As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Yin Shanhe opposite him freeze in shock, but even Long Xingyun, whom he held in his grasp, forgot his anger and was stunned.
Little did they know, this was precisely the purpose behind Yu Qing going to such great lengths to capture Long Xingyun, and it was all aimed at Qing Ya.
He had no other choice. If he went after Qing Ya alone, he could neither defeat him nor match his influence. He was not qualified to wrestle with Qing Ya in the Sea Market area, especially in this place. Capturing Qing Ya here was basically impossible.
Even if Qing Ya had a broken leg, and even if the three brothers joined forces, it would be hard to match him. The gap in their cultivation realms was simply too vast.
Having lived with Hu Youli for so long, he had heard more than a few legendary tales of Qing Ya in the Sea Market. Back in the day, Qing Ya had truly fought his way to the top in this mixed and chaotic place with just his bare fists. He was absolutely not a mere figurehead used to scare people.
To some extent, for the ordinary people of the Sea Market, Qing Ya was the kind of figure who could stop a crying child.
Even ordinary members of the Sea Suppression Office did not dare to provoke Qing Ya too much.
He lacked the ability to capture Qing Ya himself, but he really wanted to make a move against him this time. What could he do? Looking at the current conditions, the only one who could rival Qing Ya was probably this white-haired elder. But how could this elder help with such a thing? So he targeted Long Xingyun, a weighty soft persimmon, to create this very situation.
“Capture Qing Ya?” Yin Shanhe asked with some disbelief.
Yu Qing nodded. “What, are you afraid?”
As far as Yin Shanhe was concerned, he truly did not think much of Qing Ya, so the question of whether he dared or not was irrelevant. The key was that he did not understand the other party’s intentions and worried about falling into another trap.
Old jianghu veterans like them had high vigilance and strong defensive awareness, so he countered, “Whether I dare or not is my business. Why do you want to capture Qing Ya?”
Yu Qing said, “Do not think I do not know how you tracked us here. I treat Qing Ya as a brother. He acts like brothers with me to my face, but betrays me behind my back. If this can be tolerated, what cannot? I cannot swallow this anger!”
Yin Shanhe was half believing and half doubting this explanation. “Just for this? If I capture him, will you let our Young Pavilion Master go?”
Hearing this, Long Xingyun immediately started grunting through his nose. In his anger, he clearly did not want his side to back down to Yu Qing.
However, Yu Qing choked him to stop him from interrupting. “Senior, your words are too light. If I let Young Master Long go so easily, would I not be asking for death? I am afraid he would turn around and kill me. Capturing Qing Ya is not the prerequisite. The prerequisite is that your Chilan Pavilion and your Young Pavilion Master are willing to turn our weapons into jade and silk, guaranteeing no future retaliation or trouble for me. Only then will I release him.”
Yin Shanhe hummed and asked back, “If I give my word, you would believe it?”
Yu Qing said, “If the Senior can give his word, I would naturally believe it, but there must be a proper formulation.”
Yin Shanhe asked, “A formulation? What kind of formulation?”
Yu Qing said, “The Senior must swear an oath on the purity of the Chilan Pavilion Master. If you trouble me again in the future, it will prove that the Chilan Pavilion Master has a problem with her character, and her purity must be flawed.”
Upon hearing this, Yin Shanhe’s face instantly darkened. He had heard the outside rumours about the Pavilion Master being the concubine of the Great Sage of Thousand Flow Mountain.
Long Xingyun’s emotions also surged instantly. He kept grunting through his nose, and his eyes, as they looked at Yin Shanhe, seemed to be filling with blood. Using his mother’s purity as a guarantee was something he could absolutely not agree to. He wished he could perish together with Yu Qing.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, however, could not help but glance at each other across the captive. Nan Zhu even forced a dry smile, his mouth stretching into a grin. He realised Old Fifteen’s method was cunning enough. If they truly swore an oath on the purity of that woman, the Chilan Pavilion Master, her son and her white-haired subordinate would hardly break it.
He now realised his previous worries were entirely unnecessary. Old Fifteen’s tactics were indeed unique and elegant.
Yin Shanhe stared coldly at Yu Qing with a dark face for a good while, then slowly reached for his waist and pulled out the smoking pipe from his belt.
This move immediately startled Yu Qing, making him hide behind Long Xingyun, using the young master’s body to shield himself as much as possible. Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie almost simultaneously stepped forward to block the way, giving the other party no chance to snatch their captive.
“No need to be nervous. This concerns the reputation of the Pavilion Master. Swearing an oath on her purity is no small matter. Allow me to smoke and think it over carefully.”
Yin Shanhe offered a faint reassurance, packed tobacco into the pipe bowl, lit it, and began to puff out clouds of smoke.
Seeing this, the three brothers relaxed slightly and did not deny the other party time to consider.
Long Xingyun, on the other hand, had a slight flash in his eyes upon seeing this. After his gaze met Yin Shanhe’s, he seemed to confirm something. A faint coldness appeared at the corners of his mouth, and he gradually calmed down.
Yin Shanhe puffed on his dry pipe, pacing back and forth, seemingly lost in deep thought.
Yu Qing and the other two, however, dared not relax their guard. They constantly adjusted their direction according to the other party’s movements to avoid being attacked from behind.
The puffs of smoke from the pipe gradually diffused. As Yin Shanhe continued to pace in circles, the spreading smoke formed an invisible net, unknowingly enveloping the three brothers.
“Tweet tweet tweet…”
At this moment, “Big Head”, who was currently on Nan Zhu, suddenly let out a fierce, clanging cry. In this quiet place, it was quite thrilling and deafening.
The three brothers all froze, then their faces changed drastically, and they all stared at Yin Shanhe, who was puffing smoke.
Yin Shanhe and Long Xingyun were somewhat surprised, not knowing what strange creature was making that noise.
Long Xingyun had actually heard this cry before. It sounded familiar, and after a moment of thought, he remembered. Shortly after entering the Small Cloud Realm, he had heard this same cry coming from the three of them.
“It is poisonous!” Nan Zhu gave an urgent warning.
Actually, his warning was unnecessary. It was not their first adventure with “Big Head”. The meaning of the usually silent “Big Head” suddenly crying out in alarm was very clear.
“Hold your breath and dodge!” Yu Qing also gave an urgent call.
He now finally understood why Long Xingyun had gradually quietened down earlier.
The three brothers quickly expelled the air from their lungs, held their breath, and retreated from the scene in a group, quickly withdrawing to a lower terrain.
Long Xingyun, whose eyes were flashing rapidly, instantly looked furious again. However, like a duck with its neck squeezed, he could not make a single sound.
Seeing this scene, Yin Shanhe, who was still puffing his pipe, darkened his face again, and the pipe stem slowly moved away from his mouth.
That was right, his puffing smoke indeed hid a secret. It could be normal pipe tobacco, or it could be the soul-chasing and soul-stealing Bewildering Smoke.
He did not understand what that earlier cry of warning was about, but it no longer mattered. What mattered was that his intention had been seen through by the other party.
He could not just sit by and watch the Young Pavilion Master being taken away like that, so he flashed forward and chased after them.
Thus, the two sides quickly changed locations and confronted each other again. Yin Shanhe naturally and consciously put out the fire in his pipe bowl.
By this time, Long Xingyun had already half collapsed his head and fainted, undoubtedly confirming that the smoke from earlier was indeed problematic.
Not only was it problematic, but the poison effect was swift. Without any warning at all, Long Xingyun had suddenly fainted.
Yu Qing was visibly angry. “White-haired old man, you actually dare to play dirty tricks. Do you think I dare not kill him?”
Since things had come to this, open robbery was impossible, and there was no chance for covert moves. Yin Shanhe simply stopped hiding his intentions and spoke frankly, “Swearing an oath on the Pavilion Master’s purity, I am afraid I cannot agree. Even if you kill the Young Pavilion Master, I cannot do that. First, I do not have the qualification, and I certainly cannot defile the Pavilion Master. Second, the Young Pavilion Master cannot insult his own mother, so he would not agree either.”
His eyes and attitude were very resolute, leaving no room for doubt.
Yu Qing immediately felt the danger. He shoved Long Xingyun, his sword swaying slightly, and gave a stern warning. “You better think clearly. Are you sure you want to destroy everything and perish together?”
Yin Shanhe spoke to himself, “Young man, no matter who you are, whether man or woman, demon or human, if both sides truly want a suitable outcome, it cannot just be about what you want. You must also consider the needs of the other party. You cannot blindly seek to satisfy only your own demands. That is wrong, and in the end, no one will be well off. I can give you an explanation that I am capable of providing. You might as well consider it.”
The so-called destroying everything together was just a last resort. Yu Qing had gone to such great lengths and naturally still wanted to negotiate. Hearing this, he asked, “What explanation?”
Yin Shanhe said, “Between you and the Young Pavilion Master, who is right and who is wrong is not important to me. What is most important is that we address the matter at hand and resolve the conflict.
You ask me to swear an oath. Although I cannot accept it, I understand your worries. I also know the Young Pavilion Master’s character. I cannot guarantee he will not trouble you afterwards, but I can give you some assurances.
After returning to the Chilan Pavilion, I will report the entire course of events in detail to the Pavilion Master, including what we are saying now.
I guarantee with my personal character that I will strongly persuade the Pavilion Master to let this matter drop and not trouble you again.
In fact, you are nothing much in the eyes of the Pavilion Master. The Pavilion Master has never cared about the life or death of the Young Pavilion Master’s so-called sworn brothers. For someone of the Young Pavilion Master’s status, sworn brotherhood is inherently impure. Only the Young Pavilion Master himself, young and full of righteous spirit, took it seriously.
Therefore, the Chilan Pavilion has never thought of making things difficult for you from start to finish. You think too highly of yourself. Asking the Chilan Pavilion to guarantee no retaliation against you is quite redundant.
The mess between you and the Young Pavilion Master is purely your private grudge. It is not some massive issue involving too many people. As long as it does not concern the life and death of the Young Pavilion Master, the possibility of the Chilan Pavilion emptying its nest and using any means necessary to deal with you simply does not exist.
Therefore, as long as the Young Pavilion Master returns safely, I can basically guarantee you that no one in the Chilan Pavilion will help the Young Pavilion Master trouble you in the future.
As for whether the Young Pavilion Master will trouble you in the future, I can only guarantee one thing. I will keep an eye on him for a year, let him recover his injuries properly, and not let him leave the Chilan Pavilion. As for things after a year, my status does not allow me to make too many decisions, so saying more is useless.
This is the explanation I give you. If you agree, I will help you capture Qing Ya!”
Yu Qing fell silent, lost in thought.
Seeing him still hesitating, Yin Shanhe slowly prompted again, “Do not bring up swearing an oath on the Pavilion Master’s purity again. Young man, I have eaten this jianghu rice longer than you. Listen to my advice. Do not force people to do things without a bottom line. Once there is no bottom line, swearing any oath is useless. If I truly lose my bottom line to save someone, would you dare to let him go? No one wants to seek death, and you do not want to die either, right?”
His words seemed perfectly reasonable, making Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie look at each other in surprise, feeling this person was truly formidable.
After pondering for a long time, Yu Qing took a deep breath and suddenly said, “Qing Ya. I want him alive!”