After the Head of the South Ridge Celestial Bureau appeared, he first looked at the barrier gap ahead, frowning deeply.

“Did the fairy not catch that monster just now?”

Qin Ruqing replied, “It was just a swift and cunning great demon; I accidentally let it escape.”

The South Ridge Celestial Bureau Fifth Ziyan said gravely, “To escape from the hands of Fairy Qin, it must be a demon king-level monster.”

This was not false flattery.

It was well known that Qin Ruqing had defeated the Transcending Stage ancestors.

In the cultivation world, Transcending Stage were equivalent to demon king-level monsters in the beast world.

The Head of the South Ridge Celestial Bureau’s attitude towards Qin Ruqing had changed drastically.

In the past, Qin Ruqing had seen him as a towering mountain.

Now, even the mountain had to bow to Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing was still thinking about the Wolf King’s words while distractedly responding to the Head of the South Ridge Celestial Bureau, “Hmm, it should be. It seems that the level of demons coming through the beast world into the southern dense forest is getting higher. Let’s clear the area around here.”

Fifth Ziyan naturally agreed.

Their mission this time was precisely this.

Qin Ruqing had two purposes for returning to the South Ridge.

One was to persuade her second uncle, Qin Dehao, to return to the clan and smoothly transfer the position of the South Ridge Qin family leader to Cheng Yiming.

The second was to assist the South Ridge Celestial Bureau in surveying the beast situation in the southern primitive forest.

There had once been a gap leading to the beast world in the southern primitive forest, discovered by Qin Ruqing and later repaired by the Celestial Bureau.

Now, this gap had open again.

Moreover, it wasn’t the only one.

According to information from the Song family, problems had arisen with the barriers in all four domains to varying degrees.

Even the northern domain, closest to the passageway barrier, had experienced a small-scale beast tide, which was reportedly suppressed by the Sword Sect.

The southern forest was another trouble spot, precisely in the territory under the Qin family’s supervision.

Although the main branch of the Qin family had moved away, the branch still had the responsibility of maintaining local security.

When the Qin family received the news, they had originally planned to send an elder.

However, upon hearing the news, Qin Ruqing, for some reason, decided to come in person.

Qin Ruqing never embarked on a mission with just one purpose.

On the surface, she seemed to be cooperating with the Celestial Bureau, and secondly, to pick up Qin Dehao.

But the underlying reason was to find the Wolf King.

After the battle at the Void Realm, she had been particularly interested in this seemingly unusual beast.

She suspected that he would sneak into the human world again.

As for the location, it was still the place of their initial encounter—

She had specifically asked the Celestial Bureau about the Wolf King’s companion, the little fox.

The little fox had been recorded and monitored by the Celestial Bureau.

After the Wolf King left, the little fox had not moved away from the southern dense forest.

If the Wolf King was going to return, he would have to pass through the southern primitive forest.

Sure enough, this overly affectionate and somewhat naive Wolf King had indeed “reconciled” with the little fox.

This matched Qin Ruqing’s assessment of this beast.

Everything went smoothly, and after assisting the Celestial Bureau with the forest cleanup last night, Qin Ruqing left a final message:

“Recently, Director should be more vigilant. The barriers everywhere are experiencing anomalies; the world might not be peaceful for long…”

The Head of the South Ridge Celestial Bureau Fifth Ziyan sighed deeply, “Indeed, who says otherwise!”

Qin Ruqing returned to the South Ridge Qin family, this familiar old place.

As for persuading Qin Dehao, it was needless to say.

Qin Dehao’s insistence on staying in the South Ridge was essentially due to his apprehension of her, fearing she might hold a grudge against old grievances and actively avoiding suspicion.

Now that Qin Ruqing had personally come to “invite” him, Qin Dehao, who was already in a state of panic, didn’t dare to refuse.

After quickly settling matters with Qin Dehao, Qin Ruqing called for Cheng Yiming.

This time, when returning to the Southern Ridge, she had specifically brought Cheng Yiming along.

The reason was:

“The branch here in the Southern Ridge will now be under your control. I’ll ask you one more time—are you truly willing to give up your career in the Eastern Domain to return to the Southern Ridge and become the branch leader?” Qin Ruqing sat at the head of the table, looking at the young man standing below.

The young man was about half a head taller than Qin Ruqing, which was quite tall because Qin Ruqing herself was taller than most male cultivators.

Dressed in a white robe with a headpiece, his handsome features carried a flirtatious charm, the most striking being the red vertical line on his forehead.

That was his Heavenly Eye.

Once, his ancestors had instructed him to cultivate the art of divination.

Later, guided by Qin Ruqing, Cheng Yiming’s Heavenly Eye had achieved some small success.

Cheng Yiming slightly bowed and replied without hesitation, “Thanks to Miss Qin’s guidance, Yiming is willing to become the branch leader and help resolve any issues for Miss Qin.”

“Help me resolve issues?” Qin Ruqing smiled and said, “Really? Then let me tell you, there will soon be a beast tide in the Southern Ridge. You’ll be dealing with such a major issue right after taking office. If you’re not careful, the entire branch might be destroyed by the beast tide, and then you wouldn’t have a position as a branch leader.”

Even though Cheng Yiming was mentally prepared and aware of Qin Ruqing’s playful nature, he still paused for a moment.

Under Qin Ruqing’s teasing gaze, Cheng Yiming gritted his teeth and said, “Yiming is still willing.”

“Oh, it seems you’re quite confident. Did your eye see something? Let me guess, you probably can’t see my fortune. Did you see the Cheng clan’s fortune? There are limits to divination, aren’t there? Did you perhaps see the Qin clan?”

Cheng Yiming shook his head. “The Qin clan is already at the gold level, with their fortune and merits. How could I see them?” He honestly said, “What I saw was the Zhang clan and their fortune.”

Ah!

That was quite an unexpected and winding answer!

Qin Ruqing understood that, given Cheng Yiming’s caution and the convenience of his Heavenly Eye, he must have known that the benefits of staying in the Southern Ridge as branch leader outweighed those of remaining in the Eastern Domain to willingly make this decision.

At that time, Qin Ruqing had guessed he might have seen something with his eye, but she didn’t expect it to be about Hao Gou.

Cheng Yiming noticed that Qin Ruqing’s gaze was curious, not accusatory.

He calmed down a bit and continued:

“Since the Zhang clan became an affiliated family of our Qin clan, their fortune has been connected with ours. That year, when Miss Qin defeated the Fang family’s transformation ancestor and triumphantly returned to the clan, at the grand banquet, I saw Zhang Hao Gou, the clan leader of the Zhang family. At that time, the Zhang clan had already submitted to the Qin clan. I saw Hao Gou holding onto Miss Qin’s leg, crying bitterly. Although Hao Gou looked quite disheveled, his fortune was astonishing.”

“I heard that Hao Gou has a connection with Miss Qin and claims to be your servant. Since the Zhang clan has become a subordinate family of the Qin clan and is staying in the Southern Ridge with the Qin clan’s branch, I concluded that even if there’s a risk of a beast tide in the Southern Ridge, it’s worth taking the position here.”

Risks imply rewards.

If he could lead the Qin clan to successfully defend against the beast tide as branch leader, the achievements…

Qin Ruqing smiled with satisfaction.

What she liked most about Cheng Yiming was that he never hid his ambitions.

He knew precisely when to reveal his ambitions and when to restrain them.

When working under her father, her father’s evaluation was: “He works steadily, is honest, yet still discerning.”

This showed that Cheng Yiming had deliberately restrained himself in front of his father, presenting himself as the “smart and disciplined” younger generation his father liked.

Her elder brother’s evaluation changed to: “He’s a clever person but knows how to advance and retreat.”

This indicated that Cheng Yiming didn’t hide himself in front of his elder brother but understood how to avoid him.

In front of Qin Ruqing, he was a complete opportunist.

This was Cheng Yiming’s true nature, which he only revealed to Qin Ruqing.

He was a sharp blade, meant to be wielded by Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing stood up and said to him, “Then you shall be the branch leader of the Southern Ridge. Once the beast tide ends, if you achieve merit, the branch will be merged into the main clan.”

Cheng Yiming carefully pondered Qin Ruqing’s tone and looked up in shock, asking, “Will the beast tide definitely occur?”

“It will!” Qin Ruqing said firmly.

Cheng Yiming fell silent.

No matter how ambitious he was, facing an inevitable crisis still left him unsettled.

But Qin Ruqing remained unfazed. She even teased, “Your eyes are quite useful. The Southern Ridge is indeed good… even if a beast tide occurs, it should be manageable.”

“Do you know something?” Cheng Yiming sensed something from Qin Ruqing’s tone and demeanor.

“Not exactly knowing. It’s just that the demon king leading the invasion of the Southern Ridge is a foolish fool, and I just happen to know him.”

Cheng Yiming almost immediately believed Qin Ruqing, even feeling somewhat relieved.

No matter how calm he appeared in front of Qin Ruqing, the immense pressure of facing a beast tide as the new branch leader was undeniable.

But with Qin Ruqing’s words, his stress was instantly halved.

He instinctively trusted Qin Ruqing.

The people of the Qin clan, almost all believed in Qin Ruqing’s words as if they were divine truths.

Qin Ruqing added, “I will stay in the Southern Ridge for a while.”

“Will the beast tide break out in the near future?”

“No!” Qin Ruqing turned to Cheng Yiming with a meaningful look and said, “I’m waiting for news.”

“Waiting for news from those aristocratic families?”

Qin Ruqing’s eyes seemed to carry the purest power in the world.

Cheng Yiming couldn’t help but be entranced, unconsciously following Qin Ruqing’s words and asking, “Waiting for them to do what?”

“Waiting for them to make a decision on where to go.” Qin Ruqing said.

“Why don’t you go yourself?”

Are there any places in this world you cannot go?

Qin Ruqing smiled, “Because, for this action, I need them… to be under my command.”

So, waiting was necessary.

Waiting for the right moment.

Waiting for the perfect timing!