69novels Chapter 360 - 211: Celestial Sect’s Qingguan? (2)
Chapter 360 - 211: Celestial Sect’s Qingguan? (2)
"Earlier, in front of Luochun Manor, I slayed Ling Beichen."
"Before his death, he asked me to deliver his ashes to the Taiheng Sect. Therefore, I plan to head north directly to Taiheng Mountain."
"Then let’s bid farewell here."
"Very well."
Tie Lingyun clasped his fist and said:
"This time, we are indebted to the great favor of Third Young Master for helping us solve the grave threat of the Celestial Evil Cult."
"Although the alliance was exploited by that old fox Beitang Zun, being able to forge ties with the Third Young Master through this is indeed worthwhile."
"If Third Young Master ever has a need for my Iron Blood Hall, just say the word, and Tie Lingyun will comply without hesitation!"
"You’re too kind. Until we meet again."
"Third Young Master, until we meet again. Please!"
After a reciprocal fist salute, Chu Qing turned and left, with Tie Lingyun seeing him off at the door.
Chu Qing grabbed Wuchen, who was idly yawning, and with a leap headed towards the Blazing Hall.
After watching them leave, Tie Lingyun hesitated a moment before suppressing the urge to immediately seek out Cao Qiupu.
After all, it was already midnight, and the couple likely had retired for the night by now.
It was not appropriate to disturb them rashly, better to invite Cao Qiupu tomorrow to discuss strategies for launching a counterattack on the Mirror of Sin.
...
...
When Chu Qing returned to the fortress of Blazing Hall, Gentle had already gone to bed.
He found a place for Wuchen to stay, and each rested without further mention.
By early the next morning, Gentle saw Chu Qing return with a rather indifferent expression but took a couple of looks at Wuchen and whispered to Chu Qing:
"This person seems to have a scent of sandalwood."
Chu Qing smiled, for the girl’s nose was as sharp as ever.
Mentioning the sandalwood scent inevitably reminded Chu Qing of the two foodie twins, Nianxin and Nian’an.
After the battle at Ghost God Gorge, the two girls had been following him around, and it wasn’t convenient...
Although they might be powerful weapons against the Celestial Evil Cult.
The problem was that people from the Celestial Evil Cult were unpredictable. When needed, they could be brought over, but when not needed, it was better to find a proper place for them.
On further contemplation, since the two simply wanted to unify the entire Green Forest,
Why not start from the influence area of Blazing Hall?
With that thought, Chu Qing found the two girls and gave them some instructions.
He directed them to work alongside Beitang Zun.
Beitang Zun could assist them in overseeing the Green Forest and conquering territories.
Their eyes sparkled with excitement, nodding enthusiastically at the proposal.
However, Chu Qing also instructed them to remain within the influence area of Blazing Hall and not to leave at the moment.
He himself would first expand outside, gaining a clearer understanding of the Green Forest’s situation. When the time was ripe, he would summon them to conquer more territories together.
Nianxin and Nian’an trembled with excitement, unable to speak coherently.
They dreamt of unifying the entire Green Forest; their ideas were fine, but their heads were empty, full of grand plans but with no clue on how to proceed.
Now that Chu Qing had laid out a ’broad avenue’ for them, they were naturally thrilled and obedient to his words.
Chu Qing, seeing them placated, heaved a sigh of relief.
Those two girls ate too much, so it was better to keep them stationed at Blazing Hall.
Keeping them with him constantly wouldn’t suffice to find enough food for them.
Thereafter, Chu Qing also sought out Beitang Zun, discussing the forthcoming plans.
He mentioned stepping ahead but had three tasks for Beitang Zun to handle.
Beitang Zun listened intently.
The first task was to help Nianxin and Nian’an clean up the Green Forest Dao... but the process shouldn’t be too overwhelming; they must feel the difficulty during the conquest.
At the same time, they should experience the sense of achievement after a successful conquest.
Beitang Zun listened, both eyes rolling like mosquito coils, feeling the task was rather troublesome.
However, he agreed obediently.
The second task involved Chu Qing taking out the map.
The issue with the Mirror of Sin was an old topic.
Chu Qing briefly recounted the enmity involving Cao Qiupu, Tie Lingyun, and the Mirror of Sin.
The primary point was that the Mirror of Sin was undeserving of its reputation, unfit to exist in the Martial World.
As a thorn in the side of the Martial World, it must be eradicated.
Beitang Zun agreed wholeheartedly, pledging to manage the matter efficiently.
The final task was to have Beitang Zun train a team to act as their eyes and ears in the Martial World.
"Modeled after the Demon Skills of the Celestial Evil Cult, this group can be divided into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower.
"People at the lowest level don’t need to be overly loyal, nor do they care if they’re exposed.
"They just need to gather the intelligence they hear and see, which might be valuable, and hand it over to the middle-level personnel.
"Middle-level personnel should choose trustworthy people as much as possible.
"They must categorize these messages, exclude false ones, and integrate them before handing them over to the top-level personnel.
"Top-level personnel must be trustworthy, loyal to both the Blazing Hall and Beitang Zun.
"Their primary responsibility is to collect information and be ready for me to access whenever I need it."
Chu Qing explained his idea:
"This group can break away from the Blazing Hall and become an independent intelligence organization.
"The name will be ’Night Eye.’
"Yes."
Beitang Zun recorded Chu Qing’s idea one by one, realizing that implementing it wouldn’t be easy.
Lower-level personnel need to be numerous and do not require loyalty, but must be enticed with benefits, which could be quite costly.
And for the communication channels between lower and middle-level personnel, one must think of ways without acting rashly; otherwise, someone might exploit the situation.
Beyond these difficulties, there are many more...
However, as a subordinate, the task is to turn these unreasonable points into reasonable ones, and fulfill Chu Qing’s requirements as much as possible.
After saying these three things, Chu Qing handed over affairs in Ghost God Gorge to Beitang Zun.
He let them return on their own, while he needed to go ahead.
On one hand, he planned to personally take Wuchen to Guang’an City to find the witnesses Wuchen mentioned... He felt that there might be business opportunities.
On the other hand, after separating, he could transform into Night Emperor and ask Beitang Zun for money.
Although the money from the Blazing Hall and his own money are essentially the same now, it wouldn’t do for Night Emperor’s persona to collapse.
Previously, he promised to ask Beitang Zun for money, and he must go; also, he should try to separate these two identities in the eyes of the world.
Otherwise, every time Night Emperor appears, the Third Young Master is always by his side.
Beitang Zun naturally obeyed Chu Qing’s orders, realizing that apart from a few tasks, he had no intention of meddling too much in the affairs of Blazing Hall.
Without further discussion, Chu Qing instructed Gentle to pack things up and prepare to continue north.
But before they finished packing, a sudden clamor erupted within the fortress.
Chu Qing opened the door and asked about the situation, learning that someone had intruded into the fortress.
This left Chu Qing somewhat stunned; after the battle in Ghost God Gorge, who besides Iron Blood Hall would come to Blazing Hall’s territory to cause trouble?
Iron Blood Hall had already sounded the retreat; there was no reason for anyone to seek conflict with Blazing Hall at this time.
Immediately, he led Gentle and Wuchen to the center of the fortress.
From a distance, they heard a voice speaking in a flat tone:
"Where is Beitang Lie? Let him come out and see this humble Daoist."
Is the intruder a Daoist?
Chu Qing was led into the scene, witnessing Beitang Zun’s furrowed brows.
Opposite him were two Daoists in sky-blue robes, one old and one young, the elder with white hair and youthful features, the younger merely sixteen or seventeen, looking curiously around.
Beitang Zun spoke in a deep voice:
"I’ve already said, my elder brother died long ago; currently someone else is in charge of Blazing Hall.
"If you two have anything to say, you can directly speak to me!"
"You..."
The old Daoist glanced at Beitang Zun with brows furrowed and shook his head:
"You don’t have the qualification.
"Since you say that someone else is in charge of Blazing Hall, why not invite them here?"
Beitang Zun’s eyes flashed with anger as he was about to speak, when Chu Qing’s voice rang out:
"Where do you two Daoists come from?
"I am currently in charge of Blazing Hall; feel free to speak openly."
"Young master."
Beitang Zun quickly turned around and bowed deeply to Chu Qing.
The old Daoist narrowed his eyes slightly, examining Chu Qing up and down before suddenly drawing the long sword from his back to thrust at Chu Qing:
"I am Daoist Qingguan, from the Celestial Sect!
"Here only to kill you, this traitor from the Celestial Evil Cult!!"
Chu Qing: "?"
...
...
ps: I’ve been feeling unwell recently, night sweats, dizziness, nausea, weakness all over.
Took a half-day off yesterday to see a Chinese medicine doctor; was told the chill from the last cold hadn’t subsided, harming my liver and lungs.
Prescribed some Chinese medicine for a few days... advised to avoid certain foods, not allowed to eat meat... feeling miserable...