472 Good News and Bad News
Based on what the two men had shared earlier, the token Qin Huai held appeared to be a trusted aide’s badge belonging to the ninth elder of Wuji Mountain.
“Ding! You have collected a [Tiger Energy Technique Essence (Dark Orange)], [Tiger Energy Technique] experience points +66,666!”
“Ding! You have collected a [Tiger Energy Technique Essence (Dark Orange)], [Tiger Energy Technique] experience points +66,636!”
Having gathered his thoughts, Qin Huai proceeded toward the secret location. After covering ten miles, several bamboo skewers whizzed through the air, landing at Qin Huai’s feet and embedding themselves in the ground.
“Who are you?” a voice called out from the forest.
“Someone from Wuji Mountain,” Qin Huai replied.
“The dragon boat flies thirty thousand miles,” the voice prompted further.
“Return to the nest in the water,” Qin Huai responded in a calm manner.
“Token,” the voice demanded.
Qin Huai lifted his hand, revealing the token. His fingertips surged with energy, emitting a faint roar of a tiger. Finally, a figure descended from the trees.
“Follow me,” the man commanded, leading the way. Before long, they came across a small courtyard hidden deep within the forest.
“Sir, the ninth elder has sent someone here,” the guide announced, stopping in front of the courtyard.
An elderly man with white hair and a ruddy face emerged from the courtyard. His muscles bulged and traces of blood were visible at the corner of his mouth.
“Haha. A young prodigy personally came to pick me up?” he exclaimed, appearing before Qin Huai in a blink, even leaning in to sniff at him. “Though you can conceal it, this old man can still sense the strong qi and blood in your body.”
“Senior, you have a keen eye! I’m just an ordinary disciple,” Qin Huai replied, lowering his gaze to notice the old man’s six fingers.
Typically, followers of the Sacred Heart sect would exhibit physical mutations due to their rapid progress. They could become bloated, grow extra limbs, or even lose their minds, turning into zombies.
It was evident that the old man had not mastered the blood heart technique, which was possibly why he was isolated in the mountains away from Qingzhou City. Having had multiple encounters with Sacred Heart disciples, Qin Huai could make such deductions with a single glance.
“Hahaha! Are you concealing your strength?” The old man laughed, patting Qin Huai’s shoulder. “You seem quite ambitious.”
“Is it wrong for a young man to be ambitious?” Qin Huai replied with a smile.
“Good!” The old man beamed. “Then let’s proceed and return to the outer city first.”
The old man seemed serious now. The young man who had led them here gathered the group, over ten people strong, and they began their journey toward Qingzhou City.
On their journey, Qin Huai learned the young man’s name was Wu Shaojun. Despite being a gifted individual with five complete patterns, Wu Shaojun had yet to grasp the power known as king’s force.
Qin Huai was able to piece together the connection between the old man and Wu Shaojun. The old man was Wu Feng, the former thirteenth elder of Wuji Mountain. It was rumored that he had vanished from Wuji Mountain thirteen years prior, and later, during a journey, his son Wu Shaojun and their family were mysteriously wiped out. This became a significant unresolved mystery in Qingzhou City.
Many city dwellers believed it was due to internal conflicts among the elders of Wuji Mountain. But it now appeared that Wu Feng had erred while practicing the blood heart technique and was forced to fake his death.
Upon reaching the outer city, they parted ways immediately. Wu Feng’s family vanished into the crowd, obviously taking great care to remain unnoticed. Similarly, Qin Huai managed to sneak into the Thunderbolt Gang and boarded a flower boat, the secret base of the Qingzhou Alliance.
The next day, Qin Huai met with Hua Yanli and Yun Qi. “It seems that the situation is more complicated than we thought,” Yun Qi said with a serious expression.
“What did you find out?” asked Qin Huai.
Yun Qi sighed. “We will use the opportunity when Fang Huo challenges the prodigies of various sects to infiltrate their organizations. I found out that most of those who escaped from the bronze realm were under house arrest, but in reality, half of them died during this supposed ‘house arrest’. Some bodies were decomposing, others were missing entirely, leaving behind only empty rooms.”
Qin Huai frowned. It appeared those individuals hadn’t considered defensive strategies — they’d been the ones on the attack.
“Brother Zhou, did you learn anything from your trip?” Hua Yanli asked.
“I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“Let’s hear the bad news first,” Yun Qi said, rubbing his forehead. “Otherwise, I may not be able to cope.” Their repeated failures over the past few days had left them feeling downcast.
“The bad news is that the leadership of Wuji Mountain is likely to change soon,” Qin Huai started.
“Those demons are moving quickly, aren’t they?” Hua Yanli exclaimed, startled.
Qin Huai shook his head. “The Tang family from the prefecture overseer’s estate aren’t behind this. It’s the Sacred Heart sect.”
“Sacred Heart sect! They have their roots this deep in Qingzhou…” Yun Qi and Hua Yanli looked serious. They were surprised that the Sacred Heart sect had the power to overthrow the master of Wuji Mountain, one of the five great sects.
“What about the good news?”
“The good news is that I’ve identified some of the individuals involved in their scheme to take over,” Qin Huai said. “They include the ninth elder of Wuji Mountain, Shi Hu, and the thirteenth elder, Wu Feng, who disappeared thirteen years ago, and their family. We need to find out who Shi Hu and Wu Feng were close to. The overlapping contacts are likely the main culprits.”
“How much time do we have?” Hua Yanli asked.
“Five days.”
“For something like this, we may need to involve Xiang Mingfeng and She Wanshan,” Yun Qi suggested.