Chapter 15: Deeds Beneath the Darkness

“Where is my payment? I’m drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, yet I haven’t received a single coin! No, I can’t just leave so easily. If I walk away now, that old miser will never acknowledge his debt!”

With this thought, a fierce expression darkened Han Quexi’s face as she advanced step by step, her eyes flashing with menace. If one didn’t know her, they might have thought she was about to slaughter a pig.

She approached the old man Wu Ming, who remained utterly unresponsive. Han Quexi put on a mock grimace, trying to provoke him, but Wu Ming remained unmoved. Disheartened, she sighed.

“Fine, then! Next time I come for my money, I don’t believe you’ll stay locked up forever!” she growled through clenched teeth. But just as she was about to leave, her eyes caught sight of a small coin pouch at Wu Ming’s waist.

Her eyes lit up instantly as she smirked, reaching out stealthily while muttering under her breath, “You didn’t see me, you didn’t see me…”

Having secured the pouch, Han Quexi slipped quickly into the inner chamber, vanishing from before Wu Ming.

“Fortune smiles upon me! Haha!” She opened the pouch to find over eight hundred gold coins inside and exclaimed with delight, quickly covering her mouth to stifle the noise.

Though she kept telling herself that she had earned these eight hundred coins by trading her Taiji sword skills and the Tao Te Ching—meaning she took them rightfully, not by theft—the act of taking them without permission still made her uneasy.

To avoid discovery of her secret deed, Han Quexi hurriedly deposited all the coins into the universal system. Then, coughing softly and straightening her clothes to calm her conscience, she stepped out and prepared to leave.

Yet, as she emerged from the inner chamber, she saw Leng Feng still in the same spot, grinding his teeth as he practiced the sword technique “刺字诀” with fierce determination. Greed flickered in Han Quexi’s mind; despite all her efforts, she was still short of a thousand gold coins.

No, this won’t do! The debt of the father must be repaid by the son; once a teacher, forever a father. By this logic, Wu Ming’s debt now fell upon Leng Feng’s shoulders. With a quick glance and a cunning thought, Han Quexi soon devised a plan.

Clearing her throat, she approached Leng Feng, interrupting his sword practice.

“What scheme are you plotting now?” Leng Feng’s gaze cooled when he saw Han Quexi emerge but not his master. He immediately suspected another of her cunning tricks and snapped at her.

“Hey, how dare you speak to me like that? I, Han Quexi, am intelligent, radiant, beautiful, gracious, and elegant...” she began to boast.

“Please change your clothes first before you say another word!” Leng Feng cut her off without a hint of patience, scanning her up and down with disdain.

Though his tone was cold, it was still somewhat tactful. His gaze seemed to say, “At least look in a mirror. Your ambiguous appearance—neither fully male nor female—makes it hard to tell your gender. And yet you dare to brag? I don’t even want to hear it!”

“What do you mean by that? I’m telling you, I look this disheveled because I’m guiding your master! Without my painstaking instruction, he’d still be stuck at his current stage!” Han Quexi retorted.

“Good deeds are treated like donkey’s liver and lungs. Since that’s the case, your master still owes me nine hundred gold coins. Hand them over immediately! Otherwise, I’ll go and shatter his breakthrough right now!”