A Journey Through the Martial World After Transforming into a Loli

Main Text: Chapter 106 Rooftop Town

The long caravan moved slowly forward along the official road, and at the very front was Zhao Yuxuan, a master disciple who had recently become famous in the Jianghu of Qingzhou.

At this moment, he was riding a pure white horse without any other colors, carrying a huge black pot on his back. Hmm? A black pot? That's an accessory that doesn't match the white horse at all.

However, Zhao Yuxuan did not feel any discomfort at all. On the contrary, it seemed to be a kind of sweet feeling. This huge contrast did not make the whole team feel strange. Instead, they got used to it.

"Xiao Xueyi, are you really making Zhao Yuxuan carry this burden all the time? He's still your disciple, a master-level expert, you should at least give him some face."

Holding her teacup, Lin Xueyi quietly sipped the still-steaming tea before calmly speaking.

"Well, didn't I tell you? There's a really, really powerful hero called the Scapegoat. No matter what happens or how big the crisis is, as long as there's the Scapegoat, there's absolutely no problem."

But his name is "Scapegoat," not Zhao Yuxuan's. Besides, a scapegoat doesn't need to be the scapegoat all the time. However, Ye Qin'er didn't continue speaking at this moment because she saw Lin Xueyi pick up her teacup again and take another sip. This meant she didn't want to continue the topic.

"Xueyi, we'll be arriving at Rooftop Town soon. Please be extra careful there."

Ye Qin'er knew a lot about Rooftop Town. Rooftop Town could be said to be the poorest and most chaotic town in Qingzhou. Not only were there many beggars, but also many pickpockets and even a number of human traffickers.

She was genuinely worried about sending Lin Xueyi to Rooftop Town. Even knowing that Lin Xueyi was a Grandmaster-level expert, who could guarantee that other problems wouldn't arise?

Lin Xueyi didn't quite understand Ye Qin'er's worries, or rather, she had no idea what kind of place this Rooftop Town was.

In Lin Xueyi's mind, this was just a temporary place for her to stay, and she would never have any interaction with this place. Yes, that was indeed what she thought.

So, after hearing Zhao Yuxuan's questioning voice from outside the carriage, he immediately decided to rest in Rooftop Town for the night.

Upon hearing that Lin Xueyi really wanted to rest in Rooftop Town, Ye Qin'er quickly stopped Zhao Yuxuan, "I haven't told Xueyi about the situation in Rooftop Town yet, please wait a moment before confirming."

Zhao Yuxuan, who was outside, naturally knew about the situation in Rooftop Town. Upon hearing that his master was unaware of the situation, he temporarily slowed down the convoy's progress, waiting for his master to learn the details before making a decision.

Inside the carriage, Lin Xueyi tilted her head cutely, blinking her big eyes in confusion as she looked at her maid. This rooftop town was making her feel so uneasy.

"Xueyi, this Rooftop Town is the poorest town in Qingzhou. It is filled with all kinds of people with shady incomes, such as killers, pickpockets, beggars, and even some human traffickers. The whole town seems to be outside of justice, yet it also seems to be walking on the line of justice."

"Oh, so you mean it's a low-budget version of Gotham City? No problem. Besides, I'm in an inn, what problems could possibly arise?"

That didn't seem to be a problem, but Ye Qin'er was still a little worried. Before she could stop Lin Xueyi, she heard her say to Zhao Yuxuan outside.

"Let's rest in town for the night. It's not good to sleep outdoors, and besides, we have a lot of stuff. We don't want it to spoil."

Upon hearing Lin Xueyi's words, Zhao Yuxuan immediately urged his men to speed up their pace and try to reach the town before dark, ideally getting into the inn there.

"Xueyi, you... that place really isn't very good. Why don't we just stay outside for the night instead?"

"Hmm. Don't worry, don't fret unnecessarily. We'll be fine. Don't worry."

Lin Xueyi waved and smiled, which made Ye Qin'er sigh helplessly. In the end, she could only accept it. It seemed that she would have to be on her guard today to prevent any problems from arising.

The long caravan soon entered the town's gates. However, Lin Xueyi, who was inside the carriage, was unaware that a pair of eyes were watching their caravan closely from a corner around the gate, their greed barely concealed.

After entering the town and walking a short distance, the carriage stopped. Ye Qin'er quickly got off the carriage and then helped Lin Xueyi down from it.

With such a light weight, it was hard to believe that this was a Grandmaster-level expert. Ye Qin'er suddenly felt that she might be the first person to hug a Grandmaster like this.

However, seeing her habitual manner, Ye Qin'er didn't dare to ask if anyone had hugged her like this before.

"Quickly move all the vehicles inside, and get everything in order. Remember, nothing can be lost, understand?"

Zhao Yuxuan didn't notice Ye Qin'er's side. Instead, he quickly directed his servants to take the carriage inside and check the rooms to make sure there were no unwanted items inside.

Little did they know that after they entered the town, the various forces entrenched there already knew of their existence.

"You said a convoy came to the town, and the supplies inside are very valuable?" In a somewhat simple room filled with people, the only man sitting stood up in surprise.

"Yes, Chief, I saw it clearly from the doorway. It really was a large caravan, and I also observed the boxes inside from a distance. There must be at least several thousand taels of silver inside."

Several thousand taels of silver was a huge sum of money for Rooftop Town. Not only the person giving the report, but also the listeners were excited.

"Chief, I think we should calm down. A caravan that can carry several thousand taels of silver must have powerful backers. We should observe further and have someone inquire about the people in the caravan."

Not everyone was blinded by money; some people remained calm. However, seeing how excited everyone was, he could only try to pull them back, but dared not openly say that he was giving up this big deal.

"What the third brother said makes sense. So, you go and find out more about who these people are. Be careful not to alert them. Just observe from a distance."

Main text: Chapter 107 Human Traffickers and Beggars (Two chapters published together)

Upon arriving in Rooftop Town, Lin Xueyi was very curious about this place, which seemed like an alternate version of Gotham City. After putting down her small bags in her room, she decided to go out and explore this place with its simple and honest people.

"Xueyi, what did you say? You want to go out for a walk? No, absolutely not. This Rooftop Town is different from other places. You absolutely cannot go out for a walk."

When Ye Qin'er heard that Lin Xueyi wanted to go out for a walk, her reaction was beyond Lin Xueyi's expectations. She never expected Ye Qin'er to react so strongly.

A pair of adorable eyes looked at Ye Qin'er with some confusion. Her thoughts at this moment were really hard for her to understand.

"Xueyi, this is Rooftop Town, the most chaotic town in Qingzhou. It is said that there have been cases of people being assassinated here. You should rest in the inn and not go out to play."

Pouting, Lin Xueyi looked at Ye Qin'er's serious and determined expression and knew that if she continued to insist on standing here with her, it would not lead to anything. Although she could use her status as a Grandmaster to force her, Lin Xueyi did not want to do that.

However, her returning to her room doesn't necessarily mean she'll obediently rest there. There might be no door, but there can be a window. As Lin Xueyi turned to walk towards her room, a slight smile appeared on her face the instant her back was turned.

Back in her room, she naturally spread out the blankets, tidied them up a bit, and created the illusion that someone was sleeping there. Then, she opened the window and jumped out. However, for safety's sake, she closed the window behind her, so that no one would notice it was open.

With a few leaps from the rooftop of the inn, Lin Xueyi was already far out of sight. Looking at the inn's now blurred outline, she playfully scratched her nose with her thumb. "Hmph, Batman won't be stopped by a mere door."

However, she was unaware that her playful appearance was being observed by those around her. A lone little girl appearing in this chaotic town naturally attracted a lot of attention.

"Young lady, are you all alone? Listen to your uncle, quickly find a place to stay. Also, don't interact with other people casually, understand?"

At this moment, a dirty beggar moved up to Lin Xueyi's side, but what he said was not begging. Instead, he gave Lin Xueyi a suggestion, hoping that she would find a place to stay as soon as possible instead of wandering around the town alone.

Lin Xueyi could tell whether it was out of kindness or malice, so she didn't refute the uncle's kindness. Instead, she nodded politely to indicate that she understood. Then, she was about to take out a few pieces of silver from her small purse when the uncle stopped her again.

"Silly girl, you can't just flaunt your wealth here. Quickly put it away."

"Hey... Uncle Ma, you've found a little girl to chat with. Here's your dinner, take it. I guess you didn't beg for anything again."

A little beggar passing by saw Uncle Ma talking to Lin Xueyi, and his empty bowl and hands, and knew that the uncle had not begged for anything again.

Fortunately, he managed to beg for a few steamed buns. Each of them got one, and they even had one left over, which they gave to Uncle Ma.

Looking at the still-steaming bun in his hand, Uncle Ma showed no surprise, as if he was already used to it, but a hint of gratitude still appeared in his eyes.

"Uncle, who are those people?"

"Sigh... They're all pitiful people. The little boy who gave me the steamed bun just now was originally the son of a wealthy merchant who was passing through this town. But because this merchant revealed his white jade phoenix here, that night, everyone in the caravan except for the boy who hid was killed."

"What? That's so ruthless? Isn't anyone going to do anything about it?" Lin Xueyi was puzzled by this. How could someone commit murder and robbery right in a small town? Wasn't anyone going to step in and uphold justice?

Looking at this young girl who clearly has never experienced the dark side of the martial arts world, it's likely that the martial arts world she imagines is the kind she reads about in books—free and unrestrained, full of joy and sorrow. But the real martial arts world is not so wonderful.

Sometimes the line between black and white is just a line that can be crossed at any time, but looking at this naive young girl, he did not tell her about those darker aspects.

"Alright, I'll see you off. Go find an inn to rest, and leave here as soon as it's light tomorrow."

"Uncle, that's not necessary. I can go back by myself. You should go and finish your meal first. Otherwise, the steamed buns will get cold and won't taste good."

Lin Xueyi's innocent smile was so comforting to Uncle Ma, instantly lifting his spirits. He just hoped nothing bad would happen to this well-behaved girl.

Uncle Ma thought to himself as he watched Lin Xueyi's figure slowly walk away until it disappeared around the corner of the street, at which point he turned and left.

Although she encountered a beggar, Lin Xueyi was still in a good mood. After all, she had met a kind person, and his kindness left a deep impression on her.

"Uncle, how much is this candied hawthorn?"

An uncle carrying a stick of candied hawthorns happened to walk past Lin Xueyi. Looking at the bright red hawthorns, Lin Xueyi's small tongue unconsciously traced a line across her lips. Yes, it was unintentional; she wasn't actually greedy.

The uncle, who was stopped by Lin Xueyi's words, was slightly taken aback. He seemed not to have expected anyone to stop him and ask about the price of the candied hawthorn. However, when he saw that it was a very cute little girl asking him, the uncle subconsciously looked around. However, he did not find anyone who looked like her parents around the little girl.

"Young lady, are you all alone? Where are your family?"

He knelt down kindly, his hand reaching out to touch Lin Xueyi's long, beautiful black hair, but Lin Xueyi cleverly dodged it.

Although he was surprised that he hadn't been able to touch the little girl's long hair, the uncle selling candied hawthorns didn't think the little girl was anything special; he just thought he had been caught off guard and careless.

He casually took a string of candied hawthorns from the candied hawthorn stick he was carrying on his shoulder, put it in Lin Xueyi's palm, and then spoke.

"Are your family members around? This costs money. If your family members aren't around, then it'll be a real problem."

I thought I'd see the little girl looking sadly at the candied hawthorns, but she couldn't find her mother, so I saw her pull out a small purse from her bosom and take out a few pieces of poor-quality silver.

Wow... Are all little girls this rich these days? That heavy money bag probably contains more than just loose silver; there must be quite a bit of high-quality silver inside.

Thinking of this, the uncle couldn't help but gasp. The price of a little girl was already quite good, and if you add the silver in this money bag, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was going to make a fortune.

Faced with such a wealthy and adorable little girl, the middle-aged man selling candied hawthorns couldn't help but swallow hard. Only then did he speak.

"Girl, you're carrying so much money, where are your family members? Don't they take care of you?"

Tilting her head, Lin Xueyi was a little confused. Was it so difficult for her to buy a candied hawthorn? Why all the unnecessary talk? Why not just give her the candied hawthorn directly?

"My family is at the guesthouse; I just came out for a stroll and bought some snacks that I like."

She was quite dissatisfied with the uncle selling candied hawthorns, and a hint of impatience was already showing in her eyes. However, he must have noticed her impatience, so he carefully selected the reddest candied hawthorn from the stick and handed it to her.

"This is the best one. Let's go back early. This isn't a place for little kids to play by themselves."

Taking the candied hawthorn, Lin Xueyi glanced at the uncle who had left after speaking, and couldn't help but pout. Ha, what she wanted was a normal candied hawthorn, not this kind of trashy food with special ingredients added.

She was quite unhappy, very unhappy, so she started thinking about whether she should transfer her unhappiness onto other people.

"Hmm, some reckless fools should be coming over soon, and then we should be able to have a good commotion."

After handing the little girl the candied hawthorn skewer he had specially laced with sleeping pills, the uncle excitedly headed towards their camp.

"Boss, boss, I've found a new target, this is a big fat sheep."

"Yang Lu, you've found a new target again? How's this one?"

The man called "boss" tossed aside a little girl he had just finished examining, a hentai smile on his face as he watched her terrified expression, wanting to cry but too afraid to.

"Boss, this time I saw a super cute little girl, and she had a money pouch with at least several dozen taels of silver in it."

"With so many, if a young girl sells well, she can earn at least several dozen taels. Adding what she already has on her, this transaction could bring in over a hundred taels. This is a big deal."

Hearing Yang Lu's words, the leader became excited as well. Looking at the terrified little girl in front of him, his smile became even brighter.

"You guys, take this little girl away. Remember, don't mark her yet. We'll deal with the other girl together after we bring her back. Understand?"

The burly men naturally obeyed their leader, who was also extremely excited and prepared to lead his men to find the little girl Yang Lu had mentioned.

Just as they were preparing to take action, in a simple courtyard where dozens of beggars lived, Uncle Ma and the other young beggars from before were sitting around a fire.

"Hey Xiao Yin, is it really okay for us to be so extravagant with this campfire? Selling all this wood would be a good source of income."

Uncle Ma looked at the burning firewood and felt a pang of heartache. If he could sell it, he could buy a lot of food for everyone.