After a silent exchange of gazes, Gu Qingzhao sighed and gave up. She waved her round fan, rather puzzled, and said, “Since this Wang Wentian wants to throw mud at that person, why does he have to jump out himself? He could just arrange for someone else to do it and hide in the shadows watching the fun.”
Qingya chuckled. “At first I did not understand either. I did not know what he was thinking. Why would he personally take the field when he could clear himself of involvement in this kind of matter? Later, after slightly understanding this person, I could more or less comprehend it. He seems to want to see the other party fall at his own feet with his own eyes, or rather, he wants the other party to know who they fell to. Otherwise he himself would not feel satisfied.”
The round fan in Gu Qingzhao’s hand froze. She looked utterly speechless…
Yu Qing, weaving through the streets and alleys, put on a black cloak. He had bought it while shopping a couple of days ago. At this moment, he wrapped himself up tightly.
There were too many people here, too mixed. He knew that dressing like this might not allow him to evade surveillance, but he still made extra preparations. In the end, it was still for Liu Piaopiao’s sake. It did not matter if he was discovered. The key was that Liu Piaopiao absolutely must not be discovered. Otherwise, Qianliu Mountain would not let Liu Piaopiao off.
He could imagine that betraying Qianliu Mountain to the outside, Qianliu Mountain would definitely make her die a terrible death.
So he was actually very grateful to Liu Piaopiao. Under such dangerous circumstances, she could still secretly contact him.
Of course, he also knew that Liu Piaopiao had no way back. She was on a pirate ship and could not turn back. Based on what she had done before, Qianliu Mountain would not forgive her.
Walking around and circling around, he entered an alley. He saw a well by the roadside, covered with a stone slab. He swept it aside in one move, flashed in, and quickly pushed the stone slab above back into its original position.
The entire process was extremely swift, and it was done when there was no one in front or behind.
After getting Liu Piaopiao’s map, he had carefully examined it. Comparing it with the actual terrain, he had actually seen several underground entrances. It was just that there were many people coming and going nearby. He deliberately chose a place where no one was watching to go down.
A short while after he disappeared, a man and a woman appeared at the intersection. After entering the alley and looking around, they found Yu Qing was gone and immediately began searching. The two who had already passed by the well were about to run to the other exit to check when a bird suddenly descended from the air and landed on the well cover.
The two who looked back immediately ran back. The woman wanted to move the well cover, but the man stopped her with a hand.
Afterwards, the woman stood guard to one side, and the man swiftly flew away.
And at the alley entrance at this time, more people were coming one after another…
Yu Qing, travelling underground, lifted his clothes to block his nostrils. The smell in this sewage channel was indeed not very pleasant.
He had looked at the underground map and knew that this sewage was not discharged into the sea, but collected in a low-lying depression. It seemed someone in the Mirage City specifically handled this sewage.
It was dim underground. Occasionally, light seeped through cracks from somewhere unknown. He still held a fluorescent stone for illumination.
The ground was too dirty. He almost dared not let his feet touch the ground. He ran with his feet slanted against the wall.
Along the way, when he encountered slightly cleaner spaces, he was surprised to find people actually living there, even discovering entire families living there.
After travelling a certain distance, he found that there were quite a lot of people living underground. He really did not know how these people could endure this unpleasant smell.
Of course he understood it was because of money. But what he did not understand was why, with living conditions so poor, these people still stubbornly refused to leave the Mirage City. They clearly had choices, yet it seemed as if living in this cramped, foul-smelling underground was the best option.
When he finally arrived at the meeting place, he found a person similarly dressed in a black cloak already there. When the two faced each other, there was no mistake. It was Liu Piaopiao, who had arrived first.
Liu Piaopiao did not waste words. “This place is not like that secret cave. We cannot stay long. If you have something to say, say it quickly.”
Yu Qing directly handed her the invitation to look at.
After Liu Piaopiao opened it and looked, she was also a bit stunned. “What does this mean?”
Yu Qing: “What does this Wang Wentian mean by suddenly inviting me to a banquet?”
Liu Piaopiao: “How would I know what it means? Uh…” She suddenly stopped, as if remembering something. A strange smile appeared on her cold and beautiful face beneath the hood of her cloak. She asked in return, “You really have never heard of this Wang Wentian?”
Yu Qing saw there was something to this. He was a bit puzzled and confused. “Why must I have heard of this Wang Wentian?”
The corners of Liu Piaopiao’s mouth gradually curved upward. “His grandfather is the Earth Mother’s maternal cousin by marriage. He seized the opportunity of the Earth Mother’s rise, founded Zheluo Mountain, and developed Zheluo Mountain into one of the top ten spiritual plant sects in the Jin Kingdom by riding on the Earth Mother’s coattails. To a certain extent, his grandfather could be considered quite capable.”
Yu Qing became even more confused. “What does this have to do with inviting us to a banquet?”
The playful meaning on Liu Piaopiao’s face grew stronger. “Of course it has a relationship. The reason the Wang family has what it has today is nothing more than riding on the Earth Mother’s coattails. As the saying goes, first generation close, second generation cousins, third and fourth generations are basically strangers. By today, the Wang family’s kinship with the Earth Mother has grown more and more distant. In reality, it is just a dispensable distant relative.”
The Wang family naturally did not want to lose this relationship. To maintain a certain connection, the Wang family wanted to facilitate a marriage between Wang Wentian and the Earth Mother’s disciple Zhong Ruochen. It is said that they are already in the process of discussing the marriage.” At this point she stopped, looking like she was watching the fun from the sidelines.
Yu Qing was completely speechless and stood there stunned. The problem he was thinking about was different from what Liu Piaopiao was thinking, because he simply did not believe he could have any relationship with Zhong Ruochen.
What instantly came to his mind was A Shiheng. He did not know where that childhood friend of his had gone. If A Shiheng knew his fiancee was going to marry someone else, he did not know if A Shiheng would be sad. Although when they parted, A Shiheng already seemed to have seen things very clearly.
The most difficult thing was that he knew A Shiheng probably would not have many chances to use his real name again in this lifetime.
After a good while, he still said puzzled, “If he wants to marry Zhong Ruochen, then marry her. Zhong Ruochen and I have long had no relationship. Why come looking for me for no reason? Would they not find it awkward? Do they need my approval to get married? Or are they saying they want to kill me?”
There was surprise in Liu Piaopiao’s eyes, because she did not see the reaction she wanted to see on Yu Qing’s face. She replied, “Even if he wants to kill you out of jealousy, as long as he is not brain-damaged, he probably would not kill you here. The fact that he can target you shows that he also knows about your entry into the Nether Temple. The Nether Temple is right nearby. No one knows what your relationship with the Nether Monk is actually like. To rashly kill you under the Nether Monk’s nose, I doubt he has that much guts.
Furthermore, you are not a nameless nobody either. Although you yourself said you abandoned literature for martial arts, your fame is still there. He probably would not dare to kill you openly. If he wants to kill you, he would at least have to do it secretly.”
Yu Qing: “Then what exactly does he want with me?”
Liu Piaopiao: “You can imagine. Besides jealousy, what else could it be? Could it be he wants to specially host a banquet to thank you for facilitating his marriage with Zhong Ruochen? You would not think any man could be so magnanimous as to want to drink and be merry with the former fiance of the woman he likes, would you? Anyway, with Zhong Ruochen there, the possibility of him being friends with you is not great. You are a man yourself. You can figure out the rest.”
Yu Qing frowned. He thought, it seemed not attending the banquet was the right choice.
A curious expression suddenly welled up on Liu Piaopiao’s face. “There is one question I have always wanted to ask you. I heard that Zhong Ruochen is a woman of stunning beauty, proficient in all the arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She is a true lady from a distinguished family. Such a fine woman, how could you bear to abandon her? Even if you wanted to abandon literature for martial arts, that would not conflict with marrying her. There was no need to use such an extreme method as throwing down the official’s hat and leaving. With the brains you had to get out of the ancient tomb and Xiaoyunjian, it should not have come to that!”
Yu Qing rolled his eyes on the spot. “Are you bored or what? What time is it? How do you still have the leisure to care about this kind of rubbish? You just said we cannot stay here long.”
Liu Piaopiao also rolled her eyes at him. “Then let us talk about proper matters. What is with that ‘looking for sister’ notice you posted everywhere?”
Yu Qing: “I just want the Sea Maiden to see it. If she is alive, she will definitely understand, and she will come find me…”
Little Black, sitting properly at the table writing stroke by stroke, was clearly distracted. Whenever he heard any noise or movement outside, he would run barefoot to the balcony to take a look.
As long as he was in the room, it was very difficult to get him to wear shoes. You could not tie them on him.
Hu Youli, who was making a mould with mud nearby, also could not help but sigh at Little Black, who had returned to his seat. “Little Black, you need to concentrate on your calligraphy practice.”
Little Black, holding his brush, muttered, “Not letting me go out is no fun. I should not have come.”
Speaking of this, Hu Youli asked curiously in a low voice, “Where did you come from?”
As soon as this topic was mentioned, Little Black tilted his head and did not speak. He swung his feet, dipped his brush in ink, and continued burying his head in writing.
Hu Youli was speechless.
Just then, a knocking sound suddenly came from the balcony upstairs. Little Black immediately looked up at the ceiling.
Upstairs, Nan Zhu opened the door and saw a strange man. He was about to speak when the other party hurriedly said, “Is this Yu Qing’s home?”
Nan Zhu was suspicious. “Yes. What is the matter?”
The strange man said urgently, “It is bad. Yu Qing has had an accident. He got into a fight with someone by the seaside and was injured. He asked me to come and tell you.”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were greatly shocked. They quickly turned back to grab their weapons.
The two did not suspect a trick. They did not think anyone would dare to openly do something to them in the middle of a busy area. They had the visitor lead the way, and both flew down the stairs together.
Downstairs, Hu Youli’s pair of fox ears twitched. She had vaguely heard the conversation above just now. She was also slightly anxious. She had wanted to go see what was happening, but seeing Little Black, she held back.
Those three martial brothers had repeatedly said that this boy liked to run around. There must always be someone at home watching him.
If she took Little Black along to see the situation, she was afraid of becoming a burden to them.
Little Black was already full of suspicion as he asked, “Did they go to fight?”
Hu Youli gave him a flick on the forehead. “What are you thinking? Why is a little kid always thinking about fighting?”
Little Black: “My father is very good at fighting! Sister, when I grow up, I will marry you as my wife. I will protect you.”
Hu Youli was instantly caught between laughter and tears. “Alright, I will wait.”
In another building not far away, Qingya sat behind the window, peeling peanuts, chewing peanut kernels, his eyes fixed on the small house above the street in front of him. “Why did only two come out? Where is the other one? Send someone. Find her neighbours. Lure her out. Do it cleanly.”
“Yes.” Someone responded and left.