Urban Martial Saint

Shijia completely ignored Ye Qing’s words and turned around to run. Ye Qing was about to chase after him, but Shen Tianjun and the others had already rushed down from the mountain.

”Ye Qing, stop!” Huang Yidao shouted loudly as soon as he came down.

Hearing Huang Yidao’s tone, Ye Qing immediately frowned. It seemed Huang Yidao was coming down to cause trouble again.

”What’s the matter?” Ye Qing turned and asked.

Huang Yidao said sternly, ”Let me ask you, did you receive some kind of information beforehand, or did you use some cheating method to pass the second level?”

”Information? Cheating?” Ye Qing frowned and said, ”What are you talking about? I don’t understand your words.”

”Are you still pretending to be ignorant with me?” Huang Yidao said sternly, ”These three wooden plaques were hidden very carefully, and can only be found using a map. If you didn’t know the location of these plaques beforehand, how could you find them in such a big mountain? But you found two pieces effortlessly without piecing together the map. Does that mean you cheated?”

Huang Yidao’s words received the support of most people. After all, this task was a result of everyone’s discussion, meaning it was arranged on the spot. Only a few people knew the location of the wooden plaques, and they understood how difficult it was to find them by chance.

It was understandable for Ye Qing to find one wooden plaque by luck, since luck couldn’t be explained. But finding two plaques in a row made people suspect Ye Qing might be cheating.

Prince Nalan was also staring at Ye Qing, filled with confusion, not understanding how Ye Qing found the wooden plaques.

Shen Tianjun said, ”Huang, maybe Ye Qing has some special method. Why are you so worked up? Ask him clearly before speaking!”

”Yeah, whether he’s cheating or not is none of your business! Your son didn’t even pass the first level, so why are you worrying so much?” Shijia interjected, looking as if he wanted chaos everywhere, ”I say, you should just leave quickly. What are you bossing around for? This is Shen Family Manor, not your Old Huang’s kennel!”

”You...” Huang Yidao was furious, but after seeing Joyous Monk beside him, he swallowed his words and pointed angrily at Shijia, ”How can you speak so uncivilly? Are you a monk?”

”Absolutely a monk!” Shijia touched his own face, ”Of course, I know my handsome appearance makes many doubt my monk identity. But I can clearly tell you, Buddha Master is indeed a monk!”

Everyone looked at Shijia, all simultaneously showing disdain, as if they all cooperated perfectly at this moment.

”Ye Qing, please explain.” Shen Tianjun turned to Ye Qing, ”How did you find these wooden plaques without using the map?”

Ye Qing nodded and stepped forward, ”Before that, I want to ask everyone a question. What exactly is a map?”

”Isn’t it obvious? A map is definitely something that shows the terrain!” Huang Yidao said, ”Stop rambling, say something specific.”

”Exactly, a map shows the terrain. On the map, we mark various terrains. However, the terrain is vast, and the map is small, it’s impossible to show all terrains completely. Therefore, what’s drawn on the map are representative and prominent features, so people can quickly see them.” Ye Qing paused and said, ”However, after getting a map, how do we read it, and how do we determine the directions around us?”

”It’s clearly marked on the map, why ask?” Huang Yidao wondered.

”Yes, it is clearly marked on the map. But how is it marked?” Ye Qing smiled and said, ”When I was in the army, sometimes I needed to draw marching maps. These maps can’t be drawn randomly; at least one must choose a reference point. For example, starting from a specific place, mark the name, and then proceed to draw. This way, people can know what each location on the map represents and which places we have traveled through.”

Everyone nodded, Shen Tianjun said, ”Not only marching maps, other maps are the same; they need reference points; otherwise, maps can’t be drawn.”

”So what?” Northern Martial Zen said coldly, ”Ye Qing, you said so much, but you still haven’t explained how you found those two wooden plaques!”

”It’s quite simple,” Ye Qing said, ”These three wooden plaques are hidden, and since there’s a map, a reference point must be selected while drawing it. Generally, the reference point should be something very obvious and unique, otherwise it can’t serve as a reference point.”

Ye Qing spoke, and pointed towards the mountain behind him, ”On such a mountain, how many special and noticeable things can there be? How many can be chosen as reference points? Drawing a map certainly involves selecting such noticeable items as reference points, otherwise how can a map be drawn? Like the oak tree hiding the first wooden plaque, the entire mountain has only that single oak tree, extremely prominent. If I were to choose, I would definitely use this oak tree as a reference point to draw the map.”

The crowd was stunned. Ye Qing’s explanation enlightened them all. They never thought there could be such a method; they always planned to find and piece together the map, not thinking of using the reference points first.

”There are so many trees on the mountain; how are you sure we would choose the oak tree? What if we chose another tree?” Huang Yidao said, ”Anyway, it could be a reference point; who said it has to be fixed?”

”You won’t choose another tree.” Ye Qing shook his head, ”To choose, you must pick something representative and outstanding. If choosing an ordinary tree, widespread everywhere, the map would be useless. Selecting such a tree as a reference point is pointless; I might as well search the mountain inch by inch; it might even be easier.”

Huang Yidao thought carefully and indeed found it reasonable. However, he still felt unwilling and said, ”How did you know there was a wooden plaque hidden near the oak tree? What if we hid the plaque somewhere else? You must have known something beforehand!”

”Elder Huang, look at this mountain closely,” Ye Qing said, ”Besides those seven roads, there are no other paths. The entire mountain is filled with trees, and the trails are treacherous. In such forested surroundings, one can easily get lost if not careful. Even with a map, can you guarantee you won’t get lost and can walk accurately according to the map routes?”

”Well...” Huang Yidao murmured, he had walked such trails and knew it was impossible. Walking in the forest, with identical surroundings, even with a map, was useless as one could easily drift off course.

”In such forested areas, a map isn’t very useful. So, if things were hidden slightly further away, even with a map, finding the wooden plaques would be difficult,” Ye Qing said, ”Therefore, I’m sure the wooden plaques are hidden near the reference points. Only this way can one easily find the plaques after getting the map. The so-called map merely allows everyone to find these obvious reference points. I wonder, am I right in saying this?”

”Hahaha...” Shen Tianjun laughed and said, ”Your guess is completely correct, we discussed this before. These wooden plaques can’t be hidden too remotely; otherwise, no one would find them. So, we hid them in some obvious places, and the three maps mark these prominent spots, which means the reference points you speak of.”

”That’s right!” Ye Qing nodded, ”Actually, finding the first wooden plaque relied more on guessing. But after finding the first plaque, it confirmed my guess was correct, so I was confident in finding the remaining plaques. I climbed that huge rock to see how many unique and noticeable things were on this mountain; the wooden plaques must be hidden near these places. Standing high up, one can clearly see them. Finding one by one is easier than searching for map fragments all over the mountain. Emperor Heaven truly rewards the diligent, I found another wooden plaque!”

Looking at the wooden plaque in Ye Qing’s hand, everyone showed different expressions: some in a daze, some envious, even some resentful. But regardless of their expressions, one thing remained unchanged, everyone was deeply shocked by Ye Qing’s method of finding the wooden plaques.

Ye Qing effortlessly passed the first level, leaving many in doubt, thinking he might have received information beforehand. But this second level was a result of collective discussion, and none received information. Yet Ye Qing still found such a simple method, easily passing this level. This forced everyone to conclude Ye Qing truly possesses superior wisdom and didn’t use any cheating.

Shijia turned to Huang Yidao, shouting loudly, ”Surname Huang, do you have anything else to say?”

Huang Yidao didn’t look directly at Shijia, he truly had nothing to say. Ye Qing explained everything thoroughly, leaving no loopholes, saying anything else would be mere sophistry.

”So, does anyone have questions about this level?” Shen Tianjun smiled slightly, ”What thoughts do everyone have on the third level?”

Everyone turned their eyes to Helian Tiehua and Prince Nalan. Now only their heirs and Ye Qing remained, so any thoughts were matters between them.