Stranger Danger

A moment of hesitation later, Tao Chong spoke up, “May I speak with you about something, young master?”

“What is it?” Ye Qing asked.

“The amount of time one may stay in the Six Livestocks Market is directly related to the number of livestocks they bring into the Six Livestocks Market.”

Tao Chong began, “If young master and miss are just planning to visit the Six Livestocks Market, then we already have enough people. But if both of you are planning to practice in the Six Livestocks Market, then you’re going to need more.”

“What do you suggest?” Ye Qing glanced at Tao Chong.

Tao Chong replied immediately as if he had already prepped his answer, “There is still some time before the Six Livestocks Market officially begins, and this slave happens to know that a bunch of Mountain Bearing Raiders are living nearby. They are vile criminals who rob graves and have generally committed every crime under the sun. This slave can capture them all for you.”

“This way, you’ll be able to practice inside the Six Livestocks Market and deal with a local threat. It would be killing two birds with one stone.”

“Sounds like you’ve already planned it all out,” Ye Qing remarked with a meaningful smile.

“This slave apologizes for acting on his own! Please forgive this slave, young master!” Tao Chong hurriedly replied.

Tao Chong let out a sigh of relief. The reason he plotted this was to curry favor with Ye Qing, of course. For now, it looked like it was the right move.

However, Tao Chong frowned and added hesitantly, “But…”

“Speak frankly,” Ye Qing ordered.

“As you command, young master.” Tao Chong said carefully, “The Mountain Bearing Raiders only number a dozen people, and they are all quite ordinary. Even if I capture them all, I’m pretty sure that they’re not enough.”

“Although there is still time before the Six Livestocks Market begins, I reckon that we have only seven to eight days at most. If we miss this opportunity, we would have to wait for the next one. Unfortunately, I believe it would be difficult to gather the number of warriors you need to practice in the Six Livestocks Market.”

“This slave’s crime would be great if your cultivation is affected, young master.”

The reason he said all this wasn’t in consideration of Ye Qing, but himself. If the Mountain Bearing Raiders proved to be insufficient, and Ye Qing wasn’t able to make a breakthrough in the Six Livestocks Market, it was highly possible that he would blame the failure on him. That was why he needed to clarify things and absolve himself from the blame while he still could.

He didn’t want to do this either, but what could he do? The life of an employee was this pitiful.

“Unless…”

“Unless, what?”

Ye Qing saw through Tao Chong’s thoughts instantly and chuckled. “Unless I choose to transform innocent people into livestock like you and your ilk?”

“This slave wouldn’t dare.”

Tao Chong saluted, but he felt no shame at Ye Qing’s accusation. In fact, that was exactly what he was thinking. There was a saying called, “You couldn’t have your cake and eat it”. In his opinion, you could not be a good person and be accomplished either.

“This is really an easy matter to solve. You just overthought things.” Ye Qing did not expose Tao Chong despite having guessed his thoughts. “In fact, the sacrifices you seek are within your reach all this time.”

“Do enlighten me, young master!” Tao Chong declared. He truly wanted to know how Ye Qing was going to find so many villains for his objective.

“Are you familiar with the biggest, most recent happenings of the jianghu?” Ye Qing asked instead of answering Tao Chong immediately.

“Er…” Tao Chong subconsciously answered, “You mean the territorial contest between the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance and Nine Nethers Sect, young master?”

“Exactly.” Ye Qing nodded.

“Are you planning to attack the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance, young master?!” Tao Chong suddenly realized something and blurted.

“No,” Ye Qing replied.

“Thank goodness.” Tao Chong let out a sigh of relief. Only a suicidal maniac would target the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance, right?

But before he could continue, Ye Qing added, “I’m not just targeting the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance. I’m planning to kidnap some Nine Nethers Sect warriors as well.”

Tao Chong: “...”

It would appear that he still underestimated Ye Qing’s audacity. It wasn’t that he was afraid to offend one of them, he was plotting to hit all of them!

Didn’t he know how big the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance was?

Didn’t he know how scary the Nine Nethers Sect was?

Who in the world gave him the courage to even think of such a thing?

“What’s wrong? Are you scared?” Ye Qing teased when he saw Tao Chong’s waning complexion.

“This slave’s life is cheap, so why would he be scared? However, neither the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance nor the Nine Nethers Sect are easy prey. If they hear about this, and your life is harmed as a result, then it would not be worth it, would it? Please reconsider, young master,” Tao Chong pleaded.

Ye Qing was right. He was scared. But so what? He wasn’t done living yet, and there was no way he was going to agree to this suicide run without protest!

“Again, you’re overthinking things. We simply need to keep our involvement hidden,” Ye Qing replied.

“I don’t understand, young master.” Tao Chong voiced his confusion.

Ye Qing explained patiently, “The Seventy Two Water Land Alliance and the Nine Nethers Sect are embroiled in an all-out war right now. Multiple battles are breaking out every day, and the entire Yannan has plunged into chaos. Who would notice a couple extra missing people when many more are killed in action or missing everyday?”

“Besides, I never told you to target an elite warrior. The small fries would suffice for our purpose, right? Don’t tell me you can’t handle the small fries with your strength?”

“If you still think this is too risky, you can disguise yourself as a member of the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance when you’re targeting a Nine Nethers Sect group, and vice versa. Even if you are discovered, your disguise will keep them from noticing that an unknown third party is getting involved!”

“Oh right, you’ve heard of Sword Ghoul, right? You can also disguise yourself as Sword Ghoul and attack the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance claiming that it was for revenge. No one would ever find out that it was you, me, and your miss who are screwing with them.”

In fact, he had already thought of the plan long before he released the innocent villagers. Neither the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance nor the Nine Nethers Sect were good factions anyway. He felt zero guilt turning their members into livestock to fuel his cultivation.

As for whether the worst case scenario would happen, and either the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance or the Nine Nethers Sect would discover the truth… he had already offended them once, and that offense was severe enough to earn him the death penalty in their opinion. In that case, why not punt their asses a second time?

Meanwhile, Tao Chong’s eyes were widening as if he just discovered a whole new galaxy. This… this was actually doable!

“There is one more way.”

This time, it was Feng Qingyou who spoke up, “Joyless and I will lie in ambush, and you will pretend to be discovered by the enemy’s elites. Once you’ve brought them to the ambush site, we will capture all of them.”

“What a wonderful idea! A single elite is worth many ordinary warriors!” Ye Qing laughed while rubbing his palms together.

Tao Chong: “...”

He was the villain here, so why did he feel like an innocent little rabbit before these two?

“What do you think, Tao Chong?” Ye Qing looked at him.

“Your plan is airtight, young master, miss. This slave is impressed.” What else could Tao Chong say? He could only agree to the plan!

“Good. You may begin immediately.” Ye Qing smiled. “Remember this: the more warriors you capture, the longer you and I would be able to practice in the Six Livestocks Market. So do not disappoint me!”

“Don’t worry, young master. This slave will not disappoint you.”

Tao Chong had to admit that Ye Qing’s encouraging words had both delighted and excited him.

As Ye Qing said, the more warriors he caught, the longer he would be able to practice in the Six Livestocks Market. This was definitely a good thing for him.

Suddenly, Tao Chong felt like he was full of energy.

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