"Hm?"
The two thugs looked up and saw three young men across from them, dressed in long robes that made them look like Scholars.
Changyi and the other two had come to the prefecture to sightsee, so naturally, they weren’t wearing their Daoist Robes. Instead, they had changed into ordinary long robes, which truly made them look like a group of Scholars traveling together.
"Three little chicks. You really want to play the hero saving the damsel in distress?" The thug on the left snorted, a mocking grin on his face. "Or have you taken a liking to this widow’s looks?"
The thug on the right pulled a small knife from his belt, gave it a practiced twirl, and cackled sinisterly. "Scram, or else..."
Before he could finish, he saw a young man with a square face lift a hand and point. A streak of golden light flashed past in an instant.
The next moment, the golden stream of light hovered beside Yangshuo, revealing a small, three-inch-long sword.
Yangshuo looked at the two indifferently. "Scram."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"We’re scramming right now!"
The two thugs were scared out of their wits. Scrambling pathetically, they practically fled backward on all fours, even faster than they had run when chasing the woman. In just two or three breaths, they disappeared into the dim alley.
Now, all that was left was the beautiful woman who had fallen and was half-prone on the ground, and Changyi and the other two standing in front of her.
Yangshuo retracted his Flying Sword.
Changyi stepped forward to help the woman up. "Miss, are you alright?"
Xiu Ming raised an eyebrow and said, "Don’t be afraid, Miss. We’re disciples of Daluo Palace, dedicated to punishing the wicked and practicing Righteousness and Heroism!"
The frail and weak woman allowed Changyi to help her up. She raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Mages. If you Mages hadn’t saved me, I would have been violated."
Changyi smiled and said, "It was a small effort. Please, don’t mention it."
The woman looked up at Changyi, and just as he was about to withdraw his hand, she pressed down on it with her arm, making it difficult for him to let go.
"My surname is Xie, and my given name is Zhihan," the woman said softly. "My husband and I are from out of town, struggling to make a living here in Changping Prefecture."
"Things were fine when my husband was alive, but he passed away a few days ago. Since then, the people around here have started gossiping, and lechers have even come to my door to harass me."
Changyi continued to support the woman, his face all smiles as he listened intently.
Yangshuo and Xiu Ming came to their side but didn’t interrupt.
However, they were communicating rapidly via their Thunder Seeds.
’That was close. We almost blew our cover.’ Changyi was still shaken.
’Almost revealed that we know her true nature.’ Yangshuo sighed in relief.
Xiu Ming swallowed. ’You two are so much more experienced. I was so scared just now I didn’t know what to do.’
Changyi clicked his tongue. ’We do have experience.’
The last time, when they faced the Centipede Spirit in Yazhou, it was also Changyi who had a sudden flash of inspiration and stalled for time, allowing them to wait for reinforcements from Taoist Xu Ning and the others.
It was the same this time. The woman before them was brimming with Evil Qi, clearly a Great Demon or a Ghost God.
For someone like her to be chased by two thugs and fall right in front of them, it was equally clear that she was targeting them.
This also proved that the other party knew their style of operation very well.
Therefore, they had to intervene.
If they didn’t, it would go against their usual way of doing things, which would suggest they might have seen through the woman’s act.
Facing a major boss who was obviously targeting them, and on top of that, having her realize that he had seen through her act—Changyi didn’t know what kind of consequences that would bring.
This was the headquarters of Daluo Palace, after all!
The enemy might not give them a chance to stall for time!
So, Changyi and Yangshuo tacitly agreed to play along with her act.
Yangshuo revealed his Flying Sword to scare off the two thugs, while Changyi threw himself into the situation, getting close to the woman to show that they hadn’t seen through her.
Sure enough, the woman didn’t attack. Instead, she began to recount her tragic life story.
"Although you masters rescued me today, I don’t know how I’ll get by in the days to come."
The woman sighed, then looked at Changyi again, a hint of expectation mixed in with her mournful gaze.
"You masters are all good people. Could I trouble you Mages to help me?"
Changyi’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean, Madam?"
"Please, come with me to my home. Let me serve you tea to repay you masters for saving me. I also hope to borrow your influence, to let the neighbors know about this, so that in the future, they might..."
Xie Zhihan didn’t finish, but the three of them understood what she meant.
She was prepared to sacrifice her reputation in exchange for a peaceful life from now on.
If the neighbors thought she had gotten involved with a few young Mages, given Xie Zhihan’s figure and appearance, they naturally wouldn’t dare to gossip behind her back anymore.
If she were just an ordinary, beautiful, kind, and helpless woman, this behavior would be understandable. It wouldn’t have aroused their suspicion, and they would have most likely agreed.
But the problem was, she wasn’t an ordinary person!
’She’s worried that making a move in public will cause a big scene and alert Daluo Palace.’ Changyi had a sudden realization.
’But why would she target us?’ Xiu Ming asked, clicking his tongue.
’It’s a good thing she targeted us. If she had gone after ordinary Inner Sect Disciples, they would have been doomed,’ Yangshuo stated coolly.
They might look young, but they were actually Daluo Palace Elders from Blue Star.
With Thunder Seeds in their Sea of Consciousness, they could identify Demon Fiends and call for backup.
Xiu Ming thought about it and realized it was true.
They shouldered the heavy responsibility of spreading their teachings in this world. The Inner Sect Disciples of Daluo Palace were also a precious asset to the sect; it would be a terrible shame if they were secretly schemed against.
’So we have to walk into the trap?’
’We must!’
’Did you call for reinforcements?’
’Do you even need to ask?’
Hearing this, Xiu Ming scratched his head. ’My master isn’t that powerful yet. It seems like it would be useless even if he came.’
Xiu Ming came from the Ge Xuan Mountain’s Spiritual Treasure Sect. Although he himself wasn’t old, his master was the previous abbot of the Spiritual Treasure Sect, Taoist Qing Ye.
Strictly speaking, Taoist Qing Ye actually held a very high status, being the head of one of the Three Talisman Sects, on par with Taoist Ming Yu and Taoist Shen Hao.
The only unfortunate thing was that he had been brought over too late and had not yet broken through the five-hundred-year Dao Practice threshold.
Gu Zhao: ╭(￣▽￣)╮
However, Taoist Qing Ye was worthy of being a veteran Elder of Ge Xuan Mountain. Not only could he quickly digest Evil Qi, but his own Cultivation was also fast.
As time went on, he not only surpassed Taoist Fang De of the Wen Shi Sect and Taoist Wu Zhi of the Shaoyang Sect—who were from the same batch—in terms of Dao Practice, but he even began to catch up to the few old Daoists from the previous batch, being only slightly inferior to Taoist Ling Ya of the Purple Sun Sect.
Ahem, of course, he still couldn’t deal with this major boss who was brimming with Evil Qi.
Taoist Qing Ye: (▼ヘ▼#)
...
After explaining the situation and receiving news that support was on the way, the three of them all breathed a sigh of relief.
Changyi said to Xie Zhihan, "As it happens, we’re a bit thirsty. Might we trouble you to rest at your home for a moment and have a cup of water?"
Gratitude filled Xie Zhihan’s eyes, along with a hint of allure.
She finally let go of Changyi, raised her sleeve to wipe her tears, and turned to lead the way. "Thank you, Mages. Please, follow me."
The three of them exchanged a look and followed her together.