problems like you for her."

"Some people do it to curry favor, but others might do it just to frame someone else..."

After seriously thinking about the situation Shi Xue hypothesized, Ren Yidao felt the situation wasn't that bad yet.

"It's not a big problem; as long as she isn't so bored that she goes around proclaiming it, I won't take the initiative to show off to outsiders either."

There were only the four of them in the alley just now, and since outsiders were unaware of the entanglements between them, there was no talk of anyone taking action on behalf of Li Qiushui.

"I hope so."

Although Shi Xue did not agree with Ren Yidao's optimistic thinking, she did not continue to try to persuade him.

High skill makes for a bold heart.

A person like Ren Yidao might be easy to talk to on the surface, but deep down, he actually possesses his own sense of arrogance.

To make him live in constant fear when nothing has even happened yet is impossible.

"Speaking of which, can you tell me about this person Li Qiushui? What is your relationship?"

"……Does the Daoist truly not know?"

"Know what? Know that she likes you?"

Her face twitched, and Shi Xue suppressed the impulse to splash the Sobering Tea onto his face, lowering her voice as she said:

"There is nothing between us! She snuck out this time, which is why she was disguised like that…… forget it, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

The more one tries to cover it up, the darker it gets!

"Li Qiushui is the daughter of the current Emperor, ninth in line, and is also the Ninth Princess people speak of now; she is considered the candidate most likely to become the next Empress."

"Do you truly know nothing of this?"

Even for someone living in seclusion, one shouldn't be completely ignorant, right?

"You really don't have to say it…… I truly don't."

Before this, Ren Yidao had always been lying around in the Divine Path Sect acting like a salted-fish fox, never caring about the rights and wrongs of the outside world.

The secret to maintaining a good mindset is to keep in mind the secret of "What does it have to do with you? What does it have to do with me?"

Discovering that Ren Yidao's reaction did not seem fake, Shi Xue could only helplessly put away what she was going to say next and instead asked:

"I haven't asked yet, what is the Daoist coming to Chongzhou City to do this time?"

Perhaps it was because of the help this time, or perhaps the effect of a little alcohol, but her attitude had become much more casual.

"Every time you come here, Daoist, nothing good ever happens; please don't add any more burdens to me."

Laughing it off, Ren Yidao smiled:

"Ahahaha, Miss Shi, you can rest assured this time; we are only staying in Chongzhou City for one night and will set off for Wentian tomorrow morning."

"Going to Wentian?"

Raising an eyebrow, Shi Xue seemed to have thought of something, silently watching the reflection in her cup.

After a moment of silence, she raised her head and spoke earnestly:

"May I accompany you?"