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Paper Taoist didn’t get angry despite the ink wash old man’s provocation. He mused, “So long as you’re still alive, then you are a victor. Why else would I invite you over? It’s because I know your speed is unmatched, and that you can even travel underground. There is no one who can outrun you, is there?”

“Hahaha! That’s right. So long as I am your driver, you’ll never have to worry about pursuers!”

The ink wash old man was incredibly pleased to hear Paper Taoist’s praise. The way his beard swayed and spilled ink everywhere was quite comical. “Your smokescreen was pretty good too, paperboy. Who would’ve thought that all those paper dolls were fake? There’s no way that boy would find out the truth!”

“Hahaha… you flatter me, Painting! My smokescreen is nothing compared to your skills!” Paper Taoist replied humbly. Although he found the nickname “paperboy” insulting—he was a bonafide Taoist master, dammit!—there was no harm in indulging an idiot.

Paper Taoist and the ink wash old man were still licking each other’s boots when suddenly, the earth shook unnaturally, and everything started melting like they were ice or snow. The soil, the sand, the rocks; they all melted into molten lava and surrounded the Strangers. Then, an invisible flame yet deadly heat washed over them!

“Argh!”

Paper Taoist and the ink wash old man screamed in pain at the same time. Paper Taoist’s paper body started yellowing and smoking, whereas the ink wash painting and his bamboo carriage straight up burst into invisible flames.

“Seventy Two Arts of the Earthly Fiends—Fire Escape” [1]

Paper Taoist made a hand seal and engulfed himself in flames. He was gone in the blink of an eye.

The ink wash old man screamed and release ink ripples in an attempt to extinguish the invisible flames eating away at his painting, but it was futile. His power vanished as soon as it made contact with them.

“Argh! How can this be? How can this be?”

Shocked, panicking, and unable to think of any other solution, the ink wash old man detached himself completely from his painting and withdraw unto itself. Then, it attempted to escape the fiery hell.

“Heh. They’re all so good at running away. Can they escape though?”

On the surface, Ye Qing smirked evilly as he clasped his hands behind his back and walked after the two Strangers. He looked like he was taking a leisurely stroll in the park, but in reality he was moving at unnatural speeds. In fact, every step he took seemed to resonate with the world itself. It was as if he had tapped into some sort of invisible rhythm.

At first, the earth was only shaking slightly. An inattentive person could easily have missed the tremors. But when Ye Qing came to a stop, the light tremors abruptly joined together to form a thunderous explosion.

Rumble…

The earth within ten meters from Ye Qing abruptly caved into the underground. Directly beneath him, Purple Taoist and the ink wash old man felt like the world had been turned upside down as they struggled to weather the sudden cave-in. Then, a crushing force pressed down from above, and the ink wash old man exploded into smithereens after a pathetic scream. One down, one more to go.

Paper Taoist was stronger than the ink wash old man and so was just barely able to hold back the crushing force with a spell. He screamed, “Y-You can’t kill me, Lord Ye! If Gold Toad doesn’t hear from me tonight, she will kill your two pets for sure! But if you let me live, then I swear I’ll assist you in rescuing your pets! What do you say?”

Unfortunately, he didn’t receive a response despite waiting for a few breaths. More accurately, Ye Qing responded by increasing his force even further.

“No! You can’t kill me, Lord Ye! I can… I can become your slave! I’m a useful Stranger! Surely you have a use for someone like me?”

“No… m-mercy… I don’t want to die, I don’t want to—”

Boom!

That was all Paper Taoist managed to say before he burned into ash.

“Heh… I have no need of your service!” Ye Qing sneered after confirming that Paper Taoist had burned to death. His eyes were brimming with bloodthirst even now.

As he said, he didn’t need Paper Taoist’s service. He didn’t require Paper Taoist to help him save Brother Frog and Wawa, nor did he need another servant. If there was one thing he wanted from the Stranger, it was his death, plain and simple.

He could easily locate his companions with the Annon Sutra and the Incense of Fortune, and saving them would be even easier. Not only that, keeping Paper Taoist alive would give him the opportunity to betray him at an inopportune moment, not to mention that the Stranger had more than proved his cunning during the short time he knew him.

He had to act with the utmost caution since Kung Fu Frog and Wawa’s lives were on the line here.

Besides, the city was protected by the Heavens’ Eye. Faceless was able to subvert its detection thanks to the Invisible Cicada, but he strongly doubted that Paper Taoist could do the same thing. In fact, it was far more likely that Paper Taoist had no idea where Gold Toad was hiding Kung Fu Frog and Wawa, and he was just lying to save his own ass.

Killing him would be the safest move here. Killing him would also give him a silver dragon-serpent rune, so why not?

Speaking of which, he had used up almost all of his silver runes when he was tempering his astral qi in the Thousand Buddhas Temple. To be specific, he only had three silver runes left. He was just worrying that he wouldn’t be able to use the Orbit of Fate with so few runes when Paper Taoist delivered not one, not two, but three silver runes straight to his doorstep. The intel he provided he was still alive was quite useful as well. What a kind Stranger he was!

“No time to waste. I need to ask the Annon Sutra where Brother Frog and Wawa are hidden right away.”

Paper Taoist had claimed that Gold Toad would kill Kung Fu Frog and Wawa if she didn’t hear anything from him when it was nighttime. That was why he needed to act as soon as possible. Revenge could happen after he rescued his companions.

And so Ye Qing bit his tongue and spat a couple mouthfuls of blood on the Annon Sutra. A short while later, a couple rows of blood red text rose to the surface:

“Ye Qing sallied forth into the Thousand Buddhas Grotto for treasures,

knowing not the dangers that befell his companions.

Brother Frog and Wawa both went missing,

and he was oh so worried and oh so lost.

But good news delivered themselves to his doorstep,

and now it’s time for the Annon Sutra to show off its power!

Where are Brother Frog and Wawa hidden, you ask?

Why, Jasper Boat of Luo Shui River is my answer!”

“Changing your style again? It’s even a self-flattering doggerel with no real rhyme or reason either. Can you have some shame, brother?” Ye Qing complained as he put away the Annon Sutra.

That said, the Annon Sutra was unusually direct this time. It had told him exactly what he wanted to know. Perhaps even the Strange Artifact wanted to rescue Kung Fu Frog and Wawa as soon as possible.

“Jasper Boat, huh? Wait for me, Brother Frog, Wawa!” Ye Qing’s eyes flickered with murder as he whispered.

……

Jasper Boat was one of the eighteen boats of Luo Shui, but unlike Cui Wei Boat, it was a brothel through and through, and quite the famous one too.

Who would’ve thought that Kung Fu Frog and Wawa would be hidden at this place? Gold Toad sure is one smart cookie! Ye Qing sneered internally after slipping into Jasper Boat and observing the crowd.

There were many benefits to hiding Kung Fu Frog and Wawa at a populated place like this. One, there were enough humans in the boat to mask Kung Fu Frog and Wawa’s presence completely all the time.

Two, Jasper Boat was one of the eighteen boats of Luo Shui and extremely famous. Few people would think that Gold Toad would hide her important hostages in such a conspicuous location, which also meant that the Pacification Sentinels would subconsciously relax their guard when they searched this place. It was a blind spot so to speak.

Three, the customers could be used as hostages if the plan failed, and they needed a way out. Even if the Pacification Bureau decided that killing them was worth sacrificing some innocents, they wouldn’t be lonely in the afterlife.

Four, Jasper Boat was a restaurant slash brothel where people from all walks of life frequented. If an incident were to break out, Gold Toad would hear about it immediately and be able to prepare against it.

And five, Gold Toad wasn’t hiding in Jasper Boat. Yes, the Stranger had stowed Kung Fu Frog and Wawa in Jasper Boat, but she herself was hiding elsewhere.

Ye Qing himself thought that Gold Toad was hiding in Jasper Boat until he inquired the Annon Sutra about it.

He had to admit that it was a smart plan. This way, even if he somehow defied the odds and rescued Kung Fu Frog and Wawa, he would not be able to find her and end her once and for all. She would be able to continue plotting against him from the shadows.

It was too bad she didn’t—and couldn’t—account for his cheat, the Annon Sutra.

Since he knew exactly what Gold Toad was planning, of course he wasn’t going to play her game. Instead of barging into Jasper Boat with an army of Pacification Sentinels, he snuck in to rescue Kung Fu Frog and Wawa first. As soon as he succeeded, he was going to rush to Gold Toad’s hideout and end her before she could react.

This time, there wouldn’t be any loose ends.

After sneaking into Jasper Boat, Ye Qing walked to a fairly secluded place and lit the Incense of Fortune. He prayed into the air and requested, “Please help me find Brother Frog and Wawa, Brother Incense!”

He hid the Incense of Fortune inside his sleeve. Then, he started chasing after the blue smoke it emitted.

Since Jasper Boat was jam-packed with people, no one noticed a faint blue smoke sailing harmlessly through the air. Ye Qing soon arrived at the boat’s hold where most of their wares were stored.

The hold was normally left unattended, but not this time. As soon as Ye Qing rounded the corner, he saw a pair of tall, muscular men guarding the entrance. The blue smoke slipped through the door gap and disappeared from view.

Ye Qing was certain that Brother Frog and Wawa were held inside the hold. His senses were telling him that the two men were just late-stage Qi Invokers, but he didn’t act rashly. Instead, he took a moment to finecomb his surroundings with his spirit. When he was sure that there were no traps or hidden observers in the area, he smiled and produced a yellow talisman between his fingers. It caught on fire after he shook it a little.

As soon as the yellow talisman caught on fire, a strange energy immediately spread across the area. Ye Qing immediately darted toward the entrance, opened the door, and vanished into the hold. Strangely, the two Qi Invokers didn’t seem to notice his intrusion. In fact, their eyes looked blurry and unfocused.

The talisman he used just now was a Red-class talisman known as the Dream Talisman. It could be used to lull a person with a weak spirit into a daydream. However, any external stimulus could potentially jolt them awake, so it was generally viewed as a common and lackluster talisman.

That said, the Dream Talisman had one very useful effect. The victims would not remember the fact that they had fallen into a dream. They would only think that they had blanked out for a bit.

Realizing that the Dream Talisman could be extremely useful in certain situations, he had exchanged a stack of them with his contribution points. This situation proved that his preparation was wise.

He could’ve crushed these two Qi Invokers with a literal finger, but it was extremely likely that it would alert the hidden guard watching over Kung Fu Frog and Wawa.

Besides that, it was obvious that these two people were just lackeys. He simply couldn’t believe that Gold Toad would dispatch them to guard Kung Fu Frog and Wawa.

Finally, Jasper Boat wasn’t a place one could come and go as they pleased. Since Gold Toad was able to hide Kung Fu Frog and Wawa here, she must have plants throughout Jasper Boat. She must also be a pretty high-ranking member of Jasper Boat herself, if not the puppet master behind it all. Therefore, killing them just wasn’t worth the risk.

On a related note, the Dream Talisman wasn’t the only item he exchanged from the Pacification Bureau. He had a small hoard of talismans and other items that were useless in most situations, but could be exceptionally useful in the right circumstances.

This world was strange, and there was no harm in being prepared. Better safe than sorry!

1. Was it intentional I translated it like this? Totally! ☜