Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 32 Righteous Thief?

Being targeted was not unexpected for Chen Ye.

It would be strange if the big shots in Cui County didn't know about the commotion he caused before.

Sending a young girl to keep watch isn't unusual, but while keeping watch is one thing, directly leading him here in the hopes of making him antagonize these martial arts figures is clearly malicious.

Chen Ye had no intention of being polite to this kind of person.

The vengeful spirit of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner held the little girl firmly in its grasp, waiting for her to confess.

Even though her eyes were full of panic, the young girl still insisted, "Young master, you misunderstand. I have no grudge against you, why would I want to harm you? Seeing your extraordinary beauty, I am more than happy to admire you. If you are willing, I would even offer myself as your bedmate, how could I bear to do that..."

"Oh, really?"

Chen Ye walked to Lan Shi's side, removed the black veil from her face, revealing a youthful face that looked no more than fifteen years old. His hand, which was about to tease her, froze in mid-air before he finally withdrew it.

He had just been thinking of acting like he was blinded by lust, hoping to scare the girl into confessing, but when he saw her face, Chen Ye immediately couldn't continue acting.

Lan Shi was still gritting her teeth, prepared to endure some humiliation, but when she saw Chen Ye stop, the little girl was also stunned.

The scene before me was truly bizarre.

The panicked martial arts practitioners scattered and fled, with more than a dozen people's heads shoved into the floor, blood flowing everywhere.

The seemingly monstrous man stood before the frail and helpless girl, yet he felt pity for her upon seeing her youthful appearance.

Lan Shi suddenly chuckled and said to Chen Ye, "Young Master is a gentleman, I'm afraid he can't play the role of a dissolute and lecherous man."

Chen Ye wasn't embarrassed that a young girl had seen through his thoughts. He readily admitted, "I've lived for many years, but I've never done anything bad. I lack experience. But that's okay. It's not hard to learn bad habits. It just depends on whether you want to force me to learn."

The two looked into each other's eyes. Chen Ye's calm gaze, on the other hand, made Lan Shi feel afraid.

Although the man before me is a gentleman, a gentleman's words are as good as gold.

If he doesn't make things clear, this gentleman might actually learn to be a bad person.

Lan Shi said helplessly, "This place is not safe to stay any longer. Please, young master, release this spell. Let's find a quiet place, and I will tell you everything."

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "I came here to cause trouble, not to seek peace and quiet. Besides, you led me here to cause trouble, so you should be happy now."

After a long silence, Lan Shi finally admitted, "What you say is true, young master. I have been waiting outside Baiye Teahouse for two days now."

"Why did you wait for me so specifically?"

Lan Shi did not answer, but instead asked, "Is the young master truly an immortal?"

"He has some knowledge of magic, but he cannot be considered a true immortal."

Looking at the group of martial arts practitioners sprawled on the ground, Lan Shi exclaimed in surprise, "Is this what you call 'a little knowledge'?"

Chen Ye didn't bother to explain. To ordinary people, the scene might seem shocking, but it was really just a small trick. The vengeful ghost in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner had taken its revenge and was no longer so ferocious.

If it were in the hands of the monk Kua'e, it wouldn't have been as simple as just kowtowed until his head hit the floor; he would have been a bloody mess long ago.

Chen Ye warned Lan Shi, "Miss, you'd better answer my question. I'm not a very patient person."

"Very well, I presume you are aware of the forced conscription of young boys and girls in Cui County. The reason I brought you here is actually to save people."

Chen Ye was quite surprised by Lan Shi's answer. He sorted through the clues in his mind before urging, "I would like to hear more details."

Lan Shi seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and confessed, "Although I am a thief, I have long been disgusted by the forced conscription of thousands of boys and girls in Cui County. But I am alone and powerless to save these children, so I have been inquiring everywhere to find out the truth behind it all..."

These words sounded so sincere that Chen Ye didn't sense any flaws. However, he interrupted Lan Shi, saying, "Wait, you told me before that Young Master Jiang gathered martial arts figures to save people. So why do you want me to clash with them?"

Lan Shi gritted his teeth and said, "Because they are not truly trying to save people. Young master, look at these people. They are all notorious villains in the martial arts world, committing murder, arson, and all sorts of evil deeds. They bully the good and kind at the slightest disagreement. How could they possibly save people? Those who truly have a chivalrous heart have already been arrested by the government, and many chivalrous people have already been executed."

"The reason Hengdao Inn was able to operate in Cui County is because the imperial court was backing it. Otherwise, how could the Cui County government allow so many martial arts practitioners to gather here? It's just that they concealed it well before, making it difficult for outsiders to detect. That Young Master Jiang used the pretext of rescuing people to gather martial arts practitioners, recruiting villains into his ranks. Righteous individuals would then report them to the authorities. Every time someone sought refuge, Young Master Jiang would throw a lavish banquet, get them drunk, and that very night the authorities would come to arrest them. This has already harmed many people. I went to the government prison to gather information and happened to overhear the news, which is how I learned the truth."

Chen Ye really didn't expect the government to be so ruthless.

When I first arrived in Cui County, I had indeed heard that some martial arts practitioners were dissatisfied with the forced conscription of young boys and girls, which had led to numerous murders. To solve this problem, should they simply have these martial arts practitioners dig a trap to lure wandering knights into walking into it?

This tactic is underhanded and insidious, but it is indeed effective and can reduce a lot of losses.

While江湖人 (jianghu people) are certainly no match for the army, they have many sophisticated and skillful methods. If they are truly determined to use underhanded tactics, even the government offices will be in a state of chaos.

But it's simple for people from all walks of life to deal with each other; they can use any means they want without the same scruples as the government.

It seems that Magistrate Cui was not only a corrupt official, but also a cunning one.

Lan Shi continued to explain, "That Young Master Jiang has extremely high martial arts skills and many Jianghu people under his command. I am no match for him alone. I am not confident in poisoning him, and I do not have the ability to assassinate him. Later, I heard about Young Master Jiang's affairs and that you are an immortal descended to earth. I originally wanted to ask Young Master Jiang for help, but who knew that I would have to wait for several days."

“I saw you from afar outside the inn today and guessed your identity, so I pretended to bump into you.”

The story was reasonable up to this point, but Chen Ye asked again, "Since you saw me today, why didn't you explain the situation, but instead led me here and stirred up trouble?"

Lan Shi replied, "I did approach you intentionally, but weren't you also playing along? When I mentioned Room Number Four, you didn't explain the misunderstanding. I can't fathom your thoughts, but I dare not tell you the truth rashly. What if you and that Young Master Jiang are in cahoots?"

"I only have one life, and only one chance. So I'm going to try, at least to lead you to them and confirm your true relationship. It was indeed me who deliberately stirred up trouble, and it just so happens that the culprit isn't here. His gang only knows how to drink and cause trouble, so this is the perfect opportunity. It doesn't matter what your relationship with them was originally, as long as a fight breaks out, that's fine."

"I never expected that you, young master, are truly an immortal descended to earth."

Having said that, Lan Shi lowered his head, as if he dared not look Chen Ye in the eye any longer.

Chen Ye carefully considered the girl's words and found that the logic was reasonable and could be explained in every way. The only problem was that it was all oral and there was no evidence.

However, it doesn't matter.

Chen Ye waved his hand to summon back the vengeful spirit that had grabbed the blue stone, and said to the little girl, "Since you deliberately provoked this trouble, then you owe me."

Lan Shi quickly looked up, nodding repeatedly, and said, "Young Master is right. I will definitely repay what I owe you. I'm willing to do anything."

"You really would do anything?"

Lan Shi replied without hesitation, "Yes, yes, please give me a chance to atone for my sins, young master."

"Then go and fetch me some things."

"Oh? So you're here to retrieve something?" Lan Shi said with a hint of regret.

What was with the girl's tone? Chen Ye actually felt like he was being taken advantage of.

"The forced conscription of boys and girls by the Cui County government is suspected to be an order from the imperial court. Go and steal all the relevant documents from the county government office. Also, send me all the evidence of the county magistrate colluding with江湖人士 (jianghu figures) to frame him."

Lan Shi said somewhat awkwardly, "This... the county government office in Cui County is even more heavily guarded than the prefectural government office, I'm afraid..."

Chen Ye said mercilessly, "If you're afraid of death, then enter my Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Once you're dead, you won't be afraid of death anymore."

Upon hearing this, Lan Shi quickly said, "No, no, no, young master, spare my life, I'll go right away."

The little girl displayed her light-footed skills, like a little bird flapping its wings.

I must say, her lightness skill is truly remarkable.

Chen Ye stared in the direction the little girl had left, remaining silent for a long time.

Mo Ci's voice rang out: "What, you're not really serious about releasing her? You really want to use her to break your pure yang body?"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Then I guess I'm at a disadvantage. I just feel that this young girl is more than just a righteous thief."

(End of this chapter)