Chapter 322: Making a Feint to the East While Attacking the West

Chapter 322: Feint to the East, Strike to the West

Most people had not foreseen Xia Chichi’s rise.

Though they knew she was a prodigy, cherished by the Vermilion Bird and groomed as the sect’s heir, this was still absurd. Zhao Changhe, ranked first on the Hidden Dragon List, couldn’t even make the Human Roll; she, ranked third, had soared straight to fifty-eighth. In truth, it was even higher—since Tian Lingzi at fifty-second had vacated his spot, shifting everyone up, Xia Chichi now sat at fifty-seventh.

Her rank surpassed even Yue Hongling, a long-established figure seen as the representative of the younger generation!

Yue Hongling had originally been sixty-eighth on the Human Roll, moving up to sixty-seventh after He Lei’s death. Though she had broken through to the Secret Vault earlier than Xia Chichi, her post-breakthrough record was a single victory: defeating Chi Li, taking his sixty-fifth spot, and then advancing to sixty-fourth after Hu Lie was removed.

This was a gradual climb, one that seemed reasonable.

Yet now Xia Chichi had abruptly overtaken Yue Hongling… and quite a few fans were indignant on Yue Hongling’s behalf. Who knew how Yue Hongling felt about it—whether she might get riled up and challenge someone higher-ranked just for fun?

On reflection, Xia Chichi and Zhao Changhe were quite alike: both had been obscure in the first half of their lives, only to rise belatedly starting last year.

Xia Chichi had received the full backing of the Four Symbols Sect, and her foundation was much thicker than Zhao Changhe’s. By that logic, wasn’t Zhao Changhe actually faster? But speed at the Xuan Pass level was useless—countless people were stuck at the Secret Vault for a lifetime. Xia Chichi breaking through the Secret Vault earlier than most people lost their virginity was simply absurd.

Oh, actually, earlier than her own as well.

Regardless of what others thought, Xia Chichi herself didn’t care about making the Human Roll, but she was overjoyed to be ranked above Yue Hongling.

Let you lord it over me, let you fool around with him, you dowdy woman.

Now I’m ranked higher than you, so call me sister, hahaha!

Wait, no… there was that old woman surnamed Tang ranked even higher—couldn’t go by rank… Forget it, why compare with an old woman? If that old woman stood before me, I’d see how she dared speak after my sarcasm!

Xia Chichi practically hummed a tune as she returned to the city, and hummed another as she entered the Money Gang.

…

At that moment, Yang Qianyuan was reaching the pinnacle of his life at the Money Gang’s headquarters.

He had witnessed with his own eyes how the Money Gang leader and many of its high-ranking strongmen were all killed by Tian Lingzi. As he barely escaped, he saw Ye Wuzong carrying the Poison Spider inside. That meant Tian Lingzi likely wouldn’t return either, and wouldn’t come to take over the remnants of the Money Gang. And the Thief Saint had never been interested in organizations like this…

Didn’t that mean the leaderless remnants of the Money Gang were waiting for him to take command?

He, Yang Qianyuan, had only arrived recently and held no high rank, but that didn’t mean he lacked martial prowess! He came from a great family, with deep ancestral knowledge.

Among the remaining members of the Money Gang, he was actually the strongest…

So he drew his long sword, cut down the various leaders of the Money Gang one by one, fought his way through the headquarters undefeated, and easily suppressed the entire hall. Truly, he was in high spirits, looking down with pride: “Anyone else unconvinced?”

“We are willing to accept Brother Yang as our leader!”

“Who else but Brother Yang is fit to be our leader?”

“Exactly! Brother Yang even has Mr. Wang Daozhong backing him!”

Yang Qianyuan’s face stiffened. He now felt that the sallow-faced man was probably not Wang Daozhong after all… But it didn’t matter. He had just seen that couple curled up on the ground, poisoned and half-dead—they likely wouldn’t survive…

Just then, a golden light flashed across the sky.

Yang Qianyuan stared blankly upward: “So it’s them…”

A sense of frustration crept into his heart. Though he had long passed twenty-five and the Hidden Dragon List had nothing to do with him, he had never even made it back then… let alone the Human Roll. This young couple, so young, commanded worldwide attention, such a storm of fame. And what about him?

He steadied himself. His own storm—wasn’t it starting now? He hadn’t offended that couple, had he? He had served them well. Whether they had come out of the poison house or not, they wouldn’t cause him trouble, would they?

Just as he thought this, the hall door was kicked open, and Xia Chichi strolled in with her hands behind her back.

Yang Qianyuan’s heart skipped a beat. He scurried over to Zhao Changhe and forced himself to say, “Mr. Daozhong… you’re back?”

Zhao Changhe smiled. “Little Yang, you’re quite spirited. Become the leader?”

Yang Qianyuan laughed nervously. “All thanks to your guidance, sir.”

“Oh… now that you’re the leader, you must have plenty of things. I’d like to borrow something from you. Would you be willing to part with it?”

Yang Qianyuan sensed a bad omen but still forced himself to say, “Sir, you flatter me. Whatever you want, just take it.”

Zhao Changhe said amiably, “My wife wants your head.”

Before he even finished speaking, Yang Qianyuan was already fleeing.

But he stopped short. Xia Chichi had somehow appeared before him, ghostlike.

Yang Qianyuan roared, “I’ve served you well! When did I ever offend you?”

Zhao Changhe said calmly, “Your brothers and your sister-in-law probably never offended you either. You used them as stepping stones. We’re using you for profit too. See how my Wang Daozhong logic fits you?”

Yang Qianyuan screamed in panic, “You pull that shameless act and call yourself Wang Daozhong! You’re no Wang Daozhong! Everyone, attack together! He’s not Wang Daozhong, he’s Zhao Changhe, only at the eighth level of Xuan Pass! If we all attack, we might not lose!”

But no one in the hall paid him any attention.

Who are you? Why would anyone risk their life for you? Whether he’s Zhao Changhe or Wang Daozhong, who cares?

Yang Qianyuan raged, “If it weren’t for the belief that Wang Daozhong was backing him, the Money Gang leader wouldn’t have been so reckless and fallen for the trap! This man impersonated Wang Daozhong and essentially killed the leader! Don’t you want revenge?”

Still, no one responded.

Xia Chichi seemed to deliberately let him perform. Only after he had said everything did she smile and strike without warning.

Yang Qianyuan despaired to find that he couldn’t even block a single move. In an instant, he lost consciousness.

So this was the fifty-seventh on the Human Roll…

Xia Chichi, holding Yang Qianyuan, leaned close to Zhao Changhe and whispered, “I’ll take this guy out the east gate. You try heading toward the direction of Fire Yan Kun Gang… Do you think Old Ye will assume we’ve split forces—that nominally the sword orb is on you, but I’m using the excuse of capturing Yang Qianyuan to actually take the orb and leave?”

Zhao Changhe’s mind stirred. “If he really thinks that and comes after you, only to find nothing, what then?”

Xia Chichi laughed. “Do you really think the Venerable One will just let him do whatever he wants to me?”

Zhao Changhe suddenly realized—right, the Vermilion Bird was there. Even if her rank was slightly lower than Ye Wuzong’s, it was only by a hair. She was no pushover. And since the orb wasn’t on Chichi, Ye Wuzong wouldn’t insist on a fight to the death. He’d most likely turn around and come after him, by which time he’d already be inside the secret realm…

It was feasible.

Whether they could secure the sword orb for Chichi all came down to this.

No time to waste. Xia Chichi grabbed Yang Qianyuan and sped off like the wind toward Liu Tu Zhang’s place, where a wagon loaded with cloth was already prepared for departure.

Xia Chichi shoved Yang Qianyuan into the wagon and led the group out of the city at top speed.

Sure enough, before long, Ye Wuzong appeared beside the convoy like a ghost, staring coldly at Xia Chichi on horseback, silent for a long moment.

Xia Chichi smiled sweetly. “Senior, why that expression?”

Ye Wuzong’s face was as sour as if he’d eaten shit. “You really don’t have the sword orb on you?”

Xia Chichi laughed. “How does senior know?”

“I placed a subtle mark on the orb. When close enough, I can sense its aura.” Ye Wuzong said flatly, “Otherwise, you could just bury it in some hole and I’d never find it.”

Xia Chichi said, “Senior is formidable.”

“Formidable my ass.” Ye Wuzong’s expression was foul.

Splitting forces was predictable. With his overwhelming lightness skill, chasing the wrong one and then turning back for the other was no big deal. But common sense dictated that since Xia Chichi wanted the orb, she should be pursued first. Otherwise, once she left the city, the Vermilion Bird might intercept and easily take it away.

What was the point of Zhao Changhe carrying it into the mountains? How well could he know the terrain? He’d be caught soon enough. Besides, if she let that man take it away, wasn’t she afraid he’d keep it for himself?

Logically, it only made sense for the orb to be with Xia Chichi. Yet it wasn’t.

And there wasn’t even the expected intervention from the Four Symbols Venerable. Wasn’t she afraid he’d kill her in a rage?

Old Ye, embarrassed by his misjudgment, said stiffly, “He’s gone off alone with the orb. Aren’t you afraid he’ll keep it?”

Xia Chichi smiled. “That’s not him. If he wanted the orb, it was always for me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even glance at it. How could he keep it?”

Ye Wuzong said, "And if you guess wrong?"

Xia Chichi said, "Would the elder care to make a wager?"

"...Forget it." Ye Wuzong said, "What about your Vermilion Bird Venerable? She's not here—aren't you truly afraid I'll harm you? Or do you think she's here, only to find she isn't?"

Xia Chichi said, "Actually, I wasn't sure if she was here either. I had to try..."

Ye Wuzong asked in surprise, "Knowing she might not be here, are you throwing your life away?"

"This is something I want for myself—how could I not take some risks? Rely entirely on a man?" Xia Chichi smiled. "Besides... whether the Venerable is in the shadows or not, I have no idea, and neither do you, elder. You're here to steal the sword pellet, not to vent your pride. Since the item isn't on me, why not chase after Changhe instead of striking a grudge here and putting the cart before the horse?"

"Tsk..." Ye Wuzong nodded with considerable admiration. "A gutsy girl. With you in the Four Symbols Sect, whether the rebellion succeeds is uncertain, but becoming the most powerful force in the Central Plains is indeed within reach."

Xia Chichi clasped her fists. "Your bearing, elder, is something I deeply admire. The Four Symbols Sect wishes to cooperate with the Thieves' Gate—not to curry favor, but in earnest."

Ye Wuzong stroked his beard, squinting at Xia Chichi for a long moment, then suddenly said, "You trust your little man so much—do you want to know who taught him his disguise skills?"

Xia Chichi's expression stiffened.

Ye Wuzong could tell from her face that nothing else would hit as hard as that.

You think you can toy with me? Can't I throw a wrench in your plans?

I can still catch up to the sword pellet—let your own backyard catch fire first.

Ye Wuzong's form vanished in an instant, his voice still drifting in the air: "That was my worthless disciple, named Sisi. She's prettier than you, and more seductive too. He vouched for her to recover the manual—what do you think that relationship is?"

Xia Chichi's face hardened as she ordered Liu Tuzhang, "Send Yang Qianyuan back to the headquarters first for safekeeping. We'll deal with the Yang family later."

Liu Tuzhang, trembling at her expression, asked, "And you, Saintess?"

"Of course I'm going to find that man! Did he think he could ditch me and hide in the secret vault for three days? Who knows what cheap woman he's fooling around with now, popping out of nowhere!"