“Uh…” Yu Qing hesitated a little. If he did not know the price of this incense, he would definitely say the more the better. But now, having grown up poor, he felt this incense was ridiculously expensive. He also had no idea how long it would take to catch the fire cricket. He was afraid of squandering too much and making the other side unhappy, so he did not quite dare to decide.
Tie Miaoqing seemed to read his thoughts. “No problem. Estimate on the generous side.”
Yu Qing could only say hesitantly, “Then buy a hundred sticks?” He was not sure if the other side would be willing to spend such a large sum. At least to him, this was definitely a huge amount of money.
Tie Miaoqing confirmed with him, “Is a hundred sticks enough?”
Yu Qing was still not very certain. He hesitated again and said, “Probably about right.”
Tie Miaoqing considered for a moment, then said to the Mountain Porter who was waiting with arms folded, “I want two hundred sticks.”
“Right away!” The Mountain Porter beamed with joy. He counted on the spot. In the end, he found there were only about one hundred and sixty fine incense sticks. He looked up awkwardly and said, “Madam boss, will around one hundred and sixty do? I will charge you for one hundred and fifty.”
Tie Miaoqing lifted her chin towards Sun Ping to signal him. Sun Ping immediately took out the money and paid. One thousand three hundred and fifty taels. Goods and payment cleared.
Yu Qing, standing to the side, watched the Mountain Porter scoop up large handfuls of money. He could not hide the envy on his face.
He knew the price of this kind of incense very well. In the Taoist temple they used it often. Such a small amount did not even cost one tael of silver. Yet here it sold for more than a thousand taels. That was almost a two-thousand-fold profit. True massive earnings!
With such huge profits, he even felt like becoming a Mountain Porter himself. But he knew this trade was not open to just anyone. The entry barrier was quite strict. First, you needed recognition from all sides. Take the man in front of them. Without the demon realm’s approval, how could he freely enter and exit the demon realm to do business?
If the various parties did not know your background, how could they possibly recognise you? If you wanted to be a Mountain Porter on their territories, you had to explain your origins clearly. On this point alone, Yu Qing could not do it. The Linglong Temple had sect rules that forbade casually revealing the school’s secrets.
Probably many cultivators found this hurdle difficult to pass.
Sun Ping also bought some daily necessities for living here. He even bought clothes for Yu Qing and the others who had no outer garments. Only then did the transaction end.
The Mountain Porter closed the shop door, went back inside the shop, shouldered the load again, pulled out four horizontal bolts, tugged repeatedly on a rope to retract the four support pillars back into the building, then pushed the four bolts to lock the pillars in place. After that he carried the massive load and bid farewell to the group before leaving.
Everyone watched him sway away unsteadily. Xu Fei could not help asking, “In this desolate mountain wilderness, carrying so many valuables alone, aren’t you afraid of being robbed?”
Yu Qing gave him a sideways glance. “Robbed? Anyone who enters this trade has prior agreements with all parties. If you dare to rob him, he will let you rob without resistance. If he gets robbed on demon realm territory, the demon realm must compensate him for all corresponding losses. That would mean you helped him sell out his entire stock in one go. As for the culprit, they would not bother finding out who did it. But you had better not let the demon realm discover who it was, or you will die very miserably.”
Sun Ping and the others glanced at him after hearing this. They realised this scholar actually knew quite a lot about affairs in the martial world. Did he really have time and energy to study books?
Xu Fei nodded, feeling he had learned something new. “Carrying such heavy loads everywhere, the money earned is truly hard-earned.”
“If you can afford to carry it, naturally you have the strength to bear it. Those with low cultivation carry smaller houses. Those with high cultivation naturally carry larger ones. The one in front of us should be a Xuan-level Mountain Porter. Brother Xu, no need to worry needlessly.” Yu Qing patted his shoulder. The look in his eyes seemed to say, remember to give me my four thousand taels of silver when we reach the capital.
Xu Fei did not notice. He was still sighing in amazement at the eye-opening sight. “Men carry mountains, demons travel a thousand li, Erlang connects heaven and earth. Reading ten thousand books is not as good as travelling ten thousand li. Today I have truly seen it.”
“Men carry mountains, demons travel a thousand li, Erlang connects heaven and earth” was a common saying in the world. Most people in the realm had heard it to some degree.
“Men carry mountains” referred to the Mountain Porters. “Demons travel a thousand li” referred to the “Thousand-Li Couriers” who were on equal footing with the Mountain Porters.
Mountain Porters were pedlars who crossed between the two realms. Thousand-Li Couriers were messengers who could also cross between the two realms. If you wanted to send a letter or some items quickly, you could seek help from a Thousand-Li Courier. Most Thousand-Li Couriers were birds that had cultivated into demons. They could fly swiftly and possessed special advantages other cultivators lacked, allowing them to deliver items rapidly.
However, the price was also considerable. Asking a demon cultivator to run an errand for you alone could hardly be cheap.
The so-called “men carry mountains, demons travel a thousand li” was the result of long-ago compromises between humans and demons after conflicts.
Mountain Porters were controlled by human cultivators, while Thousand-Li Couriers were controlled by demon cultivators. But sending letters could involve leaking secrets. The high cost was secondary. For some official documents or confidential matters involving demon cultivators, the court preferred to continue using the less efficient postal relay stations.
“Erlang connects heaven and earth” meant that both Mountain Porters and Thousand-Li Couriers could freely travel between the two realms and reach any place above or below heaven.
Yu Qing naturally understood these things much better than Xu Fei, but now was not the time to explain them in detail.
With everything prepared, Tie Miaoqing, who appeared calm on the surface but was actually anxious inside, no longer wanted to delay. She ordered everyone to set off again. After asking Yu Qing’s opinion, they headed straight to the nearby underground cavern where fire crickets had been spotted last time.
It did not take long. The distance was not far. It was the same cave where Yu Qing and Tie Miaoqing had first met last night. It was also not far from the cave where Yu Qing and the other two had spent the night. The group felt like they were running back and forth, especially with two burdens slowing them down.
But there was no choice. Yu Qing did not trust these people. He insisted on keeping Xu Fei and Chong’er by his side. He would not give them any excuse or opportunity. Especially with Cheng Shanping around, he always felt that man’s gaze was a bit strange.
Outside the cave there were still traces of last night’s bonfire. Coming back in daylight gave a different scene. The group did not linger. They lit a few torches and went straight into the cave.
The walls of the cave showed clear signs of being dug out. The marks of time were also obvious. No one knew from which era it had been left behind.
The underground passage was not smooth. When they met large rocks too hard to dig through, they went around them. Overall the trend was still downward.
Deeper underground, cut off from outside light, the torchlight in their hands could not illuminate far.
To Xu Fei and Chong’er, the endless darkness ahead felt like their uncertain future. They did not know where they were heading. They could only take one step at a time. They had no control over anything.
The two felt nervous and fearful the whole way. Their hearts remained suspended. They had no idea what had happened these past two days. They had constantly been in a state where their lives hung by a thread.
When they saw light again at the other end underground, Yu Qing did not know exactly how deep they had gone. He only estimated they had walked about ten li underground.
At the end was red light. Even before approaching they already felt the temperature rising. After walking a bit further, Chong’er really could not stand it. The high temperature gave a suffocating feeling. As an ordinary person he had to stop. Xu Fei was slightly better, but for his sake he also stayed behind.
Tie Miaoqing told Sun Ping to take the two back a distance to a cooler place to rest.
The others continued forward. When the red light enveloped them, they found themselves in an underground space several mu in size. Glowing red molten lava, dry scorching heat, dotted with small islands, and undissolved stalagmite pillars connecting top and bottom. From time to time came the sound of gas bubbles surging up from the molten lava below.
“Right here.” Tie Miaoqing pointed to a corner. “Yesterday we spotted a fire cricket there. It slipped into a crack and ran away before we noticed. When it stays still, its colour blends perfectly with the charred black rocks here. It becomes one with the surroundings, very hard to spot. Before you even notice it, it has already fled.”
Yu Qing observed the environment of this space and asked, “Just one?”
Tie Miaoqing also looked around up and down. “This cannot be confirmed. To it, molten lava is like water to a fish. The lava below this place might connect to other areas. Whether this fire cricket swam here from elsewhere or has always lived here is uncertain.”
Yu Qing glanced back at the annoying Cheng Shanping and said, “Have everyone else step back.”
Tie Miaoqing did not know what he planned to do. She reached for a package Zhu Shangbiao was carrying on his back, tilted her head to signal the others to follow and retreat.
Seeing the boss lady actually obey like this, Cheng Shanping snorted but still turned and left.
After only the two remained on the scene, Tie Miaoqing asked, “How do you plan to do it?”
How to do it? Yu Qing felt a wail in his heart. He had never seen the environment of a place with earthly fire and molten lava before. This was his first time witnessing it today. Only now did he realise that in this space of several mu, plus the rising and circulating heat, lighting incense sticks one by one would be useless. Lighting all one or two hundred sticks at once would not last long either.
But he knew very well that if he could not give a proper explanation, he would not escape easily.
At this point, facing the environment before him, he had zero confidence in catching a fire cricket. He had no choice but to seriously start thinking about ways to escape. He pondered how he could slip away right under the noses of this group of Xuan-level experts.
After careful consideration, combining the terrain he had observed along the way, he formed a plan for escape in his mind. Then he asked in return, “If we catch the fire cricket, what do you plan to put it in?”
Tie Miaoqing immediately took out an apple-sized iron canister from the package in her hand and handed it over. “We specially had several made before coming. They are designed specifically for holding fire crickets. We do not know exactly what kind of creature it is or its habits, so we put extra effort into the lid. Twisting it can switch between having air holes or no air holes.”
Yu Qing took it, unscrewed the lid, inspected it, and said, “I need two pots of water, one towel, and cut down a tree for me.”
The high temperature here made one thirsty easily, so water and a towel were understandable. But cutting down a tree was puzzling. Tie Miaoqing asked, “What do you need a tree for?”
Yu Qing said calmly, “I did not know the environment here before. After observing and thinking it over carefully, I have decided to build another altar.”
An altar? Tie Miaoqing looked doubtful. She did not understand, but she did not refuse. After thinking, she asked, “How big a tree? If it is too long, it might be hard to carry in.”
Yu Qing replied, “It can be cut into sections.”
Tie Miaoqing said no more. She turned and left. A moment later she returned and informed him, “It will take a while. Going back and forth will need some time.”
Yu Qing nodded. He asked her for the incense, carried it on his back, drew out one stick, walked to the edge of the scorching molten lava lake, squatted down facing the intense heat, and lit it on the glowing red lava. The incense tip instantly smoked and caught fire.
He stood up, held the incense in both hands with a devout expression, seemingly paying respects to the gods. In reality he was staring at the burning incense, observing the way the smoke drifted. Soon he confirmed there was almost no air circulation in this underground place.
Tie Miaoqing saw him once again looking like he was communing with the divine. She held her breath and stood quietly to the side, not daring to disturb him.
While waiting for the tree to be brought, which would take some time, Yu Qing began jumping back and forth across the island-like land in the molten lava lake under the high temperature. He started to carefully observe the terrain, preparing for the plan he was about to carry out.