The Foolish Agent

Chapter 29

The man who was drinking paused, then turned around abruptly. His handsome features were bisected by a long scar. The centipede-like scar ran from the corner of his left eye, across the bridge of his nose, to the corner of his right mouth. His deep, unfathomable eyes stared in surprise at the person who had disturbed his refined moment.

Immediately, another gasp of astonishment echoed through the hall.

Only the two ethereal beauties before him were not intimidated by his appearance. The girl maintained a polite smile, while the boy remained expressionless and brows furrowed. The man raised an eyebrow and nodded to indicate that he did not object.

Leng Jie smiled at him and thanked him. Then she pulled out a chair, picked up Xiao Shiyu, and sat down opposite the man.

The dishes arrived quickly, and as expected, they were all vegetarian. Leng Jie and Shi Yu, who had only eaten a little dry rations all day, were completely devoured in no time. They looked like two starving ghosts reincarnated. In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire table of vegetarian dishes was completely devoured.

The entire audience was stunned. How could such a way of eating appear on those two seemingly carefree and elegant people?

Only the fat shopkeeper beamed with delight, thinking how truly delicious the food in his restaurant was, allowing these two seemingly divine beings to enjoy their meal so thoroughly. His reputation was now secure. Meanwhile, the people at their table continued sipping their drinks without a change in expression. It seemed as if everything was irrelevant to him, or perhaps he simply considered it all normal.

Chapter Sixty-Five: A Night of Terror at the Inn

The farce orchestrated by Leng Jie at Ronghua Inn ended with the fat innkeeper agreeing to waive all lodging and food fees. After recovering from his shock, the fat innkeeper finally realized he'd bitten off more than he could chew, offending a powerful figure. That angelic girl had not only fooled him and everyone else, causing him financial loss, but had also indirectly ruined the prestigious reputation he'd painstakingly built as the best in the capital.

He was always the one playing pranks, so the fat shopkeeper, who was always the one causing trouble, naturally wasn't going to let it go. His two bulging eyes blinked, narrowing into slits. His fat, pig-like lips, which were twisted to one side in anger, twitched forcefully to the other side a few times. A wicked plan came to mind.

As soon as Xiao Shiyu entered the room, she climbed onto the bed and hid under the covers. Her two black, pearl-like eyes darted around, seemingly ignoring Leng Jie's presence. Her little face flushed as she watched as Leng Jie, as if no one was around, took off her robe and put on...

He was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit. Then, he skillfully spread out the blankets, carefully placed the bundle under his pillow, turned off the light, and went to sleep fully clothed.

"Why do you sleep in night clothes?" Xiao Shiyu couldn't help but ask.

Leng Jie turned around and pulled the little guy's blanket up a bit, wrapping him up tightly before gently replying, "Don't worry, sleep well! If you hear any noise at night, don't make a sound. Now that I'm taking you with me, I'll definitely protect you."

Little Shiyu nodded and said "Mmm." Then she obediently closed her eyes and went to sleep.

A cold wind howled, and the night stretched on endlessly. Just after the third watch's knocking had ceased, Leng Jie was awakened by a rustling sound outside the window. She immediately rolled out of bed, first wrapping the still-sleeping child in the blanket, then gently placing him under the bed. She then placed the pillow under the other blanket, feigning sleep. She then took out a silver needle from her waist, held it in her hand, and darted to the window.

Just as Leng Jie had concealed herself, the wooden bolt on the window was pulled from the outside. The two windows opened slightly, and two dark figures leaped in. Then, two gleaming swords, like two silver snakes, lunged at the raised blankets on the bed. Instead of the expected sensation of piercing flesh, the two men in black froze for a moment, their shifty, beady eyes meeting. The thought of "Trap!" flashed through their minds, but before they could utter a sound, they both felt a numbness, followed by two muffled groans and the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground with a "thud, thud."

Using the moonlight streaming in through the window, Leng Jie picked up the men in black who had fallen to the ground and threw them onto the bed. She then stripped them of all their clothes. Next, she arranged the two naked men into an embrace. She then used their own clothes to tie their hands and feet behind their backs and gagged them with their foot bindings. Having accomplished her task, Leng Jie suppressed a laugh and covered them with a blanket.

Why not kill them?

A clear, childlike voice, tinged with a chilling undertone, suddenly rang in, startling Leng Jie, who was basking in the glory of her masterpiece. She glared fiercely at the culprit who had crawled out from under the bed, and sternly reprimanded in a low voice, "Why did you come out? Didn't I tell you not to make a sound?"

Before the little guy could react after scolding him, she casually tapped him and threw him off the bed again.

The little guy was immediately rendered speechless and unable to move, only able to express his extreme dissatisfaction with two fierce glares. However, Leng Jie didn't even look at him. Because she was currently staring intently at the doorway. A thin bamboo tube was slowly extending into the crack by the door from the outside, and then a wisp of green smoke slowly drifted out from the tube.

Leng Jie thought to herself, "Perfect timing!" She grabbed a piece of clothing that the man in black had dropped and quickly soaked it in a basin of water. Then, holding her breath, she leaped to the doorway and used the damp cloth to block the smoke. Immediately, a violent coughing sound came from outside. Leng Jie curled her lip and sighed inwardly, "So, the only underhanded tricks used by assassins and shady inns in ancient times really were these two! I really don't understand how Sun Erniang managed to hunt down so many dumpling fillings?"

While sighing, Leng Jie had already returned to the bedside. She bent down and pulled the little one out from under the bed. She grabbed a small shirt from the bedside table and put it on him, then put the bundle on herself, picked up the little one, and jumped out of the open window.

Just as Leng Jie and her companions jumped out of the window, the door was pushed open. Entering this time were the obese innkeeper and the weasel-faced waiter. The two glanced at the sleeping beauty on the bed, and the fat innkeeper, satisfied, waved to the waiter, who was carrying a bundle of rope, giving the order to tie him up.

Upon receiving instructions, the waiter skillfully secured the person on the bed, blankets and all, tightly. Pointing to the "package" on the bed, he said provocatively, "Boss, it's such a waste to sell this heavenly beauty to a brothel. How about I have a taste first?"

The fat shopkeeper glared at the waiter, then leered at the "celestial beauty" on the bed, cursing at the waiter: "Who said I was going to sell her? You should give up that lustful thought. This tempting little wench is even more beautiful than the so-called most beautiful woman in the capital, Consort Shui. How could I let someone else have her? I'm going to tame her first, and then make her obediently lick my toes."

The waiter immediately put on a fawning smile and said, "Yes, yes, I wouldn't dare to even dream of such a thing. Only you, sir, are worthy of such a beauty!"

"Stop talking nonsense, you brat. Hurry up and get this young lady to my room." The fat shopkeeper said with a lewd grin, then turned and walked towards the door as if he couldn't wait. After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back, saying, "I forgot to bring their bundle. This girl spent ten taels of gold in one go; the money and valuables in that bundle should be enough to cover my losses tonight."

"Why do I have to do all the rough work, while you get to enjoy all the fine tasks?" the waiter muttered under his breath, then punched the fat manager's back twice, venting his resentment. He then eagerly went to find the beauty's bundle, hoping to get some compensation from it. But where was it? He searched the bed thoroughly but couldn't find the large bundle. Just as he was about to call out, "Boss, light the lamp and help us look," came the boss's trembling, pleading voice from the doorway.

"Hero, spare my life! Hero, spare my life!"

Then the boss, with a gleaming thin sword against his neck, shuffled back from the doorway, his fat frame jiggling. Next, the man wielding the sword, his face contorted with a terrifying scar, followed him in. The waiter was stunned, pointing blankly at the sword against the boss's neck, unsure how to react.

"Release that girl! What did you do to her?"

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Secret of Stone and Jade

After Leng Jie carried Xiao Shiyu out of the second-floor window of the inn, she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she climbed through the window and entered the other room they had booked. It was the middle of the night, and she knew nothing about the situation in the capital. If she rashly wandered around with the little one under these circumstances, there were only two possibilities: either they would run into those damned Qingyi Sect members who were looking for trouble, leading to a life-or-death battle; or they would encounter the city's officials and be arrested as thieves.

As it turned out, her concerns were correct. She had overheard everything that happened in the inn next door. If she had left the inn with the little one, she would have run right into the two Green Robe Cult members who later joined the fight. The fat innkeeper and the Green Robe Cult members were part of her plan. But the hero who came to their rescue was unexpected. At first, when she heard the fat man begging for mercy, she thought it was the Green Robe Cult members who had arrived so quickly. But then, from the cold voice, she recognized it as the scarred man she had met twice before.

Leng Jie thought, when he specifically emphasized "we'll meet again," he meant meeting again under these circumstances, right? It's just a pity that this kind-hearted hero will be disappointed. But thinking about the moment he pulled back the covers, Leng Jie felt that her hard work in creating the costumes for those two men in black hadn't been in vain. At least she'd entertained everyone, hadn't she?

What she didn't know was that instead of entertaining everyone, she terrified them.

As the first soft rays of dawn rose in the east, the Rongsheng Inn, which had been bustling all night, finally returned to peace. Those with free time went back to catch up on their sleep. The busy ones prepared to begin their new day's work. At this moment, no one noticed a petite, dark figure carrying a large bundle on her back and holding a child in her arms. From the window of the room next to the scene of the incident on the second floor, she nimbly leaped onto the roof. Stepping on the morning dew, she moved swiftly across the rows of rooftops, as if scaling walls on flat ground, moving rapidly forward, and in the blink of an eye, she arrived on a wide, deserted street.

"Put me down."

The moment Leng Jie's feet touched the ground, the little one in her arms made a fussing sound. Without objecting, Leng Jie simply put the little one down and straightened the bundle on her back. She bent down and said to him earnestly:

“Little Shiyu, tell me honestly now what’s going on with the Green Robe Sect? Why did they kill your family? Why are they hunting you down?” He paused, then added, “No, they’re hunting us down now. So I need to know why I’m being hunted and who’s after me. I don’t want to be a confused ghost who doesn’t even understand why he died.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Xiao Shiyu blink his big eyes innocently, as if to say he knew nothing. Leng Jie suddenly felt a surge of nameless anger rising from her heart and rushing to her head. She was truly fed up with this little brat who always acted so cool. So she snapped at him sharply:

"You little devil, don't play innocent with me. Don't think I can't see through you. You were clinging to me yesterday because you knew that the Blue Robe Church was after us, right? Now I've helped you shake them off, and you've achieved your goal. Now I'm giving you two choices. One, tell me the truth; two, from now on, you're not allowed to follow me anymore."

She initially thought the Green Robe Cult was just a bandit gang, killing Xiao Shiyu's family for money and hunting down the little boy to eliminate any future threats. That's why she didn't use any force to interrogate the little boy for the truth, simply letting him follow her. However, the innkeeper and other guests' expressions of fear at the mention of the Green Robe Cult, and how quickly they discovered their whereabouts and sent two groups to assassinate a weak woman and a child, revealed their extraordinary nature. (Good heavens, was she really a weak woman?) If she hadn't had foresight and been prepared, the two of them would probably be innocent victims by now.

I'm so sorry for dragging you into this!

The little guy actually apologized? It seems he really responds better to force than gentleness! Leng Jie smiled but remained silent, waiting expectantly for him to continue.

The little one's rosy lips moved for a long time before finally squeezing out the next sentence:

"But I can't say!"

Leng Jie rolled her eyes and pretended to faint! Then she waved to Xiao Shiyu and said, "Then we're goodbye. You're not allowed to follow me anymore!" She turned and walked in the opposite direction, leaving a bewildered Xiao Shiyu standing there in a daze.

Leng Jie took two steps and then stopped, took out a few pieces of loose silver, turned around and handed them to Xiao Shiyu:

"Sigh! I'm only letting you off the hook because you're a child. Since you don't trust me, take this money and go find your family! I'm sure you know who your family came to the capital to see!"

The little boy stared intently at Leng Jie, his hands clasped tightly behind his back, as if he would rather die than accept her money. Leng Jie, amused and exasperated, stuffed the silver into his clothes. She steeled herself and turned to use her light-footed skill to escape. Suddenly, the little boy lunged at her, his hands gripping her arms tightly. His stubborn, childlike voice demanded:

"I don't want you to leave, you can't abandon me."

"No?" Leng Jie frowned, turned her head and looked down at him coldly, deliberately asking in a cold voice, "What do you mean 'no'? What do I have to do with you? Besides, do you think I'll sell you off?"

“You won’t. You’re a good person.” Little Master replied to Leng Jie with great confidence.

Leng Jie remained speechless. It seemed the truth of "the kind are bullied, the good are ridden" had been proven once again. See? Even a six-year-old brat knows how to bully the weak and fear the strong. Has this little guy decided she's an easy target?

She was no pushover; Leng Jie forcefully shook off his little hand that was dangling from her arm.

Seeing that Leng Jie was serious, a flicker of panic flashed in Xiao Shiyu's usually calm and collected eyes. She quickly changed her words:

"Okay, I'll tell you everything, but not here. Let's find a secluded place first, and then I'll tell you everything."

A smile instantly bloomed in Leng Jie's eyes. She realized that from the first moment she saw the little one, she had shown too much maternal compassion, to the point that her thoughts and actions were repeatedly suppressed by the little guy. This time, she made a firm decision and finally turned the tables.

Leng Jie bent down and picked up the little one again without a word. With a twist of her feet, she rose into the air, her body ascending like a ladder to the clouds, and in the blink of an eye, she was on the roof again. A few leaps later, they were on the high city wall. Leng Jie gently put Xiao Shiyu down and said:

"No one will eavesdrop here, and no one will disturb you. You can speak now!"

Xiao Shiyu looked around; the high city walls offered no cover whatsoever. Indeed, as she said, no one would come here. Even if someone did, they would be spotted immediately. But, was she truly unmatched? Her martial arts were unfathomable. In a single move, in the blink of an eye, she had subdued two masters of the Green Robe Sect.

Seeing that Xiao Shiyu seemed to be making a difficult decision, Leng Jie urged her again:

"Don't bother thinking about it. If you don't trust me, then don't tell me. Anyway, I don't necessarily need to know."

Finally, as if making a momentous decision, Xiao Shiyu gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and sighed in an old-fashioned manner:

"Sigh! I didn't want to tell you, originally because I didn't want to implicate you. But since you insist on knowing, then I'll tell you. I hope you won't regret it after hearing it."

A six-year-old child was trying so hard to act like a mature adult. This made Leng Jie really want to laugh. However, in order not to disturb his little mouth that he had finally managed to open, she still tried her best to suppress her laughter until her intestines were almost tied in knots.

Xiao Shiyu glared at Leng Jie, who was trying to suppress a laugh, then turned her head to the side and quickly said:

"Indeed, as you think, I am not a six-year-old child. I am twenty-six years old this year."

"Uh!" Leng Jie stared at the little boy in astonishment. He really was a dwarf? Such a cute boy was actually a dwarf who would never grow up. What a pity! It was such a waste of talent!

Xiao Shiyu shivered involuntarily under her intense gaze and immediately stopped her:

"Stop looking at me like I'm a monster. I'm not a dwarf like you say. I shrunk because someone put a forbidden spell on me. And my power also regressed to the level I had when I was six years old."

"Ah! You mean, you didn't just not grow up, but shrunk from an adult, and your entire being, except for your intelligence, reverted to the appearance of a six-year-old?" Leng Jie was even more astonished. This kind of plot, which could only be seen in futuristic science fiction movies, was actually happening in this ancient era where even science fiction had never been heard of. And a real example was right in front of her; how could she not be shocked?

Xiao Shiyu glanced angrily at Leng Jie, whose face was filled with surprise, thinking she looked down on him. He said coldly:

"Hmph! I knew you'd make that face, that's why I didn't say anything. Now you're even less likely to let me come along!"

Seeing that Little Stone was pouting and looking extremely cute, Leng Jie couldn't help but explain for him:

"Uh! I don't mean to look down on you, I'm just a little surprised. What kind of forbidden spell can make someone young again? If that's true, then the old emperor could use it to achieve immortality?"

Xiao Shiyu's eyes suddenly turned cold, her clear gaze instantly replaced by a violent aura. Her small body suddenly exuded a cold, sinister, and suffocating murderous aura.

"This curse was cast by that old emperor you mentioned. If it could grant immortality, he would have kept it for himself long ago. Although this curse shrinks people, it doesn't extend their lifespan; on the contrary, it shortens the lifespan of those afflicted." His tone, like his eyes, chilled people to the bone.

Who exactly is he? First, he got involved in a feud between martial arts masters, and now he's connected to the emperor? Leng Jie remained silent this time, patiently waiting for him to continue his story.

Xiao Shiyu paused for a moment, trying her best to suppress the chill emanating from her body. She continued:

"I'm not entirely clear about this curse. Our ancestors were meritorious officials who helped Emperor Taizu establish the Jinghe Empire. Although the emperor granted them hereditary titles of non-royal princes, he was more worried that our ancestor, who held military power and was highly respected, might harbor rebellious intentions after his death and seize the throne from his son. In order to ensure that the Shi family would serve the royal family for generations, he placed a curse on our ancestor. He warned him that if any member of the Shi family harbored any rebellious intentions, their lineage would be cut off. However, as long as they remained loyal to the royal family, the curse was as good as non-existent."

The ancestor felt disheartened and resigned his post, hoping to return to his hometown to enjoy a comfortable life. However, the emperor did not release him but instead entrusted him with another enormous task. He also decreed that the Shi family members could only obey imperial orders and were never allowed to enter the imperial city without permission. Generation after generation, over a hundred years passed, and the Shi family remained loyal to the emperor. Everyone had long forgotten about the forbidden spell.

Until three years ago, after the late emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne, he had never had any contact with us again. We were secretly pleased, wondering if the new emperor was going to grant the Shi family their freedom. But then, the forbidden curse that had been in place for over a hundred years took effect.

Just a month ago, on the day the Emperor took his concubine, I woke up to find myself transformed from a twenty-six-year-old into what I am now. Only then did I remember the forbidden curse my ancestors had mentioned. I dared not let anyone know, not even my family. I left a note saying I was going out on business. Then I secretly fled my fiefdom of Jianzhou, intending to come to the capital to have the Emperor lift the curse. On the way, I met a local official returning to the capital to report on his duties. I told him I was the young master of the Prince of Ying's mansion, and then I followed their carriage to the capital.”

So he was from the Prince of Ying's mansion. It seems being a prince of a different surname is no easy job. Luckily, she ran away quickly. Otherwise, one day he might be in a bad mood and cast some kind of curse on her, turning her from sixteen back to six months. Then she would be completely at his mercy. Leng Jie felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about it, and involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat.

Shi Yu had been watching Leng Jie's reaction closely, and seeing that she showed a hint of fear after hearing his story, he couldn't help but feel a strange disappointment. His initial goodwill towards her immediately diminished considerably.

She dared to defy the Green Robe Cult, a powerful underworld organization, for the sake of a child she didn't even know. She also cleverly outwitted the shopkeeper who bullied her… I initially thought she was extraordinary and fearless of authority…

That's why he poured out his heart to this secret that only the direct descendants of the Shi family could know.

It turned out she was just an ordinary person who could feel fear. At most, she was a little smarter, a little prettier, and a little better at martial arts than others. As she thought about it, a hint of regret crept onto her delicate face.

Seeing that Xiao Shiyu's expression changed and he remained silent, Leng Jie assumed he was again indignant and saddened by his shrinking. So she urged him to speak:

"What's the deal with the Green Robe Sect? How did you get involved with them? Do they know who you are? They seem very powerful; how did they find our whereabouts so quickly?"

Shi Yu was taken aback. Did she really not know about the Green Robe Sect? Was she deliberately trying to provoke those two Green Robe Sect members when she asked them questions on the way? But who in the martial arts world didn't know about the Green Robe Sect? Besides, in the past half month, the Green Robe Sect's reputation had soared. From court officials to ordinary people, who wasn't terrified of it? Yet she seemed completely unaware of it? Just who was she?

He recalled her rustic village girl attire when they first met, and then her extraordinary martial arts skills—capable of subduing two protectors of the Green Robe Sect in a single move. Even before he shrunk, he couldn't have achieved such skill. Yet she looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. He thought perhaps she was a naive young girl who had just learned from a reclusive master and was unfamiliar with the ways of the world.