Chapter 336: Chapter 187: Green Waters Reflecting the Sky, Clouds Sweeping the Earth

The first question He Kao asked Feng Zilong in the interrogation was what his name was. Feng Zilong answered that his name was Gao Chenshu, attempting to deceive.

However, he wasn’t speaking randomly; Gao Chenshu does exist and is indeed a cleaning worker under Master Kucha, codenamed “Redwood,” residing in Minzhou City, Shanmin Province, currently at Tier Two Cultivation.

The massacre disguised as a fire accident that Feng Zilong confessed to was something he and Gao Chenshu did together.

Feng Zilong is not the type of person you can expect to comply honestly. Although Master Kucha didn’t allow his subordinates to contact each other privately, Feng Zilong still took advantage of a mission opportunity to secretly investigate Gao Chenshu’s identity.

His idea was quite simple, intending to collaborate with or utilize Gao Chenshu to undertake some profitable side jobs… Just now, when recounting the past, Feng Zilong also disclosed the situation involving Gao Chenshu.

If Feng Zilong privately investigated Gao Chenshu during a mission, could Gao Chenshu have done the same thing? Following this lead, there might be more “disciples” of Master Kucha to be found.

Approaching Gao Chenshu is an active method, but Ye Liangcheng has a passive approach, which is to wait here at this secret base. Certainly, someone like Feng Zilong would be unable to resist returning here…

After hearing Ye Liangcheng’s plan, He Kao asked again, “The idea is good, but do you have a specific plan?”

Ye Liangcheng: “Elder, do you have any words to impart?”

He Kao: “It’s not really imparting anything, just a reminder.

If I hadn’t come today, you might have fallen by Feng Zilong’s hand. You’re in the open, he’s in the dark, even if you didn’t drink the poisoned wine, he would find other ways to trap you.

Think again, who are the other subordinates of Master Kucha, and what might they do?

Even though you’ve set up an alarm trigger, it’s not foolproof. You can’t always stay here 24/7 waiting for them; there are times you’ll leave the office.

Moreover, even if you could stay here every day, you’d be putting yourself in danger.”

Ye Liangcheng: “So what should I do then?”

He Kao: “I’m just reminding you of the dangers involved; don’t ask me for everything, think for yourself what can be done?”

Ye Liangcheng blinked for a long time, seemingly treating this matter as a test question from Elder Huo Qing, pondering several solutions.

Given that both the martial arena and underground Dao Fields are very secretive, ordinary people simply won’t find them, he could hire a few security guards like before to patrol and feed the dogs; he can’t always guard this place alone.

This abandoned site covers a large area with complex spatial structures, and now probably no one can fully understand the situation inside; he will create one, no, two more secret hideouts.

The first hideout is his own secret retreat; he himself doesn’t always need to be in view and should only appear when necessary, maintaining caution.

It seems he’ll often go out; sometimes genuinely leaving, sometimes hiding.

The second secret hideout is a storeroom where all valuable or useful things left by Master Kucha will be stored, and leave a letter in the underground Dao Field.

The contents of the letter can align with what he introduced about Feng Zilong, but should supplement certain details, change the tone, and emphasize certain matters.

For instance, Master Kucha has unexpectedly died half a year ago, and now Elder Huo Qing has temporarily appointed Ye Liangcheng as the contact person for this faction.

Former disciples of Master Kucha wanting to restore their status and continue receiving Secret Technique instructions and support must disclose their identity and past deeds to guarantee trustworthiness.

The letter should also leave a contact method; if someone sees the letter, they can reach out to Ye Liangcheng, and if a meeting is necessary, Ye Liangcheng will then notify the time and place…

About Ye Liangcheng’s proposed plan, He Kao was quite satisfied. This young fool initially lacked some common sense, but it’s okay; experiencing so many events is a growth opportunity.

At least, at this moment, he has started thinking independently and proactively.

He Kao nodded and said, “Since you’ve thought of it, go ahead. With Feng Zilong as an example, the cleaning workers trained by Master Kucha might be quite the sinister types; you must not let your guard down and cannot be overly merciful.”

Yet, Ye Liangcheng noticed an odd term in the statement: “Cleaning workers? What do you mean by cleaning workers, Elder?”

He Kao sighed, “Leave me an email; I’ll send you some information; you’ll understand after reading it and it will answer more of your questions…

Once you’ve completed the arrangements just discussed, I will come to meet you again, at which time I will impart other Techniques to you.”

After leaving the site, He Kao sent Ye Liangcheng some data, which mainly divided into two sections. The former part introduces Techniques, the Magic Sect, and Sorcerers, so Ye Liangcheng won’t always be in the dark.

The latter part introduces the Huiming Shi Family and the notification results from the Ancestral Hall on handling the Huiming Shi Family, stating who did what and what punishments they received.

It also naturally mentioned Hu Shulue and Gu Jiang’s identities; during the Ancestral Hall’s investigation, these two had already died one after another.

The data clearly pointed out that Gu Jiang was indeed Master Kucha, who secretly cultivated a batch of sorcerers, privately imparting Secret Techniques, particularly assigning them tasks that the Shi Family couldn’t overtly perform.

The Patriarch of the Shi Family referred to them as the Cleaning Department, while Gu Jiang called these people cleaning workers.

After reading the data, Ye Liangcheng finally understood that he too was one of those cleaning workers referred to by Gu Jiang, and astonishingly, his enemy Hu Shulue was in cahoots with Gu Jiang…

It’s hard for others to understand Ye Liangcheng’s feelings. In short, he bought a lot of paper money and gold ingots, found a street corner, and burned them quietly for a long time. The next day he started making various preparations.

He Kao had someone backing him. Even though Elder Jiang let him handle things himself, there was no meaning of hiding anything. So, he reported the entire incident in detail to Jiang Daozhen.

He also asked Jiang Daozhen when he could return to Qi Yuan, as some questions were inconvenient to discuss over the phone or email; it would be best to ask in person. He didn’t get to meet Jiang Daozhen, but a week later, Master Gu arrived.

Elder Gu Chun ostensibly wasn’t there to see He Kao. The elderly master often traveled the world, and recently he had borrowed the Flying Divine Artifact Cloud from the Ancestral Hall, flying everywhere leisurely.

That day, he drifted to Hengzhou to visit the Qihuang Spirit Garden.

Lin Qingshuang usually sat in the city’s pharmacy, with Meng Ya assisting her. On weekends, she usually returned to the Qihuang Spirit Garden, and Xiaopang would also come from Qi Yuan to consult the master on various cultivation issues.

Having insiders made things easier; He Kao informed Gao Xue’e. Although the project team often had to work overtime on weekends, Xiaopang’s leave requests were always approved smoothly, as long as they didn’t delay the work progress.

That day, He Kao accompanied Xiaopang to the Qihuang Spirit Garden again because Lin Qingshuang had asked Xiaopang to bring a message inviting him to a meal… On such occasions, He Kao typically cooks a couple of dishes himself.

He recently learned many new recipes, all gathered on-site at the Qihuang Spirit Garden.

Having mastered the Poison Detection Skill and Medicine Identification Skill, and now delving into the Artifact Identification Skill, He Kao had yet to become a master appraiser, but had become an excellent cook and an expert gatherer in the wild.

The Qihuang Spirit Garden, covering a vast mountainous area, not only had a wide variety of flora but also plenty of free-range meat ingredients. He was able to find numerous ingredients, whether ordinary or cultivation spirit medicines, and explore how to make them taste better.

It is said that many sorcerers in the Alchemy Sect excel at cooking, regardless of their willingness to cook daily, their skills are good. This is possibly an incidental benefit from practicing the Medicine Identification Skill and subsequent Alchemy.

Although He Kao wasn’t a disciple of the Alchemy Sect, his cooking skills unknowingly improved.

He Kao had finished cooking and was about to eat with Lin Qingshuang and two disciples. Just then, Elder Gu floated over on a cloud, swaying as he came, and even before landing, a divine thought greeted them: “Little sister, just in time for a meal, how fortunate I am!”

Within the divine thought, there wasn’t only this greeting but also a self-introduction and the purpose of his visit. Elder Gu proclaimed that he was touring various places and, hearing that Lin Qingshuang had broken through to the Fourth Realm and taken in two excellent disciples, had come to congratulate her.

Lin Qingshuang hurriedly led the three juniors out to receive him, and Elder Gu Chun cheerfully came inside, conveniently sitting down to join the meal. The elder had a great appetite and halfway through the meal, there wasn’t enough food, so He Kao quickly returned to the kitchen to prepare two more dishes.

At midday, Lin Qingshuang forbade Xiaopang and Meng Ya from drinking alcohol since they had to study in the afternoon. She only let He Kao accompany Elder Gu Chun for a few drinks.

After the meal, they had a cup of tea, and naturally, Elder Gu Chun wanted to have a tour. He said to Lin Qingshuang: “Junior sister, you need to teach the disciples, so there’s no need to accompany me. Let Xiao Kao guide me.”

Elder Gu Chun asked He Kao to accompany him for a walk in the mountains, while Lin Qingshuang gave Elder Gu a glare from behind. With Elder Gu Chun’s cultivation, he’d surely notice it, but he just smiled and pretended not to know.

He Kao was already familiar with the place, but he didn’t understand much about the relationship between the characteristics of spirit medicine and the Earth Qi environment, nor the intricacies of various array setups, so he took the opportunity to consult Master Gu Chun, a grandmaster in this field.

Leading Elder Gu, He Kao sighed, “Not a speck of dust touches, a white cloud drifts away… How carefree you are, Elder!”

Gu Chun laughed, “We didn’t drink much at noon, yet you’re already reciting poetry?

In the Ancestral Hall, I’m responsible for overseeing the conduct of Magic Sect Disciples worldwide, so naturally, I must float around. Thanks to you for eliminating the Huiming Shi Family, allowing the divine artifact Cloud to see the light of day again, letting me borrow it.

However, some people can’t stand my carefree nature, always indirectly urging me to return the divine artifact, saying next time it’s needed, we will borrow it again…”

The Flying Divine Artifact Cloud isn’t Elder Gu’s personal belonging but is held in trust by the Ancestral Hall, taken out when necessary.

Elder Gu Chun had borrowed Cloud for a trip abroad to deal with Zeng Hongye. However, he didn’t return it afterward, making it much more convenient to handle affairs with this artifact on hand.

But it’s hard to say he’s using public resources for personal purposes, as he said he needs it to travel around verifying situations after the major survey of Magic Sect Disciples last October.

He Kao agreed, “This divine artifact shouldn’t just collect dust or, like the Huiming Shi Family, be hidden in a secret vault. It’s best used by you, Elder, first.”

Gu Chun laughed, “You’re a sensible kid! I’ll relay this to the other elders so they won’t always have opinions about me.”

He Kao didn’t dare respond to that and quickly bowed, “I’m only speaking to the situation, without targeting any elder in particular.

It’s just that overseeing the conduct of Magic Sect Disciples worldwide is truly arduous! Running around day and night, exhausting and worrying, you should certainly take it a bit easier.”

Gu Chun stopped walking, turned to look at He Kao with a half-smile, “Arduous? May I ask which of your eyes sees me being troubled?”

By now, they had reached deep within the mountain wilderness, immersed in lush greenery. Late August in Qi Yuan and Hengzhou remained hot, yet here it felt refreshing and cool.

Where there’s a spring in the mountains, there’s a stream. Moments earlier, they passed below, where the spring formed a series of cascading waterfalls along the steep mountain face, and at a lower depression, it gathered into a clear pool.

Beside the pool stood a large hackberry tree, thick enough for two people to encircle, its dense foliage shading from the scorching sun, beneath which lay a flat white stone upon which Gu Chun stood.

A breeze blew, and he seemed to merge into the landscape, radiating an inexplicable grace and ease, showing no sign of exertion or worry at all.

Once the mountain breeze subsided and the water surface grew calm, reflecting the peaks all around, all one saw was green waters touching the sky, white clouds sweeping the ground, indistinguishable if the clouds in the pool once belonged to that flying divine artifact.

**

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep