After the five junior sisters had fully rested, Jiang Beiran led them forward again. However, as if haunted by lingering fear, they walked with extreme caution, afraid of stepping into another formation. Despite their wariness, they stuck close to Jiang Beiran, terrified of being left behind.
With his powerful spiritual sense, Jiang Beiran followed the residual aura of the thief and soon arrived outside a cave.
"This should be the place."
After sensing for a moment at the cave entrance, Jiang Beiran determined that most inside were ordinary people, with only one possessing slight cultivation—merely at the second stage of Qi Refining. Retracting his spiritual sense, he turned to the five junior sisters and asked, "Alright, let’s test you.
Now that we’ve confirmed the thieves are inside, what should we do next?" Liu Zijin pondered for a moment before answering first, "Charge in and capture their leader. That’s called ‘to catch bandits, first catch their king.’"
Jiang Beiran shook his head, looking at Liu Zijin with disappointment.
"Reckless. This isn’t war. What use is catching the leader? The other thieves would just scatter like birds and beasts."
Liu Zijin immediately lowered her head.
"Senior Brother is right."
Just as she thought of another idea and was about to speak, Junior Sister Yu interjected first, "Then should we first identify all the cave’s exits?"
"Smart. That’s the top priority."
Hearing this, both Liu Zijin and Fang Qiuyao wore expressions of regret, though for different reasons. After giving a few more detailed instructions, Jiang Beiran nodded.
"Alright, remember what I just said. Those thieves inside are no match for you. Go ahead."
"Yes!"
The five junior sisters responded in unison and began capturing the thieves according to Jiang Beiran’s plan. As Jiang Beiran had predicted, the thieves in the cave were mostly ordinary people, completely outmatched by Liu Zijin and the others. Soon, some were knocked unconscious while others knelt and surrendered.
Hmm...
That guy didn’t even set up a formation in his own hideout? Jiang Beiran hadn’t entered with the junior sisters because he assumed there would be defensive formations inside, and breaking formations from outside was far easier than doing so from within. But to his surprise, there wasn’t the slightest sign of any formation being triggered inside.
What an odd fellow. With this thought, Jiang Beiran strode leisurely into the cave. Hmm, their control of force is quite good.
Glancing at the thieves sprawled haphazardly near the entrance, he could tell at a glance that each had been knocked out cleanly with a single strike—all unconscious in a rather "peaceful" manner. Walking deeper into the cave, he saw the junior sisters tidying up the battlefield, gathering the unconscious thieves into one place.
"Well done," Jiang Beiran praised with a nod.
"Senior Brother, this is their leader," Liu Zijin said, pushing forward a bound young man.
"Got it," Jiang Beiran replied casually.
"Then I’ll go tie up the rest."
"Go ahead."
After Liu Zijin left, Jiang Beiran crouched down and studied the composed young man curiously.
"Why aren’t you shouting things like ‘Let me go!’ like the others?"
"If I did, would you actually let me go?"
The young leader glanced up at him.
"Sure, if you shout, I’ll release you," Jiang Beiran nodded.
"Tch, spare me the fake kindness."
The young leader turned his head away disdainfully.
"Alright."
With that, Jiang Beiran sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began circulating the Heart Returning Technique. This left the young leader baffled, unsure of what this man was playing at.
"Hey, now that you’ve caught me, shouldn’t you hurry and turn me in for the bounty? What are you sitting around for?"
"No rush, no rush."
Jiang Beiran shook his head with a smile. Thus, an eerie silence settled between them. After a few minutes, the leader, unable to endure the strange atmosphere any longer, finally spoke up.
"Since you made it here... did you break the formation outside?"
Here we go. Based on years of experience catching thieves, Jiang Beiran had learned one truth: if he started interrogating them right away, most would just lift their chins and retort, "Spare me the nonsense. Kill me if you want, cut me if you must—I don’t know what you’re talking about."
This made interrogations quite troublesome. So Jiang Beiran decided to take the opposite approach—just leave them be. Once their hostility faded, they’d start talking on their own.
Opening his eyes, Jiang Beiran looked at the young leader.
"That formation was yours? Pretty interesting."
The young leader raised his head proudly.
"If I’d had enough materials, you’d never have escaped."
"True, that formation had some substance. Where’d you learn it?"
"Hmph! Like I’d tell you."
"Alright."
Jiang Beiran closed his eyes again and resumed meditating.
"You—!"
The young leader grew agitated.
"Don’t you know to press further or negotiate terms?"
"Are you teaching me how to do my job?"
Jiang Beiran opened his eyes to ask.
"I—!"
If he hadn’t been tied up, the young leader would’ve lunged at Jiang Beiran for a mutual demise—this guy was infuriating! After taking a few deep breaths, the young leader turned to the female Qi Refining cultivators tying up his men and shouted, "Hey! Does your leader always talk like this?"
Liu Zijin and the others were practically suffocating from suppressed laughter, but they chose not to answer, silently continuing their work.
"Senior Brother, we’ll go tie up the thieves at the entrance."
"Go ahead."
Jiang Beiran nodded. Watching Liu Zijin and the others leave, the thoroughly worn-down young leader finally said, "If I tell you where I learned this formation, will you let me go?"
"No. I’m not interested in formations that can’t even trap me."
"That’s just because I’m not skilled enough! This formation is called the Minor Sixfold Soul-Snatching Array. If set up properly, even a Mysterious King would be trapped!"
"Oh."
"I’m serious! The book said so! I just didn’t have a teacher, so I didn’t master it. Otherwise, you’d never have escaped!"
"Book?"
Jiang Beiran asked. Seeing Jiang Beiran finally show interest, the young leader nodded eagerly.
"Yes! I dug it up while tomb raiding! It’s really valuable! If you let me go, I’ll give it to you!"
"Not interested."
Just then, the five junior sisters returned and bowed.
"Senior Brother, all the thieves have been tied up."
"Good, let’s go."
Jiang Beiran stood up.
"Wait! No! That book’s formations are truly incredible! I’ll take you to see it—it’s in the back mountains! I’m telling the truth!!!"
(End of Chapter)