A Brief Respite

After Feng Miao finished speaking about Human Trafficking, Xia Yao remained silent for more than ten breaths before she said, "All the clues on my side point to Shu County Deputy Magistrate Shen Dong, but Fellow Daoist Guangxuan said this man cannot be touched... After this mountain search, he will even be promoted to Prefectural Judge in the prefectural city!"

Feng Miao did not care. She replied casually, "Then leave it alone. We just need to cultivate our own Dao. The more mundane trifles we meddle in, the more vexed we become. If inner demons come knocking, it will be extremely harmful to our cultivation."

Ignoring Feng Miao, Xia Yao looked at Wang Ping and asked, "Is this really the only way?"

Xia Yao's reaction surprised Wang Ping somewhat. He had always thought Xia Yao was far more rational than Feng Miao, but now it seemed she was the more emotional one.

"From what position are you considering this matter?" Wang Ping asked softly.

That question truly stumped Xia Yao. She closed her eyes and pondered quietly. Feng Miao also stopped speaking and sat down cross-legged on the spot to recover her Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Wang Ping gave Xia Yao a serious look. At that moment, Yulian said within his Spirit Sea, "She cultivates the Divine Path too!"

"The Divine Path?"

The Divine Path... the Saint's Way cultivated by the imperial family.

So that was it!

In truth, the Saint's Way was not the Divine Path at all. It was merely a means used by the imperial family to whitewash the Divine Path.

So-called Saints... were indeed best suited to become emperors or kings. Yet once a Saint accepted the throne of an emperor or king, he was no longer a Saint.

It was contradictory, yet that was indeed the logic of it.

Whenever Wang Ping thought of the Divine Path, records from countless Daoist classics surfaced in his mind, and in the end, he could only smile at himself in mockery.

The Saint's Way was not something he could comprehend...

Before long, Wang Ping also Entered Meditation to recover his Essence, Qi, and Spirit. This time, the tent remained quiet for a long while.

In Deep Night, Xia Yao awoke from meditation and sighed. Her usual coldness and tranquility returned as she said in a low voice, "For now, I still cannot find my position."

Feng Miao immediately opened her eyes and stared at Xia Yao in the darkness. "If you ask me, you needn't agonize over it. If you truly have an issue with that county magistrate, I have at least ten ways to make him vanish without a sound. In any case, he is no good man. Killing him would count as ridding the people of a scourge!"

Wang Ping silently applauded Feng Miao. Things that called for spontaneity should be handled spontaneously. As for the karmic entanglements afterward, there would hardly be any, because they and that county magistrate had always been people walking different roads.

Xia Yao nodded and said, "It is indeed a good method, but I want to know what exactly this chess piece is for!"

"What use could he possibly have?"

"I do not know either. Perhaps I am overthinking it, but I simply want to watch. Cultivation is boring anyway, so let us treat it as a little game."

Their brief conversation ended there, and they successively Entered Meditation again.

Morning.

As an autumn wind poured into the tent, Guangxuan walked in...

Hearing the movement, Wang Ping and the other two woke from meditation one after another. They heard Guangxuan say, "The Lesser Demons on the outskirts have been mostly cleared out. Most of the Monsters have already withdrawn deeper inside. I estimate that we will find their lair in two days at most. Then we will see just how many shameful dealings are hidden in these Mountain Forests."

Watching Guangxuan's departing figure, Wang Ping voiced the doubt buried deep in his heart. "With the power of the Daoist Scripture Hall, they could easily sweep away the Monsters within Xia Kingdom, or even completely sever the spiritual energy in the Mountain Forests and leave them unable to reproduce. Why go to such trouble?"

He had witnessed the might of the Secret Method Cultivator above the Clouds yesterday, and this question had kept flashing through his mind ever since.

"You are the Sixth Seat of the Daoist Scripture Hall, yet you do not even know that?" Feng Miao did not forget to mock him.

"I spend most of my time cultivating bitterly in the temple!"

"Hehe..."

Feng Miao laughed at Wang Ping again, but then she raised her brows and said, "I do not know either, but it should not be difficult to guess. For example, you and I could easily deal with the Monsters in an entire region right now, but would you do that for no reason?"

Once everything was placed in one's own shoes, it became easy to explain.

But Wang Ping felt that was not the case. Still, he did not continue dwelling on it. The three of them resumed meditating, waiting for the Mountain Search Team to bring back good news.

At noon on the second day.

Wang Ping sorted out the killing intent around him, adjusted his state of mind, and walked out of the tent. The sea wind outside was fierce, and the sky was dim and lightless, as though a torrential downpour was about to fall.

The Militia left behind to guard the camp were digging temporary drainage ditches to deal with the standing water the downpour would create.

After two days of felling, the Mountain Forest to the north had been cut open into a long road leading into the mountains. Temporary Sentry Towers had even been built more than twenty li away.

"Senior brother!" Wang Kang approached with a female disciple. His left arm was injured from the earlier battle.

"Are you all right?"

"I am fine. It is only a minor wound. A period of recuperation after we return will be enough. When we pass by Senior Brother Su's home then, he will definitely be green with envy."

This boy was still the same as before. The battle had not changed him much, because in his subconscious, fighting Monsters was as natural as eating and drinking.

Looking at his junior brother's smiling face, Wang Ping's expression also filled with amusement.

Then his gaze rested briefly on the female disciple beside his junior brother before shifting to the Proclamation Board that had just been erected in the center of the camp. Earlier, he had seen county runners posting a proclamation there...

The Proclamation Board had been made that morning. After the battle the day before yesterday, part of the Militia Corps had continued searching the mountains while the rest busied themselves expanding the camp. They truly treated this place as a village to be run and developed.

"Senior brother, do you remember General Liu Yue, whom I told you about many years ago?"

"I remember!"

"The newly issued proclamation says that the Imperial Court has thrown all one hundred and three members of General Liu Yue's family into prison on the Crime of Treason. I heard they will be executed next month!"

"How is that possible?" Xia Yao's voice came from inside the tent. She then walked out in disbelief.

"The proclamation has been posted!" Wang Kang pointed at the Proclamation Board.

"On the third day of last month, General Liu Yue received a Military Order from the Ministry of War and led a hundred thousand troops on an expedition to the Northern Kingdom. How could the Imperial Court imprison his entire family for the Crime of Treason at such a time?"

As she spoke, Xia Yao walked toward the Proclamation Board.

At that moment, a Sanhe Temple Qi practitioner holding a Long Sword hurried over from the camp entrance to Wang Ping. Cupping his fists, he said, "Daoist Changqing, the Mountain Search Team ahead has discovered the Monsters' gathering place. Martial Uncle Guangxuan sent me to lead you there."

Just as Wang Ping was about to reply, heavy Footstep Sound came from behind him. It was Feng Miao. Lifting the tent flap, she said, "Then let us go. We have wasted quite some time here. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can return!"

The torrential rain fell Half an Hour after Wang Ping, Feng Miao, and Xia Yao entered the Mountain Forest, but their pace did not slow.

Two hours later.

The sky had already dimmed somewhat as Wang Ping and the other two, along with the Qi practitioner guiding them, arrived outside a temporary camp built within the Mountain Forest.

Upon entering the camp, the first thing Wang Ping saw was Guangxuan distributing medicinal pills under hazy lamplight. Just as he rose and walked over, Guangxuan noticed him as well. When their eyes met, both walked toward each other.

As they drew close, Guangxuan introduced, "The Monsters' gathering place should be on the Mountain Peak ahead. The locals call this place Red Mountain, because in autumn, the entire mountain presents the spectacular sight of being red when viewed from afar."

"Those are Redwood Trees, right?"

"That is right!"

"We scouted ahead. There are not many Monsters left in the lair. This time, we learned our lesson and plan to attack overnight, leaving them no chance to catch their breath. If there are spoils of war, then as agreed beforehand, Sanhe Temple takes seventy percent, Thousand Wood Temple gets thirty percent, and you may choose some as well."