Chapter 16: One-eared
“Young Master Ji, wait, it’s me.”
A familiar voice entered Ji Qing’s ears.
At the same time, a figure walked out from a shadowy corner.
“It’s you… the one from Listen to the Wind Tower…”
Ji Qing really couldn’t remember the other’s name.
Back then, he hadn’t even asked for the other’s name.
But the other had only “one ear,” which left a deep impression on Ji Qing.
After all, that missing ear had been “cut” off by Ji Qing himself.
“Young Master Ji, this humble one was sent by Shopkeeper Yu to specially invite Young Master to Listen to the Wind Tower.”
“Shopkeeper Yu?”
“She’s the person in charge of Listen to the Wind Tower in An Yang City. Even within our Listen to the Wind Tower, she’s called Shopkeeper. You should have met her, the woman who provided you with intelligence…”
Ji Qing remembered.
That woman in the underground secret chamber who sold all kinds of intelligence.
Ji Qing sized up the “acquaintance” in front of him.
Back then at the mule and horse inn, Ji Qing had spared the other’s life, but he had also obtained the lightness skill Grass on Flying.
“I cut off one of your ears, and you don’t hate me?”
Ji Qing asked.
“What are you saying, Young Master Ji? It was my own carelessness that allowed you to notice. Between Jianghu martial artists, when blades clash, injuries are inevitable. Besides, I benefited from you. Now I have some reputation in the Jianghu.”
“Oh? What reputation?”
“Jianghu people call this humble one ‘One-eared,’ the most well-informed intelligence gatherer in Listen to the Wind Tower. Heh heh, actually, it was by tracking Young Master’s whereabouts that I rose to fame in one battle. This humble one is very grateful to Young Master.”
Ji Qing understood.
This “One-eared” had risen to fame thanks to him, the Villain Ranking Eighth great demon.
Within Listen to the Wind Tower, the other had likely received significant promotion.
So, losing one ear was nothing?
It wasn’t worth mentioning at all!
“This time, Shopkeeper Yu specially sent this humble one to An Yang City, actually to build a bridge of communication between Listen to the Wind Tower and Young Master Ji. After all, Shopkeeper Yu has something to ask of Young Master Ji. Why not go and hear what Shopkeeper Yu has to say?”
“One-eared” was already quite familiar with Ji Qing.
Moreover, “One-eared” had a deep understanding of Ji Qing’s temperament.
Shopkeeper Yu had specially asked “One-eared” to come to An Yang City for Listen to the Wind Tower, also at a certain cost.
“Lead the way.”
“Alright, Young Master, please follow me.”
One-eared led the way in front, and Ji Qing soon returned to Listen to the Wind Tower.
It was still that hidden secret chamber underground.
This time, One-eared didn’t leave but stayed in the secret chamber.
Ji Qing saw Shopkeeper Yu, still veiled.
“Young Master has arrived, please sit.”
Ji Qing sat opposite Shopkeeper Yu, while One-eared stood beside Shopkeeper Yu.
“Shopkeeper Yu, you specially had ‘One-eared’ come to An Yang City and made such a big fuss—what exactly is this about?”
Ji Qing asked.
Shopkeeper Yu smiled and said, “Indeed, it’s a very important matter, so we had to trouble Young Master to come to Listen to the Wind Tower again. This involves some special requests from one of our important guests. After much consideration at Listen to the Wind Tower, probably only Young Master can fulfill that distinguished guest’s requirements.”
“What requirements?”
“That guest has a similar experience to Young Master—his entire family was killed, and the skin was peeled from their corpses…”
“Boom.”
Ji Qing’s mind buzzed.
Stormy seas surged in his heart.
Skin-changing Demon!
It must be the Skin-changing Demon!
He had actually been searching for traces of the Skin-changing Demon during this time, but found no clues.
He had originally planned to use Listen to the Wind Tower’s intelligence system to track the Skin-changing Demon, but now it had come knocking?
However, now Listen to the Wind Tower needed something from Ji Qing, so he suppressed his inner excitement and kept a calm expression.
“Can you tell me why Listen to the Wind Tower, a force that sells intelligence, is taking on something like ‘hiring’?”
Ji Qing asked.
Shopkeeper Yu lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then looked up with a wry smile and a long sigh: “To be honest with Young Master, the reason we did this is simple—that guest offered too much…”
“How much?”
“Ten thousand taels of silver.”
“…”
Ji Qing fell silent.
Fine, he had been too hasty.
Facing such a lavish “distinguished guest,” who could resist?
No wonder Listen to the Wind Tower was doing “side jobs” and specially sending “One-eared” to communicate with him.
“What benefits can Listen to the Wind Tower give me? If you can hide my intelligence…”
“No. Young Master Ji, Listen to the Wind Tower lives by selling intelligence—that’s our bottom line! We cannot hide your intelligence… However, if Young Master is willing to help Listen to the Wind Tower this time, while we can’t hide Young Master’s intelligence, we can ‘delay’ the intelligence timeline.”
“For example, we only provide intelligence from three days ago for Young Master. This gives Young Master three days’ buffer time. What do you think?”
Ji Qing carefully considered in his mind.
Delay by three days?
That would give him three days of “buffer” time, and no one could track his whereabouts in real time through Listen to the Wind Tower.
This was indeed a tangible benefit.
Getting Listen to the Wind Tower to make this “concession” was not easy.
“I also need an internal energy art, preferably a superior second-rate internal energy art.”
“Listen to the Wind Tower cannot provide Young Master with a superior second-rate internal energy art, but that distinguished guest might be able to. If Young Master is willing to wait, we will give Young Master a reply in three days.”
“Fine, I’ll wait.”
Ji Qing stood up to leave.
“By the way, as a show of sincerity, Listen to the Wind Tower is willing to give Young Master a piece of intelligence for free. Qingzhou’s top constable, Chasing Wind Blade Du Chen, has set off personally to pursue the Liang City fugitive Ji Qing!”
Ji Qing’s figure paused slightly upon hearing this.
“Thanks.”
Ji Qing left Listen to the Wind Tower after saying that.
“Whoosh.”
One-eared chased out.
“Du Chen is a second-rank martial artist, famous throughout the world. Young Master, be very careful!”
One-eared’s figure also quickly vanished.
Three days later, Ji Qing returned to Listen to the Wind Tower.
Shopkeeper Yu got straight to the point: “The distinguished guest is very satisfied with Young Master’s ‘experience,’ but the distinguished guest has no second-rate internal energy art, only a superior third-rate internal energy art! Moreover, no matter if Young Master succeeds or not in resolving the distinguished guest’s issue, as long as Young Master goes, the distinguished guest will give a superior third-rate internal energy art.”
Ji Qing frowned.
Experience?
He knew that Listen to the Wind Tower must have revealed his information to that mysterious distinguished guest.
With the same experience, that distinguished guest agreed to let him go.
It was just that the other also had no second-rate internal energy art?
In the Jianghu, a profound internal energy art was hard to obtain.
Ji Qing thought for a moment and finally nodded in agreement.
“Can I know the other’s information now?”
“Lei Family Fort’s thousand gold, Lei Yu!”
“Where exactly?”
“The location isn’t far—it’s at Lei Family Fort outside An Yang City. And Miss Lei… well, how to put it? She’s unforgettable at first sight. If Young Master goes to Lei Family Fort, you should recognize Miss Lei at a glance.”
Ji Qing asked no more.
He left Listen to the Wind Tower and headed straight for Lei Family Fort outside the city.
Several hours later, Ji Qing stopped.
He had arrived at Lei Family Fort.
Lei Family Fort was very quiet at the moment, and being a remote place, almost no one came.
Ji Qing walked a few steps and saw a woman standing with her back to him ahead, gazing into the distance outside Lei Family Fort.
“Villain Ranking Eighth, Liang City Xiucai Scholar Ji Qing?”
The woman slowly turned around. Perhaps because her body was too heavy, the ground even vibrated slightly.
This woman was tall and burly, with a face full of fierce flesh, thighs thicker than his own waist, and standing a head taller than Ji Qing.
From afar, she looked just like a meat mountain.
“Miss Lei…”
Ji Qing fell silent.
No wonder Shopkeeper Yu said Miss Lei was unforgettable at first sight.
With such an appearance, it was hard to forget even if one wanted to.
