Chapter 123: What Right Do You Have to Enter the Water Qilin Cave?

"Actually... mining is one way to level up, but solving cases is another way too."

Yang Ling pondered: "Hiding your strength does keep you safe, but you'll also miss many opportunities to work on major cases.

A while ago, I cracked a big case about Rong tribe spies and jumped three levels in one go."

A glimmer lit up Qin Mo's eyes: "Solve major cases?"

"Mhm, you should register at Ranked Level and reveal your true strength, then the Ironclad Department will value you more."

"After that, you just need to wait for opportunities to handle big cases. Three years without a big catch, but one big catch feeds you for three years. You understand that principle, right?"

"I think I get it, but I don't have the brains for investigating cases. Those Rong tribe spies, each one hides incredibly deep. It's too hard to dig them out."

At this point, Qin Mo's eyes brightened:

"Brother Yang, let me cling to your coattails. I request to follow you. When you handle cases in the future, call me to assist.

I can also get some experience to level up."

"You want to follow me?"

Yang Ling's expression shifted as he seriously considered the feasibility of this matter.

The other party was a player with Eighth-Rank strength, which absolutely placed him among the top tier among players.

However... he still didn't know Qin Mo very well.

Having such a master by his side might not necessarily be a good thing.

"Yunwen Provincial Capital offers more opportunities. Going to Green Mountain City would be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito."

"Besides, the Rong tribe spy ring leader in Green Mountain City has already been captured. There might not be much merit left to earn there."

At this point, Yang Ling changed the subject:

"Actually, there's an opportunity right now. If you had registered at Ranked Level earlier and revealed your true strength, you might have been able to go to the Water Qilin Cave."

"That place... those who go know. I'm not going! It's extremely dangerous!"

A trace of disdain flashed in Qin Mo's eyes.

"..."

Yang Ling's expression turned odd: "You've been there?"

"I've been there, but I'm not sure if it was the Water Qilin Cave. Anyway, it was under the Tianyuan River. That time I almost died!"

Qin Mo's expression turned grave: "To be honest, I was originally a swimming champion on the school team.

So when I first came to the 'Divine Realm', I went to work for the Water Transport Guild. My future seemed bright."

"But one day, I was suddenly framed by a petty person. He was jealous of me and pushed me into the river."

"Could that stump me? I could swim to shore with my eyes closed."

"But that day, a fish set a trap for me. It thought I was food and swallowed me whole in one bite."

"...Wait a minute. Something that could swallow you whole in one bite? A shark? Even a shark couldn't do that."

Yang Ling looked at the two-meter-tall man before him, his expression complicated.

"Not a shark. It was a giant catfish."

Qin Mo still felt a lingering fear: "Luckily I had brought a knife. When I regained my senses, I sliced it open. That actually leveled me up several times at once..."

"Mhm, that counts as a stroke of extraordinary luck."

Yang Ling nodded slightly.

That was genuinely good fortune.

"Ha! That stroke of luck almost killed me. At the time, I discovered that catfish had taken me to another place. That place was a world of ice and snow, with bone-chilling cold.

If not for the catfish blood being very warm, drinking a mouthful made my whole body warm and toasty, lasting about half an hour, I probably would have died there."

Qin Mo couldn't help shaking his head: "I stayed there for a full seven days, surviving only on catfish blood and catfish meat.

But this fish was kind of interesting. After eating it, all my attribute points seemed to increase.

It was also that time that I became a Martial Artist.

In that place, I found a Martial Artist who had frozen to death. On him was a martial arts manual called the Water-Crossing Heart Technique, and a fist technique called Frost Fist."

"After I learned the Water-Crossing Heart Technique, I found I could hold my breath underwater for a full hour!"

"At the time, the catfish had swum over from a cold pond. I followed that path back. First was a stone cavern channel over ten li long, pitch black, scared me half to death."

"Luckily, I could hold my breath for an hour back then. After swimming out of the channel, I found I was at the bottom of the Tianyuan River. That's how I made it back."

At this point, a look of emotion appeared on Qin Mo's face, accompanied by a trace of lingering fear.

Yang Ling listened, stunned. This guy's stroke of luck was truly... a stroke of luck.

Extremely thrilling, and extremely perilous.

That catfish was probably like the Tyrant Ghost Spider, a high-level BOSS.

The key was that its corpse didn't disappear after death, and its flesh and blood even boosted Qin Mo's three core attributes.

Then there were the Water-Crossing Heart Technique and Frost Fist.

These two were most likely second-rate internal cultivation and martial arts techniques!

There was also a crucial detail here.

A world of ice and snow!

What a coincidence! That perfectly matches the environmental standard for cultivating the Heaven's Will Divine Blade!

"When I heard about the Water Qilin Cave recently, I thought, that path was probably the entrance to the Water Qilin Cave!"

"Or maybe a back door. Anyway, it definitely had something to do with the Water Qilin Cave."

Qin Mo continued: "Think about it. If that was just the entrance, and I almost died just at the entrance, with an expert frozen to death there too.

If one really went into the Water Qilin Cave, who knows how many days they could survive?"

"You didn't venture deeper back then?"

Yang Ling pondered.

Qin Mo shook his head vigorously: "Didn't dare. Absolutely didn't dare. I was afraid if I went too far and got lost, what then?

If I couldn't drink the catfish blood, my body couldn't stay warm. I would definitely die there.

At the time, the farthest I went was less than half a li."

At this point, Qin Mo looked at Yang Ling, his gaze serious:

"Brother Yang, you're going to the Water Qilin Cave this time. Even though you're a Seventh-Rank Expert... that place is, after all, where a divine beast resides. It's fraught with dangers.

If it were me, I'd rather level up slowly than go there seeking death."

"There's a saying from where I'm from: 'Dare to struggle, dare to win.'"

Yang Ling pondered: "This opportunity is rare. Besides, so many experts are going together. I believe I won't be that unlucky."

Mainly, he had the Invisibility Talisman as his trump card.

Without the Invisibility Talisman, he would obediently stay in Green Mountain City to grind levels and get the level 40 treasure chest.

"Oh oh, I know that saying. Isn't there a song that goes like that?"

Qin Mo started singing: "A moment of lost ambition inevitably brings sighs,

A moment of down-and-out inevitably brings fear,

Even if hope is lost,

Getting drunk every day..."

"Alright, now's not the time for singing."

Yang Ling gently applauded: "The information you provided this time is very useful to me. At the very least, it gives me a clearer picture in my mind.

Thank you."

"Brother Yang, you're still going to the Water Qilin Cave? Then I won't try to persuade you anymore. I hope you return safely, and then teach me how to solve cases."

Qin Mo scratched his head and laughed.

"Sure thing."

One hour later, Yang Ling was called to the office courtyard of the Public Security Division.

In the courtyard stood many young figures.

They were full of vitality. Yang Ling casually glanced around, checking their Status Panels.

Each one was an expert, at least Lower Seventh-Rank.

But not a single one was a player; they were all local Natives.

"Players are newcomers here. Their foundation compared to local Natives is worlds apart."

Yang Ling thought to himself. At that moment, those Seventh-Rank Experts were also observing Yang Ling.

One of them suddenly spoke:

"Yang Ling from Green Mountain City? I heard recently there was a major case in Changhe Prefectural Capital that you and another Director supervised together?"

"I'm not a Director, so I wasn't qualified to supervise. I just contributed a bit."

Yang Ling replied casually.

"Your Changhe Prefectural Capital is rotten to the core."

The other person spoke again.

Yang Ling was slightly taken aback.

The other Seventh-Rank Experts also looked somewhat surprised.

The other person said coldly: "My senior brother, Dai Huaijin, could be publicly assassinated right in your prefectural territory.

For this matter, your Changhe Prefectural Capital's Ironclad Department Yamen bears great responsibility.

I can't understand why they let you come here. What qualifications do you have to enter the Water Qilin Cave?"