Underworld entries, starting with ghost stories.

Wu Qing watched helplessly as Luo Cheng proudly led his team away.

He knew they were going in the same direction as Luo Cheng, and he had originally wanted to try and get closer to him.

After all, if Luo Cheng is won over, there will be an opportunity to win over Luo Yi of Youzhou. With Xiao Bai also involved, it might be possible to prevent Luo Yi from defecting to the Li Tang dynasty in the future.

This is actually a good thing for the Luo family. After all, although Luo Yi sided with Li Tang, he chose the wrong side and sided with Li Dafeng.

As a result, Luo Cheng acted as if saying even one more word to him would soil his brocade robes.

Wu Qing was also at a loss.

As the Luo family's procession drove away, the girl in the pink and white dress leaned out of the carriage and silently looked in his direction.

He looked over and exchanged a silent glance with the girl.

"That girl has already gone far away!" Dou Xianniang rode her horse beside him, glanced at him, and said, "Why don't you chase after her, Qing-ge'er, and join the Luo family?"

Wu Qing quickly said, "Miss, you misunderstand. I was just wondering what the relationship is between this girl and that young master Luo Cheng?"

Dou Xianniang said irritably, "Didn't she just call him 'brother'?" Qing Ge'er's clever brain must have gone mad at this moment.

Wu Qing laughed and said, "Miss is right!"

He turned to Liu Heita and Su Dingfang: "Are you two still able to ride horses? Let's leave here first."

Liu Heita and Su Dingfang had both been bandaged up, and the people around them helped them mount their horses.

Seeing Liu Heita's gloomy face, Wu Qing said, "Brother Liu, there's no need to take this defeat to heart."

"That man was the son of Luo Yi, the Marquis of Jingbian in Youzhou. His martial arts skills surpass those of his father. Although he is about the same age as us, he is one of the most outstanding masters in the world."

"Being defeated by him is nothing."

Liu Heita said, "Of course I know he is highly skilled in martial arts, but this is just too much of a bully."

He could be defeated, he could die, but the humiliation he suffered under the hooves of a horse, as he had just witnessed, was a thorn stuck in his heart that was hard to get rid of.

Wu Qing said, "Tell me first what exactly happened? Although Luo Cheng is arrogant, he wouldn't come to snatch that pearl for no reason."

Seeing that Liu Heita was still angry, Su Dingfang said, "Let me explain."

He recounted how they first encountered the skilled man with a fork who stole the pearl, and then were intimidated by the burly man wielding two hammers.

Then he said, "I fought with Naro and saw that his martial arts were superb. If the other party really had such a master, why did he have that person use a pair of fake hammers to deceive people in the first place?"

Therefore, it is speculated that he and the group that previously robbed the pearl were not the same group.

"We originally wanted to explain things to him, but Luo Cheng wouldn't listen to us at all. Instead, he mocked us as useless little thieves from Shaohua Mountain."

Wu Qing pondered for a moment: "Shaohua Mountain..."

The little green snake under his belly moved slightly.

Wu Qing knew that Ai Lian probably knew the origins of those who robbed the pearl.

He said, "Then there must be no mistake. You were chasing bandits from Shaohua Mountain, but you lost track of them for a while because you were stopped by that guy with the fake hammer."

"Those guys didn't fare well either. They probably offended Luo Cheng beforehand, snatched the pearl, and were caught by Luo Cheng. Although they escaped quickly, they lost the pearl."

"When you saw Luo Cheng holding the precious pearl, you initially thought he was in cahoots with those people from Shaohua Mountain. Luo Cheng also thought you were accomplices recruited by those people from Shaohua Mountain."

"While you were fighting there, the real Shaohua Mountain bandits had already fled far away."

Dou Xianniang exclaimed in surprise, "No wonder that guy told me to stop doing that kind of banditry. I initially thought he knew my background, but it turns out he really thought we were highway robbers?"

Wu Qing said, "Miss Ailian's father, Master Shan, knows most of the outlaws in the thirteen provinces of the south and north. If we go back and ask her, we might find out who those two people were."

Although Shan Ailian was right here with him, he couldn't very well pull out his pants in public and drag her out for questioning.

Luo Cheng and his group were heading towards Jeju Island.

Wu Qing and the others wanted to return to their campsite from the previous night to meet up with "Shan Ailian" and the others.

Su Dingfang asked, "Master Wu, how are those people from the Maitreya Sect doing?"

Wu Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, they will send those women and children back safely. They already understand what they should do."

As he spoke, he quietly opened the panel and took a look.

This time, I've increased my infectivity and mystery levels a lot, and the progress bar after "Lv3" is almost full.

Although he encountered some unexpected events and had a falling out with Luo Chengsheng, a famous young hero of this era.

However, the significant increase in experience points and the reunion with Xiaobai were quite fruitful.

Su Dingfang said, "Brother Wu, given your previous performance, you could have further expanded your prestige and achieved greater success among the Maitreya followers. Why did you leave?"

Holding a feather fan, Wu Qing solemnly said, "Brother Su, remember this: the truth cannot be hidden, and the false cannot be made true."

"A position gained by deceiving the people will ultimately be deceived by the people. One may gain power temporarily by invoking the names of gods and Buddhas, but once that momentum fades, it will inevitably be nothing but a mirage."

"Besides, even if it succeeds, what kind of state will China, a nation founded on religion, lead us to? I deceived them with illusions only to relieve their temporary predicament and guide them to avoid going to extremes, nothing more."

"It's not that we really intend to use these superstitious tricks to manipulate or harm them."

Su Dingfang was moved: "Brother Wu's admonition is correct! I am ashamed."

Dou Xianniang looked up at the sky and said, "It's almost dawn! Speaking of which, last night when I saw those densely packed Maitreya followers, I had no idea what to do."

"I didn't expect you to quell this storm so easily, Qing-ge'er."

Wu Qing said, "Those who are good at swimming drown! Those people are deceived by illusions, so we need to use even bigger illusions to deceive them, and that will be enough."

Liu Heita exclaimed, "Master, is there anything you can't do?"

Wu Qing laughed and said, "Illusion? That's nothing!"

Looking at him, calm and composed, waving a feather fan.

Dou Xianniang, Liu Heita, Su Dingfang, and others exclaimed in unison... This is what a clerk is like!

Before dawn, they returned to the woodland where they were stationed.

Before dismounting, Shan Ailian slid down Qing Gege's trouser leg and sneaked back into her resting tent. Then she pretended to have just woken up and came out rubbing her sleepy eyes.

As the morning sun shines down, it filters through the branches and leaves, spreading scattered light and shadow around them.

Shan Ailian wore a light blue high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a pink ruyi (another type of traditional Chinese dress) underneath and a short-sleeved jacket on top.

"Sister Dou, Brother Qing, have the kidnapped women and children been rescued?"

Dou Xianniang said, "It's basically resolved, there were just some unexpected events." She then told her the whole story.

Although Shan Ailian already knew what had happened, she pretended not to know and listened patiently to the whole thing.