Chapter 1829: Chapter 1045: Meticulous Scheming (Part 2)
"This guy fights using a Puppet while his real body hides nearby to control it. Even if the Puppet loses, he can cut his losses and escape in an instant, making him extremely hard to track." The branch chief explained.
Yang Xiao finally understood. So that Puppet howling in the mist just now was because its real body was getting hit by this branch chief’s attack.
"Thanks for rushing over in time. If you’d been any later, I’m afraid Miss Wang Yue and I wouldn’t be alive right now." Yang Xiao let out a long breath. Anyway, he’d managed to save that precious Elixir.
"On this point, please rest assured, Angel Envoy. Since you were invited to Japan, the Jiu Mountain Family will, of course, guarantee your absolute safety." The branch chief’s face was solemn, his tone very firm as he nodded.
Hearing that, and thinking about how fast the other side had provided support, Yang Xiao understood what was going on. "Branch Chief, you’ve been tailing me this whole time, haven’t you?"
"On orders from the Jiu Mountain Clan Leader, I’ve been following the Angel Envoy in secret to provide protection. The reason I didn’t step in immediately was because I was looking for the Air General’s real body and scouting for any ambushes around them."
The branch chief looked at Wang Yue Qianxun, paused, and then said, "Qian Xun is my student. I know her. I knew she would stake her life to protect you."
That was about as blunt as it got. In this branch chief’s eyes, sacrificing his student Wang Yue Qianxun alone in exchange for one of Kakemono Gate’s five Ninja Team Generals, the Air General, was a very cost‑effective trade.
"Teacher Temple Tail, Qian Xun did not disgrace the honor of the Dark Department!" Hearing this, Wang Yue Qianxun straightened up in excitement and bowed to the branch chief.
Yang Xiao was dumbfounded. He had no idea why these two suddenly got all fired up. Also... wasn’t he the one who had protected Wang Yue Qianxun just now? She could barely protect herself; what the hell was she using to ’guard’ him?
Yang Xiao was finding it harder and harder to understand the thought process of these people from Japan. The moment words like duty, sacrifice, and protection came up, this bunch acted like they’d just mainlined chicken blood, itching to disembowel themselves on the spot to prove their loyalty.
Those kinds of flashy concepts simply didn’t exist in Yang Xiao’s dictionary. He believed in pure survivalism—so long as you don’t die, there will always be a day you rise above.
Even after suffering all kinds of humiliation at the hands of that female demon from the Heavenly Water Pavilion, Yang Xiao never wavered. He’d sworn to himself countless times in his heart: a real man can bend and stretch; one day, he’d personally take back everything he’d lost!
Pathetic!
The branch chief and Wang Yue Qianxun naturally had no idea what Yang Xiao was thinking. On the way back, after the branch chief arranged for people to escort the two of them, Yang Xiao sat in the backseat, using the Ghost Lantern to heal Wang Yue Qianxun’s injuries, while the branch chief himself stayed behind to handle the aftermath.
Under Yang Xiao’s treatment, he quickly dissolved all the corpse spots, something the branch chief admitted he himself couldn’t do.
After all, Magic Artifacts that could dispel were far too rare. Not counting Yang Xiao’s, he’d only seen two in his entire life, and without exception, both were in the hands of absolute top‑tier powerhouses.
Just like Yang Xiao looking at Wang Yue Qianxun’s watch with regret, this branch chief also felt it was a pity—if only Yang Xiao were a Disciple of the Kah Party.
After this incident, the relationship between Yang Xiao and Wang Yue Qianxun had gotten a lot closer. Noticing his interest in the watch, Wang Yue Qianxun took it off and handed it to him, explaining its ability.
The watch could indeed rewind time, but its drawbacks were also obvious. First, the time it could reverse was very short; with her current strength, she could only rewind up to five seconds at most.
What was worse, this ability didn’t come without a price. After a certain period of time, she would have to face the damage of the reversed injuries again, doubled—unless the Ghost that had harmed her fell into deep sleep.
"So that’s how it is..." Yang Xiao studied the old watch in his hand. The metallic case carried a natural chill.
But for the current Wang Yue Qianxun, she no longer had to worry about being bitten back by the watch. After all, the Ninja Team Air General who controlled the Bag Ghost was dead beyond dead, and all of his Magic Artifacts would be collected and properly stored by that branch chief.
"Thank you." Wang Yue Qianxun thanked Yang Xiao sincerely.
Leaning against the car door, Yang Xiao looked out the window at the passing scenery and waved lazily. "Don’t mention it. No big deal."
"I’ll repay this favor. I’ll take good care of Auntie, you can rest easy." Wang Yue Qianxun promised. She was the chief intelligence officer planted by the Jiu Mountain Family in the Kagoshima region and held considerable authority.
Hearing this, Yang Xiao also grew serious. The image of Sato Shouta surfaced in his mind once more; the other man’s gaze on him had been full of trust.
Now, Yang Xiao was very resistant to people calling him Mr. Yang, because every time he heard it, he’d think of Sato Shouta’s face.
"After something like this, you shouldn’t go out alone for now. When Teacher Temple Tail finishes his work, it’s best if he escorts you back—that’s the safest option." Wang Yue Qianxun suggested.
Yang Xiao had no objections. He planned to visit Sato Shouta’s mother again the next day, and Wang Yue Qianxun approved; she agreed to go with him.
Worried that their movements might be exposed, Yang Xiao changed to another place to stay, again with Wang Yue Qianxun accompanying him.
Through the Human Bone Staff’s sensing, Yang Xiao detected eight unfamiliar auras nearby. Those were most likely the guards arranged by the Jiu Mountain Family.
Late into the night, Yang Xiao tossed and turned in bed. He hadn’t expected this trip to Japan to be so full of strange encounters: not only had he gotten to know a big shot like Jiushan Cangxuan, he’d also solved the Magic Artifact backlash afflicting Tong Han, learned how to control Spiritual Magical Artifacts and perform Corpse Refining, taken part in the Yellow Springs Road plan, and greatly improved his own spiritual power.
On top of that, he’d helped kill a top general of the Kah Party.
But Yang Xiao had also noticed some suspicious points. His visit to Sato Shouta’s family in Kagoshima should have been top‑secret, so how had the news leaked so quickly?
For the Jiu Mountain Family to stand among Japan’s many Apostle Families for a hundred years without falling, their intelligence work couldn’t possibly be this sloppy.
Earlier, still caught up in the lingering tension of battle, Yang Xiao hadn’t thought it through. Now that he’d calmed down, he realized something was off.
Even more coincidentally, when he was attacked, the guards arranged by the Jiu Mountain Family just happened to be nearby. It felt like it had all been rehearsed in advance.
And the guy hadn’t even rushed to his rescue at the first moment; he had to go look for the enemy’s real body first. Yang Xiao just couldn’t wrap his head around that. Was the life of a Patrol Defense Office Angel Envoy worth less than that of a Ninja Team General?
He knew full well that if he died in Japan, no matter who actually killed him, the Jiu Mountain Family wouldn’t be able to shrug off responsibility.
Stringing all of this together, the truth was practically staring him in the face. This whole attack had been orchestrated by the Jiu Mountain Family from the start. They were the ones who had deliberately leaked the information through special channels. Yang Xiao even suspected they already knew exactly which people from Kakemono Gate were coming to assassinate him.
Kakemono Gate trying to assassinate a Patrol Defense Office Angel Envoy—whether they succeeded or not, this would inevitably push Kakemono Gate onto the opposite side of the Patrol Defense Office. And as everyone knew, Kakemono Gate was the private army of the Ghost Sect Leader, so this account would inevitably be tallied against the Ghost Sect.
"Well played. You actually calculated this all the way down to me. Senior Jiu Shan, you really went to a lot of trouble."
Having figured everything out, Yang Xiao could only smile bitterly. He wasn’t angry. He’d taken a deep part in the Jiu Mountain Family’s Yellow Springs Road plan, received personal guidance from Jiushan Cangxuan, and Tong Han had even directly taken Jiu Shan Jinglan as his master. At this point, he was thoroughly tied to the Jiu Mountain Family.
To say their fortunes were now shared—prosper together, lose together—wouldn’t be an exaggeration. After all, both sides held the other’s secrets.
He held the Yellow Springs Road plan and knew Jiu Shan Sha Yue’s true strength, while the Jiu Mountain Family held Tong Han, a trump card that could be used to control Yang Xiao.
Inside Tong Han’s ring slumbered the Empress’s Ice Rose, someone powerful enough to shake the three great factions of the Western European Church Court, the Valutis Empire, and the Chamber of Commerce.
Both sides held cards that could check the other. Only then could they be back‑to‑back "friends." Yang Xiao preferred making friends with smart people.
