That City

What Su Qing needed to prepare were precisely the talismans she would use later.

Although Su Qing carried many talismans on her person, many of them would be useless for what was coming. No matter how powerful they were, they were meaningless if they couldn't be put to use. Thus, she intended to redraw a few.

Drawing talismans was delicate work. Ordinarily, it would be quite time-consuming.

Fortunately, Su Qing possessed great strength and was quite proficient in the art of talismans, so her drawing speed was remarkably swift.

Time flowed by. In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed.

Before Su Qing sat dozens of talismans.

'It's been too long since I last drew talismans; I've grown a bit rusty. It took this long just to finish thirty-odd sheets. Still, this should be enough for what's ahead...' Su Qing thought to herself as she tucked the talismans into her Sleeve Universe.

She then stretched, stood up, and left the quiet room.

Outside, her daughter was waiting for her.

Seeing her mother emerge, Su Tingtong walked up with a beaming smile and hugged her. "Mother, you're out so soon? What did you prepare?"

"What else would I be doing in a quiet room besides preparing talismans?" Su Qing smiled and nodded. "Alright, the preparations are mostly complete. It’s time to set out. However, I’ll say it again: you must remember not to overextend yourself, no matter what. If you can't help, don't feel bad about it. Your only tasks are to do what I tell you and keep yourself safe."

Su Qing was very worried about this young girl.

Although her daughter's strength was indeed impressive and she was quite clever, Su Qing couldn't help but worry for her child. Yet, she also understood that she couldn't keep her cooped up at home forever.

Sooner or later, she had to let her go out and gain experience. If she was always kept at home and never allowed to train outside, she wouldn't be able to handle it if something happened in the future.

So, even though she was truly worried, she had to take her out for a turn.

Su Tingtong heard Su Qing's words clearly and understood her concern. While she really wanted to tell Su Qing that her worries were unnecessary, she knew that simply saying so wouldn't put her mother at ease.

So, she simply nodded and said, "I understand, Mother. Rest assured, I'll do exactly as you say and make sure I don't put myself in danger! Your daughter values her life more than anyone! Besides, since I love you so much, I wouldn't dare let anything happen to me and make you worry. So, Mother, please be at peace!"

Hearing this, Su Qing finally nodded. "With those words, I feel a bit more relieved... In that case, let's go! We need to find Yudie next."

Leng Xiang certainly couldn't leave her post, so she could only bring Yudie along. Although the Cold Fragrance Sword was much easier to use than Yudie, and Leng Xiang herself was far more reliable, the circumstances left her with no choice but to pick Yudie.

Su Tingtong nodded with a smile. "Then let's set out, Mother!"

Su Qing gave an affirmative hum, then performed a hand seal to summon the Somersault Cloud.

The mother and daughter stepped onto the Somersault Cloud and headed toward the location of Leng Xiang and Yudie.

Given the Somersault Cloud's speed, they arrived over the city where Yudie was staying in just a few moments.

Since she had only just returned from here today, Su Qing had no interest in observing the city's changes again. She quickly lowered the cloud and landed within the temple.

Inside the temple, even though it was nearing dinner time, there were still many pilgrims. It was clear that the Incense Power here was exceptionally strong.

This was all thanks to the hard work of Leng Xiang and Yudie.

Leng Xiang, of course, sensed Su Qing's arrival immediately and quickly came out to greet her.

"Master, you just left; why are you back already? Did you forget something?" Leng Xiang asked, feeling surprised and curious to see Su Qing again so soon.

Su Qing shook her head. "It just so happened that after I returned, a new task came up that requires me to travel, so I need to take Yudie with me."

Hearing this, realization dawned on Leng Xiang. She nodded quickly and said, "I see. I didn't expect Master to have to head out again so soon after returning... This matter must be quite troublesome and difficult to handle, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't require Master's personal intervention."

Leng Xiang had some understanding of the current situation. Most of the time, matters didn't require Su Qing to act personally; they could simply be handed off to subordinates. Only when there was a major or difficult problem, or if there were truly no people available, would Su Qing step in herself.

Therefore, hearing that Su Qing was going to handle business, Leng Xiang knew it likely wasn't simple.

Su Qing nodded and recounted the situation truthfully.

"It's not actually that difficult. The main issue is a lack of manpower, and the strength of those who can act isn't sufficient to complete this task, so I'm doing it myself. Also... seeing as I'm bringing Su Tingtong, you can probably guess that I also intend to use this as an opportunity to train her."

At this, Leng Xiang turned to look at Su Tingtong. After a moment of silence, she said, "So Master is finally going to train Su Tingtong? That's good; she really does need some proper experience. Although she can help you process documents daily, she can't help much with other matters. Training now will allow her to help you more in the future."

Su Tingtong simply offered a small smile and said nothing. Her relationship with Leng Xiang wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly close either. In truth, aside from Bai Suzhen and Su Qing, her relationships with everyone else were... ordinary.

If she had to name one person besides those two she was close to, it would probably be Lady Chang'e. After all, Lady Chang'e was a very, very special existence.

Returning to the topic at hand, Su Qing nodded after hearing Leng Xiang's words. "Actually, she was the one who begged me to train her. If she hadn't insisted on coming along, I probably wouldn't have been in such a hurry to drag her out for experience. Alright, let's not talk about that for now. Where is that girl Yudie? Why don't I see her or those Little Meatballs?"

Leng Xiang smiled and said, "That girl ran off to play. The Little Sparrows went with her... They'll probably be back in a little while. Master, would you like to sit for a bit? The matter shouldn't be too urgent, right? It shouldn't hurt to go a bit slower."

Su Qing nodded. "It's not particularly urgent... Fine, let's go have some tea. You shouldn't be too busy right now either!"

Leng Xiang naturally had no objection. Even if she did have a few things to do, she didn't mind putting them aside to accompany Su Qing for tea.

However, Su Tingtong was slightly displeased by this. She really wanted to get to that city quickly to solve the trouble there. She was eager to prove herself and had been waiting impatiently. Yet, even if she was anxious, there was nothing she could do.

If her mother didn't move, she couldn't go alone. After all, if she went by herself, the whole point would be lost. Thus, despite her impatience, she could only accompany her mothers to drink tea.

In the pavilion, Su Qing chatted with Leng Xiang while drinking tea. The two of them were having a wonderful time, but Su Tingtong found it incredibly boring. She didn't care about many of the topics, and some she didn't even understand, so how could she find it interesting?

She waited there, bored out of her mind.

Time passed slowly, and soon an hour had gone by. To Su Tingtong, it felt much longer.

Finally, Yudie and the Little Meatballs returned.

When Yudie and the others saw Su Qing, Leng Xiang, and Su Tingtong sitting there drinking tea, they were momentarily stunned before running over in surprise.

"Does Mother have some business? Why are you here again?" Yudie wasn't unhappy to see her; she was just genuinely curious, much like Leng Xiang had been.

Su Qing smiled and explained the situation to Yudie as she had before.

Upon hearing it, Yudie immediately declared, "If Mother wants me to go, there's no problem at all! Just give the word, and I guarantee I'll handle everything perfectly for you! Not a single thing will go wrong!"

Words were one thing, but Su Qing knew exactly how reliable Yudie was. Handing her simple tasks was fine, but if things got slightly complicated... the outcome was hard to say. Her reliability was not the consistent kind.

"Alright, alright. You just stay obediently in my hand later! I'm bringing you primarily because I need you to be a weapon. You don't need to worry about anything else," Su Qing said calmly, clearly not intending to indulge the girl too much.

Hearing this, Yudie pouted and sighed. "Then... that's a real shame. I thought I'd have a chance to show off my skills."

"There's no place for you to show off this time. Besides, if we're being technical, isn't being in my hand a way of showing off?" Su Qing laughed and patted her head.

"While that's true from a certain perspective, I was hoping for the kind of showing off where I act myself. But never mind, I'll listen to Mother~" Although Yudie could be a bit willful, she wasn't completely disobedient. She would still follow Su Qing's orders faithfully.

"That's more like it!" Su Qing smiled. "Alright, the preparations are complete. Let's set out now! It's already so late; it'll likely be dark by the time we arrive."

"In that case, why not rest for a day before going?" Yudie asked, hands on her hips.

"We could, but since we've already delayed this much, it's better to go once we're ready," Su Qing shook her head. "Yudie, come here!"

Yudie didn't argue further. She simply nodded and said, "Fine, fine. Since Mother said so, I'll do as you wish."

With that, she transformed into a short sword and landed in Su Qing's hand.

While she could have waited until they arrived to transform, she obeyed since Su Qing had asked.

Taking Yudie, Su Qing led Su Tingtong by her side. She then turned to bid farewell to Leng Xiang.

It was her second farewell to Leng Xiang today, so she didn't say much. After a simple goodbye, she soared away on a cloud.

The speed of the Somersault Cloud needs no further description. In the blink of an eye, they were above the target city.

However, the moment Su Qing arrived, she caught an incredibly pungent scent. It wasn't the scent of the omens of the Great Tribulation. It was the smell of burning corpses.

Su Qing rubbed her nose, her brow furrowing. She looked up at the dark clouds above; they were so thick they looked like a heavy quilt draped across the sky. However, these weren't ordinary dark clouds; they were an atmospheric change triggered by demon qi.

In addition to the smell of burning bodies, there was an incredibly dense demon qi present. That was why Su Qing was so certain.

Su Qing exhaled a breath of turbid air and gave a helpless smile. "Do you two see anything?"

"I only see many demons stirring up trouble and miserable mortals. Beyond that, I don't see much else," Su Tingtong said, shaking her head slightly after observing for a moment.

Su Qing nodded. She didn't praise her, but she didn't criticize her either. "Mm. Being able to see that much is very good. What about you, Yudie?"

"I'm the same!" Yudie said.

Su Qing: "..."

Su Qing was momentarily speechless. Although she felt Yudie had likely seen something, those words made it sound like she hadn't seen anything and was just following along.

Su Qing shook her head. "Let's go. We'll head down and take a look."

With that, Su Qing lowered the cloud and landed within the city.

Inside the city, the long streets were wide but desolate. The buildings were grand, yet they were draped in white funeral banners. It was impossible to tell how many people had died for it to end up in such a state.

Looking at the scene, Su Qing shook her head and murmured to herself, "It seems the actual situation here is even worse than what was reported in the documents."