No matter how convincingly he put on the act, as long as the person was not a complete fool, nobody would fully believe his nonsense. Tie Miaoqing naturally remained full of suspicion. “What is the point of all this?”
Yu Qing replied, “To give you an explanation.”
Tie Miaoqing frowned slightly. She pointed at the pile of dry grass on the ground, silently questioning whether this was supposed to be the explanation.
Yu Qing continued, “Later, when I leave the cave and enter the ritual circle, I will send you a signal. Once you hear the signal, I hope you will kneel devoutly in front of this pile of dry grass and set it alight. When the entire pile has burned down to glowing charcoal and ash, while the embers are still red, Madam boss, you can transform your heartfelt request into an ‘invisible letter’ and sincerely ask the divine spirit. With me performing the ritual outside, you will sense the divine spirit’s response to your question.”
Was this real or fake? Direct communication with the divine? Tie Miaoqing felt a little dazed. She asked, “I do not understand what this ‘invisible letter’ is. What exactly is it?”
Yu Qing explained, “It is something written for the divine spirit to see. It must not be superficial, nor displayed for others. The key is sincerity. Simply put, the content you write must leave no visible trace. Use your finger to trace the characters on your own body. As long as your physical body is sincere, the divine spirit will naturally see the ‘invisible letter’ you offer.”
Tie Miaoqing’s bright eyes flickered repeatedly. Her expression grew more and more uncertain. What he described sounded so profoundly mysterious that she dared not fully believe it, yet she also dared not completely dismiss it.
Seeing her hesitation, Yu Qing sighed. “It is a very simple thing. Trying it costs you nothing.”
Tie Miaoqing secretly bit her lip. She took the initiative to ask, “Tracing characters with the finger, on which part of the body?”
Yu Qing could not help glancing at her chest, a fleeting thought crossing his mind, but he did not speak recklessly. “As long as your heart is sincere, any part of your own body is fine.”
Tie Miaoqing thought for a moment and asked again, “How long until there is a result?”
“Very soon!” Yu Qing pointed at the pile of dry grass on the ground. “The time it takes for this pile of dead grass to turn to ash. After the flames have completely died out, you can come out. With your cultivation, you should not fear a little smoke, right?”
Tie Miaoqing estimated it. That was not a big problem. A pile of dry grass would burn to ash quite quickly. With her cultivation, holding her breath for that duration was no issue. She nodded. “Fine. I will try it with you.”
Yu Qing said gravely, “Madam boss, I must remind you. You can try, but during the process, please treat it with sincerity. Do not harm others or yourself. Toying with the divine is no joke. It invites heavenly retribution. Remember, the process of communicating with the divine is known only to the participant. You must never casually reveal heavenly secrets to others. In other words, apart from you and me, whether you believe it or not, if you truly do not believe, you can kill me. But you cannot disclose any details of the exchange with the divine to anyone else. Do you understand?”
People always fear the unknown. Although Tie Miaoqing did not fully believe it, after Yu Qing’s mysterious performance, her heart began to waver. A sense of awe towards the unseen forces had taken root. She gave a humph. “I heard you.”
Yu Qing nodded. “Good. I will go to the ritual circle now to perform the rite. When you hear my command, do exactly as I instructed. By the way, may I ask Madam boss for your honourable name? I will need it when I report to the divine spirit later.”
Tie Miaoqing paused for a moment before answering, “The iron of gold and iron. Tie Miaoqing.” She lifted the Youju Token at her waist, showing the two characters “Miao Qing” carved on it.
Yu Qing immediately understood. So the name of Miaoqing Hall came from this woman’s name. It seemed it was not an old-established shop in Youjiao Bu.
At that moment, Sun Ping’s voice came from outside. “Madam boss, are you alright?”
They had waited a long time without any news from inside, and she was starting to worry.
“No problem.” Tie Miaoqing called back loudly, then asked the man in front of her, “Is that enough?”
Yu Qing said, “One last thing. Please remove your bamboo hat and veil, Madam boss.”
Tie Miaoqing immediately raised an eyebrow. “Is that really necessary?”
Yu Qing sighed helplessly. “Madam boss, when communicating with the divine, do you think it is appropriate to keep wearing a bamboo hat and veil?”
It did seem a little disrespectful. Tie Miaoqing thought it over and said, “I will take them off later.”
Yu Qing was speechless. He already had her name. Now he just wanted to see what she looked like, but she refused. He could not force her, so he turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, Tie Miaoqing suddenly asked, “Why can it not be done outside? Why must I hide inside the cave?”
Yu Qing stopped and answered, “The incense burner. This cave is temporarily set as the incense burner. You have no incense, and you do not even set up a proper burner. If you are this sloppy, forget communicating with the divine. Even fooling ghosts would not be done so carelessly, right?”
Tie Miaoqing did not know whether his reasoning held water or not. She simply did not understand, and since she did not understand, she could not refute it. She had no reply.
Yu Qing went straight out. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he walked back to the circle of symbols he had drawn earlier. In full view, he sat cross-legged in the centre of the talisman circle and closed his eyes.
Seeing that Tie Miaoqing did not come out, Sun Ping and the other two immediately headed towards the cave entrance. Yu Qing shouted, “The three of you, please stand aside for now. Do not disturb. Keep silent.”
The three froze. From inside the cave, Tie Miaoqing’s voice came out. “I am fine. You wait outside. I want to see what trick he can pull off.”
Hearing this, the three had no choice but to back off. They turned and walked away, but each kept a cold eye on Yu Qing, ready to stop him if he tried anything.
The insect had no idea what was going on. He kept glancing at Xu Fei, but from the young master’s expression, it was clear he did not know either.
Clang! After sitting quietly and chanting under his breath for a while, Yu Qing suddenly opened his eyes, drew his sword, and abruptly threw it upwards. The sword spun in the air, then with a whoosh, it plunged into the ground outside the symbol circle, right in front of Yu Qing.
Yu Qing stared towards the cave entrance and shouted, “Tie Miaoqing, no more delay!”
Everyone turned to look at the cave mouth.
Inside the cave, Tie Miaoqing, who had been waiting for the signal, obeyed surprisingly well. Upon hearing him, she immediately lifted off the bamboo hat, removed the veil, revealing a face beautiful enough to outshine the moon and put flowers to shame. She bit her lip, glanced outside to make sure no one could see, then steeled herself and knelt down.
Looking at the pile of dry grass she was kneeling before, Tie Miaoqing felt a surge of embarrassment. It seemed utterly ridiculous. She silently asked herself if she was stupid to believe such nonsense. In her heart she vowed darkly that if this man dared to toy with her, she would make him regret ever being born.
Soon she pushed aside stray thoughts, fearing they would profane the divine. She took out her fire starter, blew it into a flame, and obediently followed Yu Qing’s instructions. She leaned forward to light the pile of dry grass, then blew out the fire starter. Facing the rapidly growing blaze, sincere devotion also ignited in her heart.
Outside the cave, everyone saw smoke rising from inside, quickly turning thick. They were startled and suspicious. Sun Ping wanted to go and check, but Yu Qing shouted again, “Do not disturb! Silence!”
The three could only endure it.
Cheng Shanping walked back to Yu Qing’s side, sword drawn and ready. If anything happened to Tie Miaoqing, he would make Yu Qing regret it for the rest of his life.
Kneeling before the fire, Tie Miaoqing circulated her energy to hold her breath and focus her mind, avoiding inhaling the thick smoke while maintaining devout respect.
She did not know if it was her imagination, but under the heavy smoke, she faintly felt as though a pair of eyes from the unseen were watching her. Her hair stood on end. She dared not let her mind wander any further. Her attitude grew even more pious.
A pile of dry grass burned very quickly. Once the fire grew strong, the open flames roared past in moments, then died out, leaving glowing red charcoal.
Without fuel to sustain it, the charcoal darkened fast. Tie Miaoqing had no time to think further. She quickly prayed devoutly in her heart, asking whether her husband’s poison could be successfully resolved this time, hoping for a reply from the divine.
She also remembered the “invisible letter”. This was her first time, and she felt a little flustered. She did not know which part of her body was suitable. In the end she exposed the most convenient place, her palm. Unsure whether repeating many characters was appropriate, she ultimately traced only two characters with utmost respect and care, stroke by stroke: “An fou” (Is he safe?). With these two words she replaced all the pleas in her heart, begging for the divine’s answer.
The ash gradually dimmed, though a faint red glow still lingered inside. Tie Miaoqing did not know if she could ask the divine anything more.
The problem was that she had received no answer to her earlier question. Yet she dared not lose patience easily. She continued to wait devoutly, even while choked by the thick smoke, still waiting for the divine’s reply.
Yu Qing, sitting cross-legged in the talisman circle, watched the smoke at the cave entrance slowly thin. Thinking of Tie Miaoqing foolishly kneeling in the thick smoke, holding her breath and getting fumigated, he sneered inwardly. The resentment from being injured earlier had finally eased a little.
But the score was not settled. He quietly glanced sideways at Cheng Shanping.
The smoke had mostly cleared. The firelight in the ash should have vanished too. Tie Miaoqing’s face darkened. The problem was that she felt no clear sign or hint from the divine. She felt she had been played!
She pulled out her veil, covered her face again, picked up the bamboo hat and put it back on. She changed from kneeling to standing, turned, and walked quickly away.
From the cave entrance, still drifting with faint smoke, Tie Miaoqing’s figure reappeared. She stood at the mouth of the cave, coldly staring at Yu Qing who sat cross-legged, secretly grinding her teeth.
From the half of her face visible under the bamboo hat, Yu Qing could tell he had thoroughly infuriated this woman. She probably had not succeeded in communicating with any divine spirit.
Of course he knew it was impossible to succeed. He had made the whole thing up to fool her. Where would there be any real communication with the divine? If he truly had such ability, he would not have ended up in this mess.
Sun Ping and the other two also saw Tie Miaoqing’s anger.
Before Tie Miaoqing could explode, Yu Qing, who had been observing and preparing to adapt, immediately stood up and walked over. Seeing Sun Ping and the others approaching too, he waved to signal them not to come closer. The three had to hold back.
Yu Qing went alone to Tie Miaoqing and spoke first. “Your expression looks wrong.” Then he sidestepped past her and slipped into the cave.
Tie Miaoqing turned coldly and followed him in.
In front of the pile of ash, Yu Qing knelt on one knee.
Tie Miaoqing stood behind him and said icily, “You dare to toy with me?”
“It seems you did not receive any clear sign from the divine.” Yu Qing sighed, then leaned forward and reached one hand into the ash, rummaging around.
Tie Miaoqing had harsh words on the tip of her tongue and was even about to strike him in punishment. But seeing his actions, she involuntarily held back and watched coldly.
Yu Qing suddenly knelt on both knees, stretched out both hands, and pushed the ash to either side.
When he cleared down to the lowest layer, he gave a gentle breath, blowing the ash away completely. On the ground where the dry grass had burned, two characters faintly appeared, unmistakably “An fou”.