Three thousand years? That sounded a bit thrilling. The three martial brothers exchanged glances, none the wiser.
Yu Qing demanded again, “Just who are you?”
“Who?” The woman in white seemed to ask herself, giving no answer. She then walked barefoot to the edge of the stone bridge with no railing, looking up at the space above in silence, seeming lonely, seeming profound, seeming to reminisce about the past.
A wind suddenly arose in the valley, slightly startling the three martial brothers. Where did wind come from in this underground space? Looking around, they discovered that evil energy was surging from below the cliff, stirring up the wind and clouds.
“Didi di…”
The evil energy borne on the wind caused Big Head to chirp in warning once more.
The woman in white, standing in the pure white radiance, seemed about to dance in the wind. Her skirt fluttered, her long hair also billowing in the wind. She suddenly said, “You may guess whatever you like about who I am. What matters is that you can see I bear you no malice.”
This woman was not particularly beautiful, yet she had a pair of deeply affectionate eyes.
Her current appearance, gazing up at the starry sky with deep feeling, standing alone, gave people an indescribable feeling.
Yu Qing pointed at her, then at himself. “Meeting us in this manner, I’m afraid it can’t be explained away with just one sentence of no malice. Are you certain you have no other intentions?”
The woman in white: “I can help you eliminate those demon cultivators hunting you. In this underground palace, with my help, you can easily avoid anyone. Kill the people who have entered the underground palace for me.”
Not knowing whether it was because she hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time, her words were somewhat disjointed, a bit convoluted.
Nan Zhu, holding a sword in one hand and a fluorite stone in the other, asked with a puzzled face, “Are you helping us kill those demon cultivators, or are we helping you kill those demon cultivators?”
The woman in white lowered her head in the wind, her long hair billowing as she pondered. She finally gave an answer, “Cooperation.”
Yu Qing: “We know nothing about you. Why should we cooperate with you?”
The woman in white gave another answer, “It can be a transaction.”
Yu Qing: “What kind of transaction?”
The woman in white: “Listen to me, and I will give you what you want.”
Yu Qing: “What can you give us?”
The woman in white turned to face them. “You are not an honest person.”
“…” Yu Qing was speechless. What was this about? How did it come to this?
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie couldn’t help but exchange a glance, discovering that this woman’s eyesight was quite good.
“No…” Yu Qing didn’t quite know how to respond to this. He shook his head, very dissatisfied. “We have no grievances or enmity. What exactly are you trying to say?”
The woman in white: “A Jiezhang was the person in charge of excavating the underground palace back then. The personnel from Sinan Manor who came along took the cloud map from the underground palace. After that, the underground palace was quiet for many years. Now, suddenly, different people have intruded one after another. This is no coincidence. It means someone has unravelled the secret in the cloud map, and the waves have risen again. A Jiezhang’s son just happened to come too, saying he was looking for the cloud map. You are lying. You know the secret in the cloud map. You are deceiving those demon cultivators.”
“…” Yu Qing was speechless.
The three martial brothers also understood. It seemed Liu Piaopiao was right. All words and deeds in this underground palace would be spied upon.
“You are not here to find the cloud map. You know the secret in the cloud map. You are here to search for clues to the immortal’s cave dwelling. The main burial chamber doesn’t have the clues you want. The clues are with me. I know where the immortal’s cave dwelling is. Listen to my instructions. Afterwards, I will tell you where the immortal’s cave dwelling is.”
The three martial brothers exchanged glances.
Nan Zhu probed, “You say you have stayed here for three thousand years, and also say you are immortal and indestructible. Could you be that ‘Yun Xi’?”
The woman in white directly denied, “No.”
“Uh…” Nan Zhu was stunned. The three martial brothers were all somewhat confused. Apart from the legendary figure before them, they couldn’t think of anyone else who could match. Nan Zhu asked again, “Then who are you?”
The woman in white seemed unwilling to face this question. “Whoever I am, you have no way to confirm. For you, knowing where the immortal’s cave dwelling is and whether you can leave alive is what matters most.”
Yu Qing nodded. “We can agree.”
The two martial brothers stared at him in unison. Nan Zhu tapped Yu Qing’s sword with his own sword in hand, reminding him, “You don’t even know who you’re cooperating with. What’s the rush?”
“She’s right. If she really is someone from three thousand years ago, no matter what she says her name is, we have no way to confirm. So I only care about whether what she says can be done, whether it can be delivered.” Yu Qing flicked away his sword with his own, saying to the woman, “Two conditions. First, tell us where the immortal’s cave dwelling is first.”
The two martial brothers were startled again, feeling that old fifteen’s way of putting it was perhaps too blunt.
The woman in white also hesitated slightly. “Even if I tell you now, how would you know if what I say is true or false?”
Yu Qing: “If you tell me afterwards, I also wouldn’t know if it’s true or false. You tell me first. I will naturally find a way to verify it.”
The woman in white: “Two conditions. What is the other one?”
Yu Qing: “You accomplish the first one first, then we’ll talk.”
The woman in white fell silent.
The two martial brothers looked at one, then at the other.
After a good while, the woman in white recalled, “I’m not too clear on the exact location of Little Cloud Grotto. The entrance is on a mountain peak, the highest peak among the mountains in the deep white clouds.”
Yu Qing couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “What kind of knowing is this? With what you’re saying, how are people supposed to find it?”
The woman in white: “There is a rapid current below the mountain. Riding a wooden raft and drifting for about half an hour, you can see a small town. There are many camellias on the mountains around the small town. After a small half day, you can see a wharf, and another small town.”
Yu Qing spread his hands. “The names of the two small towns. What’s the use if you don’t say the place names?”
The woman in white: “Drifting past, I don’t know what the camellia small town is called. The wharf small town is called Shiji Bay.”
“Shiji Bay…” Nan Zhu muttered, memorising the name.
Yu Qing was puzzled. “From what you’re saying, you’ve entered and exited Little Cloud Grotto. How could you be unfamiliar with the place names outside Little Cloud Grotto?”
The woman in white: “On foot, only once.” She left it at that, not wanting to explain further.
Fine. Yu Qing settled for the next best thing. “The world is so vast. Three thousand years have passed. Whether a small town’s name still exists is a question. Give a larger place name.”
The woman in white thought for a moment, then said, “Ningzhou. As for other large or small place names, I can’t remember. You’ll need to find them yourselves.”
Ningzhou? The three martial brothers exchanged glances. This prefecture name was still in use in Jin Kingdom.
Yu Qing thought for a moment and asked again, “If the entrance is on a mountaintop, how could it not have been discovered after so many years?”
The woman in white, “Without the method to enter and exit, even if you stand at the door, you cannot see it. Moreover, when the immortal left, he sealed the cave dwelling. Ordinarily, it cannot be entered. It opens once a year at midnight on the first new moon day. As long as there is moonlight, standing on the mountain peak, you can naturally see the entrance. I have already spoken clearly regarding your first condition. What is the second condition?”
Yu Qing looked at his two martial brothers again. Seeing the two nod to indicate they had memorised it, he then raised his second condition. “A map. I want a map of this underground palace. You can perceive everything in the entire underground palace. Making a map should not be a problem for you.”
The woman in white: “I am a living map. There is no need to make another map.”
Yu Qing: “If you go back on your word, I won’t even know which way to break out. I want a detailed map of the underground palace also to master the terrain. Having the terrain at my fingertips makes it easier to make timely judgements, to better help you deal with those people. Don’t you think so?”
The woman in white thought for a moment. “Wait.”
With that, she turned and left, disappearing into the cave entrance at one end of the bridge.
The pure white radiance surrounding them also suddenly receded like a tide. Instantly, it became a world of darkness again, with only the fluorite stones in the three people’s hands glowing.
Nan Zhu looked around, moving closer to his two martial brothers, and asked, “Is she that ‘Yun Xi’?”
Mu Aotie: “If she really has lived for over three thousand years, it could be her.”
Nan Zhu: “Three thousand years. Has she really become an immortal who lives forever without ageing?”
Yu Qing: “Would an immortal live in a place like this? Would they still negotiate cooperation with us? Old seven, do you really believe it? If she is that Yun Xi, she is definitely not some immortal. The evil energy here didn’t come from nothing. She should have cultivated some evil art. If my guess is correct, she has already become an evil demon!”
Speaking so directly and without taboo made Nan Zhu repeatedly signal him to be quiet, pointing around to indicate that the other party could hear.
After everyone quietened down, Nan Zhu couldn’t help but mutter again, “Aren’t you curious? Why did she specifically seek us out for cooperation? There are clearly others with higher cultivation.”
Yu Qing: “What kind of people are those who can stick their hands in here? If not us, then who? Sinan Manor? Qianliu Mountain? Or the Grand Enterprise Division? Cooperating with those people is no different from seeking skin from a tiger. As long as she dares to reveal her bottom line, I’m afraid even her old nest would be uprooted.”
Nan Zhu sighed, “So it turns out it’s just because we’re weak!”
Yu Qing looked left and right. “Some methods were used on those people earlier. Using them again this time, the effect is already much diminished. She is also somewhat afraid. She has also made other preparations. This can be seen from what Liu Piaopiao and the others said. For example, the soul-trapping formation at the entrance didn’t exist before.
Most importantly, some of her methods are useless against us three. Whether she had planned to meet us three before, I don’t know. We rescued Liu Piaopiao and the others from her trap. She is probably really somewhat anxious. She probably doesn’t want us to join forces with others again, so she didn’t hesitate to show herself and talk with us.”
Speaking to this point, he suddenly shouted loudly toward the empty valley, “That immortal who is immortal and indestructible, isn’t it so?” His voice echoed in the pitch-black valley.
“Hmph!” Only a woman’s cold snort responded.
Hearing this, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie both revealed thoughtful expressions. They had to admit that old fifteen’s mind was sometimes quite sharp. They also hoped that some of the decisions Yu Qing made were well-calculated.
They were also worried that cooperating with the woman in white here was also seeking skin from a tiger. However, based on their understanding of Yu Qing, they vaguely felt that Yu Qing’s ready agreement was somewhat abnormal, as if he were harbouring some mischief.
Before long, that woman in white appeared again, walking from the cave entrance at the bridgehead, holding a piece of cloth in her hand. She arrived before the three and handed it over.