The old woman coughed violently several more times, coughing so hard it seemed she might cough up her heart and lungs. After a long while, she finally caught her breath, turned her head, and said weakly, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just getting on in years. Thank you, dear."
Ji Yao shook her head. Before she could let go, the old woman's legs buckled again.
Ji Yao hastily grabbed her and frowned. "Granny, let me help you."
The old woman said, "Thank you, thank you, dear. You're kind-hearted and good — you'll surely be blessed in the future. Cough, cough…"
Ji Yao smiled faintly. "My master often teaches us disciples to respect the elderly and cherish the young when we're out traveling. It's really no trouble at all."
The old woman chuckled softly. "What a fine young lady, and well-taught by her master too. May I ask which sect you belong to?"
Ji Yao shook her head with a smile but didn't answer.
Yang Kai's eyes flickered. He smiled and said, "Respecting the elderly and cherishing the young is certainly a virtue, but when you're out traveling, you should also keep your eyes wide open. Don't be easily deceived. This world is full of scheming, treacherous, and sinister people. You never know when doing a good deed might be taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives — and then you'd be aiding and abetting evil. Wouldn't you agree, Granny?"
The old woman flinched almost imperceptibly and forced a smile. "This young man speaks truly."
Ji Yao nodded earnestly. "Disciple will remember."
"Disciple?" The old woman started at this, suddenly realizing that the master Ji Yao had spoken of was the man standing behind her. This struck her as quite unbelievable.
"Granny, those earrings of yours are quite exquisite," Yang Kai abruptly said out of nowhere.
The old woman startled and instinctively touched her earlobe — but it was bare. She turned her head and forced a smile. "Young man, you're so young and already your eyes are playing tricks on you? At my age, how could I possibly wear earrings?"
Yang Kai said, "You're not wearing them today, but I imagine you were wearing them yesterday. Your ear piercings are quite clear — doesn't look like the kind of ears that go without jewelry for long."
His words were loaded with hidden barbs, and even Ji Yao could tell something was off. A thought stirred in her mind, and she secretly channeled her Emperor Yuan into the old woman's body.
The next moment, Ji Yao's expression turned icy cold. She seized the old woman's arm and said coldly, "Who are you? Why did you deceive me?"
Before, she hadn't paid much attention, but after this probing, she discovered that this seemingly deathly ill old woman's body was actually brimming with vitality. Her apparent aged appearance was clearly not her true form — everything was a disguise.
This made Ji Yao furious. She had just been kind enough to help this woman, only to find that the old woman truly had ulterior motives. It infuriated her.
The old woman's cultivation wasn't high — only at the Dao Source Realm, Third Stage. With Ji Yao grabbing her like this, she couldn't move at all. All her source force was suppressed within her body, unable to circulate. Now she truly panicked, gazing pleadingly at Ji Yao and whispering, "Senior, I mean no harm. I was simply forced into this desperate measure. I beg you, Senior, to be magnanimous and not expose me."
Ji Yao's expression shifted. She glanced toward the martial artists guarding the city gate. "They're here for you?"
The old woman nodded silently.
"Why did you think to use me!" Ji Yao asked coldly.
The old woman said, "Earlier, when Young Master Bai and Miss Yan entered the city, they seemed quite wary of you. So…"
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Madam Dong truly has remarkable eyesight — to notice such a small detail."
The old woman's body jerked violently at these words. She stared at Yang Kai in utter terror. "You know me?"
"Madam Dong?" Ji Yao also frowned, puzzled at how her master had seen through this old woman's identity. As far as she knew, this was their first visit to Taiping City, and they had no acquaintances here.
Yang Kai said, "I don't know you personally, but I have heard people speak of you."
"What… what did they say about me?" the old woman asked in a trembling voice, as if she desperately wanted to know.
Yang Kai replied flatly, "The wife of the Dong family's patriarch. She stole the family's treasured clan guardian artifact. The patriarch was enraged and enlisted experts from the City Lord's Manor to seal off this area and hunt for Madam Dong's whereabouts. If found, she is to be quietly apprehended!"
"Stole the family's treasured clan guardian artifact…" The old woman let out a bitter, helpless laugh. "That charge… I wouldn't dare accept it."
Ji Yao frowned. "Is my master wrong?"
Madam Dong shook her head. "What clan guardian artifact? I've never seen one, and the Dong family doesn't have any such thing. I married into the Dong family so many years ago, and as the patriarch's wife, how could I not know if there were a clan guardian artifact?"
"Then why are they slandering you like this?" Ji Yao asked curiously.
Madam Dong said, "Naturally, because they want to capture me."
Ji Yao seemed about to ask more, but Yang Kai waved his hand. "Madam Dong, we have no interest in your affairs. As for your attempt to use us to leave the city — I won't hold it against you. You'll have to look after yourself!"
"Sir…" Madam Dong pleaded, gazing at Yang Kai. "I was wrong before. All I ask is that you take me out of Taiping City. I will repay this great kindness someday."
Yang Kai sneered. "What could you possibly repay with? I have no desire to wade into someone else's muddy waters!"
"Sir…"
"Say one more word, and I'll seize you right now and throw you out!" Yang Kai stared at her with cold eyes.
Madam Dong shuddered. She didn't doubt Yang Kai had the ability to do so — if his disciple Ji Yao could subdue her in an instant, how could her master be any less capable?
She had hoped to persuade Yang Kai to help, but it was nothing but wishful thinking.
Her soul seemingly drained, she turned and stood in the middle of the queue. True enough, Madam Dong didn't dare say another word.
"Master, that woman's disguise technique is remarkably skillful!" Ji Yao secretly transmitted to Yang Kai. "If you hadn't noticed earlier, I never would have thought that old woman was wearing a disguise."