Chapter Seventy-One: Treachery

"Damn it, why are you being so mysterious? If you don't want to say it, then don't. I don't care to hear it anyway!"
"I think you're just making things up, being secretive for no reason. What a killjoy. Let's just drink."
"......"

Qin Yi, who had been eavesdropping nearby, was left speechless. He had thought there would be some explosive news. But it seemed that the fighting up north was still going poorly; Deyong was truly in decline.

"In times like these, surviving is truly difficult," Qin Yi thought to himself. Yet as hard as it was for him, it was even harder for ordinary people.

"I need to become stronger!"

After dinner, he made his way home. When he returned, he washed off with cold water—the sky was already dark. After resting a while, Qin Yi blew out the camphor oil lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

He quietly changed into his night attire, gathered a few things, and moved to the window, listening intently to the sounds outside. About a quarter of an hour passed. Sensing no one was surveilling the area, Qin Yi opened the window at the rear, checked both sides one more time, slipped out, and closed it behind him. He melted into the shadows.

After circling the area twice, he slipped into the courtyard diagonally across from his house. This courtyard was currently unoccupied, as it hadn’t been rented out, making it the perfect place for him to sleep at night.

Ever since he was ambushed by that woman from the Golden Alliance, Qin Yi had no idea if any other members remained in the city. So after sending his father away that night, he had been sleeping here every night since. It was a precaution against being assassinated in his sleep—he couldn’t stay alert every moment. If anyone came looking for him, he would be able to see from here, turning the advantage from theirs to his.

Staying in his own home would mean being constantly on edge, always waiting for enemies to come knocking. That was far too passive.

Time slipped by, and soon it was late into the night.

By the window, Qin Yi gazed in the direction of his own house and muttered, "How strange. It's been days since I killed that woman from the Golden Alliance. Why haven’t they sent anyone else to cause trouble? Could it be there are no more of them left in the city?"

"If that's the case, it would be good news for me."

...

Under the cover of darkness, eight shadowy figures crept toward Qin Yi’s house. When they were still over a hundred meters away, they stopped. Each found a concealed spot and lay in wait.

"Send two men to scout the situation. If Qin Feng really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, we’ll surround and kill him. If he’s nothing special, deal with him directly," Zhou Wuzhi ordered.

"You two, go check it out, and be careful," Dong Haobo pointed to two subordinates.

"Yes, sir."

With a light leap, the two burly men landed silently and made their way toward Qin Yi’s house. Soon, they reached the wall surrounding his home.

...

Across the street, just as Qin Yi was about to rest on a straw mat, he suddenly heard movement near his own house. Peering out the window, he saw two figures scaling the wall into his home.

"So, after all these days, they've finally come?" Qin Yi felt a surge of adrenaline.

He guessed these two must be from the Golden Alliance. Still, he had no intention of confronting them now. He didn’t know how many more might be lurking in the city. Since he had already killed the woman with eighth-level skills and they still dared to come, they must have some backup.

He needed to play it safe this time.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the two found no one inside Qin Yi’s house and climbed back out.

Seeing them about to leave, Qin Yi considered following them to discover their base. If possible, he wouldn’t mind wiping them all out in one go.

But just as he was about to tail them, he saw the two figures stop in the shadows a hundred meters away.

"Hmm? There are more people over there!" Qin Yi was surprised.

...

At that moment, Zhou Wuzhi watched as his two subordinates returned and smiled. "I told you, there’s no way a teenager could have the strength to kill Deputy Leader Wang!"

"Seems I was overthinking it," Dong Haobo said awkwardly.

The two subordinates came back, one bowing and reporting in a low voice, "Chief, there was no sign of Qin Feng in that house."

Everyone froze at this.

"He’s not home? Isn’t he a constable? Don’t they do night patrols? Maybe he’s out on patrol, so he didn’t come back?" Zhou Wuzhi frowned.

"Chief, I checked. He hasn’t been on night patrol for the past few days—he’s assigned that duty to his subordinates," Dong Haobo explained.

"Then there’s only one possibility—he’s out and hasn’t returned yet. Maybe he’ll be back later. Let’s stay hidden here and wait for him to come home. Then we’ll probe him," Zhou Wuzhi said.

"That’s all we can do."

...

Some dozens of meters away from Zhou Wuzhi’s group, hidden in the shadows, Qin Yi mused to himself, "Seven or eight of them, here to cause me trouble. Interesting. They’ve come prepared."

Time ticked by—half an hour passed.

"What’s going on? Why haven’t they left? Are they planning to wait for me to come home?" Qin Yi frowned.

They'd broken in and found no one, yet still hadn’t left. Clearly, they thought he was out and were patiently waiting for his return.

"Let’s see who has more patience," Qin Yi thought, quietly returning to the room in the courtyard across from his house.

More than an hour passed.

"Damn it, is that brat ever coming home? What if he’s spending the night at the brothel?" Dong Haobo grumbled quietly.

"Keep waiting. There’s no rush," Zhou Wuzhi replied, closing his eyes to rest.

Time slipped by until the night was nearly over.

Qin Yi kept watch from the window, observing their movements. He had thought they’d give up after an hour or so and leave—then he could follow them to find their base. He hadn’t expected them to be so patient. It was well past midnight!

They really had stamina.

Fortunately, he had practiced two internal cultivation methods and still felt energetic.

...

"It’s already past midnight—he’s probably not coming back. Let’s withdraw for now. Tomorrow, have someone keep a close watch, and we’ll try again tomorrow night," Zhou Wuzhi said grimly.

Damn it, they’d waited half the night for nothing—who knows where that brat had gone. Most likely, he was at the brothel or gambling. After all, aside from those two, there wasn’t much else to do all night.

"Let’s go!"

The group began to retreat toward the north side of the city.

"Huh, they’re finally leaving?" Qin Yi quickly slipped out to follow them. He kept his distance, maintaining about a hundred meters—following too closely was risky.

(Begging for monthly votes, recommendations, and rewards!!!)