Book 14: Chapter 34

Nepotism for the Win

“Why would you actually arrest me?”

They and Lan Jiqiong’s group didn’t have the slightest connection. It was by pure chance that they ran into each other and then came across me, as well as the corpses. If they were someone else, I could push them around with my status, but I couldn’t fool them. As a result, Long Zaitian took me in to the Qilin Guards’ base.

“Hey, Long Zaitian, why would you do this to your friend?”

“Who’s your fiend?!” The way Long Zaitian jumped off the cell rails that he was leaning on made me think he was about to transform. “You think I’ve forgotten all the times you played me, fooled me, framed me…”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about that?”

“You’re right. Let’s talk just about Miss Shen. Who the hell do you think you are to fight me for a woman?! Be honest. H-h-how far have you gone with Miss Shen? You returned together with her. Did anything that shouldn’t have happened happen on the way? Did you put your hands where they weren’t supposed to go?”

“What’s it to you?”

“You’re never getting out of there!”

“Fine. You’ll eventually beg me to come out!”

Long Zaitian ended the childish banter not long after.

“Tell me: why were you out on the streets in the middle of the night?”

“Didn’t I already tell you? I was just out for a stroll and then I ran into assassins.”

Long Zaitian scanned me with distrustful eyes. “His Majesty and Tianhu confirmed you suck at martial arts in Nanjiang.”

“Exactly.”

“So how did you kill more than ten fine fighters?”

“I was born strong.”

“Okay, I respect your determination.” Long Zaitian gave me a thumbs up and then called over a dozen Qilin Guards armed sporting spiked clubs. “These guys should be about as strong as those guys you killed. Give me a demo of your god-given strength. Open the doors!”

“Hey! If I get hurt, you won’t be able to bear the consequences.”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll take responsibility for all of it. Unlock the door.”

“People will say you guys arrest the innocent. You arrested a good man for a personal vendetta.”

“Piss off with your hoola-bala-nese. You’re a good man?”

“How am I not?!”

“A man who wanders the streets in the middle of the night and kills a dozen people is a good man?”

“How is a man who wanders the streets because he can’t sleep at night and defends himself when he runs into bad guys not a good guy?!”

A Qilin Guard went over to Long Zaitian to quietly inform, “Ming Feizhen has a visitor.”

“At this hour? Who?”

“They have Liu Shan Men’s Vice-Captain Shen’s letter.”

“Oh?” Long Zaitian looked back at me and narrowed his eyes. “You dobbed?”

“And how would I have dobbed when I’ve been locked up here?”

“True…” Long Zaitian mumbled something and then invited in a man wrapped up in a long robe. He visually audited the man, but he didn’t dare to try anything since he was Boss’ messenger. “Keep it short.”

The man bobbed his head and then hurried to my side.

“Why are you here?” I used my eyes to send hints as I asked, “Don’t you know it’s not safe here?”

“We have an urgent problem,” Gu Xianxian replied.

How urgent can it be that you have to enter the hornet’s nest?! You’ve just escaped from this place!

“Zhao Tiankui beat Lang Qing.”

My brain stopped processing for a second before I could query, “He won again?”

“Right? He came late tonight and fought Lang Qing for a hundred rounds. Lang Qing fought empty handed and lost in one exchange. Since he beat Lang Qing, nobody can offer Zhao Tiankui a challenge, so everyone is waiting for you.”

I frowned, looked outside at the Qilin Guards, stopped to think and then responded, “I can’t. Tell Yuan Kou to rematch him.”

“Ar-are you sure? He was already beaten once.”

“Then, losing once more won’t make any difference. Does it look like I can leave?”

Gu Xianxian didn’t have a better idea, so he had to accept my proposal. As soon as he turned to leave, though, he ran into Long Zaitian’s face. “Whoa! What the hell?!”

Long Zaitian rubbed his chin as he eyed Gu Xianxian. “You look familiar.”

Gu Xianxian immediately tightened his hood over his face. “You must be mistaken.”

“You… didn’t come from here, did you?”

“N-no.”

“You’re that guy from Liaodong, aren’t you?”

“G-Guangdong.”

Long Zaitian slapped himself on the thigh. “You’re not going to confess unless you feel pain, huh?! Come back!”

Once Long Zaitian led the Qilin Guards on a rabbit chase, I took out an iron thread from my sash, picked the lock and stepped out of the cell. I wasn’t locked up in the main prison since I wasn’t a dangerous criminal; I was just held in their office. Therefore, I wasn’t far from the exit. Wasn’t it natural for me to sneak out?

While Long Zaitian couldn’t have done anything to me, and was just trying to get back at me for releasing the prisoners, he’d keep me locked up for a day or two. I didn’t have the luxury of time to waste when there were so many things waiting for me.

“Where are you going?”

I was still planning my escape route when I was heckled again. “Out of here.”

Lan Jiqiong stood at the exit with a corner of his lips tugged upwards. I thought he gave up on picking a bone with me since he never showed up after escorting me to the Qilin Guards’ office with Long Zaitian.

You Confucians are painfully lame.

“What do you want?”

“I’ll do to you exactly what you did to my shifu.”

“Uh, you’re going to save my life?”

“I’m going to smash you!”

I told you I saved him! You people are so unreasonable!

I thought the misunderstanding had been settled for the most part after I avoided them for a day. I didn’t expect to be locked up, have my ring removed and still be heckled by the damn Confucians!

I racked my brains for ideas, but none of them provided an alternative to fighting him, let alone escaping before Long Zaitian returned.

Eeeehh! Don’t try to hit me while I’m thinking!

As soon as two of the academy’s guards approached me at angles, everyone heard, “Who’s going to lay their hands on him?!”

She briskly entered the door and made them all fossilise with her glare as she strolled over to me. I had to look downwards to make eye contact with her, yet she seemed to be the giant in the room.

She checked me from head to toe before she relaxed her expression. “You all right?”

Boss!!!