Chapter 131

Chapter 131: Seems Like Qingwan (4000 words, combined two chapters)

“Miss, what did you just say?”

Xu Ming looked at the girl in front of him, momentarily dazed, even suspecting if he had misheard.

“I said I can protect you.” Qingwan’s eyes twinkled. “You’re Senior Sister Qin’s friend, which makes you my friend too. Isn’t it natural for me to protect you? If anything happens to you, when I return to the sect, Senior Sister Qin will definitely not let me off.”

Xu Ming: “…”

“Hey! What’s that look on your face?” Qingwan placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t underestimate me; I’m really skilled, you know.”

“I’m not underestimating you, miss…”

Xu Ming gazed into the girl’s eyes, those peach-blossom-like eyes as if they were speaking, resembling a peach grove in full bloom with petals swirling around.

The longer he looked, the more familiar she seemed.

“Lord Xu, it’s good that you don’t underestimate me, but please don’t look at me like that either; I might get shy,” Qingwan lowered her head, her long and curved lashes fluttering like butterflies dancing among flowers.

“Thank you for your kindness, but won’t this cause trouble for you?” Xu Ming expressed his intention to form an alliance but gently declined.

“Of course not!” Qingwan, hearing that Xu Ming wasn’t outright refusing, patted his shoulder. “Here, take this.”

“What is this?” Xu Ming took a jade token.

“It’s a treasure from our Heavenly Profound Gate used for communication. As long as we’re within a hundred miles, infuse it with spiritual energy and imagine the person’s face in your mind, and you can send them a message. Even though you’re a martial artist, just think of my face and have your Big White Goose input the spiritual energy.” Qingwan cheerfully explained.

“Miss, this is too valuable,” Xu Ming tried to return it.

But Qingwan pushed the jade token back into his hand. “It’s fine! It’s not that valuable. Just keep it.”

“That’s settled then. Let me know if there’s anything, and I’ll contact you too. When I do, come quickly~” With that, Qingwan waved goodbye and ran off.

“Honk honk honk? (Xu Ming, does this pretty girl like you or something?)” asked the Heavenly Black Goose.

“No reason to think so,” Xu Ming shook his head.

Xu Ming knew he was somewhat handsome, comparable to Kim Cheng-wu, but in the cultivation world, many people were even better-looking than Kim Cheng-wu.

A woman ranked high on the Red Beauty List would surely have countless admirers, and there must be those whose looks surpass his own.

So it was highly unlikely that He Qingqing would fall for him at first sight.

Yet He Qingqing seemed unusually close to him, and it wasn’t just because he was a friend of Qin Qingwan.

Come to think of it, was this person really He Qingqing?

“Honk honk honk, honk honk honk, (I also feel it’s probably not about liking you. Maybe this girl is just naturally friendly.)” said the Heavenly Black Goose.

This guy Xu Ming was indeed somewhat handsome, but compared to that girl, Xu Ming could only lick her feet based purely on looks.

Heavenly Black Goose: “Honk honk honk (Still, why did you agree to ally with her? That’s not like you.)”

Xu Ming shook his head. “I have a doubt.”

“Doubt?”

“Xiao Bai, don’t you think this girl named He Qingqing resembles someone?” Xu Ming looked at the Heavenly Black Goose.

“Resembles who?” The goose tilted its head.

Xu Ming said, “She resembles Qingwan.”

“…”

The Heavenly Black Goose thought seriously for a moment.

“Shouldn’t be, right? Isn’t Qingwan in seclusion? Besides, have you even seen what Qingwan looks like grown up? The last time you saw her, she was six years old.

But if you insist, their personalities are somewhat alike—both lively and cheerful.

Especially those eyes, both very beautiful, like gemstones.”

As it spoke, the Heavenly Black Goose seemed to understand something and looked up at Xu Ming. “You don’t suspect this He Qingqing is actually Qingwan, do you?”

Xu Ming smiled and shook his head. “I didn’t say that, but it’s not impossible.”

Xu Ming turned away from the girl: “Let’s go find the two scholars from the White Deer Academy.”

“Honk (Oh).”

The Big White Goose waddled after Xu Ming toward the Blessing Inn.

Xu Ming asked the innkeeper, who upon learning he was a friend of the two scholars, readily gave him their room number without suspicion.

When Xu Ming met Yu Wen Xi and Miao Feng, they still appeared confused, unsure what had happened.

“Did you two just wake up?” Xu Ming smiled at Yu Wen Xi and Miao Feng, glancing at the time—it was almost evening.

“Lord Xu, forgive us.” Yu Wen Xi and Miao Feng bowed. “We took some pills to mend our injuries and slept to allow the spiritual energy to circulate through the pills better.”

“I see.”

Xu Ming inquired about their injuries, updated them on events in the city, and set up a barrier that blocked divine sense detection and sound.

Seeing Xu Ming set up the barrier, Yu Wen Xi and Miao Feng were surprised. They hadn’t expected Xu Ming to be a cultivator. Judging by the spiritual energy used for the barrier, he seemed to be at the Constructing Furnace Realm, not yet reaching the Cavern Realm.

“Lord Xu can practice cultivation, why not pursue the path of a cultivator? With Lord Xu’s talent, entering the White Deer Academy to cultivate righteous aura would certainly be a stable path.”

Yu Wen Xi couldn’t help but ask, his tone filled with regret.

In Yu Wen Xi’s view, while Xu Ming’s path as a martial artist was indeed strong, it was ultimately a dead-end road. Even reaching its peak wouldn’t grant more than three or four hundred years of life, far less than a Qi Practitioner’s Cavern Realm.

And given Xu Ming’s talent, he could easily follow the Confucian path to sainthood.

Xu Ming smiled, understanding Yu Wen Xi’s meaning: “Thank you for your concern, Brother Yu Wen. I still hope to walk the path of martial arts, but I will also pursue the path of Qi Practitioners.”

Miao Feng worriedly said, “Brother Xu, I know you have exceptional talent, but throughout history, no one has successfully walked both paths of martial arts and cultivation. A person’s energy is limited. Both Brother Yu Wen and I believe you could achieve the Confucian path to sainthood.”

“Let me try. We’ll see if it doesn’t work out.” Xu Ming appeared resolute.

Seeing Xu Ming’s stubbornness, Yu Wen Xi wanted to say more but was stopped by a glance from Miao Feng, who shook his head.

Yu Wen Xi could only give up.

Indeed, everyone has their own path.

Right now, Brother Xu isn’t listening to advice. Later, once he experiences the hardship of dual cultivation, he’ll realize how exhausting it is.

“Back to the main topic, I came to ask you two for help with something.” Xu Ming changed the subject.

Miao Feng nodded. “Brother Xu, please speak freely. Whatever we can assist with, we will do our best.”

Yu Wen Xi also nodded.

“In that case, I won’t hesitate.” Xu Ming looked at the two. “Do you two understand array formations well?”

“Array formations?” Miao Feng paused, then grinned confidently. “To be honest with Brother Xu, although Brother Yu Wen and I may not excel in many areas compared to others, when it comes to arrays, we’d dare say we rank second or third among our peers at the White Deer Academy. No one would dare claim first.”

“That’s great.” Xu Ming felt relieved. Confucian scholars were usually modest, so their bold statement indicated genuine confidence. “There’s an array formation I want you two to examine.”

Xu Ming took out a goat skin scroll from his bag and laid it on the table.

Both Miao Feng and Yu Wen Xi stood up and examined it carefully.

The more they studied, the more serious their expressions became, occasionally exclaiming, “Brilliant!” or “Absolutely amazing!”

Watching them focus on interpreting the magic array, Xu Ming waited patiently, drinking tea.

After half an hour, Miao Feng and Yu Wen Xi finally looked up from the goat skin scroll and bowed.

“Apologies for keeping you waiting, Brother Xu. This array belongs to the ‘Breaking Array Diagram’ category, a spatial spell. Moreover, the principles used in this array closely resemble those of Baiwa City. Could this array possibly be…”

“Yes.” Xu Ming put down his teacup. “This array might help us leave Baiwa City.”

“…”. Miao Feng and Yu Wen Xi exchanged a glance.

“What are your thoughts on this array?” Xu Ming asked.

“Brilliant!” Miao Feng gave it high praise. “I don’t know who created this array, but they must be a genius in array formations. Their thinking is incredibly unique, and their attention to detail astonishing. Perhaps this array truly can help us leave Baiwa City.”

Miao Feng didn’t inquire where Xu Ming obtained the array. Everyone has their secrets.

“The creation of this array has some resemblance to the style of the Celestial Array Sect.” Yu Wen Xi stroked his chin. “Could the creator of this array be a disciple of the Celestial Array Sect?”

“Celestial Array Sect?” Xu Ming asked.

Miao Feng’s expression carried a hint of regret:

“Brother Xu may not know, but although the Celestial Array Sect is a Nascent Soul-level sect (the highest level within the sect being Nascent Soul), they have a unique approach to studying arrays.

The founder of the Celestial Array Sect was an unparalleled genius, and every cultivator specializing in arrays knows this genius’s name.

Knowing their own weakness and lack of profound sect heritage, the Celestial Array Sect always maintained a soft diplomatic stance with other sects and powers.

But one day, no one knows exactly who did it, the Celestial Array Sect was wiped out in a single night.

The sect master detonated the sect’s array, and most of the Celestial Array Sect’s array books were obliterated. Only some scattered diagrams survived, offering glimpses into the sect master’s array techniques.

Many believe that if the sect master hadn’t rushed to establish a sect and instead relied on another sect for support, focusing solely on cultivation, they could have eventually attained immortality through arrays and reached the Xiānrén Realm.”

“That is truly regrettable.” After hearing this, Xu Ming also felt sorry for them. “Can the two of you construct this array?”

“If…” Yu Wen Xi hesitated slightly, “To be honest with Brother Xu, with just the two of us, it might not be enough to recreate this array. We need assistance from someone proficient in arrays, someone whose understanding matches ours.”

“Not only that,” Miao Feng added, “this array practitioner must be a woman.”

“Woman?” Xu Ming was puzzled.

Miao Feng nodded. “This array activates during the full moon. We need a woman at the Sea Observing Realm, with extremely pure spiritual energy and meticulous control over it.”

“…” Xu Ming fell silent.

“Eh? I heard Brother Xu mention earlier that the son of the Heavenly Profound Gate’s leader formed an alliance. Why don’t we seek help from that alliance?” suggested Yu Wen Xi. “That way, we could also help others leave here together.”

“No!”

Miao Feng immediately rejected Yu Wen Xi’s suggestion.

“If we aim to save others, we can construct this array and notify them just before we leave, allowing them to escape through the array. However, we absolutely cannot hand over this array.

Human hearts are complex. Who knows what ideas the other side might have if they get hold of this array.

Moreover, how would Brother Xu explain the origin of this array? Would the other side believe Brother Xu’s explanation?

At that point, those people might think everything happening in Baiwa City is Brother Xu’s doing.”

Hearing Miao Feng’s words, Yu Wen Xi immediately stood up and apologized with clasped hands. “Brother Xu, I apologize. I didn’t consider all that.”

“No harm done.” Xu Ming waved his hand dismissively.

Xu Ming agreed with Miao Feng’s thoughts.

He wasn’t a saint and didn’t need to take responsibility for everyone else in the city.

If the array succeeds, he could spread the news across the city upon leaving. What happens afterward would be none of his concern.

Xu Ming stroked his chin, recalling someone suitable, and asked, “How knowledgeable are Heavenly Profound Gate cultivators about arrays?”

Miao Feng smiled. “The Heavenly Profound Gate’s array skills are on par with ours at the White Deer Academy, though their focus differs. But helping to construct this array together should pose no problem.”

Xu Ming nodded. “Understood. I know a disciple from the Heavenly Profound Gate. I’ll discuss this with her. By the way, do the two of you know He Qingqing from the Heavenly Profound Gate?”

“He Qingqing?” Miao Feng paused, then glanced at Yu Wen Xi beside him and chuckled. “I don’t know her, but this guy definitely does. He probably thinks of her daily.”

“Salong, stop talking nonsense,” Yu Wen Xi scratched his head awkwardly. “Previously, the White Deer Academy sent disciples to visit the Heavenly Profound Gate, and I was fortunate to meet her. But why do you ask, Brother Xu?”

“Nothing much.” Xu Ming smiled. “Just that Brother Yu Wen will need to accompany me tomorrow.”