"Right, that Demonic Artifact you mentioned... I know what it is," Feng Yongrui told Zhong Weimin.
"It's the Mystic Stone," Feng Yongrui explained what he knew about the stone and Zhong Weimin listened with great interest.
"But, why are those Demonic Cultivators hurting Hu Zemin?" Ma Bo asked.
"Well, I do think there can be various reasons," Zhong Weimin said.
"First and foremost, on the surface, the Hu family is a prominent and affluent family whose roots are from a former hero. To the outside world, the Hu family is part of the Righteous Path."
"Therefore, many Demonic Cultivators might hate the Hu family. They might even hold grudges and whatnot. So perhaps those Demonic Cultivators want to take revenge on the Hu family by hurting the young master..."
Hou Renshu nodded his head and Ma Bo pursed his lips.
"Life is so complicated," Ma Bo grumbled.
Feng Yongrui agreed with Zhong Weimin's words and then took out the green jade pendant.
"Do you remember this?" Feng Yongrui asked, handing over the pendant to Zhong Weimin.
"Ah... I remember taking this from the robbers' leader at that time..." Zhong Weimin held the cool jade in his palm and marveled at the cold touch.
"I think the Hu family has been kidnapping children for the array since those five years ago. Those robbers must've been ordered by the Hu family to kidnap children," Hou Renshu, who had been silent all this time, spoke.
Feng Yongrui nodded again, his expression grave. "Weimin, I noticed something inside the jade pendant... Is it..."
Zhong Weimin brought the jade pendant closer to his eyes and squinted. "I think there's some sort of Gu worm here... But it's strange... Ah, this Gu worm looks different because it's the mother worm."
"The mother worm?" Feng Yongrui parroted.
"Yes... do you remember how the children complained that their heads hurt when they tried to run away? I think that's because the Gu worms inside their brains were stimulated to move around and hurt them."
Seeing three blank faces staring at him, Zhong Weimin grinned and explained patiently.
Every Gu worm has its own mother. The Gu worm's mother is called the mother worm. When a mother worm lays hundreds of eggs, the Gu worms that hatch from those eggs will have a connection with their mother.
A person who uses Gu worms to hurt others will keep the mother Gu. The Gu worm is planted inside a victim, and when the person with the mother Gu does something to the mother Gu, the Gu worms will react.
In this way, no matter how far you are from the victim, you can still control him or her, simply by using the mother Gu.
Several guards in the pagoda had the mother Gu, so that they could restrain any children who tried to escape.
As for the Gu inside the pendant, Zhong Weimin surmised that this was one of the earliest attempts of the Hu family to breed Gu worms, and that this one had failed.
Heaving a deep sigh, Feng Yongrui organized his thoughts.
"Weimin, I want to take down the mastermind," Feng Yongrui finally said.
"Master, we'll go with you too," Hou Renshu and Ma Bo eagerly said.
Zhong Weimin also said he wanted to go. After all, the Smiling Tiger was once his enemy. Zhong Weimin had no good feelings towards him and his kin.
With that thought in mind, the four people began discussing their strategy. They talked late into the night and did not stop until it was midnight. After finalizing their plans, the four of them went to bed, waiting eagerly for the sun to rise.
The next day, all of them woke up early and changed into black fitting clothes. They all looked like ninjas.
Zhong Weimin, who had a lot of tricks and spells up his sleeve, and carved four wooden dolls. Each doll represented one of them. He said a few incantations and waved his finger.
With a bright flash, the dolls transformed into lifelike figures that resembled Feng Yongrui, Hou Renshu, Ma Bo, and the black dog. The figures began moving and behaving like them, cultivating and practicing their swordplay.
These doppelgangers would make others believe that Feng Yongrui and his disciples were still in the Immortal Pathway Sect.
The four of them cast an invisible spell on themselves so that no one could see them, and then they sneaked out of the Immortal Pathway Sect.
When they were far enough from the Sect, they all took off the invisibility spell. They all changed their countenance and headed to Nanjiang. Nanjiang was a large city, and it would take at least three days on foot to get there.
Since the four of them did not want to be too conspicuous, they decided not to fly to Nanjiang. Instead, they would walk on foot and hide their cultivation levels. The four of them wore plain, coarse robes, but inside, they wore the dark "ninja" outfits.
When they walked together, they looked like four scholarly brothers who were traveling to see the world.
This was the first time Feng Yongrui was walking so far away from the comfort of his Mountain Peak, and he was quite scared and excited. He looked left and right, enjoying the scenery and the lively bustle of the townspeople.
The four of them traveled through several towns and stopped at an inn to rest. When it was daytime, they continued traveling. Finally, on the third day, they arrived in Nanjiang.
Nanjiang was a town situated near a large river. The town was prosperous and filled with shops, restaurants, and entertainment facilities. Feng Yongrui and his disciples headed to an inn and they a ordered four rooms.
After freshening up, they rested in their respective rooms and waited for the blazing sun to hide.
Night finally arrived, and four figures quietly sneaked out of the inn. They flew to the roof of the inn and made themselves invisible.
"Alright, are all of you ready?" Zhong Weimin asked. The other three nodded.
Zhong Weimin had been to Nanjiang before (when he sneaked out of the Immortal Pathway Sect alone), so he knew where the Hu family manor was located. He led them to the Hu manor.
Landing on the roof of the house, the four of them sneaked inside the manor. Zhong Weimin led them inside Hu Feizi's study. Thankfully, there was no one inside at the moment.
Hu Feizi's study was neat and well-organized. On the left side, there was a low mahogany table that was engraved with intricate leaves and coiling vines. A stack of books were laid on the corner of the table.
On the right side of the room, there were shelves filled with books and jade ornaments. On top of a cabinet there was an ornamental sword and a painting of the scenery in Nanjiang.
Zhong Weimin whispered, "Last time, I followed that Hu Feizi here. You all should stand to the side. I'm going to open the secret passage."
Zhong Weimin put his hand on one of the jade ornaments. It was a sculpture of a majestic tiger. In the dim lamplight, the whitish jade gleamed with an alluring glow.
Zhong Weimin pushed down on the tiger's tail and a mechanism was triggered. The sounds of whirring and clanking could be heard, breaking the silence in the room.
When the sounds finally stopped, the floor near the low table had moved to the side, revealing a flight of stairs leading down below. Feng Yongrui's eyes widened, but he pretended to be calm.
"That's the secret passage," Zhong Weimin said. "That time, I saw Hu Feizi go down there, but I didn't follow him. I don't know what's down there, so we have to be careful."
Feng Yongrui and his disciples nodded. Zhong Weimin entered the passage first, followed by Hou Renshu and then Ma Bo. Feng Yongrui was the last to enter.
Once all four of them were inside the passage, the floor slid back to its original place. The four of them were instantly engulfed in darkness. Thankfully, they were all cultivators, and they could see even though everything was dark.
They walked through the corridor with trembling hearts. The smell of rotting wood and the stale, airless room made the entire place suffocating. There was a thick layer of dust everywhere, tickling the nose and tempting people to sneeze.
They walked forward without meeting or seeing anything, until Zhong Weimin gave a start. At the end of the corridor, he saw a faint light peeking through a door.
Zhong Weimin gave a hand sign, and the four of them entered through the gap in the door. The gap was just enough for a person to squeeze through, so they entered one at a time.
The room was brightly lit with torches everywhere. Feng Yongrui thought this was better than that horrid, dark corridor they were passing through...
But... there was a familiar smell in the air. The smell of rust and metal -- the smell of blood.
***
You found the mastermind behind a terrible, cruel incident. You...
a) attack him yourself
b) call the police
c) run away
d) something else
Comment below~