Chapter 29

Shang Qinghua stared blankly. "Seriously?"

Shen Qingqiu gave him a look. "Does this seem like a joking matter to you? This method addresses the root cause. As long as we keep it quiet, it'll end the problem for good. And it's all on you." He leaned in slightly. "Do you remember a plant you once wrote about? The kind that emerges only once every thousand years?"

"..." Shang Qinghua was speechless for a moment. "That's way too broad. I've written about at least eighty different plants that emerge every thousand years and get eaten or used by Bing-ge. If not a hundred."

And you know it!

Shen Qingqiu sighed and whispered five words into his ear.

Upon hearing them, Shang Qinghua shuddered. After a moment, he shot Shen Qingqiu a deeply meaningful look.

Shen Qingqiu frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason," Shang Qinghua said. "I've long suspected you were my most devoted reader, Cucumber-bro. You just have a... unique way of showing it. I'm genuinely moved that you'd dig up some throwaway detail I forgot about."

"..." Shen Qingqiu said, "Pack your things. Tomorrow, you're coming with me to search its emergence site."

"Tomorrow?" Shang Qinghua stammered. "Isn't that... a bit rushed?"

He wrung his hands. "The truth is... I can't remember the exact location or description. The novel's nearly twenty million words long, and it was mentioned in, like, one paragraph. Let me think on it slowly. I'll tell you when it comes to me."

Shen Qingqiu's tone was grave. "By the time Luo Binghe returns from the Abyss, conquers Mojun, and comes for my head while his new lackey comes for yours, I'm sure you'll have remembered just in time."

Shang Qinghua: "...Right. I'll definitely remember by tomorrow!"

After all, on An Ding Peak, trivial matters like assigning rooms and tailoring uniforms for new disciples didn't strictly require the Peak Lord's personal attention.

Shang Qinghua returned to his quarters and agonized all night, racking his brains until his mind felt like storm-tossed seas. Just before dawn, inspiration struck. He marked a spot on a map.

When Shen Qingqiu saw the map, he slapped the table, grabbed Shang Qinghua by the collar, and set off down the mountain. They traveled in stretches—feasting here, sightseeing there; soaring on swords for a while, riding in a carriage the next. It should have been a pleasant trip.

The only minor inconvenience was Shang Qinghua, sitting in the driver's seat, heaving long sighs.

"Why am I the one paying for all the food and lodging?" he demanded. "And why am I also the one driving the carriage?"

"Don't be shameless," came Shen Qingqiu's voice from inside the carriage. "It's official funds from Sect Leader Yue. You're just the one physically handing over the coins."

Shang Qinghua's heart ached, remembering Yue Qingyuan's parting words: "Junior Brother Shang, during your travels, please look after Qingqiu. He still suffers from the poison's effects. I entrust him to your care."

As the author who had originally shaped Shang Qinghua into a pinnacle of shamelessness, "Toward the Sky Shooting Plane" finally understood his character's pain.

Logistics was a dead-end career! Everyone treated you like a nanny! Was it any wonder the original Shang Qinghua was so desperate to climb the ranks? He understood it now. Too well.

"You have hands and feet," Shang Qinghua grumbled. "Why don't you ever—Whoa! Holy shit!"

The carriage lurched violently forward as Shang Qinghua yanked the reins. Shen Qingqiu threw the curtain aside, instantly alert. "What is it?"

They were passing through a dense stretch of forest. Ancient trees towered overhead, their tangled branches blocking the sun so thoroughly that not even scattered beams of light reached the thick carpet of fallen leaves below.

Seeing nothing amiss, Shen Qingqiu remained wary. "What are you shrieking about?"

"A woman!" Shang Qinghua gasped, still pale. "I saw a woman on the ground, slithering past like a snake! If I hadn't stopped, we'd have run right over her!"

That did sound off. "Warrants a shriek," Shen Qingqiu conceded.

The woods were silent, with no further signs of disturbance. Not letting his guard down, Shen Qingqiu didn't retreat into the carriage. Instead, he settled beside Shang Qinghua on the driver's bench. One hand formed a sword seal, his senses sharp, while the other rummaged in a snack bag. He pulled out a handful of melon seeds and shoved them at Shang Qinghua. "Here. Be a good boy and go inside to nibble on these."

Shang Qinghua was useful for menial tasks and errands, but utterly useless in a fight. Knowing his own limits, he obediently took the seeds and began cracking them open. The carriage rolled forward one pace; he cracked one seed. One pace, one seed.

Thus, after the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, they discovered a rather serious problem.

They stared in silent dismay at the familiar trail of melon seed shells on the ground.

"Yep," Shang Qinghua said. "No doubt about it. Qian Cao Peak's premium 'Dragon Bone' melon seeds. Deep red shells, golden inner husks. Definitely the ones I was eating."

"Spare me the sales pitch for your peak's side business," Shen Qingqiu said dryly.

So, the question was: how had they circled back to the same spot?

They looked at each other.

A ghost wall. A classic, cliché, age-old trope.

Shang Qinghua suggested a folk remedy. "Should we try splashing some virgin boy's urine in the horse's eyes?"

"...Horses have dignity too," Shen Qingqiu said. "Why would we assault its eyes with excrement? Besides, we're in the middle of nowhere. Where would we even find virgin boy's urine?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he found Shang Qinghua gazing at him with earnest sincerity.

Shen Qingqiu glared. "Why are you looking at me? Myself... let's not get into that. But the original Shen Qingqiu—the character you wrote—was outwardly pure but inwardly debauched, constantly burning with lust, fooling around in his youth and visiting brothels in his prime. Do you really think I'm a virgin now?" He pointed a finger. "And don't point at yourself. The Shang Qinghua character setting is roughly the same."

Shen Qingqiu frowned, concentrating hard, then suddenly smacked his thigh. He turned to duck into the carriage, but was halted by another blood-curdling shriek from outside.

He grabbed what he needed and burst back out. "What now?!"

Shang Qinghua was babbling, too terrified for punctuation. "You went in and I felt something furry brush my neck I looked up and it was a clump of hair and behind the hair was a big pale face didn't see it clearly holy shit!"

Shen Qingqiu looked up. Naturally, he saw nothing. Sitting back down, he unfurled the map in his hands and raised an eyebrow. "Whatever that thing is, it's clever."

"How so?"

"It knows to pick on the weak and startle the cowardly." He patted Shang Qinghua's shoulder. "Besides, no matter how terrifying, you wrote it. What's to fear?"

"I don't remember writing... Bro, are you looking at the map?" Shang Qinghua peered over. "Look carefully. That's a map of the entire continent. Even if White Dew Forest is marked, it's just a tiny dot."

Shen Qingqiu pointed to the lower section. "Look here yourself."

Cang Qiong Mountain and Zhao Hua Temple dominated the east, Tian Yi Monastery held the central plains, while the south was Huan Hua Palace's territory.

The dot marking White Dew Forest sat precisely on the faint ink outline of Huan Hua Palace's border.

Shang Qinghua's eyes widened in understanding. "Huan Hua Palace annexed White Dew Forest into their domain? So we're not caught in a ghost wall... we've wandered into their perimeter defense array?"

Every major sect had its own arrays to keep out unwanted guests. Cang Qiong Mountain's Heavenly Stairway, for example, would leave any ordinary mortal with no knowledge of the path climbing its thirteen thousand steps until they collapsed, never reaching the top, until a mountain-guarding disciple escorted them back down. Stuck here without guidance, they'd likely just keep going in circles.

Shen Qingqiu mentally knocked. System? You there?

A pause. No response. He knocked again. What happened to 24/7 service? No show, and I'm leaving a bad review.

[Hello. The System has entered sleep mode. This is the Smart Proxy. For service, please use self-help.]

Sleep mode. Shen Qingqiu felt like face-planting.

Now that he thought about it, the System hadn't been calculating his Coolness Points or various other newly invented indexes for the past few days.

[The System's total energy source, "Luo Binghe," has been disconnected. Backend maintenance and updates are in progress. The System will reactivate upon reconnection. We wish you a pleasant self-help experience. Thank you.]

Things are already this annoying; will the updated version just make my life hell? Wait—the important part is that Luo Binghe is the total energy source?!

Shen Qingqiu tried to ask more, but the proxy just repeated the same two lines.

What kind of "smart" proxy was this? It was no better than an automated chat reply! The nerve to put "smart" in front of it!

He nudged Shang Qinghua. "Ping your system. See if it's still online."

Shang Qinghua blinked. A moment later: "It says it's under maintenance too."

So Luo Binghe wasn't just one system's energy source. The moment he went offline, all systems crashed!

The situation was serious, yet not entirely dire. It just meant he couldn't farm Coolness Points while Luo Binghe was level-grinding in the Endless Abyss. On second thought, that was fine. If he couldn't gain points, he couldn't lose them either. It meant he had free rein!

Just as Shen Qingqiu was comforting himself with this thought, a suspicious rustling came from a nearby thicket. He snapped his fingers sharply. "Show yourself!"

Xiu Ya slid from its sheath with a clear ring, following the command of his sword seal as it danced and stabbed through the air. But the thing was like a slippery eel, darting through the underbrush with fish-like agility, evading every thrust.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of light reflected before Shen Qingqiu's eyes. The thing let out a piercing shriek and shot backward several dozen feet.

The bushes were now hacked to pieces, offering no cover. The creature was long gone, leaving no further trace.

He hadn't unleashed any major technique. That seemed to be just a momentary reflection of sunlight.

Shang Qinghua leaned in. "It's afraid of light? Damn, it really is a female ghost! I didn't write this, I definitely didn't!"

They were about to discuss it further when the faint, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps reached them.

This person's movement technique was excellent. Anyone with slightly weaker cultivation would never have detected the approach. From between the clustered trees, a youth dressed in white emerged.

The youth had already drawn his sword, his expression full of alertness. But upon seeing who was there, surprise replaced caution, and he hurriedly sheathed his weapon to offer a formal salute.

"This Junior detected unusual fluctuations near the perimeter of the array and came immediately to investigate. I was unaware that Peak Lord Shen and Peak Lord Shang were here. I apologize for not welcoming you properly."

Shen Qingqiu thought the young man was quite handsome, though his face seemed vaguely unfamiliar. He replied politely, "And you are, young master?"

The youth nearly lost his footing.

Shang Qinghua whispered in his ear, "You're totally not giving him any face. That's Gongyi Xiao."

Gongyi Xiao was feeling a little deflated.

Even though Luo Binghe had knocked him off the top of the Golden Rankings, he was still the runner-up—an achievement worthy of praise. Having been the favored contender for the championship, and often accompanying the Old Palace Master on visits to the upper echelons of various sects, he was genuinely taken aback that Shen Qingqiu didn't recognize him.

"Truly, heroes emerge from among the young," Shen Qingqiu praised.

"I am unworthy of such praise," Gongyi Xiao said. "Might I ask why two Peak Lords have come to Huan Hua Palace's territory without prior notice? To have neglected our Seniors is a failing that weighs heavily on my heart."

So he really did treat White Dew Forest as part of their domain. As a salaried, high-achieving disciple, he naturally had to wonder why two Peak Lords from Cang Qiong Mountain Sect were skulking around the borders of their sphere of influence, and what their intentions might be.

"We have no intention of visiting Huan Hua Palace," Shen Qingqiu explained. "We are merely here to take care of a minor matter within White Dew Forest."

By stating they were here on business but not specifying what, Shen Qingqiu made it clear he didn't wish to elaborate. Convention dictated that Gongyi Xiao, as a Junior, shouldn't press for details—questioning a Senior's movements and motives simply wasn't done. Yet, after a moment's hesitation, Gongyi Xiao still said, "Although I do not know what matter brings you here, this Junior is of meager talent, but I boldly request to accompany and assist you."

A faint smile touched Shen Qingqiu's lips as he muttered almost soundlessly to his companion, "If we refuse and send him away now, the next person who comes looking for us won't be alone. Better to bring him along. At least he can fight."

Shang Qinghua, who could not fight, muttered back, "What if he won't let us take the Sun-Moon Dew Flower? The logic here is: if it grows in my courtyard, it's mine. If it grows along my fence line, that's also mine. Just so you know how Huan Hua Palace thinks."

"You're an idiot," Shen Qingqiu whispered. "We take it and leave. What's he going to do, snatch it by force? Even if he runs back to tattle to his master, that's a problem for later. We'll be long gone by the time they come looking."

"And if it causes a rift between our sects?"

"Your life, or diplomatic relations. Pick one."

Shang Qinghua didn't hesitate. "Bring him along!"

Shen Qingqiu looked up and said decisively to Gongyi Xiao, "Let's go."

Thus, the tedious labor of driving the carriage was handed off to the Junior.

As he handled the reins, Gongyi Xiao asked curiously, "Senior Shen, there is one thing this Junior does not understand."

"Please, speak freely."

"With your level of cultivation, breaking into our sect's defensive array would take only a moment, and you could do so without a trace. Why did it create such a significant surge of spiritual power?"

"That fluctuation wasn't from breaking the array," Shen Qingqiu clarified. "It was generated while dealing with a strange demonic creature."

"A strange demonic creature?"

"To be honest, it's hard to say if it was truly demonic," Shen Qingqiu admitted. "But its form was sinister and aberrant, unlike any normal creature of the human realm."

"In the vicinity of White Dew Forest, there are settlements within a ten-mile radius," Gongyi Xiao said, puzzled. "Yet I've never heard of any demonic disturbances here. There aren't even any fierce beasts or predators."

Shen Qingqiu pondered this. "Then what could it possibly be? Wild, disheveled hair covering its face, unnaturally pliant bones, and a face so swollen it looked like a starved corpse floating in water."

"Whatever it is," Gongyi Xiao said with conviction, "it would be best if it never appears again. But if it does, there is no need to trouble either Senior. Please leave it to this Junior."

The respect in his words seemed genuine. Although his understanding of the Xiu Ya Sword's master was limited, having only seen him once or twice from a distance before, during the last Immortal Alliance Conference, Shen Qingqiu's personal disciple had surpassed him to take first place, and Shen Qingqiu himself had rescued many Huan Hua Palace disciples. Thus, Gongyi Xiao held no small amount of esteem for him.

Shen Qingqiu observed his proper manners and the flawless humility he displayed. Coupled with a appearance that shared the same style as Luo Binghe's—that gentle, affectionate type of handsomeness with smiling eyes—it was hard not to be reminded of his disciple before the fall, Luo Binghe. In other words, it was hard not to feel a sense of goodwill toward him.