A Pawn's Passage

No one knew what exactly was going on inside Little Yin’s head. At times, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu also wanted to know, but so far, neither of them had been able to fully grasp the little imp’s logic.

Veteran constables all knew that the most troublesome cases were those without patterns or logic. In other words, there was no plan—the perpetrator had no relationship with the victim, and the crime was entirely impulsive. Whoever happened to be within reach became the target.

Yushi quickly realized that he had fallen into such a predicament.

The person he was trying to track acted entirely on whim, with no logic whatsoever. There was no plan, no clues, and no known grudge against the Heavenly Court.

He had laid a net across the area, yet not even a single hair was caught.

In other words, after committing a crime, the culprit did not linger at all and immediately moved on to the next completely random target.

The next target was a warehouse. The doors were blown open, and bolts of silk were thrown all over the city.

At first, Yushi thought someone was targeting the Heavenly Court’s maritime trade, so he deployed forces at sea. But the culprit simply struck on land instead. Under such circumstances, catching the person would have been nothing short of a miracle.

It was like dealing with a mischievous child who was not motivated by money or by revenge but wrecked things purely for fun.

Yet the Heavenly Court had no choice but to swallow the loss silently. They could hardly go to the Daoist Mansion to demand justice since those silks had never been taxed. At the moment, they could still recover most of them, but if the Daoist authorities found out, everything would be confiscated.

In truth, Little Yin had no idea that the Heavenly Court had already begun searching for her everywhere. After carrying out two missions to rob the rich and help the poor, she discovered that it was not fun at all. No one praised her as a hero. She even went out of her way to eavesdrop, hoping to hear people admire or worship her. But she gained nothing.

These impoverished people, long accustomed to hardship, had already seen through reality. They did not believe that wandering heroes existed to rob the rich and help the poor. In their eyes, this was simply criminals fighting each other. Most assumed it was an internal conflict, and they had merely picked up some leftover benefits.

Only children believed in great heroes. In the real world, such people did not exist.

Little Yin was deeply discouraged. A game without positive feedback was simply not fun to play.

Thus, Little Yin stopped robbing the rich to help the poor and began wandering aimlessly instead.

This made things miserable for Yushi. He had just come up with a crude solution to tighten defenses everywhere and wait for the culprit to walk into the trap.

He had grouped elite fighters into a rapid-response squad, and all outposts were placed on high alert. If an incident occurred, they only needed to stall for a short moment before the squad could rush over and surround the target.

However, what he never expected was that Little Yin had simply stopped playing.

Thus, they waited for nothing.

One day, Little Yin arrived at a remote little town whose name she did not even know. Night had already fallen, so she felt sleepy.

Little Yin kept a very regular schedule and could not stay up late. So she found a large tree, leaned against the trunk, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In her dream, Little Yin imagined that Old Zhang had discovered that she had roamed around Nanyang and had sent the traitor Old Lin to capture her and bring her back. Then, Old Zhang began knocking on her head. The more Old Zhang knocked, the more guilty Little Yin felt, and the more frightened she became.

Little Yin suddenly woke up, only to find that Old Zhang was not there. Instead, the ground was littered with chicken bones.

Looking up, she saw that an old beggar was sitting on a branch above, eating roast chicken and tossing the bones down. They happened to land on Little Yin’s head, making her dream that Zhang Yuelu was knocking on her head.

With her sleep disturbed, Little Yin felt anger rise within her, and mischief stirred in her. She was about to teach the old beggar a lesson, but then she remembered that Old Zhang had told her to treat people kindly. So she put on a bright smile and said sweetly, “Grandpa, who are you?”

The old beggar asked in return, “Little girl, who are you? Why are you sleeping here?”

Little Yin had reshaped her face according to Qi Xuansu’s appearance and stretched her figure taller, but she had not switched her gender, so she was still physically female. Not everyone could tell at a glance, yet this man had pointed it out immediately, which suggested a higher cultivation.

Little Yin was very good at playing dumb. With an innocent expression, she said, “My name is Yin Dabai. I’m out here roaming Jianghu.”

“Oh? A little girl like you roaming the martial world alone?” The old beggar jumped down from the tree. “Where are your parents?”

Little Yin’s eyes darted as she quickly replied, “My father is Yin Wugui. He went out to sea. My mother is Tantai Yue. After my father left, she got busy with some things and had no time to care about me.”

“Yin Wugui? Tantai Yue? Never heard of them.” The old beggar shook his head. “Among the figures of the Nanyang martial world, I can’t say I know them all, but I know most of them. Yet I’ve never heard those names. They’re probably not from Jianghu, huh?”

Little Yin replied casually, “My mother has never been part of the martial world. My father used to roam like me for a while, I think, but he never made a name for himself and quit early.”

Little Yin had thoroughly grasped Madam Qi’s principle of not actually lying yet not telling the whole truth.

Qi Xuansu truly had little reputation in the martial world. All of his fame had been earned within the Daoist Order.

Hearing this, the old beggar burst into laughter. “Interesting! So you plan to inherit your father’s profession?”

Little Yin sighed. “My father said roaming the martial world leads nowhere. My mother is very strict with me and is always making me copy books. So I snuck out.”

The old beggar’s expression changed. “Your father doesn’t know anything. How is roaming Jianghu going nowhere? Does doing business make someone successful?”

Little Yin rolled her eyes. “My father also said doing business leads nowhere.”

The old beggar asked coldly, “Then what counts as success to him?”

“Becoming a Daoist priest, of course, my mother told me to study hard so I can become a Daoist someday,” Little Yin said.

The old beggar shouted, “How utterly vulgar! If I ever meet your parents, I’ll have to ask them if fame and fortune are really that wonderful that they’d rush off and become the Daoist Order’s lapdogs! If they can’t answer me, I’ll send each of them to the afterlife with a single palm strike!”

Little Yin shrank her neck slightly. “What’s wrong with it? Daoists ride flying ships, like birds. Jianghu people can only ride sea ships, like fish. It’s natural for birds to catch fish. Fish can’t catch birds. No matter how powerful the Golden Patriarch is, would he dare challenge the Imperial Preceptor?”

The old beggar was momentarily speechless, his eyes widening at Little Yin’s retort.

He could hardly lie and claim that the Golden Patriarch was stronger than the Imperial Preceptor. Even if he admitted it, the Golden Patriarch himself probably would not.

Little Yin continued, “Also, why would you hit my parents? With your skinny frame, you couldn’t beat my father. My father wouldn’t even need to lift a hand. Old Lin is really big. He’ll beat you up without effort.”

This old beggar was a strange man. His cultivation was quite formidable, yet he preferred to wander the world in disguise as a beggar. He was also deeply hostile toward the Daoist Order, believing the Daoists controlled too much. In his view, Jianghu had become unofficial affiliates of the Daoist Order, leaving no room for true independent heroes.

In short, he was exactly the kind of person the fifth-generation Grand Master disliked most—free-spirited, undisciplined, and unorganized. A tightly structured organization had little use for such individuality.

The old beggar burst into laughter, clearly unconvinced. “Who’s Old Lin?”

“My big brother. What about it?” Little Yin said, with her hands on her hips.

The old beggar’s smile faded. Suddenly, he slapped the tree trunk with his palm. In an instant, the leaves swayed violently, and the upper half of the giant tree flew off cleanly, crashing 6 meters away with a thunderous sound. Only a meter-tall stump remained rooted in the ground, its cut surface astonishingly smooth.

The old beggar said proudly, “Little girl, come take a look.”

Little Yin walked over and saw that the internal fibers at the broken section of the trunk had all been shattered by vibration.

The old beggar explained, “I shattered the tree’s inner veins with hidden force. In 10 to 15 days, the tree would wither, and only then would the effect reveal my skill. To let you see how formidable it is, I used a burst of pure force to snap the tree as well, so you could understand it clearly.”

Little Yin opened her mouth wide. “So that’s how it is—you’re really amazing!”

The old beggar said, “Little girl, it’s fate that we met. Would you like to become my disciple?”

Little Yin thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. I’d have to ask my mother first, and my father, my grandpa, my grandma, and my aunt—I’d have to ask them all. This is a serious matter. My father once apprenticed under the wrong master and it made things very difficult for him. We can’t neglect ritual propriety.”

The old beggar snorted. “What I hate most in this life are benevolence, righteousness, and ritual propriety. What I despise most are the so-called virtues of sages and martyrs. They’re all tricks used to deceive foolish men and women. People fall into the trap generation after generation and still remain oblivious. How pitiful and laughable! I refuse to believe in that ritual code, so forget it. Just tell me directly if you want to become my disciple. I like children with backbone and a straightforward temperament.”

Little Yin said, “I’m a child with backbone and a straightforward temperament. But breaking a tree isn’t enough to impress me. How about this? Let’s fight. If you can beat me within three, four, five...six moves, then I’ll acknowledge you as my master.”

The old beggar laughed. “Alright, I won’t bully you. I’ll only use 30% of my power. If you can last six moves, then I’ll become your disciple!”

“Then it’s settled!” Little Yin shouted. “First move—Star Plucker!”

In truth, Little Yin had just made that name up. She simply leaped forward in a pounce, like a hunting animal.

The old beggar was quite surprised, but he had genuine skill and managed to dodge.

Little Yin shouted again, “Second move—Wild Horse Leap!”

“Third move—Moon-Gazing Balance!”

“Fourth move—Bow-Step Palm.”

“Fifth move—Coiling Wrist Punch.”

By the sixth move, Little Yin and the old beggar pressed their palms against each other and entered a contest of cultivation.

The old beggar was greatly shocked, yet he still maintained the bearing of an elder. “Little girl, I only used 30% of my cultivation. For you to withstand it means you’re as rare as a phoenix feather among the younger generation. Your future is boundless!”

Little Yin looked innocently curious. “Grandpa, you’re already covered in sweat. How is that only 30%?”