Stranger Danger

Chapter 1050: Taiping Martial Method

Half a teatime later, Mister Taozhu had regained a healthy complexion. Her aura had stabilized as well.

“How are you doing?” Ye Qing asked.

Mister Taozhu smiled. “I’m fine now. Thanks for your concern, young master.”

“Tell me, have you heard of the Kunlun Ruins before?” Ye Qing asked directly.

Although he had searched Mister Taozhu’s memories earlier, he decided not to probe too deeply after discovering that a powerful restriction was buried inside her mind. That section of her mind was restricted probably because it contained the Way of Taiping’s secrets, but there was a chance a clue regarding the Kunlun Ruins wase hidden among them. So, he asked.

“The Kunlun Ruins?” Mister Taozhu thought seriously for a moment. “I know some folktales regarding the Kunlun Ruins. Is that what you desire?”

“No.” Ye Qing shook his head. He had already heard all the folktales regarding the Kunlun Ruins and confirmed that they were useless. “I want to hear some actual information, not legends. Where are the Kunlun Ruins, and how can I find them?”

“Er...” Mister Taozhu shook her head. “My apologies, young master. I never knew that the Kunlun Ruins were even a real place until now.”

“Of course, it’s possible that I’m just ignorant. The Way of Taiping has a long, storied history, and they have amassed and preserved quite the collection of ancient books and records during this period. Perhaps there are clues regarding the Kunlun Ruins in one of them. I’ll command the men to investigate it immediately.”

“Good.” Ye Qing nodded. “Be absolutely careful and keep a low profile though. Also, please handle the aftermath of today’s incident. I do not want anyone to find out about my existence.”

“It shall be done.” Mister Taozhu saluted him. “Where should I find you once I have an answer for you?”

“I’ll be staying at Fast Horse Inn for the next few days. Seek me there.”

Ye Qing added, “I’ll inform you if I need to leave earlier than expected.”

“Understood. May I take my leave, young master?” Mister Taozhu asked for permission.

“Yeah. See you later.” Ye Qing waved.

After Ye Qing waved Mister Taozhu away, he went back to Fast Horse Inn as he told Mister Taozhu he would.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to look for the Kunlun Ruins, but because he couldn’t.

Right now, all he knew was that the Kunlun Ruins was located somewhere in the Kunlun Mountain. However, the Kunlun Mountain Range spanned across both Chu and Wei and was over hundreds of thousands of kilometers long. To say it was vast beyond imagination would be an understatement. To try and seek out the Kunlun Ruins without an actual lead would be like trying to find a needle in a sea. The grass at Yi Pin’s grave would be as tall as him by the time he found the Kunlun Ruins, if at all.

That was why he did not rush to the Kunlun Mountain recklessly. Instead, he remained in Long Qing and waited patiently.

Long Qing was located at the eastern side of the Kunlun Mountain Range. It was right within seeing distance. Therefore, once he obtained a lead regarding the Kunlun Ruins, he could depart for the Kunlun Mountain immediately.

The first thing Ye Qing did after returning to Long Qing was to write Feng Qingyou a letter. Then, he practiced while waiting for someone to send him news.

Several days came and went in the blink of an eye. Feng Qingyou, Cheng Qishang, Chen Wuxin, and Mister Taozhu kept sending him news during this time, but unfortunately, no one was able to gather any useful information at all. If Ye Qing was confident before, now he was stewing with anxiety. After all, the more he delayed, the more dangerous Yi Pin’s situation would become.

At least there was a silver lining. According to the Annon Sutra, Yi Pin was still alive, though it was impossible to say how much longer he still had to live.

If he took the nightmare he had earlier at face value, Yi Pin wasn’t looking very good at all. That was why he was worried that the old man wouldn’t last until he found the Kunlun Ruins.

“Should I just throw caution to the wind and spread the news that the Kunlun Ruins truly exist?” Ye Qing muttered to himself with deeply knitted eyebrows and an empty tea cup in his hand.

The jianghu was greedy. He could fabricate a story claiming that the Kunlun Ruins had appeared in the Kunlun Mountain, and that opportunities and treasures descending from divine beings of the ancient times were ripe for the taking. He had no doubt that the people of the jianghu would depart in search for the ruins as soon as they heard the story.

There was strength in numbers. It was possible that the human sea strategy would work.

On the other hand, it remained just a possibility, not to mention that these people were hardly united in their purpose. He would be engineering a bloody massacre just for a possibility that he might be able to locate the Kunlun Ruins.

In summary, there were pros and cons.

Still, it was a viable method. If he really couldn’t come up with anything better, then he would give it a try.

He was still thinking when suddenly, he felt something and turned his head. The earth covering a corner of the wall suddenly dropped to the ground before combining into a little clay doll.

“Young master...”

The little clay doll gave its little arms and legs a tentative shake before bowing to Ye Qing.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries. It’s uncommon for you to contact me at such a late hour, so I’m assuming you have a lead for me?” Ye Qing asked.

The little clay doll was created by Mister Taozhu, of course.

“That is correct, young master.”

Mister Taozhu did not keep Ye Qing in suspense and launched straight into a question, “Have you heard of the Taiping Martial Method before, young master?”

“Who hasn’t heard of the Taiping Martial Method?” Ye Qing replied.

Despite its name, the Taiping Martial Method was not a martial arts manual. Instead, it was a record containing the origins and secrets of all factions within the jianghu and wulin. It contained secrets few outsiders knew and were unknown to the public.

Legend has it that the Taiping Martial Method was created by the first Way Lord of the Way of Taiping, the Taoist of Heavenly Fairness. Every Way Lord who came after would add to or remove entries from the record.

The Way of Taiping had existed for over ten thousand years. Just the same, the Taiping Martial Method was over ten thousand years old. As a result, some of those entries had become an absolute secret today.

On the surface, the entries in the Taiping Martial Method looked unimportant or inconsequential. However, some of these secrets could turn a certain sect or faction upside down if it was leaked. This was how the Way of Taiping recruited certain factions to their cause and controlled them.

It was also why the Way of Taiping was feared throughout the jianghu.

“Did you find something in the Taiping Martial Method?”

“Exactly.” Mister Taozhu smiled. “For the past few days, I have been ordering the men to find a lead regarding the Kunlun Ruins in the Myriad Scrolls Tower of my Way of Taiping. One of them was reading a secret between the West Kunlun and the East Kunlun when he found mention of the Kunlun Ruins.”

“West Kunlun? East Kulun? Tell me!” Ye Qing ordered urgently.

“Once upon a time, the descendants of celestials and gods left the Kunlun Ruins and founded the Kunlun. They desired to unite the jianghu and once possessed the power to do so. Unfortunately, internal strife split them into East Kunlun and West Kunlun, and to this day, the two factions had never reunited,” Mister Taozhu said.

“Is that... all?” Ye Qing asked after waiting for a bit and receiving no answer.

“Yes,” Mister Taozhu confirmed. “Here is a copy of the entry, young master. Please have a look!”

The clay doll’s stomach split open. What looked like an innumerable amount of soil poured out of it until it formed a chapter of pages.

Ye Qing made a grabbing motion and attracted the pages created from soil into his hand. When he read it, he found that Mister Taozhu had not missed anything. Besides what Mister Taozhu had already told him, the rest of the pages described the strength of the elites of the East Kunlun and West Kunlun. There was no mention of the Kunlun Ruins at all.