Chapter 413: Yao Yunhui, Think More of His Good Points

The sun rose at the edge of the sky, ascending and casting its light upon the earth. Wherever it passed, all darkness melted away, and light scattered in every direction.

The streets of the Capital District also began to bustle with activity.

Xu Qing was on his way to his shift, walking forward while sensing the Fifth Tiangong within his body.

The totem of the Imperial-level cultivation art on his body was still there, and the boost to his combat power had not vanished due to the Jin Wu Refining Ten Thousand Spirits merging into the Fifth Tiangong.

This Imperial-level cultivation art itself still possessed the power of one palace.

However, its might was clearly greater, and the same was true for the Fifth Tiangong.

One could even say that if he encountered someone else who also possessed five Heavenly Palaces, and both sides ignored any cultivation arts or magic treasure fragments, looking only at the most basic foundations, then even the most stunning and peerless prodigies of the myriad races would not be a single bit better than Xu Qing when compared.

If one were to compare foundations against those below the level of prodigies, Xu Qing's five Heavenly Palaces would far surpass the opponent's.

Because every single one of his Heavenly Palaces was earth-shattering; even if one didn't call them peerless in the world, they were not far off.

The Life Palace formed by the two Life Lamps, the palace formed by the Poison Prohibition Pill, the Purple Moon Tiangong, and now the Jin Wu Dragon Chariot Palace.

This was the foundation Xu Qing had built throughout his journey to this point.

Every single one was obtained only after he risked his life.

And the strength of a person is rarely formed suddenly; it is mostly the result of accumulating over time, a constant buildup.

Xu Qing was exactly like this.

That was why he could fight across palace levels.

At this moment, in this perception, Xu Qing was in a good mood. Passing by a breakfast stall, a familiar scent reminded him of the fried dough sticks of the Seven Blood Eyes.

"I wonder when I can go back."

Xu Qing murmured in his heart, looking toward the direction of Yinghuang Prefecture. He missed the Seventh Master and the ancestor Xue Lianzi, as well as the breakfast shop he had gone to with the Seven Blood Eyes before heading to the Eight Sect Alliance.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and walked toward the breakfast stall here. After sitting down and ordering a portion, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face after the first bite; although the taste was not as good as the one in his memory, it was passable.

While he was eating breakfast, the little boy squatted not far away, looking at Xu Qing with eager eyes.

Seeming to find it very boring, it looked left and right, gazing at the bustling street. As it watched, its gaze suddenly froze, landing on a second-floor pavilion not far away.

At the window of the pavilion, a figure had seemed to be standing there earlier, looking at the direction where Xu Qing was with a resentful gaze.

The little boy was curious, and its body flickered and disappeared.

When it appeared, it was already in the pavilion, seeing a very beautiful woman scolding a young man.

"Trash! That Xu Qing is not only an accompanying secretary, but he has also become a pawn of the Punishment Division, and you are actually a civil servant, organizing documents!"

"You actually accepted it calmly. Where is your arrogance? Where is your dignity as the number one person of this generation in Yinghuang Prefecture? Why don't you go find your grandmaster!"

The one being scolded was Zhang Siyun.

And the woman in the little boy's eyes was naturally Zhang Siyun's mother, Yao Yunhui.

Because her identity made going to the Sword-Holding Palace too sensitive, and some things could not be said via jade slip, she had invited Zhang Siyun's grandmaster to meet here today. However, on the way, she had received a sound transmission from her family, informing her of the warning from the Sword-Holding Palace Master.

And her family had also sternly warned her not to provoke the Sword-Holding Palace.

This made Yao Yunhui feel very uncomfortable in her heart. Having just seen Xu Qing earlier made her even more disgusted, so looking at her son, anger rose up.

Zhang Siyun lowered his head, his hatred for Xu Qing growing deeper in his heart. Every time his mother compared Xu Qing to him, it made the baleful energy in his heart grow thicker.

In reality, he had sought out his grandmaster, but the way the other party looked at him was very strange. He did not know why this was. At this moment, facing his mother's fury, he dared not explain and could only endure it silently.

Furthermore, he actually felt that his job of organizing documents was not entirely useless. At the very least, over the past month, he had found several places where others had been negligent or mistaken, and he had even received praise from the division.

But he knew he could not say this.

"Actually, it was better in Yinghuang Prefecture." Zhang Siyun sighed in his heart.

And as his mother scolded, she suddenly took out a sound transmission jade slip. Soon, her expression became even gloomier, and in the end, with a 'crack', she actually crushed the jade slip.

"Busy with official business? We clearly agreed a few days ago, yet now you make excuses. Is this because you know about the decree issued by the Sword-Holding Palace Master!"

"The people of the Taisi Dao Sect, none of them have any backbone, stupid to the extreme!" Yao Yunhui's expression was ugly, and she scolded angrily.

Zhang Siyun sighed in his heart and spoke softly.

"Mother..."

"Get out!" Yao Yunhui's cold voice came out.

Zhang Siyun was silent. After a long while, he stood up, bowed to his mother, and turned to leave, his expression becoming increasingly desolate, his heart hating Xu Qing even more.

Until he had walked a long way on the street, his body suddenly twitched, the world spun for him, and he pressed his hand against the wall beside him.

In his eyes, a shadow of a red moon flashed, and a ferocious look appeared on his face, but it vanished in an instant.

After half an hour, he finally recovered.

"Is there a problem with the cultivation art? This is already the seventh time I've had this dizzy feeling." Zhang Siyun's expression was ugly. After pondering for a while, he continued walking away.

And in that pavilion, the little boy did not pay attention to the departing Zhang Siyun.

It stood beside Yao Yunhui, its attention entirely on her. It looked on curiously, a thoughtful look in its eyes, seemingly analyzing this woman's malice toward Xu Qing.

Yao Yunhui sat there, all the anger on her face having vanished at this moment. She even picked up the lotus seed soup on the table and took a sip.

Her movements were very elegant, as if the person who had lost her composure and scolded Zhang Siyun earlier was not her.

"Yun'er, Mother's harshness is to stimulate your persistence and backbone. I hope you will become successful. Your father lacked courage back then and didn't understand my painstaking efforts."

Yao Yunhui murmured in her heart, a cold look in her eyes.

"Xu Qing, you stole Yun'er's fortune and ruined his future. Of course, I will not let this matter go. I cannot touch you in this Capital District, but as long as you leave the Capital District, I have plenty of ways to make you bear a criminal charge. I won't kill you either; I want Yun'er to see your end, so that he can gain confidence."

Sensing the thoughts of the woman before it, a look of distress appeared on the little boy's face.

It had promised the little sister that it would protect Xu Qing.

But it could not kill people, so after thinking about it, it simply blew a breath toward Yao Yunhui.

This breath landed on Yao Yunhui's face.

Yao Yunhui's hand holding the spoon paused. She did not know why, but the thoughts in her mind changed somewhat. It seemed that in the dark, a thought had spread in her heart, making her think more of other people's good points.

"That Xu Qing is not extremely detestable either."

Yao Yunhui murmured softly. After saying this, she herself was stunned for a moment. She looked around suspiciously and stood up.

"Something is wrong!" Her expression was ugly, and she immediately pinched a seal to investigate, but everything here was as usual.

Seeing that the effect was not particularly good, the little boy standing beside her was even more distressed, so it blew another breath.

Yao Yunhui's body trembled, a thoughtful look in her eyes. After half an hour, she murmured.

"That Xu Qing doesn't seem to be that excessive either."

Yao Yunhui's eyes widened. She felt that her current thoughts were somewhat bizarre. At this moment, without any hesitation, she immediately pinched a seal, protecting herself while also checking her mind and soul.

Everything was as usual.

But she still flickered and left this place. When she appeared, she was already in a distant alley. While walking forward, she recalled what had happened before.

"Although that Xu Qing is not particularly detestable, he still needs to be punished a little."

The moment this thought emerged, the little boy following her seemed to be a bit angry, so this time it blew nine breaths in a row.

Yao Yunhui trembled violently all over, her breathing rapid. The disgust toward Xu Qing in her heart decreased rapidly, and even a trace of good will arose.

After half an hour, she murmured softly.

"Xu Qing also has his innocent side, and Yun'er's approach also had its faults and improprieties..."

Seeing this, the little boy clapped its hands in satisfaction. It felt that it had performed a meritorious service, so it left happily.

At this moment, Xu Qing had already finished his breakfast and arrived at the Punishment Division. As usual, he walked up the stairs, level by level, until he reached the fifty-seventh floor, stepping into Ding-Ding Yisaner.

The darkness inside became slightly brighter the moment he stepped in. Other than that, nothing had changed.

The cloud beast was still facing away from him, the human woman was still coaxing the scarecrow to sleep, and the millstone was still turning.

As for that skull, it currently had a look of hopelessness, saying the words it repeated every day.

"Don't step on me anymore, I don't want to be stepped on..."

Xu Qing walked along the corridor, checking the prisoners one by one. After checking all thirteen prisoners in front, he arrived at the Danqing clan elder's place.

The elder bowed respectfully to Xu Qing.

"Good morning, Lord Warden."

Xu Qing was expressionless, looked at him coldly, turned and left, sitting cross-legged in his usual meditation spot. The shadow and the Jin Gang Sect ancestor also flew out, each beginning their day's fun.

The little boy's figure also appeared, sitting beside him so that Xu Qing could see it.

A look of helplessness appeared in its eyes. It knew that it wouldn't be long before Xu Qing would likely react again and thus awaken.

The facts were indeed so. As Xu Qing meditated, he looked at everything around him, and slowly, doubts arose in his heart.

"I seem to have forgotten some things. The feeling this place gives me is a bit too peaceful..."

"Why do I vaguely feel that this place should be red?"

"Zhigong Master seems to have said something to me, and why is the little boy so helpless, and why does the skull repeat being stepped to death many times?"

"My memory wouldn't suddenly get worse. It started when I became the warden here..."

"Could it be that I have been influenced?" Xu Qing opened his storage bag, searched through it, and carefully checked all items. Everything was as usual.

He frowned. After a long while, he raised his head to look at the prison cells, his expression gradually becoming ugly. He suddenly had a strong feeling that everything he saw before him seemed to have a veil covering it in front of him.

Xu Qing's gaze became increasingly cold. The Poison Prohibition Pill within his body suddenly dispersed, and the power of the Purple Moon Tiangong erupted simultaneously. The next instant, his aura changed directly, and his status level rose.

At the same time, wails came from the prison cage; it was the sound of the skull.

"Awake again, awake again! I beg you, don't step on me, can you change to another method!"

The Danqing clan elder sighed, closed his eyes, and prepared to be burned to death.

Xu Qing stood up with a gloomy expression and walked over.

A moment later, this place quieted down. After destroying everything except the god's finger, Xu Qing looked at that finger, feeling the terrifying fluctuations emanating from within.

He knew that he could not touch it; the huge gap between the two sides would cause him to collapse and die the moment he touched the finger.

He had this realization.

So after half an hour, Xu Qing took out a bamboo slip, carved everything down, and walked to the prison door with a cold body. Without turning his head, he stood there for a long time and spoke calmly.

"Do I wake up every day? Do I know every day that there are not fourteen prisoners locked up here, but six? Is it true that except for that god's finger, the other five are actually immortal here, no matter how many times I kill them?"

The little boy appeared helplessly and nodded.

"Have I carved some words or other measures here to remind myself, but after I leave, they will be erased by the god's power, and even if I record them with external objects here, they will disappear the moment I take them out?"

The little boy continued to nod.

"If I push the door open, I will forget everything, is that right? And does the Palace Master know?"

"Is this the fortune, the test?"

The little boy still nodded.

Xu Qing was silent. He knew that the shadow and the Jin Gang Sect ancestor were the same; they couldn't remember this place.

After half an hour, he suddenly laughed.

"Then, let's continue. I think if one day I push the door open and don't forget all this, that will be the moment I truly obtain this fortune."

The little boy nodded helplessly.

"I've said this sentence many times, haven't I."

Xu Qing smiled, lowered his head to look at the bamboo slip in his hand recording all this, a faint light in his eyes, flashing rapidly, murmuring in his heart.

"Actually, there is another method, and that is for me to also plant a cause and effect here, and wait for the moment it matures..."

Xu Qing was silent for a short while, crushed the bamboo slip, and threw it on the ground.

"Trouble you with one thing, help me keep these broken slips well, and put them in the place where other bamboo slips are. I think I must have carved many of them."

The little boy nodded, raised its hands as if counting, wanting to tell Xu Qing how many there were.

Xu Qing smiled, took a deep breath, pushed open the prison door, and walked out.

On the stairs of the Punishment Division, Xu Qing walked forward while pondering the matter of military merit in his heart.

"The fourteen prisoners in Ding-Ding Yisaner have no changes, each is as usual, so I must put more of my energy into military merit."

Just like that, several days passed.

Xu Qing's daily routine had some changes. During the day, he went to the Ding-Ding Yisaner area to guard as usual, and at night, he began to complete various military merit missions, such as arrests, searches, assisting other divisions, and so on.

Until the third day after Kong Xianglong was released from prison, Xu Qing, who had finished his shift and walked out of the Punishment Division, received his sound transmission.

"Xu Qing, there's a big job, lots of military merit, want to do it?" ===== CHAPTER 414 =====