Chapter 75: Retreat!
Jiang Ce stood with his hands behind his back, fully displaying the demeanor of a senior expert.
But in fact, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Because he had misestimated the solidity of the tunnel walls, and also underestimated the maliciousness of his Righteous Qi.
His original plan was to rely on the corrosiveness of the Righteous Qi enhanced by mercury poison to slowly melt the rock at the top of the tunnel, causing cracks and small-scale collapses inside the tunnel to block this exit.
But unexpectedly, the injected malice was too deep, directly blasting the tunnel apart.
Granted, I don’t know Confucian techniques, but a basic attack is already this terrifying.
This is the cultural confidence that abstraction brings me!
Liang Zhi Che gasped upon seeing this. The moment Jiang Ce made his move, he had guessed the former’s intention, but he never imagined that the Righteous Qi, which could only leave marks in the labyrinth, could achieve such a degree.
Even if Liang Zhi Zhou used Confucian techniques to bombard it, it would probably take some time. No wonder Jiang Ce was not panicked at all about Liang Zhi Zhou being Seventh Rank; there was simply no comparability, the gap was too big.
“This… this is that one, right?”
Liang Zhi Che exclaimed in admiration.
Jiang Ce recovered, slightly turned his head, and revealed an evil charming smile.
“That’s the one.”
What is that one?
Liang Zhi Zhou saw the two being extremely tacit as they acted like Riddlers, his mouth twisting in anger. This was just like watching friends happily laughing over an inside joke that he didn’t know, but he couldn’t get the point at all—three parts desolation, three parts jealousy, three parts self-mockery, and one part inferiority.
Qin Shen Bo’s relationship with Liang Zhi Zhou was also average, so he naturally didn’t empathize with him, merely silently staring at the collapsed tunnel in a daze.
Gongyang Dan and Lu Xing reacted and hurriedly thanked Jiang Ce for his action.
But Jiang Ce shook his head: “As fellow disciples, saving you is what I should do. What thanks are we talking about?”
The two exchanged a glance, both puzzled in their hearts.
We didn’t even mention thanks.
Liang Zhi Che caught on and immediately turned into a wingman: “You’re too polite. We’re all family. What thanks? That’s so tacky. My Big Brother isn’t the type to take advantage of a crisis.”
“Big Brother…” The two were even more puzzled, thinking that his brother wasn’t that resentful-looking guy over there?
“How about this: I’ve been under your care quite a bit, so I’ll thank my Big Brother on your behalf for his action. When we get back, I’ll give him my cherished Qi Cultivation Pill as your thanks to him.”
Hearing this, the two couldn’t keep face.
“How can that be… Jiang Ce saved us; if thanks are needed, it should be us.” Gongyang Dan endured the pain in his body and righteously refused.
Lu Xing also chimed in: “Yes, yes, it should naturally be us. Though we’re not wealthy, we still have some Qi Cultivation Pills in reserve. You keep yours for yourself.”
Seeing the timing was ripe, Jiang Ce then embarrassedly waved his hand: “No, no, how could I accept that?”
“It’s fine, Big Brother. This is your first mission, right? You definitely have no Merit Points and haven’t exchanged for a Qi Cultivation Pill. This thing has the best effect the first time you take it, so don’t refuse.”
Liang Zhi Che persuaded.
Then Jiang Ce refused, and Liang Zhi Che insisted.
Jiang Ce refused again, and Liang Zhi Che and the other two insisted again.
On the third time, Jiang Ce finally reluctantly agreed.
After several rounds, the four reached a consensus, all in harmony.
Liang Zhi Che even comforted the two: “As long as your lives are saved, that’s good. Whether you’re rich or not doesn’t really matter. As long as you’re alive, the bread will come eventually.”
Gongyang Dan and Lu Xing nodded in agreement, finding it very reasonable. Moreover, they had successfully persuaded Jiang Ce to accept the benefit and felt like they had gotten a great deal, while Jiang Ce, having accepted the benefit, had indeed gotten a great deal.
Liang Zhi Zhou watched the situation develop like this and really wanted to roar, “Are you two idiots?” Then pull Liang Zhi Che over for a scolding.
But Jiang Ce had indeed saved the two’s lives earlier, and he himself had done nothing, yet he would have to step out to criticize the one who actually did the work.
“This is not the way of a gentleman.” Liang Zhi Zhou took a deep breath and suppressed the impulse to rebuke Jiang Ce.
But amid the indignation, he couldn’t help but wonder curiously how Jiang Ce made Righteous Qi destructive; this didn’t conform to common sense.
Before entering this Great Tomb, Xuan Qing led, Qin Shen Bo was the second-in-command, and Jiang Ce, due to various flaws, was heavily criticized, so he belonged to the bottom tier. Those who didn’t know why Xiao Lin arranged for him to come in just treated him as a connections guy forced in.
But after the previous analysis plus this startling but safe disturbance, Jiang Ce had faintly occupied a more important position surpassing Qin Shen Bo in everyone’s hearts.
Jiang Ce didn’t notice this, and of course he didn’t care. At this moment, he was whispering privately with Liang Zhi Che.
“What is a Qi Cultivation Pill? Is it valuable?”
“It’s not about whether it’s valuable or not. It’s that kind, the kind of spiritual pill that you can’t buy even if you have money—it solidifies cultivation, raises the upper limit, and changes one’s aptitude.”
“Tsk, you actually have such a good thing. You’re not fooling me, right? It sounds like a common item everyone has.”
“Not fooling you, it’s really amazing. And actually, I don’t have any, but it doesn’t matter. I know those two do, that’s enough.”
“Running a scam, huh? But you made a big contribution this time, so merits and demerits cancel out. I declare you not guilty.”
“Good, good, good!”
Just as the two were chatting happily, Xuan Qing unexpectedly flew back up.
Seeing Jiang Ce, who was like a white incandescent lamp, he silently put away his fly whisk, which at full power could only emit barely enough light for illumination.
“There’s no danger below. I’ve successfully found the location of the Formation Eye, but the situation is a bit complex. I need someone to help me clear some obstacles.”
He glanced at Gongyang Dan, who had woken up, and hurriedly asked: “How do you feel?”
“Not bad.” Gongyang Dan nodded, then looked at Jiang Ce: “Martial Uncle, you don’t know, but we’re still alive now thanks to Jiang Ce.”
With that, he told Xuan Qing everything that had just happened.
Xuan Qing looked at Jiang Ce in surprise but didn’t ask more: “You did very well. When we get back, I’ll report it truthfully and make sure to reward you properly.”
Then, he told the injured ones to rest well and prepared to take only Jiang Ce and the Liang Zhi Che brothers down.
But Qin Shen Bo stood up and said gravely: “I’ll go too.”
Xuan Qing looked at him and nodded approvingly: “Then let’s go together.”
“Not appropriate.” Jiang Ce said: “Leaving them here alone is too dangerous. If something happens again, we can’t guarantee their safety. Moreover, if the exit is below and the Formation Eye is broken, the Great Tomb will inevitably collapse, and we’d have to come back to pick them up, which could cause trouble. I think we should all go down together.”
“You’re right.” Xuan Qing thought for a moment and found it reasonable.
Anyway, there was no danger below, so going down together was fine, and he could look after them more easily.
At this time, Jiang Ce suddenly asked: “Martial Uncle Xuan Qing, how deep is it below?”
Though he didn’t know why Jiang Ce asked, he still answered truthfully: “Not too deep, but still about a hundred meters.”
“Good, then I’ll wait for you below.”
Jiang Ce calmly nodded and walked straight forward.
“Wait, you…” Xuan Qing, who was at Gongyang Dan’s side, had no time to stop him and watched in bewilderment as Jiang Ce jumped down.
While in free fall, Jiang Ce smugly looked up: “Heh, we can’t fly anyway, so we’d have to climb the chain. There are three invalids in total. Even if Qin Shen Bo can move on his own, those two definitely need care. What status does Xuan Qing have? He’d definitely make us do it—a two-thirds chance it falls on me. Hmph, I f***ing choose to bail directly!”
Can’t take it anymore. Coded past four, slept three hours, got dragged up by mom to buy New Year goods, just got home, about to collapse. Gonna sleep a bit first. Group number at the end. Will chat when I wake up. To prevent freeloaders from flaming me, set it to two fan points. Hope everyone understands. Once bitten by a snake, afraid of ropes for ten years, wuwuwu.
