Master, What Dao Do You Cultivate?

Chapter 28: Burning Bridges… Hey, Where’s My Bridge?

Even though the Security Task Force and the Commerce Guild had no official ties, if the Security Task Force wanted to live comfortably and earn some extra money, they had to maintain a good relationship with the Commerce Guild. So, when it came to this kind of financial backer, they would avoid offending them whenever possible.

Moreover, the wallet didn’t just contain an ID and an Elder Certificate—it even had an unsigned property sale contract for this courtyard. Such a document wasn’t something just anyone could issue.

The two search officers exchanged glances, roughly piecing together what was happening here.

Immediately, they forced a smile and returned the wallet to Ji Qinglin, explaining,

“We were just checking in out of concern for the residents’ safety. Please don’t take offense, Elder.”

Ji Qinglin put on an expression of frustration mixed with helplessness and waved his hand,

“I understand, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone that I came here.”

“Rest assured, you have our word! We’ll leave you to your business!”

With that, the two quickly retreated, even closing the door behind them on their way out.

Standing at the bedroom doorway, confirming the two had left the courtyard, Ji Qinglin and the red-eyed girl on the bed finally let out a sigh of relief.But the red-eyed girl seemed to suddenly remember the “humiliation” she had just suffered. Her face flushed red, and her striking crimson eyes remained locked in an angry glare at Ji Qinglin.

Ji Qinglin, on the other hand, looked completely unbothered. As he pulled up his pants, he casually said,

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. It was a last resort. Do you have a better idea?”

Even though the red-eyed girl was furious, she knew he was right. Still, she stubbornly retorted,

“Then you… why did you use your hand?”

“If you had screamed earlier, would I have needed to?”

“Then couldn’t you have grabbed somewhere else? Pervert!”

“This is my house. Between the two of us, who’s the real intruder here? Need me to call the Security Task Force to settle this?”

Completely losing the argument, the red-eyed girl fumed. She reached under the pillow for the gun she had hidden there, planning to at least scare this shameless man into apologizing.

But when she reached for it—nothing.

Ji Qinglin, now fastening his belt, lifted the edge of the blanket near him and said,

“Looking for this?”

Underneath the blanket lay a silver-white handgun.

Shocked, the red-eyed girl instinctively reached for the bomb at her waist. Ji Qinglin picked up the gun and waved his hand,

“Relax. I only took it in case you tried to burn bridges after crossing. If I had any real bad intentions, you would’ve already died in bed at my hands.”

…Wait, why did that sound so wrong?

Although he had taken her gun, Ji Qinglin didn’t take any further action. He wasn’t sure about the nature of the bomb at her waist—if it was mind-controlled or linked to her heartbeat, he could end up getting dragged down with her.

For now, it was best to keep things low-key and avoid unnecessary trouble.

The red-eyed girl touched her belt warily and asked,

“Then what do you want?”

“What do I want? This is my home. Shouldn’t I be asking what you want?”

“I just need a place to rest and heal for the night. I’ll leave in the morning.”

Ji Qinglin nodded,

“Fine, but you need to tell me who you are and why the Security Task Force is after you. Otherwise, I can’t be at ease letting you stay.”

The red-eyed girl snorted,

“Knowing my identity won’t do you any good.”

Ji Qinglin leaned against the doorframe, analyzing,

“Under normal circumstances, the Security Task Force clocks out on time. If they’re still out patrolling this late, there are only two possibilities—either something big happened, or a company or Commerce Guild hired them.

Judging by how casual those two were just now, it doesn’t seem like a major incident. So, they were probably working for a company or the Commerce Guild. Since they didn’t say anything when they saw an Elder from the Commerce Guild, they’re likely working for a company—meaning you’re someone that a company is looking for.

Given your tone and habits, you seem like a mid-level figure. Either you betrayed and defected from a company, infiltrated a rival company and got caught, or…”

The red-eyed girl hadn’t expected him to deduce so much from so little information. Although only the first part was correct, it was still unbelievable. More importantly, he was staring at her, clearly trying to gauge her reaction to confirm his guesses. So, she cut him off,

“You should know—the less you know, the safer you’ll be.”

Ji Qinglin didn’t argue with that and dropped the topic.

But the red-eyed girl suddenly asked,

“You’re an Elder of the Xindong Street Commerce Guild?”

Ji Qinglin had no intention of exposing his identity, so he shrugged,

“Do I look like a Commerce Guild Elder? The documents in my wallet are forged. They just make it easier to handle business in Xindong Street’s Old District.”

The red-eyed girl thought about it and found it reasonable. Aside from how young he was, no Commerce Guild Elder would be living alone in a place like this.

Ji Qinglin didn’t say anything more. He walked to the bed and reached for the blanket.

The red-eyed girl immediately grabbed it,

“What are you doing?!”

“Hey, this is my only bedding. Letting you lie here is already generous enough—are you trying to take over completely?”

Before she could argue—

Thump, thump—

Two crisp knocks came from outside the wooden bedroom door.

Before Ji Qinglin could react, the girl had already yanked the blanket over him, pulling him into the bed again, positioning his body in front of hers like before.

But this time, Ji Qinglin wasn’t nervous at all, nor did he cooperate. Instead, he chuckled.

Seeing him laugh, the red-eyed girl grew anxious and whispered,

“What are you laughing at?”

Ji Qinglin didn’t answer. He simply got up, walked to the door, and opened it.

The heartless Coal Boss, who had bolted at the first sign of trouble earlier, now flew in from outside, landing steadily on Ji Qinglin’s shoulder.

Seeing that it was just a crow, the red-eyed girl finally relaxed. But then she realized how quickly and naturally she had reacted just now—and that he had laughed at her for it. Embarrassment and frustration flared up inside her again.

Ji Qinglin pretended not to notice, picking up his half-sleeved shirt from the floor. He was about to toss the red-eyed girl’s clothes to her when he noticed something.

There were several gray spots, about the size of fingertips, on her pants. At the center of each spot was a small hole. He asked,

“You got hit by Electromagnetic Soul-Severing Needles?”

Electromagnetic Soul-Severing Needles were fine needles fired at a target’s nerves, temporarily paralyzing the affected area without causing any lasting damage. Because of their effectiveness and non-permanent nature, they were widely used by corporate security personnel.

No wonder she took off her pants—she must have removed the needles and wanted her leg to recover faster.

But after being taken advantage of earlier, the red-eyed girl refused to admit she had a disabled leg. She thought, Like hell I’m giving you another excuse to mess with me!

Immediately, she put on a guarded expression and snapped,

“No! Just give me my clothes!”

Ji Qinglin tossed her clothes over and casually pulled a lighter-like device from his toolkit, deliberately sighing,

“Well, that’s too bad. I actually carry a Neural Sensory Repairer with me. But since you’re fine, forget it.”

With that, he grabbed his toolkit and started walking away.

“Huh? Hey! Wait!”