Stranger Danger

After Ye Qing left the Temple of Divination, he went straight to Number One. Once there, his mouth moved a little as if he was saying something soundlessly.

A few breaths later, Mrs. Basket and Mountain Tunneling King appeared before Ye Qing and greeted him carefully, “Young master!”

“I need to depart for Mount Qi for an urgent matter. Prepare some rations and wine as quickly as you can. I’ll be waiting for you outside the city. Be quick!” Ye Qing ordered quickly and succinctly.

“As you command, young master!”

Sensing that Ye Qing was quite serious, Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket dared not tarry. They immediately left to carry out their duties.

Ye Qing left for the exit after the duo took their leave. Originally, he was going to send them to Mount Qi and have them aid Chen Wuxin on his mission to grow his faction. Unfortunately, the best-laid plans of mice and men went awry yet again.

About a teatime later, Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket showed up one after another. When everything was ready, Mrs. Basket opened her mouth and blew out a stream of fog that eventually took the form of a cloud.

An old man’s face slowly appeared in front of the cloud. He had a long pair of mustaches.

“Yawn…”

This was a flying Strange Artifact Mrs. Basket owned. It was called the Cloud Duke, and it could transport people at high speed by air. It was how they had returned to Bei You earlier.

“This way please, young master!”

After Ye Qing, Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket had all jumped onto the cloud, the Cloud Duke sneezed and floated into the sky. It disappeared into the horizon in just the blink of an eye.

……

Mount Qi was a massive mountain range that spanned over hundreds of kilometers including the three commanderies: An Ding, Qing Wu, and Xuan Hua. Qing Wu was located at the southwest border that separated Yan and Chu. As it was a strategic location, it was manned by a considerable amount of troops and heavily guarded.

There were five famous battalions in Northern Xinjiang, and they were called Old Blade, Straight Halberd, Brigand Obliterator, Bandit Destroyer, and Thief Slayer. They were garrisoned in Qing Wu and served under one general named General Zhenwu.

Of the five battalions, Old Blade and Straight Halberd were responsible for city defense and patrol, whereas Bandit Obliterator, Brigand Destroyer and Thief Slayer were exactly what they sounded like. Their responsibilities mostly involved slaying bandits and destroying brigands.

Brigand Obliterator was the strongest of the three, and Xue Beikun was their vice battalion commander—Right Battalion Commander if they were addressing him by his title.

When Xue Beikun first came to Qing Wu, he was just an insignificant commandant. On top of that, he hadn’t started his military career in a border army, so everyone thought that he was just the relative of a high official in the capital here to pad his resume per se before he returned to luxury.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Xue Beukin had annihilated several bandit factions entrenched in Mount Qi in just a matter of months and slain countless bandits in the process. Not only that, Xue Beikun turned out to be a humble, low-key man who cherished his fellow soldiers like his children. That was why he was promoted to the position of Right Battalion Commander in just a matter of months. He was deeply loved by his soldiers.

“Right commander!”

“Right commander.”

Inside a military camp, every soldier was shooting Xue Beikun respectful and admiring looks as he passed by them. He nodded to all of them. After returning to his tent, he took a seat and was about to perform his duties when suddenly, he stiffened and let out an angry roar, “Who dares to trespass into the Brigand Obliterator’s main camp? Show yourselves!”

To Xue Beikun’s shock, his shout was somehow trapped inside the tent. The sound waves could not penetrate out of the boundary even a little.

“It’s me.”

Next to a bookshelf, Ye Qing slowly came into view.

“Young master!” Xue Beikun exclaimed in pleasant surprise before saluting him in a hurry. “When did you arrive, young master?”

“Just today.” Ye Qing put down the book he was reading and examined Xue Beikun for a moment.

Now a Half-Step Trueman, Xue Beikun was a lot more powerful than before. Not only that, he naturally gave off the aura of a superior probably because it had been a while since he come into his current position and wielded actual power.

Of course, no matter how strong Xue Beikun was, there was no way he could have detected Ye Qing. He did only because Ye Qing had purposely leaked his aura a little.

Speaking of which, Xue Beikun finally noticed the changes to Ye Qing’s energies and complimented him, “Congratulations on becoming a Grandmaster, young master.”

“Thank you.” Ye Qing smiled. “I came today because of Chen Wuxing. Tell me everything you know.”

“As you command, young master.” Xue Beikun saluted him and proceeded to tell Ye Qing everything about his investigation.

Xue Beikun’s report was roughly the same as the contents of the letter. The only difference was that it was more detailed, and he brought up the mysterious faction not once, but several times.

Unfortunately, Xue Beikun only knew that a mysterious faction was at work in Mount Qi, and that they were trying to absorb everyone around them. He had no idea who they were or to what extent their ploy had reached.

The Qing Wu Army itself did not really care about the mysterious faction. In their eyes, every bandit holed up in Mount Qi was a worthless piece of garbage who only survived so long because of Mount Qi’s highly advantageous terrain.

“Do you know about the Celestial Cave?” Ye Qing asked.

“The Celestial Cave?” That threw Xue Beikun for a loop. He did not understand why Ye Qing had suddenly mentioned them.

“Mount Qi is said to have three brigands, five peaks, nine forts, eighteen gangs and thirty six caves. The Celestial Cave is one of the thirty six caves. Their numbers are few, and they sit at the bottom of the totem pole that is Mount Qi. They stick to a low profile and never perform acts of banditry or bully the weak…”

Despite his confusion, Xue Beikun dutifully told Ye Qing everything he knew about the Celestial Cave. Once he was done, Ye Qing fell silent for a moment.

As it turned out, Xue Beikun’s understanding of the Celestial Cave was only surface level. He knew less than even Chen Wuxin.

“Is there a problem, young master?” Xue Beikun asked after waiting for a bit.

“It’s nothing.” Ye Qing shook his head. It would appear that he had uncovered everything he could possibly uncover regarding Xue Beikun. To gather more information, he must visit the Celestial Cave himself.

“Do you have a detailed map of Mount Qi?” Ye Qing asked.

“I do. Please give me a moment.” Xue Beikun removed a military map from a nearby shelf and handed it to Ye Qing.

Ye Qing unfolded the map and examined it carefully. The map detailed the geography of Mount Qi and a rough sketch of the bandit factions’ sphere of influence. It had everything he might need for his journey.

“Well done. I’ll be borrowing it for a few days.” Ye Qing put away the map.

“Did you find something about Brother Chen’s whereabouts, young master?” Xue Beikun asked. “I can join you and aid you in your search for him if you want to.”

Ye Qing waved him off. “No, thank you. You’re the Right Battalion Commander of the Brigand Obliterators, remember? People will be keeping an eye out for your every move. I’ll go alone.”

“Please be careful then, young master.” Xue Beikun saluted him.

“I will.” Ye Qing nodded and waved his hand, causing five items to appear on the table. They were two Strange Artifacts, one bottle of pills, and two rare treasures.

The first Strange Artifact was a spear named “Heretic”. It was a Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact with the power to pierce darkness and suppress evil[1]. The second Strange Artifact was a stake named Horse Suppressor. Shaped like a horse’s hitching post, it was a restraining Strange Artifact of sorts.

As for the bottle of pills and the two rare treasures, they were all items that improved one’s cultivation level.

“These are for you. A reward for everything you’ve done for me for the past years.”

Xue Beikun looked worried. “I must admit to a bit of fear, young master. It is my honor to be able to serve you. I can’t possibly receive a reward from you.”

“I know you’re loyal to me,” Ye Qing answered. “It is precisely why you deserve to be rewarded. These items will greatly shorten the time you need to reach the next level. The stronger you are, and the deeper you are ingrained in the Northern Xinjiang Army, the more you will be able to help me.”

Xue Beikun bowed his head and thanked him profusely, “Thank you, young master. Beikun will cultivate hard and do his best to meet your expectations.”

“Good. I’ll be going then. No need to see me off.”

By the time Xue Beikun looked up, Ye Qing was already gone. It was as if he had never appeared.

1. Truly a heretic, this one. ☜

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