88: Chapter 88 Qin Bei's Thoughts

Fifty percent!

This number acted as a direct shot of adrenaline for General Qin Bei.

"Good!"

After a long silence, General Qin Bei gritted his teeth, looked at Su Bai, and spoke. "If it truly exists, you, Su Bai, will be the number one contributor to Yunzhou City!"

Having said this, General Qin Bei stopped asking further questions.

At a time like this, doubt was meaningless.

Whether it was true or false, they would know once they dug it up!

Su Bai left the city wall. He did not immediately lead anyone to the so-called mining site, but instead quietly circled around to the back alley of the Jiedushi Residence.

Zhou Qingying was already waiting there.

Upon seeing Su Bai, Zhou Qingying immediately asked anxiously:

"How did it go?"

"He believed it."

Su Bai said succinctly.

Subsequently, Su Bai repeated everything he had just said to General Qin Bei.

After hearing this, Zhou Qingying's clenched fists relaxed slightly. She frowned and said, "That Spirit Stone Mine was the family foundation my father spent half his life's blood to accumulate. It was intended for the most critical moment, to be used to break through the encirclement with his personal guards and preserve a spark for Yunzhou... Now..."

There was a hint of reluctance in her voice.

Those were not just Spirit Stones; they were her father Zhou Zheng's final fallback.

Su Bai looked at her and advised with a calm gaze, "Qingying, if the city falls, where will the spark come from? Uncle Zhou spent his life guarding this city; his glory exists alongside it. If he were awake, he would never stand by and watch Yunzhou turn into a living hell."

"Furthermore," Su Bai changed the subject and said, "we cannot give this contribution away for nothing."

Zhou Qingying was taken aback, then asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

"This batch of Spirit Stones must be discovered by me. This way, General Qin Bei will owe me a massive favor. Only then will you and I have enough of a say once the situation in the city stabilizes in the future."

Su Bai's voice was low, but every word was clear.

This was not just about saving the city; it was an investment.

Zhou Qingying was brilliantly clever and instantly understood Su Bai's deep meaning.

She looked at the man before her, who was younger than herself. In such a dangerous situation, he had not only thought of a way to break the deadlock but had even calculated the subsequent division of interests so clearly.

Her father, Zhou Zheng, had spent his life in the military and was an excellent judge of character. It seemed there was indeed a reason he had regarded Su Bai so highly back then.

"Fine."

Zhou Qingying no longer hesitated. She took out a palm-sized jade pendant from her robe, handed it to Su Bai, and said:

"This jade pendant can guide you to find the Spirit Stone Mine. Only by holding this object and activating it with a specific Qi frequency can the entrance be found. Otherwise, even if you overturned that entire area, you would only think it was ordinary rock layers."

She paused and solemnly instructed: "Remember, the location is under the old locust tree in the West City, the open space directly facing the west corner tower of the Jiedushi Residence. General Qin Bei is suspicious by nature; seeing this location, he will definitely become suspicious. You must think of a good explanation."

"I understand."

Su Bai took the jade pendant, which felt warm to the touch. He then looked at Zhou Qingying with some emotion and said, "Wait for my news."

A moment later, Su Bai found General Qin Bei again.

This time, he didn't say much, only making a gesture of invitation.

General Qin Bei understood perfectly. He took several personal guards and followed Su Bai through the streets, heading all the way west.

The further they walked, the more General Qin Bei's heart sank.

It was too close.

This place was far too close to the Jiedushi Residence.

Finally, Su Bai stopped in an open area.

In the center of the clearing, a charred old locust tree stood tenaciously.

Su Bai closed his eyes and performed several Hand Seals. The needle on the compass in his hand spun wildly before finally stopping with a hum, pointing dead set at the ground beneath his feet.

"General, it's right here!"

Looking at the compass, Su Bai spoke with some excitement.

General Qin Bei didn't look at him, nor did he look at the ground.

His gaze passed over Su Bai's shoulder, staring intently at the residence not far away.

Under the night sky, the Jiedushis Residence lay there quietly.

Looking at this residence, General Qin Bei was clearly stunned for a moment.

A coincidence?

Yunzhou City had been established for hundreds of years, and the inside and outside of the city had long been scanned countless times by Cultivators using Divine Thought. How could a Spirit Stone Mine that no one knew about be hidden right under the nose of the Jiedushi Residence?

This thought exploded in General Qin Bei's mind like a clap of thunder.

Zhou Zheng... that old fellow lying in bed unconscious, what exactly was he trying to do?

Secretly hoarding a Spirit Stone Mine—could it be that he wanted to rebel?

In an instant, countless thoughts churned in General Qin Bei's heart.

Regardless of whether this was a mine or a treasury, as long as there were Spirit Stones inside, Yunzhou was saved!

"General? General?"

Seeing General Qin Bei lost in thought, Su Bai called out twice at the appropriate time, interrupting his train of thought.

General Qin Bei snapped back to his senses and gave Su Bai a complex look without saying a word.

Did this kid really not know, or was he acting with him?

But now, none of that mattered anymore.

With a face as cold as water, he pulled out a Sound Transmission Talisman from his robe. After injecting Qi, the talisman paper ignited spontaneously, dissipating into a wisp of blue smoke.

"Guard this place; no one is allowed to approach!"

General Qin Bei ordered his personal guards, speaking in an icy tone.

Before long, the sound of footsteps approached.

A young general clad in heavy armor, whose features were seventy percent similar to General Qin Bei's, arrived with a team of elite soldiers.

"Father!"

The leading young general knelt on one knee near General Qin Bei and shouted toward him.

The newcomer was General Qin Bei's only son, Qin Zheng, with a cultivation of Foundation Establishment Mid-stage.

"Zheng'er," General Qin Bei pointed at the open ground under Su Bai's feet and spoke in a serious tone, "take your men and dig down from here. No matter what you find, report to me immediately!"

"Yes!"

Qin Zheng didn't ask questions. He immediately directed the soldiers to begin clearing the site and setting up a perimeter.

General Qin Bei took a deep look at that patch of ground, then at Su Bai, said nothing, and turned to stride toward the city wall.

"Su Bai, you come with me too; the city defenses still need you!"

Su Bai followed his lead, knowing clearly that General Qin Bei still didn't fully trust him.

However, his goal had already been achieved.

The rest depended on what Qin Zheng could dig up.

As the night deepened, the Yao Race's offensive outside the city grew even more violent.

The light barrier of the City Protection Array flickered unsteadily. Every violent tremor sent a shock through the hearts of the soldiers on the wall.

Just as the light of one array core dimmed to the extreme and was on the verge of collapsing, a Sound Transmission Talisman flew urgently into General Qin Bei's hand.

General Qin Bei crushed it, and Qin Zheng's voice, filled with wild joy, rang out from it: "Father! We dug it up! It's Spirit Stones! So many Spirit Stones! The quality is extremely high—they are Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!"

Boom!

This news caused General Qin Bei's tense body to instantly relax.

He couldn't help but roar toward the sky, his laughter carrying a long-suppressed sense of relief.

Yunzhou City was saved!

"The heavens do not wish for my Yunzhou to perish! The heavens do not wish for me, General Qin Bei, to perish!"

"Pass my command!" He roared at the messenger with bloodshot eyes, "Everyone who can still move, go dig the mine for me! Transport all those stones to the array cores! Fast! Fast!"