The impact was blocked. Gaoyuan flipped and landed on a branch high above, his body swaying with the movement of the branch.
Jiang Shan’s figure appeared. He grabbed his staff to stop its motion, slowly raised his head, and looked toward the air ahead.
By now, the fog had mostly been driven away by the heat from the mountain fire.
A figure flashed down and landed in front of Jiang Shan. The newcomer was none other than Shu Taipo.
Hei Yunxiao’s heart instantly jumped to his throat. He did not dare make the slightest reckless move.
Shu Taipo glanced back at the injured Hei Yunxiao, showing no surprise at all. She then looked at the two people on the tree and in front of her, and sneered coldly. “I say, you two. The fight over there stopped, and you did not even bother to let me know?”
Jiang Shan replied, “There were so many rat eyes watching the scene for you. Did you really need us to notify you? Is there any difference between your junior notifying you and us doing it? Besides, did you not see that the two of us were busy handling serious business?”
Shu Taipo reached out, grasped the handle of the staff, and yanked it back from Jiang Shan’s hand as if she were strangling the neck of a wooden “bamboo insect” carving. She glanced at Hei Yunxiao again and cackled in her sharp voice. “We are all friends. Why make things like this?”
From the branch above, Gaoyuan sneered coldly. “This greedy couple was blinded by profit. They did not even figure out the escort team’s defences properly. They were using our lives here as a test!”
Hei Yunxiao immediately protested. “No one expected things to turn out this way. No one expected them not to enter Qili Gorge. I even suspect there might be a traitor among you people.”
Jiang Shan flew into a rage and pointed at him furiously. “Still talking tough?”
Gaoyuan looked down from above at Shu Taipo. “What do you mean by blocking us, old woman? Let me remind you. I received a message. The ‘Earth Mother’ herself has taken action. Lady Qixia has already been killed by her.”
“What?” Shu Taipo’s expression changed. Her drooping eyelids lifted, and her eyes widened.
Not just her. Hei Yunxiao was even more shocked.
Inside the tree hollow, Xu Fei could not understand what it meant. Yu Qing listened in a daze and also did not quite get it.
Yu Qing knew who the ‘Earth Mother’ was. Apart from the掌令 of Sinan Mansion, no one else in the world would dare claim that title.
As for Lady Qixia, he had heard of her too. She was a powerful demon. What did it mean that the ‘Earth Mother’ personally went out and killed Lady Qixia? Was it related to the attacks on the examinees?
He had no idea about the truth behind the matter, so he could not follow completely.
“This happened two days ago already.” Gaoyuan took out a piece of paper and casually flicked it over.
Shu Taipo caught it in mid-air, unfolded it, read the message, sighed with regret, and shook her head. In the end, she sighed again. “Forget it. It is better to resolve enmity than to deepen it. Let him go.”
As soon as she said that, not only Gaoyuan and Jiang Shan, but even the fiercely menacing Hei Yunxiao froze. No one expected Shu Taipo to be so forgiving.
Gaoyuan got angry and shouted. “Old woman, how many of your juniors died? How many of Brother Jiang’s Mist Shadow Clan were burned to death by the mountain fire? More than thirty of my eagle slaves lost their lives because of this vile couple. How can we let him off? Brother Jiang, can you accept this?”
Jiang Shan snorted coldly. “No way! Old Shu Taipo, have you lost your mind? If you insist on blocking us, do not blame us for turning against you!”
Shu Taipo saw their expressions and knew the “better to resolve enmity” argument would not convince them. She laughed sharply and revealed the truth. “The fog is almost completely gone. The eagle slaves have stopped fighting. Bailan must have noticed something wrong and is probably withdrawing soon. There is no need to fight them to the death right now and let Jinhua Hai pick up the benefits.
Keep those two alive, and they will have to cover the rear. That beast always listens to his wife and acts three parts humble in front of Bailan. He will not abandon her and run away alone. Letting him live gives us one more person to cover the retreat, making it easier for us to escape. If they fail to get away, that is their problem and not ours. If they do escape, Sinan Mansion will not let them off either. That way, they will not only chase us.
You two, I am not helping him. Right now, what we need to think about is escaping from Sinan Mansion’s grasp. As long as we survive this calamity, we can settle the score with this vile couple slowly later. That is all I have to say. If you want to kill him, I will not stop you. Do as you please. Forgive this old woman for not keeping you company. I will take my leave first!”
With that, she tossed her staff into the air. The bamboo-insect-like wooden carving suddenly opened its eyes, revealing a pair of pitch-black gem-like pupils.
Yu Qing, who had been peeking through the crack in the bark, secretly felt amazed. So this lifelike wooden-carving staff was actually a living creature.
The double shell on the back of the staff split open, shaking out pitch-black wings like curtains. They flapped, sending nearby leaves dancing.
Shu Taipo flashed upward. Her body suddenly shrank in mid-air, turning into a grey-furred rat the size of a rabbit. She landed on the neck of the flapping “bamboo insect” and sat there calmly, stretching out a paw to point in a direction.
The flying insect adjusted its course, accelerated sharply, and in the blink of an eye carried Shu Taipo’s true form away, vanishing into the sky above the forest.
Gaoyuan and Jiang Shan on the branch exchanged glances. In the end, both gave a cold snort, leaped into the air one after another, and truly listened to Shu Taipo by sparing Hei Yunxiao.
Yu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Good that they stopped fighting. Otherwise, with their cultivation levels clashing in such a small area, no one could hide. He silently urged Hei Yunxiao in his heart to leave quickly.
The leaves swirling like a whirlwind around Hei Yunxiao slowly fell. The baleful energy coiling around his claws gradually faded. His eyes slowly returned to normal colour.
He walked forward unhurriedly toward the big tree where he had originally landed. As he walked, he coldly scanned the surroundings with vigilance. The bloody wound on his chest seemed to have no effect on him. His ferocious aura remained strong.
Inside the tree hollow, Yu Qing shifted to another crack to watch. He felt a bit unwilling. From what the three had said earlier, the ambush on the examinees had already failed. Why was this one not leaving quickly? Why was he walking back?
By now the fog had thinned a lot. He could see quite far. He noticed Hei Yunxiao heading toward the carriages again. He inwardly mourned for his beloved spirit rice. With a Xuan-level demon cultivator like this guarding it, how could he possibly get his things back?
Thinking of two thousand taels of silver just thrown away like that, his heart ached and trembled.
Suddenly, Yu Qing’s eyes widened slightly. He saw Hei Yunxiao’s body sway unnaturally.
Not just swaying. Hei Yunxiao suddenly coughed “puh” and spat out a mouthful of blood. He dropped to one knee on the ground, clutching his chest, head lowered, gasping for breath.
Gaoyuan’s claw to the chest had not caused fatal injury. The real heavy damage came from the hidden killing intent inside Jiang Shan’s swift mist. It had caught him off guard and struck solidly, seriously wounding him on the spot.
With both injuries combined, he refused to show weakness or admit defeat. He had to grit his teeth and keep going.
He knew very well that if he had not held on and revealed any sign of defeat, Shu Taipo probably would not have spoken up for him. A person who had lost all ability to block or cover the rear was better off dead for venting anger. They would surely have finished him off casually.
Fortunately, the strong fighting stance he put on had fooled the three of them. He had managed to save his life…
Spitting blood? Could not even stand steady? Yu Qing’s mind surged with emotion. His spying gaze moved away from Hei Yunxiao and forward to the three carriages. One hand unconsciously reached for the sword hilt at his waist and gripped it tightly.
Should he strike while he was down and take his life?
This was an opportunity, but it also carried risk. Even heavily injured, a master of this level might still not be someone he could handle.
But this was two thousand taels of silver. Was it not worth taking some risk for two thousand taels?
That money was his to begin with. Just throw it away like this?
Yu Qing’s emotions were hard to calm. He stared at Hei Yunxiao and observed him carefully.
One reason convinced him to act. The same words again. The other side could not even stand steady!
That showed how seriously he was injured.
Opportunity knocks but once. Yu Qing knew he did not have much time left. The ambush over there could end at any moment. A group of demon cultivators could return anytime. He needed to leave this place quickly.
He released the sword hilt and lifted the Mo Ying Bow from his back.
Charging in with a sword to face a Xuan-level master head-on, even if the opponent was injured, gave him no confidence. Luckily, he had picked up this lethal ranged weapon, the Mo Ying Bow, along the way.
Though he was no archer, he could at least shoot basics. He lacked a great archer’s precision, but at close range, his aim was decent.
He drew an arrow from the quiver, nocked it on the bow, and wanted to step out of the tree hollow for a sneak attack. But he hesitated again. After thinking, he drew two more arrows.
He planned to shoot three arrows together. One for precise aim, two for luck. That would increase the chance of hitting.
His foot had just moved one step out of the tree hollow when nervousness hit again. He remembered the other side was not human. For a demon cultivator, the visible human vital points might not be the true vital points of their original form. That meant even if his Mo Ying Bow hit, it might not kill the opponent.
Xu Fei stared wide-eyed at this series of hesitant, back-and-forth actions. He felt inexplicably panicked and wondered in his heart, what is this guy trying to do?
Yu Qing suddenly gritted his teeth. He held the bow and arrows in one hand, freeing the other. He reached into his robes and pulled out a small metal vial.
Xu Fei was stunned. He recognised this thing. Was this not the Xuan-level Demon-Spotting Dew refined by Master Yuqi, the reward from the riddle game?
Yu Qing tore off the original seal with his teeth, quickly unscrewed the cap, and poured out drops of the thick dew.
Three drops of Demon-Spotting Dew landed on the three arrowheads. He circulated his energy, and the dew instantly spread, turning into faint silver light that wrapped around the tips.
Using the Demon-Spotting Dew like this showed Yu Qing was really going all out this time. But he had calculated it clearly. Spending a bit of dew was still very worthwhile compared to recovering two thousand taels of silver.
Xu Fei was no fool. What could be worth using Demon-Spotting Dew for? He roughly guessed what Yu Qing was about to do. He truly panicked, grabbed Yu Qing’s sleeve, and wanted to dissuade him.
Yu Qing immediately pressed a finger to his lips, glared warningly, and signalled him to stay quiet. He had already warned him earlier while hiding in this tree hollow. No speaking or making noise.
Then he quickly screwed the cap back on the Demon-Spotting Dew and tucked it away.
He nocked all three arrows onto the bowstring again. He crouched at the crack in the bark once more, peeked at Hei Yunxiao’s condition, confirmed he still looked heavily injured, and immediately crept stealthily to the tree hollow entrance. He first poked his head out to check the surroundings carefully.