"May I invite you to a meal at the Jade Dining Hall?" Zhou Qing asked, somewhat embarrassed.
Gao Xuan suddenly burst into laughter, "I’m just joking with you. You should thank others, not me. Let me tell you a secret, your Master Gao here is under investigation these days."
Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu’s faces couldn’t help but change.
Gao Xuan said, "You don’t understand? It means there is suspicion, like colluding with the Outer Sect or harming our own sect members. This matter starts from when you discovered that cave."
Upon hearing this, Du Kui’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at his master.
Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu both felt their hearts skip a beat.
So Master Gao knew everything all along. This, this, this...
Gao Xuan put the book in his hand back on the shelf and picked out another one.
"Your Sect Leader Master has been testing me, and then I went out with Junior Sister Tong Min. Your master was very worried. Later, I happened to meet Gu Tao, the Hall Master of the Task Hall, and greeted him. He blew himself up after not long, so it’s quite normal to be suspected."
"Oh, and there was that time when the deputy director of the Spirit Field Department ambushed you halfway. My appearance was too timely and too coincidental."
"This time, when your master returned using the Child and Mother Scrolls, so many people were involved in stabilizing the space, but your Sect Leader Master didn’t let me intervene, afraid that I, the suspect, would do something malicious."
Gao Xuan walked down with a manual, his face always holding a kind smile, as if he was talking about someone else.
Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu’s faces were awkward.
Du Kui suddenly knelt down, solemnly saying, "Master, you are definitely not a suspect. I can stake my life on it. They, they are all..."
Gao Xuan helped Du Kui up, gently patted his head, and smiled, "Not necessarily. There is no smoke without fire. Maybe their suspicion is correct."
Du Kui shook his head repeatedly, expressing absolute disbelief.
At this moment, Zhou Qing only felt that any little schemes he had in front of such an old fox were utterly naive.
Because you could never guess what they know, what they think, or what they are saying.
The truth disguised with jokes seemed like self-deprecating humor but was revealing reality in a teasing manner.
Seeing the atmosphere becoming awkward, Gao Xuan laughed again, "Look at how scared you all are. As Core Disciples, you can’t be this weak-minded. How will you face life’s many challenges and uncertainties in the future?"
"The road of cultivation is long, with difficulties and dangers always by your side. Whether it is suspicion or truth, if you can’t bear such things, how will you deal with powerful enemies, complex situations, and perilous dilemmas?"
The three of them immediately saluted, "We heed your teachings, Master (Master)!"
"Alright then, Zhou Qing, I have some good books here. How about picking a few to take back?"
Then Gao Xuan pointed to the shelves behind him.
Zhou Qing thought for a moment, then nodded.
Now he found it harder to see through Master Gao. Borrowing more books would give him more reasons to visit Golden Sun Peak often.
"Thank you, Master. Do you have any recommendations?" Zhou Qing humbly asked for advice.
Gao Xuan smiled and snapped his fingers, then walked up quickly.
Yan Xiaohu pushed Zhou Qing to these neatly arranged, densely packed bookshelves, and they began to browse curiously.
Zhou Qing looked around and soon saw something like a common woman’s makeup jar on the writing desk, which seemed out of place with the other items on the desk.
Currently, the other things didn’t look like personal items. Master Gao didn’t seem to have any jade pendants or similar items on him. Surely he couldn’t go around checking clothes and shoes?
After a brief hesitation, Zhou Qing let his gaze linger on the jar for a moment and then identified it directly.
Soon, an information feedback came through.
[Useless Gu Insect Jar: This is a jar that once housed a Soul-Devouring Golden Silkworm. Unfortunately, the silkworm meticulously cultivated with Essence Blood for three hundred years died after silently killing Gu Tao. This jar is now worthless.]
Seeing this, Zhou Qing’s pupils suddenly shrank, filled with shock, as his heart pounded wildly.
The Task Hall Master Gu Tao was indeed killed by Master Gao.
After all, the master discovered a lot of Taiqing Sect’s secrets and resources in the escaping Gu Tao’s storage bag, confirming Gu Tao was an undercover of the Cangyan Daoist Palace.
Moreover, by a great coincidence, he had just greeted Gu Tao shortly before witnessing the latter’s uncontrollable self-destruction.
Could it be that I was wrong?
No, no, things don’t seem to be that simple.
If Gao Xuan wasn’t from the Cangyan Daoist Palace, how did he know that Gu Tao, who had been hidden for years, would defect at that time?
And how did he block him at the sect gate and use the three-hundred-year-old Soul-Devouring Golden Silkworm to kill him, preventing greater losses?
But if he was, why did he kill Gu Tao then? Since they belonged to the same force, this made no sense.
Or perhaps he belonged to another sect, like the Golden Thunder Sect?