Murano Momo is a cunning doctor

Chapter 1173 Junior Brother

Jiang Xiaochuan stared at Xuanjizi, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

He was prepared to engage in lengthy negotiations, but he didn't expect the leader of the Flame Brigade to compromise so easily, which made him feel uneasy.

"Here, have a cup of tea."

Xuanjizi, being easygoing, picked up the rough pottery pot on the corner of the table and poured half a cup into the chipped cup. "It's wild tea picked from the mountains. It's a bit astringent, but you can make do with it."

When he handed over the cup, his hand suddenly trembled, and the teacup slipped from his grasp. Jiang Xiaochuan instinctively reached out to catch it, his fingertips touching the rough porcelain rim of the cup, preventing the warm tea from spilling.

"Senior, if there's nothing else, may I leave now?"

Jiang Xiaochuan took a sip from the cup, then stood up, intending to slip away.

It's highly unusual that a leader who can control all the martial artists in China is so easy to talk to.

All he wanted to do now was get down the mountain as quickly as possible and get away from this unfathomable Taoist priest.

"can."

Xuanjizi didn't look up; he continued to fiddle with the compass needle.

But as soon as Jiang Xiaochuan took a step, he heard the other party's tone suddenly harden: "However, before you leave, I need to do you a small favor."

"help?"

Jiang Xiaochuan stopped in his tracks. He turned around and saw Xuanjizi calling out to the door, "Tang Ran, come in."

The wooden door creaked open, and a slender figure strode in.

Tang Ran changed her clothes, still in a black outfit, and her injuries were treated. She entered the room and stood beside Xuanjizi with her hands at her sides, like a human machine.

Jiang Xiaochuan was completely dumbfounded—why call Tang Ran in?

Was it because they were afraid he would encounter danger on the way down the mountain, and that they asked Tang Ran to escort him?

Judging from Xuanjizi's tone, it didn't seem like he had good intentions at all; it sounded like a pre-arranged scheme.

"Take her down the mountain."

Xuanjizi raised his head, pointed at Tang Ran, and said to Jiang Xiaochuan, "Have her stay by your side and take good care of her. If she loses even a single hair, I will hold you responsible."

"To take care of?"

Jiang Xiaochuan frowned, about to refuse, when he saw Xuanjizi produce a black iron token.

It was the same one Chen Qishan had given him before, with crooked Japanese characters engraved on it.

"Do you recognize the mark on this token?"

Xuanjizi tapped the token with his fingertips, his voice turning deep, "This is a tracking warrant from the Takeda clan's ninjas; it's clearly aimed at you."

"When you came up the mountain, I had just received intelligence that those Japanese hadn't left China; instead, they'd gone into hiding. We need to use your contact to keep an eye on their movements and prevent them from sneaking in and causing trouble again."

"Senior, I can't help you with this."

Jiang Xiaochuan refused outright.

To be honest, he wouldn't be unhappy to have such a beautiful girl like Tang Ran by his side, even if it was just for show.

Xuanjizi's arrangement was too deliberate; it was clearly intended for Tang Ran to use the pretext of "preventing ninjas" to monitor him.

He possesses so many secrets—alchemy, ancient jade, and the cultivation techniques of the broken stele—how could he possibly allow someone from the Flame Brigade to keep a close watch on him?

Tang Ran frowned as well. She had been in the Yan Tribe for more than ten years and had never seen Xuanjizi go to so much trouble for a complete stranger.

This "concern" is less like surveillance and more like protection.

But the leader clearly stated that the Flame Tribe does not tolerate idlers...

She glanced at Jiang Xiaochuan, her eyes now filled with a hint of inquiry.

Xuanjizi had anticipated his refusal. He slowly stood up, his tone suddenly turning cold: "Boy, do you really want me to spell it out?"

Jiang Xiaochuan was taken aback.

"You seriously injured members of the Huangfu family and deliberately allowed the media to film it."

Xuanjizi said in a deep voice, "If those videos were leaked, and ordinary people knew about the existence of 'martial artists,' do you know how much panic it would cause? If the order in the capital were disrupted, could you bear the responsibility?"

He paused, his tone full of warning: "I had people clean up this mess overnight."

"Otherwise, according to the laws of Yanlv, for such a big disaster you have caused, at the very least you will have to go to the northern desert to guard the barbed wire for ten years, living a life of hardship alongside those martial artists who have made mistakes."

Xuanjizi pointed to the door, then to Tang Ran: "Now I'm giving you two choices: either take her down the mountain, or go to the Northern Desert to report for duty. Choose one."

Jiang Xiaochuan fell completely silent.

When he opened the boxing ring, he deliberately made a big show of it to flex his muscles, thinking it would become a big deal. But to his surprise, it didn't make a ripple at all—it turned out that Yan Lü was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.

From Yan Lv's perspective, his actions at the time were indeed reckless.

Seeing the uncompromising look in Xuanjizi's eyes, Jiang Xiaochuan knew that the other party was not joking.

Guarding the barbed wire fence in the northern desert?

When the appointed time arrived, the Huangfu family went to the northern desert, and he had nowhere to run.

"Okay, I agree."

Jiang Xiaochuan gritted his teeth, his eyes suddenly darting around as he looked at Tang Ran. "But senior, I can help with this, but you should ask Miss Tang if she's willing, right? We can't let her suffer with a troublesome person like me, can we?"

As he spoke, he gave Tang Ran a look, trying to get her to refuse.

In his view, Tang Ran must have resentment because he had tricked her before, and she definitely didn't want to have any more contact with him.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Tang Ran raised her head and said in a cold voice, "I agree."

The rules of the Yan Brigade stipulate that absolute obedience to orders from superiors is the primary responsibility, and carrying out missions is the top priority.

There was no hesitation in her eyes; she was clearly used to this arrangement.

Jiang Xiaochuan immediately deflated; the people of Yanlv were indeed not to be judged by ordinary standards.

"it is good."

Xuanjizi let out a long yawn. "You guys go down the mountain. Don't disturb my sleep."

Without giving Jiang Xiaochuan a chance to bargain, he slumped back into the bamboo chair, tilting his head to the side as if he were about to fall asleep any second.

Jiang Xiaochuan opened his mouth, looked at the drowsy Xuanjizi, and knew that it would be futile to continue arguing, so he could only leave with his thoughts on his mind.

The moment the two footsteps faded away, the languid atmosphere in Shouxin Hall vanished instantly.

Xuanjizi sat up straight, showing no sign of wanting to sleep at all.

He looked down at the compass, the pointer on the bronze surface still pointing firmly in the direction of the door, without even the slightest tremor.

Xuanjizi suddenly raised his hand and slammed the compass hard on the table, making a dull thud.

"This piece of junk!"

He cursed, his voice no longer muffled but filled with exasperation, "How could I have picked such a troublemaker?"

As he ran his fingertips along the engravings on the compass, his tone softened, tinged with a resigned helplessness: "Master, you once said that whoever the compass pointed to would be my junior brother."

"But the techniques from that broken stele have been practiced by at least eight or ten people... why him of all people?"

He recalled the way Jiang Xiaochuan looked when he entered the room: his sharp edge was impossible to hide, his eyes were full of vigilance, and he even had to scheme to get a water glass.

He instinctively wanted to use the "force-reducing technique" from the broken stele, but he insisted on pretending to be an ordinary person and using brute force to catch it.

Those little tricks were like nothing to him, a man who had been immersed in Qimen Dunjia for decades.