Chapter Fourteen: Deception

  For a moment, the courtyard of Qian's family backyard was so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling could be heard.

  The fox rubbed against Qian Yitun's calf and ran over to change positions.

  "Xian Chang, it is what makes you stand out." The voice of Xian in the book echoed in Qian Yiqun's ears.

  Qian Yiqun had just remembered to kick away the useless fox, but thanks to a hint from the book of spells, he discovered that the fox was already sitting not far from him. After cautiously approaching, Qian Yiqun found that although it was only three to five steps away, his field of vision suddenly opened up. Not only did it block his sister's path, but it also brought Wei Laogou into its control circle, and more importantly, it faced the man named Dai Shiming, making it an excellent position.

  Dai Shiming was an old hand, of course he knew the importance of this point, but he really couldn't be sure if Qian Yiqun did it unintentionally or that big-tailed dog - which looked just like a fox - could see through the trick and deliberately show its master.

  If it's the latter, this fox dog can be considered a spiritual being!

  Qian Yiqun took a seat, drew a deep breath, and was just about to speak when he suddenly heard his father thunder: "You scoundrel! You don't put the law in your eyes!"

  Dai Shiming heard this sentence of Wu dialect, couldn't help but laugh: "I am Cangzhou Dai Shiming, didn't your master tell you about the Dai family?"

  Qian Yiqun thought to himself: This guy seems to have misunderstood something, and is probably taking the fox for some kind of superior being.

  "My master is a transcendent being, he only taught me some trivial skills, and never mentioned anything about the Dai family of Cangzhou." said Qian Yiqun.

  Dai Shiming heard this and immediately put half of his mind at ease. As long as the other party was a superior being, he would naturally value his identity and not easily take action. Even if today's matter couldn't be resolved amicably, he thought that leaving shouldn't be a problem.

  He said, "Since neither you nor your master are people of the jianghu, I, Dài, was indeed too rash tonight. For any offense caused, please forgive me." With this concession, he suddenly appeared to be a dignified and reasonable gentleman, and the previous incident of snatching people with flying swords became a "misunderstanding".

  Qian Yiqun hadn't developed Alzheimer's yet, and he was still brooding over the close call from earlier. However, Little Qian also knew that this person's actual strength wasn't to be underestimated, but his practical combat experience far surpassed his own by who-knew-how-many times. In this situation, it was better not to fight if possible.

  He seemed to have also forgotten the previous scene, and smiled: "I'm actually quite admiring of the wandering heroes of Jianghu. Since you're a young master from Jianghu, I shouldn't be too harsh on you either. Our household rules are strict, after midnight we need to quiet down and rest. Please come again tomorrow for another chat, tonight it's better if you head back early and get some rest."

  Qian Datong's heart was like a clear mirror after hearing his son say this, and he secretly regretted being too abrupt earlier. He realized that his son wasn't someone who could be easily defeated. Seeing that his son spoke eloquently, he thought to himself: My son is indeed a talented individual, and even I, an old man, couldn't have said it better.

  "I don't dare to disturb, I will definitely come to the mansion to apologize tomorrow, but this person... " Dai Shiming's gaze turned to the old dog on the ground, "I have an unreasonable request..."

  "Ah!" Qian Yiqun raised a hand, cutting off Dai Shiming's words, "Brother Dai, why must you..."

  Dai Shiming was secretly delighted and thought to himself: So this young man is the kind who yields to softness but not to hardness. I'm really blinded by personal gain, if I had spoken out earlier, wouldn't it have been more convenient?

  Qian Yiqun continued: "Since it's an unreasonable request, how can you say it out loud and put me in a difficult position? Wei Laogou is a major offender in the county, I couldn't possibly hand him over to you."

  Dai Shiming's eyes widened in anger, his eyebrows furrowed: "You dare to trifle with me!"

  "We have a master as our backing, and there's really nothing to be afraid of." Qian Yiqun raised an eyebrow, as if he truly had a master with boundless magical powers standing behind him.

  Dai Shiming was scolded by Qian Yiqun, but he felt a bit more timid in his heart. He had seen many young disciples from famous schools and was also born into a noble family. People like Qian Yiqun who were arrogant and looked down on others were truly numerous, not worth mentioning.

  "My father is the chief of police in Wu County, don't you want to go to the big prison for a walk?" Qian Yiqun shouted.

  "Hahaha," Dai Shiming threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Dai will also stay in Wu County for a few more days, we can linger around, it's not often that I meet someone of your caliber among the younger generation. The night is late, I'll take my leave first." Before he finished speaking, Dai Shiming had already leapt up, stepped on the trunk of the tree with one foot, spread his arms wide and flew outwards, disappearing into the night sky in an instant.

  Qian Yiqun's heart was shocked, but his face remained calm. He became increasingly bewildered about the world he lived in. Was this a world where saints roamed the streets and golden immortals were as common as dogs? Was it that easy to pick up a pet that turned out to be an ancient spirit breed, or for a thief outside the wall to turn out to be a master of the yuan infant?

  The old dog sat on the ground, staring blankly at the two people fighting for him, but he was completely bewildered. He had never met such a formidable outsider before, and Qian Xiaoge, who had always been known for his ordinary reputation in the county, turned out to be a sword-fighting master, which was really beyond his endurance.

  Because he was worried that Dai Shiming would not be careful, and come halfway to ambush him, Qian Datong ordered his men to lock the old dog Wei in the backyard woodshed. Qian Yiqun went over and pretended to set up a formation, scaring him by saying that if he dared to take one step out, he would be crushed to dust. The old dog Wei just nodded when he heard this, and with a rather resigned look, shrank into a corner of the woodshed, looking sideways at the night sky outside the window.

  Qian Datong arranged for the captors to guard the woodshed, temporarily using it as a large prison cell, and would transfer them back to the county prison at dawn. He comforted his daughter with a few words, but his eyes kept glancing at his son. Qian Mu was worried about her daughter and insisted on sleeping together, also curious about the golden light surrounding her. The news of the Qian family's young aunt being blessed by the Buddha spread like wildfire.

  "I don't know, I just saw that old dog suddenly appear, reach out to pinch my neck, and a burst of golden light exploded from my body, sending him flying...” Qian Xiaoxiao looked bewildered, but couldn't help feeling secretly delighted, thinking to herself: It must be because I've been doing good deeds every day, and the gods are really blessing me. However, brother only knows how to gamble and drink, yet he can also get blessed by the gods... Hmm, he must have benefited from my aura!

  Qian Yiqun knew that his sister was kind-hearted, but it was impossible to get the attention of the gods and Buddhas. He saw his father walking away with a puzzled look in his eyes, knowing that there were many questions to be asked on his mother's side, not to mention the neighbors who came to help but ended up being useless. Qian Yiqun could only pretend to be exhausted from the fight earlier, looking weak and about to faint in front of everyone.

  The crowd couldn't drag him along anymore, so they hastily sent Xiao Langjun back to his bedroom and quietly withdrew.

  As the footsteps of the crowd faded away, Qian Yiqun suddenly flipped over and pulled over the fox, with a smile all over his face: "Thanks to the great fox spirit tonight!"

  "It's not like I'm showing off," the fox said with a self-satisfied smile, "I promised to take care of your sister and I'll definitely keep my word, unlike some people who promise lamb legs but only give a few bones."

  Aren't you eating happily too? Qian Yiqun thought to himself, his face still smiling: "Thank you, Great Immortal! By the way, what is that golden light, a treasure?"