"Haha, it is a little creepy, isn't it?" Gang Yeshan tried to lightenthe atmosphere after noticing Zhao Yunxiao's strange expression. "It is not every day that you see a statue that bleeds from the eyes."
Due to his relatively young age, Gang Yeshan thought that he had been shocked by the trails of dried blood leading down from the corners of the statue's eyes.
"Do you know the true identity of the... arhat idol?" Zhao Yunxiao asked in return, unable to take his eyes off of the statue.
"I have tried to find that out as well, but I am embarrassed to say that nobody knows the actual identity of this arhat idol. All we know is that the Hei Clan has possessed this statue for a long time now," Gang Yeshan shook her head. "That said, this arhat idol statue has always been regarded as the clan's protective charm, so that only made it all the more shocking that such things are happening to it right now."
"There are many in the clan who believe that this is a sign from the heavens, warning the Hei Clan to stop the Young Master from continuing his reckless ways," Old Ping remarked from behind.
"Old Ping!" Gang Yeshan cautioned, and the middle-aged lady hanged her head low.
Zhao Yunxiao let out a cold chuckle.
Considering Hei Lao's brazen ways, he could imagine why Old Ping and the other clan members would think that. However, that was mere superstition.
And in the first place, this was not even an arhat, like Gang Yeshan and the members of the Hei Clan had come to believe!
The protective charm of a mere Hei Clan? A statue of the Untethered Sage Jiang Taiming?
How did this make any sense?
But if that was not the case, then what exactly was happening here?"
Why would there be a statue of the Untethered Sage here at the Hei Residence?
Was it left behind by the Untethered Sage himself? Or was it just something that others made in his image?
Zhao Yunxiao stepped into the temple and carefully approached the altar at the far end of the chamber. As he got closer, he could feel faint energy waves coming from the statue.
"For it to still be emitting energy even after such a long time has passed, this is a real treasure..." Zhao Yunxiao remarked. "Are there records on how the clan obtained it?"
"Unfortunately, there are no records on how it came into the clan's possession in the past," Gang Yeshan nodded. "As for it being a treasure, that much is undeniable. In fact, this statue has drawn the attention of numerous cultivators coveting it in the past. It's just that nobody has ever managed to take it from this temple by force."
"Nobody managed to do so?" Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. "Have you been fending them off all this while?"
If that was the case, then this Gang Yeshan might be much stronger than she was letting on!
"Hah, you truly overestimate these old bones," Gang Yeshan let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Instead, the arhat idol statue seemed to possess some strange abilities that prevent anyone from taking it. Those who tried have all been forcibly repelled. For some strange reason, those who managed to resist the repelling force actually ended up choosing to leave without taking it along with them."
Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his chin in contemplation.
He did not know just how strong this repelling force was and how it worked. But it would not be too surprising if powerful characters managed to recognise the Untethered Sage, and thus decided not to disrespect the will of whoever left the statue here.
After all, despite his seemingly frivolous ways, the Untethered Sage Jiang Taiming had always been a respected ancient cultivator, hailed for his contributions to the cultivation world!
That aside, seeing the existence of the statue in this city made Zhao Yunxiao feel even more excited about the clues that he had discovered from the Untethered Sage's manuals. He could only hope that the cultivators in the past had only been drawn to the statue by the energy waves it emitted, and not because they had been investigating the message hidden in the manuals like he did.
Zhao Yunxiao quickly pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and started examining the statue more closely.
Now, it was no longer just about finishing up the sect mission. He also wanted to confirm if the statue had any connection to the message that he had been looking into.
Truly curious.
What could have possibly caused this statue to exhibit such ominous signs?
Knowing the true origin of this treasure statue would definitely help in trying to figure that out. What a shame that the Hei Clan had no records on the statue whatsoever.
"Where do you think we should start, Young Hero?" Gang Yeshan asked.
"Let's start with the ritual for curse purification," Zhao Yunxiao suggested.
"...I understand," Gang Yeshan said. "I will get the servants to purchase the materials required for the rites immediately."
"Mm," Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
At that moment, two loud bangs came from the direction of the gate, followed by some aggressive loud shouting.
Bang-! Bang-!
"Get out here, dog with the surname Hei!"
"Not again..." Gang Yeshan let out a deep sigh.
"You don't seem too surprised," Zhao Yunxiao asked. Of course, he had a fairly good idea as to what was happening as well.
That Hei Lao must have brought some trouble back home. What a surprise.
"My apologies, but there seem to be some slight disturbances that I would have to tend to right now. Would it be possible for Young Hero to take a break in one of our rooms for the time being?" Gang Yeshan asked.
"Sure, don't worry about it," Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
He would rather not stay at the Hei Residence for long, but he could also understand why Gang Yeshan was uncomfortable with letting him remain here at the temple alone. Even though nobody had managed to take the statue with them in the past, that did not discount the fact that they did try to do so.
As a cultivator as well, even if he was from the prestigious Black Tortoise Sect, there was still a chance that he might also be tempted to do so. In fact, being from the Black Tortoise Sect might even arm him with the means to do what others failed to achieve in the past.
Rather than risk something like that, it was understandable that Gang Yeshan would like to be around when Zhao Yunxiao examined the statue.
Of course, Zhao Yunxiao could try insisting on staying at the temple, but that would probably sound off even more alarm bells in Gang Yeshan's head. To get this mission over and done with as soon as possible – that would be tough to attain if the mission requestor herself started guarding against him.
As for helping Gang Yeshan to resolve the situation fast, that was certainly not an option. The last thing that he wanted was to risk getting directly involved with the prodigal Hei Lao!
"Thank you for your understanding. Old Ping, bring the young hero to his room," Gang Yeshan instructed.
"Yes, Granny Gang," Old Ping was as obedient as could be, completely unlike her arrogant self back when he first saw her.
It did not take long before Zhao Yunxiao found himself in a beautiful chamber not far from the temple – one that combined the elements of jade and oak. This room alone was already larger than his residence back on Purple Plum Mountain, adorned with beautiful paintings and intricate carvings on the pillars.
More importantly, the room was not soundproof.
Even as he sat at the table and sipped on his tea, he could hear the loud commotion coming all the way from the gate of the Hei Residence. Of course, it definitely helped that several participants were shouting at the top of their voices as well.
"You dog! Thousand Autumn City is not a place where you can just do as you please! Walking straight into my business establishment to poach my staff... do you really think that I will just sit back and do nothing about that?"
"What I am doing is completely legal. If you are not happy, go ahead and lodge a complaint with the city lord!"
"Am I stupid? Who doesn't know that your Hei Clan is in cahoots with the city lord?"
"Do you know how much trouble you are getting into just by saying that?"
"And do you think I care? If you have already decided to go this far, what more do I have to lose?"
"Gentlemen, please calm down and let's talk things through in a civilised manner."
"Granny Gang, it is not that I don't want to calm down, but your Young Master has really gone too far this time! I'm sorry, but I can no longer let things rest just on your account!"
"And? I just like to go too far, especially when it comes to dealing with you. What can you do about it?"
"Since I have decided to come today, I am not intending to leave with just a simple sparring of words. Guys, do it!"
"Do you think I am afraid just because you brought a couple dozen men with pickaxes? Do your worst!"
"Wait, what do you think you are doing? Gentlemen, calm down!"
Zhao Yunxiao furrowed his brows. It sounded like the confrontation, which had started off in a purely verbal manner, was escalating into a physical one.
Yet as curious as he was, he refrained from extending his spiritual sense towards the gate. There was a chance that Gang Yeshan might detect his actions, and he did not want to be seen as wanting to get involved in the Hei Clan's matters.
However, what happened next fell into his detection range even without him having to deliberately observe the Hei Residence entrance.
Boom-!
A concentrated blast of energy suddenly shot out from within the temple, mysteriously finding its way past winding corridors as it headed straight towards the entrance.
As his room was located near the temple, Zhao Yunxiao noticed this immediately.
He widened his eyes in shock, quickly gauging the strength of this energy blast as it shot past the outside of his room. It might not be extraordinarily powerful, but it was still not something that ordinary mortals could resist!
"Aaaahhh!"
Loud screams.
Followed by the sounds of metal tools hitting the ground.
"Hahaha! Didn't you talk a big game earlier? What? Is this all you've got? You called me a dog earlier? Well, who are the dogs sprawled around on the ground now?"
Zhao Yunxiao felt his heart race.
He might not have been there to witness what happened at the gate with his eyes, but it was not difficult to guess what just happened either. Now, it was just a matter of whether he could bring himself to believe it.
At this point, Gang Yeshan's earlier words resurfaced in his mind.
This arhat idol statue has always been regarded as the clan's protective charm.
Those who tried have all been forcibly repelled. For some strange reason, those who managed to resist the repelling force actually ended up choosing to leave without taking it along with them.
From the looks of it, this statue of the Untethered Sage was not only preventing others from taking it away, but also going as far as preventing others from harming the entire Hei Residence!
He did not know what kind of treasure this was or who left it here.
What he did know was that not even the inner disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect would have been able to create something like this easily!
On top of that, the energy blast earlier might be able to overpower ordinary mortals easily, but it was definitely far from enough to repel the many cultivators who had eyed the statue in the past.
In that case, was it varying the strength of its energy output according to who it was dealing with?
In other words... was the statue sentient?
Zhao Yunxiao felt a chill run down his spine.
If the statue really possessed its own sentience, things could become a lot more complicated.
Should it be an independent treasure spirit, then Zhao Yunxiao would still not be too worried. But considering the form that it took, there was even a slim chance that it could be a wisp of the Untethered Sage's remnant will!
Chances of that were low considering how the Untethered Sage was not known to be affiliated with any factions or left any descendants behind. However, low was not equal to zero.
And for someone on the level of the Untethered Sage, a simple flick of the finger would already be more than enough to send Zhao Yunxiao straight to the afterlife. Even if it was just a single wisp of his remnant will, it was still not something that Zhao Yunxiao could hope to resist.
But at the same time, this further increased the possibility of the statue being connected to the hidden message that the Untethered Sage had left behind!
If that was indeed the case, then this was something that he should definitely try to make use of.
Not good. He had forgotten to pay his respects to the statue earlier!
Knock-! Knock-!
"Young Hero, this is Gang Yeshan. My apologies for the disturbance. If you are ready, shall we return to the temple?"
Zhao Yunxiao quickly straightened his clothes and controlled his expression before proceeding to open the door.
"Let's go. We have a long day ahead of us."