Hidden Moth-Chapter 511 - 290: The Wolf’s Heart Remains Restless
After a few more minutes, Luo Mingzhi walked out with a cello case, went downstairs to open the car door, tossed the case onto the back seat, and then drove away from the campus.
This was Jiao Bide’s car. She arrived at a place by the river with no surveillance or street lights, placed the cello case against a tree, and then drove away. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
These cello cases are quite suitable for holding people. It’s unknown why Jiao Bide’s home would have such an item, since he’s never been seen playing the cello; today it happened to be used to hold him himself.
A person emerged from behind the tree, tested the handle on the cello case, thought it was too heavy and might break, so they also carried it off under their arm, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
The figure of this person was surprisingly that of Layman Xingrui, who had recently resigned from his position as a steward at the Alchemy Sect due to some issues.
Lan Jiwan, still using Luo Mingzhi’s identity, returned to the campus, parked the car back in its original spot, then walked back to Luo Mingzhi’s dormitory, and never left again that night, at least from what was seen on the surveillance.
He Kao and Mei Guyu had already arrived at Sesame Apartment by this time. With little traffic on the way, it was still not yet nine o’clock, and the noodle shop outside the apartment entrance was still open.
Boss Mei wasn’t in the shop, but business was still very good; almost all of the dozen tables were occupied.
The new tenants of Sesame Apartment, who came because of Elder Mei, were mostly opportunists, always taking the chance to eat noodles when Boss Mei was in the shop, hoping to get familiar and leave a good impression.
And Boss Mei often sat in the shop, so the noodle shop was frequently packed.
Business was so good that it was overwhelming, prompting Boss Mei to hire several more staff members to take turns providing service.
Many things are interesting like this: even if the noodles here were made exceptionally well, the business would not be as explosive as this. But when its business boomed due to some unexpected reason, it quickly gained fame.
Not everyone was aware of the situation. Many were surprised to see this noodle shop doing so well, taking photos and videos to share on their moments or social media accounts... eventually, the shop gradually became a popular spot for check-ins.
Many self-media accounts introducing tourism and gourmet food in Qi Yuan mentioned this noodle shop in their content, some of which had considerable traffic, attracting more people to visit.
This noodle shop can accommodate close to fifty people dining simultaneously at most, and Boss Mei had no intention of expanding the operation scale, so the business appeared even more booming.
Have you seen people queueing for an hour just to eat a bowl of noodles and then take photos to post in their moments? It happens right outside Sesame Apartment. They’re not hired actors, and there are quite a few foreigners among them, which has also improved the business of surrounding shops.
Actually, the noodles here are made quite well with dozens of toppings, each having its own distinctive flavor. No matter what taste you prefer, there’s always one that suits you, capturing this sustained wave of traffic.
Nowadays, there’s no need for Boss Mei to sit in the noodle shop, nor do the scheming patrons need to keep coming; it’s still bustling, open from early morning until closing at ten at night.
"The business is really good here, too bad I’ve never eaten it, it’s always packed whenever I come!" He Kao remarked as he walked past the noodle shop entrance.
Mei Guyu laughed, "If you want to eat, just head straight to the kitchen someday, and let Sixth Uncle make it for you personally... or you don’t even need to go to the shop, I can also cook those noodles there."
He Kao: "How could I impose!"
Mei Guyu: "You treated me to lunch today, after all."
He Kao: "How come you can make the noodles from the shop?"
Mei Guyu: "I learned from Sixth Uncle, it’s quite simple, not difficult at all."
Although this shop is still a noodle shop, the things sold are different from before. The various noodles were newly launched after Mei Wenhua took over this shop.
While chatting, the two of them had already gone upstairs, neither going to He Kao’s apartment nor to Mei Guyu’s place, but instead to Mei Wenhua’s place, which was a two-bedroom apartment like Old Qian’s.
Mei Wenhua had received the notice from Mei Guyu and was waiting in the living room, with freshly brewed tea.
Upon entering, Mei Guyu greeted, "Sixth Uncle," while Mei Wenhua smiled and extended his hand, saying, "He Kao, we’ve crossed paths several times, but today is the first time we’re formally greeting each other."
He Kao hurriedly shook his hand, "Hello, Sixth Uncle!"
Mei Wenhua paused slightly, inadvertently glanced at Mei Guyu, then chuckled and said, "Good, good, come and sit down!"
So much happened today that He Kao was overwhelmed, and his mind was still a bit confused. Just now, he wasn’t intentionally trying to ingratiate himself; it was just an instinctive reaction to follow Mei Guyu’s lead in addressing him as Sixth Uncle.
He had been very well-behaved since childhood, with a bit of a people-pleasing personality; it was a habitual response.
Mei Wenhua looked at He Kao, inexplicably finding him more pleasing to the eye. He had heard of He Kao’s fame and various rumors about him but believed that some of the contents in the rumors were wrong.
How could He Kao be a secret disciple of Elder Jiang or Elder Gu? All the signs that Mei Wenhua personally witnessed indicated that this child was clearly a direct disciple of Li Xiuyuan!
Mei Wenhua knew his own niece well; her temperament was cold and not easy to approach, not good at communicating with people, and had never seen her so close with any suitable-aged young man. This closeness was not about behavior but in feel.
Looking at the bags the two were carrying... oh, they even had a pair of matching steel rulers!
But after sitting down, Mei Wenhua’s expression changed, as he received a divine thought from Mei Guyu, learning what had just happened, and was too shocked to speak.
Li Xiuyuan assigned Mei Wenhua to Qi Yuan, with the main task of investigating the leak incident.
Many people mistakenly believed he was Elder Mei, largely because of his Tier Five Heart Stealer techniques. Mei Wenhua knew what these people were thinking and could skillfully guide their emotions and judgments.
These people came after hearing rumors about Elder Mei, but not necessarily with malice; they didn’t even know whether Elder Mei was male or female, or what their name was.
They were clearly not the main targets of the Ancestral Hall’s investigation, but they had to be documented for later investigation, and with a small trick, Mei Wenhua screened out these clueless individuals.
The Xiao Alliance suddenly made a move, and Mei Wenhua was not aware beforehand. He only now realized that today someone had attempted to ambush Elder Li and Mei Guyu, but they were thwarted by Mei Guyu, who brought out the Divine Sword to slay them, with only Fabre escaping.
Just as he was about to speak, he received another message, widening his eyes and saying, "Someone at Qi Yuan University just captured a Tier Five Sorcerer, said to be an infiltrator sent by the Xiao Alliance, and has already been handed over to the former steward of the Alchemy Sect, Xing Rui."
Mei Guyu also asked with surprise, "Who made the move?"
Mei Wenhua: "It was someone appointed by Elder Li, and the code sent by Xing Rui was also correct."
He Kao lowered his head and silently took a sip of tea at these words. This explanation was also accurate; it was indeed someone appointed by Elder Li, and it couldn’t be said to be arranged by the Hidden Moth Sect, right?
Before Li Xiuyuan left Qi Yuan, he had instructed He Kao to capture Jiaobide "at the most appropriate time" and then hand him over to Xing Rui, leaving behind Xing Rui’s contact information.
As for what the most appropriate time was, and how to capture Jiaobide, these were left for He Kao to judge for himself, as a test of his ability to handle matters.
Mei Guyu nodded and said, "Tonight, I couldn’t capture any of them alive because the opponents were too strong; I had to go all out. If I had hesitated even slightly during the attack, I couldn’t guarantee the safety of both He Kao and myself.
Elder Li had another plan, capturing one of their Tier Five Sorcerers, which is excellent. Sixth Uncle, please clean up the battlefield, and then bring the person back to the Ancestral Hall with Xing Rui..."
Mei Wenhua puzzled, "But I heard the person who violated the Ancestral Hall’s gag order was Xing Rui, who resigned from her steward position for that reason. I didn’t expect her to be sent to Qi Yuan by Elder Li..."
Mei Guyu shook his head and said, "This matter has nothing to do with Xing Rui; Elder Li has other arrangements. So many people came to Qi Yuan this time, who knows what rumors they heard or where they heard them from. Next, you and Xing Rui might have to investigate this."
Mei Wenhua quickly took his orders and got up. He Kao called after him, "Sixth Uncle, here’s another Invisible Artifact I found on the battlefield, please take it with you as well."
Xing Rui was Li Xiuyuan’s secret hand, stealthily assigned to Qi Yuan to provide support.
The chaos at Qi Yuan was contained, and someone would naturally handle the aftermath, but He Kao didn’t know what happened over at Phoenix Tail Town. Not to mention, if the portal to the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven wasn’t opened, no one in the world would know what’s happening inside.
Compared to Mei Guyu’s decisive sword strike that killed seven and scared off Fabre, the magical combat in the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven, though grand in scale, was oddly drawn-out.
Life-and-death battles with divine techniques usually don’t last long, and the magical combat scenes in Joy Valley are the norm. The ongoing situation in the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven was indeed rare, and it still wasn’t over yet.
Gu Chun, Guo Qianhuai, Jiang Daozhen, and Li Xiuyuan each held a screen, maintaining a stable position, surrounding Master Dan Qiu and his disciple in the center... were they trying to starve them out?
Master Dan Qiu unleashed the sect’s sacred artifact, the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace; the Miao Yong Eight Gates Wind and Fire Array inherent in the artifact was indeed powerful, but it ultimately had to rely on his own mana to wield it.
Unless he could forcefully break through the Four Seasons Flowering Array, he would have no solution.
In fact, Master Dan Qiu’s closest attempt to turn the tables was when he forcefully hurled the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace at a gate, collapsing half the Ancestral Hall’s roof, but was still blocked by Gu Chun.
Gu Chun, holding the Array Core, had the home-field advantage, causing Master Dan Qiu and his disciple to fall short, leading to a war of attrition.
Master Dan Qiu also realized what the opposing side intended. Of the four old men across from him, besides Gu Chun, the other three were not good at hand-to-hand combat, using this strategy to make up for their deficiencies.
But Master Dan Qiu thought to himself that he wasn’t afraid of a war of attrition; he was in his prime, at the peak of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, while Gu Chun must have arrived overnight in a hurry, so could he really outlast him in terms of endurance?
He also controlled his output, not always unleashing the full power of the Eight Gates Wind and Fire Array, but occasionally striking with fierce bursts.
However, after fighting for so long, the Four Seasons Flowering Array continued to operate as initially, and despite the intense scene, both sides were still engaging in verbal sparring. To people like them, this was also a form of magical combat.
Master Dan Qiu spoke, "The Ancestral Hall claims to be the orthodox of the Magic Sect, yet you are but frogs at the bottom of the well, eating the old and unchanging ways. Open your eyes and see the world; it is no longer what it was a thousand years ago. Your history should have ended long ago!"
Gu Chun: "How many dishes did you have to drink like this?"
Jiang Daozhen smilingly replied: "He didn’t even have a dish!"
Li Xiuyuan: "What’s your name again? Xiaodanzi, drinking requires food, expressing emotion should have goods. Tell me, how are we eating old and unchanging ways, and why are we frogs at the bottom of the well?"
**
