Volume 1 Chapter 37: Senior Brother, Quietly Sinister
Tn: Edited at 6 / 2 / 2025
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In truth, Ye Anping had already heard the black-clothed man shout the moment he arrived.
But holding to the principle of "customers first," he insisted on finishing the therapy session for the two disciples Bai Yuelin had brought with her before washing up and heading out to greet him.
During that time, Bai Yuelin had apparently been making awkward conversation with the guest nonstop.
When Ye Anping returned to the main hall, he immediately noticed the black-clothed man's expression had shifted through the entire color spectrum—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. No one knew what on earth they'd been talking about.
As soon as she saw him come out, Bai Yuelin rushed over and whispered, "Anping, this guy's weird. He came in and immediately asked if I sold Vermilion Birds. Then I asked him what that was, and he said it's a kind of tea. So I tried to get him to explain what exactly the Vermilion Bird Tea is…"
Ye Anping sighed. "Senior Bai… are you always this chatty?"
"Well… I just didn't want him to leave too early. Figured I'd chat a bit to stall him."
"Sigh—it's already late. Senior Bai, maybe you should return to the sect now. After I finish this last customer, I'll be closing for the night."
"I can't stay over tonight?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"You hugged me in bed last night. I didn't sleep well."
Ye Anping said this flatly, then walked off without sparing her another glance, motioning the black-clothed man to follow him into the back room.
The man had been listening to their whole exchange. When he heard "hugged me in bed," his imagination predictably leapt to dual cultivation.
So as he followed Ye Anping in, he couldn't quite hide the look of shocked disbelief in his eyes.
Which, of course, was exactly what Ye Anping wanted.
After all, he was about to provide this man with detailed information about the disciple selection event and how to sneak into the Profound Star Sect through a specific formation route. If the man later questioned how Ye Anping got such classified intel, Ye Anping could casually blame it on Bai Yuelin.
"She told me everything."
Simple. Clean. Believable.
Once inside, Ye Anping waved his hand, locking the door with spiritual energy. Then, with practiced ease, he stuck homemade soundproofing talismans around the room—making sure to project professionalism.
The black-clothed man gave an approving nod at the setup and asked, "Little brother, that the Profound Star Sect inner disciple from just now—who is she to you?"
Ye Anping shrugged with a smirk. "Just a silly girl who fell for me."
"Silly… girl?" The man blinked, stunned. "But her cultivation is mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm, and she seems like a pretty high-ranking inner disciple… How did you…"
"With my face." Ye Anping gestured at himself. "This clean, fair, refined look? Among female cultivators, I'm quite the catch. Who doesn't like a pretty boy like me?"
"…"
"…So are you here for intel, or just here to gossip about my love life?"
The black-clothed man gave a wry laugh. "Of course, of course. Let's get down to business. Were you able to gather anything about the disciple selection event?"
Ye Anping smiled and motioned for him to sit, then got straight to the point.
"Two days ago was the written trial. Yesterday was the sparring trial. Now, the physical trial has already begun. It lasts six days in total. All the disciples participating in the sect disciple selection event are currently in the back mountains of the Profound Star Sect undergoing testing. If you plan to intercept someone mid-way, now is the best window. After this phase comes the fortune trial and the final interview."
"More details," the man pressed.
"Everyone who passed the sparring trial was assigned to the back mountains. They're required to travel a hundred li on foot. The terrain is complex—there are mountains, forests, snowfields, deserts—and scattered throughout are low-tier demonic beasts meant to obstruct them. Their flying swords are confiscated before they enter, so they can't fly. And there are no elders or supervisors from the Profound Star Sect accompanying them."
"I see…" The man nodded, falling into brief thought. Then he asked, "Since you're saying this is the best opportunity, that must mean you have a way to get us into the back mountain? To bypass the formations and patrolling disciples?"
Ye Anping frowned. "Us? How many people are you bringing, and what's your cultivation level?"
"Two at early Foundation Establishment, two at mid-stage, and me—I'm late-stage Foundation Establishment." He didn't hide anything. "I heard that girl, Feng Yudie, beat a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator effortlessly during the sparring trial. So this afternoon I went and called in a few colleagues. Once my formation is in place, even if she's a peerless genius, there's no way she's escaping."
Hearing that, Ye Anping's frown deepened slightly.
He had originally planned to help this guy get in… but the other party's confident, even cocky tone made him hesitate.
It wasn't that he was worried about Feng Yudie's safety—she carried the bloodline of the Immortal Emperor, even if she lost a limb, she'd probably regrow it in time.
But his junior sister wouldn't be so lucky.
If she got caught in the crossfire, that would be a real problem.
After a moment of thought, Ye Anping said, "It should be doable. I can get you all inside. But if you want a way out, you'll need to bring me with you."
"Bring you?" The man frowned and immediately shook his head. "You're only at the third layer of Qi Refining, and you're a shop owner. That's against the rules. If something happens to you, then…"
—In the Seven Killers Sect, "shop owners" are forbidden from participating in bounty missions.
If any operatives are caught, they must never reveal the identity or location of any "shop owner."
If a shop owner is implicated, the penalty is severe.
This rule exists because, to the Seven Killers Sect, information is both lifeline and livelihood—absolutely sacred.
Ye Anping raised a hand to stop him. "I know. If I die, the sect will absolutely come for your head. But think about it: you're sneaking into the Profound Star Sect. If you fail, you're dead anyway."
"And besides… without me, you won't get in at all. Even if you do somehow sneak inside, you won't find Feng Yudie. The back mountain is crawling with nearly ten thousand people."
"Finding her among them is like fishing a needle out of the ocean."
The man fell silent.
After a while, he looked at Ye Anping with clear hesitation and warned, "We won't have the spare strength to protect you in there."
"Relax, I've got ways to protect myself. If things really go south, don't be surprised if I ditch you all and run first," Ye Anping said with a smile, pouring him a cup of tea. "By the way, if this job succeeds, I want 30% of the bounty."
"Twenty percent, max. The bounty for the Grand Elder of the Poison Gu Sect's storage bag is 10,000 spirit stones. Capturing Feng Yudie alive is worth another 5,000. I still have to split it with the other four," the man said.
Ye Anping raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say earlier the total bounty was 10,000 spirit stones? Where did the extra 5,000 come from?"
"The new bounty was posted just this afternoon—specifically for capturing Feng Yudie alive," the man replied. After a pause, he added, "Little Boss, I have a small favor to ask. I hope you'll agree."
"Go on."
"I didn't tell the other four that the Poison Gu Sect Grand Elder's storage bag is actually in Feng Yudie's possession. They're only in it for the capture bounty. So, I'd appreciate it if you could keep that part a secret. If everything goes well, I'll give you an extra 2,000 spirit stones."
Ye Anping was speechless for a moment—this guy was really trying to pocket a bigger share on the sly.
Still, with his original 30%, plus the extra 2,000, that would amount to a total of 5,000 spirit stones.
That's not a small sum.
With that much, he could buy plenty of good food for his junior sister in the future, maybe even take her shopping in the marketplace for jewelry or pretty trinkets.
He had spent nearly all his spirit stones on medicine and pills growing up. Now that Pei Lengxue was older, it was about time he, as her senior brother, gave her something nice—like some fine accessories or rouge.
Ye Anping rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought—not about whether the split was fair, but how to squeeze more profit out of this situation.
The guy in front of him was very confident in his formation's ability to capture Feng Yudie, but Ye Anping was still skeptical. If the formation turned out to be too powerful, he'd definitely have to intervene—he couldn't risk his junior sister getting hurt.
But if the formation failed and they couldn't catch Feng Yudie, then he'd get nothing.
And that was 5,000 spirit stones on the line!
It looked like he'd need to find an opportunity to speak with Feng Yudie in private later, see if he could convince her to let herself be "captured" and taken to the Seven Killers Sect—so he could claim the bounty. Then, after that, he could lead the Profound Star Sect's people over to wipe the Seven Killers Sect out. Perfect.
"Alright, deal," Ye Anping nodded. "When do we move?"
"Any time. I'll leave the infiltration to you, Little Boss."
Ye Anping glanced toward the paper window. It was already completely dark outside. "Let's head out now. It's easier to move under the cover of night. May I ask your name, Senior?"
"Zhuang Hu," the man answered with a cupped-fist salute.
"Respected Senior Zhuang," Ye Anping quickly returned the gesture and chuckled. "I'm Jiang Ziya."