The blast of air sent sand and dust flying, while simultaneously creating a funnel in the desert. A group of people flew and stepped on the sloping quicksand, struggling to break free from the pouring force. Below, massive rumbling sounds continued to erupt.
The group flew further away before landing. Moli, who dragged someone and finally arrived flying, threw down Gong Ziting and looked back, still in shock.
She and Gao Changtai had promised Gong Ziting that as long as he revealed the secret of the treasure hunt, they would spare his life. At least, they had no intention of breaking their word for now. Everyone watched with their own eyes as a huge “wave” surged up and then crashed down. It was like a sudden storm that stopped abruptly, leaving everything in silence, with only the occasional whistling of the wind.
The group stared blankly. The temple in the desert had simply vanished abruptly.
Only after confirming there was no more movement did they attempt to return to the temple location. There was not even a shadow of the temple left.
It was not just the temple. The large piles of sand that had been excavated and stacked outside the temple were also gone, as if instantly erased from the desert.
Many people stamped their feet, their hearts still fluttering with fear. Only at this moment did they realise how foolish they had been. They had not considered how much pressure the desert sand exerted on the temple, yet they dared to hollow out the accumulated sand inside. The temple had clearly collapsed under immense pressure.
They should be grateful. If they had not noticed the impending collapse in time, most of them would probably have been buried alive.
If it had been stones collapsing, with their cultivation levels, they might have had a chance to rush out. However, being buried by such a massive pouring of sand made it much harder to escape.
“We dug so hard for so long, and just as it was uncovered, it is gone?” Fan Jiu asked the group blankly.
Moli suddenly stared at Gao Changtai and scolded angrily, “It is you. What were you messing around with?”
Everyone also turned to look at Gao Changtai in unison, frowning. They had dug for two days to uncover this, and now it was ruined. They were definitely unhappy.
Gao Changtai was speechless. He was still holding the ring he had forcibly pulled from the beast head. The evidence was solid, and he could not deny it. He could only look extremely awkward and guilty.
Ultimately, everyone’s gaze turned to Yu Qing, wanting to know the gang leader’s intention.
Fan Jiu walked up to Yu Qing and asked, “Gang leader, what do we do next?”
Yu Qing remained silent for a good while. His gaze slowly swept over the crowd, pausing slightly on Tong Zaitian. He scanned the area and stared at the ground beneath his feet, seemingly pondering something. Suddenly, he stamped his foot and said, “Dig again!”
Dig again? The crowd looked at each other in dismay. Fan Jiu said, “Gang leader, the temple was made of carved stone. Now that it has collapsed, the carved walls are probably mostly destroyed.”
Yu Qing said, “It should not be destroyed that completely. There should still be some remaining.”
Hearing this, the crowd either fell silent or frowned. They did not know what meaning there was in continuing this futile work, yet no one spoke up to question it first. For internal use of Xia only.
Yu Qing noticed everyone’s thoughts and immediately offered a hint. “After pondering for these two days, I have seen some clues in the stone carvings and murals inside the temple.”
At these words, the crowd perked up, their eyes lighting up as they stared at him brightly.
Observing the crowd’s reaction, Yu Qing added, “But I still have some doubts. There was not enough time before, and I have not figured it out yet. I need to find some murals to verify and study them carefully.”
The crowd breathed a slight sigh of relief. If that was the case, then it was not futile work after all, and they all began to look forward to it.
At this moment, Tong Zaitian could not help but ask, “Gang leader, what exactly are we looking for?”
It was a rhetorical question. Although Duan Yunyou had told him to facilitate his actions, this side had not informed him.
When Moli and Gao Changtai captured Gong Ziting and brought him back, they were willing to share the secret with everyone because they were too weak to handle it alone. Once a group mastered this secret, they did not want to leak it easily, even to someone they had a favourable impression of, like Tong Zaitian.
Do not ask what cannot be told. Do not ask what should not be asked. Just follow along, and you will get your share when the task is done.
Yu Qing gave the same answer. It was not convenient to say now, but he would know naturally later. “By the way, there is exactly one thing I need you to do.”
Tong Zaitian immediately said, “Gang leader, just give the order.”
Yu Qing said, “I trouble you to make a trip to Kulei City and buy some paper. I need to make rubbings of some excavated murals. They will be very useful.”
Tong Zaitian paused and asked, “Would the paper bought from the mountain porters work?”
Yu Qing said, “Yes. If you can buy it nearby, naturally you do not need to travel too far.”
“Good, this is simple. I will go right now.” Tong Zaitian agreed, bowed to the crowd, and then turned and flew away quickly. As he passed by Gong Ziting, the two exchanged a meaningful glance.
Turning back, Yu Qing said to the crowd, “The reason I sent him is because he does not know what we are looking for.”
The crowd nodded slightly, indicating they understood. Gong Ziting’s mouth curled into a mocking smile.
Afterwards, under Fan Jiu’s organisation, the excavation began again. With a confirmed purpose, everyone worked with great enthusiasm.
Mu Aotie took the opportunity to approach Yu Qing and asked, “What is the specific meaning of sending him away?”
Yu Qing stroked his small moustache and said, “If we do not give him the chance to leave, how can he send a message?”
Confirming that he knew what he was doing, Mu Aotie did not ask further and went to work. For internal use of Xia only.
Under the scorching sun, Gong Ziting sat on the hot sand, truly in agonising pain. His cultivation was suppressed, and he could not cast spells to resist it.
As the sun gradually set, in the shade of a forest outside the desert, Tong Zaitian met Duan Yunyou.
Duan Yunyou directly took him away from the eyes of the crowd. After coughing for a while, he frowned and asked, “Why did you run back?”
Tong Zaitian said, “Do not worry, gang leader. I did not sneak out, and there will be no trouble. They sent me to buy paper.”
“Buy paper?” Duan Yunyou was puzzled. “What kind of paper?”
“It is not any special paper. That Yu Qing saw some clues from the murals and wants to make some rubbings. Oh, right, the temple collapsed…” Tong Zaitian recounted the process of the temple’s collapse, explained why they needed to buy paper for rubbings, and informed him that those people had reorganised the Scorpion Gang.
Duan Yunyou was not surprised that Yu Qing became the leader of the Scorpion Gang. After all, his strength was evident. It was just unexpected that the gang still kept the name Scorpion Gang.
What truly terrified him was the collapse of the temple. To be honest, when he had ordered people to dig before, he had not considered the pressure of the desert sand on the temple. His side had more people digging and made a bigger commotion. If it had collapsed, the consequences were unimaginable. In that sense, those guys might have actually blocked a disaster for his side.
That was the situation. After Tong Zaitian reported the matter, Duan Yunyou’s plan remained unchanged.
There was no way to change it now. The temple had collapsed and was destroyed, so they might not be able to extract useful clues from it. However, the new leader of the Scorpion Gang had grasped relevant clues. They could only rely on him, and he would not voluntarily hand over the clues. Therefore, executing the original plan was the best choice.
Thus, Tong Zaitian left quickly to continue looking for a place to buy paper.
He did not go to Kulei City. He found a mountain porter and bought it, returning to the sunken temple location by nightfall.
A large pit had been dug at the site again, and some stones had been uncovered. Large stone slabs were also used to build a few simple resting spots.
Gong Ziting was lying in one of them. After enduring the torment of the day, he had now fallen into a deep sleep. If Moli had not fed him a pill, he would probably have lost his life.
The group continued to take turns working and keeping watch as usual. For internal use of Xia only.
In the latter half of the night, Yu Qing, who was squatting in front of the stone slabs with a luminous stone, seemed to have made a discovery. He successively took out paper and made rubbings of a dozen or so relatively well preserved stone murals. After gathering them together and examining them under the light for a long time, he suddenly shouted, “Alright, no need to dig anymore.”
Hearing the voice, the crowd stopped. Those in the pit quickly jumped out and gathered around Yu Qing to watch.
Gao Changtai, who had caused the trouble, tentatively asked, “Gang leader, have you found something?”
Yu Qing muttered in his heart, “What kind of discovery could there be when it is destroyed like this? I can only pick a few at random to make up the numbers.” Out loud, however, he just hummed in agreement. “I have a general idea in mind. There is no need to dig anymore.”
The crowd was instantly excited and wanted to see some clues from the rubbings. However, Yu Qing quickly pulled the sheets of paper, stacked them, folded them, and put them away.
Fan Jiu was quite cautious. “Gang leader, if we really do not need to dig anymore, should these things be destroyed?” He pointed to the stone slabs that had just been rubbed.
Yu Qing hummed in agreement. “Very well. You handle it as you see fit.”
Thus, Fan Jiu took action himself. Not only did he destroy the rubbed stone slabs, but he also destroyed almost all the slabs with complete patterns. Afterwards, he gathered manpower to backfill the sand pit.
Digging the sand pit was difficult, but backfilling it was much simpler. They just pushed the piled sand into it. In less than a quarter of an hour, it was cleaned up completely.
After the work was done, the group sat together in the desert, surrounding Yu Qing. Obviously, they all wanted to hear clues about the treasure from his mouth.
Yu Qing looked at the crowd’s reaction and said with full understanding, “Everyone take turns resting. We will set off at dawn tomorrow.”
Moli asked tentatively, “Where to?”
Yu Qing pondered and said, “I do not know where to go for now.”
The crowd looked at each other hesitantly. Moli asked again, “Did you not say you had an idea?”
Yu Qing said, “I only know what kind of terrain environment the target might appear in, but I do not know where that terrain environment is in Tianji Mountain. We are newcomers here, unfamiliar with the place. We can only go to Kulei City to inquire slowly.”
Mu Aotie, who was accompanying him, looked at Yu Qing’s sighing and affected manner. He knew him too well. One look and he knew there was a problem. He estimated that Yu Qing was about to preach again. Therefore, he watched coldly from the sidelines, occasionally observing everyone’s reactions.
Tong Zaitian tried to say, “I might know more about the situation in Tianji Mountain than you do. If the gang leader finds it convenient, why not tell me about the so called target location environment? Perhaps I have heard of such a place.”
The crowd remained silent, not finding any fault with this statement.
Yu Qing shook his head. “First, a place with all the relevant characteristics is probably hard to find. Telling you might not be useful. Second, to prevent leaks, I will not tell anyone casually. I will not be so ostentatious as to let everyone know. I will only contact a few people privately to participate in the inquiry. Remember, those involved must not let anyone else know that you are involved. In short, those not involved should not ask too much. You will not be short of benefits.”
At these words, the crowd looked at each other in astonishment.
Yu Qing turned and stared at Tong Zaitian. “Mr Tong, you joined late. Some situations are not convenient to inform you of. You should not participate in this matter of gathering information. This is also to avoid misunderstandings if an accident occurs.”
He publicly excluded Tong Zaitian directly. For internal use of Xia only.
Tong Zaitian paused, then laughed heartily. “It is fine. It is not like I am the only one missing out. It is lighter work, and I can still share the benefits. Why not? I naturally obey the order.”
Yu Qing nodded, expressing thanks for his understanding. He then sighed to the crowd, “I do not want to make it this complicated. Unfortunately, we do not have the map of Tianji Mountain in the city lord’s hands. We cannot possibly get that thing, so do not even think about it.
To blame, it is actually my own fault. I should not have let the leader of the Flying Eagle Gang escape before. If we had killed him, we would not have this much trouble.”
Tong Zaitian listened with a pounding heart, feeling somewhat guilty, and also a bit puzzled. What did this have to do with Duan Yunyou?
The crowd had the same question. Fan Jiu asked, “What is the use of killing Duan Yunyou? He does not know the location either.”
Yu Qing reminded the crowd, “Have you forgotten that Duan Yunyou has an ancient notebook in his hands? If we had killed him and obtained that notebook, perhaps the records in it would match the clues. Would that not save trouble? I feel the possibility is quite high.”
The crowd suddenly realised, thinking it made sense.
Tong Zaitian’s eyes flashed repeatedly. Yu Qing stroked his small moustache again, seemingly talking to himself. “Logically speaking, Duan Yunyou should not easily abandon this temple clue. Now I have an idea. We might as well wait here. Duan Yunyou will come sooner or later. When the time comes, we will capture him.” He made a fist with his other hand.
Mu Aotie, watching coldly from the sidelines, remained expressionless. Watching him blindly dig a pit like that, he felt that if the old fifteenth did not take a bite before going back, he would not be reconciled.