Chapter 101: Chapter 25: Loss of Honor is Minor, Reputation is Major

Zhou Qiaoji led Shen Qing to another street and entered an alley.

On both sides of the alley, various vendors' stalls were lined up densely, displaying a dazzling array of goods.

From fresh vegetables to exquisite handicrafts, tempting snacks..., everything was available.

Steaming buns, fragrant pancakes, crispy deep-fried dough sticks..., the air was filled with the aroma of various snacks, and the cries of vendors were incessant.

Children were playing and frolicking in the alley, their laughter and playful shouts intertwined with the vendors' calls, creating a lively atmosphere.

After passing through this alley, they continued towards the Sezhou Family Mansion, the shadows of the trees on both sides growing deeper.

The number of vendors abruptly decreased.

It was like crossing a certain boundary; beyond that line, not a single vendor could be seen.

Sunlight slanted across the end of the alley. Soon, Zhou Qiaoji led Shen Qing to a vermilion wooden door.

With no one around, Shen Qing's steps were slightly hesitant, his Qi-Blood churning incessantly, tense on the inside yet relaxed on the outside.

Zhou Qiaoji appeared much more composed, as she gently knocked on the wooden door, producing a low and rhythmic sound.

After a short while, the wooden door creaked open, and a gatekeeper clad in blue peeked out.

The gatekeeper's gaze lingered on Shen Qing just briefly; seeing Zhou Qiaoji, his expression changed and he quickly bowed respectfully, "Miss twelfth, have you returned?"

Zhou Qiaoji nodded slightly, telling the gatekeeper, "Go and ask Chang Guanshi to come out; tell him I need to speak with him."

The gatekeeper obeyed and went, while Shen Qing kept his eyes firmly fixed on the gatekeeper's retreating figure and remained silent.

The long-robed Chang Guanshi hurried over, his voice reaching them before he did, "Miss twelfth, where have you been? I've been terribly worried."

When he saw Shen Qing, he paused for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.

"It's a long story; I'll explain later," said Zhou Qiaoji as she ascended a step and turned around to face Shen Qing, "What do you want? The Cultivation Technique and Elixir or a hundred gold taels?"

Shen Qing hadn't expected Zhou Qiaoji to act so decisively without any procrastination.

On the way, he had heard of various Martial Arts Realms and learned some of their key aspects; after a brief reflection, he calmly replied, "The Cultivation Technique and Elixir."

"Alright," Zhou Qiaoji commanded, "Chang Guanshi, go get me the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill that I obtained from my second brother, and also bring the Qi Refining Pill."

Chang Guanshi made a face and said, "The eldest young master took the Qi Refining Pill when he saw you weren't here."

Zhou Qiaoji's chest tightened, but she maintained her composure and said, "Then bring one hundred silver notes instead."

"Alright, Miss, I'll be right back." Chang Guanshi nodded, bowed, and hurried back to fetch the items.

Zhou Qiaoji turned to Shen Qing and said, "Lord Li, please be patient; I will soon bring you the items to fulfill my promise. However, the Zhou family is quite large, and it takes some time to retrieve items. Wouldn't you like to come with me to a quiet place and wait for a moment?"

Shen Qing refused, saying, "I am just a rustic countryman and not worthy of sullying the entrance to the Zhou family. Besides, I am here only for the items, not as a guest; I prefer not to go inside."

"Lord Li is truly humble, very well then. It's up to you." Zhou Qiaoji did not insist further.

After about the time it takes to drink a pot of tea, Chang Guanshi came over with a wooden box and said, "Miss twelfth, it's all here."

Zhou Qiaoji opened the box, looked through it to confirm, and said, "It's all here."

Then, holding the small wooden box, she approached Shen Qing and said, "The Martial Arts Skills are inside, and since I promised you Elixirs are missing, I've converted them into one hundred silver notes."

Shen Qing took the box, pulled out the skills inside it, and then started to flip through them page by page in front of Zhou Qiaoji.

As he flipped, he explained, "I need to carefully check the skills to avoid any potential faults or blanks that might cause me a loss."

At this moment, Zhou Qiaoji's expression showed a hint of impatience, but she quickly covered it up, "You make a good point, Lord Li. Take your time; there's no rush."

"Hmm." Read new stories on m_vl_em_p_yr

After half the duration of an incense stick had passed, Shen Qing finally finished and confirmed the content was complete, saying, "There is no issue."

"That's good."

"Miss Zhou truly acts with integrity," Shen Qing took out the silver notes from the box and said with a clenched fist, "With this, our transaction is complete. Farewell!"

Zhou Qiaoji said, "Lord Li, safe travels."

As Shen Qing's figure disappeared down the alley, Zhou Qiaoji's spirit abruptly relaxed, and her face suddenly changed, her teeth clenching angrily.

"Miss..." Chang Guanshi noticed something was amiss and stepped forward with concern, asking, "What is it...?"

"Uncle Chang, I'll need to trouble you with something later," Zhou Qiaoji said with a fierce look in her eyes.

Chang Guanshi, puzzled, asked, "Miss, what do you need me to do?"

"Kill that man from earlier!"

"The young master has already ordered us not to kill people randomly, so as not to make it difficult for his father-in-law. I need a reason."

Zhou Qiaoji's eyes reddened as she said, "I was deceived by that despicable person."

"Hmm?"

Choking back tears, Zhou Qiaoji recounted her continuous misfortunes.

However, she omitted some details.

"Ah... so there was such a thing? That damned eagle, luckily he died early. Otherwise, if the old master got angry, he would have made his life worse than death."

Zhou Qiaoji became somewhat agitated.

In fact, her name was not Zhou Qiaoji; she was Zhou Yu, one of the favored daughters of Old Master Zhou from the fifth concubine room, skilled in calculations and even in some martial arts.

When facing Shen Qing, she dared not reveal her true identity out of fear of tarnishing it, hence she used an alias.

After a while, Chang Guanshi said, solemn-faced, "If that's the case, losing one's virtue is a minor issue, but reputation is a major one. This man must not be left alive."

"It's not just him, but also the three women who were sent to the government office, and those people from the slum area. They all need to be killed. As long as they are all dead, no one will know about this, and the matter can be covered up."

Zhou Yu spoke with growing agitation.

At this moment, she harbored immense hatred toward Shen Qing, fervently wishing to mutilate him thousands of times.

The so-called golden liquid was actually sewage!

She, a distinguished Miss Zhou, was forced to drink golden liquid, a torture worse than death for her.

Nevertheless, that man must be killed!

A mere vagabond living in the Outer City, if he died, no one would care. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

Just then, an abrupt voice sounded in the ears of Zhou Yu and Chang Guanshi, startling them both.

They looked around and saw Shen Qing, who had unexpectedly returned, moving soundlessly.

Zhou Yu suppressed her thoughts and asked, "What is it?"

"I've thought it over and decided not to take the Martial Arts Skills. Please exchange it for one hundred gold taels."

As he spoke, Shen Qing presented the Martial Arts Skills with both hands.

Zhou Yu and Chang Guanshi exchanged glances. She didn't know why Shen Qing suddenly wanted to exchange the skills, but it seemed to make no difference, as he couldn't have memorized much of it anyway.

After all, a man who was going to die could have anything taken back.

Zhou Yu said, "Chang Guanshi, go and get the gold notes."

"Yes, Miss."

This time Zhou Yu was cautious and said no more, fearing she might say too much.

Soon Chang Guanshi brought the gold notes, "Count them, are they right?"

Shen Qing grabbed the gold notes and didn't count them, "I trust you."

After saying this, he immediately handed back the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, "The cultivation technique is yours."

Chang Guanshi glanced at Zhou Yu, who signaled him to hold off on any actions and take it outside, to avoid making the issue public.

Chang Guanshi understood and took the cultivation technique handed by Shen Qing.

But as he touched it, there was a rectangular box underneath the cultivation technique.

"Goodbye."

Chang Guanshi was puzzled, but Shen Qing had already left swiftly.

He frowned, took out the rectangular box, and wondered, "What is this?"

As the words fell,

Boom!

A violent burst of flame erupted from the box, with a thunderous sound, instantly engulfing Chang Guanshi and Zhou Yu in a massive fireball.