Detective Gan Tang

Seeing Gan Tang’s guilty yet aggrieved expression, the last embers of Lu Qiancha’s anger completely fizzled out, replaced by a sense of helplessness.

“The effort is a small matter; it’s the ingredients that are difficult to find.”

“There are very few disciples in the sect who are skilled in the path of poison.”

“I had to use my monthly allowance, bit by bit, to trade for and accumulate those herbs from the Internal Affairs Hall.”

“Senior Brother, I thought of that!”

At these words, Gan Tang’s eyes lit up.

With a pat on her slender waistband, she produced seven or eight bulging, simple storage pouches as if performing a magic trick.

She handed them to Lu Qiancha, along with the storage pouch Xun Xue had given her earlier.

“Look! I exchanged all the merit points from this expedition for poisonous herbs and rare toxins!”

“This time, it’s definitely not a loss. In fact, I made a huge profit!”

“And also, this pouch has the pocket money your mother gave you.”

“There are several hundred spirit stones inside, and I didn’t take a single one!”

She shook them proudly, her face screaming, ‘Praise me!’

Lu Qiancha couldn’t help but smile, but her gaze precisely locked onto a fleeting trace of… evasion… deep within those pink eyes.

“Is there anything else you need to confess?”

“You might as well say it all now, while I’m still in a relatively good mood.”

Lu Qiancha leisurely flicked her claws.

Hearing this, Gan Tang took a deep breath, then bowed deeply, performing a full kowtow to Lu Qiancha.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her voice filled with a resolve as if she were marching to her death, “Senior Brother! Gan Tang has wronged you! Two of the sect elders became interested in your poisons, and they took a few vials of the strongest ones from me!”

“I really didn’t know how to refuse them! I’ve accidentally exposed the fact that you’re a master at refining poisons!”

Her words fell.

Dead silence filled the room.

Even the air seemed to freeze.

Gan Tang could clearly feel her shoulders trembling slightly.

She wasn’t afraid of Lu Qiancha hitting or scolding her; in fact, she almost wished for a beating to let her Senior Brother vent her anger.

What she truly feared was seeing disappointment surface in those blue eyes that had always been so tolerant of her.

She feared that her Senior Brother… would from this day forward see her as a nuisance, and ignore her completely…

‘Why… why is it so quiet…’

‘It’s over, it’s over, Senior Brother must be completely disappointed in me!!’

‘Gan Tang, oh Gan Tang, how could you get so carried away the moment you left, even deliberately showing off in front of others? Look what happened! You’ve attracted the attention of the elders and caused trouble for Senior Brother…’

Steeling herself, Gan Tang was the first to break the terrifying silence, “Senior Brother, you can hit me or scold me, just please don’t ignore me… Please… just don’t ignore me! I really know I was wrong!”

Just then—

A small paw, with its warm, fleshy pads and soft fur, gently reached out.

Gan Tang flinched back in fright, shutting her eyes tightly!

Gulp.

Gan Tang nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

‘Since joining the sect, am I finally about to suffer my first taste of physical punishment—a beating from Senior Brother?’

‘But… that’s fine too. A beating to let Senior Brother cool off…’

The anticipated sharp pain never came.

That paw simply landed gently… on her cheek.

Then, the slightly cool pads pressed in with a little force—

“Nnngh~ Senior Brother, be gentle… that hurts! My face is going to swell up!”

Gan Tang protested indistinctly.

“What are you yelling about? I’m not even using any strength.”

Lu Qiancha rolled her eyes in exasperation and released the soft cheek, resuming her usual calm demeanor.

“Get up. It’s not the end of the world.”

As if granted a pardon, Gan Tang shot up into a sitting position with a whoosh, the movement revealing the delicate curves of her youthful figure.

She rubbed the non-existent “wound” on her face and looked quizzically at the nonchalant little wolf cub before her.

“Senior Brother, didn’t you say before that poison was an underhanded method that shouldn’t be revealed so easily?”

Gan Tang blinked suspiciously.

“Are you not hiding it anymore? Are you going to have a showdown with the sect?”

“What showdown? What cards do I even have to show?”

Lu Qiancha was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.

She opened her mouth and said, “You think I don’t know what you’re like? When I gave you those poisons for self-defense, I already knew the kind of commotion you would cause.”

In truth, Lu Qiancha had given the poisons to Gan Tang with the intent of them being revealed, a decision she had made after much consideration.

“Among the seniors who took the poisons from you, was Elder Leng Xiuwen of Pill Cauldron Peak one of them?”

Seeing Gan Tang’s blank expression, Lu Qiancha thought for a moment and added, “You know… the old gentleman who always looks ice-cold because of a facial affliction and always carries a long staff made of dragon-bone wood.”

Gan Tang tilted her head, trying hard to remember, when her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Yes! He was one of them!”

“The first one to approach me was the elder presiding over the expedition assembly… A few days later, that cold old gentleman came! He was very generous, giving me a lot of rare poisonous herbs in exchange for those poisons…”

As Gan Tang spoke, the realization suddenly dawned on her.

Her Senior Brother had only just returned yesterday, so there was no way she could have known about these events…

Which could only mean— “Senior Brother!!”

Gan Tang glared at Lu Qiancha’s clear, innocent blue eyes and gritted her teeth, “This was all part of your plan, wasn’t it?!”

Hearing this, Lu Qiancha gave a leisurely smile.

It seemed her junior sister wasn’t as hopelessly naive as she thought.

She then propped herself up with her paws and sat on the bed.

With a flick of her tail, she swung her legs lightly over the edge, sitting at eye level with the fuming Gan Tang.

Her tone was relaxed, “Why talk of schemes between us? This is called benevolent protection. Knowing too much would only add to your worries, wouldn’t it?”

“Then…” Gan Tang was still a little worried and pressed on, “Is it… really okay for those elders to have the poisons?”

“Naturally, it’s fine.”

Lu Qiancha waved her paw dismissively.

“Most of the formulas I gave you can be found by casually flipping through books on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, and the required herbs aren’t considered rare in the Internal Affairs Hall. What’s more…”

Her gaze was placid.

“In the cultivation sects of these five continents, nine out of ten look down upon ‘poison’ as if it were a worn-out shoe, thinking it’s nothing more than an unorthodox trick unworthy of polite society. Even if they find out I can refine a few poisons, at most they’ll just think…”

She mimicked the tone of those old-fashioned elders, deliberately drawing out her words—”Oh my, that little disciple from Tianquan Peak, such good aptitude, but her mind has gone astray. What a pity…”

Her imitation was so perfect that it made Gan Tang burst into laughter through her tears.

Thinking of this, Lu Qiancha looked at Gan Tang, who was still sitting on the floor, and continued, “Besides, many of the exotic poisons I gave you were improved versions of recipes I copied from a poison manual in the Scripture Pavilion. And the author of that manual is none other than this Elder Leng Xiuwen.”

The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Gan Tang, her small mouth forming an ‘O’ of realization—so Senior Brother had been determined to use her as a “springboard,” casting a fragrant bait to fish for that Elder Leng from Pill Cauldron Peak, hoping to receive his guidance.

At this thought, Gan Tang pouted with a hint of dissatisfaction, “Next time something like this comes up, couldn’t you just tell me directly? Why go through such a huge detour, even using your kind, clever, and considerate junior sister as a pawn?”

She clutched her chest dramatically, her voice full of emotion, “It’s simply… too much!”

“None of that. Don’t try to change the subject.”

Lu Qiancha pointed a small paw at her from a distance.

“One thing at a time. We are now talking about you wasting the poisons. You still need a lesson to make you remember.”

Her eyes darted about as she delivered the final verdict, “Your punishment—starting immediately, you are to go to the back mountain to chop wood and clear the land! For a period of three days!”

“Hmph, you mean Senior Brother! Fine, I’ll go!”

Gan Tang huffed and turned to leave, then suddenly remembered something and turned back curiously, “What are we clearing the land for?”

“One, I plan to build a house for Xun Xue. Two, I want to build a pill and poison refinement workshop.”

Lu Qiancha thought for a moment before speaking.

“This time, by using you, I’ve let the sect’s upper echelons know that I’m skilled in refining poisons. From now on, I can openly work on these things on our Tianquan Peak, without having to hide and sneak around every time.”

“Oh, then I’ll go clear the land, Senior Brother.”

Gan Tang nodded and left the grass hut, letting out a long sigh of relief.

‘Hmph, Senior Brother still dotes on me, after all. I thought after wasting so many poisons, I’d at least get a harsh scolding, but all I got was a pinch on the cheek.’