Love & Redemptio Chapter 16: The Pearl Incident (Part 2)

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: The Pearl Incident (Part 2)

The afternoon in Lutai Town was bustling, likely because the residents believed the governnt office's announcent that the demon had been captured, so life had returned to its usual vivacity. Stalls lined the streets, jugglers and entertainers perford, and snacks were sold, springing up like bamboo shoots after rain.

Xuanji moved from one stall to another, one mont examining wooden toys, the next feeling various stone and root carvings, her leisurely deanor not that of soone on a rescue mission, but rather of soone out shopping.

Zhong Minyan tugged at her sleeve from behind and whispered, "Hey, can we get to the important stuff first? There'll be plenty of ti to shop later."

Xuanji stuffed a stead cake into her mouth and mumbled unclearly, "I know, but you two look so tense, as if you're up to no good. Everyone is watching you."

The two quickly looked around and, sure enough, many people were staring at them, so even whispering among themselves.

Yu Sifeng's complexion changed, and he hurriedly pulled Xuanji aside to whisper, "What should we do? Do they, do they, know what we're about to do?"

Xuanji shrugged her shoulders, "How would they know? Just stop acting so sneaky, as if you're about to do sothing wrong, and of course, no one will pay attention to you."

She handed him a stick of candied hawthorn, "Here, eat this."

Yu Sifeng hesitated before stuffing the candied hawthorn into his mouth, then his expression suddenly softened, "Mmm, delicious!"

"Really?" Zhong Minyan also took one, "So sweet! ...No, so sour!" He grimaced and spat it out, "How is this delicious!"

Xuanji and Yu Sifeng burst into laughter, and eventually, even Zhong Minyan, rubbing his head, chuckled along.

"Not so scared anymore, right?" Xuanji spoke unhurriedly, "To do great things, staying calm is key... that's what Dad always says. If you're scared, you'll definitely ss up."

Yu Sifeng looked wistful, "Sect Leader Chu, he's right. Xuanji is also right. My master has never, ever talked to

about these things before. Turns out, a good sect doesn't just focus on cultivation, but also on learning, the principles of being human."

Every ti Zhong Minyan heard him stutter in the Central Plains dialect, he couldn't help but laugh, and slapped him hard on the back, laughing, "Then you might as well join our Shaoyang Sect! And pick up the Central Plains dialect while you're at it!"

With Xuanji's antics, the two were no longer as tense as before.

They turned the corner, and there in front of them was the governnt office. The huge glass tank was still there. The crowd of onlookers had thinned, but for so reason, there were twice as many governnt officers guarding it compared to last ti, almost encircling the glass tank.

"There are too many officers, best to avoid any conflicts," Zhong Minyan observed carefully from the shadows, "Co on, Xuanji, let's go first."

He grabbed Xuanji's sleeve, pretending to be ordinary passersby, and stood on tiptoes in front of the glass tank to look inside.

The water in the glass tank was not as clear as the other day, probably muddied from too many things thrown into it, murky and dull. The surface was dead still, without a ripple, making it unclear whether the rfolk was still alive.

"Is it... dead?" Xuanji asked softly.

Zhong Minyan shook his head, about to speak, when the governnt officer in front glanced back and laughed, "It won't die! Little sister, you don't know, demons aren't that easy to kill. It'll be transferred to the capital in a couple of days!"

Xuanji uttered an "Oh," and looked up sincerely at him, "Uncle, may I get a bit closer? I haven't seen a demon before."

The governnt officer hesitated for a mont, "I'm afraid... it's not a good idea. This demon is so ugly, the little sister will have nightmares after seeing it."

Xuanji frowned lightly, "Just a quick look, please?"

The governnt officer could not resist the plea of the pretty little girl and finally softened his heart and let her in.

Xuanji walked up to the glass tank, this was her second ti approaching this rfolk. She still rembered the first ti she saw him, he had looked at her with those wise eyes filled with sadness, strangely, this sadness was calm, as if he did not care about being treated this way.

She gently tapped on the glass tank, and the water inside suddenly changed, as if sothing was swimming inside. Following that, a pale face appeared, pressing tightly against the glass.

He seed to know it was her, did not move, just quietly looked at her. After a while, the corner of his lips lifted, giving her a smile.

Xuanji couldn't help but exclaim "Ah," and the governnt officer behind her quickly pulled her away, while saying, "Scared, right? This demon is too cunning!"

After speaking, he kicked the tank harshly, and that pale face quickly disappeared into the murky water.

Xuanji was still shaken and said softly, "There are... so many wounds on his face!"

The governnt officer laughed, "I told you not to look. Now, go ho like a good girl."

Xuanji reluctantly took one last look at the glass tank before turning around and walking away. Zhong Minyan followed behind her, and the two found an alley to hide in, while covering themselves with the black cloth.

"Did you see him?" Zhong Minyan asked.

Xuanji nodded, "He has many wounds, but so don't seem to be caused by stones. It looks like soone might have tied him up with iron chains, and there seem to be whip marks too...?"

"He was tortured?!" Zhong Minyan grew sowhat angry, "This rfolk is so useless, if it was a demon, how could it be so easily mistreated!"

Xuanji sighed, "He looks so weak... Let's not talk about this anymore. It looks like it's starting at Si Feng's place!"

The two held their breath and hid behind the wall, watching. Not far away, Yu Sifeng made a covert hand signal to them, and they imdiately understood, covering their heads with the black cloth, leaving only two holes for their eyes.

Yu Sifeng pretended to be a passerby, pausing in front of the glass tank for a long while, then slowly retreated to the back of the crowd. Finding an opening, he squeezed an iron bullet from his pouch, invested it with True Qi, and silently shot it out.

The crowd only heard a "swoosh" sound, followed by the glass tank shattering with a crack, murky water pouring out. Instantly, the scene beca chaotic, with people scrambling away, shouting, and staring dumbfounded, even the guarding governnt officers beca disoriented, frantically searching for suspicious individuals like headless flies.

Yu Sifeng took the opportunity to advance quickly, striking like lightning, first paralyzing the few people guarding closely around the glass tank, and then tossing the prepared Smoke Bomb on the ground.

With a "puff," light purple smoke rose from the ground, extrely spicy to the senses. This further added to the chaos, and the bewildered governnt officers couldn't see anything, only able to shout desperately, "Guard the glass tank! Guard the demon!"

While they were straining their throats shouting, Xuanji and Zhong Minyan had already secretly taken away the rfolk, who was lying on the ground, unable to move.

By the ti the smoke finally cleared and people rubbed the tears from their eyes to search again, they found that there was nothing left in the shattered glass tank, only rocks of varying sizes silently mocking them.