Chapter 00158: What You See Is What You Get
# What You See Is What You Get
Chapter 158
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 158: What You See Is What You Get
The sky was turning the color of a fish's belly.
The water bandits, who had just been screaming and charging forward, were now nowhere to be seen, leaving behind only slash marks on the ship's railings and deck.
They were, after all, just bandits.
Seeing their own boss looking like a paraplegic and watching their brothers being kicked off the ship like someone chopping melons and dicing vegetables, they all understood that this job was a tough nut to crack.
They fled as fast as their legs could carry them.
Naturally, Miss Tang of the Tang Family would not forget her benefactors.
She invited the three into the ship's cabin.
The maidservant beside Miss Tang quickly served everyone fragrant tea.
"If not for the three female heroes lending their aid today, we would have been captured by those bandits. I dread to think what fate would have befallen us."
Tang Lianyu gave a solemn bow to express her gratitude.
Yang Yiyi was currently staring at her teacup.
She had never seen such fine tea leaves.
Usually, even when she had tea, it was the worst quality dregs.
How could it compare to this fragrant tea?
Seeing this, Zheng Yinping had no choice but to reply:
"We were just helping out upon seeing an injustice. Miss Tang, you don't need to be so polite."
"That will not do. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring, to say nothing of the grace of saving our lives. In the future, if you need anything, please come to my Tangfeng Merchant House. I will surely do everything in my power to help."
The two sides exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then Tang Lianyu asked:
"May I ask for the esteemed names of you three female heroes?"
"Zheng Ping of the Seven Absolutes Sect."
"Li Yingluo of the Cloud-in-the-Sky Monastery."
Zheng Yinping used a fake name again, probably wanting to avoid unnecessary complications.
However, while the names were fake, the sects they claimed were not randomly made up.
The Seven Absolutes Sect had seven absolute techniques: sword, palm, fist, fan, saber, spear, and piercer, hence its name.
Zheng Ping was not a disciple, but she had heard of it and knew that some disciples of the Seven Absolutes Sect used spears, which was perfect for cover now.
The Cloud-in-the-Sky Monastery that Li Yingluo mentioned was also a rather famous sect.
The monastery was located on a mountaintop, as if it sat amidst the clouds.
Moreover, there was nothing wrong with her claiming to be a disciple of the Cloud-in-the-Sky Monastery.
Li Yingluo's martial arts were all taught by a Daoist Priest from the Cloud-in-the-Sky Monastery, specially invited by her father, a first-rank great official.
They were absolutely authentic.
"So you are the high disciples of Elder Qijue and Daoist Priest Qing Jingzi. No wonder your skills are so outstanding."
Although she was still being polite, Tang Lianyu knew that these two were lying.
This young lady of the Tang family, unlike the daughters of other prominent families who favored zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, instead had a fondness for martial arts.
Although she couldn't practice them herself, she just liked them.
Since childhood, she had loved to collect all sorts of martial arts secret manuals and enjoyed hearing about matters of the jianghu, so she had some understanding of the styles of various sects.
It was true that the Seven Absolutes Sect used spears, but their spear technique was like a roaming dragon, ethereal as air and solid as a root.
To put it plainly, it was a nimble and swift spear technique.
Furthermore, the sect members all used short spears to avoid the imperial court's taboo against long spears.
But Zheng Yinping's spear technique was grand and sweeping, possessing the style of the army.
It was clearly the art of battlefield slaughter.
This was completely different from the style of the Seven Absolutes Sect.
Li Yingluo's style was indeed the Cloud-Entangling Sword Technique of the Cloud-in-the-Sky Monastery, light and graceful, like clouds and mist.
However, Li Yingluo's behavior and demeanor were dignified and elegant.
She was clearly the type from a prominent family who had received a good education from a young age.
Although the Cloud-in-the-Sky Monastery had some female disciples, they were all from poor backgrounds, which did not match Li Yingluo.
Of course, though she had doubts in her heart, she would not say them out loud.
There were too many people in the jianghu who concealed their identities.
After all, they had saved her life.
Tang Lianyu would not be so tactless as to expose them.
The only one who hadn't introduced herself was Yang Yiyi.
Her mind wasn't on listening to the conversation at all.
The fragrance of the tea made Yang Yiyi impatiently lift the teacup lid for a sip, only to burn her tongue.
Just as she was sticking out her tongue to cool it down, she saw everyone looking over.
She finally realized and quickly cupped her fist:
"I am Yang Yiyi. I have no sect or faction. I figured out all my martial arts by myself."
Tang Lianyu helped save face for her, saying:
"A hero is not judged by their origins. With a chivalrous heart, one is naturally a great hero."
Seeing Yang Yiyi scratch her head in embarrassment, Tang Lianyu felt that this person was probably telling the truth.
Her martial arts style was indeed indiscernible.
Although her attacks were swift, they relied mostly on brute force.
It really did seem like something she figured out on her own.
Especially her personality and attire, she didn't look like a disciple from a major sect, but more like a wild kid who had just come down from the mountains, with no ill intentions and little knowledge of the world.
Having made a preliminary judgment about the three of them in her mind, Tang Lianyu asked again:
"Where are you three female heroes headed?"
"Those two are returning to Liu Prefecture, and I'm returning to Qi Prefecture."
Zheng Yinping hadn't intended to tell the truth, but before she could speak, Yang Yiyi had already revealed their route.
But since it was already said, Li Yingluo quickly tried to salvage the situation:
"The three of us have been traveling together for some time. We are now returning to our sects."
"What a coincidence. We happen to be passing through Qi Prefecture on our way to Liu Prefecture. Why don't the three of you travel with us?"
Zheng Yinping was willing to take the risk to help for the purpose of using the Tangfeng Merchant House's ship and its privilege of being exempt from inspections and permits to escape the Yue Prefecture Kingdom.
Tang Lianyu's words were exactly what she wanted to hear.
However, she still had to be polite on the surface, refusing a couple of times before agreeing.
But then Yang Yiyi interjected again:
"Great! I've never been on such a big ship before."
Seeing this, Tang Lianyu thought to herself, this person really is what she seems...
–‐‐——–‐‐——
On the other side of the screen, Li Chengxi was already starting to feel a headache as he watched.
It wasn't that Yang Yiyi had no ill intentions; she was simply clueless.
This was also an important reason why Li Chengxi was reluctant for Yang Yiyi to leave Peach Blossom Valley.
This girl traveling the jianghu by herself was truly worrying.
With outsiders present, Li Chengxi couldn't really say anything.
At least Yang Yiyi hadn't casually blurted out the matter of the Jade Tablet.
That counted as progress, right?
He reached out and clicked on Tang Lianyu, selecting 'Abilities' from the dropdown menu that appeared.
Tang Lianyu's attribute values were also terrible, almost on par with Yang Yiyi before she had used the Sky-Upholding Stone.
If Zheng Yinping and Li Yingluo were martial arts geniuses, these two were martial arts washouts.
However, Tang Lianyu's Fortune attribute was extremely high, making it stand out.
Was it probably because she was born into a good life?
Li Chengxi looked at the ability panel and felt it looked a bit familiar.
"Damn, isn't this just a Wei Xiaobao?"
Good at nothing, but number one in luck.
Just then, the phone next to the computer buzzed.
Li Chengxi glanced at the caller ID; it read 'Qian Sen'.
He had just been thinking about calling him, but unexpectedly, he called first.
"Hello?"
"It's me, Qian Sen."
From the sound of his voice, Qian Sen seemed extremely exhausted.
"We have preliminary results on yesterday's incident. I thought I should let you know."
"You found the person who disguised themselves as Gan Xiaoyan yesterday?"
"Not that one yet."
Qian Sen said:
"It's about the armed robbery. We found traces that the robber's perception had been interfered with. The fact that he went to the mall with a toy cap gun and wasn't discovered by the patrolling police when he approached the mall were both because of this interference."
"So you're saying, he's an innocent person?"
"Not entirely innocent. The police found out he's actually a fugitive who accidentally killed someone in his hometown and has been wanted ever since. We've caught him this time. We now suspect the one who interfered with his perception is the same person who disguised themselves as Gan Xiaoyan and acted with you."
As he spoke, Qian Sen lowered his voice a little:
"I'm letting you know because you're also a victim in this matter. It's clear this is out of our hands now. The Head Office has taken over the case."
"Wait, you mean... that son of a bitch is the nationwide serial killer you told me about before?"
"That's your guess, not my words."
Qian Sen was truly afraid of getting involved.
After emphasizing this, he added:
"But you don't need to worry too much. The Head Office has informed us that they've already pinpointed the target's specific location. Once they leave the city, the arrest will be carried out. After that, this matter will have nothing to do with you or me."
When Li Chengxi heard this, although he felt a lingering fear, he was instantly relieved.
Since they've already been found, and an inescapable net has been set up to catch them, it should be a sure thing, right?
(End of Chapter)