If one did not look carefully one could not see these two characters clearly at all. In addition the lighting inside the cave was also poor. Tie Miaoqing did not see them clearly at a glance. It was only when she saw the kneeling Yu Qing staring at the ground that she subconsciously stared and looked closely. Only then did she discern the faint traces of characters.
Upon discovering the presence of characters she examined them carefully. It would have been fine if she had not seen them clearly. But once she did and realised they were the words An Fou her entire being was thoroughly shocked.
Others did not know what she had written in her palm at the time but she herself naturally knew. The so-called wordless book had left no character traces even on her own palm. How could this pile of ashes contain the characters she had written in her palm?
It was bizarre and mysterious which instantly made her feel that pressure from the unseen world.
The anger and sense of being toyed with that had arisen earlier vanished instantly. With a restrained look in her eyes she glanced around. Could there really be gods watching everything from the unseen?
Her mouth felt a little dry. Pretending ignorance she asked What are you doing?
An Fou… what does this mean? Yu Qing muttered to himself before standing up. Then he turned and asked her Boss lady what exactly did you pray to the gods for and what did you write in the wordless book?
Behind her veil Tie Miaoqing swallowed dryly. Unwilling to tell the truth she said It was nothing more than asking if this journey could go smoothly.
Oh. Yu Qing nodded and stared at the characters again pondering them.
Tie Miaoqing felt somewhat uncertain inside and tried saying What was the result?
Yu Qing looked at her and said hesitantly Boss lady when you communicated with the gods were you not sincere enough? Were there too many distracting thoughts in your heart?
How was Tie Miaoqing supposed to answer this? Earlier she had indeed thought quite a bit. She could not say there were no distracting thoughts but she could not say exactly what they were either. She herself was unclear so she snorted coldly Are you questioning me or am I questioning you?
Yu Qing smiled bitterly. Boss lady I am afraid this matter is something I cannot explain clearly. Come take a look at this place where the ashes were burned. Are there two characters? What do you think they say?
Tie Miaoqing pretended to examine it seriously for a moment and said calmly It seems to be the words An Fou.
Yu Qing sighed Yes you saw it too. The issue is right here. You asked the gods if this journey would go smoothly yet the gods did not answer you. If I say the gods seem to be asking me and want me to give you the answer would you believe it? You would probably think I deliberately wrote these two characters on the ground to deceive you.
I performed the ritual to allow you to communicate with the gods because I wanted to prove that I do have some knowledge of divination. It was also to prove that there is indeed a connection between us. In the end I do not know if the gods are toying with me. You failed to communicate with the gods and now I really have no way to explain it clearly. Could it be that you are not the woman destined to help me escape this dangerous situation?
Tie Miaoqing said It seems your divination skills are not reliable either.
Yu Qing raised his hand and tugged at the ponytail on the back of his head. He sighed From the beginning I never claimed to be proficient in this. From the start I said I only knew a little just a superficial amount. Some errors are normal. Besides a healer cannot heal himself. This is common sense. Boss lady I know that no matter how I explain it you will not believe me. But I can swear that I truly have no malicious intentions towards you all. I just want to leave here alive. I hope the boss lady will show mercy and spare us.
Tie Miaoqing remained silent for a moment before saying slowly Did you not say earlier that you could help with the matter I need to handle on this journey?
Yu Qing showed a bit of dejection. Boss lady you saw it yourself. I calculated wrongly and am afraid I cannot help you. Boss lady please let us go! He cupped his hands and pleaded even begging.
Tie Miaoqing was unmoved. How do you know it will not work if you do not even try?
Yu Qing said with difficulty What if I try and it still does not work? Then will you kill us?
Whether his spirit communication technique had erred or not Tie Miaoqing believed she knew best. She did not expose it in order to better control the other party so she adopted a very reasonable tone. Like this you do your best. As long as you try your hardest whether it succeeds or not I promise to spare you and guarantee to send you safely to the main road for heading to the capital for the examinations. I will definitely not harm you. How about that?
Yu Qing’s eyes brightened. After fooling around for so long this was exactly the sentence he had been waiting for from her. It proved that he had already achieved an overwhelming psychological victory. If nothing unexpected happened this woman should no longer harbour killing intent towards him and the danger from this group should have been averted.
On his lips however he still said hesitantly Is that true?
I keep my word.
Words alone are not proof.
If you are worried there is nothing I can do. In this place any guarantee I give you will not put your mind at ease. You now have only two choices: either believe me and follow my instructions or I kill you. You choose. A pleasant sounding voice spoke such harsh words.
Alright there really is no choice. I can only choose to believe you.
Tie Miaoqing suddenly felt a sense of having the situation under control and raised her chin a little higher. Tell me your idea. What do you plan to do next or rather how do you want to help me?
Yu Qing pondered and said First find some incense for me. Next find the location where the fire crickets are hiding. Go to the place where you saw the fire crickets.
Tie Miaoqing was puzzled. You still need to burn incense?
It was not absolutely necessary to burn incense. For example creating smoke like burning grass earlier would suffice. The issue was that Yu Qing wanted to continue the act of pretending to commune with the divine. He had to provide an explanation for his character viewing technique. Otherwise it would easily bring major trouble to Linglong Observatory.
Real incense demonstrates greater sincerity. Yu Qing sighed appearing very helpless as if he was still upset about not having used incense earlier.
Fine Tie Miaoqing did not say more and would proceed according to this person’s wishes. She immediately turned and left the cave.
When Sun Ping and the other three saw her emerge they all gathered around and asked how it went.
Regarding the specific details and what had happened inside the cave Tie Miaoqing followed Yu Qing’s previous instructions and did not reveal the matter of communicating with the gods. Instead she instructed Cheng Shanping and Zhu Shangbiao to go to a nearby demon clan’s lair to fetch a batch of incense.
Seeing that she was not saying anything and had made a decision the three did not ask further.
Yu Qing having left the cave watched helplessly as Cheng Shanping took away his belongings. He felt truly unwilling and could not resist approaching Tie Miaoqing again with a request. When will you return my things to me?
Tie Miaoqing said Rest assured as long as you do your best I will return them to you whether it succeeds or not. She glanced at the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth knowing he had suffered internal injuries from Cheng Shanping’s blow. She took out a small bottle poured out a medicinal pill for wounds and gave it to him.
After Yu Qing received the medicine and took it she reminded him once more From now on as long as you are still in the ancient tomb wasteland no matter who you encounter do not mention your identity as candidates heading to the capital for the exams again. Otherwise we may not be able to protect your safe departure from here.
Yu Qing said I understand. It would cause trouble if those demons found out.
Tie Miaoqing immediately emphasised Not only the demons but humans as well. I said no matter who you see you cannot mention it. Seeing that the three fellows still looked bewildered she then informed them of the truth. Each of your heads as exam candidates is worth one million taels. Have you heard of Lady Qixia? Lady Qixia’s son was killed by a disciple of the commander of Sinnan Prefecture…
After listening to this detailed revelation of the truth Yu Qing and Xu Fei nearly broke into a cold sweat. Only now did the three truly learn the real reason why the demons had mercilessly killed the candidates.
Especially Yu Qing who was frightened quite badly. If he had known earlier that it was that old demoness Lady Qixia clashing with the commander of Sinnan Prefecture he would not have dared to help A Shiheng shoulder such a huge risk even if beaten to death. He reckoned that even A Shiheng himself would not have dared to participate in this imperial examination.
From this he also understood that the people from Sinnan Prefecture were ruthless. Having caused such a major incident they still dared to let the imperial examination proceed on schedule. They did not truly care about the candidates’ lives at all.
He finally also realised why the merchants of Youjiao Port who usually did not easily get involved in external conflicts wanted to kill them. One million taels of silver! It was a huge fortune anywhere. He had delivered himself to their door to die a convenient gain. Of course they would take it.
No wonder saying he could get over a hundred thousand taels had failed to move them.
He now suspected that even if he helped find the fire crickets they might still not let him go given such a large reward. He immediately spoke up loudly to seek better treatment for himself. Boss lady Lady Qixia is already dead. She was killed by the commander of Sinnan Prefecture. Don’t you know?
What?
This time it was Tie Miaoqing and Sun Ping who were shocked.
However Tie Miaoqing’s eyes flickered as if she had guessed Yu Qing’s thoughts again. Since I promised to let you go I will naturally keep my word. You must not speak nonsense here. You should know that this ancient tomb wasteland is in a sense Lady Qixia’s territory. Cursing her death on her own territory is inviting trouble for yourself.
Yu Qing immediately put on a heartfelt expression. Boss lady it’s true. I am not deceiving you. When the group heading to the capital was attacked I saw an old rat demon granny leaning on a cane talking to several demon cultivators about how the Earth Mother had killed Lady Qixia. Then they withdrew and the attack ended. At the time I did not understand why they suddenly withdrew. Now I finally understand. Although he did not reveal the full truth the simplified account was factual.
These words made the two women even more doubtful. Tie Miaoqing looked at Sun Ping and said hesitantly If the Earth Mother took action personally killing Lady Qixia would be effortless. But the demon great sage from Haishi Qianliu Mountain is no vegetarian either. That demon great sage is not afraid of the Earth Mother.
Sun Ping nodded in agreement. Lady Qixia dared to compete with Sinnan Prefecture because she had some confidence. Among the demons she was also qualified to go to Haishi Qianliu Mountain to congratulate that great sage on his birthday. Perhaps she had no particular connection with that great sage but the demon clan’s reputation was still at stake. With Sinnan Prefecture being so overbearing and unreasonable where would that leave the demon clan’s face? A great demon attending the birthday celebration slaughtered indiscriminately by Sinnan Prefecture. That great sage could not possibly remain indifferent. How could the Earth Mother dare to act rashly without any reservations?
Yu Qing grew a little anxious. This… how would I know? But I can swear to heaven that I truly heard the conversation of several demon cultivators. I did hear about the Earth Mother slaying Lady Qixia. If I am lying let me be struck by heavenly lightning and die miserably.
Xu Fei standing to the side finally dared to speak up and nodded. I heard it too. I can testify.
Sun Ping looked at the frowning Tie Miaoqing. Boss lady it is simple to verify if this is true or false. If it is true the killing of the top great demon in the southwest is no small matter. It will not take long to shake the world. The demons in the ancient tomb wasteland belong to the southwest region and will definitely react. In a few days we will naturally hear the news.