Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sound

  Shen Hao made a detailed plan that would severely punish Xin Youtao without getting himself kicked out of Pongshan.

  "Mengdu Jiao said that fighting is not allowed, but he didn't say anything about resisting. So we need a bait, and Dalang is the most suitable one. You go provoke Xin Youtao, call him Saner, and expose his secrets in public. He's very concerned about his reputation, so he'll definitely be unable to bear it. As long as he dares to make a move..." Shen Haowei sternly scanned the surroundings, "I'll rush over and beat him half to death."

  Er Liang Shen Xiu only smiled and nodded, while Da Liang Shen Xiu hesitated, "Xin Yu Tao knows I'm close to Xiao Qiu Ge, he might not fall for it... Fang Fang, Xiao Qing Tuo, do you two want revenge?"

  Xiao Qingtao was the only outsider, her eyes darting nervously towards Fangfang, not daring to speak up. This was no longer like the times when they used to eat fish together. She knew that her non-demon identity would attract how many strange and suspicious glances.

  "Go on," Shen Hao encouraged, "you're also a victim, and can be considered... half of the people in Ye Lin Town."

  Fang Fang nodded, and Xiao Qing's face was like a child who had made an unreasonable request to her parents, hanging her head and speaking in a soft voice, "Xin Yu Tao, Xin Yu Tao still saved people after all..."

  Shen Hao was furious as soon as he heard it, and slapped the edge of the bed with force. "He's just pretending to be kind, and there's no need for him to save us, Meng Dou will arrive immediately, right?"

  Xiao Qingtao's face turned pale with fright, and she shrank closer to Fangfang, her head hung even lower. "I don't know... you decide what's good..."

  "Keep your voice down, don't let people outside hear." Da Liang Shen Xiu Ming reminded.

  "Don't scare Xiao Qingtao, it's you who made her speak." Fangfang hugged Xiao Qingtao's shoulders, although they were of similar age, she was like a protective older sister.

  It was afternoon, and a group of people gathered in Xiao Qiu's room, still half an hour away from dinner time. Shen Hao hoped to finalize the plan quickly, so he was a bit impatient. Upon hearing criticism, he chuckled twice, "Xiao Qingteng, I'm not targeting you, it's just that Xin Youtao is too despicable."

  Er Lang Shen Xiu was squatting on the kang, and suddenly inserted a sentence: "Xiao Qing Tao, you won't sympathize with Xin Yu Tao, will you? You two aren't from the same peach, you're green peach, he's... rotten peach."

  The boys all laughed, and Xiao Qing's face turned red as she smiled, her courage slightly boosted. "It wasn't that, I just thought the stone didn't look like something he could have done, at the time he was with Xia Qiu on top, no time to do anything bad."

  "He secretly used the talisman," Shen Hao said.

  "He said he didn't have a talisman."

  "He is cheating."

  Shen Hao confirmed that Xin Yutao was the planner of the giant stone rolling down. "Little Autumn brother, why haven't you spoken up? If anyone has the right to avenge, it's you."

  Xiao Qiu sat on the kang, his physical strength not fully recovered yet. He kept thinking about what Meng Yuanhou had said, "No matter what, I won't forgive Xin Yutao for what he did at Laozu Peak."

  Shen Hao, Er Liang Shen Xiu Wei and others cheered in a low voice, Xiao Qiu immediately added: "But I don't just want to beat him up tonight."

  The young men were bewildered, Shen Hao furrowed his brow, "Do you have any other way to teach Xin Yutao a lesson?"

  "Xin Yutao came to Pong Mountain not of his own free will." Xia Qiu had already cleared her mind, and although Wangzi was being verbose on the mountain, he inadvertently revealed many things. "He is here to gain honor for the royal family of Xi Jie Country, which is why Uncle Zu helped him plead his case. Beating him up would be pointless and might even get us kicked out of Pong Mountain. If we want revenge, let's surpass him on the path of cultivation and make it so he can never gain honor in Pong Mountain, making him too ashamed to return home to see his king father, queen mother, prince brother, and royal siblings."

  Dah Lian Shen Xiū Míng was the first to applaud, "Not bad, Er Lian reached the summit yesterday and got a reward, which is a great blow to Xin Yu Tao. He's been sulking all day, telling everyone that Er Lian borrowed his light."

  Such a revenge method is not quite in line with the traditional style of Wild Forest Town. Shen Hao scratched his head, "I think it's still the simplest and most satisfying to beat him up."

  Fang Fang agreed with Xiao Qiu's point of view, "We are here to cultivate our skills, and in the future we will still have to rely on this to find out about the whereabouts of Wild Forest Town. What can be achieved by defeating Xin Yu Tao? Once we reach Nourishing Spirit Peak, all of this will be useless. Since Xin Yu Tao said that we have demonic blood, we should prove him wrong."

  Shen Hao barely suppressed his anger and glanced at his companions one by one, "Alright, let this kid off the hook, but he'd better not come to provoke me again."

  Xiao Qing said in a low voice: "He wouldn't dare to offend you, when eating, if you glance at him, he will eat less."

  Everyone burst out laughing, but Xia Qiu's smile was extremely brief, and it disappeared as soon as it appeared on her face.

  "Let Xiao Qiu rest, this is more important than revenge." Shen Hao thought Xiao Qiu was tired and drove people out of the house, "Tonight we'll all go to another room to live, no one disturb Xiao Qiu."

  Xiao Qiu wanted to keep everyone, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out. He had a strange feeling that there was a voice outside the room that had entered his ears and then disappeared in an instant.

  Everyone had left, leaving Xia Qiu alone, he concentrated his energy and listened carefully with his ear tilted.

  The sound came again, this time lasting a bit longer, with mixed content, wind, human voices, chair friction, all kinds of sounds rushed in, twisted into a thread. When Xia Qiu wanted to pick out a thread head from it, all the sounds disappeared again.

  Xiao Qiu tried again and again, the sound that was transmitted to his ears became more lasting and clearer. He finally managed to distinguish human voices from it, and even heard a few words clearly. Then he realized that these sounds were not far away, but in the temple, and what he heard was the conversation of nearly 140 new disciples of Pong Mountain.

  Xiao Qiu was shocked, he had experienced super hearing before, it was the feeling when the blue magic flower invaded his body, after that this ability disappeared, today it mysteriously appeared again.

  "This is definitely not a demon seed." Xia Qiu muttered to herself, remembering the method of calming her mind that Meng Yuanhou had taught her, and did so, while perking up her ears to listen carefully.

  All kinds of sounds came at the same time, but they were not so chaotic. Xia Qiu could separate them one by one according to his will, and every sentence was clear as if he was talking face-to-face. He could even identify some familiar people's identities.

  The children in the dormitory were walking towards the dining hall in groups, greeting each other and joking around. The names Mu Xiangqiu and Shen Xiuyi kept popping up, but not every child was simply admiring them. Xiao Qiu heard many hushed whispers of suspicion, from the connection between the young man from Ye Lin Town and the demon species, to Xiao Qiu's several meetings with Master Pongshan, all being analyzed over and over again, leading to one unexpected conclusion after another.

  Xiao Qiu was initially very angry and wanted to argue with those gossipmongers who were not present, but slowly he calmed down. It was from this moment on that he realized everyone, including children, would say different things in front of people and behind their backs. They would express praise and admiration to one's face, but behind one's back, they would be suspicious and contemptuous.

  Xiao Qiu was tired of listening to rumors and switched to finding specific targets, with Xin Youtao being the first one.

  Xin Youtao didn't go to eat, and surprisingly spoke in a flattering tone, which was a rare thing. He acted high and mighty with his identity as the prince of Western Xia, thinking that everyone should fawn over him.

  "We are of the same kind." Xīn Yòutáo seemed to have gained the other's trust, "We should get together more often in the future..."

  Xiao Qiu's extraordinary hearing couldn't last for long, and he needed to rest for a while before concentrating again. In the process of locating and identifying sounds, he first heard Shen Hua's voice. Shen Hua was whispering with a certain companion, discussing how they would still have an opportunity to beat Xin Yu Tao in two days, but not letting Xiao Qiu and Fang Fang know.

  Xiao Qiu shook her head and continued searching. By the time Xin Yutao's voice came again, their conversation was almost over.

  "Alright, just like this, wait until you all understand what kind of person he is, and you will naturally make a judgment, I won't interfere."

  Another unfamiliar voice spoke, polite and courteous, with a tone more elegant than the prince's. "Mr. Xin has treated us with great courtesy, we are honored to be here, and we have no intention of declining or comparing. We have just arrived at the mansion and do not yet understand many things about this place."

  "A group of people with demonic blood, befriend a non-demon... Do you need more evidence?"

  "Dear fellow traveler..."

  The door was pushed open with a creak, Xia Qiu was shocked, suddenly withdrew her hearing, her ears ringing incessantly, and her head spinning, almost falling onto the kang.

  "Xiao Qiuge, are you okay?" Er Liang Shen Xiuyi quickly put down the dishes and rushed over to support him.

  "It's nothing, just a bit tired." Xia Qiu had some doubts about her new ability and decided not to reveal it to anyone for the time being. She smiled at Zhong Erliang, "Many people have been praising you, right?"

  "Hmm." Shen Xiuyi scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I'm really not used to it. But, Little Autumn, the more I think about it, the more I feel that you were right earlier. Beating Xin Yuetao isn't going to accomplish much; we need to surpass him on the path of cultivation. He thinks he's some kind of prince just because of who he is, but we have to prove that he only knows how to cheat and win, and doesn't actually have any real skills."

  After dinner, Er Liang accompanied Xiao Qiu to see him off. By the time he left, the sky had already darkened. Xiao Qiu immediately focused his attention again, but there was no sound of Xin Yu Tao's voice. He probably had nothing more to say. As for the object of their conversation, Xiao Qiu found that voice too unfamiliar and couldn't distinguish it from the surrounding noise.

  Frequent use of his hearing was quite mentally exhausting, and Xiao Qiu felt a bit tired. He lay down for a short rest, but didn't close his eyes. He was thinking about how this new ability of his had come to be.

  Shen Hao and others came once, saw Xia Qiu had already lain down, and all quietly left.

  After midnight, Xia Qiu sat up. At this time, there were not many noises, and she could accurately find the speaker. There was no voice of Xin Yutao, nor that elegant voice. After searching around the house, Xia Qiu heard Zhang Lingsheng's voice, panicked and disheartened, as if he had made a huge mistake.

  "I think he really doesn't have the demon seed. In that case, there's no reason for him to hide it. I've really tried my best, Meng Du has already suspected me, I couldn't..."

  Xiao Qiu's heart skipped a beat, his mind slightly distracted, and he lost the ability to hear from afar. He took a deep breath, just as he was about to refocus on Zhang Lingsheng's voice, he discovered that there was an additional person in the dark room.

  Meng Yuanhou rushed to him, raised his right index finger, and walked quietly to the edge of the bed, speaking in a very low voice. However, Xia Qiu soon discovered that his lips hadn't moved at all.

  "Be careful with your new ability, this is Pongshan, eavesdropping on others' conversations will be discovered."

  "What's going on?" Xia Qiu pointed at her own ear.

  "I'm not clear about the reason, but I can confirm one thing, you are very open-minded."

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)