Early the next morning, Su Xuan brought Lu Zhiyi to the entrance of the marketplace, preparing to meet up with Shangguan Yu.
Yesterday, after he agreed to go, everyone except him felt like they had made a killing.
Shangguan Yu hurriedly said goodbye, and he didn’t know why she was in such a rush to return.
Lu Zhiyi returned to her previous sweet-girl demeanor, as if his agreement alone made her incredibly happy.
As for Su Yunjin…
With a worried expression, she stuffed several bottles of elixir into his hands, and when she left, she didn’t take any of her things, saying she could pick them up when she visited next time.
“Tsk, these little schemes.”
Su Xuan savored the memory of their encounter last night, marveling at how good she was at seduction.
Lu Zhiyi, on the other hand, was very happy. She wore a skirt she had been reluctant to put on before, and even took a bath and dressed up before leaving, as if going on a vacation.
“Master, are you really not angry? Do you really not feel forced into this by me?”
She stood obediently behind him, asking timidly.
“No, no. My disciple wants to go on a training journey—how could I feel at ease letting you go with others?”
Su Xuan sighed silently and replied helplessly.
She had asked this question several times already, insisting that he confirm again and again. He didn’t know if she was insecure or just liked hearing it.
“Heehee, Master is the best.”
Lu Zhiyi said, smiling sweetly, thoroughly pleased.
This is how it is when dealing with women. When you have to do something reluctantly, don’t complain. It’s best to look happy—it makes them much happier. (That is, if you actually care.)
“Brother Su! Miss Lu!”
They didn’t wait long before a strange man appeared before them. He was dark and skinny, wearing a worn-out linen training outfit, with a large mole on his face and a fierce expression.
“I, Shangguan Yu!”
Seeing their unfamiliar looks, the dark, skinny man pointed at himself and spoke in a voice they recognized.
“What are you doing? Fleeing a disaster?”
Su Xuan asked subconsciously.
“Flee? This is part of the plan!”
Shangguan Yu then pulled out several sets of outfits from her bosom, signaling them to change as well, and began to explain the details of the plan.
A moment later, Su Xuan nodded in sudden understanding.
In the cultivation world, besides the righteous path cultivators and the demonic cultivators who practice evil arts, there are also groups of unscrupulous individuals who rely on murder and robbery.
They are not exactly demonic cultivators who practice evil arts, but they are ruthless and are called rogue cultivators. In the ravine north of Qinghe Fangshi, there is a group of such cultivators, calling themselves the Qinghe Marauders. Because the ravine’s terrain is treacherous, easy to defend and hard to attack, and their leader’s cultivation is no joke, they have been entrenched there for over a decade, with no one able to do anything about them.
Especially recently, for some unknown reason, they have become active. Not only are they rapidly expanding and frantically robbing spirit stones and heavenly treasures, but they have also begun kidnapping low-level cultivators, losing all restraint.
Shangguan Yu’s plan was to pretend to be rogue cultivators newly joining their ranks, infiltrate them, find a way to meet the boss, and wipe them out from the inside.
“These are the credentials for joining. From now on, I am Chen Dong, Su Xuan, you are Tang San, and Miss Lu, you are Tian Chan.”
Shangguan Yu then took out several jade slips, read the names on them, and handed them out.
“But I’m a woman… Aren’t these men’s clothes?”
Lu Zhiyi looked at the oversized clothes in her hands, a bit bewildered.
“It’s fine. I’ll do your makeup. Just be careful with your voice.”
Shangguan Yu glanced at her chest and added, “They definitely won’t notice.”
“Remember to act together. Let’s set out.”
***
After saying that, she led the two north, found a deserted place, and had them change clothes.
“Shangguan… no, Brother Chen Dong, where did you get these names? I feel like something’s off.”
Although Su Xuan had changed into the linen training outfit and looked plain, it still couldn’t hide his handsome face. He frowned and asked.
For some reason, after getting this name, he inexplicably felt that everyone he looked at had something damnably irritating about them. His hostility was heavy.
“They were all people I discovered earlier who were planning to join. I dealt with them first.”
Shangguan Yu was applying makeup to Lu Zhiyi, speaking as if it were a very ordinary matter.
“Mas… Brother Tang, am I very ugly?”
Lu Zhiyi pouted. She had spent so long dressing up, only to have it all covered up—all her effort wasted.
“Not bad.”
Su Xuan said objectively. Although they were made up to look like men, their foundations were still there, and they couldn’t be made ugly at all.
“Alright, next we just need to find their location and join up.”
Shangguan clapped her hands in satisfaction.
“Good, you lead the way.”
Su Xuan glanced at the dejected Lu Zhiyi, then addressed Shangguan Yu.
“What lead the way?”
Shangguan Yu was taken aback.
“Weren’t you supposed to take us to join?”
“I don’t know where they are either.”
Seeing Shangguan Yu’s matter-of-fact tone, he was also stunned.
“Big Sister, is this how you make plans? You don’t even know where they are?”
Su Xuan felt that this trip might not go so smoothly.
“They’re hidden so deeply… how would I know where they are?”
Shangguan Yu’s voice gradually grew quieter, a bit guilty. She had only come up with the idea yesterday, saying she wanted to wipe out these rogue cultivators. The infiltration plan was thought up overnight. She really didn’t know the exact location. However, she also had confidence: as long as she had her cultivation, what was there to fear?
“You’re the best.”
Su Xuan helplessly gave her a thumbs up.
He looked at the sky outside. It was already near noon. He sighed and said to the two women, “All follow me. We’ll look around here. If we don’t find them by dark, we’ll go back.”
Saying that, he led the way toward the ravine.
“Is that all? You had your chance and you blew it.”
He glanced back at Shangguan Yu, thinking that her “Feng Aotian” act in this game was entirely carried by her two disciples. Without them, she was just average.
clack
Before he could finish his complaint, the foot he had stepped out suddenly made a noise, as if he had stepped on a trap that was about to hoist him up. He quickly lifted his foot and slipped out of the snare instantly. Before the three could react, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded, and several people surrounded them from the woods.
The leader was a rough-looking man, clearly having practiced body refinement. He carried a huge long blade on his shoulder, wore animal skins, and exuded a bandit aura.
“You are no mortal, are you? Which sect’s cultivator? State your name.”
He carefully scrutinized Su Xuan’s group, thinking that the earlier move wasn’t something a mortal could pull off, so he shouted loudly.
“May I ask if you are the Qinghe Marauders’ brothers? We have credentials and have come to join you.”
Su Xuan instinctively shielded the two women, cupped his fists, and tested the waters.
“Oh? Let me see.”
Hearing this, the leading man’s eyes lit up, and he walked up to him.
“Chen Dong, Tang San, and Tian Chan… You really are here to join. Come back with us.”
He waved his hand, led the people ahead, and signaled for Su Xuan to follow.
“No matter what happens later, we must stay together. Don’t separate.”
Su Xuan looked at the big man in front, motioned for the two women to gather around, and said quietly.
“Mhm.”
The two women nodded in unison, regarding him as their pillar of support.
***
“Boss, these three scum came to join voluntarily. Should we…”
Beside the big man, a short, skinny guy like a monkey made a subtle throat-slitting gesture and whispered.
“Not yet. Let them scout for us and find out where that old bastard is hiding.”
The big man showed unusual shrewdness in his eyes, slapped the guy on the head, and scolded softly.
“Boss, I’m still a bit worried. What if the market master finds out we’re acting on our own…”
The short man said nervously.
“So what? I’ve been undercover this long, and I finally found a chance to help him get rid of this bunch of scum. He damn well better reward me!”
The big man raised his head, full of defiance. “As for them, let them do a good deed before they die.”
He glanced back at Su Xuan’s group, a look of disdain on his face.