"If Zeng Hongye lets Wu Yanjun come back alive, he will definitely not have a good ending. If you let Zeng Hongye come back alive, you won't have a good outcome either!"

This is what Li Xiuyuan said to He Kao.

He Kao claimed he went skiing, camping, and ice fishing in the mountains and forests, where he discovered two suspicious people. He quietly sneaked over to eavesdrop on their conversation... This excuse was barely enough to fool Old Qian, Second Uncle, and Xiaowu.

It's not that these people aren't smart or experienced, but He Kao didn't mention where this happened.

In fact, before encountering Second Uncle Xiao Guangnian, He Kao had already sneaked near Xiaohe Town. The place where he rescued Wu Yanjun was also near Xiaohe Town, less than ten miles from the town.

Even without cultivation, a sturdy, well-prepared adult with wilderness experience could achieve this, and He Kao doesn't seem like someone without cultivation.

He is either a secret disciple of Elder Jiang or a secret disciple of Elder Gu.

Since Zeng Hongye was pursuing Wu Yanjun, the place where He Kao encountered them should also be near Xiaohe Town, which doesn't need special explanation.

But the actual situation is not so; Zeng Hongye had crossed the Maoluo Country border and reached over two hundred kilometers away. How did He Kao walk there and encounter them?

Encountering Zeng Hongye several hundred miles away from the border is one thing, but how did he then "teleport" back to Xiaohe Town to save Xiaowu? Anyone careful enough would find the time and space don't add up.

So the only reasonable explanation is that He Kao is Hidden Moth.

Elder Li told him to either pray for Zeng Hongye and Xiaosi to be trapped in the icy wilderness and never return, or find a way to eliminate this hidden danger... this task must be done by He Kao himself.

Facts proved that He Kao accomplished the task beautifully!

How to notify Li Xiuyuan after finishing the task? They agreed to use a wolf smoke signal. He Kao was puzzled, how could Elder Li in Acheng see the wolf smoke rising within Maoluo Country's borders?

He Kao sat on the hillside, staying as far away as possible from the smoking bonfire to avoid getting smoked.

The weather was nice today, with the sun shining brightly in the morning, and fluffy white clouds floating in the blue sky. Only the rising wolf smoke in the snowfield spoiled the view... Just as he thought this, a whirlwind suddenly swirled in the sky.

Normally, whirlwinds go upwards, but this one spiraled downwards, descending along the smoke column from the sky and drawing the thick smoke back, extinguishing the bonfire along with it upon reaching the ground.

Not only did the fire go out, but the smoke and dust disappeared, leaving a pile of scattered black ash on the ground.

This was definitely not a natural wind; He Kao had never seen such an astonishing technique before. He quickly got up, only to see a white cloud slowly descending to his front, about the size of a house.

The cloud parted, and an elder appeared, resembling a retired cadre, holding a stick taller than a person in his right hand. After stepping firmly on the ground, with a gesture, the cloud rapidly shrank and was stowed into his sleeve.

He Kao was stunned; ever since encountering techniques, he felt the world became surreal, and now it seemed to have evolved into a Xianxia story?

The elder chuckled, "Your smoke was too dense, be careful not to attract patrolling drones at the border!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand again, causing a wind to swirl up on the hillside, covering the black ash with snow, making it unnoticeable from the sky.

He Kao hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "Greetings, Elder Gu, I didn't expect it to be you!"

Gu Chun: "You know me?"

He Kao: "I've seen you, at a hospital in Qi Yuan last year."

Gu Chun: "There was indeed such an occasion... Elder Li is in Acheng, Elder Jiang is watching over the Ancestral Hall, so only I could come here. Moreover, as an Earth Master, representing the Ancestral Hall to supervise the world's magic sects and punish the wicked is part of my duties."

He Kao: "You've worked hard! That just now was..."

Gu Chun: "That was the Flying Divine Artifact Cloud, collected by the Huiming Shi Family in recent times. Thanks to your revelations, the Shi Family's evils were eradicated, and this artifact fell into the Ancestral Hall's hands. I temporarily borrowed it for use."

No wonder Gu Chun could arrive so promptly; it turns out he had the Flying Divine Artifact Cloud. Knowing the general area from Elder Li, he had already reached this vicinity and flew over upon seeing the agreed-upon wolf smoke signal.

Gu Chun pulled up the stick stuck in the ground, with a roasted Flying Dragon still skewered on it, now cold. He sniffed and asked, "Is this tasty?"

He Kao: "It tastes pretty good, shall I add some seasoning and grill it again for you?"

Gu Chun: "One isn't enough, or is it just for me to eat while you watch?"

He Kao: "I'll get a few more."

Gu Chun: "In this snow and ice, how did you clean and prep it?"

He Kao: "I could take it to my kitchen at home."

Gu Chun: "Then go ahead, actually, this thing is best stewed."

He Kao: "Then should we grill two and stew two?"

Gu Chun laughed, "Almost forgot you're Hidden Moth, makes things really convenient."

With Earth Master Gu Chun's arrival, He Kao relaxed, leaving the interrogations to him. As Gu Chun spoke, he walked into the cave. Just as He Kao was about to set off for more Flying Dragons, Gu Chun turned around and came out to ask, "How much did you drug them?"

He Kao: "This is my first time dealing with a high-tier sorcerer, so I was afraid of losing control, and the dose was a bit heavy."

Gu Chun: "Too much is as bad as too little; the right balance is the essence of fire. You have Tier Three Cultivation; do you not understand this?"

He Kao: "Your admonishment is indeed right."

Gu Chun: "What I meant was—when will they wake up! Is there a way to get more antidote?"

He Kao: "This...I will try my best."

Gu Chun: "Get the antidote first before we stew the Flying Dragon."

He Kao had to first busy himself with making the antidote. The so-called antidote couldn't be entirely symptomatic, but it would make Zeng Hongye and Xiaosi wake up sooner...then continue to catch Flying Dragon, go home, and stew the soup.

What was added to the Flying Dragon Soup were the wild mushrooms sent by Second Uncle. After the soup was stewing there, he came here to light the fire and prepare the barbecue.

He Kao was indeed quite busy. By the time Gu Chun finished interrogating the two people and emerged from the cave, a small table had already been set up at the entrance, with two stools beside it, and the dining utensils were neatly arranged on the table, with the soup pot and grill plate all ready.

Gu Chun originally had a solemn expression, but upon seeing this scene, he laughed and said: "Flying with the cloud, not drinking; drinking, not flying with the cloud?"

He Kao quickly replied: "I'm not sure what kind of wine you would like, so I haven't served it yet."

Gu Chun casually mentioned a brand, and He Kao turned around and soon brought it over, personally pouring him a drink and said: "Did those two guys confess truthfully?"

Gu Chun: "It's not like a police investigation, talking about confessions or not. They just explained to the Ancestral Hall what they have been doing during this period, and why they wanted to capture Wu Yanjun."

The first person Gu Chun questioned was Xiaosi; he didn't wake Zeng Hongye at first.

Xiaosi's real name was longer and quite obscure, so let's stick to calling him Xiaosi. He is a Maoluo Country person who travels annually within the borders of the Eastern Country; his family has been doing border trade for generations, sometimes dabbling in smuggling and other illicit deals.

Zeng Hongye usually did some border trade business, thus met Xiaosi, and transmitted Technique to take him as a disciple. Xiaosi has been practicing Technique for five or six years now and currently has a Tier Three Cultivation.

Xiaosi only interacted with the sorcerer Zeng Hongye, and never exposed his sorcerer identity to others—firstly because many things he did should not see the light of day; secondly, Zeng Hongye warned him.

Zeng Hongye told him the Magic Sect strictly prohibits the transmission of Technique, especially to foreigners like him. If discovered by the Hall of Sect Rules, not only Zeng Hongye would be punished, but Xiaosi would be stripped of his Cultivation!

Xiaosi helped Zeng Hongye with many dirty jobs, such as using his cultivation to sneak across borders frequently and engage in many prohibited activities.

Gu Chun informed Xiaosi that Zeng Hongye had deceived him; the Magic Sect's Hall of Sect Rules had no such regulations.

Then, he showed some methods and applied some techniques to Xiaosi, who disclosed everything...exactly what methods were used, He Kao was not allowed to witness, so he didn't ask.

According to Xiaosi's confession, they had planned in advance, setting up a secret camp in the forests near the border, intending to capture Wu Yanjun alive, then bring him to the camp, where someone would take charge.

Xiaosi's role was simply to accompany his master to capture people, without needing to concern himself with other matters, and he was unaware of anything else; however, when capturing Wu Yanjun alive, an accident occurred, allowing the lad to escape.

They pursued him to the banks of the Wulong River and encountered a snowstorm. The location happened to be close to their secret camp, so they hurried there to gather some equipment and supplies...and then chased for four days and five nights.

After questioning Xiaosi, Gu Chun knocked him unconscious again, waking Zeng Hongye to continue the interrogation. Upon seeing Elder Gu, Zeng Hongye realized there was no hope, answering whatever was asked, and even explained his final arrangements.

Zeng Hongye couldn't comprehend one thing—how a scheme to deal with a mere Wu Yanjun was plotted so meticulously, yet ended up attracting Elder Gu?

Could it be a trap, with Wu Yanjun as bait deliberately released by the Hall of Sect Rules to lure certain individuals? If that were true, then those who asked him to handle the task actually harmed him.

He was doomed, so he couldn't let those who set him up have peace.

Zeng Hongye had no personal quarrel with Wu Yanjun; he didn't know him before. He was entrusted by someone else. The other party promised many benefits and informed him there was an opportune moment because Wu Yanjun and Ye Yuxuan had gone to Yimei.

The other party requested Wu Yanjun be captured alive and subsequently "reasonably disappeared." Thus, Zeng Hongye sought out his junior sister Fu Xiaoci, and the two conspired together.

Why approach Fu Xiaoci? Because they had an affair for a long time, not only as a couple but also as partners in cooperation.

Back when their Cultivation was shallow, they schemed Immortal Jump together, and handled several vicious and unkind power figures, not only yielding lucrative returns but also having great fun.

According to the plan, once Wu Yanjun was captured, he would be taken to the secret camp, notifying the manipulator to take charge, and then he would have nothing further to do with it. Upon returning, he could claim he had no idea where Wu Yanjun fled to amidst the vast forest.

However, the plan couldn't keep pace with changes, as so many days passed yet Wu Yanjun remained unfound... These were the just concluded interrogation results by Elder Gu, Flying Dragon with wine, Elder Gu shared them with He Kao.

He Kao secretly sighed in his heart; these sorcerers are quite adept at misusing good things. The Joint Punishment Order was enacted to protect all sorcerers, yet mere moments after its introduction, it was used to frame others.

Technique is rare, achieving success in Cultivation is even rarer, yet they divert their intellect to such schemes.

"Who was behind instructing Zeng Hongye?" He Kao asked the question he was most concerned about.

Gu Chun replied meaningfully: "I heard you spent quite some time discussing with Xiaowu, and your analysis was very reasonable."

He Kao: "So was my guess correct?"

Gu Chun: "Almost all of your analysis was correct, except for the most crucial point. The person behind instructing Zeng Hongye was a former Steward of the Alchemy Sect, Tier Five Taster Yu Pingzhou."

Seeing He Kao momentarily speechless, Elder Gu gazed at him with an examining look, and then asked: "Are you disappointed that it's not Wan Zhongle?"

**

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