Chapter 1485: Misunderstandings (2)
Yang Qing, not sensing the awkwardness in Tang Xiadan, continued the conversation much more warmly and with greater investment, his mood lifted by the coin as he turned over his mind on various experiments he could do with it.
And because of that uplifted spirit, he considered Tang Xiadan a dear friend. They may as well have been sworn brothers at this point. Driven by that sentiment, he wanted to know more about this new sworn brother of his, so, as any good friend would, he asked about Tang Xiadan’s life and experiences in Green Fog Region, paying genuine attention and caring about even the tiniest details, which showed in his questioning.
Of course, given how ’sensitive’ Tang Xiadan was at the moment, he completely misread Yang Qing’s intentions. Yang Qing felt he was being an interested friend, trying to bridge the gap between them so they could truly be considered friends, the way he was with Longwei or Meifeng, but all Tang Xiadan saw was a hunter trying to extract as much detail as possible, so he could later pair it with the Order’s considerable abilities and means to pinpoint the location of Sister Hong. Driven by that worry, Tang Xiadan tried to be as vague as he could with the details, all the while trying to remain polite and engaging.
Yang Qing, as a seasoned judge, sensed the awkwardness, which he interpreted as Tang Xiadan having had a horrible experience in the Green Fog Region that he didn’t want to rehash. Given how brutal that place was, Yang Qing could understand why he would be reserved about it. He’d do the same. In fact, he had done the same. He rarely talked about his experiences at the Institute, for fear of reliving them. He only ever did so with fellow sufferers.
And it was the same when it came to his experiences with the Yang Clan. Mao Yunru, ever the gossip hoarder, continuously tried to pry information about his childhood from him, going so far as to source it from his mother when Yang Qing proved tight-lipped about it. Of course, his mother’s account was a far cry from the truth, given how she painted the Yang Clan mountain as a warm and loving household where Yang Qing was practically worshipped as the darling hero of the clan.
What darling hero. With the way they treated him, he might as well have been the vilest monster, whose crimes were so heinous that even death seemed like mercy.
So Yang Qing understood, and because he did, as a fellow sufferer, he couldn’t help but feel all the more deeply that he’d found a great friend in Tang Xiadan, who, just like him, had endured a frightening childhood surrounded by danger on all sides. The best friendships were those born out of shared trauma.
Given that he didn’t hide his compassion and appreciation, Tang Xiadan once again fell into a panic, misinterpreting Yang Qing’s look.
What is with that look? Is he comforting me as a precursor to what he is going to do with Sister Hong? I have not even revealed that much. How determined is he to find her? No, no... I have to warn her to switch locations. But if I tell her the reason, she is sure to kill me first before fleeing...
Shaking his head, Tang Xiadan thought, No, I will just blame it on Deer Mountain and say there have been growing strange occurrences there, and because of it, I forwarded those suspicions she had to someone from the Order. For the sake of safety, to avoid any unforeseen dangers from possible retaliation, she should move and hide herself even deeper than she usually does. Yes, I will go with that. At least this way, she will be driven to hide better, and she will never know the source of the danger was my blunder. YES! Let us go with that.
With the plan firmly in place, Tang Xiadan used polite maneuvering to indirectly hint that he had other matters to attend to and didn’t want to take up much of Yang Qing’s time. When in truth, he was afraid that talking longer with Yang Qing would reveal more about Sister Hong. He needed to leave as fast as possible and warn her before her feathers ended up in soup, tea, or who knew what else. He had always felt envious of her race and what he could accomplish with half her abilities, but for the first time, Tang Xiadan felt great relief and pleasure at not being a Star Shrouding Sky Crow.
With the conversation nearing its end, Tang Xiadan’s skillful maneuvering guiding it there, he took out a white polished jade sculpted into a palm-sized mouse and slid it over to Yang Qing.
"A soul stone," Yang Qing commented immediately upon seeing the sculpture. He looked incredulously between the stone and Tang Xiadan.
"It has been refined with my soul. If I don’t make it..."
He didn’t need to finish the sentence. Yang Qing’s response had already shown he was familiar with how the stone worked. The Soul Stone functioned no differently from a soul lamp. One could even argue it was better than regular soul lamps, given it showed more, and would still function even when someone was in a mysterious realm or grotto.
Should Tang Xiadan fail his tribulation and die, the stone would have cracks on it as it turned dark grey. If he were heavily injured, it would turn deep red, and if he successfully broke through or improved, it would turn azure, growing richer in blue the more significant the improvement. Breaking through to the Domain Realm would likely turn it deep blue.
"You should be able to use it to find my final resting place, in case I don’t survive it," Tang Xiadan said softly, gesturing at the stone with his eyes.
The reason the stone worked so well was the amount of soul essence one had to pour into it to form the link. It required about a third of the user’s essence, after which one would need to regularly refine it with their spiritual sense so that the mark grew deeper.
Given the amount of essence it contained from its user and the frequent refinement, the stone made it easier to track the person using it. If Yang Qing gave that stone to Veiled Destiny, she would likely pinpoint Tang Xiadan’s location to the last centimeter. Even aside from her, there were countless other means from the Order that he could use to track Tang Xiadan through the Soul Stone.
Sighing, Yang Qing put the Soul Stone away and turned his attention to Tang Xiadan. "Hopefully next time you will have even more intriguing tales to share," Yang Qing said, smiling.
"Hopefully," Tang Xiadan said, smiling as he cupped his fist in return.
Yang Qing lightly waved his sleeve, and more Silver Ice Tear Guavas appeared on the table, which he gently pushed toward Tang Xiadan. "I know you have the Soulfrost, but it does not hurt to have more help," he said.
"Thank you," Tang Xiadan said appreciatively as he stored them away. After a few more polite exchanges, he got up to leave. Just as he reached the doorway, he paused and turned toward Yang Qing.
"You love poultry, Fellow Daoist?" he asked tentatively.
Yang Qing smiled sheepishly as the events from earlier flashed in his mind. "On occasion, I love to indulge," he replied.
"Oh," Tang Xiadan said evenly. "Do you have any particular favorite among them?" he followed, after a slight hesitation.
Thinking that Tang Xiadan was asking because he wanted to bring him some next time if he survived the breakthrough, Yang Qing eagerly said, "I do not have any preferences. I enjoy all of them. I am not that picky. As long as it tastes good, I will have it." He could have sworn he saw Tang Xiadan’s face turn pale for a brief second.
"Hahaha, yes, it is good not to be picky," Tang Xiadan said, laughing dryly. "Eats all," he muttered hollowly as he turned his face away from Yang Qing. Then he finally turned back, smiling. "Take care, Fellow Daoist," he said, while inwardly lamenting, "Sister Hong..."
"Take care, Fellow Daoist Tang Xiadan, and send my greetings and best wishes to Fellow Daoist Hong. I would truly be honored to meet her," Yang Qing said, offering the most sincere of smiles.
Tang Xiadan’s back stiffened. "I will," Tang Xiadan said in a low, almost whispered tone. "I will not keep you." He hurriedly said, as his figure faded into a gust of wind.
"So eager," Yang Qing said, grinning from ear to ear when he saw the haste with which Tang Xiadan left. He is sure to talk me up to his Senior Sister. Maybe I might get to finally meet the Star Shrouding Sky Crow sooner than I expected. I should tell Senior Bu Zhou. He is sure to be just as ecstatic about it, Yang Qing eagerly thought, as the image of the cowardly turtle flashed in his mind along with their long-shared dream.
