The sword edge had already pressed a bloody mark on Yu Qing’s neck, but Tie Miaoqing clearly hesitated.
Yu Qing glanced at Cheng Shanping, who looked at him with hostility, fearing that he might provoke Tie Miaoqing into acting impulsively. He quickly added, “Madam boss, don’t you want to know how I found out that your husband is in trouble?”
Tie Miaoqing was already full of doubt about this. Hearing his words, she immediately shouted, “Speak!”
The others also waited attentively, including Xu Fei and Chong’er. They all wanted to know how Yu Qing knew.
Unexpectedly, Yu Qing said, “Some things are hard to explain clearly. Even if I tell you, you may not believe me. I need to show you in a way that you can understand. So I must ask what exactly you came here to do this time. Madam boss, as I said before, telling me will cost you nothing. I am already in your hands. Are you afraid I might run away?”
Tie Miaoqing had no reply. She did not know whether to tell him or not. She wanted to know the truth, yet she also feared looking foolish if she cooperated and spoke out.
Cheng Shanping harshly questioned, “Kid, aren’t you supposed to be able to divine? If you can divine, why do you still need to ask us?”
Yu Qing had already been beaten until he suffered internal injuries. His cheeks still burned with pain. He, the dignified head of Linglong Temple, had suffered such humiliation. On top of that, his money had been taken by these people, and he was repeatedly obstructed. In his heart, he could no longer swallow this anger. Yet he was no match for them, so he could only secretly vow to make them pay one day. If the chance ever came for them to fall into his hands, he would definitely ask his little martial uncle to settle this score.
No matter how much unwillingness filled his heart, he did not dare show the slightest anger on the surface. He sighed and said, “That is why I said some things cannot be explained clearly to you.”
Cheng Shanping sneered and was about to mock him again when Sun Ping, the shopkeeper beside him, raised a hand to stop him and spoke. “A Shiheng, you are also a cultivator. You must have heard something about Youjiao Bu, right?”
“I know a little,” Yu Qing replied. He glanced at the Youju plaque at her waist and firmly memorised the name ‘Miaoqing Hall’. If he survived this ordeal, he would surely take revenge one day!
“Since you know about Youjiao Bu, you must also know what kind of existence ‘Youya’ is. Recently, Youya issued a mission. The target is three ‘fire crickets’. We came to the ancient tomb wasteland to complete this mission.” Sun Ping saw the boss lady’s difficulty and spoke on her behalf, revealing their purpose while testing the man in front of them.
Yu Qing had naturally heard from his sect about the experience of such missions in the martial world. Any shop that completed a mission from Youya could make one request to Youya. As long as the request did not break the rules, Youya would fulfil it if possible.
But he still had a question. “What exactly are fire crickets?”
Sun Ping answered, “We do not know the exact details, or what they are used for. We only know they are creatures that look similar to crickets and live deep beside underground molten lava flows.”
Yu Qing roughly understood something. “So you came to the ancient tomb wasteland because there are many underground tunnels here?”
Sun Ping said, “Ancient records state that fire crickets live in this place. It probably has something to do with the reason you mentioned.”
Yu Qing asked, “You have not found any since arriving?”
Sun Ping replied, “We have searched some places deep underground and even seen a few. However, these creatures naturally blend perfectly with the environment beside the molten lava. As long as they stay still, they merge completely with their surroundings. The naked eye can hardly spot them. They are extremely vigilant and react very quickly. Before you notice them, they have already fled. They can dive straight into the molten lava and move freely in the high heat, like fish in water. They are truly spirits of fire.”
At this point, Sun Ping’s husband Zhu Shangbiao could not help but sigh. “Every time we spot one, it is just a fleeting glimpse from afar before it vanishes. We even tried poisoning them, but these fire spirits seem immune to all poisons. The poison has no effect at all. From the looks of it, unless a master at the ‘High Mysterious’ realm comes, it will be very hard to catch them.”
From this tone, Yu Qing could sense that these people had already been tormented by the fire crickets until they lost all patience. Otherwise, they would not show such discouragement in front of an outsider like him.
Cheng Shanping scoffed. “People of that level can make demands that Youya is unlikely to accept. They would hardly bother to come and do such a trivial task.”
Yu Qing understood this point. Once a cultivator enters the Mysterious Scholar realm, each step forward becomes extremely difficult. Most people remain stuck at the initial Mysterious level their entire lives. Those who reach the upper Mysterious are already remarkable masters. As for those who attain the High Mysterious realm, it is said that there are only about a hundred such people in the entire world. The famous Lady Qixia is one of them.
People of that calibre, while not quite at the level of top half-immortal experts, already have almost everything they desire in this world. They truly would not bother running errands like this for others.
Sun Ping observed the silent Yu Qing for a while, then broke the quiet. “We have told you what you wanted to know.”
Yu Qing, who had been thinking how to respond, looked up and met her gaze. He knew this was a reminder that he now owed them an explanation. After a moment of thought, he said, “Incense. The kind used for offerings and prayers. Do you have any? Give me some.”
What? Everyone present froze.
Zhu Shangbiao asked, “What do you mean?”
Yu Qing replied, “Give me incense, and I will give you the explanation you want.”
Cheng Shanping said coldly, “Who would carry that kind of thing on them, especially in a place like this? Are you just making excuses and dragging things out on purpose?”
Yu Qing answered, “Can’t you find a way to get some? Looking at the map, there are quite a few places occupied by demon clans nearby. With your status as merchants from Youjiao Bu, borrowing some incense should not be difficult, right?” He wanted to use this chance to confirm which demon clans were in the area, so he could determine his location. If an escape opportunity arose later, it would make fleeing easier.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Shanping immediately shouted, “No way!”
Yu Qing felt a surge of anger. He suspected this man kept interfering because he had swallowed his wealth and did not want to spit it out, so he deliberately caused trouble.
But the situation was stronger than the man. He was an outsider, while they were a group. He had no right to lose his temper. He had to quickly think of another way.
He looked around, then walked towards his sword that had been knocked to the ground. As soon as he bent down and touched it, a figure flashed over and stepped on the sword. Yu Qing looked up. As expected, it was that hateful man again.
“What do you want to do?” Cheng Shanping said coldly.
Yu Qing was still young. He had grown up wild in the mountains. Deep down, he carried a natural wildness. If not for the accident that befell his sect, under normal circumstances he would never have become the head at such a young age. Only after reaching forty or fifty, becoming mature and steady, would he have had such a chance.
He had not been properly tamed yet. He had taken on heavy responsibility in a hurry due to the unexpected events.
Young and full of vigour, with his wild nature still untamed, he had only been out in the world for a short time, yet he had already killed several people. When he acted, he never cared about the identity of those who died.
Now he had to submit obediently because his life was in their hands. He had no choice but to endure.
But Cheng Shanping’s repeated attitude finally made him unable to hold back his anger. He stood straight and retorted on the spot, “Didn’t you want an explanation? I want to give you one, yet you say this is not allowed and that is not allowed. Then how exactly do you want me to explain?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Cheng Shanping struck suddenly, seizing his throat in a grip that made Yu Qing unable to move. He sneered, “Still dare to talk back?”
At that moment, a hand rested on his arm and gave a light pat.
The one who intervened was none other than Tie Miaoqing. She signalled him to let go.
With the boss lady taking a stance, Cheng Shanping had no choice but to comply. He snorted, released his grip, and shoved the man away.
“Cough, cough.” Yu Qing staggered back, clutching his neck and coughing several times. Because of his earlier injuries, he spat out two mouthfuls of bloody saliva.
He glanced at Tie Miaoqing. He knew he had been too impulsive just now. If he died because of it, it would not be worth it. This experience had taught him a lesson. Next time he faced something similar, he would know how to handle it.
He bent down again, picked up the sword, drew it from the sheath on the spot, and swung it to sweep the ground. In just a few strokes, he levelled the uneven rocky surface.
He was not finished. Suddenly he pointed the sword around in a circle, gesturing for everyone to step back.
Tie Miaoqing and the others exchanged glances. They were not afraid he would run, so they retreated a few steps. What happened next stunned them. Yu Qing suddenly raised his sword towards the sky, looked up at the heavens, and muttered something under his breath. No one knew what he was mumbling.
Yet everyone could sense a strong charlatan air coming from him.
Whoosh! Yu Qing abruptly pointed the sword at the ground. The blade scratched across the stone surface, quickly carving out a talisman pattern. Then he drew a second one, and a third. One after another, soon eight different yet vividly flowing talisman patterns were carved into the ground in a circle around him.
This scene truly left the anxious Xu Fei and Chong’er dumbfounded.
Tie Miaoqing and the others were also stunned. Although they could not understand what talismans he drew, they could tell these were not randomly made up on the spot. They carried real momentum. The eight talismans exuded eight directions of awe. The patterns were neatly arranged and clearly followed strict rules. His strokes flowed smoothly like water. It was obvious this A Shiheng had drawn such talismans many times before.
In short, it did not look like nonsense or trickery. It looked like the work of someone who had truly practised this skill.
Precisely because of this, everyone felt confused. The man in front of them had entered the True Martial realm in martial cultivation, passed the imperial exam as a Presented Scholar in literary cultivation, and now could perform this feat as well. What kind of freak had they encountered?
Once the eight talismans were complete, Yu Qing swung the sword and drew a circle on the ground around them. He stood still within it, pointed the sword at the sky again, muttered a few more words, then sheathed the sword, stepped out of the talisman circle, and walked straight to the entrance of the cave where they had stayed last night. There he swung the sword once more and carved a small talisman above the cave mouth.
This left everyone holding their breath. Only then did Yu Qing put the sword away completely and enter the cave.
The group looked at each other, unsure what he was doing inside. They moved closer to the entrance. Then Yu Qing’s voice came from within. “Do not mess up my ritual site. Madam boss may come in alone. Everyone else, please stay back.”
The others hesitated. Tie Miaoqing considered that with Yu Qing’s strength he could not do anything to her anyway. She waved for the rest to retreat, then walked in by herself.
Inside the dimly lit cave, she saw Yu Qing gathering the dry grass they had used as bedding last night and piling it at the far end of the cave.
“What are you doing?” Tie Miaoqing asked.
Yu Qing replied, “I originally wanted to burn incense to pray to the gods. You all stopped me and insisted I prove myself. So I can only burn this grass in place of incense and set up this altar to beg the divine spirits to forgive my disrespect.”