Li Guang brought the two 7-Star Cultivators toward Fengyun City as this was the last place Li Xue was seen.
"Are you sure about this, Li Guang? If Li Xue has broken through, it is going to be hard for us to escape," one of them asked, concerned about his own personal safety.
"That is the only way. If we're careful enough, even Li Xue won't be able to kill us easily," Li Guang shook his head helplessly. There was simply no reason to reject. In fact, if he didn't do anything, the other party would simply bring out the outer elder to the mix.
"Then, we're going to enter the city stealthily?" the other asked while fixing his hood. All three had covered their appearances with long coats and deep hoods. Instead of the signature clothes of the Iron Mountain Sect, they had changed into normal attire.
Li Guang's approach was more careful than Zhao Xin and Su Han. While it looked like common sense, cultivators often thought of themselves as above ordinary people. Wearing normal clothes made them feel like they were lowering themselves to the level of commoners. Fortunately, Li Guang came from a wealthy family, so he didn't mind wearing such attire.
After a long journey, they finally arrived at the city. They entered through the city gate like ordinary people, not wanting to stand out.
"Should we head to the government office after this? Their help should be crucial," one of them asked.
Li Guang pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No. It's better not to seek their help. I'm just thinking about the worst-case scenario... There is a chance that Li Xue manages to gain the cooperation of the government, portraying us as the bad guys. So, if we go to them, Li Xue might find out about us."
Li Guang's prediction was correct, but instead of the entire government, only Hao Yu was involved.
At the same time, while they were trying not to stand out, they unknowingly exposed themselves. Hao Yu's method had worked again, notifying the city guards that three cultivators had sneaked into the city.
Only a few people were informed about this. Since they entered through the North Gate, the North District Administrator was obviously aware of the matter. And as the one who implemented the new method, Hao Yu was also notified to measure its performance. But for Hao Yu, it was like a bell ringing in his ears. The time to act had arrived.
Hao Yu immediately rushed to the brothel to meet Li Xue. Fortunately, Li Xue had recovered from her injury, so Hao Yu didn't need to enter the brothel to meet her.
He stood at the back of the building, using the dark alley as his cover.
"They are coming. Three cultivators," Li Xue informed him.
Hao Yu's face turned serious as he looked down, recalling the people she knew. "If my prediction is correct, one is 8-Star, and the other two are 7-Star."
"You are correct," Hao Yu replied, satisfied that she could see through the enemies. With that information alone, they should be able to do much more.
"In that case, it must be Li Guang, Lin Dong, and Yi Ze. I can't fight Li Guang in a frontal battle. But if I can separate Lin Dong and Yi Ze, I can defeat them one at a time. I'm not sure about my injuries though," Li Xue explained her prediction.
Lin Dong and Yi Ze looked unassuming, but with Li Guang leading them, things started getting complicated.
"In that case, I will separate Lin Dong and Yi Ze for you. As for Li Guang, can you defeat him if he is injured?"
"If it's a light injury, I'm not very sure. After all, I'm still one star below him," Li Xue sighed.
"In that case, I will try to create a distraction for you to sneak up on him. Launching a sneak attack is crucial. Can you do that?"
"If you can divert his attention, then I should be able to manage. Su Han had quite a good dagger in his Space Ring, so I could conceal that weapon and sneak up on him. But how about the other two? With the disappearance of Zhao Xin and Su Han, they will most likely stick together."
"Don't worry. We'll create some chaos in the city while eliminating them."
Li Xue tilted her head in confusion. Most of the time, cultivators had only two ways of defeating their enemies: a frontal battle or a sneak attack. These were quite monotonous methods, which was extremely advantageous for Hao Yu.
"Go to this area. I will try to create a diversion here for you to take advantage of. As for the concrete plan…" Hao Yu explained all the details to Li Xue. He believed this should be enough to defeat all three cultivators.
On the other hand, Li Xue was quite surprised that there was such a tactic. Hao Yu even wondered how Li Xue had been brought up, since that kind of strategy was common knowledge among ordinary people.
Nonetheless, the stage had been set. Unfortunately, they could only wait for Li Guang and the others to make their move first before they could do anything.
During that time, the Secret Guardian had notified more people as they were working. As a result, Hao Yu was called by Gao Ke once again.
"Hao Yu, what happened in this city? There seems to be an influx of cultivators entering the city covertly," Gao Ke asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"I'm sure you've heard my report. The last two cultivators, Zhao Xin and Su Han, entered the city because they were chasing a criminal, who happened to be another cultivator. I offered them help by locating the enemies."
"I've heard the report. But those cultivators..."
"Yes, they were killed. I offered my help in capturing the criminal, but they refused. Even the Secret Guardian can testify to this. So, I couldn't do anything, afraid of angering the cultivators."
Gao Ke nodded in understanding. It would be troublesome if the cultivators were angry and caused a commotion in the city. Still, the fact that two cultivators had died in this city cast a shadow on Fengyun City's reputation.
"What about this time?"
"We have identified them, one 8-Star and two 7-Star Experts. I believe their mission is the same."
"The criminal is still within the city?"
"That's... I think so," Hao Yu nodded his head helplessly. "Because the criminal could kill two 7-Star Experts without us noticing, it's clear that she is extremely dangerous. So, I have notified the Secret Guardian Troops to monitor her from afar."
Gao Ke didn't know that this was how Hao Yu had managed to meet up with Li Xue so easily. After all, the Secret Guardian couldn't directly see the cultivator's appearance, and the only way to confirm it was through the cooperation of the brothel manager. She was aware that Li Xue was a cultivator, but she couldn't do anything to expel her. So, the only way to solve this was to look oblivious while confirming her existence to the Secret Guardian. That was the only method the Secret Guardian knew that Li Xue was still inside the brothel.
Gao Ke was slightly worried. In the first task, Hao Yu had witnessed the brutality of cultivators. In the second task, two of his cultivators had died. While Hao Yu had perfectly guided the cultivators and provided everything they needed, that record would still be associated with him.
"In that case, you shouldn't involve yourself in this matter anymore," Gao Ke advised.
"But, sir..."
"No, I have made my decision. I don't want you to have a bad track record, so I want you to continue your work around the city and let the North District Administrator deal with this case."
"I..." Hao Yu looked like he wanted to argue with that decision, but Gao Ke stood firm. His gaze alone conveyed his resolve.
Hao Yu could only lower his head, disappointed with that decision. Gao Ke could see how responsible Hao Yu was and knew that he wanted to complete this task since it had been assigned to him initially.
"I will get some fresh air to clear my mind first," Hao Yu said, bowing his head and leaving the room.
Gao Ke waved his hand nonchalantly, not realizing that his decision was what Hao Yu actually wanted. Now that the stage had been set, it was time for Hao Yu to eliminate the three cultivators.