Chapter 47

Everyone's gaze followed her movements.

Seeing this, Cheng Shanping and others exchanged glances, speechless, unsure of the situation.

Sun Ping quickly got up and went over, asking, "Miss, what's wrong?" As he spoke, he also noticed something and leaned in to listen.

Cheng Shanping and Zhu Shangbiao were both stunned for a moment, then simultaneously left the campfire, got up, and went over, standing at the cave entrance to listen.

Xu Fei and Chong'er, who were huddled in a pile of dry grass, also sensed something and slowly got up, slowly moving over.

A strange sound seemed to be coming from inside the cave, becoming clearer, a metallic clinking sound, *dang dang dang, dang dang dang*.

Logically, there was no one else in the cave, only 'Asheng' alone, so the noise should have come from 'Asheng.' What was going on? Could he be digging to escape? But that didn't make sense, as the sound was getting closer.

Indeed, it was getting closer, and finally, a figure appeared before everyone's eyes. It was Yu Qing, with a ponytail, a mask over his mouth and face, a backpack, and one hand behind his back. The continuous clinking sound was coming from behind him.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, more curious about what was making the noise behind him.

Yu Qing's gaze fell on the wet towel in Tie Miaqing's hand, and he asked lightly, "What, don't you still trust me, madam?"

Cheng Shanping wasn't going to be polite, and he shouted, "Cut the crap, what's behind you?"

Yu Qing glanced at him, ignored him, and released his hand from behind. He handed a metal can, which was making a continuous *dang dang* sound, to Tie Miaqing, "I've fulfilled my promise. I hope you won't go back on your word. Take a look, is it what you're looking for?"

Seeing the metal can that was making the noise, which clearly contained something, Tie Miaqing and the others' hearts raced, and their disbelief was evident. Hearing his words, they all widened their eyes, and Tie Miaqing quickly took it with both hands.

Once the object was in her hands, she felt the force of the collisions inside and quickly unscrewed some of the air holes on the lid. Sparks immediately flew out.

As the sparks subsided, she peered through the holes and saw the insect inside, flickering on and off.

The insect would go dark after a series of *dang dang* collisions, pause for a moment, and then the red light would reappear along the cracks in its carapace, like flowing lava. Its two black gem-like eyes turned into glowing red gems, as if it were angry, and it made a "ku ku ku" sound, spitting out sparks, then darted around like a flash of light, its large head always going for the hard spots.

"Fire cricket! This must be the fire cricket, it is, it must be." Tie Miaqing's voice was slightly off from excitement, her eyes filled with joy, and she looked at everyone, finally landing on Yu Qing's face, with an impulse to hug him.

These people from Miaqing Hall had been busy in the ancient wasteland for days, trying every method but failing to catch the thing, and this young man had succeeded with one move. How could they not be thrilled?

Seeing her lose composure like this, Yu Qing wondered if she would agree to marry him.

"Is it really? Miss, let me see." Sun Ping couldn't wait and took the can with both hands, checking it.

Cheng Shanping and Zhu Shangbiao immediately leaned in.

Yu Qing ignored them, walked out of the cave, and took off the towel covering his mouth and nose. He said to Xu Fei and Chong'er, who were eagerly waiting, "Did they treat you badly?"

Both of them shook their heads, not daring to say anything bad in front of everyone.

Chong'er looked at Yu Qing with admiration and a hint of pride, feeling honored.

He wasn't stupid; he could see that what the so-called experts from Miaqing Hall couldn't do, Young Master Shiheng had accomplished, and how excited those people were.

Of course, both of them also wanted to see what the fire cricket looked like.

Xu Fei especially wanted to ask how he caught it.

Yu Qing turned and looked at the excited group still gathered together, walked to the swing, and sat on Tie Miaqing's personal swing. In the darkness before dawn, he swung back and forth by the campfire, feeling quite relaxed. The fire cricket he had caught was his confidence, more valuable than a thousand words.

As the excitement subsided, Tie Miaqing's bright eyes flashed, and she left Sun Ping and the others, walking to the swinging swing. She didn't disturb Yu Qing's relaxation, feeling fortunate that she had insisted on her decision, otherwise, they might have missed the fire cricket.

The capture of this fire cricket meant that the divine signs were real. Tie Miaqing no longer had any doubts and believed in Yu Qing's divine revelation: he could help her find the fire cricket, and she could help him leave safely.

There was indeed a connection between them!

"Thank you." Tie Miaqing sincerely thanked him.

Yu Qing said, "Still the same, I did my best. You shouldn't go back on your word, or there will be consequences."

Tie Miaqing smiled softly, "Don't worry, you did your best, and I will do mine."

Swinging back, Yu Qing's feet dragged on the ground, stopping. He turned to look at her, "After being in the smoke for so long, you must not have experienced this. You've turned into smoked meat."

Tie Miaqing bowed slightly, thanking him again, "Thank you for your hard work."

Yu Qing said, "Verbal thanks are no use. I used my energy to resist the smoke all night, and I'm really tired. A little spirit rice would be a good reward, wouldn't it?"

"Not a problem, but..." Tie Miaqing's eyes focused on the spirit rice he was carrying, "This is quite heavy. We didn't bring this when we came out. How about using yours for now?"

Yu Qing, who had been with them for so long, knew they didn't have spirit rice, or he wouldn't have brought it up. Surprised, he said, "You mean, after I risked my life to help you, you want me to pay for it myself?"

Tie Miaqing waved her hand, "Not that, just using yours temporarily. I'll pay you back."

Yu Qing was about to steer the conversation to money, but she brought it up first, making it easier. He immediately put on a deliberately eager look and asked, "How much will you pay?"

Tie Miaqing was taken aback. She would naturally pay for what they ate, but sensing that Yu Qing wanted a reward, she was speechless for a moment, then tried to offer more: "Double the cost, how about that?"

Without a word, Yu Qing got off the swing, quickly untied the bag of spirit rice, and presented it with both hands, "I originally planned to use the spirit rice as an offering, but the situation changed, and I didn't use it. You can check, twenty bags, not a single one missing, exactly twenty pounds, worth two thousand taels. If you double it, that's four thousand taels."

There was no need to count. Tie Miaqing took the spirit rice, "Fine, I'll give you four thousand taels after we're done."

After we're done? Yu Qing's face immediately lost its expression, "If you don't give it to me after we're done, I can't do anything about it."

Tie Miaqing smiled bitterly, "If I really had that intention, even if I gave it to you now, we could take it back later."

Yu Qing almost blurted out, "That's not how it works. First, how do I know you have that much money? Second, even if you do, you probably don't carry four thousand taels in cash, just banknotes. If you try to cross me, I'll destroy the banknotes, causing you some loss, right?"

Tie Miaqing was speechless, "You really think a lot."

"Am I really thinking too much? Madam, I'm an honest scholar, you can't twist the facts like this. Speak with integrity!" Yu Qing pointed at Cheng Shanping, making her recall.

Tie Miaqing looked over and was speechless. Cheng Shanping's attitude towards him had indeed been terrible, almost killing him.

Not wanting to explain, she didn't, but called Sun Ping over to count the four thousand taels in banknotes. Sun Ping, having seen the fire cricket, gave the money without hesitation.

With the banknotes in hand, Yu Qing immediately put them in his pocket, but still wasn't satisfied. He made another request, "I still have my banknotes and belongings with him. Shouldn't they be returned to me?" He gestured towards Cheng Shanping.

Having given the money, Tie Miaqing didn't want to be seen as unfair and immediately called Cheng Shanping over, explained the situation, and asked him to return the items to Yu Qing.

Seeing the fire cricket, Cheng Shanping's expression towards Yu Qing had become complex. After a moment of silence, he shook his head, "Madam, it's not that I won't give him his things, or that I'm greedy for them. It's just that he hasn't finished the task, and we still need two more fire crickets.

If he's eager to get his things back now, it's hard not to suspect he has some ulterior motive. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but now, it's a matter of the master's life. We can't be too cautious. Madam, I can't give him his things, I'm sorry."

Seeing him openly defy the madam, everyone was speechless.

Sun Ping sighed, "Old Cheng, with so many of us watching, there won't be any problems."

Cheng Shanping immediately became stern, "Sun Ping, we haven't found all three fire crickets yet. Can you guarantee there won't be any accidents? Can you guarantee he won't slack off after getting his things back? We're relying on him now. If he does anything to delay and endanger the master's life, can you take the responsibility, Mr. Sun?"

"..." Sun Ping was speechless. How could she guarantee that?

By bringing up the master's life, Cheng Shanping made it impossible for anyone to force the issue. Tie Miaqing frowned, hesitated, and said to Yu Qing, "I can swear to give you the things after we're done. How about that?"

Yu Qing's face was expressionless, but he cursed inwardly. Although he had caught one fire cricket, he couldn't guarantee catching all three. If he had everything, he could run away without losing anything if something went wrong.

However, the current situation made it clear that Tie Miaqing and the others couldn't get the items from Cheng Shanping. If he insisted, it would only raise suspicion, and if he was closely watched, it would be harder to escape later.

Escaping and saving his life, especially from a group of experts, required caution.

After much thought, he said lightly, "If someone insists on judging me by their own low standards, I can't do anything about it. Fine, I'll wait until after we're done."