After some consideration, I quickly came to a decision.
With the fatty's Monster Refining Gourd, they could give it to me if they wanted to. Even if they didn't want to, I had my ways. Why should I hide and act like a villain?
Thinking about that, I smiled and said, "Chief's words are too serious. I was entrusted by someone to send Yaoyao back, so it can't be considered a favor. However, since Chief has mentioned this matter, I do have something that I would like to ask Chief's help with."
Perhaps it was my straightforward attitude that surprised Chief Qingqiu. "Mister, why don't you tell me about it?"
"I've heard that there's a mystical herb that only grows in Qingqiu's Fox Palace. Does Chief know about it?" I asked directly.
"Seven Star Mugwort?" Chief Qingqiu raised his eyebrows and asked.
The black-robed High Priest, who had been sitting silently by the side, opened his eyes and glanced at me.
Seven Star Mugwort was a precious item. It was reasonable for them to have such a reaction.
I nodded and continued, "I've heard that this mystical herb is a treasure of Qingqiu. I shouldn't covet it, but I have an old friend who is suffering from an incurable disease. He needs the entire Seven Star Mugwort in order to find a chance of survival. I have no choice but to ask for it. Chief, please don't blame me."
Chief Qingqiu frowned. After I finished, he kept silent for a while before replying, "Mister Zhou is right. Our Qingqiu does have such an item.
However, this Seven Star Mugwort is a sacred item of our tribe. It has never been given to outsiders for thousands of years … "
At this point, he muttered to himself, as though he couldn't make up his mind.
I didn't urge him. It wasn't a gentleman's behavior to ask for something precious for no reason. If Qingqiu could give me the Seven Star Mugwort willingly, it would be the best.
If he wasn't willing to give it to me, it would be understandable. I would think of another way. It was up to me to steal or rob it. There was no need to force him.
Just as I was waiting, an old voice suddenly spoke. "Seven Star Mugwort isn't a sacred item. If this young mister needs it, he can take it."
I turned around. I didn't know when the High Priest had stood up, but he was leaning on his walking stick. His dim yellow eyes weren't looking at me. Instead, he was gazing at a clay God statue that was enshrined deep inside the hall.
However, with my cultivation level, it wasn't difficult for me to see it clearly. When I looked closely, I discovered that the statue wasn't a fox like I had imagined. Instead, it was in the shape of a person. However, this person was quite strange. His body was split in the middle. The left side looked as gentle as jade, while the right side was clearly much thicker and covered in dense black hair.
After seeing it clearly, my heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Wasn't this the image I saw when I entered the illusion in the Yinshang Royal Mausoleum?
Why would he appear here?
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. I wanted to take a closer look. However, I could only see a rough outline of the God statue. I couldn't see if the body on the left side was similar to me. Hence, I couldn't determine if this God statue was the same as the one in the Yinshang Royal Mausoleum.
Chief Qingqiu's words interrupted my thoughts. She seemed to have some objections to the high priest's decision. She whispered to the black-robed priest, "The Seven Star Mugwort is a sacrificial item in the ancestral scripture. How can it not be considered a holy item?
If it were given to him … "
The High Priest shook his head without waiting for her to finish her sentence.
It was obvious that the High Priest had high prestige. He merely shook his head, and the silver-haired Chief Qingqiu immediately stopped talking. She didn't dare to argue any further.
After she quietened down, the High Priest spoke again. "This young mister has sent back our Saintess. During the sacrificial ceremony, compared to the Saintess, the mugwort is nothing."
Then, he coughed and asked the Chief Qingqiu to bring me a whole stalk of Seven Star Mugwort.
Even though it was obvious that the silver-haired Chief Qingqiu was unwilling, she didn't dare to go against the High Priest's words. She left with a displeased expression.
Hearing the High Priest mention the word 'Saintess', I had a question in my heart. I couldn't suppress it anymore. After the Chief Qingqiu left, I asked the High Priest, "Previously, I heard someone mention that Yaoyao has the Holy Bloodline of the Qingqiu Clan. Just now, you said that she is the Saintess … Forgive me for my presumptuousness, but what does the Holy Bloodline and Saintess mean?"
The High Priest smiled. He then retracted his gaze from the depths of the hall. He walked two shakily with the help of his walking stick, as though he was stretching his body. As he walked, he replied, "The Holy Bloodline is the Holy Bloodline. Yaoyao has the Holy Bloodline, so naturally, she is the Saintess … Since you know of the Qingqiu Foxes, you must have heard of the Tushan Foxes, right?"
Tushan Foxes?
Naturally, I knew of this.
It was said that during the era of the Three Sovereigns, Yu the Great, who had stabilized the world with his miraculous flood control, had a wife and a daughter, Jiao. She was the daughter of the Tushan Foxes.
When Yu the Great left to control the flood, he missed her so much that he wrote the first love poem in the history of China. There were only four words in the poem — "Waiting for someone."
But what was the relationship between the Tushan Foxes and the Qingqiu Clan?
I nodded and didn't say anything. The High Priest didn't turn around to look at me. He continued to walk as he continued, "The Tushan Foxes aren't a clan. In reality, they are just a branch of the Qingqiu Clan. Because of their noble status, they are known as the Holy Bloodline in our clan.
For thousands of years, our clan's Holy Bloodline has never flourished. In recent years, we have lost our bloodline. So, you bringing the Saintess back to our Qingqiu Clan is indeed a great favor. "
There was such a thing?
I frowned. I wasn't suspecting that the High Priest was lying to me. But if it was true, why didn't Yaoyao's mother tell me about this?
After thinking for a while, I thought of a possibility.
According to Yaoyao's mother, she had run away from here when she was young. She was young and ignorant, so she didn't know about this. After that, she had been wandering outside for many years. Although she had returned once, she had other motives. Perhaps she hadn't even communicated with the people of her clan, so it wasn't inconceivable that she didn't know her own identity.
I courteously said a few words to the High Priest, but the last stone in my heart had been lifted.
With my current power, it wouldn't be difficult to obtain the Seven Star Mugwort. However, if I were to take action, it would be a small matter. If it affected the relationship between Yaoyao and the Qingqiu Clan, it would be a big problem.
Now, the Qingqiu Clan was willing to give me the Seven Star Mugwort. Yaoyao's identity was the Saintess of the Qingqiu Clan. Although she wasn't familiar with the people here, with her identity, she wouldn't be bullied here. Everything on this trip had a perfect ending.
I exhaled and didn't continue talking about Yaoyao's matter. Instead, I pointed at the God statue in the depths of the hall and asked the black-clothed High Priest, "May I know who is being worshiped in this hall?"
The black-clothed High Priest, who had been pacing left and right, stopped when he heard my question. His dim yellow eyes moved to my face. After staring at me for a while, he shifted his gaze and said slowly, "This is the Fox King Palace. The one being worshiped here is naturally the Fox King."
Fox King?
His answer was far beyond what I had expected.
After thinking for a while, I continued to ask, "Forgive me for being presumptuous, but since the one being worshiped here is the Fox King, why isn't he a fox, but a half-human, half-beast body?"
When the black-clothed High Priest heard my question, his expressionless face suddenly wrinkled into a smile before replying, "That's naturally because the Fox King has a half-human, half-beast body."
This was a completely different answer from what I had expected. However, since he had already said so, I was too embarrassed to continue asking why the Fox King had a half-human, half-beast body.
After thinking for a while, I could only awkwardly smile and explain, "To tell you the truth, I've previously seen a similar God statue in another place. That's why I was curious. It's not that I'm disrespecting your noble ancestor."
I had originally thought that after I revealed this information, the black-clothed High Priest would definitely ask me where I had seen such a statue. At that time, I would take the opportunity to get closer to observe and confirm the appearance of the God statue.
Who knew that after I finished speaking, the black-clothed High Priest didn't seem to care at all. He only nodded and said, "It's fine." After that, he didn't say anything else.
This made me feel incredibly awkward. I wanted to continue asking, but I didn't know where to start. If I didn't ask, it would be too much of a pity to give up on something that might be related to my past after so much difficulty.
Just as I was pondering, the Qingqiu High Priest returned from outside the main hall. In his hands was a pale wooden box. The lid of the wooden box was open, and I could clearly see a short green mugwort in the wooden box. The mugwort had a total of seven green leaves, and each green leaf had seven spots of dark silver starlight. Apart from that, the mugwort's roots and branches each had seven spots of starlight, which were much brighter than the ones on the leaves.
What was even more mystical was that there was no soil or water underneath this Seven Star Mugwort. Its roots were embedded into the wooden box, as though it had originally grown there.
Although the Qingqiu High Priest wasn't too happy to give me the Seven Star Mugwort, he didn't dawdle. He directly gave me the entire wooden box and told me, "Although the Seven Star Mugwort can take root and grow in a few seconds after it's plucked, if it isn't necessary, it's best to keep it in this box. That way, the Seven Star Mugwort's spiritual nature can be preserved."
I nodded and took note of it. As I was about to thank him, the black-clothed High Priest didn't wait for me to speak and said, "Young Master, since you've gotten what you want, you should leave.
The Qingqiu High Priest doesn't communicate with humans. It's not convenient for the two of you to stay here. "
Since he had asked me to leave, I couldn't force him to stay. I had to bid farewell and leave the main hall with the fatty.
At this moment, the skinny young man who had brought us here was still waiting at the entrance of the main hall. When he saw us come out, he walked forward and said, "My father asked me to send you away. Please follow me."
The 'father' he had mentioned should be the black-clothed High Priest. Although I didn't see the father and son communicate, the Qingqiu High Priest must have used some secret method to let the skinny young man know that we were leaving.
I nodded and didn't say anything. I just asked him to lead the way.
The way we left was similar to the way we had come. After a few minutes of twisting and turning, we arrived at the big rock where we had come from. The skinny young man didn't say much. After sending us here, he directly bid farewell.
After he left, I looked at the wooden box in my hand and felt that something was wrong. The black-clothed High Priest had sent me away too quickly. Moreover, before I left, I didn't even look at Yaoyao. It didn't seem right to leave just like that.