Data-Driven Daoist

“We can’t trust her!” Fang Zhao whisper-shouted.

They were sitting in a huddle by a small fire. Mistress Miao was moon-bathing in a boulder on the other side of the cenote.

“Do we really gotta whisper?” Li Yao said. “If she can hear the Mad Bloodhounds from miles away, she can hear us too. This is ridiculous.”

“What if she can’t?” Fang Zhao said. “What if she was actually awake in the ring and heard us talk about Mad Bloodhounds? She could be making all this up.”

“I’d rather be extra careful than outright ignore her,” Yu Han said. He wanted to call out Fang Zhao’s paranoia. But he tried to think from the Red-eyed boy’s perspective. Years of suffering, and finally he was out if it. But the one he wanted to blame for his misfortune might turn out to be framed. Even Yu Han would be bummed out, let alone Johan who would try gaslight Mistress Miao until she either slapped him shut. “This can be a test. If she’s right, that’s one point to her goodwill.”

“That’s how scammers get ya,” Li Yao added. “Say the truth thrice and on the fourth time, pull the rug.”

“We don’t have to trust her every time,” Yu Han said. “For this case only, let’s proceed as if what she claims is the truth.”

“I don’t want to be sold,” Huang Niuniu said. She had not let go of her whips since the Mad Bloodhounds were mentioned.

Qiao Jinhai had just about sold her to Wu Di. Her own clan treated her like a commodity too, if not for the Ninth Prince fella. Yu Han put a gloved palm above hers.

“We have to attack first,” Huang Niuniu said. She wasn’t afraid. She was angry. “If they’re really in the bog. We can locate them first with Mistress Miao’s help.” She looked at the cat. “Can’t you?”

“Can I?” Mistress Miao said. “I can.”

「Can you what?」 Fei Rui was a box now. He boxed himself before Mistress Miao. 「Are you a cat?」

“I’m a human with a celestial tiger bloodline.”

「Are there humans with celestial crab bloodlines?」

“I’ve seen two.”

「Can I see them too?」

“Why?”

「I want to.」

“Why?”

Yu Han phased the other conversation out. He brought out the Jade of Moments, and an Elite Grade Concealment Talisman.

“I have a plan,” He said. It involved a crab, a cat, and some video game tactics.

Two days passed.

“Incomprehensible,” Tan Ruoxuan said. Her ponytail swayed in the wind. She alternated her gaze between the Jade of Moments in her hand and Yu Han. “Is this how a righteous cultivator fights?”

“We, the weak, have our own righteousness,” Yu Han said. “You should take some notes, Chief. You need evidence, not violence.”

“Where did you find the cat?” Tan Ruoxuan pointed at Mistress Miao.

The cat perched on a fence post, looking regal and adorable.

“It started following Fang Zhao,” Yu Han said.

Mistress Miao and Fang Zhao growled.

“Is it a tiger cub?” Tan Ruoxuan asked.

“It’s a calico cat,” Fang Zhao said with upturned lips.

“It has two tails and wings,” Tan Ruoxuan said. “It can’t be a cat.”

“Do tigers have wings and two tails?”

“Not that I know of.”

Mistress Miao’s two tail went taut before swaying again.

They chatted near the entrance to the Viridian Glade Gateway Village. The burly guard sent a few inquisitive glances at the ten Law Enforcement Hall desiples loitering about various trees and fence posts. His accorded feline-type spirit beast snarled at Mistress Miao, as if challenging her for invading its territory.

She purred back. The feline-type spirit beast hid behind the guard.

「Bullying bad,」 Fei Rui chastised the cat, who merely waved her tails, smacking it on the crab’s carapace in a specific rhythm. Her eyes were fix on Fang Zhao.

Tan Ruoxuan played back the recording two more times just to be sure.

“Our Law Enforcement Hall should find a spirit beast that can change sizes,” Tan Ruoxuan sighed. She put away the Jade of Moments.

The Mad Bloodhounds appeared at the end of the road leading to the entrance. They were battered bloody, as if they had gone through multiple gruesome battles. Each member sported different injuries, from fractured arms to the old man who had a lost a leg, and was carried by two others.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Get them,” Tan Ruoxuan spoke.

Within seconds, nine other Law Enforcement Hall cultivators dashed out.

They surrounded the injured Mad Bloodhounds. One stepped forward.

“For the crime of harming fellow sect members, you are all under arrest.”

The other Law Enforcers brought their weapons out.

“Wha—” The two Mad Bloodhounds carrying the comatose old man let go and tried to unsheathe their blades.

“They’re resisting arrest! How dare they?!” A Law Enforcer growled.

“Wait we—”

A barrage of spells and blades hit the Mad Bloodhounds. A few moments later, they were tied up in chains, barely conscious.

“He’s escaping!” Li Yao said, pointing at one man who had bolted the moment the Law Enforcement Hall cultivators had made their move.

A piercing cry broke the sky. Suddenly, a giant condor swooped in from above. It kicked the running man with an oversized talon. The runner screamed, thrown back towards the rest of his courtyard.

He was promptly tied up.

“Release us!” He shouted. “Do you know who we are? We work for the Liang Clan!”

The condor flew up, circling the sky. Tan Ruoxuan stepped forward.

Is she going to announce his Miranda rights?

Tan Ruoxuan landed a kick squarely on the man’s jaw.

That works too.

“F-Fuck bitc—You think you’ll get away with this? Do you know who I am?”

“Bloodhound One, I assume.” Tan Ruoxuan said.

Another kick.

“S-Stop it. By who’s authority are you arresting—” It was then that he noticed Yu Han’s gang. “You! I see now.” He laughed through bloody teeth. “You lot think you’re smart, huh?”

Huang Niuniu already had Lotus Razor in her hand.

Bloodhound One looked up at Tan Ruoxuan.

“Fine, take us.” He grinned. “With this many people watching, news will reach the Liang Clan in no time. I’ll be out soon, and I’ll be sure to give those cute juniors some guidance.”

He wasn’t wrong.

There was a constant stream of disciples leaving and entering the gateway village. By now, a crowd of about a hundred had gathered. They were murmuring. Some curious, others fearful.

The crowd grew bigger.

“The Law Enforcement Hall think they can just arrest innocent disciples without proof!” Bloodhound One shouted. “Is this what the Sect Master meant by bringing change?”

“You should stop talking,” Tan Ruoxuan said. “The more you shout, the harder it’ll be for you later.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Bloodhound One said. “Look at my brothers, fellow daoists of the sect. We had to fight through a beast horde during an external sect mission. We wanted to get back to the gateway village as soon as possible to warn everyone, but rather than thanking us, this how we’re treated!”

The crowd’s murmuring grew louder.

“A beast horde?”

“No way. Is it coming for the gateway village?”

“He’s lying his ass off. I came back from the south. No signs of a horde anywhere.”

A few raised their voice in support of the Mad Bloodhounds. But most were cool headed and skeptical.

“What proof do you have of a beast horde?” Tan Ruoxuan asked. She looked at Yu Han, who just smirked.

Beast horde my ass.

“And what proof do you have of our crimes?” Bloodhound One shot back. He levelled a glare at Yu Han, then at Huang Niuniu. “Don’t tell me you took some random complaints from a few rookies as evidence written in the Dao as Edicts?” He laughed.

A tall cultivator walked out from the gathered disciples. He wore his token on his waist belt, with characters written in Yellow strokes.

That meant he was in the Foundation Building Realm.

He cupped his fist.

“If there is a beast horde, then these junior brothers have done our sect a great service,” he said. His voice was high pitched. “But if they have committed a crime, then of course they will face punishment regardless. It would do us sect members good if you could show evidence of the crime.”

“What evidence? They don’t have any.” Bloodhound One said. “This is nothing but a targetted scheme against the Liang Clan.”

“It’s good that you asked,” Tan Ruoxuan said. There was a vein bulging in her forehead though. Mere disciples had the gall to question the decision of Law Enforcers now.

She took out the Jade of Moments. After activating it, A scene rippled above it.

It was a campfire by a peatland.

Bloodhound One’s face paled.

“W-Wai—”

A kick from Tan Ruoxuan shut him up. She pressed down on his mouth with her shoes to keep him quiet.

In the scene, there were seven cultivators gathered the fire.

“Tricky rats, these rookies,” a young man cursed. “Where the hell are they?”

“Patience, Seven.” An older man said. “We found their tracks. Now all we have to do is search this area. Trap it if we can. By next week, we’ll be fifty thousand mortal grade spirit stones richer.”

These two were the ones that had set arrays on their huts. Bloodhound Three, at Body Tempering Level 6. And Bloodhound Seven, Body Tempering Level 4.

Now, one of them had lost a leg, lying unconscious on the ground while wrapped in chains. The other one was lucid. He looked at the sky with unfocused eyes, gritting his teeth.

Bloodhound Two, Four, Five, and Six were in the scene too.

The final one was a robed figure in a dog mask. Bloodhound One. The real on growled under Tan Ruoxuan’s feet, his mask long broken during the fight against the Law Enforcement Hall.

All of them sported some manners of injuries. Possibly from the scuffle against the noble scions.

“We go through the plan again,” The Bloodhound One in the scene said.

They planned to subdue all four of the rookies with alchemical fumes. Pill bombs as they called them. Then they would transport them through the Hidden Realm until they reached the area controlled by Ten Thousand Poisonous Thunder Sect.

An Outer Sect Elder from the Verdant Blade Sect would be waiting there. The transaction was 50,000 mortal grade spirit stones for the wisp.

Bloodhound Six and Seven wanted to dump the three boys in a monster infested area. Let the beasts take care of the dirty job. But One, Two, and Three, the old members, were cautious.

Better let the Verdant Blade Sect elder transport all the rookies out of the Hidden Realm. What happened to them after that was none of their business.

When the scene first started playing, the crowd’s murmurs had grown louder. By now, there as a pin-drop silence.

The scene changed. Of course Yu Han wouldn’t be satisfied with one hidden recording.

It played bits and pieces of them talking about previous missions. Huang Niuniu would have been the third wisp they had trafficked, if successful. They even took time to mock the other two wisps. Apparently, one had a former lover who was still searching. The other one was a male wisp, and his sister had just entered the Inner Sect this year.

The Mad Bloodhounds usually took long term missions from the Liang Clan, to gather materials for arrays and formation crafting. But their real operation was smuggling.

They smuggled wisps. But also pills, elixirs, and potions made in the sect. All manners of restricted materials, and over the years, they’d earned a pretty penny.

As the scene ended, truth became clear from falsehood.

With this many people watching, they won’t have a defence. Yu Han rubbed his fingers. The Foundation Building disciple could demand answers from the Law Enforcers. Those who were even more powerful could turn black into white.

But now, the gossip was out. If the Liang Clan tried to force this, they’d lose too much. Face, prestige, and even trust.

As for how Yu Han got the recording? They used Concealment Talismans on Fei Rui. The cup-sized crab had snuck into the Mad Bloodhound’s camp and recorded all the tea.

“W-What about the beast horde?” One of the onlookers asked.

“We’ll investigate it.”

There was no beast horde. Mistress Miao had run around with the beast-calling incense balls around the Mad Bloodhound’s camp, while they used beast-repelling incense balls to sneak out of the danger zone.

Suddenly, a white light burst out of Bloodhound One’s body, and the chains binding him broke.