Besides the High Priest, the Gu Tribe also has villages managed by the Six Great Elders.
Elder Kumu had been relocated here. As one of the Six Great Elders, his village originally started out in the desert, but later merged with other villages and expanded.
Eventually, the village as a whole began to rise. Through generations of Great Powers within the village, they created a Little World. The current leader also holds a seat among the Six Great Elders.
As for returning to their homeland, they had grown accustomed to life here. Going back was unlikely.
Under Elder Kumu’s guidance, the two arrived at a luxuriously decorated room.
“Hehe, wait a moment. Elder will go give orders.”
After closing the door, the gentle smile on Elder Kumu’s face disappeared.
“Someone come!”
Shash!
A black shadow emerged from the shadows on the wall. It had a hunched figure, head lowered, and a hoarse voice sounded.
“Master!”
Elder Kumu said slowly, “The guards in the village have been reassigned. What happened?”
“Reporting to Master, a small thief has infiltrated the village.”
“A small thief? At this critical juncture, we cannot let our guard down on anything. Catch that thief as soon as possible.”
“Understood!”
“Additionally, inform Elder Fan Gu. The High Priest’s personal disciple has arrived. Such a good card—how could we not seize it?”
“Understood!”
“Mm, you may go. Also, without my orders, do not allow the two in this room to leave.”
“Understood!”
As for Qin Shen—
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Smack!
A figure fell to the ground, and behind him stood a young man.
“Whew—the disguise worked.”
Qin Shen had finally encountered a lone guard. He was only at the Qi Refining Stage, so Qin Shen decided to knock him out. Crouching down, Qin Shen grabbed the guard and dragged him into a nearby alley.
“Whoa, he’s heavy!”
Qin Shen almost couldn’t pull him at first. It took a lot of effort to drag him. The armor had padding inside!
After dragging him into the alley, Qin Shen started taking off the guard’s armor and putting it on himself. He put on the helmet and then walked out of the alley.
The armor was a bit large, but fortunately Qin Shen could wear it well enough. It was acceptable.
He hadn’t gone far when a voice came from behind.
“Hey! Wait!”
A muffled voice came from inside armor. A guard came up to Qin Shen and handed him a piece of paper. On it was a portrait—it was him—and above the portrait was clearly written a wanted notice.
‘As expected, he was wanted. Fortunately, he wasn’t thrown into the Great Prison this time.’
“This is the portrait of the thief. If you encounter him, report immediately!”
Qin Shen lowered his voice, trying to make it sound more mature.
“Okay, I understand.”
The guard said, “Mm, good.”
The guard turned to leave, but after a few steps, he stopped and turned back to ask Qin Shen.
“By the way, why are you patrolling alone? Who is your squad leader?”
‘Damn! He noticed that!’
Qin Shen steadied himself and said, “I suddenly felt nature’s call, so I temporarily left the team.”
Whoosh!
The person in front kept staring at him. Qin Shen didn’t dare move. In his mind, the Talisman of Divine Movement suddenly appeared—if things went wrong, he would immediately use the Thirty-Six Stratagems and make his escape.
The two stared at each other silently for about twenty minutes.
Finally, the guard spoke, “Remember to rejoin your unit promptly. Also, if you see this person, report it.”
“Yes!”
Watching the guard turn and leave, Qin Shen sighed in relief.
‘That was close. I thought I’d been discovered. Fortunately, it was a false alarm, and I managed to bluff my way through.’
Naturally, Qin Shen wouldn’t walk around the main streets in a guard’s armor. That would be too conspicuous and attract attention. So he chose to take deserted alleys to reduce the risk of being noticed.
After passing through a few alleys, Qin Shen suddenly heard a shout.
“No! Don’t!”
The voice was clear and pleasant, obviously a young girl’s.
“Hehe! Go ahead and scream! No one will come even if you shout your throat out!”
This was followed by a lecherous voice.
‘Holy crap! Someone is doing this in broad daylight!’
Seeing injustice, Qin Shen shouted and jogged toward the sound.
Soon, he saw a fourteen-year-old girl cornered by two men with malicious smiles on their faces. A flower basket lay fallen on the ground, with half the flowers scattered and trampled.
The girl had a frightened expression. Looking at the fallen flowers, tears welled up in her eyes.
“Little sister! If you don’t pay up soon, we’ll throw you out!”
The girl’s voice was weak and pitiful.
“…I’ll pay! Can you give me a few more days…”
“Everyone that Elder Kumu has taken has never returned. If you ask me, your damned father is probably dead.”
But the two men showed no mercy, sneering without restraint.
“Ha! You’re still hoping your deadbeat dad will come back? I’m telling you, dream on!”
“I… my father will come back!”
The girl’s voice suddenly became loud, a determined expression on her face.
“Ha! Whether he comes back or not, you have to pay today!”
The man reached out, pretending to grab the girl.
The girl closed her eyes in fear.
Just then.
“Stop!”
A voice rang out.
The girl opened her eyes and saw a guard running over.
When the men saw the guard, they sneered, “Yo, what’s this? A lackey? What, want to capture us and offer us to Elder Kumu too?”
Qin Shen didn’t understand what the man meant, but protecting girls was something he was very good at.
“I heard you say she owes you money. How much?”
“Ha? Did we hear that wrong? Sir Guard actually wants to pay for her?”
The man obviously faked a surprised expression, then said, “It’s ten top-grade spirit stones total.”
‘Damn! That’s expensive!’
Qin Shen really couldn’t produce that many spirit stones on the spot. Originally he wanted to resolve the conflict with money, but now it seemed he would have to rely on—
Bang! Bang!
The two men fell to the ground, their bodies twitching uncontrollably. Their faces were swollen like pig heads.
They were mere Qi Cultivation Layer 6 cultivators—easy to deal with.
After finishing, Qin Shen looked at the girl.
She immediately cowered in the corner, scared.
“Uh, looks like I made a bad impression.”
Qin Shen walked over, reached out, and asked with concern, “Are you okay?”
Hearing Qin Shen’s words, the girl cautiously opened her eyes, glanced at the two lying on the ground not far away, and said weakly, “I… I didn’t see anything… don’t hit me…”
‘This girl probably doesn’t recognize me. The wanted notice likely hasn’t spread yet.’
With that in mind, Qin Shen took off his helmet and revealed a friendly smile.
Qin Shen’s smile froze.
The girl looked at the young man’s face in front of her, then said, “You… you’re not a guard.”
Crackle crackle!
“I’m not a bad person, and of course I won’t hit you.”