Crow Immortal: I Can Duplicate Infinite Resources

Chapter 235: What Need for Dishes to Accompany Wine

“Who are you? Why interfere in our business!”

The husband’s face darkened, his hand dropping to the hilt of his blade. Beside him, his wife’s eyes flashed with malice, a cold light flickering within her sleeve.

The short woman with the green mark on her forehead didn’t flinch. Instead, she took a bold step forward, hoisting a four-foot-long, cold-gleaming spiked mace.

“The bounty on this Demon Beast clearly states anyone can take it,” she declared, her voice ringing clear and bright. “Do you two think you own the road? Or perhaps you think two little morsels like you can swallow a Demon Beast whole?”

Her cheerful mockery drew the eyes of passersby. Realizing they were losing face, the couple snorted coldly and stalked away.

“Thank you, miss, for your assistance,” the puppet Li Ya said, cupping his hands. “I am new to these parts and ignorant of any bounties. It seems there was a misunderstanding.”

The woman turned. The green mark on her forehead shimmered faintly in the sunlight as she grinned, revealing two rows of snow-white teeth. “No need for thanks! They were just bullying you because you’re alone. I only spoke the truth.”

She hefted the massive mace effortlessly. The weapon was nearly as tall as she was, forged not of wood but of some dark, heavy metal. If it was solid, her strength was terrifying for a mortal.

“I am Yan San,” she said. “What should I call you, brother?”

Han Yu observed her through the puppet’s eyes. She was short but built like a leopard—compact and agile. Her expression was lively, her eyes dancing with energy. The mark on her forehead looked less like a scar and more like a natural birthmark.

“Greetings, Miss Yan. I am Li Si,” the puppet replied.

Yan San blinked, then burst out laughing. “Brother, are you mocking me? I’m Yan San, so you’re Li Si?”

“Not at all,” the puppet said smoothly. “Since entering the Jianghu, I have been known as ‘Hundred-Pace Archer Li Si.’ It has always been so.”

“Always been so?”

Yan San planted her mace into the earth with a thud and crossed her arms, her grin turning sly. “Right now, that isn’t even your true face. I doubt you’ve spent a single day in the Jianghu. How can you claim ‘it has always been so’?”

“I help you out of kindness, yet you treat me with slippery lies. Shame on you!”

Han Yu was genuinely startled. She can see through the puppet?

Even Foundation Establishment cultivators struggled to pierce the Thousand Illusions Secret Art. For this woman to identify the puppet instantly meant she was no ordinary martial artist—she was a cultivator, and a perceptive one at that.

Was she an enemy sent by the Myriad Phenomena Sect?

Han Yu’s heart sank, but he maintained the puppet’s composure. He waited for a warning from Sect Leader Qi, but the Divine Sense channel remained silent.

“Did you not play me first, miss?” the puppet countered. “You saw I had skill, so you knew that couple was no threat to me. Why step in if not to force an introduction?”

“Well…” Yan San chuckled. “I am but a humble Rogue Cultivator. When I see a Fellow Daoist on the road, I can’t help but say hello.”

“If you hadn’t used such a clumsy puppet to brush me off, I wouldn’t have exposed you.”

“Why don’t we team up?” she suggested, eyes twinkling. “We can pretend to be martial arts masters together and go meet this Foundation Establishment Demon Beast. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Han Yu hesitated. This woman was an anomaly. She had seen through a disguise that fooled Golden Core elders, yet she showed no hostility.

“This Demon Beast… it has reached Foundation Establishment?”

“Correct,” Yan San said, her tone turning serious. “For these mortals, it is an irresistible natural disaster. They pool their copper coins for a bounty, but all they attract are scammers, thieves, and fools like that couple who think they can slay a monster. In reality, they are just delivering themselves as dinner.”

Han Yu listened closely. Sect Leader Qi still hadn’t intervened, which suggested the situation was under control.

Initially, he had suspected Yan San was a threat to the Nanli Kingdom. But her actions contradicted that. The demonic cultivators of the Central Heaven Domain viewed mortals as livestock. Yan San, however, had intervened to stop martial artists from bullying commoners.

She recognized the puppet, but she didn’t seem to recognize him. She acted less like an assassin and more like… a bored traveler looking for entertainment.

“So? Tell me your real name, and let’s go handle this beast,” Yan San pressed.

Han Yu decided to trust his instincts—and the silence of the Sect Leader.

“I am Li Ya,” the puppet said. “And you, Miss Yan?”

“I really am Yan San,” she replied earnestly. “Been called that since I was little. No lie.”

“Why hunt the beast?” Han Yu asked. “The bounty must be negligible to a cultivator.”

Yan San went quiet for a moment. “Let me ask you: are the lives of mortals worthless? Are they less than us?”

“Naturally not,” Han Yu replied without hesitation.

He had started as a mortal. Wanchun Valley taught that protecting the weak was the Dao; oppression was the path of demons. He had never considered himself above the common people.

Yan San studied him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Then she flashed that brilliant, toothy grin again.

“Besides, it sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“So, Brother Li, shall we be partners?”

Han Yu sensed no malice. And the Demon Beast did need to be dealt with.

“Very well,” he agreed.

“Great!” Yan San laughed heartily. She hefted her mace onto her shoulder. “But first—to the tavern!”

“Two jugs of wine!” she shouted the moment they entered the establishment.

Turning to the puppet, she added, “Brother Li, we just met. We must drink and eat our fill before discussing business!”

Han Yu watched her, amused. Her eyes lit up at the mention of alcohol, her demeanor completely unconstrained.

“Miss Yan, my puppet cannot drink.”

“You’re too cautious! Who’s going to hurt you here?” Yan San waved a dismissive hand. “Come out and drink it yourself!”

“If you don’t, both jugs are mine!”

Han Yu wasn’t about to reveal his true body. The puppet raised a hand in a polite gesture. “Please, enjoy yourself.”

“Suit yourself,” Yan San said with a shrug. “Don’t say I didn’t offer.”

When the waiter arrived with two heavy clay jugs, Yan San slapped the seal off one, propped a foot on her stool, and tilted the jug back, guzzling the wine like water.

She drained the entire vessel in one breath, wiping her mouth with a satisfied sigh. “Tsk tsk! No matter where you go, wine is always the best medicine!”

The waiter stared, dumbfounded. “Customer… would you like some dishes to go with that?”

“Dishes?” Yan San scoffed. “What need is there for dishes to accompany wine?”

She slammed the empty jug down. “Bring me two more!”

Even Han Yu was stunned.

This short, boisterous drunkard… there is no way she is an enemy spy.