Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 18 - Encountering a Crisis
Chapter 18: Encountering a Crisis
The miasma along the way went from thin to thick, then turned thin again.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the mist finally cleared in front of Qin Zheng’s eyes. It seemed they had finally walked out of the miasma's range.
At that moment, the three of them were standing at the edge of the forest center. It was even darker than the surrounding areas, but they could still see things within ten meters. A few glowing plants helped ensure they didn’t lose their way.
All the land surrounded by the miasma belonged to the forest's central area, which appeared quite vast.
This area was also filled with countless trees, just like outside the miasma, but the difference was that these tree trunks had a faint dark red hue, unlike the brown color of those outside.
Qin Ke leaned in close to a tree trunk, studied it, then confirmed, “I’ve seen this in books. This kind of tree usually grows in places inhabited by the demon race—same as the plant we’re looking for.”
“No wonder we never saw any demons while cultivating around the edges before. Looks like they’ve all been hiding in here.”
Qin Su looked back at the other two and said, “Be careful. Not all demons avoid attacking humans. In fact, most of them are quite combative.”
Qin Zheng nodded seriously.
Although Qin Su looked like a child on the outside, the way he spoke and acted was more like an adult.
The rumors of children maturing early in the Tianque Sect were clearly well-founded.
Since they knew this was a gathering spot for demons, the three of them slowed their pace and proceeded cautiously.
Qin Zheng, who had been focused on watching his footing, finally looked up—and vaguely saw a large shadow ahead in the distance. It looked like an unusually massive tree.
Things that stood out from the surrounding environment always drew people's attention.
As they slowly approached, they discovered that the huge shadow was not just a tree, but a simple palace built around a tree. It was surrounded by stone walls as tall as three people, with an opening at the base serving as an entrance.
Qin Zheng looked up in surprise at the well-structured palace. “Don’t tell me this was built by demons?”
“Demons really live up to their name—even if they only have a soul left, their thinking is still different. They're living more properly than most people.”
Qin Su nodded. “Only demons could build something like this.”
Qin Zheng had only been guessing and was startled to learn he was right. He quickly glanced nervously at the palace nearby and asked in a low voice, “That means there must be a lot of demons inside, right?”
After a pause, he reached out and poked Qin Su. “Want to use your ability to sense them?”
Qin Zheng recalled how Qin Su always seemed to sense his presence—if that ability could be used to detect enemy numbers, it would be incredibly convenient.
Though Qin Ke disliked Qin Zheng, he still heard everything he said. Surprised, he turned to the young junior disciple and asked, “Junior Brother, you’ve already learned to sense things?”
Qin Su was the junior disciple Qin Ke admired the most since joining the sect. His insight often made the proud Qin Ke feel inferior. He no longer saw him as a child at all.
Qin Su looked at Qin Zheng with a faint, unreadable expression in his eyes. Then he turned to Qin Ke and shook his head. “I haven’t learned to sense. Senior Brother Qin Zheng must be mistaken.”
The way Qin Su looked at him made Qin Zheng instinctively feel that he didn’t want him to say more. So, he obediently shut his mouth.
Qin Zheng was sure he wasn’t mistaken about Qin Su’s ability, but didn’t understand why he was lying.
Was he trying to hide his true strength?
Since he didn’t want to reveal it, Qin Zheng decided to drop the topic.
To cover for the awkward moment, he scratched his head sheepishly and said, “I thought he had learned it because he dodged me when I tried to scare him earlier.”
Then he sneakily winked at Qin Su.
Qin Ke, hearing this, glared at Qin Zheng, then turned away again, muttering, “Making a fuss over nothing!”
Used to Qin Ke’s attitude, Qin Zheng didn’t mind. He looked around and pointed at the stone wall, suggesting, “Why don’t we climb up there and take a look inside?”
“That spot’s high up—the view will be better. If we don’t see anything important, we can avoid meeting the demons head-on.”
This plan sounded reasonable. Even Qin Ke looked to Qin Su, as if seeking his opinion.
Qin Su nodded. “We can. That position is ideal for hiding in these dim conditions.”
So the three of them shifted to a more concealed corner and prepared to climb the wall
However, Qin Zheng realized he didn’t know how to climb and quickly grabbed Qin Su’s hand. “Give me a hand,” he whispered.
Qin Su glanced at the hand holding his. He hesitated, but ultimately didn’t shake him off. He simply pulled Qin Zheng up with him onto the wall.
Once up, they found a platform a meter wide on top of the wall, which allowed Qin Zheng to breathe a sigh of relief.
If it had been a pointed top, he might’ve slipped off.
Standing atop the wall, their vision expanded, and they could clearly see what was inside.
The huge tree they had seen from outside wasn’t just surrounded by the wall—it actually grew from within a stone palace. Its roots were entirely hidden by the palace’s structure.
With sharp eyes, Qin Zheng noticed that the stone palace’s outer walls were covered in hand-shaped leaves of a strange plant. He couldn’t help but speak up. “Look, those plants are even weirder than the ones Master planted in the grove.”
Qin Su looked at the plants, took out a piece of paper from his robe, and carefully compared it before saying, “These are the herbs Master wants.”
“What?” Qin Zheng looked at the situation inside the walls.
Within the walls, outside the palace, they could see people moving around. Based on what Qin Su had said earlier, these people should be demons.
Compared to the cloaked woman they had seen before, the demons here looked far more ferocious—clearly the kind that would want to fight on sight. And outside alone, there were about a hundred of them, not to mention those inside the palace.
Qin Zheng had to voice a concern: “There are too many of them. If we just go in like this, I feel like a conflict is inevitable. How about we wait until they’re resting and then sneak in to pick the herbs quietly?”
“Fighting is part of cultivation too!” Qin Ke immediately rejected Qin Zheng’s suggestion and pointed to the back of the palace. “There are fewer people there. If we sneak over, we probably won’t be noticed.”
Qin Zheng followed the direction Qin Ke pointed to. Indeed, it was darker behind the palace, and it looked like most of the demons had gathered at the front. It did seem like a viable plan.
Qin Su appeared to agree with Qin Ke’s suggestion and began walking slowly along the top of the wall toward the back of the palace.
Since the most dependable junior disciple was going, of course Qin Zheng had to follow too.
But deep down, Qin Zheng couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
Soon, the three of them had circled around to the back of the palace. It was poorly lit, and the overhanging branches made it so dark they could barely see their hands in front of their faces.
Qin Su looked at the target plants and said, “I’ll go. I’m smaller and less likely to be noticed.”
Qin Ke nodded.
As someone with little magical power, Qin Zheng had no choice but to stay put and watch, even without Qin Su saying anything.
Qin Zheng watched as his junior brother leapt from where he stood, passed through the darkness, and landed on the palace roof in the distance. From afar, he looked like a white butterfly.
Qin Su bent down gently and plucked the closest plant to him.
Seeing the herb in hand, Qin Zheng let out a small sigh of relief and glanced at the movement of the demons in the distance.
That one glance gave him a shock—the demons that had been casually hanging around the plaza had somehow gathered together without them noticing.
Qin Zheng quickly patted Qin Ke beside him and said, “Not good, I think they’ve noticed us!”
Qin Ke took a look into the distance and replied, “That’s impossible. Third-tier demons can’t use sensory magic. They’re probably just gathering to go back into the palace.”
After getting the herb, Qin Su had hidden behind a tree trunk, then flew back.
As soon as he landed, Qin Su frowned and said, “I’ve been spotted. Run!”
He grabbed Qin Zheng and started running without another word.
While being pulled along, Qin Zheng glanced back—and saw a large group of demons flying over the wall in a rush, as if the gates below were just for show.
The three of them ran for a while, but since the demons were merely souls and matched them in power, they were soon completely surrounded.
Seeing there was no escape, Qin Su stepped forward, ready to fight.
Seeing this, Qin Zheng and Qin Ke also took up fighting stances.
But the demons didn’t attack right away. Instead, one of them shouted loudly, “What’s your relationship with Yu Jingchen?!”
“Yu Jingchen? That name sounds so familiar!” Qin Zheng looked to Qin Su and Qin Ke for answers. This was his first time in a situation like this, and his mind was a bit scrambled—he couldn’t immediately remember where he’d heard the name.
Qin Ke said, “The mountain god of Yujing Mountain.”
Qin Su replied calmly, “No relationship.”
Someone among the demons laughed and said, “If it weren’t for his aura on you, how could we have detected you? Since you won’t admit it, don’t blame us for being rude!”
“Looks like these brats are his disciples. If we capture them, there’s no way he won’t come looking!”
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