Chapter 59

Upon hearing the commotion outside the door, Yu Qing immediately lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Xu Fei was embarrassed, feeling he could not match the capriciousness of this person, and had no choice but to open the door to welcome the guests.

"Brother Xu, I finally see you."

"Brother Xu, we were so worried when we heard you had gone missing."

"Brother Xu, you must have great fortune to have survived such a disaster!"

"Is Brother Xu feeling well?"

A group of people entered and greeted him one after another.

Just as Xu Fei was mustering his energy to entertain them, another group arrived uninvited, led by the top scholar, Zhan Muchun.

The room suddenly became crowded.

Zhan Muchun, with a smile on his face, had already adjusted his mindset. With the encouragement of Su Yingtao and three others, he had humbly come to pay a visit.

Xu Fei was somewhat taken aback. After all, Zhan Muchun was a top scholar who had earned his position through genuine talent and was a figure to be recorded in the history of Lieshou. Moreover, he had a good chance of making it to the imperial list. Xu Fei did not dare to be arrogant in front of Zhan Muchun and quickly lowered his stance to respond.

After a few polite exchanges, Fang Wenxian grabbed Xu Fei's arm in a show of closeness, "Brother Xu, Brother Zhan not only came in person to invite you but also prepared a special banquet for you. It's not just tea, but real wine."

"Banquet?" Xu Fei was surprised, looking somewhat doubtful.

He knew the rules: after leaving the Wenhua Academy, they were not allowed to drink alcohol. Drinking was harmful to the body, and the escort personnel were afraid of any accidents during the journey, so they did not provide alcohol.

Su Yingtao patted his shoulder, "You didn't know, did you? To calm your nerves and welcome you back, Brother Zhan personally went to the escort official, Mr. Fu, to explain the situation and the purpose. Mr. Fu then made an exception and allowed us to have a few drinks. The food and wine have already been ordered from the post station, just waiting for you to join us."

Zhan Muchun waved his hand, "Brother Xu, the idea and the money for the food and wine came from them. I just spoke up, so it shouldn't count as me hosting."

Su Yingtao and the other three immediately objected. Pan Wenqing said, "If it weren't for Brother Zhan speaking to Mr. Fu, we wouldn't have the face to get Mr. Fu to agree. We are all benefiting from Brother Zhan's efforts."

"Right, right, right," the group chimed in.

Zhan Muchun, looking embarrassed, bowed to everyone, as if asking for mercy, and then looked around, "Where is Brother Shiheng? I heard he returned with Brother Xu, and it would be good to welcome him back and calm his nerves as well."

He had not known Shiheng before, not even his name. The top scholar usually did not care about the names of those ranked lower. He had only heard about Shiheng when he heard about Xu Fei and decided to invite him as well, to avoid any accusations of favoritism.

He was quite magnanimous.

Upon hearing this, Su Yingtao and the other three immediately became less enthusiastic. They did not oppose the invitation but did not welcome the person either.

They had no good feelings toward Yu Qing, as his words had hurt them, and they had almost quarreled on the spot.

Soon, everyone's attention focused on the masked man lying on the bed, sound asleep.

Although Yu Qing's face was covered, Zhan Muchun recognized his clothing from the post station entrance. The casually tied ponytail was a clear sign. He approached the bed and called out, "Brother Shiheng?"

Yu Qing did not respond.

Xu Fei was a bit embarrassed, and Chong'er, standing in the corner, knew that Yu Qing was pretending to sleep.

Zhan Muchun leaned down and pushed Yu Qing's leg, "Brother Shiheng, wake up."

Yu Qing had intended to pretend not to hear, but when the other person actually touched him, he decided to give some face. With his eyes still closed, he said, "Thank you, Brother Zhan, but I'm really too tired from the journey. I'm exhausted. Please enjoy the banquet without me."

Zhan Muchun was taken aback, realizing that Yu Qing had heard everything and was deliberately ignoring him.

The four people who were always together immediately became angry.

Zhang Manqu pointed at Yu Qing on the bed and shouted, "Shiheng, don't be so ungrateful! Brother Zhan set up a banquet and came in person to invite you. He has lowered himself to invite you. What right do you have to act so high and mighty in front of everyone?"

"Such an uncultured person, how can he be a human?" Pan Wenqing scolded, pointing at him.

Su Yingtao waved his sleeve, "Brother Zhan, this person is used to acting like a scoundrel, always putting on airs to elevate himself. Associating with him would dirty oneself. Ignore him!"

To stand up for Zhan Muchun, the four people took turns strongly condemning Yu Qing. The others, who were unaware of the situation, looked at each other, surprised by the scene.

Again, these four people? Chong'er stared at them, remembering that they had insulted Yu Qing at the Wenhua Academy.

Xu Fei watched the four people with wide eyes, secretly worried for them.

Others might not know, but he had seen Yu Qing kill without hesitation. In terms of ruthlessness, he doubted there was anyone else among the candidates who could match him.

He even suspected that Cheng Shanping, who had disappeared on the return journey, had been killed by Yu Qing.

There was a reason to suspect that Yu Qing had killed Cheng Shanping, and now Cheng Shanping was gone. How could he not be suspicious?

Fortunately, Tie Miaqing and the others still had a good relationship with Yu Qing, which alleviated his concerns.

He did not want to cause any more trouble and quickly intervened, "Everyone, it's a misunderstanding, really a misunderstanding. Brother Shiheng was injured on the journey and collapsed upon arrival. He is really too weak to attend the banquet. Please understand."

Seeing him speak up, Su Yingtao and the others gave him some face and grumbled but said no more.

Yu Qing did not react, not wanting to argue with these people. More importantly, he did not want to cause trouble for Shiheng, as his temper was indeed a bit wild.

Zhan Muchun nodded, "If that's the case, Brother Shiheng should rest well. We won't disturb him."

The group then left, and Xu Fei naturally accepted the invitation to the banquet.

Dinner time was approaching, and the others in the room gradually left.

Only Chong'er remained, approaching the bed and asking, "Master Shiheng, if you don't want to get up, I can bring you some food?"

Yu Qing opened his eyes and scanned the room, "No need, I'm not hungry."

Indeed, he was not hungry. He had eaten a significant portion of the twenty pounds of spirit rice.

Chong'er tried to persuade him, but Yu Qing, impatient, said, "Go out and close the door."

"Okay," Chong'er replied, lowering his head and obediently leaving.

As soon as the door closed, Yu Qing immediately sat up, reached into his clothes, and pulled out a stack of folded silver notes, quickly spreading them out to count.

There were four thousand taels from selling the spirit rice, and the rest were taken from Cheng Shanping. The stack was quite thick, and he had not had a chance to count them alone, fearing that Tie Miaqing and the others would notice and demand the money back.

Now he finally had the opportunity to count.

To his excitement, there were an additional twenty-four thousand taels in silver notes.

Including the four thousand taels from the spirit rice and his own few hundred taels, he now had nearly twenty-nine thousand taels.

When he left Linglong Temple, he had never dreamed that this journey would yield so much money. Thinking about it, he felt that the adventure in the ancient tomb and the demon realm had been worth it.

Thinking of the valuable rainbow silk and demon-detecting dew he still had, he couldn't resist shaking the stack of silver notes and making a decision. When he returned to Linglong Temple, he would definitely buy a hundred pounds of spirit rice to take back, shocking his three senior brothers into kneeling and calling him "Patriarch" while holding their bowls!

Yes, he would no longer have to beg his junior uncle for handouts!

Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside the door. Yu Qing, like a startled bird, quickly tucked the silver notes into his chest and lay down on the bed, pretending to sleep.

His masked appearance would make anyone who saw him think he was a thief.

The footsteps passed by without entering the room, and he took the silver notes out again, carefully putting them back in his clothes.

Then he sat up, unfastened the metal canister from his waist, and enlarged the air holes on the lid, squinting to observe the fire cricket inside.

For the mission in Youyan, three fire crickets were enough. Tie Miaqing had an extra one, which he had taken.

He had taken the earliest captured one, which was already weak, while the more active ones Tie Miaqing refused to give.

Since no one knew what the fire cricket ate, and no one had experience raising one, they had tried feeding it various things, but it refused to eat. It was unclear if it was fasting. Without food or water, it would eventually lose its vitality. It no longer made noise and was uncertain if it could survive the journey back to Youjiao Port. Tie Miaqing had given him the weakest one, thinking it would not last long.

Yu Qing did not want the fire cricket for fun but because it was something the mission in Youyan sought. It might be valuable. He planned to try selling it in the capital for a high price.

Even a lower price would be fine as long as he could make some money.

His current goal was simple: with limited time, he wanted to make as much money as possible before returning to the temple.

However, the fire cricket in the canister was weak and lifeless, no longer making the clinking sounds it once did, giving the impression it was about to die.

He was unsure if it would survive the journey to the capital and if a dead one could still be sold.

The fire cricket lay motionless in the canister. He shook the canister a few times and peered inside.

The little creature was clearly agitated, its body glowing with red cracks, but the light quickly faded.

He wanted to take it out to examine it but was afraid it would escape, knowing how fast it could move.

He also couldn't touch it directly, as it could burn his hand when agitated.

But he couldn't ignore its weakened state, as it might be very valuable.

What should he do?

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He reached into his chest and pulled out a bowstring made of rainbow silk, separating a strand and tying a slipknot. He then slowly unscrewed the lid, creating a small gap, and fed the slipknot into the canister.

He then used his inner energy to control the silk, trying to loop it around the fire cricket's neck.

However, the fire cricket's head was quite large, and it was uncooperative. He fumbled and muttered, "Big head, big head, stretch your neck..."