Chapter 39: Questioning

Qin Sang was secretly puzzled. The Yama Banner, the Purple Soul Bell, and the Ebony Sword were all weapons of cultivators, yet they possessed completely different methods of use.

The Purple Soul Bell was a high-grade Dharma tool; were these other items also Dharma tools? And what was their grade?

Setting aside the Yama Banner, Qin Sang turned his gaze toward the sheepskin and the seven-colored silk pouch.

To his disappointment, the sheepskin remained the same as before; whether using divine sense or spiritual power, both would pass directly through it. Like any other mundane object, it was merely an ordinary piece of skin.

Qin Sang had not held much hope for the seven-colored silk pouch either, but unexpectedly, the moment his divine sense entered the pouch, there was a "boom," and a strange space appeared before his "eyes."

Previously, he had tried to touch the pouch multiple times with spiritual power to no avail, yet it opened instantly with his divine sense!

The space was not large, filled with various miscellaneous items.

With a single glance, the most conspicuous items were two small piles of gold and silver, shimmering and reflecting each other's light.

With just this gold and silver, Qin Sang would be a man of great wealth even if he were a mere mortal.

Strangely, instead of jade or jewelry, the items piled beside the gold and silver were several scattered stones. Aside from their different colors, these stones were largely similar; some were yellow, some blue, and some crimson, without a trace of impurity, making them very peculiar.

Qin Sang counted them; there were only eight in total.

Aside from these, there were only mundane necessities for daily life—even pots, bowls, oil, salt, and spices. Not a single item looked like something a cultivator should possess.

As he looked through the items one by one, Qin Sang grew increasingly disappointed. In the end, all that remained were a few books in the corner and an empty wooden box.

One of the old books appeared very ancient, with four characters written on the cover: *The Song Clan Genealogy*.

Could this be the family tree of the sword-wielding youth?

Qin Sang thought to himself that the boy's surname was Song. He wondered if the genealogy contained the boy's address or the location of the Song family ancestral hall, so he could perhaps deliver word if the opportunity arose in the future.

Another book was titled *The Mysterious Yin Manual*, and the last one had no writing on its cover at all.

These two were likely the cultivation techniques used by the youth of the Song surname. Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he wanted to flip them open to see how they differed from his own *Netherworld Scripture*, but he found it impossible.

It was only then that he suddenly realized: things inside the pouch could be seen, but not touched!

It felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. Frustrated, he tried one after another, but he couldn't even move the most ordinary piece of clothing, let alone pull them out. He tried for a long time before finally giving up in dejection.

The feeling of entering a mountain of treasure only to return empty-handed was unpleasant. Feeling discouraged, Qin Sang could only comfort himself by thinking that the items in the pouch didn't seem particularly precious.

By the time he finished looking through everything, the sky had turned completely dark; he had been busy until late into the night without realizing it.

Although he couldn't take the items from the pouch, his gains over the past two days were still immense.

What he had thought was a decorative pouch turned out to be a storage bag, which made Qin Sang never dare to underestimate the sheepskin again; he carefully stored it away along with the talisman paper and other items. As for the Purple Soul Bell, he found a string and tied it to his wrist for easier use.

After tidying everything up, Qin Sang entered a state of meditation to cultivate. Perhaps because his mood was light, not long after he began, the bottleneck that had plagued him for a month finally loosened!

Overjoyed, Qin Sang did not dare to slacken for a moment. He circulated his cultivation technique with all his might and finally broke through the bottleneck in one go, reaching the third level of the *Netherworld Scripture*!

It hadn't been easy!

Qin Sang sighed inwardly. It had been exactly two years since he began his cultivation, and he had never once interrupted, yet he had only reached the third level. The later stages of the *Netherworld Scripture* would surely be even harder; he wondered how many more years it would take to reach the sixth level.

After the sixth level, what would the higher realms be like?

Without follow-up cultivation techniques, how would he forge his path?

Smoothing out the restless aura in his body, Qin Sang exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes to find that dawn had already broken.

After breaking through to the third level of the *Netherworld Scripture*, the spiritual power in Qin Sang's body had increased several times over. Using the Purple Soul Bell was no longer so taxing. He felt no sleepiness and was quite fond of the bell, paying even more attention to it than the Yama Banner.

After all, this was the first Dharma tool he could use directly.

*Knock, knock...*

The courtyard gate was suddenly knocked upon. Qin Sang frowned. "Who is it?"

Zheng Kun called from outside, "Hall Master, General Zhou has sent people into the city with a message. The County Princess has arrived and is heading toward the county magistrate's office."

The County Princess?

Qin Sang thought to himself that she had arrived quite quickly. He hurriedly tidied himself up, hid the Purple Soul Bell in his sleeve, and hurried toward the magistrate's office.

Just as he arrived in front of the office, he heard the sound of urgent hoofbeats on the street. County Princess Dongyang led the way, with Zhou Mingguang and Bai Jianglan following behind, accompanied by several personal guards, all galloping at high speed.

Since their first meeting, Qin Sang had never seen County Princess Dongyang in female attire, and this time was no exception.

The sky was a pale blue.

On the bluestone long street, the autumn wind blew, and yellow leaves flew.

County Princess Dongyang wore a set of light armor, a precious sword hanging at her waist, and a black-red cloak fluttering high, rising and falling with the rhythm of the horse's hooves.

Upon seeing Qin Sang, the County Princess's eyes locked onto him, a cold light flashing in her gaze, as if signaling an impending storm.

Bai Jianglan gave Qin Sang a subtle look, signaling him to behave.

As they were about to charge past him, the speed of the steeds did not slow down at all. At the very last moment, County Princess Dongyang pulled hard on the reins; the horse let out a long neigh and reared up on its front legs.

The County Princess flipped off her horse, her almond eyes glaring at Qin Sang as she questioned through gritted teeth, "Forging the royal seal, falsifying imperial decrees, and unauthorized mobilization of troops to cause havoc in the Holy Land! Hall Master Qin, how many heads do you have!"

Facing the County Princess's piercing gaze, Qin Sang's expression remained unchanged. He reached out a hand in a guiding gesture. "Please calm your anger, County Princess. Please enter the magistrate's office first; this subordinate has something to show you."

County Princess Dongyang gave a cold snort, snapped her whip, and strode into the office.

Qin Sang walked beside her to lead the way, entering the main hall of the magistrate's office.

The gold and silver treasures had already been inventoried, with the chests arranged neatly and orderly. Standing at the entrance, the County Princess swept her gaze across them and said impatiently, "What is this?"

Qin Sang walked up to one of the chests and opened it, revealing a chest filled neatly with silver ingots. He lifted another, and there was another chest, and so on.

Qin Sang took the ledger handed to him by the water boy and said, "County Princess, these are the assets moved from one of the treasuries of Xuanji Temple. There are a million taels of silver alone, not to mention the jewelry and jade not listed here. The other white porcelain, silks, and satins are even more countless. It took over a thousand people a whole day and night to move it all."

This was even after the shares had been distributed to Zhou Mingguang. The wealth of Xuanji Temple was staggering, shocking everyone.

The County Princess's brows furrowed slightly, and she remained silent for a long time, her thoughts unknown.

Qin Sang was secretly puzzled. After waiting a moment, he saw the County Princess looking at him with burning eyes. "There are still a thousand garrison troops in Jiangzhou City. I will give them all to you. How much certainty do you have?"

(End of Chapter)