Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

For six years, he had believed it was just a sudden monster riot.

The sixteen lives lost at Qingshiyi were simply due to bad luck; they just happened to be caught in a disaster.

But only today did he realize that someone had been orchestrating the disaster from the very beginning.

Those people used the entire Qing Shi Post Station as a testing ground for the formation, and they also used the lives of the seventeen of them to verify whether the formation was effective.

Qin Lie looked at him for a while, then raised his hand and patted his shoulder again.

"The formation has been destroyed, but the people who killed them are still alive. What you need to do now is to survive and find those people as soon as possible. Once you find them, don't let any of them go. Use their lives to atone for the deaths at Qing Shi Yi."

Zhao Tieshan slowly raised his head and glanced at Qin Lie.

After a moment, he nodded vigorously.

"The adult is right."

The group rested for a while, and after Zhao Tieshan had regained some strength, they headed back to Qing Shi Yi.

By the time they returned to the post station, it was already fully light.

The wild beasts in the forest that had been affected by the demonic energy had long since dispersed, and the demonic energy that had been shrouding the area was gradually fading, finally reducing the oppressive feeling in the air.

As soon as Zhao Tieshan entered the courtyard, the first thing he did was head towards the backyard.

He stopped in front of the locked room and reached for the key at his waist.

Qin Lie, observing Zhao Tieshan's actions, naturally knew what he was going to do.

However, he did not follow.

Gu Qianji sat at the door, head down, fiddling with the bronze plaque he had found on the man in black robes.

The bronze plaque was only the size of a palm, and its surface was covered with intricate patterns.

Gu Qianji would occasionally tap the surface, then frown and ponder for a while, muttering something under his breath.

On the other side, Xu Qinghe sat quietly on the steps.

The Soul Sealing Book was placed on her lap, containing the sealed souls of many demonic beasts.

The pages of the book would occasionally bulge slightly, as if something wanted to burst out. Every now and then, she would reach out and press the Soul Sealing Book, and the restless pages would quickly quiet down again.

Qin Lie sat down next to her and glanced at the Soul Sealing Book.

"How badly are you hurt?"

Xu Qinghe looked up at Qin Lie, her gaze quickly falling on his blood-soaked left arm.

"I'm fine, you should worry about yourself first."

Qin Lie followed her gaze and looked down. The wound on his left arm was still slowly bleeding, but he just smiled.

"It's nothing, just superficial injuries."

Xu Qinghe raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Can a superficial wound keep bleeding?"

As she spoke, she took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and handed it over directly.

"Apply the medicine yourself."

Qin Lie reached out and took the porcelain bottle, opened it, and smelled it. A faint medicinal fragrance immediately wafted out.

Thanks.

Xu Qinghe replied calmly.

"Keep accounts."

Qin Lie was just about to pour the medicine onto the wound when he heard those two words, and he immediately stopped.

"Seriously? This little bit of medicine has to be charged to the bill?"

Xu Qinghe nodded.

"Everything that comes out of my hands must be recorded."

She spoke with such seriousness that it didn't seem like she was joking at all.

"Think about it yourself, what have I been doing all this way?"

Qin Lie thought about it carefully.

Xu Qinghe, in her normal state, seemed to always be writing and making notes in a notebook. After all this time, it turned out she was just keeping accounts.

Thinking of this, Qin Lie was too lazy to argue any further, so he could only shake his head and obediently apply the medicine to himself.

After studying it for a long time, Gu Qianji finally put the bronze plaque back into his pocket.

He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over Qin Lie and Xu Qinghe, his expression much more serious than before.

"We need to hurry."

Qin Lie was slightly taken aback.

"Leave now?"

Gu Qianji nodded.

"We have to go."

"They already know we've arrived at Qing Shi Yi. Now that the news has spread, they could send someone over at any time."

"A person capable of setting up such a killing formation would not have only this much preparation. This time, only the person who set up the formation came; next time, the person who will actually be in charge of cleaning up the mess might come."

"Staying here is too risky."

Qin Lie and Xu Qinghe exchanged a glance.

Although Gu Qianji's speech is often unreliable, his judgment in matters like this is always very accurate.

The two nodded in agreement with Gu Qianji's decision almost without hesitation.

At this moment, Zhao Tieshan also came out from the backyard.

His eyes were still a little red, but his expression was much more relaxed than before. Seeing Qin Lie and the others packing their things, he paused for a moment, then walked over.

"Gentlemen, are you leaving already? Why not stay a little longer and get some rest?"

Qin Lie put the Shattered Snow Blade back on his back and checked his belongings again.

"We already had a mission to complete, and we've already spent the night here. Now it's time to continue our journey."

After listening, Zhao Tieshan nodded and did not try to persuade him further.

He turned and went back into the kitchen, only to come out again a while later.

He held a few dry biscuits and a small piece of dried meat in his hand, carefully wrapped in a clean cloth.

"There's nothing good left at the post station. If you gentlemen don't mind, please take it with you to eat on the road."

Qin Lie did not refuse and reached out to take it.

He weighed the cloth bag in his hand, then looked up at Zhao Tieshan.

"Once we reach the next town, we'll report the incident at Qing Shi Yi. We'll also report the attack from six years ago and have them continue the investigation."

Zhao Tieshan remained silent for a long while after hearing this.

Then, he grinned.

The half-ruined face appeared somewhat stiff with this movement, but the smile was much more relaxed than before.

"Thank you very much, sir. It would be best if you could find it, but it's alright if you can't."

He glanced back at Qing Shi Yi.

"Although my master and the others are all gone, I am still here. No matter what happened six years ago, my duties are not over yet, and this post station must be guarded by someone."

Gu Qianji had already led the horse out of the stable.

Upon hearing Zhao Tieshan's words, he casually adjusted the reins.

"Don't go to the back mountain again. The mine has completely collapsed, and there's still a lot of demonic energy left inside. With your physical condition, if you encounter something, you might not be able to come out alive like this time."

Zhao Tieshan nodded seriously.

"I understand, thank you for reminding me, sir."

Qin Lie and his two companions mounted their horses.

The horse's hooves trod across the muddy ground in front of the post station, slowly moving into the distance.

Qin Lie turned around and waved his hand, then followed Gu Qianji and Xu Qinghe on their way.

Zhao Tieshan stood at the entrance of the post station, watching the three figures grow smaller and smaller in the distance.

Only after he could no longer see it did he slowly clasp his hands in that direction.

"Thank you for your help, gentlemen."

This was said very softly.

But he knew very well that if Qin Lie and the others hadn't passed through Qing Shi Yi, he might never have known the truth about the disaster six years ago.

He will continue to treat that incident as an accident.

He continued to guard those memorial tablets alone, guarding the post station that no one had passed by for a long time, not even knowing who he should hate.

Zhao Tieshan stood at the door for a while before turning back.

He was about to clean up the room where Qin Lie and the others had stayed. But as soon as he opened the door, he stopped in his tracks.

There was plenty of food on the table.

There was dry food, dried meat, and two unopened jugs of wine.

There were several silver ingots neatly placed beside him, enough for him to renovate Qing Shi Post Station and enough for him to live a stable life for a long time.

There was a piece of paper under the silver ingot.

Zhao Tieshan walked over and picked up the paper.

The handwriting wasn't particularly good, but the content was very clear.

"Live well. When we get back from Zhenyao Pass, we'll tell you how the investigation into what happened six years ago is going. Don't worry, now that we've run into this, we definitely won't stand idly by."

Zhao Tieshan stared at those few lines of text, remaining motionless for a long time.

For six years, he felt that he was just lucky to have survived.

Sometimes I even wonder, why did so many people die at Qing Shi Yi, and why was he the only one left behind, a cripple?

He stayed at the post station, cleaning the empty rooms and dusting the memorial tablets, simply because he felt he had to do something.

As long as they remain here, their names will not be completely forgotten.

But at this moment, something he had never dared to think about before suddenly came to mind.

Perhaps the events of six years ago can really be investigated and clarified.

Perhaps those who died will not be forever regarded as unlucky victims in an ordinary monster attack.

Perhaps one day, someone will find the killer hiding behind the scenes and write down the names and experiences of those people.

Zhao Tieshan slowly sat down at the table, still clutching the paper in his hand.

Two lines of tears slid down her cheeks, one flowing over the undamaged half of her face, and the other into the numb scars.

He didn't raise his hand to wipe it; he just lowered his head and looked at the few words on the paper again and again.

After a long while, he finally nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, sir, I'll wait for you to come back."

After leaving Qingshi Post Station, Qin Lie and his two companions continued their journey north.

After walking for more than ten miles, Gu Qianji finally pulled on the reins and looked back at Qin Lie and Xu Qinghe.

"For the rest of the journey, let's try to avoid staying at inns. We also need to change our route frequently, taking detours whenever possible, so that no one can figure out where we're going."

Qin Lie, mounted on his horse, frowned slightly as he listened.

"So, you're saying we'll have to sleep in the wilderness from now on?"

Gu Qianji nodded.

"There's no other way. We'll travel as far as we can, and if we're too tired to walk anymore, we'll find a secluded place to rest for the night."

Qin Lie glanced at the increasingly dense forests on both sides of the road.

"Where there are no people, there are often monsters. Aren't you afraid that something will carry you away while you're asleep at night?"

Gu Qianji rolled her eyes.

"Come on, that's true. It's true that you're more likely to run into monsters in deserted places, but sometimes monsters are easier to deal with. If they dare to show themselves, just cut them down. It saves you the trouble of guessing what they're up to."

After listening, Qin Lie nodded seriously.

"I never expected that you, an old man, could occasionally say something so reasonable."

Gu Qianji glanced at him sideways, a hint of surprise on her face.

"Oh, so you actually agree with me now?"

Qin Lie nodded as a matter of course.

"That's absolutely true. People's hearts are full of hidden thoughts and schemes; who knows what they'll do next? Demons are much simpler. Just kill them when you see them, and then it's all over."

Gu Qianji did not respond after hearing this.

He took out his wine gourd from his pocket and shook it twice by his ear.

The gourd was completely empty, without making a sound, and a hint of regret appeared on his face.

"What a pity. I didn't even have time to finish Zhao Tieshan's half-jar of wine before I was dragged off to deal with things in the mine."

Gu Qianji shook the wine gourd a couple more times, feeling increasingly distressed as he listened.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have taken the last bit of liquor with me when I left. Now look what's happened, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and we don't even have a drink to our hearts' content."

Qin Lie was speechless for a moment.

"We almost died in the mine just now, and you're still thinking about a few drinks?"

Gu Qianji hung the empty wine gourd back on his waist, his expression completely calm.

"Is it the same to almost die and to actually die? We're still alive and well, so we should enjoy life while we can."

Qin Lie glanced at him.

"What if you're really drunk and then run into a killing formation ahead?"

Gu Qianji pursed his lips.

"Even when I'm drunk, my mind is clearer than yours. If it weren't for me in the mine, you'd still be buried under the rocks right now."

Qin Lie also curled his lip, too lazy to listen to his boasting anymore.

However, after walking a distance, he still reached out and touched the demon-suppressing bell at his waist, took out a gourd full of wine, and threw it at Gu Qianji.

This gourd of strong liquor was given to him by Li Hu before he left, who said he should keep it to relieve fatigue on the road.

Qin Lie hadn't been willing to drink any of it the whole way, but unexpectedly, Gu Qianji ended up getting the benefit first.

Gu Qianji was initially a bit listless, but his eyes immediately lit up when he saw the wine gourd flying over.

He caught it steadily, uncorked it, took a sniff, and couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

"Good, you're really good, kid. I knew I hadn't misjudged you. I knew it! People who look good are usually kind-hearted."

Qin Lie waved his hand.

"Alright, that's enough. You never say the truth when you see alcohol. Just drink yours."

There was really no need for him to urge them.

No sooner had Gu Qianji finished speaking than the wine gourd was brought to his lips.

He tilted his head back and took a big gulp of the spicy liquor down his throat, and his whole face relaxed.

"This liquor is incredibly strong!"

Gu Qianji wiped his mouth, looked down at the wine gourd in his hand, and nodded repeatedly.

"Good wine, truly good wine."

After leaving Qingshiyi, the three continued their journey north.

Gu Qianji was the oldest, and his strength and knowledge were the highest among the three, but he had no intention of leading the team at all.

Aside from occasionally looking up to check the direction, he spent most of his time studying the array plate that he had taken from the man in black robes.

Xu Qinghe rarely spoke.

She rode at the very back of the procession, keeping the Soul Sealing Book in her hand the whole time.

Every so often she would walk a short distance, she would look down and examine the sealed demon souls inside.

Occasionally, he would reach out and press down on the pages of the book, presumably slowly processing the demonic beast souls he had previously collected.

As a result, many things ended up falling on Qin Lie's shoulders.

Which direction to go, when to stop and rest, and how to detour around forks in the road—all these decisions ultimately rest with him.

This made Qin Lie very uncomfortable. After all, when he followed Lu Chen before, he only needed to follow orders and draw his sword to kill monsters when they encountered them. He didn't have to worry about anything else.

But things are different now.

One of them was only focused on studying formations, and the other was only focused on fiddling with the Soul Sealing Book. He had to consider everything, big or small, first.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened in the next day or two.

To avoid potential pursuers, they avoided the official roads and instead took detours through the mountains and forests.

Although the speed was a bit slower, nothing strange happened again.

That day, Gu Qianji rode on horseback, still holding the array plate in his hand.

He first looked at it in the sunlight for a few moments, then turned it over to examine the patterns on the back carefully. After looking at it for a while, he would mutter a few words to himself, and occasionally raise his hand to gesture the pattern in the air.

The horse beneath him became agitated by his shaking, snorting a few times and shaking its head a couple of times.

Gu Qianji looked down and glared at it.

"Can you please be quiet? I'm trying to think, and you're interrupting my train of thought."

The horse shook its head again, but its pace slowed down even more.

Qin Lie couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this.

"Old Gu, what kind of logic is that to a horse? Is this your first time riding a horse?"

Gu Qianji didn't even look up, and replied irritably.

"Stop talking nonsense, kid. I've crossed more bridges than you've walked roads, how could I not have ridden a horse?"

Qin Lie looked at him and asked seriously.

"Then could you please tell me, what's the difference between riding a horse and walking?"

Without a second thought, Gu Qianji replied, "What difference could there be? One requires using legs, and the other doesn't."

Qin Lie immediately clapped his hands.

"Wow, I didn't expect Old Gu to be so quick-witted, he immediately noticed the difference between the two."

Gu Qianji then realized what was happening and grabbed a piece of dry food, throwing it at him.

"Get lost, you little brat, are you making fun of me?"

Qin Lie reached out and caught the dry rations, took a bite, and said indistinctly, "We're just passing the time on the road, aren't we? Let's chat."

After he finished speaking, he took another sip of water, and then asked a question as if it were just a casual remark.

"By the way, Lao Gu, were you once a member of the Demon Suppression Division?"

Gu Qianji finally looked away from the array plate and glanced at Qin Lie.

"Why do you think that? Does knowing formations necessarily mean you're a member of the Demon Suppression Division?"

Qin Lie swallowed the dry rations in his mouth before continuing, "It's not that knowing formations necessarily means you're a member of the Demon Suppression Division, but there probably aren't many formation masters outside, right?"

"People like you are already considered exceptional talents, and all the major powers would definitely be willing to spend a lot of money to recruit you."

"Besides, in all my years of life, I've only ever seen one array master like you. Doesn't that show how rare array masters are?"

After listening, Gu Qianji did not respond, but simply lowered his head and continued to study the array plate in his hand.

Qin Lie waited for a while, and seeing that he still didn't speak, he urged him again.

"Is it true or not? Please give me a straight answer."

Gu Qianji was getting a little impatient with his questions.

"No, I wasn't a member of the Demon Suppression Division before."

After listening, Qin Lie nodded instead.

"Hmm, there's definitely something wrong with that answer so quickly."

Gu Qianji glared at him immediately.

"Hey, you're really hard to please. If I answer slowly, you think I'm guilty; if I answer quickly, you think there's something wrong. If you already have the answer in your heart, then do it your own way and stop asking me."

Seeing that he was getting impatient, Qin Lie quickly smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't be angry, I just want to hear the truth."

Gu Qianji lowered her head again and replied irritably.

"What I just said is the truth."

Seeing Gu Qianji's impatient look, Qin Lie didn't press the matter further. He raised his hand, patted the Demon-Suppressing Token at his waist, and took out a gourd of wine from it.

Gu Qianji, who had been full of resentment, immediately changed his expression upon seeing the wine gourd.

He quickly put away the array plate in his hand and looked at Qin Lie with a big smile.

"Look at you, kid, all you know how to do is use this trick. If you want to know what's going on, why don't you just bring out the wine? Why do you have to beat around the bush and waste all my breath?"

Qin Lie raised his hand and threw the wine gourd over.

"Let's get this straight: once you've had a few drinks, you have to tell the truth. Don't try to fool me with all that nonsense."

Gu Qianji caught the gourd steadily, pulled out the stopper, and took a sip.

After the strong liquor went down his throat, he squinted his eyes and savored the taste for a while, a look of great satisfaction appearing on his face.

"When I was young, I did spend a few years at the Demon Suppression Pass, but I wasn't a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau at that time."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lie immediately became interested and rode his horse closer to Gu Qianji.

"Then what were you doing at Zhenyao Pass back then? You couldn't have been fighting alongside the garrison, could you? With your build, you don't look like someone who could wield a sword and slay demons."

Gu Qianji took another small sip of wine and replied calmly.

"sweep the floor."

Qin Lie waited a moment, and seeing that he did not continue, his expression became somewhat speechless.

"A guy who sweeps the streets at Zhenyao Pass becomes a master of formations? Old Gu, are you kidding me? If you don't want to talk about it, fine, but we've already drunk the wine. If you're still going to play these tricks on me, then it's no fun."

Gu Qianji, holding the wine gourd, slowly glanced at him.

"I'm not kidding you. Back when I was at the Demon Suppression Pass, I was just a floor sweeper. It's just that I'm smart and can learn formations faster than ordinary people, which is how I acquired my later skills."

Qin Lie curled his lip, his face full of disbelief.

"According to you, it's a real waste of your talents to have you sweeping the floors at Zhenyao Pass."

After listening, Gu Qianji nodded very seriously.

"You think so too, kid? I've said it before, those years really did hold me back. If I had gotten into array formations earlier and found a capable person to teach me properly, my achievements today would definitely be much greater."

Qin Lie opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

He originally just wanted to make a few sarcastic remarks to Gu Qianji, but who knew that the old man didn't understand the meaning at all, and even praised himself in line with his words.

He'd seen people with thick skin before, but this was the first time he'd ever seen anyone this shameless.