Chapter Seventy-Four: Fairy Sister

Yet this unease couldn’t touch Jiang Xiaotian. No matter how lacking his strength was, if he couldn’t win a fight, couldn’t he at least run away? Besides, the average inner strength expert was no match for him; he could even stand his ground against those at the mid-stage. As for someone at the peak of inner strength, well, he’d simply run for his life.

So he couldn’t understand why he felt anxious at all. He thought about it for a while, decided he must just be tired, and went to bed early, figuring his muddled mind was due to poor sleep.

The next day, someone was specially assigned to see him off. Before leaving, he didn’t get to meet any of the other members—not even Qin Lulu. Of course, there was a reason for this: the military doctor and the intelligence officer, though the weakest members of the Falcon squad, were also the most crucial and hardest to train. To prevent the risk of traitors, no one knew their whereabouts.

Seeing how formal everything was, Jiang Xiaotian set aside his playful attitude. He put on the bracelet Ling’er had given him, remembering her instruction: if he ever found himself in danger, he need only crush the bracelet, and she would appear at his side immediately.

The thought warmed his heart.

Longcheng was quite a distance from Linhai. In the end, they all split up and boarded planes—each unaware of whether the others were on the same flight.

A few hours later, the plane landed, and Jiang Xiaotian set foot on the soil of Longcheng.

No sooner had he stepped out of the airport than he was enveloped by a heavy sense of history. This place felt like an ancient city, with a thriving tourism industry, and its residents placed great importance on martial arts—a cultural heritage in itself.

For martial artists, this was ideal. If you practiced boxing on the street here, people would find it normal. Try that in Jiangzhou and you’d be deemed a lunatic.

As for his guide, they had already disappeared. From here on, Jiang Xiaotian was on his own.

After a while, his mission watch lit up, displaying a map marking his current location and his destination.

So now I even have to follow directions to pick up garbage? he thought to himself. And when he saw the distance—ten kilometers—he realized he’d have to take a cab, and no one was going to reimburse him. He’d have to pay from his own pocket.

Grumbling, he caught a taxi to the eastern district, which was far less populated than the city center and, correspondingly, more poorly policed. In a tourist city, appearances matter, so beggars weren’t allowed to wander the city center. Here, however, in the last “pure land,” the number of scavengers was uncountable.

He was stunned by the sight. In the nearly deserted alleys, beggars sat huddled on the ground. The slightly luckier ones had a straw mat, the more fortunate even had small tents.

Jiang Xiaotian rolled on the ground a couple of times, tore his clothes in a few places, and smeared mud on his face. He didn’t mind; after all, he’d been a dirty kid growing up. He seemed to have a knack for playing the beggar—in no time, he looked more wretched than anyone else.

Sure enough, as soon as he appeared, the beggars clicked their tongues in sympathy.

“Look at this poor child, just look at him, filthy as can be.”

“Yeah, looks like he’s been beaten up too. Tsk tsk…”

Jiang Xiaotian, disheveled and dusty, strolled over and plopped down wherever he pleased. To be honest, he was a little lost. He’d arrived, but had no idea what to do next. As soon as he reached his destination, his mission watch went dark, only to light up again if there was new intel or a teammate in distress.

He sat there in a daze and sighed.

To prevent complications, he hadn’t even brought a phone—just his personal items and a bank card. More importantly, his role as a beggar meant he didn’t need to change clothes; a beggar should look the part.

Beggars everywhere are like one big family. Though the others gossiped about Jiang Xiaotian, none drove him away. Some even kindly asked him about his situation and where he’d come from.

He made up a story, saying his name was Jiang Dali, that he’d drifted down from the north, parentless and pitiful.

But who among them wasn’t pitiable? Some had wandered since childhood and were used to it. The most unfortunate were those whose families had fallen from wealth—they found it hardest to adapt, but in the end, they all managed somehow.

With nothing else to do, they chatted about everything with Jiang Xiaotian—life, the world, anything at all.

He was quick to adapt, pretending to be concerned as a newcomer: “I just got here, is it safe around here?”

“Hey, what’s not safe? Even robbers don’t bother with us beggars,” someone replied.

Jiang Xiaotian pursed his lips and tried another angle. “Really? I heard before I came that there have been several murders in Longcheng!”

The man who’d been talking to him looked blank. “Huh? Really? Well, that’s normal, isn’t it? Every place has a few. You’re young—afraid of everything. Are you scared of rats crawling over your face at night?”

Jiang Xiaotian shuddered. “Yes!”

Who could endure that?

“Spineless!” The man spat, smacked his slippers, and went off to chat with someone else.

These people kept in close touch; if there had been any sensational murders, they’d have heard. Since there was no reaction, the news must be tightly sealed. If the matter involved martial artists, getting information from ordinary people would be near impossible. The only way would be to get close to the martial artists themselves.

But how was a beggar supposed to do that?

“Hey, kid, have you eaten?” Suddenly, a tousled beggar came over.

Jiang Xiaotian shook his head—he hadn’t eaten.

“All right, come with us later. There’s a fairy sister who gives us food.”

Jiang Xiaotian’s eyes lit up. Fairy sister!

“Is she pretty?” he asked, swallowing.

At this, the man grew animated. “Hey! She’s not just pretty, she’s kind-hearted too! Why else do you think we call her fairy sister? I swear, she must have descended from heaven!”

At that, Jiang Xiaotian forgot about his mission and even his hunger. He was determined to meet this fairy sister!

“I’m starving! Take me to get food!” he urged impatiently.

“What’s the rush? It’s not time yet! Every afternoon at five, fairy sister comes to hand out steamed buns. She’s a wonderful person!”

No wonder everyone gathered here—someone came to feed them!

He was thrilled. Who doesn’t like a beautiful woman?

Keeping up his excitement, he waited until about five o’clock, when the crowd stirred and all headed for the square.

He blended in, unremarkable among them. He’d even tousled his hair to match. If Ling’er’s beauty was grand and noble, making her look every bit the wealthy heiress, then Jiang Xiaotian, in his current state, was the spitting image of a beggar king.

They waited in the square, unhurried, chatting among themselves. Before long, a commotion arose at the edge of the crowd.

Jiang Xiaotian, keen-eared, immediately heard someone calling for fairy sister.

He was taller than most, so by standing on tiptoe he could see over the crowd.

Sure enough, a young woman stood on the outskirts, head bowed, holding a huge plastic bag filled with steamed buns.

The beggars didn’t crowd her; they waited patiently as she handed out the buns, each in turn, all in perfect order.

When he finally saw her clearly, Jiang Xiaotian understood why everyone called her fairy sister.

It was no exaggeration—she truly was beautiful. She had a hint of ethnic charm: a high nose, large eyes, double eyelids, a classic oval face, and wore light makeup that made her look pure and innocent.

Unlike Ling’er’s commanding beauty, hers was delicate and gentle, the sort that made people want to protect her.

Fairy sister smiled warmly as she handed out the buns, and Jiang Xiaotian was transfixed.

Suddenly, for some reason, his wrist—the one with the bracelet—throbbed with pain, making him shiver.

When he came back to himself, a steamed bun was unexpectedly held out to him.

“Hey, you’re new, aren’t you? Haven’t seen you before! You look healthy enough, not sick or anything—why aren’t you working?” Fairy sister said, but she handed him an extra bun anyway. “Here, have another one. Young people need to eat well. You have hands and feet—don’t let them go idle!”

She smiled, and it was like spring had arrived.

Jiang Xiaotian stared at her and swallowed involuntarily.

This… this was a real fairy sister!