At noon, under the shade of the trees, Yu Qing finally regained his energy and stood up. The first words out of his mouth upon opening his eyes were to continue the journey. He seemed even more eager than the Miaoqing Hall group.
There were several reasons for this. One of them was still the entrustment from A Shi Heng. That remained the most important matter on this trip for him.
After the major safety concerns eased, as day after day passed, the longer he stayed away from the examination group, the more uneasy he felt inside. He feared some unexpected trouble might arise in that regard.
Tie Miaoqing and the others were naturally delighted to see this. They cooperated fully and set off the moment he said so.
After crossing mountains and ridges for roughly an hour, the forest ahead grew lush and dense. Vines became more numerous and thicker, gradually showing signs of a rainforest. Sun Ping waved her hand and called out twice, leading the way to a relatively hidden mountain hollow before stopping.
Yu Qing looked around but did not see the entrance to the passage. Just as he was about to ask, Sun Ping already explained, “The next stretch cannot allow rest. We must pass through in one go. It will take about an hour or more. First adjust to our best condition here, then push through all at once.”
“What does that mean?”
After some time together, Yu Qing had noticed that this boss lady Tie Miaoqing seemed less experienced than her subordinates in certain matters. Yet he still could not help turning to look at her and asking.
Sun Ping explained on her behalf again, “Ahead is the ‘Ancient Xiao Old Forest’, the group territory of a monster called the ‘Single-Horned Mountain Xiao’. These creatures have sharp teeth and claws, great strength, and a pair of sharp claws that can split stone monuments. Fortunately they are lazy by nature and love to sleep. But when we pass through, we easily wake them, so we must move quickly, cannot linger, have no need to tangle with them, and even less need to provoke them.”
Yu Qing surveyed the site. Thinking they needed to rest here in advance, he felt something was off and hesitated, “Just a group of mountain monsters. Is it really necessary to treat it so seriously?”
Zhu Shangbiao waved his hand, “Brother A, a group of mountain monsters is nothing to worry about and hard for them to harm us. But they have leaders. Among the kin of the Single-Horned Mountain Xiao, there are a few ‘non-demon monsters’ with quite high cultivation. One of them may have already reached the Upper Xuan realm. If we really provoke them, with our strength, I am afraid none of us would leave this rainforest alive.”
Non-demon monster? Xu Fei’s mouth twitched. Was he about to witness another existence from the books?
Yu Qing frowned slightly. He naturally knew about ‘non-demon monsters’.
In a way they could be considered demon cultivators. But their temperament was hard to describe. Some called them aloof, reclusive, eccentric, or peculiar.
In short, they were demon cultivators who refused to take human form.
Of course, that was by human standards.
In their own eyes, they did not consider humans the lords of creation, did not yearn to become human, did not transform, and did not accept the label of demon cultivator. They were simply themselves, cultivating their own way, always appearing in their true form no matter where they went, even if their bodies were as massive as mountains.
With sufficient cultivation, refusing to transform into human form and not becoming a demon, they were called ‘non-demon monsters’.
Normally those with such principles who still survived were indeed not easy to provoke.
Yu Qing felt some wariness too. As Zhu Shangbiao said, no one here could guarantee blocking them. He naturally advised gently, “In that case, why not take a detour? It would be safer.”
Zhu Shangbiao chuckled, “Brother A, it is not as dangerous as you think. We are only passing through. As long as we do not harm their kin, those few ‘non-demon monsters’ will not act. They occupy this place. If they blocked the road for everyone, they would bring trouble upon themselves sooner or later and probably would not have survived until now. At least they do not yet have the strength to dominate. If people do not offend them, they will not offend people.”
Sun Ping nodded, “Correct. That is one reason. The other is that crossing straight through takes only about an hour. Not far ahead is our next destination. If we detour, it would take roughly four hours. Another hour or so and it would be dark. In the ancient tomb wasteland, it is best to avoid travelling at night.”
Zhu Shangbiao patted Yu Qing on the back, “Relax. We are not theorising on paper. We have passed through once before. We know what we are doing. There will be no problem.”
Hearing this, Yu Qing felt much more at ease. He nodded, “Fine. We will listen to you.”
The group immediately rested on the spot.
After sitting cross-legged for about half an hour, the group prepared to set off. Sun Ping took out the box containing ‘Blue Enchantress’. She had everyone except Xu Fei and Chong’er apply a light blue smear on their eyelids. This would help them spot any demonic aura from the ‘Single-Horned Mountain Xiao’ and avoid them during the journey.
They scattered into the forest. The group swiftly threaded through the woods, sometimes skimming over grass, sometimes stepping on branches to leap forward.
Sun Ping and her husband each pulled along Xu Fei and Chong’er. Everyone knew Cheng Shanping had issues with Yu Qing, so they did not ask him to do this. Cheng Shanping volunteered to bring up the rear.
Before long, Yu Qing, Xu Fei, and Chong’er witnessed what a ‘Single-Horned Mountain Xiao’ looked like.
They resembled apes in build, covered in rather long brown fur, with a blood-red single horn about three inches long on their heads. Short legs, long arms, blood-coloured sharp claws. They bounded through the forest like flying, grabbing branches and vines with their arms to swing far. Low roars came from their mouths as they chased the group.
More and more sleeping Single-Horned Mountain Xiao were awakened and joined the pursuit. They could not match the group’s flying speed, but the sight of these monsters chasing in packs was enough to make Xu Fei and Chong’er tremble with fear, terrified that any slowdown would leave them surrounded.
The Single-Horned Mountain Xiao chased for a while. Those who grew tired and still could not catch up naturally stopped. Those not yet tired continued unwillingly.
After rushing like this for some time, Yu Qing suddenly turned his head and asked Tie Miaoqing beside him, “Did I hear wrong? Why do I feel like there is fighting noise behind us?”
He vaguely heard rumbling vibrations.
Tie Miaoqing, who had been glancing back from time to time, said, “No, you did not. It is people fighting. Someone else has broken into this place. They probably did not know the Single-Horned Mountain Xiao along this path had already been awakened by us. They ran straight into them. Could someone be following us?” She turned to ask Sun Ping and the others behind.
Sun Ping, pulling Chong’er, said, “Probably not. If they were tracking us, they would know the Single-Horned Mountain Xiao had been awakened by us. They should not have followed in.”
Zhu Shangbiao, pulling Xu Fei as he flew, said, “Boss lady, relax. With the Single-Horned Mountain Xiao blocking, even if someone follows, they cannot keep up. It should be uninformed people who happened to break in at this moment. Bad luck for them. Once fighting starts, it will be hard to escape the Ancient Xiao Old Forest unless they can defeat those few ‘non-demon monsters’. Fortunately we went first. If they had gone first and we entered behind, we would be the ones in trouble.”
Sun Ping added, “It could also be enemies of the Single-Horned Mountain Xiao who broke in.”
Cheng Shanping, bringing up the rear alone, kept glancing back from time to time.
Before long, the sounds of fighting faded away.
The few discussed. Either the intruders were dealt with, or they had moved far enough away while rushing forward, so the noise could no longer be heard.
As the light gradually dimmed, Yu Qing, who had been flying without pause, began to struggle. His speed slowed.
Such prolonged high-speed travel was indeed hard for him to sustain with his cultivation.
Tie Miaoqing noticed. After a slight hesitation, she decided to act straightforwardly without avoiding suspicion. Once she thought it through, she reached out, grabbed Yu Qing’s arm, and lent him strength.
In truth, Tie Miaoqing and the others had been holding back their speed all along, matching it to Yu Qing’s pace.
As darkness fell, thin mist began to rise gently in the forest.
After the light dimmed, the style of the forest ahead changed, appearing rather desolate. The Single-Horned Mountain Xiao chasing from behind also vanished without trace.
Tie Miaoqing called out, “We should have left the Ancient Xiao Old Forest. Everyone take a rest.”
In the faintly drifting thin mist, the group gradually stopped. Cheng Shanping remained at the rear, still observing behind, dutifully guarding the back.
After such a long rush, except for Xu Fei and Chong’er, everyone sat cross-legged.
No matter the place, looking around was Yu Qing’s habit, or rather the habit of a Guan Zi Jue cultivator. When he looked back in the direction they came from, he paused slightly.
Cheng Shanping walked behind a large mountain rock. It looked as if he needed to relieve himself. No one would comment. Yet Yu Qing noticed something abnormal. The changes in the surrounding mist caused by Cheng Shanping’s movements were too obvious. With his experience, he could tell Cheng Shanping’s approximate actions at a glance without even using Guan Zi Jue.
Behind the large mountain rock, Cheng Shanping glanced around, suddenly bent down quickly, picked up two stones from the ground, then leaned his back against the large rock. He used a small angular stone to carve on the large rock.
Yu Qing subconsciously activated Guan Zi Jue due to the unusual movement, staring intently at the subtle changes in the thin mist.
The scratches formed an arrow on the stone. Then he carved a square frame around the arrow, enclosing it.
After finishing, Cheng Shanping tossed aside the small stone he used as a chisel, leaned against the large rock, waited quietly for a moment, then walked out from behind it toward the group. A fist-sized stone was tossed playfully in his hand.
Yu Qing frowned slightly, puzzled, not understanding what it meant.
When passing a waist-high large stone in the valley, Cheng Shanping seemed very casual and placed the stone from his hand on top of it.
Yu Qing’s breathing suddenly stopped. Seeing Cheng Shanping approaching, he immediately turned away to avoid meeting his gaze. After Cheng Shanping rejoined the group, Yu Qing’s eyes fell again on the carved stone, then toward the Ancient Xiao Old Forest they had come from. His gaze deepened, showing some recollection and thought.
After Cheng Shanping came over, he did not sit down. Instead he said to Tie Miaoqing, “Boss lady, the next destination is at most two quarters of an hour away. The sky is almost dark. Why not hurry to the destination first, then rest comfortably and slowly.”
It made sense. Tie Miaoqing looked at Yu Qing, “Are you still alright?”
Yu Qing answered irrelevantly, “I need to relieve myself first.” He stood up and jogged away. Tie Miaoqing and Sun Ping were speechless and turned their heads aside.
Passing the placed stone, Yu Qing glanced sideways and saw the carving matched his guess. What he mainly wanted to see was the direction the arrow in the frame pointed. Cheng Shanping tossing the stone in his hand had blocked his view earlier.
After seeing it clearly, he immediately ducked behind a large mountain rock to relieve himself.
After emerging casually, he ran straight back, waved his hand, and smiled, “Let’s go.”
His smile was warm and amiable.