The more she looked the more something felt wrong. Tie Miao Qing’s heart gradually sank into an ice valley. Inside she asked herself miserably, could it really be that the charlatan had unfortunately hit the mark?
They had been together for so many years. They were old companions of so many years. She believed she had never treated him badly and had been quite good to Cheng Shan Ping. How could Cheng Shan Ping possibly betray them? He should not be someone who could be bought off easily either.
She hoped she was overthinking it.
Just as her thoughts kept turning and would not stop, Cheng Shan Ping could not hold back any longer. He stood up again and walked over again.
This caused Sun Ping and her husband to open their eyes and look at each other once more.
Tie Miao Qing looked straight at him. She watched with wide eyes as Cheng Shan Ping walked closer step by step. When he reached them she pretended to be relaxed and asked first, “Is something the matter?”
Cheng Shan Ping first shouted fiercely at Yu Qing, “You sat there for so long with no reaction. Is this what you called quick? Is this what you called it would be done soon?” Then he half squatted in front of Tie Miao Qing and said with sincere words, “Boss lady, we are all holed up in this cave. If there is any situation outside we would have no awareness at all. How can that be good? Why do I not go outside the cave to keep watch? Having one person outside would still be safer.”
These words seemed reasonable. Tie Miao Qing was pondering how to reply when Yu Qing raised his hand and drew the attention of the two.
They saw Yu Qing’s raised fingers performing a series of calculations. Once the gesture was set he spoke, “I have calculated it. There is no need to keep watch. Just rest to the side. Nothing will happen.”
Nothing will happen? The corner of Cheng Shan Ping’s mouth twitched slightly. He could not hold back his anger any longer. “You stop pretending to be mysterious here. I…”
Yu Qing did not allow him to finish at all. He directly interrupted him, his voice even louder than Cheng Shan Ping’s. “I have calculated it. This journey offends evil forces. The hour up to now is凶. Hiding here is precisely to avoid the evil. If anyone goes out within one hour they will surely bring down the evil star. Only after avoiding this凶 hour of one hour can we turn danger into safety!”
As soon as these words came out Tie Miao Qing listened with her heart pounding in alarm. She felt as if this person had revealed the truth. She subconsciously observed Cheng Shan Ping’s reaction.
The corner of Cheng Shan Ping’s mouth twitched subconsciously. A flash of alarm also passed through his eyes. He was clearly startled by Yu Qing’s words. His gaze fixed on the fingers Yu Qing was pinching and then on the burning incense. His throat moved once.
Tie Miao Qing shouted, “Old Cheng!”
One hour? Cheng Shan Ping estimated. Quite a bit of time had already passed. Just one hour should be no problem. So he stared at Yu Qing and sneered coldly, “For the sake of the boss lady’s face I will not argue with you. I will allow you one hour. If you speak inconsistently again I will not buy your mysterious act!” He stood up, flicked his sleeve and left.
He said this not without reason. Earlier when they were called into the cave Yu Qing had said it would be quick. After he came in relieved it had dragged on like this.
Sun Ping and her husband who witnessed him sit back down also felt some dissatisfaction and began to complain in low voices.
Cheng Shan Ping sat there with his head lowered in silence. He let them speak and did not talk back. In his mind he was still pondering Yu Qing’s so called “avoid evil” words. That fellow actually said there was an evil star outside. It made his heart somewhat alarmed and doubtful. Could that fellow really have some ability to calculate and predict?
Sitting in the darkness Tie Miao Qing stared at Cheng Shan Ping for a good while. Then she could not help letting out a quiet sigh. “Do you think the inside traitor could be him?”
Yu Qing replied in a low voice, “What do you think?”
Tie Miao Qing said, “Even if he is the inside traitor, how could he be so obviously unable to stay calm?” She wanted to find doubts to deny what she had seen. To put it plainly she still found it hard to accept psychologically.
Yu Qing said indifferently, “The reason is very simple. He thinks we know nothing at all! At the beginning he was tricked into coming in by me. Now he cannot get out for a long time and has no way to pass the information outside that the fire crickets are not all caught. He is worried that the people outside, not knowing the situation and not seeing any sign of us for a long time, will not be able to hold back and may rush in at any moment. So the longer time drags on the less calm he becomes.”
Tie Miao Qing immediately tensed up. “If it is really like this, if those people rush in we will probably find it very hard to escape.”
Yu Qing was not worried at all. You cannot escape does not mean I cannot escape either. If the people outside kill their way in you will naturally go to resist them. As for him he had his own way to slip away at the chance. On his mouth however he took the opportunity to apply pressure. “That is why we need to act decisively. We need to resolve it as quickly as possible. If we drag on any longer it will become troublesome.”
Tie Miao Qing remained silent and hesitant. It was hard for her to make a decision. She always felt that doing this was too rash. There was no evidence at all!
Yu Qing had long seen that this woman was not someone good at making decisions. He was not anxious. He waited slowly…
On the mountainside Cui You who was hidden behind the thorns under the forest looked at the blazing sun in the sky. After his gaze fell back on the target cave entrance he asked, “How long have they been inside?”
Wu Kuang calculated silently for a moment. “About half an hour.”
Cui You frowned. “This cave is not deep. It is said that within half a stick of incense one can reach the end of the underground. Why have they still not come out?”
He was a bit puzzled about what was going on with the inside contact. The contact should know that they were waiting here for the signal. No matter what the situation was, with that person’s status in Miao Qing Hall it should not be difficult to find an excuse to come out and show his face. Could something have happened?
Thinking again he felt it was impossible. What could happen underground? Could the underground have collapsed and buried the people? If there really was such a big disturbance this place should also be able to feel it.
The current situation of no reaction for so long was somewhat beyond his expectations. It did not match the way the inside contact had described catching the fire crickets.
Wu Kuang however had flashes in his eyes. He knew that Steward Cui was probably here for the first time. How would he know that half a stick of incense could reach the end of the underground?
He became certain that there was an inside traitor in Miao Qing Hall. So he deliberated and said, “There may be something going on. Why do we not wait and see a bit longer.”
Cui You nodded slightly. He looked up at the position of the sun again and set a time in his heart. The inside contact was not a fool. If there was still no movement there must be a problem. This side would definitely need to go and investigate…
After a long silence in the darkness Tie Miao Qing suddenly spoke on her own initiative. “Just because he cannot stay calm, just because he wants to go out, we suspect he is the inside traitor and control him. This reason, let alone aimed at him, would not hold even if placed on Sun Ping and her husband. Placed on anyone it could not convict them. It is no different from fabricating something out of nothing!”
Being able to say such words showed that she already had an idea in her heart. Yet she still could not decide. Yu Qing was a bit unsure how to describe this woman. He reminded her gravely, “If we catch the wrong person we can still release him. As long as we treat him sincerely the grudge can still be resolved with effort. You can also push it onto me. On the other hand if we drag on any longer it will not only be us who face danger to our lives. If the fire crickets cannot be brought back your husband will also die in vain!”
The last sentence touched Tie Miao Qing quite deeply. The lips behind her veil bit again and again. She raised her gaze and looked at the opposite side. Having made up her mind she took a deep breath and called out, “Ping Niang, come over for a moment.”
The three people opposite all opened their eyes at once. Sun Ping immediately stood up and quickly came over. She also half squatted in front of the two.
Before she could speak Tie Miao Qing had already spoken first in a low voice. “Ping Niang, no matter what I say now do not show any abnormality. Do not let anyone see any clues. Ping Niang, if things go as expected Cheng Shan Ping should have a problem. There should already be people from other shops lying in ambush outside the cave. We now need to seize him without alerting the enemy outside. We need to confirm face to face and ask clearly. We need your cooperation!” There was some tension in her tone.
Sun Ping’s body had already stiffened. Shock showed in her eyes. She felt how could it be possible. How could that person possibly betray this side?
Also, how did the young miss know about the situation outside?
Seeing that she did not react for a long time Tie Miao Qing reminded her, “It is only to control him first so we can confirm face to face.”
Cheng Shan Ping really had a problem? Sun Ping’s brows twisted together. She quickly sorted through the matter. If other shops really had people lying in ambush outside what their intention was she could guess without needing to be told.
The matter was no small thing. The key point was that she had always felt something was off about Cheng Shan Ping before. Being told this now made her heart unusually heavy.
The matter was no longer something simple feelings could control. Once it was confirmed the consequences would be unimaginable. Sun Ping as the shopkeeper was more decisive than Tie Miao Qing as the boss lady. After weighing the pros and cons she quickly made a decision. Without asking much more she gave a sound of agreement and nodded. “Young miss rest assured. I will handle it.”
She took a deep breath, tried hard to calm her own emotions, and turned back as if nothing was wrong.
Yu Qing also watched and nodded secretly. This person was much more resolute than Tie Miao Qing when encountering matters. In an instant she had distinguished what was important and had not even asked an extra sentence.
Zhu Shang Biao who was sitting cross legged saw her return and could not help asking, “What is the matter?”
“I arranged some things.” Sun Ping replied casually. To Cheng Shan Ping who also showed inquiring eyes she turned her head and indicated, “The young miss wants you to go over.”
Cheng Shan Ping did not think much. He immediately stood up. However just as he passed by Sun Ping’s side there was a sudden sharp pain in his lower back on the side. From the corner of his sweeping eyes he glimpsed that it seemed Sun Ping had moved against him.
Sun Ping had indeed moved. Without any hesitation it was a surprise attack.
She poked two fingers into the acupoint on his lower back. After hitting the mark with one strike she quickly struck with both hands several times, pointing several spots on Cheng Shan Ping’s body. Finally one hand pressed on Cheng Shan Ping’s shoulder, not letting the greatly changed expression Cheng Shan Ping who wanted to shout but could not shout fall down.
Zhu Shang Biao was startled. He jumped up in alarm. Before he could ask the reason in alarm he was stopped by Sun Ping’s low and deep voice. “Shut your mouth!”
After speaking she left her husband with wide eyes, grabbed Cheng Shan Ping’s arm and moved the person towards Tie Miao Qing’s side.
Zhu Shang Biao who had slightly come back to his senses immediately followed quickly.
Cheng Shan Ping had naturally reacted as well. He knew he had been attacked but was not injured, only restrained. Suddenly he saw the torch opposite light up again. He saw that Tie Miao Qing and Yu Qing had already stood up. The way they looked at him made his heart thump. He vaguely realised why he had been restrained.
But he also felt it was impossible. How could they know?
Yet apart from this reason he could not think of any other reason why this side would treat him this way.
If he had really been exposed, how exactly had he been exposed?
His gaze fell on Yu Qing’s face that seemed to be smiling yet not smiling. For some reason he thought of Yu Qing’s earlier so called “avoid evil” words. His heart was filled with alarm and doubt. Could this youngster really have the ability to calculate and predict?
If it was really like this then he himself was truly too wronged!
Being calculated by a fortune teller to be a traitor, what kind of thing was this? Was there such a reason in the whole world?
In short at this moment he was both alarmed and confused. His heart was filled with all kinds of guesses. Yet on his face he tried hard to show extreme anger.