Vindicated After a Wrongful Death - Chapter 13

Before long, Su Cansheng emerged from the Endless Tower, his expression as dark as still water. He didn’t linger, departing with hurried footsteps.

There were many stalls lining the road. Xiang Zhongjing, his face half-hidden by a black hooded robe, squatted heartlessly on the ground. He picked up a luck-turning charm with slender fingers, examining it with genuine focus.

The stall owner, a rogue cultivator, was yawning out of boredom. Seeing Xiang Zhongjing squatting there for so long, he said impatiently, “Are you buying or not? If not, get out of the way.”

Xiang Zhongjing shook the red charm, folded into a triangle. “Luck-turning? Does it actually work?”

The rogue cultivator snorted, “Of course it does. Not long ago, someone bought a luck-turning charm from me, and shortly after, they got into the Endless Tower.”

Xiang Zhongjing was genuinely surprised, “Such incredible luck actually exists?!”

Man Qiuxia had a peculiar temper. Even sixty years ago, he rarely treated anyone. Could a tiny slip of paper really summon him?

The rogue cultivator realized he was dealing with a country bumpkin who had seen little of the world and chuckled inwardly. Maintaining a serious face, he said, “It’s true, naturally. We’re all fellow cultivators, why would I lie to you?”

Other nearby rogue cultivators who knew the truth were stifling laughs, looking at Xiang Zhongjing as if he were the ultimate sucker.

Just as Xiang Zhongjing was about to speak, his peripheral vision caught a familiar figure. He tilted his head slightly, glimpsing Su Cansheng through a gap in his hood, walking briskly behind him with an indifferent expression.

Xiang Zhongjing was stunned. Wasn’t Su Cansheng supposed to be waiting for his prey? Why had he left so suddenly?

A thought struck him, and he looked down at the luck-turning charm dangling from his finger. Ever since he could remember, his luck had been abysmal. Sixty years ago, besides collecting lamps, he used to collect all sorts of luck charms, even stuffing his clothes full of them.

Some worked, some were just scrap paper, but this was the first time in his life he had encountered a charm this effective.

“I’ll take it!” Xiang Zhongjing waved his hand, pointing at the stall. “These, I want all of these too.”

The stall owner froze. The onlookers were speechless.

Gu Congxu said incredulously, “Can’t you see he’s scamming you?!”

Xiang Zhongjing, usually so adept at reading people, seemed blinded. “It can turn my luck!”

Gu Congxu suspected his eyes hadn’t healed yet, otherwise, how could he fail to spot such an obvious scam?

With a curve to his lips, Xiang Zhongjing was in high spirits. He gazed at the pile of charms longingly, looking as though he wanted to pin them all to his forehead.

Gu Congxu hesitated for a moment before reminding him, “Do you even have any jade stones?”

Xiang Zhongjing happily fiddled with the charms. “I’ll have Man Qiuxia pay for them later.”

After all, Man Qiuxia had plenty of money.

Gu Congxu was silent. Don’t you have a grudge against Man Qiuxia?! He was starting to suspect that what existed between them wasn’t an old grudge, but a secret affair.

With Su Cansheng gone, Xiang Zhongjing had no more worries. His fingers flew as he tied a charm to his lapel, stuffing the rest into his sleeves. He looked exactly like a “rich fool.”

The stall owner was also shocked. He hadn’t expected this seemingly profound person to be so dim-witted. Since money was there to be made, he hurriedly handed over all the charms. His earlier disdain vanished, replaced by a face full of warmth.

“I’ll give you a discount, one thousand jade stones for the lot,” the rogue cultivator said with a smile, extending his hand. “Thank you for your patronage.”

Hearing the price, a nearby cultivator couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Those charms weren’t worth a thousand stones even if you sold the stall owner along with them. He was clearly skinning this fat sheep for all he was worth.

Sixty years ago, Xiang Zhongjing never lacked money and had no concept of the difference between a thousand or ten thousand stones. He nodded. “Fine, I’ll have them sent to you in a moment.”

As he spoke, he prepared to leave. The stall owner grabbed him, fearing he’d run off. “Fellow cultivator, how long is ‘a moment’ exactly?”

He smiled pleasantly, but his grip on Xiang Zhongjing’s arm didn’t loosen an inch.

Xiang Zhongjing replied, “I’m heading to the Endless Tower first. I’ll bring the stones to you shortly.”

At those words, the stall owner blanked. The onlookers fell silent for a second before they all erupted into laughter simultaneously.

Seeing this, Xiang Zhongjing thought to himself, Did I make a fool of myself again? He looked confusedly at the stall owner, who was doubled over with laughter. “What did I say wrong?”

The rogue cultivator stopped laughing, wiped a tear from his eye, and sneered, “The Endless Tower hasn’t opened in decades. Even if you’re delusional, there’s a limit. At least do some research before you try to pull a scam.”

Xiang Zhongjing countered, “But didn’t you just say someone entered recently?”

The stall owner stiffened, nearly slapping his own mouth. He’d been so busy laughing he forgot his own lie.

“I wasn’t wrong,” the owner salvaged his story. “Sect Leader Qu bought a charm from me and did indeed enter the tower, it’s just that Man Qiuxia refused to treat him.”

Refused was an understatement, Man Qiuxia had practically beaten him out. It had been an ugly scene.

Xiang Zhongjing thought for a moment. “Sect Leader Qu? Is it Qu Xing?”

Seeing his serious expression, the stall owner said strangely, “The Quyis Sect changed leaders years ago, didn’t you know?”

Xiang Zhongjing gave him a puzzled look.

Seeing how “stupid” he was, the stall owner sighed, a rare moment of conscience striking him. “The current leader is Qu Weixian, the most beautiful person in the Three Realms and Nine States. Even he couldn’t get Man Qiuxia to see him, let alone rogue cultivators like us with no standing. Don’t waste your energy, unless you want to be dragged into the tower as a human test subject.”

Xiang Zhongjing searched his memory for a long time before remembering who Qu Weixian was. He was the son of the former leader, Qu Xing, and indeed, a beauty.

“Alright,” Xiang Zhongjing pointed toward the entrance of the tower. “I’ll give it a try. If Man Qiuxia sees me, you won’t lose out on those thousand stones.”

The stall owner looked at him in horror. “Are you really tired of living?”

In the Three Realms, even the High Venerable Su treated Man Qiuxia with courtesy. No one ever dared to provoke him. Was this man insane?

Xiang Zhongjing asked, “Didn’t you say your charms work?”

The stall owner was speechless. Usually sharp-tongued, he was left dumbfounded as he watched Xiang Zhongjing walk toward the Endless Tower. The people nearby chuckled, settling in to watch the show.

The Endless Tower never welcomed outsiders, a fact known to all. Unless someone was willing to be a lab rat, they wouldn’t even get near the door.

No one dared approach within ten steps of the tower. As Xiang Zhongjing sauntered over, nearly everyone busy in the area turned to look at him.

“Another one coming to die?”

Life as a rogue cultivator was hard, so they lived for this kind of entertainment. Someone quickly started a betting pool on whether Man Qiuxia would beat the man into a pulp or kidnap him for experiments. The area around the tower suddenly grew lively.

Xiang Zhongjing soon reached the entrance. Before he could step onto the stairs, a man with a white silk veil over his face appeared out of thin air. He blocked the path with his sword.

The man said in a low voice, “Unauthorized persons are not permitted to enter!”

Xiang Zhongjing said, “Then please, trouble yourself to pass a message to Man Qiuxia.”

The man was indifferent. Without listening, he drew his sword. Xiang Zhongjing, not wanting a fight, frowned and stepped back.

The crowd behind him roared with laughter, watching him as if he were a performing monkey. The “monkey” named Xiang didn’t linger at the gate. He walked back to the stall owner with his broken wooden stick.

Xiang Zhongjing was confused. Gu Congxu felt embarrassed for him. He had been so confident about Man Qiuxia paying, yet he couldn’t even get through the door.

Xiang Zhongjing didn’t know what they were laughing at, nor did he care. Malicious stares were just eyes, they couldn’t hurt him.

The stall owner looked at him with a complicated expression. Seeing him mocked by so many, he kindly decided not to press him. “Leave the charms and get out of here quickly.”

Xiang Zhongjing shook his head. “Wait a moment.”

He walked forward a bit, seemingly looking for a specific spot. The crowd watched him wander until he finally stopped at the edge of the road.

He tilted his head slightly. From this angle, he could just see the fifth floor of the tower. If he remembered correctly, Man Qiuxia often painted portraits of beauties there.

Finding his mark, Xiang Zhongjing raised his hand and brushed his earring. Two clusters of ghostly fire emerged, morphing into a flaming bow that hovered before him.

He hooked the string with his right hand, squinting as he aimed the arrow at the open window of the fifth floor.

Gu Congxu was startled. “What are you doing?”

Xiang Zhongjing said nonchalantly, “Since he won’t let me in, I’ll invite him out.”

Gu Congxu was stunned. Is that how you ‘invite’ people?!

As soon as he spoke, his slender fingers released the string. A bolt of red and blue intertwined fire shot out like a lightning strike, accurately flying into the fifth-floor window.

In the next instant, flames erupted.

The stall owner was speechless. The crowd was stunned. Everyone stared with their mouths open, looking first at Xiang Zhongjing, who had extinguished the bow, and then at the burning tower high above.

The stall owner gasped, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. He cried out in terror, “Are you insane?!”

Xiang Zhongjing wasn’t insane. He stood tall and elegant, looking up at the tower. The flames on the fifth floor were extinguished almost instantly, confirming Man Qiuxia was indeed there.

Less than a second after the fire went out, a figure leaped from the tower like a falling spark, landing before the crowd in a flash.

The man was dressed in spotless white. Seeming to loathe the dirty ground, his body was held half an inch aloft by the wind to keep his hem from touching the earth. Fine jade beads hung from his dark hair, and a veil draped from his brow, obscuring his face.

The veil was a spiritual tool that prevented him from seeing the faces of ordinary people. He swept a cold gaze over the surroundings. “Who set that fire?”

Usually, Man Qiuxia appeared gentle and lazy, but once his bottom line was crossed, the punishment was far worse than being a test subject. He was currently in a towering rage, his eyes behind the veil filled with a murderous intent that suggested he wanted to grind the culprit to dust.

Terrified by his aura, everyone stepped back in unison. This movement left Xiang Zhongjing standing alone and extremely conspicuous.

Man Qiuxia glared at him, his brow furrowing. Xiang Zhongjing looked wretched, holding a broken stick with soot still on his face, looking no different from a beggar.

Man Qiuxia had two main traits: he loved beauty, and he loved cleanliness. Someone looking like this would usually get beaten just for standing in his sight, let alone for burning his house.

The stall owner nearby broke into a cold sweat. He wanted to warn him but didn’t know what to say, offering only a look of deep pity.

The crowd felt the same. In the Nine States, offending Su Cansheng didn’t guarantee death, but ending up in Man Qiuxia’s grudge book meant a miserable end.

Just as everyone was waiting for the explosion, Xiang Zhongjing didn’t retreat. Instead, he took a slow step forward. He reached up and lightly lifted a corner of his oversized hood, revealing a glimpse of his stunningly vivid face.

He pointed at the rogue cultivator and said with practiced familiarity, “Do you have a thousand jade stones? I’ve run up a debt.”

Man Qiuxia: “…” Everyone: “…”

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