The sudden conversation left Yu Qing slightly stunned. It completely dispelled his careful thoughts of protecting his wealth, and he stared blankly at the person below.
Mu Aotie, who was searching the corpses, also subconsciously stopped his actions. He turned his head to look at the person below, then looked up at Yu Qing on the roof of the temple, his eyes flashing.
Those who had not participated in the private discussion did the same. For a moment, everyone’s eyes were flashing with realisation, as if they had suddenly seen the light and received a reminder.
Coming to his senses, Yu Qing understood the meaning behind the words below. His heart actually skipped a beat with nervousness. Feigning ignorance, he tried asking, “What do you mean by setting up your own gang and becoming the leader?”
The man below spread his hands and said, “There are many gangs on Tianji Mountain, so one more would not matter. With Brother Zhu’s abilities, there is no need for him to submit to others. He is more than capable of standing on his own. Why not establish a gang of his own? We are willing to support Brother Zhu as the gang leader.” He cupped his hands to show respect.
The two men beside him also cupped their hands. As if they had discussed it beforehand, they said in unison, “We respectfully request Brother Zhu to establish his own gang. We are willing to serve Brother Zhu as the gang leader and offer our loyal service.” Their words followed one after another, like adding fuel to the fire. The remaining six people exchanged glances and suddenly gathered together, cupping their hands in unison to say, “We respectfully request Brother Zhu to establish his own gang. We are willing to serve Brother Zhu as the gang leader and offer our loyal service.”
These people were all actively echoing the sentiment, responding with genuine enthusiasm. As they looked up at Yu Qing, their eyes were filled with eager anticipation and extreme desire. He was truly the choice of the masses.
The reason everyone came to take risks on Tianji Mountain was to get rich, was it not? However, after looking around and asking questions, they found that it was indeed not easy to survive here on one’s own. Unless one’s personal strength was extremely formidable, it was safer to stick together. Who would have thought that after grouping up, they would run into the Scorpion Gang? Just moments ago, they were almost tricked to their deaths.
Learning from past lessons, they were afraid to easily trust and join other gangs to group up again.
Just now, everyone had clearly scattered and could have escaped freely. Yet, they voluntarily returned to gather here. Was this not because they felt the surroundings were unsafe, and that it was safer to group up back here together?
After all, they had just fought together against a common enemy and shed blood in the same battle. They could feel at ease standing side by side temporarily, and at least they could safely group up and wait for daybreak.
More importantly, they were all newcomers who had just arrived on Tianji Mountain. If they scattered, they would not know where to go for support.
Coincidentally, someone suggested forming a gang, which truly struck right at the soft spot of everyone present.
Yu Qing’s strength was also there for all to see. He had almost single-handedly turned the tide and driven away the Flying Eagle Gang, which had just defeated the Scorpion Gang. This strength could serve as the foundation for everyone to gain a foothold on Tianji Mountain.
As fellow newcomers, they all started from the same point. They would not have to worry about being taken advantage of by gangs like the Scorpion Gang due to their ignorance.
What is meant by having the right time, the right place, and the right people? This was exactly it. The momentum had formed in an instant.
Facing the petition of the crowd, the corners of Yu Qing’s mouth twitched repeatedly. He felt somewhat happy but also very surprised. Was the grand position of “gang leader” really going to fall on his head just like that?
It was only the second day since arriving on Tianji Mountain, and he had already become a gang leader. It was truly hard to believe. The key point was that he had not even thought about this beforehand.
The reason was obvious. He was completely unfamiliar with Tianji Mountain. Gathering a group of strangers to form a gang and becoming the leader was simply absurd, was it not?
Moreover, he was already the sect master of a sect. What would it mean to set up another gang? So, even if he were beaten to death, he would never have thought about this.
However, under the current circumstances, he could understand the reasons why everyone wanted to support him.
But he was very hesitant.
Was it appropriate for him, the sect master of Linglong Temple, to set up another gang? He was here to find the Three-legged Crow. What would it mean to rebuild a gang on Tianji Mountain?
Mu Aotie had similar thoughts. Therefore, he stopped his work, squatted beside a pile of corpses, and stared blankly at Old Fifteen on the roof, waiting for Old Fifteen to make his own decision.
On a distant sand dune, Baili Xin, who had heard the sounds of fighting subside, was lying there. Although she did not know exactly what had happened, she was finally relieved because she had finally found Yu Qing’s figure.
She did not see anyone else, only Yu Qing standing alone on the roof. Although the night affected her vision, after moving a bit closer, her eyesight finally allowed her to vaguely identify him as Yu Qing. Seeing that Yu Qing was safe, she naturally felt relieved.
Earlier, because she had not dared to get too close, she did not even know that Yu Qing had been diverted to the back of the temple. When the frontal fighting broke out, she had almost lost her temper and almost joined in. Fortunately, she held back after sneaking closer and not seeing Yu Qing’s figure.
At this moment, she could not figure out what Yu Qing was doing while standing on the roof and gesturing. She could only continue to observe.
Meanwhile, Yu Qing on the roof suddenly turned his head to look into the desert on one side under the moonlight.
Seeing this, the crowd below also followed his gaze. They saw several figures appear in the desert, walking neither fast nor slow in their direction.
They soon clearly saw that there were three people. As they drew closer, they realised it was the Scorpion Gang’s people. They were their fellow newcomers. The man and woman on the left and right were them, and the person in the middle was from the Flying Eagle Gang, being dragged back by the man and woman.
The man and woman saw that everyone was still there and breathed a sigh of relief.
As fellow newcomers who had joined together, everyone might not know the man’s name, but they basically remembered the woman’s name. This was because she was the only woman among the newcomers, named Moli.
It was probably not her real name, but no one cared about that. Coming to the chaotic place of Tianji Mountain to take risks, how many nobodies would use their real names? No one should judge anyone else.
However, she was quite good-looking, capable and neat, and quite charming. Her biggest feature was her height. She was not shorter than most of the men present, so one could imagine how tall she was.
This woman had a pair of very striking and characteristic long legs, giving the feeling that below her cinched waist, it was all legs.
Earlier, when someone was joking with dirty jokes behind their backs, they said that whoever had a child with this woman would not be short in the future.
No one expected this woman to still be alive. The situation had been somewhat chaotic earlier, and everyone really had not noticed.
The returning man and woman naturally noticed Yu Qing standing on the roof. Looking at the others around, they had already distinguished who was superior and who was inferior in their minds. Subconsciously, they also held their captive and leaned towards Yu Qing.
At this moment, everyone’s attention was once again focused on the person the two had brought back. Although his two legs had been chopped off, he looked familiar to everyone. Was he not the person beside the leader of the Flying Eagle Gang?
The wretched person captured and brought back was none other than Gong Ziting, the Left Guardian of the Flying Eagle Gang. At this moment, his pale face was full of terror.
Looking down from above, Yu Qing raised his chin towards the two who had returned and asked, “What is the meaning of this?”
This was also what everyone wanted to ask. They had already fought to the death. Once caught, why not just kill him directly? Why drag a burden back?
The man who brought the captive immediately spoke loudly to the roof, “We discovered this by accident. While chasing and killing earlier, we suddenly noticed that the surface of a patch of sand was uneven. Within the unevenness, there was a patch of discoloured sand, as if it had been stained with blood.
“At the time, I was focused on the pursuit and did not pay much attention. I thought it was normal for the fleeing enemy to drop blood if injured. However, this woman is meticulous. She said that blood dropped in the desert would not form a pool the size of a fist.
“When she said that, I also felt something was wrong. So, we carefully worked together to dig into the sand, and as a result, we dug out this fellow.”
Looking at Gong Ziting’s injuries, everyone roughly understood why he was hiding in the desert instead of running. Having his two legs chopped off was only one of the reasons. His back also had a long and deep gash. It was not that he did not want to run, but he probably lacked the strength. In this condition, if he ran out of the desert and into someone else’s territory, he would probably only end up being slaughtered.
Gong Ziting’s expression turned gloomy. Hearing the account, he finally realised where his flaw had been.
He had used wound medicine while escaping, intending to hide in the sand to let his injuries stabilise first. He thought that in the middle of the night, he should be able to slip through unnoticed. Who would have thought he could be dug out like this?
Afterwards, everyone looked at each other. This was not the answer they wanted.
Yu Qing also asked again, “So what? Why did you bring him back? Do you want to enshrine him like an ancestor?”
At this time, Moli spoke up, “We originally intended to kill him. Who would have thought that when begging for mercy, he said he had a clue to a great treasure and wanted to use it to save his life?”
Hearing about the great treasure, everyone’s eyes lit up. They were obviously all interested.
Yu Qing, who had come to find the Three-legged Crow, also forgot his main business. He jumped straight down from the temple with a look of great curiosity and asked Gong Ziting, who was sitting on the ground gasping for breath, “What great treasure?”
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Gong Ziting slowly raised his head to look at him. With a miserable smile at the culprit who had crippled him, he said, “A clue to finding the Qilin Ginseng.”
Hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed.
Yu Qing was no exception. His face darkened, and he raised his eyebrows at Moli, saying, “We have already fallen into the pit once. Do you want to fall into the same pit again? Is your brain filled with water?” His gaze then fixed on Gong Ziting, and he sneered,
“Do you really treat us like fools?”
Just thinking about the nonsense regarding the Qilin Ginseng made him angry. The fool they had been was unmatched. He moved the sword in his hand, intending to stab Gong Ziting to death directly.
Fortunately, Moli acted urgently. She grabbed Yu Qing’s wrist, blocking the thrusting sword, and said earnestly, “Brother Zhu, I thought the same way as you before and almost killed him too. You might as well listen to him finish his words before making a decision. It will not be too late.”
Hearing her say this, it seemed there was another hidden story. Yu Qing then patiently put down the sword in his hand.
Gong Ziting, who had narrowly escaped disaster, gasped for air. He was truly terrified. Originally, he would not have easily revealed this life-saving secret. At the very least, he would not have spoken of it without a guarantee of safety. It could have been completely used as the biggest bargaining chip to save his life.
However, when it came down to it, he had been tricked by the Scorpion Gang. You could say that tricking newcomers into joining was bad enough, but why use such a terrible excuse as the Qilin Ginseng? How did it just happen to collide with the truth and get mixed up?
There was nowhere to reason about this.
Now it was fine. Because of this, no one believed him when he spoke of the clues to the Qilin Ginseng. They all thought they had been played by him, and their first reaction was to stab him to death directly to vent their hatred.
It scared him so much that he had to tell the truth. If you do not provide credibility, no one will believe you.
The key point was that he could not make up any other lies on the spot that would hold together. Once people found out they did not match up, he would be dead for sure. To save his life, in his desperation, he had no choice but to tell Moli and the others the truth, which temporarily saved his life.
Gong Ziting raised his hand and pointed at the temple, saying helplessly, “This place was originally the lair of the Scorpion Gang. The Flying Eagle Gang came here to fight across regions, not to seize territory, but because this abandoned temple might hide clues to the Qilin Ginseng.”
Yu Qing raised his eyebrows and questioned, “This dry, cursed place does not even have water. How could the Qilin Ginseng grow here?”
Gong Ziting shook his head and did not argue with him. “The original name of this temple was the Qilin Hall. There were originally two stone-carved qilins on the left and right outside the hall.”
Yu Qing said suspiciously, “Just because of this?”
“Duan Yunyou had an ancient notebook in his hands.” Gong Ziting slowly spoke about what he had seen in the notebook. Everyone listened with bated breath. After finishing, he also stated Duan Yunyou’s conclusion, “Why would there be demon cultivators on Tianji Mountain who have mastered the way of the divine beast Qilin? It must be related to this. This Qilin Hall is very likely the place where the Qilin Ginseng comprehended the Dao. There are bionic pictures of qilins on the walls inside. The Qilin Ginseng that enters this path is very likely to share these habits.”
A flash of inspiration struck Yu Qing’s mind, and he suddenly realised, “So Duan Yunyou dug the sand here to see the carvings buried within it, in order to deduce its nature and find the possible hiding area of the Qilin Ginseng?” Gong Ziting nodded, “Yes, the era is too distant. Those exposed to the ground have been eroded by time. Those buried in the sand should be better preserved, hence the digging.”
It was actually like this. Everyone looked at each other. Amidst their excitement, they were somewhat unexpected. Being tricked by the Scorpion Gang, they actually found the clues to the Qilin Ginseng. What was this supposed to mean?
The person who had previously taken the lead in saying they wanted to support Yu Qing as the gang leader suddenly murmured thoughtfully. Staring at Moli and the other person who brought the hostage, he said, “Since you know the clues to such a great treasure, you could have clearly kept it to yourselves. Why bring it to share with everyone?”
The man gave a bitter smile, “Do you think we did not think about keeping it all to ourselves?”
Moli also sighed, “The two of us cannot swallow it alone. Even if you left, we would not be able to slowly excavate here. This place has already been targeted by the Flying Eagle Gang. With such clues to a great treasure, the Flying Eagle Gang will not give up easily. Once they discover our actions, they will definitely not let us go.
“Even if we temporarily avoid their edge, it would be meaningless. If our progress falls behind the Flying Eagle Gang, what use would this clue be to us? Moreover, in order to keep the clues to themselves, the Flying Eagle Gang is very likely to destroy the clues in the temple afterwards. The situation is urgent, so we might as well join forces with all of you to plot for this great treasure!”
Her gaze turned to Yu Qing, her eyes quite expectant. Obviously, they were also counting on Yu Qing to take the lead in blocking the Flying Eagle Gang.