Xiao Shitou froze, his mind racing through several options: Run? Pretend he didn’t understand? Continue playing the pitiful child?

After a long moment of eye contact with Jiang Xu, he chose to drop his façade. Calmly, he asked, “You know everything? What do you want?”

Jiang Xu silently regarded him, stepping forward until he was less than three feet away, then suddenly stopped.

Xiao Shitou pressed his lips together, feigning composure and refusing to step back. Despite his efforts, a thin layer of sweat betrayed his nervousness.

He regretted his actions. He’d sensed this man wasn’t ordinary earlier and should have avoided joining those fools. Now he’d invited unnecessary trouble.

Realizing escape was unlikely, he asked reluctantly, “How did you figure it out?”

“They followed your lead too closely,” Jiang Xu replied nonchalantly.

Of course, there was more to it. Perhaps it was instinct. The moment he saw the child, Jiang Xu knew trouble had arrived. That’s why he chose an abandoned temple for the night – isolated, convenient for handling matters discreetly.

Xiao Shitou paused, belatedly understanding. He’d been so focused on gaining the woman’s sympathy and trust that he’d neglected to manage his companions’ behavior. They weren’t as skilled at deception as he was.

“Men die for wealth, birds for food,” Xiao Shitou said. “I have nothing more to say. Do as you will with me. But the others are innocent. They know nothing. Please spare them.”

“‘Men die for wealth, birds for food,'” Jiang Xu echoed, eyeing the child who was trying to act noble in the face of danger. “Have you studied?”

Xiao Shitou turned away, refusing to answer. This man seemed intelligent, yet was foolish enough to ask such a question. Anyone from a family that could afford education wouldn’t be involved in petty thievery.

The root of the problem was Tonggang’s poverty. Parents were desperate enough to send their children to learn to beg and swindle men like Chen Wu if only to avoid starvation. The clever ones might even earn enough to feed their families.

Xiao Shitou was different. Orphaned young, he’d grown up in the gutters, responsible only for himself.

His earlier story at the temple wasn’t entirely false. They were indeed headed to Hehua Town, where contacts awaited them. There were truly kidnapped children forced to beg, some with severed limbs to evoke pity.

But Xiao Shitou’s group was different. They were willing participants, and their families were aware of the arrangement with Chen Wu, Li Si, and Wang San-mazi.

Earlier, seeing Ming Tan’s bulging bag, he’d approached her to beg. He’d been satisfied with the pastries and silver, but Chen Wu and the others, blinded by greed, insisted on “one last job” before reaching Hehua Town.

They’d crudely discussed using Ming Tan for their pleasure before selling her in Hehua Town, deeming her more valuable than the local brothel women.

Xiao Shitou had been reluctant, but they threatened to abandon the Hehua Town plan entirely if he didn’t participate. The other children were torn, fearing punishment from their parents if they returned home empty-handed.

Not wanting his companions to suffer, Xiao Shitou agreed to go along. However, he secretly advised them to blame everything on Chen Wu and the others if things went wrong, betting on adults being more likely to believe children.

As expected, the man proved formidable, thwarting their plans before they even entered the temple.

Events unfolded as Xiao Shitou had anticipated, with his group successfully escaping. Yet, in the end, they were still outmaneuvered.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it. Stop talking!” Xiao Shitou snapped.

Having made a mistake, he was prepared to face the consequences.

Though uneducated, Xiao Shitou had heard storytellers in town. He remembered heroes in stories facing death with closed eyes and raised chins. So he mimicked this posture, trying to appear brave in the face of death.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Xu spoke, “What do you think of the man who escorted you back earlier?”

Xiao Shitou’s eyelids flickered nervously. He countered weakly, “What are you after?”

“I asked you a question. Just answer it,” Jiang Xu’s tone brooked no argument.

Xiao Shitou hesitated, recalling the man who had brought them back. It was the same man who had entered the temple earlier, swiftly incapacitating Li Si and Wang San-mazi with two quick moves.

“He… his martial arts are very powerful. He’s formidable,” Xiao Shitou admitted.

“Would you like to become as skilled as him?” Jiang Xu asked.

Xiao Shitou’s eyes flew open. “What did you say?”

“I’m offering you an opportunity,” Jiang Xu said, looking at him. “Whether you can become like him depends entirely on you.”

Xiao Shitou was stunned.

Could he become that powerful? He felt uncertain, wondering if this was some kind of more terrifying trap.

But then he reasoned that the worst outcome was death, which he already faced. What was there to fear?

His small fists clenched and unclenched as he contemplated. Finally, he made his decision. “Alright, I’ll listen to you! But I have one condition.”

“You’re in no position to negotiate,” Jiang Xu dismissed him, turning to leave.

Xiao Shitou persisted, following him. “Then the others, can we…?”

“No,” Jiang Xu cut him off.

Their aptitude was too poor. The Jingyun Guard wasn’t a shelter.

After walking a short distance, Jiang Xu suddenly stopped. “Ignorant righteousness is useless and cheap. You can’t help them. They can only help themselves, or wait for Tonggang to prosper, given time.”

Xiao Shitou was stunned, finding it hard to believe there would ever be a time when Tonggang wasn’t impoverished.

As Jiang Xu continued walking, Xiao Shitou suddenly ran ahead, blocking his path with his small hand. Looking up earnestly, he declared, “I don’t want to be as skilled as that man.”

Jiang Xu looked down at him.

“I want to be as skilled as you.”

The hidden guard nearby thought silently, “How presumptuous.”

Jiang Xu didn’t mock him, simply stating, “You can look forward to that day.”

“I’ll achieve it!” Xiao Shitou insisted.

The hidden guard thought, “No, you won’t. You know nothing about His Highness.”

As the guard’s mind wandered, someone behind him poked him with a hairpin, whispering urgently, “Let’s go.”

The guard snapped back to attention, bowing in acknowledgment.

Ming Tan followed the guard, crouching as they made their way through alleys back towards the abandoned temple. She whispered a warning, “When we return, don’t tell His Highness I came out. Pretend nothing happened. It wasn’t a big deal, no need to inform him. Besides, you disobeyed orders by bringing me here, so you’d be in trouble too if you told him. So say nothing, act like nothing happened. Understood?”

The guard thought silently, “No, we didn’t disobey orders. You’re mistaken. If His Highness hadn’t said to bring you if you insisted on coming out after waking, we would have knocked you unconscious rather than give in to your threats. Your Highness, you underestimate the Jingyun Guard’s training. Not everyone is like Yun Yi, easily swayed by your tactics and daring to contradict His Highness.”

“Achoo!” Far away on the road back to the capital, Yun Yi sneezed in her uneasy sleep.

Back at the abandoned temple, Ming Tan’s mind was in turmoil, unable to calm down.

She had only managed to fall asleep earlier while resting against Jiang Xu. Suddenly away from his embrace, the cold reed mat quickly woke her.

Upon waking to find Jiang Xu gone, her heart skipped a beat. Her mind raced, recalling earlier inconsistencies.

At the time, influenced by Xiao Shitou’s story, her thoughts had been consumed by sympathy. But after sleeping and reflecting, many details seemed off.

How did Xiao Shitou, supposedly a kidnapped child, know about the possibility of having limbs cut off after being moved to town?

Why would Chen Wu and his group risk bringing kidnapped children along to rob others? Weren’t they afraid the children might turn on them and seek help from their targets?

And although Xiao Shitou looked dirty and thin, he bore no visible injuries. The same was true for the other children.

Realizing this, Ming Tan couldn’t sit still any longer.

Having taken a shortcut, the guard led Ming Tan back to the temple. About a quarter-hour later, Jiang Xu finally returned.

Ming Tan felt she couldn’t convincingly feign sleep, especially with her unsteady heartbeat. She decided to pretend to wake up naturally.

Rolling over with feigned drowsiness, she yawned lazily and asked, “Husband? Where did you go? Did you step out?”

Objectively, the young princess consort’s acting wasn’t bad. She’d even mussed her hair to look like she’d been sleeping deeply, and her voice sounded appropriately groggy. An unsuspecting person might have been fooled.

Jiang Xu had intended to play along, but as he approached her, he found he couldn’t.

“Stop pretending,” he said.

Ming Tan’s yawn froze midway, her eyes widening in confusion, tears forming at the corners from the interrupted yawn.

Her first thought was that the guards outside had tattled, but Jiang Xu sat down, lit some dry grass with a fire starter, and added it to the dying fire. He continued, “It’s not their fault. If I couldn’t sense who was nearby or allow others to eavesdrop on conversations, I’d have died a hundred times over by now.”

He glanced at Ming Tan. “Did you think I was like you?”

Confused, Ming Tan wondered why he was suddenly criticizing her. Had she unknowingly been eavesdropped on before?

“But I confirmed with the guards that we wouldn’t be discovered from that distance,” she said, puzzled.

“That was their distance, not mine,” Jiang Xu replied.

Ming Tan was taken aback. After a moment, she hugged her knees and said dryly, “Oh, well, husband is truly impressive. No wonder Xiao Shitou wants to be as skilled as you.”

“Words used to placate a child shouldn’t be taken seriously,” Jiang Xu responded.

Watching him skillfully tend to the fire, his expression completely unbothered, Ming Tan understood his meaning:

Wanting to be as skilled as him? Keep dreaming. It’s impossible.