Chapter Twenty-Two: The Pawn

"Crash!"

With a thunderous sound, the acceleration and brute force of the four-wheeled truck smashed directly into the two vehicles blocking the path, sending plastic bumper fragments flying everywhere.

The road was still not clear!

Fatty Dong gritted his teeth, slammed the truck into reverse, and retreated several meters. The engine roared, and he surged forward once more.

"Bang!"

The path ahead was clear!

Although the truck was slightly skewed, it didn't affect its speed. Accompanied by the thunder and lightning in the sky, we sped forward.

It worked!

From the surprise attack on Xu Qingguo to threatening Fatty Dong with a dagger, and then seizing the vehicle for a frantic escape—everything had been seen clearly by everyone. In the eyes of Xiao Sanpi and his men, I had perfectly established the persona of a treacherous, vicious villain who backstabbed his savior, used deceitful fake medicine packets to trick his opponents, and acted as a desperate madman who smashed his way out of a blockade.

This "bitter meat" ruse was nearly perfect.

Indeed! Xiao Sanpi and his gang had fallen for it.

Through the rearview mirror, I saw the man yelling in a fit of rage, leading a few people into his car to pursue us, while the others jumped into the river to save the flailing Xu Qingguo.

Ultimately, Xiao Sanpi did not dare to offend the Old Leather Gate boss, Second Master. If anything happened to Xu Qingguo in the river, while the Second Master might not vent his anger on his immediate superior, he would likely hold Xiao Sanpi responsible. Based on this, he had to send men into the water to rescue her.

Regardless of whether they saved her or not, Xu Qingguo would be fine. The spot where I struck her would swell up like a radish, but it hadn't damaged her bones, and besides, she knew how to swim. In fact, if there hadn't been a river nearby, the effect of knocking her down, threatening Fatty Dong with a knife, and fleeing in the truck would have been the same. But by personally throwing her into the river, the realism of the event exploded, completely dispelling their suspicions. They wouldn't bother Xu Qingguo or Fatty Dong again.

The truck sped across the bridge and into the city. Xiao Sanpi followed in his Santana cars, ignoring traffic lights, biting at our heels like a madman. The crisis was not yet fully resolved.

Fatty Dong glanced at the rearview mirror and cursed. "Damn it! Still at it? Watch this, Taoist!"

He was very familiar with the local terrain. He steered the truck into a side road, quickly entering the alleys and weaving through them. Ten minutes later, we had shaken them all off.

Fatty Dong stopped the truck urgently, took out his dagger, cut his own arm, and smeared the blood onto the steering wheel and center console. "When they find the truck and see the blood, they'll think you stabbed me and ran off with someone else! The Toad Street is just ahead, follow me!"

I was amazed. Fatty Dong was rough but careful—not brainless at all!

I immediately put Liao Xiaoqin on my back and followed him, scurrying like a rat through streets mixed with shops and residences. After running frantically in the rain for twenty minutes, we arrived in front of a dilapidated incense and candle shop. Fatty Dong unlocked the door, locked it behind us, and led us into the back room.

***

Once inside, he collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily, and burst into laughter. "That was so intense! Little Meng, our brilliant performance of ingratitude could be featured in a film school textbook, hahahaha..."

I caught my breath. "Where is this?"

Fatty Dong replied, "An incense shop owned by a fellow Taoist of mine. He’s gone wandering, so it's perfectly safe."

I let out a long breath, rubbed my numb limbs, and said sincerely, "Brother, thank you."

Fatty Dong’s fat face looked speechless. He got up from the floor and tore a piece of cloth to bandage his wound. "Damn it! I told you the whole mess tonight was my fault, why are you being so formal? I'm starving from all that running, I'm going to find something to eat in the kitchen..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly froze, his eyes staring fixedly at my side.

I turned to look. Liao Xiaoqin had woken up at some point and was smiling at Fatty Dong, waving her hand at him.

"Hi! Little Fatty, how are you!"

Fatty Dong’s eyes widened. "When did you..."

"Bang!"

Liao Xiaoqin struck again! With one finger, she tapped Fatty Dong, knocking him unconscious to the ground.

My scalp went numb. I immediately jumped up from the floor and looked nervously toward the door. Last time at the orange grove, she had tapped Xu Qingguo unconscious, and people had followed right after. I had become a bird frightened by the mere twang of a bowstring.

Liao Xiaoqin giggled at the sight. "No one is coming. Why are you looking around?"

I was speechless to the extreme. "If no one is coming, why did you knock him out?!"

Liao Xiaoqin ignored me. She picked up a mirror from the desk, checked her reflection, smoothed her wet hair, and frowned slightly. "This shroud actually looks quite nice... Who changed it for me?"

A chill went through my heart. "Xu... Xu Qingguo!"

She looked at me with suspicious, meaningful eyes. "She changed it; why are you stuttering?"

"I'm tired! Anyway... when did you wake up?"

"Right after we left the mountain."

"..."

"Huh? You look very grim! Who promised to be my legs? Want to go back on your word?"

I had promised to be her legs, but I hadn't agreed to be treated like a beast of burden for her amusement.

I had been anxious to the point of insanity, yet she had been awake the whole time, feigning unconsciousness just to watch the show. This made me incredibly irritable. I wanted to pull out a cigarette to calm my nerves, but it had been soaked into a mushy mess by the rain, so I angrily threw it to the ground.

"Liao Xiaoqin, you’ve gone too far!"

She glanced at the crushed cigarette on the ground and laughed instead of getting angry. She crossed her arms over her chest, her lips curling up as she scrutinized me, looking like someone admiring a work of art she had meticulously carved.

"I was just testing your reaction to a crisis. Can't you handle it? But, the Ghost-Lord Tomb at Po Hu Mountain, healing my legs, and shaking off Xiao Sanpi's pursuit—you handled all three things beautifully. I'm very satisfied!"

"Are you praising me?"

"What else?"

"Don't you need to explain yourself to me?"

"About what?"

"Everything!"

"Why don't you start by telling me the answer you have in your head?"

I sat in the chair and looked at this woman who was almost a demon. "Two years ago, when you entered the ancient tomb, you were poisoned by the Spirit-Language Centipede. Your legs were almost completely paralyzed. You used poisonous wine to suppress the symptoms and specifically asked me to bring you to Chang City to hide. Later, you had me go to the Xu Medical Clinic to unveil the spirit flag. This proves that you knew from the very beginning that the only solution was Xu Qingguo's Taiyi Needles."

"But after arriving in Chang City, you didn't let me find her immediately. You dragged it out for two years. Why?"

Liao Xiaoqin smiled enigmatically. "You guess?"

I replied, "I guess the enemies also knew that Xu Qingguo was the only one in the world who could cure the Spirit-Language Centipede poison. To catch you, they kept a close eye on her. Your legs were incapacitated, and I knew nothing back then, so we didn't dare act rashly."

Liao Xiaoqin nodded. "Perfect score! Go on!"

I continued, "Even though you were hiding for the past two years, you weren't just sitting around waiting to die. On one hand, you used certain means to give Xu Qingguo an ancient manuscript that could save her father's serious illness. That's why she found the clues to the Ghost-Lord Tomb two years ago. On the other hand, you began to train me fiercely, making me grow as fast as possible."

"You knew better than anyone that although the Ghost-Lord Tomb at Hu Mountain wasn't a royal tomb, its Feng Shui structure was exquisite. Without the skills of a wandering Yin-Yang master, no one could crack it. Everything went as you expected. Xu Qingguo held the clues but couldn't enter the tomb. To save her father, she had no choice but to hang the spirit flag for help. You then made me the team cook on the condition that she perform the Taiyi Needles."

"In fact, the enemies never took their eyes off Xu Qingguo. There was likely a mole in the clinic. When they learned I demanded she perform the Taiyi Needles to save someone, they became suspicious and followed us to Min Province. At the Ghost-Lord Tomb, they saw me use Yin-Yang techniques to break the Feng Shui traps, and they were overjoyed, concluding that I must have been trained by you. So they followed me back to the village."

"They intended to capture you in a trap, but they didn't expect you to be prepared. You tricked them and escaped like a cicada shedding its skin."

After listening, Liao Xiaoqin laughed, her chest rising and falling with her mirth. She looked like a student who had aced a test and wanted praise, lifting her chin triumphantly. "Was this setup awesome or what?"

It was indeed impressive. The entire process was rigorous, tight, interlocking, and seamless, with almost no flaws. The only thing she hadn't calculated was that Fatty Dong's heavy drinking would attract Xiao Sanpi and his men. However, that happened after we left the village, something even Liao Xiaoqin couldn't control; it was pure coincidence.

Admire her as I might, I was still annoyed. I mocked, "You truly are the Iron Fan Princess—everyone is just a piece on your chessboard. You’re cold-hearted enough!"

As soon as these words left my mouth, Liao Xiaoqin flew into a rage. She grabbed a wooden pig-head ornament from the side and hurled it fiercely at me!