Testing for poison? Liu Piaopiao watched them leave, slightly dazed by the behaviour of these three. Once she recovered her senses, she also agreed that testing for poison was necessary, but had they not already tested it before?
Seeing the three of them rush off, impatient and scrambling over each other to test the poison, her expression immediately darkened.
She still had questions for these fellows, yet unexpectedly, they were busy rushing off to eat peaches first.
The duty of keeping watch had thus suddenly fallen on her shoulders, leaving her in an awkward position and realising that the three were far too impulsive.
Having no choice, as they were still temporarily in the same boat, she could only carefully observe her surroundings, with a particular focus on the direction of the ruined palace.
Of the three fellow disciples charging towards the peach orchard, the one with the highest cultivation naturally ran in front. He was also the first to leap onto a large tree. Looking around like a monkey, he found a peach he considered the most beautiful, darted over to pick it, gave it a casual wipe with his hand, and immediately took a bite.
The juice was sweet, the peach fragrance refreshing to the heart, and the rich spiritual energy brought a comforting sensation as it flowed down his throat and permeated his body. Yu Qing shook his head in delight, his face beaming with joy. He nodded repeatedly at the two senior brothers who had just leapt onto the tree, indicating that the taste was indeed excellent and truly delicious. “A worthwhile trip, truly a worthwhile trip!”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, having jumped onto the trees and looked around, were not polite either. They quickly plucked a peach each and began eating immediately.
The three ate while sitting on branches, standing on branches, and leaning against trunks. As they bit into the juicy fruit, fearing a waste of spiritual energy, they frequently used their tongues to sweep up the juice around their lips.
The three still carried the large bundles they had on them when they were captured.
If anyone with spiritual sight were to look at them now, they would certainly be horrified to see the three frantically gnawing on items radiating dark energy.
Though the items were good and delicious, their stomach capacity was limited. After devouring two plate-sized peaches, their bellies were full.
Having satisfied their craving, the three, whose hearts still desired more but whose stomachs could not hold it, had no choice but to reluctantly head back. However, the sensation of the rich spiritual energy slowly seeping into their limbs and bones was quite pleasant.
It was a pity that they currently had no time to circulate their energy and refine it.
The three returned to the area above the basin, bellies protruding. Liu Piaopiao glanced at their stomachs and asked, “Full?”
Nan Zhu waved his hand. “The peaches are too big, we could not eat many. I…” His words cut off abruptly as he realised something. They had gone to test for poison, what did being full even mean?
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie shot him unfriendly glares, their eyes seemingly spelling out the word “idiot”.
Dwelling on it was pointless now. Liu Piaopiao spoke up. “Ah Shiheng…”
Yu Qing raised his hand to interrupt her. “There is something I need to make clear. Do not call me ‘Ah Shiheng’ anymore. My current name is Yu Qing. Call me Yu Qing from now on.”
Liu Piaopiao gave a sharp snort, clearly questioning the unnecessary formality, but she still voiced what she needed to get off her chest. “The fact that you could find your way here shows you already discovered clues in the ancient tomb, yet you kept it from me, did you not?”
The three felt awkward. Yu Qing had to sigh. “Please bear with us, Sister Piaopiao. We truly had no choice. The gap in our strength is too vast, and we were genuinely afraid you might harbour malicious intentions.”
This was as good as an admission.
Liu Piaopiao immediately gnashed her teeth in frustration. “You are truly wonderful, deceiving me on one hand, while making me betray Qianliu Mountain and Jianyuan Mountain to help you escape. You really are something!”
She almost laughed at her own anger. Looking back now, she could not understand her own thoughts at the time. Merely because of the reputation of the “Third Place Scholar”, she had believed he was a good person, taken such huge risks to help them, and even left leverage in their hands.
Of course, some thoughts were just spoken in the heat of the moment.
The real reason she had helped Yu Qing initially was not just the reputation of the Third Place Scholar, but also because Yu Qing had repeatedly saved her life.
Nan Zhu chimed in with a placating tone. “All faults are ours. Well, Sister Piaopiao, is it not quite good now? Otherwise, how would we have had the chance to enter Qianliu Mountain, would we not?”
Liu Piaopiao turned her head to stare at him. “Do I look older than you?”
Her implied meaning was clear. Why call her that? An old fat man like him calling her sister?
“Uh…” Nan Zhu was speechless. He could not figure out how women think. Even when discussing serious matters, they still cared about appearance and age. Even female demons were like this. It was bloody ridiculous. Did they not know it was a term of respect?
Although he was in his forties, he knew that unless this female demon had eaten a Sinful Spirit Pill to awaken her intelligence, cultivating through sheer years would take at least a century. Calling her “sister” was already flattering.
Then again, without considerable backing, how many demon cultivators could ever obtain cultivation resources like the Sinful Spirit Pill to awaken their minds?
Calling her sister was out, and calling her younger sister was probably inappropriate too. He really did not know how to address her. He grumbled inwardly. A proper female demon, learning none of the good things, but picking up the bad habits of mortal women.
Yu Qing sighed heavily. “Sister Piaopiao, rest assured, any benefits will definitely include your share. Let us not make a fuss now. If we keep lingering here and do not move on, we might arouse their suspicions later.”
Nan Zhu looked doubtful. “Actively approaching them? Is this not the perfect chance to slip away?” He felt they should find a place to hide and wait for an opportunity to continue picking peaches.
Yu Qing questioned him. “The exit to the outside world is guarded on both the inside and the outside. How do you plan to slip away?”
Nan Zhu pursed his lips and gestured towards Liu Piaopiao.
Liu Piaopiao caught the gesture and immediately reacted. “What, do you want to use me as your mole planted inside Qianliu Mountain?”
“No, no.” Nan Zhu smiled awkwardly. That was indeed the implication, but she had stated it far too bluntly.
Yu Qing waved his hand. “We cannot get out for now. Even if you, Sister Piaopiao, could help, it would only be possible when the exit reopens in a year. The three factions already suspect we know some secret. If we hide now, they will inevitably search relentlessly. We do not know the situation inside, and I cannot guarantee we can hide for a year. Even if we must hide, we need to clarify the situation first, not right now.”
Hearing this, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie made no further objections. Although neither considered Old Fifteen to be particularly trustworthy, their experiences after leaving the mountain proved that when truly trapped in danger, Old Fifteen’s ability to handle situations seemed slightly better than theirs.
Liu Piaopiao did not object either. Firstly, his reasoning was sound. Secondly, although she was currently dissatisfied with Yu Qing, she still acknowledged the Third Place Scholar’s talent in her heart. A person with such talent and intellect should not be foolish, especially since he was not a rigid bookworm.
She had already witnessed his capabilities firsthand. When the heavens and earth collapsed inside the ancient tomb, everyone else perished. Only this Third Place Scholar had led the few of them to escape with their lives.
Although he knew the route because he held a map, he did not know the collapse conditions along the way. Moreover, the passages ahead and behind were collapsing rapidly. It was his quick and powerful judgement that had led them to safety.
She had seen that densely packed map of the underground palace routes. She knew well that if it were her, she would struggle just to make sense of the paths, especially in a frantic, highly urgent situation. She would certainly have perished inside.
The fact that they all managed to crawl out alive from underground that time was truly down to the personal ability of this little moustache man.
She still remembered that heart-stopping scene vividly. To some extent, she admired him. Deep down, she had to admit that the number one scholar under heaven was indeed extraordinary!
With no objections, the plan was set to be executed.
The group descended the mountain towards the ruined palace. They were not in a particular rush, unlike those people eager to snatch items.
Along the way, Yu Qing continued to question Liu Piaopiao about the situation with the three factions. Without some baseline information, he dared not act rashly.
“Di di di…”
As they passed through a valley, the crisp, metallic chirping of Da Tou suddenly sounded again from within Yu Qing’s ponytail.
The four paused almost simultaneously. Instinctively on alert, they scanned all directions, their hands gripping their weapons.
Even Liu Piaopiao immediately mirrored their reaction. This was because of their experience in the ancient tomb. She knew the fire cricket would not chirp without cause, and it must have sensed something ominous.
However, after a period of high alert, the four discovered nothing unusual.
“Your insect is not just chirping blindly, is it?”
Liu Piaopiao asked tentatively.
Yu Qing replied, “It cannot communicate normally, how would I know? Logically speaking, it would not chirp randomly even if it were just bored after eating its fill.”
Liu Piaopiao looked around and fixed her gaze on the series of holes in the stone wall. “Last time your insect chirped, it was also near holes in the stone wall. Could there be something inside these cavities?”
The three fellow disciples exchanged glances. They naturally remembered this detail as well.
Liu Piaopiao surveyed the surroundings again and said, “Do you not feel that this Little Cloud Realm and that ancient tomb share some similarities?”
Nan Zhu looked doubtful. “One is above ground, the other underground. What could possibly be similar? Do you mean they both have dark energy?”
Liu Piaopiao nodded. “In the ancient tomb, Yun Xi became a dark entity, radiating malignant energy. The items in this Little Cloud Realm also seem to be tainted by dark energy. Since she emerged from here, could there not be some dark entities here as well?”
Nan Zhu looked around. “This Little Cloud Realm is indeed a bit strange. Legend says it was left behind after immortals departed. Even if the immortals are gone, why would an immortal dwelling reek of dark energy everywhere?”
Whoosh! Yu Qing suddenly drew his sword and approached one of the holes. Leaning close, he moved his head back and forth in front of the pitch-black opening. It was too dark inside to see clearly.
The opening was too small for a person to enter, unless they crawled in on their belly.
He took out a fire stick, lit it, and slowly pushed it into the hole. His head and upper torso followed, slowly inching inside as he examined the narrow cave walls.
After quite a while, he pulled back out, blew out the fire stick, put it away, and shook his head at the others. “I did not see any marks inside the hole that would indicate something had rubbed against the walls.”
Only then did the others realise what he had been doing by sticking half his body inside.
Sheathing his sword, Yu Qing raised his hand, plucked Da Tou from his ponytail, held him in his palm, and questioned him. “What is going on with you? I am warning you, do not chirp randomly for no reason!”
Da Tou gave no response. He hopped up, dodged aside, and flew back into Yu Qing’s ponytail, disappearing inside.
The group looked around, found nothing, and had no other choice but to continue moving forward while remaining vigilant…
The dilapidated palace on the mountain had been thoroughly searched inside and out, down to every corner, by members of the three factions.
To make inspection easier, even the clinging vines had been completely torn away. They were determined not to miss even the slightest written record.