Chapter 53: Entrapment
“I shouldered my luggage and left home that moment.”
Jiang Ce placed his luggage properly, sat down in his seat, and happily hummed a tune while waiting for the high-speed train to start.
After returning home last night, he asked Chen Mian for leave, then slept soundly, temporarily setting aside cultivation.
Since he was putting on a play, he naturally had to do it thoroughly. He held back from absorbing the energy converted from Aatrox, first because he was worried that progressing too quickly would arouse Wei Lao’s suspicion, and second because he planned to learn some superficial knowledge of the White Tiger Secret Teachings, then use it back in conjunction with visualization for doubled effects, which was definitely better than fumbling around blindly.
It wasn’t easy to accumulate so much energy; if he couldn’t use every bit on the blade’s edge, it would be too wasteful.
Moreover, emotionally speaking, he was somewhat excited and simply couldn’t settle down to cultivate.
He had never left Luocheng in his life; before descending the mountain, the most he did was go down with his senior brother for alms gathering, and after descending, he was always busy struggling for survival, with no spare time or money for travel—this was his first real trip.
His mood was like that of an elementary school student about to go on a spring outing, bright and expectant.
Coincidentally, right after asking for leave, Xiao Lin sent a message saying Wei Lao had something come up temporarily, so Jiang Ce should visit the next day—which meant the first day in Yangcheng, he was completely free.
For this, he specially made a strategy guide, researching interesting places in Yangcheng.
While studying local cuisine, the high-speed train soon arrived in Yangcheng.
Exiting the high-speed train station, Jiang Ce stood there like a dazed young man, looking left and right, seemingly unsure where to go.
His bewildered appearance quickly caught the attention of a few people, who approached.
“Little brother, where are you going? Want a ride?”
Jiang Ce smiled innocently, waving his hand: “No need, no need, I called a car.”
“Oh, watch out not to get ripped off.” After this seemingly kind reminder, the smoking driver left.
Jiang Ce was about to leave when he turned his head and discovered his suitcase was gone.
But he didn’t panic; instead, he rubbed his chin and nodded: “There really are people stealing luggage from out-of-towners, impressive, impressive.”
No need to think—the driver just now was clearly part of a thief gang, a shill specifically to distract the victim and provide cover; while talking, the victim relaxes their guard, and the accomplice steals the luggage. They were obviously habitual offenders.
Jiang Ce walked into the security station and found the on-duty railway police.
“Comrade, my luggage is gone.”
The on-duty officer had encountered this countless times and was clearly well-practiced; he poured water for Jiang Ce, then asked for details. When he learned the luggage was lost outside the high-speed train station, Jiang Ce clearly sensed the other man breathe a sigh of relief.
“Comrade, this is tough to handle. Though there’s surveillance, you know how it is—crowded at the high-speed train station entrance, all sorts mixed in; finding your lost personal items is like fishing a needle from the sea, very difficult.”
Jiang Ce blinked: “But there are very important things inside.”
“No matter how important, it’s probably unfindable.” The other showed a helpless expression.
“Don’t judge by my appearance; actually, I’m an overseas Chinese.”
“Even if you were Black, there’s really nothing we can do.”
“Actually, I’m worried that if they steal my stuff and feel guilt for life, what if one day they remember and slap themselves, blood pressure spikes, and they die—then who do I sue?”
The other had never heard such an amusing claim and couldn’t help laughing: “Impossible. Not to mention how minuscule the chance is, even if it happened, it wouldn’t be on you—unless your luggage had dangerous goods, which is a different story.”
“Confirming, right? Even if they have issues due to their personal tolerance or emotions or whatever, it’s got nothing to do with me?”
Though finding it odd, the other affirmed utterly: “Yes, not a dime to do with you. Who ever has to take responsibility if the thief who stole from them dies? Learn the law more.”
“Comrade, you’re right; I was overthinking.”
Jiang Ce nodded and left the security station, leaving the on-duty officer chuckling helplessly.
Meanwhile, inside a van, three people were examining the contents of Jiang Ce’s suitcase.
“What’s this?”
“Dunno, but it looks like junk.”
“What if it’s an antique? If it’s valuable, we hit the jackpot.”
“No way.”
While studying, one of them accidentally opened the box.
A sinister, malice-filled chill instantly spread from their feet to the tops of their heads, making them all shudder uncontrollably.
“What’s going on?”
“Is the AC too low?”
“We didn’t even turn on the AC.”
“Hee hee hee hee hee.”
“Big Brother, look behind you!”
“Fuck!”
“Ah!!! Ghost!!!”
Jiang Ce ate an ice pop, bored as he strolled the streets.
Listening to the recording of the on-duty police on his mobile phone, Jiang Ce grinned: “Who says I don’t know the law? Most of the time, I know it better than anyone—not only do I know the law, I can gather evidence!”
“Let’s see about the time.”
Jiang Ce leaned on a bridge railing and took a few scenic photos:
“About time to open it, huh? It shouldn’t hurt anyone, probably won’t actually scare them to death.”
“Whatever, the police uncle already said it has nothing to do with me.”
“Where to play next.”
Holding the money won from the duel and the reward from Su Feng, carrying a huge sum of one hundred thousand, Jiang Ce just wanted to enjoy himself fully, not caring how much he spent—when out playing, the goal was to have fun.
So following the strategy guide, he spent the entire day checking in at every interesting spot.
Like clocking in at work, finishing one place and immediately moving to the next; by day’s end, he had surprisingly covered all of Yangcheng.
He organized all the photos he took, planning to post them to his Moments.
But just as he was about to send, he hesitated, and moments later, clicked cancel.
Jiang Ce pursed his lips, looked up at the people strolling in pairs or groups on the street, and let out a long breath: “Forget it, no one would care anyway.”
In the end, he simply picked his favorite temple photo and sent it separately to Chen Mian, Jie Tan, Xiao Lin, Lu Yun; after thinking, he also sent one to Ling Xun.
To Chen Mian, the caption was: Uncle Chen, Yangcheng is pretty interesting.
To Jie Tan and Xiao Lin, he told them he had arrived in Yangcheng and would visit Wei Lao tomorrow.
As for Lu Yun and Ling Xun, it was: I checked in here for Buddha’s Palm.
Without waiting for replies, Jiang Ce put away his mobile phone, but suddenly felt time dragging on.
Before this, he hadn’t known a single day was enough to tour the whole city, though he’d already mostly forgotten the specific places.
He sat on the roadside for a long time until dusk fell, then finally got up and headed to Gatekeeper Headquarters.
He planned to stay at headquarters tonight, then consolidate Golden Bell Shield while starting to study Xiao Lin’s Golden Liquid Divine Elixir Compendium.
“Travel doesn’t feel as fun as I imagined.”
Jiang Ce was listless, but just as he found Gatekeeper Headquarters, a bar across the street caught his eye.
Neon lights flashed inside; even through the wall and across the street, Jiang Ce could hear the hubbub and noisy music.
“Oh right, Yangcheng’s most famous nightclub—I haven’t seen it yet; this must be the one.”
As if compelled, Jiang Ce walked toward the bar.
When writing the latter half, I originally planned to have Jiang Ce happily go clubbing, but after writing it, it felt off, so I deleted it. In my imagination, Jiang Ce is just a young man who hasn’t experienced much; though shrewd in worldly affairs, he’s essentially innocent and lonely. Just then, I recalled going to Hangzhou alone two years ago—touring West Lake, the water was nice, the people were nice, the scenery was nice, but none of it had anything to do with me; I was the extra one. So I think, for everyone traveling alone, detached from their familiar environment and comfort zone, it’s probably this kind of feeling.
