Master, What Dao Do You Cultivate?-Chapter 39: Pfft, Such Indecency

"Advisor Tang" was also someone he met on the dark web. When the other party saw how high Ji Qinglin's success rate was in killing wanted criminals, he proactively extended an olive branch.
Their multiple collaborations had all gone smoothly. "Advisor Tang" provided accurate intel and didn’t ask for exorbitant prices. Ji Qinglin suspected he might be a police officer who needed credit for catching fugitives, or simply someone with a strong sense of justice.
Yu Ye had been asking about the wanted criminals Ji Qinglin had taken care of in the past. While the two of them were chatting, "Advisor Tang’s" data came through.
Yu Ye opened it and found the content was indeed much more detailed:
Aside from the personal details not listed on the wanted notice, it even included part of Duan Tianpeng’s movements from three days ago. The police hadn't released that info, likely in case an arrest was needed—they could still catch him off guard.
Ji Qinglin sipped his tea while watching Yu Ye analyze the data. After comparing the images with the map, Yu Ye said:
"Starting with the most recent movements, this guy entered Xindong Street's General Store Alley three days ago..."
"Pfft!"
Ji Qinglin spat out a mouthful of tea and immediately leaned in to look more closely, confirming Yu Ye hadn’t said anything wrong.
"What is it, Master?"
"Don't tell me you still don’t know the name of our alley?"
Yu Ye also realized it and widened her apricot eyes in surprise:
"No way! There’s no way it’s that much of a coincidence, right?"
"Shh, pull up the store’s footage first. Coincidences happen all the time. It’s just that people don’t usually notice them."
They pulled up the surveillance footage, and the Master and Disciple quickly filtered through the customers who’d been in the shop three days ago.
Luckily, the store didn’t get that many customers, which made the task easier. Ji Qinglin soon spotted a suspicious man—carrying a backpack, wearing a windbreaker, sunglasses, and an earring, with short hair—who had looked around cautiously before entering the shop.
"Should be him."
"You’re that sure? His face doesn’t look like him at all."
"Changing faces isn’t hard these days. For guys like him—sky thieves—it’s likely he’s changed his face many times already. Police usually confirm identities through scanned body shapes and gait patterns. After capture, they rely on fingerprints and blood type. Civilians wouldn’t recognize him."
"He definitely scoped out the place before and after going in—probably assessing the surroundings."
"Yeah, but the main thing is, when he was checking out the shop, his eyes barely stayed on you at all. For the guys who’ve come in recently, that’s definitely not normal."
Yu Ye snickered:
"If that’s the case, wouldn’t that make you abnormal too, Master? Ow—ah! I’m sorry! Master, stop pressing that!"
Mad Ye: With your current resistance to electricity, I think you could easily take a few rounds of Palm Lightning now.
Yu Ye: Tch, birds of a feather. Ever since I’ve been following Master, even my mouth’s gotten sharper.
The first thing they needed to do now was find Duan Tianpeng’s hideout. From the store’s camera angle, they saw him enter General Store Alley, but not leave.
The alley itself didn’t have many places someone could stay in. Just a few small shopfronts, and a small building behind them that housed a hotel. The hotel entrance was on the other side; from the alley, only a few room windows were visible.
"Master, he probably rented a room facing the alley so he could watch the escape route. With his movement technique, slipping back into his room from the alley would be no problem."
That was the likely scenario. Still, Ji Qinglin went to the hotel front desk to check, and confirmed that Duan Tianpeng was indeed staying in the window-facing room in the middle.
"Yu Ye, your luck’s something else. A Sky Mantis delivered right to your doorstep."
"Master, when should we make our move?"
"Night’s best. We know the area better than he does. But these sky thieves are extremely cautious. A direct assault or knocking on the door will probably spook him. We have to catch him off guard."
As Ji Qinglin spoke, his eyes drifted toward Yu Ye again.
Yu Ye’s willow brows furrowed slightly—she suddenly had a bad feeling:
"Master, don’t tell me... someone like him won’t fall for a simple honey trap, right?"
Ji Qinglin gave a mysterious smile:
"Of course that old trick won’t work. I just want to borrow something from you."
"You don’t mean... my underwear, do you?"
"What the h*ll are you thinking? I just want to borrow your voice."
————————
Late at night. A lonely star and a cold moon. The vendors on Xindong Street’s main road had already packed up and left.
In the small hotel on General Store Alley, Duan Tianpeng sat by the window, examining his treasure under the moonlight.
It was a section of crystal bone, from a right forearm down to the hand. The size matched a real human hand, but it was translucent and clear, like a meticulously crafted work of art.
Even now, holding it made Duan Tianpeng’s body tremble with excitement. After all, he had gotten his hands on what every Qi Refiner dreamed of: an Immortal’s corpse.
This was his first time seeing part of an Immortal’s corpse, but judging from the intel he’d received—and the reaction of the West Chang District Commerce Guild President after it was stolen—there was no doubt this was the real deal.
All those years of labeling himself the "underwear thief" weren’t in vain.
He’d stolen gold and jewelry for money, and women’s underwear to divert attention. The police wouldn’t place a high bounty on an underwear thief, and the rich wouldn’t care about a few missing garments.
If he hadn’t been discovered while searching for the Immortal’s corpse, he wouldn’t have had to silence the guards and cleaners.
The disguise worked perfectly. Even though he had infiltrated the West Chang District Commerce Guild President’s home and stolen the corpse, the guards and police still assumed it was done by a more dangerous or notorious thief.
He even spread false leads, saying the guy who stole the corpse fenced it in the Northern New District.
No one—nor would anyone—during this tense time, would think to suspect a low-profile underwear thief like him.
But since the virus in West Chang District still hadn’t been completely cleared, it was unsafe to travel with such a valuable item. Duan Tianpeng decided to rest here for two days. Once his body recovered, he’d take the piece and disappear.
Even so, with his cautious nature, he had carefully scouted the area before checking in, making sure there were no undercover cops or hidden sentries.
He’d studied the corpse for a few days. Even though he couldn’t make sense of it, Duan Tianpeng was sure this thing would help in cultivation. And if he couldn’t figure it out, just selling it would guarantee a life of luxury.
Step step step step—
As he was thinking, footsteps echoed in the hallway. Duan Tianpeng quickly put the item away and silently stepped to the door, peeking out to see what was happening.
A disheveled couple snuck toward the room next door, looking all secretive. They seemed familiar.
Tch, aren’t those the Master and Disciple from the shop downstairs? What are they doing here?
"Master, hurry up, your Disciple can’t take it anymore."
"Hehe, don’t rush. I’m gonna wear you out tonight."
Bang—
As the two tumbled into the room wrapped in each other’s arms, the door next door slammed shut.
Duan Tianpeng let out a cold snort:
"Pfft, such indecency!"