Walking with Tigers
Han Jiang carefully protected the invisibility talisman; if it were to be rubbed off, she would be doomed.
She chose a corner, climbed down from the ring, crouched down, and slipped out among the crowd.
The examination hall was cleared by the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, where disciples from the three sects came and went to treat their injuries.
The roads leading out were almost completely blocked.
The crowd craned their necks to see what was happening inside, making both the entrance and exit completely blocked.
Hanjiang had no choice but to huddle against the wall and shuffle out.
The three immortals and the two princes of the demon race were all in the examination hall, and the crowd was focused on looking inside, so no one should notice her.
Finally! It's out!
Han Jiang left the examination room quietly and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when someone grabbed the back of her clothes.
How could she still get caught when she was clearly hiding?!
Han Jiang tried to struggle, but the man said, "Don't move. I'll let you go when we're alone."
It's Cang Jingqi!
The Demon Clan sent the Second Prince and the Third Prince to participate in the Three Gates Treasure Hunt, so the First Prince, Cang Jingqi, naturally did not need to stay in the examination hall.
Miscalculation!
How come I run into him everywhere? Does this guy have a tracking device on him?
Cang Jingqi had been keeping a close eye on Han Jiang ever since he noticed her stepping onto the arena with the invisibility talisman.
His extraordinary spiritual perception made everything in this world impossible for Cang Jingqi to hide from him.
This has shaped his current personality; he is perceptive of everything and naturally finds the world uninteresting.
He never expected Han Jiang to be so bold.
"Take off that invisibility talisman." Cang Jingqi closed the door.
Cang Jingqi actually brought her to his room.
Han Jiang nervously took off the talisman, not daring to look Cang Jingqi in the eye.
"Han Xiaoman, I didn't realize you were so bold." Cang Jingqi pulled up a chair and sat down. "What's your excuse this time? Do you think sneaking into the secret realm will let you return to your original world?"
"You're absolutely right!" Han Jiang immediately greeted him respectfully.
"Ha!" Cang Jing scoffed, not believing it.
"You were right all along..." Han Jiang muttered.
Cang Jingqi said seriously, "Han Xiaoman, look up at me—you're not a rebel, right?"
"No." Han Jiang didn't understand why Cang Jingqi had to ask again.
"Is Wen Xu a rebel?"
"No, not at all!" Han Jiang's tone remained firm.
Cang Jingqi seemed to have a clue, and then said, "It's obvious that the reason the monster went berserk is because of the Hunling Pill. The powder of the Hunling Pill has very obvious spiritual energy on it. Guess whose it is?"
"Mine." Han Jiang replied without hesitation.
Everything had been discussed beforehand; she took the blame for Wen Xu, and Wen Xu continued to complete the task.
The Three Gates Treasure Hunt ended earlier than in previous years, and surprisingly, no one died; the only injuries were caused by the monsters going out of control.
Even if it is found that it was caused by Han Jiang, at most he will be expelled from the sect, not killed.
Expelling them from the four prefectures is acceptable; confining them is also acceptable.
As long as they don't die, that's fine.
She prepared herself mentally, took a deep breath, and looked directly at Cang Jingqi.
"The people present can only rely on magical artifacts to detect spiritual energy, but the effect of magical artifacts is minimal, so in the end, it will definitely be me who does it." Cang Jingqi said meaningfully.
"Are you going to report me?"
The more Cang Jingqi said this, the more it showed that he was preparing to watch the show.
Han Tian hadn't told Han Jingqi a word about what happened last time, and she gradually figured out Cang Jingqi's strange psychology.
"Of course I won't report you," Cang Jing chuckled, "but Wen Xu might not."
If, during the cold spell, one insists that warmth is useless and takes the blame upon oneself, it will only arouse suspicion.
Silence descends as the cold sets in; people ponder countermeasures.
But in Cang Jingqi's eyes, it was tacit agreement.
"It seems you know. To be honest, I'm very curious, curious about what she's trying to do. And you, Han Xiaoman, what role do you play in all of this? Knowing but not reporting makes you an accomplice."
"You also knew about it but didn't report it, so you're an accomplice too." Han Jiang stared at Cang Jingqi, while admitting that she knew Wen Xu had used the Hunling Pill, which was a task given to Wen Xu by the system.
Cang Jingqi remained calm and composed. After leaving the secret realm, he immediately checked the magical beasts on the scene, took the crushed Hunling Pill powder from their bodies, and was able to detect the warm spiritual energy with his magic power.
Cang Jingqi's spiritual perception originated from his father who died young.
His half-brother, Cang Jingmo, possesses the ability to intimidate with spiritual power, suggesting that Cang Jingmo is highly likely to be the next Demon Lord.
Cang Jingqi was used to being an observer; rather than getting involved, he preferred to watch from the sidelines. He watched Cang Jingmo's abilities grow stronger, watched him conquer all directions and establish his prestige, watched him negotiate with the human world and dominate the world.
He simply watched from beginning to end.
Occasionally, when Cang Jingmo is too busy, he will lend a hand. This depends on his mood.
He knew Wen Xu had used the Hunling Pill, but he wouldn't say it. Saying it would mean getting involved, and he didn't want to.
A young girl with such audacity, stirring up chaos, must have something on her mind. Perhaps it's to steal the treasure, but someone who forfeits the arena battle, even if they win the hunt, can't possibly be number one on the treasure leaderboard.
It's either for something else, or for someone else.
Otherwise, she would have no reason to hurt herself.
This is going to be interesting. Cang Jing thought to himself.
Sitting in front of him was a participant. Cang Jingqi was eager to know the truth of the story, but this participant seemed to be more interesting than the matter itself, and he didn't want it to end too soon.
"Han Xiaoman, since we are accomplices, shouldn't you share information? That way I can protect our accomplices."
Han Jiang found Cang Jingqi extremely terrifying; how could he know so much information?
She tried to shift the focus by asking another question: "How did you find me?"
"You don't think I won't be able to find you just because you've dissipated your spiritual power, do you? You can fool magical artifacts and other people with that physique. By the way, Han Tian has also found you." Cang Jingqi deliberately went along with Han Jiang's words.
What is "spiritual energy dissipation"?
"Ah, I forgot you're not Han Jiang, so you wouldn't know." Cang Jingqi pretended to remember. He brought this up specifically to see how much Han Jiang knew, and it seemed she knew almost nothing about the original owner of this body.
Han Jiang regretted what she said as soon as she finished speaking; she had to be careful when talking to this person.
As for Han Tian, Han Jiang had anticipated this outcome.
She planned to say that it was to help Hanqi win the treasure, and that the senior sister cheated for the junior sister, doing good deeds but causing bad results. Although the reason was lame, it was still plausible.
"Han Xiaoman, how about we make a deal?" Cang Jingqi leaned forward, getting closer to Han Jiang but maintaining a safe distance.
Han Jiang: "What kind of deal?"
"Tell me everything about you, and I'll tell you what the original Hanjiang was like."
Aside from saying that the original owner of Han Jiang was a cannon fodder who died young, Wen Xu didn't say anything else.
The original book describes the cold rain very little, so this may really be an opportunity.
Han Jiang knew she couldn't play mind games with Cang Jingqi, but she also couldn't tell him everything. If Cang Jingqi lost interest, both she and Wen Xu would be doomed.
"I don't know much either," Han Jiang said.
"Say only what you know."
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door: "Your Highness, our Lord invites you in."
The people from Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou have arrived.
"Wait a moment, I will go to see the Lord of the Tower myself." Cang Jingqi lowered his voice and turned to Han Jiang, "Say something quickly, or I will expose you two later."
With a hint of amusement in his words, Han Jiang sensed the danger in them.
"I bet you, Hanqi will be number one in the hunt."
This is a fact from the original work, and Wen Xu has no intention of changing it.
"The results aren't out yet, so the third part might not count as a grade," Cang Jing said.
"But I just know. And I also know that they will set the deadline based on the time when the monsters go berserk. Hanqi is the only one who hunted more than twenty, and she is the number one hunter! But in the end, the winner of the treasure is still the Vermilion Bird Pavilion."
The cold snap revealed details and some useful information.
This is the original plot she learned from Wen Xu.
Although Han Jiang was involved in the changes, the fact that Wen Xu is completing the story missions according to the system's prompts proves that Han Jiang's existence has no impact on the original ending.
Only Wen Xu, the vicious female supporting character, can be considered an independent variable, while Han Jiang is actually an irrelevant variable.
Regardless of whether Han Jiang uses the Hun Ling Dan, Wen Xu will, so the monsters will definitely erupt, and the Three Gates Treasure Hunt will inevitably come to an end.
Her only role is to provide the location and cover for the winter maple.
After figuring this out, Han Jiang boldly predicted the outcome of the three treasure hunts.
Cang Jingqi raised an eyebrow: "Alright, I'll bet with you."
He accepted Han Jiang's bet without even asking what the stakes were, and left the room.
Han Jiang made sure no one was at the door before leaving Cang Jingqi's room.
The inn, which was originally there to accommodate people coming to participate in the Three Gates Treasure Hunt, is now deserted.
The others were either lying in the clinic or dealing with their funeral arrangements in the examination hall.
Wenxu and Hanqi had not returned, so Hanjiang could only stay in her room and worry anxiously.
Perhaps she was waiting for Wen Xu to come to her, or perhaps she was waiting for Han Tian.
I wonder what Han Tian will say.
If Hanjiang is alive now and it doesn't affect the outcome, what about later?
She increasingly felt that she had far too little information, and that Wen Xu had been hiding many things from her.
She used to slack off without a care, but now that she's involved with Cang Jingqi, she has to find a way to take the initiative.
Wen Xu never mentioned Cang Jingqi, so he is also an insignificant character in the book.
But now it has become the biggest variable.
Isn't the arrival of cold weather also a variable? A person who died long ago.
She had just brushed off Cang Jingqi with a bet that sounded like a prophecy, but there would be a next time, and the time after that.
The same trick won't work on Cang Jingqi twice; he'll lose interest.
What to say, how much to say, and how much impact it will have—nothing can be predicted during the Cold Rain season.
It's such a hassle to think about. Isn't she just cannon fodder? Why does she have to think about so many troublesome things?
A sudden realization dawned on her! Since Cang Jingqi liked watching plays, she invited him to watch one with her.
She doesn't participate much in the plot, and neither does Cang Jingqi, so they might as well sit together at the fishing platform.
This was a bold decision.
Traveling with tigers is both extremely dangerous and extremely safe.
Hanjiang took out the jade bracelet that Cang Jingqi had given her and put it on: "Hold on until I get home."
But can Wenxu really take her home?
Han Jiang couldn't help but suspect that Wen Xu was hiding something from her, and that it would be better to have a backup plan.
The problem is that Cang Jingqi may not be a viable backup plan.
It was even less likely that Han Tian would do it; he was already suspecting Han Jiang.
Han Jiang paced around the house and noticed a figure standing at the door.
"Junior Sister Hanjiang, are you inside?"
Despite a moment's hesitation, Han Jiang opened the door.
It was neither a master nor a gentle breeze, but pure gold.
It was the crimson gold she just bumped into while invisible!
Just what I feared most came to pass.
In other words, Chijin recognized Hanjiang at that time.
Now look what's happened! Not only was he caught doing something wrong by his crush, but he was also recognized!
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