The Goddess Has Three Treasures (Please Recommend and Collect!)

As for Wu Que's group.

He and Nightingale joined forces with the Beggar Sect to campaign against the Ming Cult, and everything went smoothly.

With the local Beggar Sect acting as their eyes and ears, and the intelligence Saintess He Sijun had revealed under Truth Serum, they led the troops in an assault on the Ming Cult's stronghold in Jinghu South Circuit.

The Beggar Sect attacked from the front, Nightingale handled the encirclement, and Wu Que hunted down the fleeing enemies. Their coordination was flawless. They killed two Dharma Kings and a host of Banner Commanders on the spot.

The Ming Cult's forces in this generation suffered a crushing blow.

But the Ming Cult's counterattack was ferocious, too.

In terms of powerful fighters, the Ming Cult couldn't compare with the combined strength of the Reincarnators and the Beggar Sect's leaders. But its followers feared no death, and they had some methods that were hard to guard against.

Gunpowder, for instance.

Don't think gunpowder was far beyond the reach of this era. In the Northern Song, fireworks and gunpowder were already commonplace.

There was a kind of firework called Flying Fire Meteor that could soar hundreds of meters into the sky before exploding.

The Ming Cult hadn't invented any kind of black technology, but it had gathered firecrackers and gunpowder, made a few alterations, and turned them into highly flammable explosives. At a critical moment, its followers would use them to take their enemies down with them.

Once the gunpowder came into play, it proved devastatingly effective. Not only did the troops suffer heavy losses, but Beggar Sect elders were dragged down to their graves as well.

This also laid the groundwork for what came later.

At the time, Wu Que didn't care about the fates of these plot characters. He and Nightingale had gained plenty from the battle, each receiving several hundred Reincarnation Points and a strand of Blue Contract Power.

As star-ranked Reincarnators, they knew very well that aside from issuing main-quest missions, the Main God Temple was quite flexible with its side quests. It handed out rewards based on what Reincarnators did in the Heavens Consciousness worlds.

Put simply, Reincarnators had to change the course of a world to some degree.

The Ming Cult was a case in point.

What the Ming Cult was doing now in Jinghu South Circuit—spreading its faith, seizing land, and colluding with local gentry—was all preparation for a large-scale rebellion down the line.

The Fang La Rebellion in this world hadn't gained such tremendous momentum in just a few years. It had to be the result of a process that built up over time.

Wu Que and Nightingale had destroyed the Ming Cult's preparations in Jinghu South Circuit, changing the course of the great event that would be Fang La's rebellion to some degree.

Of course, since the Ming Cult hadn't been wiped out, there would still be a rebellion. It would simply be smaller in scale.

That was why the reward was limited to a few hundred points and a single contract.

Even so, they'd gained a reward without much effort, and Wu Que and Nightingale were quite satisfied.

They headed back in high spirits, but halfway there, they ran into Tu Xingsun, who had come looking for them. He brought news as shocking as a bolt from the blue—

Huang Shang was missing!

Wu Que immediately turned against Tu Xingsun, tore up the contract, and applied for Main God Arbitration.

Main God Arbitration was a way for star-ranked Reincarnators to ask the Main God Temple to act as an arbiter when defending their interests.

In this case, Wu Que believed Tu Xingsun had failed to fulfill his obligations under the contract, so he could file for arbitration and refuse to pay the Reincarnation Points.

But arbitration didn't take place in the Heavens Consciousness world. They would have to wait until the world journey ended and they returned to the Main God Temple.

That was how the two of them ended up completely at odds.

They parted on bad terms.

Tu Xingsun was furious, too. He stormed off, cursing under his breath, while Wu Que grew angrier the more he thought about it.

His Bright Jade Art! All the effort he'd put in along the way!

Most importantly, they'd finally found a lead. How could he give up now?

Wu Que went straight to the Beggar Sect.

When it came to finding people, even the authorities couldn't match the greatest gang in the land.

But the Ming Cult's counterattack had left the Beggar Sect with heavy casualties. Wang Jiantong and the other leaders were too busy to deal with anything outside their sect, and the men they sent out still failed to find Huang Shang.

Wu Que had no intention of giving up. He decided to head north.

His destination: Eastern Capital Kaifeng Prefecture!

He believed Huang Shang practiced literary qi. After placing first in the Provincial Examination as the top examinee, his strength had increased greatly.

Whatever the reason for his departure, unless he'd been imprisoned outright, he wouldn't give up on the Departmental Examination.

So there was no mistake in looking for him in the Capital City.

Nightingale, however, pointed out that the Capital City was the territory of Queen Wangye. Without Tu Xingsun's help, the two of them might not be able to take her on.

Wu Que's eyes were bloodshot as he replied, resolute, "What's there to be afraid of? Huang Shang likes us better!"

Nightingale found his reasoning convincing.

They arrived in the Capital City, made a few quick assessments, and took up watch at the west gate.

Qionglin Garden lay along the route there, and it was a customary stop for scholars taking the imperial examinations.

Wu Que's reasoning was sound, but Xu Feng spotted him.

Xu Feng reported it to Xu Yue, who watched in secret and soon realized that Huang Shang might no longer be in their hands.

What else was there to say?

Fight!

By day, they waited at the city gate. By night, they fought in Worry-Free Cave.

And so Worry-Free Cave got the worst of it.

A battle several months earlier had nearly blown up Worry-Free Cave in the western suburbs, but Nightingale had held it together with her magic array.

That battle had ended quickly, though. This time was different. Xu Feng and Xu Yue, Wu Que and Nightingale—between the two sides, they fought more than ten skirmishes inside the caves. Without meaning to, they swept through the entire place. The bandits who had once occupied it suffered countless casualties, and no one dared linger there anymore.

An old problem that had plagued the area for a century had actually been solved.

But not everyone could withstand such intense fighting. Xu Yue and Nightingale could at least catch up on sleep, but the two men were locked in a head-to-head standoff. It was no wonder they looked haggard.

Huang Shang didn't know the exact details, but he could guess that a great deal had happened between them.

At that moment, Xu Feng and Wu Que weren't fighting to the death in the street. They had come over together, both gazing at him with pleading eyes.

Xu Feng was all right; he knew Huang Shang had been taken away by Wu Que and Nightingale.

The look in Wu Que's eyes was rather more miserable.

Huang Shang didn't meet their gazes. Instead, he looked ahead and smiled. "It's been so long since we last met. Let's find somewhere and catch up!"

Wu Que had been about to ask, "Did I give you too much freedom?" But when he saw Huang Shang's indifferent expression, his heart sank. His lips even began to tremble as he started questioning himself.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Maybe he has his reasons and can't tell me in person?"

"Could he have noticed how I feel about him? No, that's impossible..."

Wu Que thought through one possibility after another, his heart lurching all over the place.

But when his gaze happened to pass over the person leading Huang Shang's horse, his eyes narrowed. He took a closer look, and his expression changed.

"That little page is Murong Fu!"

Wu Que had seen Murong Bo's real face before. Murong Fu wasn't wearing a disguise; he'd only changed his clothes. His features bore quite a resemblance to Murong Bo's. They weren't quite like Xiao Yuanshan and Xiao Feng, who looked like the same actor playing father and son, but it was enough to confirm they were father and son.

More importantly, the martial arts foundation in his every movement was far beyond what any ordinary page could possess.

"Damn it! Murong Bo! So it was you, you old bastard, trying to steal Huang Shang from me!"

Wu Que immediately "saw through" the truth. Fury surged in his heart, and evil thoughts sprang up in his mind.

When Murong Fu saw the beggar's eyes suddenly blaze with murderous intent, he was baffled.

But he was a suspicious man by nature, and he quickly caught on.

"Could he be another martial artist, looking to serve the young master?"

He grew highly alert.

During this time, he had followed Huang Shang around, attending to him day and night and bowing and scraping. He had sacrificed so much that he already regarded Huang Shang as the exclusive property of the Murong clan.

He would never allow outsiders to lay a finger on him!

But now a rival had appeared, and right from the start he was glaring like a fiend, clearly ready to use underhanded methods.

"My Gusu Murong has never feared anyone!"

Xu Feng saw Wu Que and Murong Fu squaring off and grew unhappy.

What was wrong with you two?

I was here first!

As the three groups stood poised for a fight, Huang Shang felt rather bored. He turned to the Four Great Retainers and ordered, "Find a comfortable inn. I want to take a bath."