Chapter 77: Chapter 1 Sir, I want to report!
Hearing the words "Yellow Angel," Cai Jia Sheng could no longer keep his composure.
Now, in Jinzhou, the activities of the Huang Tian Sect were in full swing, almost alerting the neighboring jurisdictions.
In Taiping County, the Guardian Martial Department was currently searching everywhere for clues about the Huang Tian Sect.
Once his identity as a Yellow Angel was exposed and known by the city's Guardian Martial Department, he would definitely face certain death.
Although he was only responsible for a small part and there were other sect brothers and sisters in the city, his death would more or less affect the plans of the Holy Sect.
This was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
"It was probably when Huang Tian revealed themselves today. During the time our brothers and sisters were on the defense and trailing, someone took advantage of a gap and let some unrelated people come into contact. This person is pretending to be mysterious and is probably not a very formidable figure."
Having figured out the sequence of events, Cai Jia Sheng immediately had an idea in his mind, his face turned fierce as he shouted, "Courting death!"
As soon as the words fell, he tensed the muscles in his legs and swung open the door with one hand, throwing a punch outside with force.
Accompanied by a whooshing sound, Cai Jia Sheng, however, punched the air.
The small courtyard outside the door was completely empty, with no one in sight.
Cai Jia Sheng's heart skipped a beat as he looked around.
Even though he had already started to summon his Qi Force, making his senses sharp, he couldn't detect any presence in the surroundings.
It was as if the person outside had never appeared.
This caused his facial expression to instantly turn ugly.
Whoosh!
A sound of cutting wind suddenly appeared.
In the quiet night, it was exceptionally clear.
Cai Jia Sheng only felt a sting at the center of his forehead, and his head involuntarily tilted.
A sharp arrow barely grazed his cheek, slicing his hair at the temples into two.
If he had dodged a moment later, that arrow would have done more than just cut his hair.
It would have pierced his eyeball!
Such precise archery.
For someone like him in the Skin Forging Realm, whose skin was as tough as cowhide and impervious to ordinary weapons, only certain vulnerable spots such as the pores remained.
This person was knowledgeable, not just anyone.
It's easy to dodge a direct attack but hard to guard against a hidden one.
Cai Jia Sheng calmed down and shouted coldly in the direction from which the arrow had come, "I have no recent grudges or past grievances with you. You didn't come here tonight just for my identity as a Yellow Angel, did you?"
"What do you want?"
There was no response at all.
Cai Jia Sheng's expression suddenly became unpredictable.
At this moment, in a dark corner of the courtyard facing a Skin Forging Realm martial master, Shen Qing was using the "Turtle Breathing Technique" skill, concealing all his Qi very well.
Even though his Qi-Blood was boiling uncontrollably and his muscles were tight and swollen to their optimum condition, he still didn't show the slightest trace.
Even the nervous emotions inside his heart were concealed by this skill.
Cai Jia Sheng found it extremely difficult to detect him.
Shen Qing's eyes turned stern as he shifted the direction of the arrow, his finger suddenly loosening.
Pff.
The candlelight in the room was extinguished on cue.
Without delay, Shen Qing employed the "Wind Defying Finger" movement technique and entered the room as swiftly as a ghost.
He had already secretly observed for a while before arriving and knew that the prized items were placed on the table.
Shen Qing rushed to the eight immortals table, swept his hand across, and gathered the three wooden boxes into his arms, quickly taking the treasures out from them.
Cai Jia Sheng suddenly turned his head, hearing the noise in the room and looked towards the sound.
In the flickering moment when the light went out, he saw a figure holding a hard bow flash by.
Cai Jia Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
He realized that if it weren't for this person making a move, he would not have noticed at all.
Even though this person was standing in front of him, it still gave him an unreal feeling.
As if it wasn't a person there, but rather some plants.
Without any Qi presence.
Seeing this, Cai Jia Sheng's expression couldn't help but turn serious, realizing that this person might be tough to deal with tonight.
However, no matter how difficult it was to deal with him, he could not let this person go.
The three treasures in the room were not easy for him to gather, how could he allow them to be taken away?
Seeing that the person had already rushed into the room, without any hesitation, he surged forward with all his strength.
"Die!"
Bang!
A series of strong winds followed behind Shen Qing.
Now that the room was pitch black, and since Shen Qing's "Turtle Breathing Technique" had concealed his Qi, Cai Jia Sheng couldn't sense Shen Qing's presence at all.
He was blindly swinging in frustration.
Shen Qing, with his agile movements, had already moved aside as soon as Cai Jia Sheng took action.
Crash!
The furniture in the room was turned into debris under Cai Jia Sheng's Qi Force.
Shen Qing, holding the three treasures, used his hunter's instincts to fire several arrows towards Cai Jia Sheng's position.
The arrows flew continuously with a whistling sound, heading straight for Cai Jia Sheng's face.
However, since Cai Jia Sheng had already summoned his Qi Force and intentionally closed his eyes, the arrows hit his eyelids and were blocked.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Shen Qing bolted out the door, quickly scaled the courtyard wall, and chose a direction to sprint madly.
At this moment, Shen Qing's heart pounded like a drum, thudding wildly.
To steal and run was thrilling indeed.
Especially stealing from a Skin Forging Realm martial master, it was even more exhilarating.
Cai Jia Sheng pinched his fingers, and the candlelight in the room brightened again.
Seeing that the three delicacies on the Eight Immortals table had disappeared, leaving only three empty boxes on the floor, his complexion turned exceedingly ugly.
The person had clearly come for his three mountain delicacies.
It was just that.
After all, even if the delicacies were stolen, he could collect them again later.
The most troubling part was that his identity had been revealed, which posed a massive risk, and the person couldn't be allowed to live.
He had to be killed.
For some reason, although he hadn't seen the intruder's face clearly, Cai Jia Sheng felt a familiar sensation from the voice.
It seemed like he had heard it somewhere before.
His brows furrowed tightly, he simply couldn't recall.
He couldn't match the voice to any known acquaintance either.
"Regardless, I'll capture him first. Treat him as a sacrifice to Huang Tian."
Without delay, Cai Jia Sheng took a small sandalwood box from a cabinet in his house.
He carefully opened it and took out a yellow talisman.
Cai Jia Sheng bit the tip of his tongue, sprayed out a mouthful of essence blood, muttered some words, and shouted softly, "Rise!"
An incredible scene unfolded.
A golden light burst forth from the talisman in front of him, and it folded itself into a shining golden paper crane.
Under Cai Jia Sheng's gaze, the golden paper crane seemed to come to life, trembling its wings.
Cai Jia Sheng's face lit up with joy, and he thought to himself, "The Daoist's talisman skills are truly miraculous."
He didn't delay. With his fingers together, he visualized the shadowy figure three times in his mind, then picked up the empty boxes from the floor.
The yellow paper crane landed on the empty wooden box, touching it a few times as if a butterfly drawing nectar.
That should do it.
Cai Jia Sheng pinched a technique with his fingers and shouted, "Quick!"
A response came.
The yellow paper crane transformed into a beam of yellow light and shot out from inside the house.
Cai Jia Sheng quickly followed it.
...
In the alleys, Shen Qing's figure dashed through the streets as swiftly as a cheetah.
He looked down at his bulging chest, where the three mountain delicacies were now secured.
Shen Qing hadn't expected his mission, assisted by "Turtle Breathing Technique" and the movement technique of "Wind Defying Finger," along with his flawless archery, to be unexpectedly effective.
It had gone incredibly smoothly.
"I only spoke one sentence from beginning to end and didn't show my face, so he probably doesn't know who I am," Shen Qing muttered to himself. "However, nothing is absolute, and the Great Zhou Court regards Huang Tian Sect as a major threat for good reason."
"The other party is also a Skin Forging Realm martial master; it's better to be safe than sorry."
Stealing Cai Jia Sheng's three mountain delicacies was worth at least one to two thousand taels.
There was no way the other party would just swallow this indignity.
Especially since he revealed his identity as a Yellow Angel to make him hesitate earlier.
If their roles were reversed, he certainly wouldn't let himself off the hook.
At any rate, in summary.
"I must kill him tonight," Shen Qing declared with a serious expression.
While that might be, Cai Jia Sheng possessed the cultivation of the Skin Forging Realm, and Shen Qing had just stepped into the phase of strengthening bones and stretching muscles without even securing a martial title.
Even using assassination, poison, and many other methods might not guarantee his death.
However, killing him didn't necessarily require him to act directly.
Shen Qing changed direction and sprinted toward another destination.
That direction led to the Taiping County government office.
He decided to report to the Guardian Martial Department!
The Guardian Martial Department was gathering clues about the Huang Tian Sect everywhere, and wasn't Cai Jia Sheng a ready-made clue of the Huang Tian Sect?
His act of reporting was entirely legitimate!
Just as Shen Qing left, a yellow paper crane had already closely followed.
The paper crane paused briefly, then changed its direction, pursuing Shen Qing.
"Huh, changed direction? I didn't expect it to be not only fast but also quite clever," Cai Jia Sheng murmured while following behind the yellow paper crane, quickly catching up.
The urge to kill grew stronger within him.
...
The gates of the county government were tightly shut, with two mottled stone lions squatting quietly at the front.
The faint light filtering through the cracks of the door fell on the slate paving, casting a cold glimmer.
Two officers, clad in their uniforms and wielding long spears, stood rigidly on either side of the government entrance.
The cold wind howled past, bringing waves of chill that made them involuntarily shrink their bodies.
"This ghostly weather, it's bone-chillingly cold," complained the officer on the left, his voice echoing in the empty night, mixed with a hint of helplessness. He took out a hard biscuit from his chest and took a couple of bites.
The officer on the right nodded, took a deep breath of the cold air, and responded, "Yes, this winter seems especially long. However, Li Chun is just over twenty days away, and the weather should start warming up."
The officer on the left sighed and tightened the cloak around him, gazing into the distance. Suddenly, he saw a figure dashing towards the government office from the shadows ahead.
He rubbed his eyes and poked his colleague with the spear, saying, "Lao Liu, do you see someone running this way in front of us?"
"Who would bother coming to the government office so late at night?"
"No, there really is someone."
"Hm?"
At his colleague's prompting, he took a closer look and indeed saw someone running towards the government office.
Before the two government officials could speak, they heard the approaching person shout, "Officials, I have a report to make!"