Jinshu nudged Chen An Ran’s arm in confusion. “Who is that person?”
Chen An Ran shook her head. “I don’t know, but judging by the spirit beast she’s riding, she’s probably from the Beast Control Sect, and likely a core disciple.”
“How can you tell?”
“These past few days, the city has been filled with core disciples from various sects and clans. For something like that, why would they send outer sect disciples?”
Jinshu grew even more puzzled. “That thing? What is it?”
Chen An Ran widened her eyes at her. “Why are you playing dumb with me? Isn’t everyone here for that?”
“I really don’t know! We came here for a sect mission.”
Chen An Ran looked somewhat skeptical and was about to say something more when the girl on the tiger’s back stopped whipping her whip. He was distracted. “We’ll talk later. Let’s see what she’s going to do first.”
Jinshu, still baffled, turned her gaze to the girl. She leaped lightly off the tiger’s back, crossed her arms, and gave the man who had been rolling on the ground from the whipping a hard kick. “I can’t stand people like you the most.”
The man covered his head and shouted, “We’re a proper circus! If you dare hit me, I’ll report you to the authorities!”
Hearing this, the girl curled her lips into a smirk. “Go ahead and report me. Let me tell you, I never hide my name or change my identity—I am Xiong Qi, the young master of the Beast Control Sect.”
Xiong Qi?
The name sounded familiar. Jinshu clapped her hands excitedly as she remembered. In the Long Aotian novel, it was mentioned that several young clan members around Li Xingdao’s age were quite talented, hailed as the Golden Generation of the cultivation world. Although they all ended up losing to the male protagonist in various ways, they were still incredibly strong.
Xiong Qi was one of the famous members of this Golden Generation.
The man was just an ordinary person. Although he didn’t know anything about the Golden Generation, he had heard of the prestige of these major sects. He could only scramble to his feet in a panic and take a few steps back.
Xiong Qi lifted her chin. “How many more beasts like this monkey do you have here?”
The man stammered, unable to speak, completely losing the arrogance he had shown earlier in front of the monkey.
Xiong Qi grew impatient. “I’m asking you a question. Why are you pretending to be mute?”
Just then, another voice rang out. “So it’s the young master of the Beast Control Sect. I pay my respects.” The speaker emerged from the tent. He was burly, with several scars on his face and small eyes that were mostly whites, giving him an especially fierce appearance. However, he was now wearing a smile.
Xiong Qi looked him up and down disdainfully. “And who are you?”
“I am the ringmaster of this circus, Zhang Wei by name. Coincidentally, I have some acquaintance with your father.”
“Why haven’t I heard my father mention you?”
Zhang Wei chuckled. “Perhaps I’m not well-known enough. I believe today’s incident is a misunderstanding on your part, young master. What you saw earlier was merely part of our performance. We treat these beasts better than anyone else. Those wounds and bloodstains are just some unique illusions used by the circus.”
Xiong Qi snapped angrily, “Don’t try to fool me. Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Young Sect Leader, Young Sect Leader, wait.” A man with a long beard hurriedly pushed through the crowd and ran up to Xiong Qi. He gestured to her, and Xiong Qi stepped forward, leaning her ear close. Whatever the old man whispered, Xiong Qi’s expression shifted slightly.
Zhang Wei continued to watch the two with a cheerful smile, as if he had everything under control.
After a moment of thought, Xiong Qi leaped back onto the tiger’s back, her face still showing clear displeasure. “Hmph, consider today my bad luck. But I’m warning you—if you continue using cruel punishments, I won’t let you off!”
With that, Xiong Qi rode away on the tiger, leaving Jinshu staring in disbelief as she turned to Chen An Ran. “She… she just left like that?”
Chen An Ran clearly hadn’t expected the fierce Xiong Qi to depart so abruptly and was momentarily speechless.
“That Zhang Wei was obviously lying to her, and she just left. What was the point of all that earlier? Those animals will probably still be beaten badly when they return.”
Chen An Ran scratched his head. “What can we do? It seems this Zhang Wei has some skills—even the Young Sect Leader of the Beast Control Sect was scared off.”
In the clearing ahead, several people had already begun packing up. They unceremoniously grabbed the monkeys by the scruff of their necks and headed toward the tents. Zhang Wei stared at Xiong Qi’s retreating figure for a moment before turning to the circus members. “Let’s go drinking tonight. No performances for the next few days—too many troublesome people have been showing up lately.”
After a moment of thought, Jinshu patted Chen An Ran’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
She led Chen An Ran to a somewhat secluded alleyway.
The sky was growing dark, and a light breeze had picked up. Chen An Ran shivered. “Aren’t we going back to the inn?”
“Of course not. We’re going to steal the animals.” Jinshu’s eyes sparkled.
“Huh?” Chen An Ran stared in disbelief. “Wait, I never said I’d go along with you!”
Jinshu narrowed her eyes. “Whether you agreed or not doesn’t matter now. Once you’re on this pirate ship, there’s no jumping off.”
“But how can just the two of us possibly steal an entire circus’s worth of animals? And what if we get caught?”
“There’s no other way. If you want to succeed, you have to take risks. We can’t just stand by and watch them get beaten to death!”
“Have you always been this meddlesome?” Chen An Ran muttered.
Jinshu raised her hand as if to smack his head. “How is this meddling? Don’t worry—even if we can’t rescue them, I have a way to get us both out safely.”
Chen An Ran relented. “Fine, tell me your plan first.”
“They’re going drinking soon. You keep an eye on them and follow them. Leave the rest to me. If anything happens, contact me with the communication spirit stone.”
“Can you handle it alone?”
Jinshu shook her wrist, and the bracelet formed by Banyu emitted a crisp sound. “Don’t worry. My life-bound treasure can transform freely. Getting these animals out won’t be difficult. Even if we’re discovered, they’re just ordinary people without Spiritual Power. I can escape with an escape spell.”
Her expression was full of confidence. Chen An Ran nodded solemnly. “Alright, I’ll go stake out the entrance. Once they leave and are far enough away, I’ll contact you!”
After he had gone far, Jinshu found a clothing store and changed her conspicuous outfit to black. Then she circled the circus and happened to find a corner where the cloth was lifted, making it easy to slip inside the circus.
The circus lights went out. After about half an hour, Jinshu received a communication spirit stone from Chen An Ran, so she cautiously approached the gap in the circus.
The pitch-black environment made her feel particularly insecure. Jinshu groped around, moving slowly.
“Ah?” A short gasp of surprise—clearly, the person who made the sound was startled but remembered they couldn’t make noise.
Jinshu was also startled. Feeling the warm touch in her hand, she reflexively jumped back two steps.
The frightened person whispered first, “Who is it?”
As soon as Jinshu heard the familiar voice, she understood: “Are you that Xiong Qi?”
Xiong Qi asked warily, “How do you know me?”
An ally, Jinshu quickly judged, and relaxed: “You’re here for the same purpose as me, right? I was among the onlookers when you stopped them earlier.”
“Purpose? Are you here to save them?”
“Yes, I’m Ji Jinshu, a disciple of the Tianxuan Sect. Since we share the same goal, why don’t we work together?”
Xiong Qi asked suspiciously, “What reason do I have to trust you?”
Jinshu shook her wrist, and Banyu emitted a crystal-clear white light: “Look, this is my magical artifact. It can transform into a pouch capable of holding all the beasts in this circus.” As she spoke, Banyu turned into a small brocade pouch and fell into Jinshu’s hand. Jinshu silently recited an incantation, and a tiny light appeared at the tip of her other hand. Under that faint glow, the pouch slowly grew to the size of two hands before shrinking back.
“See.”
By the light, Xiong Qi not only saw the pouch clearly but also saw that the person speaking to her was a girl about her own age. With her playful and clever appearance, she indeed didn’t seem like a villain, and Xiong Qi was already mostly convinced.
In the darkness, she groped and grabbed Jinshu’s wrist: “Then follow me.”
The two cautiously slipped into the tent.
Hearing the continuous, heavy, and feeble breathing sounds, Xiong Qi also conjured a modest light at her fingertips. When Jinshu looked up, she was stunned. There were many types of animals in the tent: two wolves lay dying in one cage, their dark gray fur utterly dull; in another cage, several small birds huddled together, weakly chirping a few times at the strangers.
Jinshu turned and saw the emaciated monkey, curled into a ball, with wounds on its back oozing blood, staining its already filthy fur a dark red. Besides that, a gaunt black bear was also lying obediently in its cage, panting heavily.
The cages were filthy, and the water and food inside had clearly been left for a long time. Most of the animals were covered in wounds, and some even had inflamed injuries.
“These bastards!” Xiong Qi gritted her teeth at the sight of the tragedy.
Jinshu also felt deeply distressed: “You’re from the Beast Control Sect, right? Can you bandage their wounds temporarily?”
“No problem, but we’ll need to treat them separately after we take them out. I snuck out this time and can’t let anyone in the Sect know, so I can’t bring them back. But I noticed they don’t have any Spiritual Power in their bodies—they’re just ordinary animals. We can release them outside the city.”
Jinshu nodded: “Alright, you go bandage up first. I’ll tell my sentry to buy some herbs and meet us outside the city to help.”
Hearing this, Xiong Qi raised an eyebrow: “You brought a sentry with you?”
Jinshu smiled slightly: “Never go into battle unprepared.”
Simple bandaging was second nature to Xiong Qi, and she quickly finished. Jinshu had already notified Chen An Ran and transformed Banyu into an incredibly large bag.
Xiong Qi, holding the monkey, walked over to Jinshu: “Is this bag breathable?”
Jinshu, being in sync with Banyu, had already checked in advance: “Don’t worry.”
Only then did Xiong Qi feel reassured. She murmured incantations, chanting a series of spells Jinshu couldn’t understand. The animals’ eyes grew docile, and they breathed softly as they orderly filed into the bag. Finally, the monkey in Xiong Qi’s arms jumped in as well. The entire circus was now empty except for Jinshu and Xiong Qi.
The bag transformed into a bracelet around Jinshu’s wrist. She asked curiously: “Was that a Beast Control Spell?”
Xiong Qi, in high spirits, laughed heartily: “Exactly, but the one I used is quite advanced. If you want to learn, I can teach you a few simpler ones.”
Jinshu said happily: “Really? That’s wonderful! But let’s leave this place first. My artifact can’t contain them for too long.”
Xiong Qi nodded: “My mount is nearby. I’ll take you with me in a moment.”
It couldn’t be that tiger, could it? Jinshu thought of the majestic tiger and couldn’t help but shudder. For a modern person, riding a tiger was still a bit daunting.
But before she could overcome her fear, a man’s voice thundered down like lightning: “You can leave, but leave my things behind.”