One young man left while the other remained at the village entrance, standing guard.
Ye Chenyan looked thoughtful. “Does your village have enough water? Could you sell us some? Do you take spirit stones or silver?”
“Hm?” Yu Qingtang turned to him in confusion.
They had stocked up before setting out. There was enough water in their storage rings to last at least another month, so there was no reason to buy more...
Ye Chenyan shot him a look.
Yu Qingtang didn’t quite understand what he meant, but he at least knew he should keep quiet for now.
The young man guarding the entrance paused, then relaxed slightly. “You want to buy water? We take both spirit stones and silver. Don’t worry, the village has its own water source.”
“But...” He hesitated, then pointed them in a direction anyway. “If you keep going, there’s an oasis up ahead. You could get water there instead of buying it.”
Yu Qingtang and Ye Chenyan exchanged a glance.
Yu Qingtang praised him, “You’re way too nice. Aren’t you supposed to be making money off us?”
The young man flushed at the compliment and scratched his head. “It’s not like we make a living selling water.”
He glanced toward the oasis again.
“It’s just that lately, things haven’t been very peaceful over there. If you don’t want trouble, you’d be better off buying water here and going around it.”
Yu Qingtang’s ears practically perked up.
“What kind of trouble?”
Wariness flashed through the young man’s eyes. He shook his head slightly.
“Don’t ask too many questions. If you don’t want trouble, stay away from there. Rongzhou is straight ahead in that direction. It should take about three more days, so you’d better carry at least three days’ worth of food and water.”
He looked the two of them over.
“Did you walk here the whole way? If you’re traveling on foot, it might take longer.”
Yu Qingtang thought that they would probably get there quite a bit faster than he expected.
While they were talking, the other young man returned with the clan chief.
The clan chief looked only forty or fifty years old. He was powerfully built, especially his arms, which bulged with muscle. He looked like someone accustomed to hard physical labor.
Yu Qingtang curiously gave him a couple of extra looks.
The man was studying them too.
The clan chief spoke politely. “Cultivators?”
Yu Qingtang nodded. “Yes. We’re just passing through. We didn’t prepare quite enough supplies, so we wanted to buy some water and ask for directions while we were at it.”
The clan chief remained wary. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are you two from?”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “Guiyi Sect of Qingzhou.”
Yu Qingtang figured these people seemed friendly enough, and their leader was only at Golden Core. They probably weren’t trouble, so there was no need to borrow Heavenly Music Sect’s name.
“Biehe Sect of Jinzhou.”
The clan chief visibly relaxed and laughed heartily.
“Then that’s easy enough. Come in, both of you.”
Once he gave permission, the atmosphere around them loosened as well. Villagers began emerging from behind the earthen walls, looking at the strangers with curiosity.
The clan chief was a straightforward man.
“You don’t really need to buy water. There’s an oasis a little farther ahead where you can refill.”
“We already heard.” Yu Qingtang adhered firmly to the principle that sweet-talking people cost nothing, so he praised them without restraint. “Everyone in this village is so honest! None of you even tries to rip travelers off!”
“Hahaha!” The clan chief threw his head back and laughed. “It’s only a little water money. We don’t make our living from that! Though over there—”
He turned his head and discovered that Yu Qingtang had already wandered over to someone’s courtyard entrance and was cheerfully speaking to a somewhat wary woman inside.
“Miss, are you selling that dried meat?”
The woman flushed bright red and retreated two steps, looking helplessly toward the clan chief.
The clan chief burst out laughing.
“Young Master, if you call her ‘Miss,’ she’ll be too embarrassed to answer you. Call her Auntie!”
“That’s dried meat we make ourselves, but it isn’t for people. It’s feed for the camel-beasts we raise.”
“Huh? It smells pretty good.” Yu Qingtang looked disappointed, then asked curiously, “Why can’t people eat it?”
The clan chief’s expression turned strange.
“It’s not that people can’t eat it. It’s just too hard. Most people don’t have teeth strong enough for the job!”
“Oh—” Yu Qingtang grinned and immediately pointed at Ye Chenyan. “Then you can eat it. Your teeth are good. I’ll buy you some!”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
He pressed a hand helplessly to his forehead, caught between laughter and exasperation.
“If you buy it for me, then I suppose I’ll have to eat it.”
“I’m kidding. I’ll buy some for Flamelet.” Seeing that the woman was nervous, Yu Qingtang stopped bothering her and turned to the clan chief instead. “Clan Chief, could I trouble you to ask how much they want for it? A friend of mine keeps a spirit beast. It’ll probably love this.”
“It’s not worth anything!”
The clan chief looked as though he was about to offer it for free, but then paused and scratched his head.
“Normally I’d just give it to you, but to tell you the truth, we’re a little short on spirit stones lately. How about... one hundred spirit stones for that whole rack?”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened in shock.
“That much?”
The clan chief chuckled. “If you think that’s not enough, I’ve got plenty more. I’m just worried you won’t be able to finish it all.”
Ye Chenyan asked casually, “Why are you short on spirit stones?”
On the way through the village, he had noticed plenty of ordinary mortals with no spiritual power whatsoever. Clearly, not everyone here was a cultivator.
Villages like this generally used both silver and spirit stones. The young man at the entrance had said as much.
Yet this clan chief was very clearly asking specifically for spirit stones...
The clan chief’s gaze flickered.
Yu Qingtang had already elbowed Ye Chenyan in the side.
“Where are your manners?”
“Everyone has times when they’re short on money. How can you just pry into something like that?”
If Yu Qingtang imagined the same question being asked about Biehe Sect, surely he couldn’t be expected to announce that his Master needed money to patch the hole in his magical robes, or that Eldest Senior Sister was desperately craving meat again.
Ye Chenyan looked at him innocently. “I was only—”
“Ahem.” The clan chief laughed awkwardly. “No offense taken, little brother. We really have run into some trouble lately.”
“Here in Rongzhou, everyone makes their living under the Heavenly Fire Cult.”
Ye Chenyan’s expression shifted slightly.
“You’re miners working under the Heavenly Fire Cult?”
“That’s right.” The clan chief made no attempt to hide it and answered readily. “The desert is a treasure trove too. There’s ore underground, and salt as well. Our ancestors have lived in the desert for generations. We dig up whatever we can find, and when the deposits nearby become too difficult to mine, we migrate somewhere else.”
He laughed.
“Normally, if travelers ran out of money, they could even come down into the mines with us. Dig up a bit of precious ore before continuing on your way, trade it for food and water—and if you got lucky, you might even strike it rich!”
“But not lately.”
Yu Qingtang asked curiously, “What happened lately? We heard things were tense around the oasis too. Did something happen?”
“Gigantic beasts have been fighting underground without end. No one knows whether they’re fighting over territory or whether some valuable ore deposit has appeared.” The clan chief’s face turned grave. “Because of them, the races living underground have grown restless, and mining casualties are much higher than usual.”
“Normally, this would be the time to stop and rest until things calm down before going back underground. But the Heavenly Fire Cult...”
His brow furrowed.
“Tch. Forget it. We live under their protection, so with their holy son forging his lifebound magical artifact, we ought to do our part. They’re just... pushing us a little too hard.”
“A little too hard?” the young man beside him burst out indignantly. “The village to the east had a few people talk back, and they beat them half to death! Their clan chief still can’t get out of bed!”
“And now they’re pushing their luck even further, making us sign some contract and pay them a huge amount of spirit stones in compensation!”
“Enough nonsense!” The clan chief’s face darkened. “Those are just rumors you heard secondhand. Don’t mention them again.”
“The Heavenly Fire Cult has ruled Rongzhou for all these years and has never acted this tyrannically before. I don’t believe it.”
The young man muttered, “Hmph. Maybe they got themselves some ruinous holy son and the whole cult’s about to suffer for it.”
“Mortals say family wealth rarely survives three generations. If the Heavenly Fire Cult really ends up in the hands of a holy son this overbearing, then maybe it’ll...”
“I told you to shut up! Didn’t you hear me?” The clan chief raised a hand as though to smack him. “What nonsense are you spouting in front of guests?!”
The young man finally fell silent, though he still curled his lip.
Yu Qingtang stared blankly for a moment.
Then he carefully asked, “Sorry if this is a rude question, but... how many holy sons does the Heavenly Fire Cult have?”
“One!” The young man rolled his eyes. “How many could there be? The Heavenly Fire Cult has always been jointly led by a holy son and holy maiden. One possesses a pure fire spirit body and leads the Li-Fire lineage, while the other possesses metal-fire spiritual roots and leads the artifact-refining lineage. It’s been that way ever since Flame Immortal and Emperor Fire in ancient times.”
Yu Qingtang sucked in a sharp breath, hardly able to believe it.
“The holy son you’re talking about... he wouldn’t happen to be called Chi Yantian, would he?”
The young man looked almost disdainful.
“Of course.”
Yu Qingtang immediately protested, “That’s impossible! He already has a lifebound magical artifact! Those twin blades, Hidden Dragon and Flying Dragon! And he isn’t even here—he’s still in Nanzhou—”
Ye Chenyan suddenly raised his head.
“Someone’s coming.”
Yu Qingtang whipped around as well.
“I hear them too. Hoofbeats.”
“They’re here.” The clan chief’s face grew solemn. “Guests, go hide inside for now.”
Before Yu Qingtang could finish speaking, several young men had already grabbed him and ushered him, along with a group of children, into someone’s courtyard.
Ye Chenyan glanced at the clan chief.
“You know we’re cultivators. You can also see our cultivation levels.”
“I know.” The clan chief nodded slightly. “But as I said, everyone here makes a living under the Heavenly Fire Cult. Even a mighty dragon knows better than to challenge the local snake.”
“You two strike me as upright people. If something really does...”
His eyes shifted slightly.
“Then please take a few of the children with you on your way out. You can leave them with any desert tribe afterward. We’re all desert folk. They’ll help raise the children.”
Ye Chenyan said nothing more and entered the courtyard too.
Inside, Yu Qingtang and a row of little brats were already sitting shoulder to shoulder. Yu had even found the best possible viewing spot and waved him over.
“Here! I saved you a seat!”
His eyes narrowed, his expression turning distinctly unfriendly.
“I want to see who has the nerve to impersonate my Brother Chi and go around robbing villages!”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow.
“Standing up for him?”
“Of course!” Yu Qingtang widened his eyes. “My Brother Chi is already dumb enough. They can’t just pick on the idiot too!”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
Dust billowed outside the village as a mounted group arrived.
The man at their head had bright red hair, rode a Blazing Rhinoceros, and was roughly at Nascent Soul.
Yu Qingtang’s mouth slowly fell open.
“...Don’t tell me that’s the guy pretending to be my Brother Chi.”
He had no idea what the man had done to make his red hair stand more or less upright, but after baking under the scorching sun, it had already wilted and was collapsing in every direction.
Worse yet, the man himself was extremely rough-looking. No matter how hard he tried to dress like a “holy son,” the end result made him look more like a nouveau riche trying to show off.
And then there was the Blazing Rhinoceros he was riding.
Its legs were short and its body rode so low that every time it ran, it looked ready to sink straight into the sand. Its hide hung loose around its body, as though the sun were slowly melting the entire beast.
Yu Qingtang: “...”
Comparison truly was the cruelest thing.
Yu Qingtang had once thought Chi Yantian looked nothing like a holy son.
Now, suddenly, Chi Yantian seemed to possess at least a little holy-son aura after all.
Even Flamelet looked downright handsome and refined beside this counterfeit rhinoceros.
Forget seller photos versus buyer photos.
This was a full-blown low-budget cosplay disaster.
Yu Qingtang silently took out his transmission stone.
Ye Chenyan caught his wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“Reporting him to Brother Chi.” Yu Qingtang looked perfectly serious. “Then Brother Chi can report him to the Heavenly Fire Cult—the local snake.”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
Yu Qingtang stared at him.
“You weren’t planning to just beat him up yourself and call it a day, were you?”
Ye Chenyan guiltily looked away.
Yu Qingtang sighed and patted him on the shoulder.
“If you do that, by tomorrow there’ll be rumors saying you beat up the holy son of the Heavenly Fire Cult!”
He held up the transmission stone.
“When it’s time to report someone, you report them.”
Ye Chenyan muttered, “They won’t get here in time.”
“At least make sure they know the guy we’re beating up is an impostor.” Yu Qingtang patted his shoulder again. “I never said you couldn’t beat him. Go ahead and do your thing.”
Ye Chenyan picked up his spear and started to head out.
Yu Qingtang immediately grabbed him.
“Not yet! At least let him finish his lines first!”
The fake Chi Yantian had only just opened his mouth.
“Old man. How’s the precious ore I told you to prepare?”
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