Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Catching a Turtle in a Jar

Fu Yong Kang initially wanted to accompany Rong Shu, but the three insisted, saying with disarming logic: “Young master from a cultivation clan, your eye is surely discerning. Please handle the purchasing.”

A thread of unease tugged at Rong Shu’s heart. [They are a little too eager to separate me and Fu Yong Kang.]

She kept her face smooth and agreed without fuss: “Let us do as the senior brothers recommend.”

Seeing Rong Shu relent, Fu Yong Kang nodded: “All right. If anything happens, use the identity token to contact me.”

“Mm,” she answered.

“…”

Once separated, Rong Shu found the two senior brothers’ behavior odd. They did not walk like men who knew the way; instead, they drifted wherever the foot traffic thinned. One led in front and the other hovered behind, their mouths promising to protect her, but their spacing and gait felt more like they were hemming her in.

[Stranger and stranger,] she thought, the prickle at the back of her neck growing sharper.

She finally asked, tone light: “Senior brothers, are you truly both at the tenth level of Qi Refining?”

The one behind her answered at once, voice steady: “Of course. Do not worry, junior sister. With the two of us together, we can even hold our own against an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

Rong Shu let her shoulders slacken a fraction and nodded: “Oh.”

After a while, she suddenly spotted the third senior brother ahead, the one who had set out with Fu Yong Kang earlier. He was memorable thanks to a short, flashy fringe across his brow. The moment he saw them, he called out briskly: “There is a new order from the sect elders. Qi Refining Stage disciples are also to join this operation to eradicate demonic cultivators.”

“Is that so?” the senior brother in front exclaimed, then turned to Rong Shu and said with practiced assurance: “Junior sister, let us go together.”

Rong Shu did not answer him. She looked instead at the newcomer and asked calmly: “Senior brother, where is Fu Yong Kang?”

“Oh, I had him deliver the supplies first,” he replied. The reason sounded perfectly reasonable, leaving little to challenge.

Rong Shu went quiet for a breath, then asked another question, voice still gentle: “Why would the sect elders suddenly change the directive? I do want to contribute, but my cultivation is low, only the fourth level of Qi Refining. I am afraid I will be of little help.”

As she spoke, she checked the identity token in her storage pouch out of the corner of her eye. [No message at all.] If they intended to notify all Qi Refining Stage disciples, why not send it through the identity tokens for speed and clarity?

The flashy-fringed senior brother offered comfort with an easy smile: “It is fine. Just stay behind us. We will protect you.”

“Yes, just observe and learn from the side,” another chimed in. “Come, do not waste time.”

“…”

Between one coaxing phrase and the next, the three fixed the plan in place, giving Rong Shu no room to refuse. She kept her expression placid and followed, but inside her thoughts turned, cool and precise. [Which sect elder supposedly issued this? Sending Qi Refining Stage disciples to face demonic cultivators who could be at the Foundation Establishment Stage or even the Golden Core Stage makes no sense at all.]

Very soon, as they walked on, Rong Shu realized something else was wrong. [This is not the way out of the city.]

She stopped, studied the three without telegraphing her wariness, took two small steps back, and asked in a level tone: “Senior brothers, this direction seems off. Should we not rendezvous by the flying ship outside the city first?”

“No need. Our numbers are just right,” one said, eyes unreadable. “We can go directly.”

Rong Shu hesitated a moment and pressed, voice even: “Without a high-grade flying magic treasure for fast travel, how are a handful of Qi Refining Stage cultivators supposed to cross to Black Wind Town in such a short time?”

As soon as she finished, she yielded two more steps of ground.

Catching her movement, the three traded a glance. One flicked his wrist and sent a formation disc whirling into the air. It burst open with a soft hum, and a curtain of light unfolded into a barrier that enclosed them together with Rong Shu.

She watched as the world around them dulled to gray, the tones dimming as if bled of light. A few pedestrians who had been half a street away vanished as if erased. The wide street turned hollow and empty until only four figures remained.

Keeping her eyes curious, Rong Shu asked with feigned confusion: “Senior brothers, what is this? Why activate a formation all of a sudden?”

Inside, she was already measuring it. [Interesting. It shapes an enclosed space, cut off from outside interference.]

“Still pretending?” one of them sneered, the mask finally slipping. “You already sensed something was wrong.”

The three dropped their act at last, cruel smiles showing.

Seeing one ahead and two behind, Rong Shu stopped retreating. She asked quietly, sincere on the surface: “Senior brothers, we bear no grudge and scarcely know one another. Why go to such lengths to deal with me?”

The senior brother at her back shook his head. Pity flickered in his gaze as he looked at her: “Do not bother prying words out of us. In short, you are simply unlucky.”

Rong Shu’s voice softened into a plea: “Senior brothers, could you truly not spare me? I can give you many spirit stones. Let me go, and later you can tell whoever is behind you that you never saw me.”

But since they had resolved to do this, they would not abandon it halfway, nor did they believe she would keep silent.

“Nice idea, but we will not be swayed. Everything you mentioned will be ours once you are dead,” one said coldly.

Another gestured at the light-curtain and added with grim pride: “See this formation? It is a special imprisoning array. Even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator would not sense it unless they came within ten zhang. Do not expect a sect elder to rescue you.”

“The formation will shut down on its own in an hour. By then, you will not be leaving,” the third concluded.

Rong Shu’s eyes glinted faintly as she asked, tone curious rather than afraid: “Truly no one can leave for an hour? Not even you?”

A senior brother chuckled: “We can leave after sending you to the Western Heavens. When an hour has passed, we will walk out and report to the sect elders that you were unlucky enough to run into demonic cultivators and were abducted, with no corpse left behind.”

“That is a clever plan,” Rong Shu said, her praise carrying an unreadable note.

One of them frowned, a prickle of unease stirring. An ordinary disciple at the fourth level of Qi Refining, told she was about to die, ought to show fear, panic, something. Yet aside from initial surprise and puzzlement, Rong Shu’s face remained calm. If anything, after getting her answers, there was even the hint of relief at the corners of her eyes.