Chapter 230: 223 Qingtian Temple

On the imperial road, Tang Zhao carried the two Doctors he had met on the way, driving the powerful Six Dragon Treasure Carriage, heading straight for Xun City.

Although these two fifth-rank "High Officials" thought highly of themselves, because Jiang Shenyi had considered the overall situation and taken the initiative to yield, they were satisfied in their hearts and no longer acted pretentious. The two of them squeezed into the back seat together; it was clearly not very comfortable, but they did not complain, likely because Xun City was indeed close and they intended to endure it.

However, this did not stop the two of them from humming and hawing in the back seat, chatting with each other.

"Really, this trip was all for nothing again. And I suffered such a fright; just a moment ago, I thought everything was going to go wrong."

"What are you afraid of? It's not as if we don't have a trump card. If the scoundrels don't make a move, fine; if they do, we run and find the Land Inspection Division to smooth things over for us. When we go back this time, we must also find them and ask them how they are governing the region? It's full of monsters and demons everywhere; if our safety is compromised, can they bear the responsibility?"

"Sigh, it would be better if there were no mishaps. We studied bitterly for ten years; is it just to wait for a posthumous title? Eating poorly and sleeping poorly every single day, living in fear—when will this life ever end?"

"It will be over once the Demon Cave descends. After that, it will be the Land Inspection Division's own business. It's only a matter of these few days; it won't exceed three or five days, just endure it and it will pass."

"I still feel aggrieved. In Jingcheng, there are too many high officials who don't respect us, and when we arrive in the provinces, the locals are impolite and still don't respect us. Then what is the point of us coming down here? If it were up to my temper, I would pack my things and return to Jingcheng."

"Isn't it all that woman's fault? Every day she calls for us to give her a position, and that eye-rolling—it's as if we are two pieces of trash. Does she not know how hard it is to calculate an Empty-Type Demon Cave? Never mind us, even if the Official Rectifier or the Spirit Platform came, what of it? Can't she just honestly wait until after the Demon Cave descends to search?"

"When we go back and report this, we'll make her pay for it. So what if it's the Land Inspection Division? If Qingtian Temple doesn't provide them with the monthly projections, how will they use their heads to pacify the Demon Cave? In my opinion, we should just delay the intelligence for Yunzhou from now on; don't give it so readily..."

Tang Zhao listened with great displeasure and very much wanted to throw these two who were spouting nonsense out, but suddenly said, "You two. Are you from Jingcheng?"

The two behind were in the middle of a heated discussion and were very impatient at being interrupted; the younger one gave a grunt.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "I have never been to Jingcheng. Jingcheng must be very grand, right? Much better than our Yunzhou?"

The younger one gave a hum and said, "Indeed, much better. You cannot even imagine the prosperity of Jingcheng. What is so good about this Yunzhou?"

Tang Zhao sighed and said, "That is true, I have always wanted to go to Jingcheng. It would be best... best if I could become a Doctor like you two. I have always wanted to be admitted to Qingtian Temple, but I never had the opportunity."

The older one said in a leisurely manner, "Admitted to Qingtian Temple? Are you a provincial graduate?"

Tang Zhao gave a light cough and said, "This student has never passed the provincial examination."

The person behind shook his head and said, "At your age, not having passed the provincial examination, it seems you won't be able to get in. Qingtian Temple only wants true young geniuses. When we were your age, we had already passed the provincial examination. I passed as the top scholar of the provincial exam at sixteen."

The younger one said, "I am not as good as Li Xiong; I was seventeen, the top scholar of the Jiangzhou provincial exam."

The older Li Xiong smiled and said, "Xiao Wang is the top scholar from the cultural hub of Jiangnan, a talent among talents, better than my Yuzhou top scholar. If he hadn't entered Qingtian Temple, I fear he would have been the top scholar of the next imperial examination."

Tang Zhao was speechless. Although he was just trying to start a conversation, hearing these two say this, he actually felt a bit ashamed. Although he had also won a top scholar title in Rune Formulas, he knew himself that even if he put down the Rune Formulas and didn't follow Chen Zong to learn, but instead formally took a great Confucian as his teacher, he feared he wouldn't be able to pass the top scholar or provincial exams after ten years of hard study; whether he could even pass the provincial exam would depend on luck.

When it came to studying, he really was not as good as others.

Then he heard the young Xiao Wang say, "Forget about Qingtian Temple; isn't it better to continue doing Rune Formulas? This carriage is made quite well; it's fast and imposing. I even want one myself."

Tang Zhao said, "That is possible. I can make a custom one for the two officials; one carriage only costs five hundred gold."

The two said in unison, "Five hundred gold?!"

Xiao Wang shouted, "Are you robbing us? You sell a carriage for five hundred gold? Is it made of gold?"

Li Xiong spoke at the same time, "My hard-earned salary for a year is only five hundred taels, and as a Spirit Platform Attendant, it's only one thousand taels. It would take me decades to buy one of your carriages? Does that mean I spend my whole life working just to earn money for you?"

Tang Zhao:...

Forget it, if he couldn't get in, he couldn't get in.

A gust of wind blew by, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Tang Zhao had originally wanted to proceed step by step, but at this moment he could only stiffly change the subject and said, "Actually, this student is from Xun City. I heard there was a Yin Calamity in my hometown and rushed back across a thousand miles. I wonder if Xun City is still alright?"

Xiao Wang said, "It's alright, but it's been sealed; the city gates are closed. Since you came from out of town, you certainly can't go home. Just honestly find a city nearby and wait for news. At the shortest two or three days, at the longest five days. After five days, either you go home safely, or there will be no need to go back."

Tang Zhao felt relieved in his heart—he had indeed arrived in time—but he deliberately revealed a look of panic and said in a hurried tone, "How can this be? My family is still there... Since the city is sealed, the common people must have been evacuated, right? I wonder where my family went?"

Xiao Wang said, "They weren't evacuated; where could they go? A Demon Cave could descend anywhere within a hundred miles. Where can a city of one hundred thousand people hide? Hiding in the countryside might lead to being wiped out all at once. It's better to stay in the city. Anyway, the most dangerous moment for an Empty-Type Demon Cave is the instant it descends; it will release Space Fluctuations and disturb the surrounding hundred zhang—but that won't kill many people. Once the space stabilizes, there is only one passage connecting to the different space, and the Heavenly Demons don't even come out, so it's actually not very harmful. At most a few hundred people die; how would it fall on your family's head?"

Tang Zhao's expression turned cold, and he immediately followed up, "Can it not be calculated more meticulously? I remember that Demon Cave calculations can be accurate to within a hundred zhang. Wouldn't it be possible to just let the people nearby take refuge?"

At that time, the Demon Cave near the Xue Clan was accurate to the Xue Clan's residence. However, that one was special; the Demon Cave was actually chasing Xue Daxia himself. Wherever Xue Daxia was, the Demon Cave was there. But at that time, they had also sealed off a mountain nearby, and the range was no smaller than a Xun City.

Xiao Wang suddenly said angrily, "You brat, you also say these cheap words..."

That Li Xiong interrupted, "Alright. I say, you, this Talisman Sword Master, have also studied books; you are different from those rough Sword Guests who only know how to swing swords and use force. You are someone who uses your brain. Don't you know the difference between an Empty-Type Demon Cave and other Demon Caves? Other Demon Caves have active traces of Heavenly Demons, which are easier to calculate. Only Empty-Type Demon Caves are mostly formed by accidental spatial dislocations; they are celestial changes. There might not even be Heavenly Demons inside, so how could they be so easily calculated? Being able to calculate within three days and within a hundred miles is the result of us exhausting all our efforts."

Tang Zhao knew that what he said was not false. He himself had checked quite a bit of information in the Longyuan Xuanji Tower, and he understood these things. Empty-Type Demon Caves were indeed different from other Demon Caves; even calling them Demon Caves was a bit strange—it would be more accurate to call them "Space Fragments" or "Small Worlds." But they did indeed bring disaster when they descended, so classifying them as a Yin Calamity was perfectly fine.

So, although these two spoke harshly, they were not truly acting out of malice; it was just that their abilities were insufficient.

He could only sigh and say, "Does the Heaven Derivation Art have its limits too?"

Xiao Wang sneered, "What's new about that? The 'Derivation' in Heaven Derivation refers to deduction, not the 'eyes' of staring. Do you think it means staring at the sky with your eyes? No one has eyes in the back of their heads, so how could it be seen so clearly? I heard the Gaoyuan Marquis claims to have foresight and can see the autumn from a single leaf, but I don't know if he can see..."

Halfway through his sentence, he was glared back by Li Xiong—this was Yunzhou, and one still had to be wary of criticizing the Gaoyuan Marquis; he just said dryly, "Don't ask anymore. You wouldn't understand the affairs of the heavens even if you had eight heads. Just honestly stay in your own one-third of an acre of Rune Formulas."

Talking all the way, Xun City was already close at hand.

Xiao Wang directed him to enter through the North Gate, because the north side was close to the Garrison Commander's office. Now, the Xun City Garrison Commander's office had been occupied by the Land Inspection Division and had become the command post for handling the Xun City Demon Cave. The two from Qingtian Temple were also staying there.

Tang Zhao stopped the carriage at the city gate, seeing the city gate tightly closed with soldiers on guard.

Xun City was the premier heroic city of southern Yunzhou and the seat of Riyang Jun. Since the previous dynasty, it had been a vital stronghold. From afar, one could see the city walls with their high battlements, towering and magnificent. The city gate tower was nearly ten zhang high, crouching like a tiger and coiling like a dragon. Below the city was a moat several zhang wide, the drawbridge chains hung high, and the corner towers on both sides were tall and elegant; it was truly a fortress like steel.

Tang Zhao also knew that this city gate didn't just look good; it had been reinforced layer by layer with Talisman Arts and Art Arrays, becoming even more imposing after a hundred years of time. With an imperial official guarding the city and reasonably deploying the Fu Arrays within, defending the city would be twice the result with half the effort. One man holding the pass, even an ordinary Sword Guest could not force their way in, let alone an ordinary large army.

Now, in front of the long-cleared city gate, there actually stood a person.

Looking closely, that person was a young woman, wearing the attire of a military officer, her appearance carrying a heroic spirit mixed with a murderous aura, and within that murderous aura, there was a touch of brilliance.

The two Doctors got off the carriage, wanting to stretch their limbs that had been squeezed numb. Seeing that woman at a glance, they were both surprised in their hearts, thinking: Strange, why did she change her temperament today and come out to welcome us?

Looking again, the woman's face was pleasant, her smile like peach blossoms; she had indeed changed her temperament.

Although they were at odds with the other party, since she was giving them so much face today and there was an outsider like Tang Zhao present, the two found it inconvenient to show a cold face and both nodded in greeting. Xiao Wang used his hand to unobtrusively smooth out the wrinkles on his clothes.

However, the two Doctors did not move from their spots, waiting for her to take the initiative to come forward.

Sure enough, the woman walked up with a smile, her palms extended—not to shake hands, but to embrace—which gave the two a fright, and they couldn't help but move forward.

The woman took a few quick steps, came forward... and passed by the two of them, then tightly grabbed Tang Zhao's hand.

The Land Inspection Division's Deputy Envoy of Xun City, Mai Shiyu, said with full joy, "Why did you only just arrive? I have been waiting for you for a long time, Azhao!"