“It’s a red light!”
“Young Master…”
Everyone was disappointed. Jiang Chun was unwilling to accept it. He quickly observed A’Diao’s expression and saw she still looked a bit dazed, as if she didn’t quite understand, and was timidly frightened.
Jiang Chun’s face was very grim, but there was nothing he could do. He was about to leave with his men.
Suddenly!
Beep!
The display of Ding-89432 emitted a faint flash of light. It was too fast, but it still looked like a red light.
What the hell, it already flashed red once, and now it’s flashing again?
A’Diao had just breathed a sigh of relief, but now she tensed up again. Jiang Chun and his men were alarmed, looking as if they wanted to hold A’Diao down and dissect her. But at the very least, a body search was unavoidable.
But just then, a subordinate noticed the display was beeping incessantly again. They were so desperate to distinguish the color, their eyes were about to go blind.
Red, green, red, green, red, red, green, green, red, red…
At first glance, it resembled the flashing lights in a 1980s karaoke lounge; all that was missing was the disco dancing.
What was going on? Had it malfunctioned?
A’Diao noticed. Her eyes darted around. She was about to wail, but then she saw a subordinate nearby call out first: “Young Master, there’s a situation. It doesn’t seem to be her.”
“Those two have woken up. They were just wriggling around, trying to escape. The light started flashing faster and faster, just like before. It might be fluctuations from the area sensor.”
Huh?
Everyone indeed noticed. The two local bandits, who were trying to escape by wriggling like worms, also froze under everyone’s gaze. But their mouths were gagged with rags, so they couldn’t cry out.
Jiang Chun pressed their hands onto the device. The first one: red light. The second one… green light!
“It’s a green light!”
“A green light!”
Joy was written all over Jiang Chun’s face. A’Diao, too, was quite astonished. Could it be? Did this local bandit really have a Spiritual Vessel on him?
This dilapidated Daoist temple of hers… had it been consecrated?
The two local bandits were immediately searched thoroughly by Jiang Chun and his men.
“Found something! Young Master, look at this!”
A subordinate handed over something wrapped in a strip of cloth.
A’Diao smelled a peculiar odor. Her heart skipped a beat. Heavens, what is that smell?!!
It was strangely familiar.
Jiang Chun and his men looked very serious as they unwrapped it.
A wave of odor assaulted their nostrils, but what met their eyes was a piece of old, worn-out cloth.
It looked very old, and even had holes in it!
The atmosphere instantly fell silent.
But A’Diao really couldn’t hold it in. She covered her nose and mouth, and said in a muffled voice: “My heavens, don’t you think it stinks? Ugh~~”
Normally, a foot-wiping cloth wouldn’t smell this bad. But the terrifying thing was, the Old Daoist Priest had stinky feet, the chronic kind, that no amount of washing could get rid of. It was truly bizarre. So A’Diao often made him wash his feet, but she couldn’t convince him to change his foot-wiping cloth.
+1+1+1…!!
+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2…!
It was like being in a car that had been driving on winding mountain roads for days; if one person inside started to vomit, others would inevitably follow suit. They vomited while glaring angrily at A’Diao.
A’Diao: “?”
If I hadn’t reminded you, you wouldn’t have noticed, right? Is it my fault?
Everyone: How could we not notice? We were all damn well holding it in.
Jiang Chun suppressed his nausea, pretended to be calm, and placed the tattered piece of cloth on the device for testing.
Green light.
Everyone was overjoyed, but A’Diao was even more shocked.
Jiang Chun’s expression relaxed, and a hint of joy even appeared. “Although it’s a bit peculiar, it is indeed a Spiritual Vessel.”
A subordinate observing from outside the courtyard with night-vision goggles suddenly reported: “Young Master, a government aircraft is approaching. I think they’re almost here.”
Jiang Chun made a swift decision. “Withdraw!”
In a desolate place like Qishan, it’s unlikely there’d be a second Spiritual Vessel. No need to waste time on other households. We must avoid the eyes and ears of the authorities.
Jiang Chun was about to leave, and out of a sense of cherishing it, he wrapped up the piece of cloth.
A’Diao recognized what that thing was. She absolutely refused to believe it was a Spiritual Vessel. She was also afraid the Jiang Family would hold a grudge and retaliate against her later. And, incidentally, to gain some Mental Energy, she had to tactfully remind them: “Ah, this big brother, please don’t blame me for being blunt—that cloth is my Master’s foot-wiping cloth.”
Everyone: “!!!”
Jiang Chun, who was carefully tucking the foot-wiping cloth into his chest garment: “!!!”
A large, continuous stream of +1s and +2s.
A’Diao said sheepishly, then added softly: “I’ve seen him using it since I was little, for over ten years now. Master is very attached to it. Are you really going to take it? Could you please leave it behind? Otherwise, he’ll blame me for being unfilial.”
Oh ho, another large group of +1s and +2s!
Nice, nice.
This was a good haul.
But Jiang Chun thought she had recognized it as a Spiritual Vessel and was unwilling to let him have it. So he looked down at A’Diao coldly and said: “If you don’t know any better, don’t spout nonsense. What happened tonight, I advise you not to spread it around. Otherwise… hehe.”
His tone was full of threat.
Hehe, my foot.
Seeing him tuck the foot-wiping cloth into his garment and carefully pat it down, and then even lean in to threaten her with an overbearing CEO-like chin-grabbing gesture, A’Diao was terrified. She quickly executed a tactical lean-back, avoiding the strong stench, while showing a look of fear.
“I won’t tell, I definitely won’t tell! Please, don’t hurt me.”
“Hmph!”
A disgruntled Jiang Chun immediately left with his men. However, he also snatched the spiderweb Forbidden Item along the way. Seeing his smug and arrogant demeanor, an angry A’Diao began to doubt herself: Is it really a Spiritual Vessel? My heavens, was it the Old Daoist Priest’s stinky feet that were consecrated, or does this generation’s Spiritual Energy have peculiar tastes?
First a toilet, now a foot-wiping cloth… Should she go take a stroll through a junkyard?
Oh right, the village’s public toilet hasn’t opened a spirit gate, has it?
As the airship departed, Jiang Chun was overjoyed. With a wave of his hand, he pointed to the employee who had contributed the most. “This operation was a great success. Everyone will be rewarded with ten thousand Star Coins. You will receive fifty thousand. My Jiang Family will never mistreat anyone who contributes!”
The rewarded men were ecstatic and began to celebrate on the airship.
Meanwhile, the authorities arrived at the old Daoist temple seamlessly after Jiang Chun and his men had left.
Speaking of which, the government’s aircraft, while not as grand as the airship, was actually a bit faster than the Jiang Family’s airship. After all, it was a single-person vehicle, an L-shaped body tilted diagonally, with the upright end controlling direction, and the front end equipped with laser ports and grappling lines.
These were all custom-made by the government. They looked simple and small, but their internal hardware was quite good.
The officers naturally noticed the airship. They were surprised and suspicious, and then they saw the two “human dumplings” in the courtyard, stripped down to their underpants, and a bruised and swollen, whimpering young girl.
However, compared to the aircraft, which matched the characteristics of the current interstellar technological civilization, these officers’ attire was quite retro.
Actually, it wasn’t exactly retro. It was just that according to the Tang Song Empire’s regulations, only officials serving the current dynasty (and the families of officials of the ninth rank and above), from the highest echelons down to the county government officers, were qualified to wear official robes according to ancient customs.
The so-called official robes could be either Tang-style or Song-style attire. These officers, for example, all wore standard dark cyan martial attire, with long sabers hanging at their waists.
Individuals not holding the aforementioned official ranks, even if they were from wealthy and powerful families, were not allowed to wear official robes. However, those who did hold official rank could choose to wear either official robes or modern clothing on non-essential occasions.
The ranking after scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants had become quite vague; it specifically depended on family background and status. But scholars still ranked first, and this remained true in the current dynasty.
And when the tall, stern officer questioned her, the little Daoist apprentice, who had just promised not to say anything, spilled everything she could in a torrent. If this were a certain special era, she would be a prime example of a professional traitor who defects in a second.
“It was terrifying. These two men broke into the house. Stealing things was one thing, but they even had daggers and wanted to murder me. Luckily, I’m quick-witted, and I had this spiderweb-spraying handgun… I didn’t expect another group of people to come later. So scary! They robbed all the valuables from our house. They didn’t even spare my Master’s foot-wiping cloth. And they kept appraising things… It seemed like they were looking for something.”
“Officer big brother, my tuition fees… my school tuition fees were all taken by them.”
The heartbroken girl naturally cared a lot about her tuition fees, even neglecting her own wounds. How could the officers not know the situation behind this?
Similar incidents had been occurring in various places recently. Especially tonight, Spiritual Energy had actually revived.
“And your injuries…”
“I was beaten by both groups. After the first two beat me, the ones who came later beat me again. It hurts so much.”
The officers were furious. This was too much!
The two thieves were also shocked by A’Diao’s pack of lies. They immediately said they hadn’t hit anyone, that they were framed.
The officers wouldn’t believe them and directly handcuffed the two, preparing to take them away.
The two thieves glared angrily at A’Diao, quickly sending a row of +1+1+1+1!
A’Diao, who was giving her statement, seemed frightened. With reddened eyes, she clutched the sleeve of the female officer, and hid behind her.
The female officer’s heart ached for her. Mental Energy of +1+1+1 also appeared.
A’Diao: Eh?
The previous Mental Energy seemed to have been generated from people’s aversion or resentment. Could it be that this female officer disliked her?
That shouldn’t be right.
Just then, the female officer comforted her and asked if she was in pain.
“Sister, it doesn’t hurt. I’m an orphan anyway, bullied every day, so I’m used to it. I just want to study, and in the future, become someone like you, sister, beautiful and useful to the people and the country.”
+1+1+1.
Oh ho, it really is goodwill.
Ill will and goodwill both generate Mental Energy.
This is really… great!
Her scope of business could expand significantly.
A’Diao then slowly asked, “And that Young Master Jiang, can they be arrested?”
The Jiang Family was a leading wealthy household in the county town, and had some connections with the authorities. Without substantial evidence of a crime, it would probably be difficult to arrest them.
Several officers looked troubled. A’Diao had expected this. So she, in turn, comforted them, “It’s alright, if you can’t catch them, then so be it. It’s not a huge deal anyway. Actually, they didn’t hurt me much. Compared to them, I’m more afraid of these two’s accomplices.”
Mentioning the Jiang Family was just to lay the groundwork for what came next.
“Accomplices?”
A’Diao deliberately mentioned seeing this group of people moving in gangs at the store.
“They only recently returned. They’re a gang that often hangs out together doing nothing proper. Many uncles and aunts in the village warned me to stay away from them. Today, I even saw them gathered together, discussing me… I didn’t expect something to really happen tonight.”
“My Master just left, and they… they won’t retaliate against me, will they? What should I do?”
Large teardrops fell at her command.
As for whether those few people in the village were innocent or not, she didn’t care. At the very least, she had to get revenge for their usual foul-mouthed harassment of her.
The officers quickly said they would investigate and would definitely arrest all the bad guys. The female officer felt even more sorry for her.
A’Diao was very understanding: “There’s no rush. It’s so late, and I’ve made you all come out. You’ve worked too hard. Do you need me to provide any other evidence?”
Speaking of evidence, her gaze flickered slightly towards a swallow’s nest under the eaves in a corner. She had some preparations there, but it was best not to reveal them if possible.
The officers thought she was afraid they couldn’t convict these people.
“No need, the evidence is already sufficient.”
A’Diao felt relieved. She added one more thing: “Are you hungry? I still have some steamed buns in the kitchen…”
A large group of +1s popped up.
A’Diao: ???
Is this because you have goodwill towards me, or are you really hungry?
Curse this wretched mouth of mine!
