Stranger Danger

Chapter 140: Trouble

“Ribbons of jade wrapped around the watchtowers,

myriad barges compete along the rivers.

Merchants packed together like clouds,

pedestrians come and go like streams.

Sculpted beams that belonged to celestial palaces,

ornamented walls that are anything but ordinary.

Jade altars that welcome a golden dawn,

clouds that hover atop the tallest peaks.

Eighteen boats to connect all of Luo Shui,

endless lamps to keep the darkness at bay.

When spring arrives with the wind,

flowers bloom,

and all is right in the world.”

The poem spoke of the prosperity and growth of Luo Shui. In just a few lines, it had painted a clear picture of the commandery’s grandeur and flavor.

It was unfortunate Ye Qing had no time to admire its beauty right now. He made a beeline for the Pacification Bureau as soon as he was done asking for directions.

Unfortunately, he had just walked past Greenbird Street and set foot on Pacification Street when a group of people blocked his way. Specifically, it was a handsome youngster wearing expensive, well-tailored clothes. He was probably eighteen or nineteen years old.

The youngster was wearing an arrogant, lofty expression that didn’t really fit with his age, though that was mitigated by the fact that he was a late-stage Vessel Augmentor. It was clear that his upbringing wasn’t normal. He was accompanied by what Ye Qing presumed to be his guards and attendants. They were much weaker and only in the Qi Invocation stage.

“Do you have business with me?” Ye Qing frowned. This was literally his first day in Luo Shui, and as far as he was aware the only faction that had beef with him was Sunset Hill. The young man in front of him didn’t look like a Sunset Hill disciple, but he clearly did not harbor good intentions either.

The young man clapped his hand against the white jade folding fan he was holding and said directly, “I heard you have a Book Sprite. Will you sell it to me?”

Ye Qing narrowed his eyes dangerously. “How did you know about that?”

Everyone in the area immediately felt a chill down their spine. It was like someone was pressing a knife to their back, and yet they couldn’t tell where the inexplicable feeling had come from.

The young man did not seem to notice anything, however. He continued arrogantly, “So you do have a Book Sprite. Name your price!”

“Please don’t sell Wawa, friend! Please!” Wawa immediately crawled out of Ye Qing’s hair and sobbed.

“A female Book Sprite? Perfect!” The youngster’s eyes lit up when he saw her.

“Don’t cry, Wawa. I could never sell a cute girl like you!” Ye Qing rubbed her head gently and looked back at the youngster. “Apologies, but I’m not selling her!”

“If you’re not going to name a price, how about I make you an offer instead?” The youngster raised a finger and declared arrogantly, “One thousand silvers.”

“I said no!” Ye Qing rejected him firmly. One thousand silvers was a lot of money, but even if Wawa wasn’t his family, it wasn’t enough to buy a Book Sprite at all.

“Two thousand silvers!” The youngster raised another finger when he saw that Ye Qing was unmoved.

“I’m in a hurry. Please step aside!” Ye Qing started stepping to the side to circle around the group.

.

“Five thousand silvers!” The youngster more than doubled his price this time. “Five thousand silvers is more than enough money for you to marry two concubines and live comfortably for the rest of your life, friend. You best not get any greedier than this.”

Ye Qing responded with a smile that didn’t reach the eye, “I already told you: no. Also, I’m pretty rich myself, so you can save it.”

It was the truth. He was probably wealthier than all of them combined.

“You think we’d believe that, you pauper!? Just sell it to us while we’re still in the mood to negotiate! Do you even know who my young master is?” One of the youngster’s attendants yelled after noting that Ye Qing was adamant in his rejection.

Would you look at that, that’s a line straight out of a web novel! It’s too bad they have no idea who they’re dealing with.

When the attendant noticed that Ye Qing was shooting him a playful, almost pitying look, he grew angry and declared, “My young master is the second young master of the Luo Clan, Luo Feibai, and he’s already giving you face by offering to pay you five thousand silvers! Give it to us now, or you will regret what comes next!”

The attendant then rushed toward Ye Qing and attempted to snatch Wawa from his shoulders.

“Ah!” Wawa cried out in fear.

However, something hit him in the chest before he could react and smashed him into the ground. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his chest was caved in.

Beside Ye Qing, Kung Fu Frog let out a disdainful, “Croak!”

“What the? How dare you hurt my men!” Luo Feibai erupted in anger after he recovered from his shock. “Get him! Kill him!”

His attendants immediately charged Ye Qing while letting out a battle cry. However, Kung Fu Frog leaped into the air and thrust all four of its limbs at the attendants, unleashing a gale of force that knocked all of them to the ground.

As usual, Kung Fu Frog was very careful with its attack. Although the men were all spitting blood and looking as pale as a sheet, none of them were in danger of dying.

Luo Feibai could not seem to believe that Ye Qing would dare to fight back. It took him a good few seconds to finally recognize the reality before him and fly into a rage. “You… You are courting death!”

He folded his fan and performed a downward thrust with it. Fast and unpredictable, it looked like it was coming from multiple directions at once. It was a surprisingly high level sword technique.

Sadly, he was still some distance away from Ye Qing when a voice stopped him dead in his tracks, “You better not move, little scion!”

Faceless had somehow taken Luo Feibai’s back by surprise, and his fingers were resting on his throat. He would not hesitate to rip the scion’s throat out if he tried anything stupid.

“Y-you… How dare you! I’m the second young master of the Luo Clan! M-my dad will never forgive you if you dare to harm a hair on my person!”

Luo Feibai looked as pale as a ghost as he gulped, “Now let me go!”

“Don’t wanna. Whatcha gonna do about it?” Ye Qing tilted his head and shot Luo Feibai a shit-eating grin.

“You… you…!”

For a long time, the scion was unable to stammer out a full sentence. After all, he had never encountered a situation like this in his life. What should he do?

It was at this moment the sound of orderly footsteps came from the distance. Ye Qing looked up and saw a platoon of Pacification Sentinels clad in black armor and tiger boots marching toward them. They wielded a hand crossbow on one hand and had a long saber strapped to their waist.

“Tian Wu! Tian Wu! Save me! Save me now!” Luo Feibai screamed like he had found his savior as soon as caught sight of the Pacification Sentinels out of the corner of his eyes.

A portly man in his thirties stepped out in the open. He had a hook mustache and a pair of beady eyes that gave him the appearance of a cartoon villain. After observing the situation and confirming that he didn’t recognize Ye Qing’s group, he put on a frown and yelled angrily, “How dare you attack the citizens of Luo Shui with your Stranger and even take a hostage! Let go of Young Master Luo now, or else!”

“Yes, yes!” Luo Feibai wasn’t stupid. He immediately figured out what Tian Wu was doing and lied through his teeth, “Tian Wu—sorry, I mean Guardian Tian, I was negotiating a deal with this scholar when he suddenly sicced his Stranger on me. As you can see, he seriously injured my men and even took me hostage! You must help me, Guardian Tian!”

“Negotiate a deal?” Ye Qing shrugged uncaringly. “If by ‘negotiate’ you mean forcing me into a deal I never asked for, then sure!”

Tian Wu ignored Ye Qing’s words and declared in a righteous voice, “The law of Chu states anyone who commits wrongdoings through Strangers will have their cultivation sealed and be escorted to the Demon Suppression Prison to await their punishment.”

“Do not resist, or we will employ deadly force against you!”

As soon as he said this, the Pacification Sentinels immediately unsheathed their sabers and loaded their crossbows. At the same time, they spread out into a circle and surrounded Ye Qing from all sides.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Let Young Master Luo go before it’s too late, criminal!” Tian Wu yelled again.

Ye Qing didn’t seem to notice the deadly intent all around him, however. He chuckled. “Criminal? As I told you, it was your ‘Young Master Luo’ who tried to force me into a deal I never asked for. In fact, he was the one who sicced his men on me first, which was why my Stranger beat them up in self-defense.”

Luo Feibai lied again, “Bullshit! I’m the second young master of the Luo Clan! I would never do such a thing!”

Tian Wu uttered coldly, “Hmph! We haven’t seen Young Master Luo trying to force you into a deal, but you admitted yourself that this carnage is your Stranger’s doing! So quit the bullshit and come with us to the Pacification Bureau already, criminal!”

“Criminal, criminal, criminal. You just can’t stop using that word, can you?” Ye Qing smiled mirthlessly. “I’m assuming that you won’t change your mind no matter what, Guardian Tian?”

“Why would I? It is the truth! Not only that, I suspect that you’re plotting something against Luo Shui because you brought Strangers into the commandery!” Tian Wu waved his hand and ordered, “Capture him!”

The Pacification Sentinels immediately obeyed and marched toward Ye Qing. Although they were only Qi Invokers, their auras were strong, and their eyes were fully focused. They were good men who just had the misfortune of serving under a bad boss.

Ye Qing shook his head and stomped his feet. Like a wave, the earth rolled toward the Pacification Sentinels and knocked them all to the ground. Their faces turned beet red, and their auras grew unstable. For a time, they were unable to muster their energies no matter what they tried.

“What?” Tian Wu was farther away from Ye Qing, but the attack still made him feel a sudden tightness in his chest and threw his breathing out of order. The only reason he didn’t drop to his feet like the rest of the Pacification Sentinels was because he was a late-stage Vessel Augmentor. Even so, he could tell immediately that Ye Qing was an Astral Refiner.

Fuck! I thought he was a worm, but he’s really a dragon! Tian Wu swore loudly inside his head. He and Luo Feibai were acquaintances, and Ye Qing was a stranger with a weak aura. That was why he took this as an opportunity to curry favor with Luo Feibai. Instead, he had offended someone he shouldn’t have offended.

He was still a Guardian of the Pacification Bureau, but if he managed this poorly…

“Ahhh!”

Suddenly, Luo Feibai let out a surprised cry and jolted Tian Wu out of his thoughts. He saw the young man sucking Luo Feibai out of the old servant’s hands and into his own.

“What do you think you’re doing? Calm down. There’s no need for drastic action…” Tian Wu stammered. He was terrified that the young man would get impulsive and kill Luo Feibai. It would be an absolute shitshow if that happened!

Ye Qing grabbed Luo Feibai firmly with his left hand. It looked like he wasn’t using any strength, but Luo Feibai couldn’t break free because he felt unusually weak and sore. Ye Qing then looked to Tian Wu and smiled, “Relax, Guardian Tian. You wanted to go to the Pacification Bureau, right? C’mon then! Let’s walk there together!”

Before Tian Wu could react, Ye Qing steered Luo Feibai like a chick and started walking in the direction of the Pacification Bureau. The Pacification Sentinels who had just gotten back to their feet instinctively stepped out of Ye Qing’s way and stared at his back.

Tian Wu blinked in confusion. He didn’t understand what the young man was plotting. He didn’t actually think that the Pacification Bureau would believe him over one of their own, did he? Or did he have an actual trick up his sleeves?

Suddenly, Tian Wu had a bad, bad feeling about this.

“Come on! What are you waiting for?” Ye Qing beckoned when he took another two steps and noticed that Tian Wu wasn’t following. “Oh right, bring this idiot’s underlings with you as well, Guardian Tian.”

Tian Wu: “...” Who’s the Guardian here, you or me?

Despite his inner rant, he ultimately ordered his men to carry Luo Feibai’s underlings and followed Ye Qing into the Pacification Bureau.