Chapter 175, Mistaken Identity?
Si Jingzhu couldn’t remember how she fell asleep.
When she groggily woke up the next morning, she found herself curled up in Sang Zhe’s embrace.
She had slept deeply and peacefully, even drooling during her sleep, and had soaked Sang Zhe’s shirt.
Sang Zhe and Shi Qingyan were also sound asleep, with Shi Qingyan lying in the other side of Sang Zhe’s arms, effectively allowing him to enjoy some double cuddle time.
Embarrassed by the drool stain, Si Jingzhu’s face turned red as she quickly sat up and wiped her mouth.
… Thankfully, he didn’t notice how embarrassing she looked.
However.
Hmph. And here they were saying they wouldn’t play with me.
In the end, didn’t they still end up cuddling me to sleep?
What a nonchalant little innocent boy~
While Si Jingzhu was secretly delighted inside, she had no idea.
That she had mumbled in her sleep and desperately pulled Sang Zhe closer to her side.
Just then, a server knocked on the door, asking if they needed breakfast, and Sang Zhe and Shi Qingyan slowly woke up.
In her panic, Si Jingzhu had no time to clean up the drool spot and immediately burrowed back under the covers.
“Good morning… yawn. Hmm?”
Sang Zhe noticed the wet spot by his side and curiously asked, “Is there a leak in the ceiling?”
He turned to look at Si Jingzhu.
Si Jingzhu shivered and awkwardly explained, “Uh, that… it’s just that! Oh Sang Zhe, you don’t need to be embarrassed, we understand, guys have those days every month.”
“It’s just a little hormonal flow, right? I get it! We won’t laugh at you, haha…”
Sang Zhe: “?”
In the face of Sang Zhe’s shocked expression, Si Jingzhu hurriedly laughed awkwardly and quickly got dressed, throwing out a quick “I’m going down for breakfast” before bolting out of the room.
Leaving Sang Zhe to turn to Shi Qingyan with a puzzled look, questioning, “Do all girls have such misunderstandings about guys?”
“… Don’t say that. She’s the only one like that.”
——
——
At breakfast, Shi Qingyan finally brought up the serious matter.
“If we want to find the Sect Leader, where should we start?”
“Hmm… first, we definitely need information.”
Sang Zhe had to admit.
Since Nian Nian started charging for information, things had definitely become a hassle.
Some less important info cost less, which was fine.
But for important info, like asking for Hua Jianglian’s precise location, Nian Nian would straight up ask for five thousand points.
Not wanting to spend that amount, Sang Zhe had to come up with his own ideas.
But since they were already at Cloud Cow Mountain, this place was neither too small nor too big.
Being a border town, any bit of news usually spread quickly.
Hua Jianglian, such a prominent Crossing Tribulation Stage cultivator, couldn’t possibly go without any noise.
So they could just ask around.
“We’ll go out later and gather some intel.”
Sang Zhe instructed, “Remember, don’t reveal our identities; just say we are looking for someone. After all, the Sect Leader has such a distinctive body shape, it’ll be easy to recognize.”
“Let’s regroup by lunch.”
Shi Qingyan nodded, while Si Jingzhu excitedly chimed in, “So if we work in the morning, does that mean we can go shopping in the afternoon?”
Sang Zhe: “? Are you daydreaming?”
“Morning is for work, and afternoon is for play, of course!”
“If we don’t find anything in the morning, we’ll just continue searching in the afternoon.”
Si Jingzhu immediately pouted, “Ugh. Work is so boring.”
“Of course! Do you think earning money is easy?”
Sang Zhe sighed, “If it weren’t to make a living, who would want to endure such a miserable 996 life every day?”
“You, who just stays at home eating for free, definitely wouldn’t understand the struggles of corporate slaves.”
Si Jingzhu stubbornly pouted, “Who says I just eat for free? I can warm the bed at night!”
“… Fun fact, Jiao Jiao and Xiao Hei can warm beds too. They’re all soft and fluffy, and they won’t scold you when you pet them.”
“I… I can too…”
Si Jingzhu said half-heartedly, blushing and unable to continue.
Sang Zhe shook his head: “Anyway, let’s just finish our meal and head out.”
……
The process of gathering information turned out to be more difficult than expected.
They spent the entire morning wandering through most of West Spring City, asking nearly all the small vendors they could find, but still got no leads.
By noon, the three gathered to compare notes, but their efforts were in vain, and they could only continue asking in the afternoon.
However, even after asking in all the remaining places, they still found nothing.
Moreover, it seemed that the people of West Spring City were quite unfriendly.
It felt like the locals had a certain wariness toward Sang Zhe and the others, as if they were on guard for something.
The responses they got were vague and of little use.
Finally, by the afternoon, Sang Zhe returned to the inn, dragging his exhausted body.
He happened to run into Si Jingzhu, who also looked equally drained yet graceful.
“Any news?”
“None.”
“Okay.”
The two sighed silently, sitting at the table, burying their heads in it.
“… How can it be this tiring?” Si Jingzhu muttered.
“Work is always exhausting.”
Sang Zhe also felt a headache; it seemed the locals weren’t very cooperative. This big fishing expedition felt like a waste of time.
Maybe… just bite the bullet and pay the five thousand points to buy some information after all?
Just as he was thinking this, Si Jingzhu suddenly shot her head up.
“Hmm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Outside.” Si Jingzhu looked quietly out the window, “There are cultivators confronting each other.”
They exchanged a glance.
Si Jingzhu: “Shi Shijie isn’t back yet.”
Sang Zhe: “… This can’t be such a coincidence, right?”
After a moment of silence, the two ran out.
……
Outside the inn, they saw a crowded scene at the market street on the west side of West Spring City, where a large group of onlookers gathered.
Shi Qingyan had a dagger discreetly gripped in her sleeve, her long hair flowing behind her, her gaze as sharp as a blade.
In front of her stood two muscular men who looked like bodybuilders, glaring at her menacingly.
“I’ll say this one more time.”
Shi Qingyan said coldly, “You’ve mistaken the wrong person. I just arrived in West Spring City yesterday.”
“It doesn’t matter when you arrived.”
One of the burly men snarled, “Fierce Tiger Sect’s arrest warrant requires all female cultivators with long black hair and tall stature near Cloud Cow Mountain to be brought back for questioning.”
“If you’re innocent, just come with us to clarify things.”
Finally squeezing through the crowd, Sang Zhe was taken aback by what he heard:
“Uh, fellow cultivator, is there an issue with female cultivators who have long black hair and tall stature…?”
“An issue?”
The other beefcake snorted, unfurling an arrest warrant.
It depicted a faceless woman in a conical hat and thin veil, but it was clear she was young and beautiful, with an alluring figure.
With long flowing hair, quite a beauty.
“This person recently committed a massacre in a small village at the foot of Cloud Cow Mountain, killing more than ten innocent lives.”
“Does this count as an issue?”
