Chen Xiao hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "What happened? Is everything not going well?"
Wu Qing grumbled angrily, "The person in charge is too rigid. There's a sense of urgency in everything, but it's just a procedure! They wouldn't even allow for any flexibility!"
Tong Nuonuo was still somewhat confused by the situation. He didn't offer his own opinion, merely shaking his head at Chen Xiao, "I didn't get to see the person in charge."
Xi Yunqing stepped over and gently grasped Chen Xiao's arm, pulling him forward. "We'll talk about this when we get back. Don't block the door here."
Chen Xiao felt a chill in his heart and immediately fell silent. The group walked in silence, the atmosphere tense, until they reached the small courtyard where Chen Xiao was renting.
Everyone entered Chen Xiao's living room without saying a word. Wu Qing, who had been holding his anger in, finally exploded. He slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacups to jump and clatter. He shouted loudly, "This situation is truly disastrous! What rotten luck!"
Du Rong quickly stepped forward and tried to calm him down, pushing him into a chair. "Daoist Wu, what exactly happened? We're all about to go mad from worry."
Wu Qing was still seething, his tone harsh as he spoke. "I was seriously injured while being chased by a fierce beast, and I thought I was going to die. So I entrusted my nameplate to an acquaintance." Everyone present knew about this incident, but Chen Xiao and Du Rong were still confused as to how this connected. "We went to see the person in charge and told them that someone had anonymously posted a task, deliberately hiding the dangers of the mission. Xianshi Li, the one leading the team, was aware of this but kept quiet, even intending to sacrifice the lives of the practitioners, resulting in heavy casualties. Now I demand justice for the victims."
Chen Xiao was stunned. "What?! Did Xianshi Li do this?"
Wu Qing's anger grew, and his face turned a shade of pale fury. He nodded sharply. "It was definitely them! A cunning plan! Xianshi Li and his group first posted the task anonymously, then took it upon themselves to lead the team. They tricked us, unaware participants, into walking straight into a trap. We were bait to capture the target. Then, they returned, claiming to complete the task with the young Wuyingqing as proof. All they had to do was silence the other victims, then report it as deaths during the mission. This would make it appear as though everything had ended peacefully at Zhishi Hall. If no one came forward to uncover the truth, even if their sect found out, they wouldn't know the truth!"
Wu Qing had been overly naïve, thinking that after committing such a vile act, they wouldn't dare to return to Zhishi Hall and finish things off. He believed they would hide away in the shadows, or perhaps already fled from Hanshan City. Once the task's deadline passed, it would quietly vanish into thin air. But to his surprise, they were bold enough to return to Zhishi Hall and wrap things up as if nothing had happened.
Xi Yunqing spoke calmly, "After a task is completed at Zhishi Hall, any attempt to expose or hold someone accountable, whether it's the task issuer or the participants, must be approved by the person in charge. So we requested to see the person in charge. The manager agreed, but insisted on verifying our identities first. Unfortunately, at that moment, Wu Qing didn't have his nameplate."
Tong Nuonuo added, "Losing a nameplate and having it reissued is very troublesome. One must return to their originating Heavenly Realm. The temporary nameplate issued by Zhishi Hall only grants basic privileges, like boarding a sea ship or passing through a vortex gate. It's not valid for formal occasions like this."
Wu Qing continued, "At that point, I wanted to step back and let Tong Nuonuo go as the involved party and Xianshi Xi as the witness to meet with the person in charge. But Xianshi Xi stopped me. So, we had to leave."
At this point, Wu Qing still didn't understand why Xi Yunqing had stopped him, but he believed the disciple from Zhenxuan Sect must have had a reason. He directly asked, "Xianshi Xi, why did you stop us?"
Xi Yunqing spoke slowly, "The longer we stayed, the more information we revealed, and the greater our risk."
Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask, "Why? Does Zhishi Hall have something to do with this?"
Everyone was shocked, but Wu Qing's eyes widened in disbelief. "What are you saying? Does this involve Zhishi Hall? Are they the ones who harmed us?"
For Wu Qing, Du Rong, and Tong Nuonuo, Zhishi Hall was a place of authority and justice. It was an institution they trusted and had never imagined would turn a blind eye to such a horrific act, sacrificing so many lives without remorse.
But Chen Xiao's perspective was completely different. In his previous life, information spread like wildfire, and he had come to realize that in any organization, no matter how reputable, power often led to corruption, negligence, and exploitation. He had never believed that Zhishi Hall was a perfectly pure institution. When Xi Yunqing stopped him from speaking at the entrance of Zhishi Hall, he had an unsettling premonition.
Xi Yunqing tried to calm the group. "Things may not be as bad as they seem. Zhishi Hall is made up of several factions, and it's likely that only a part of them was involved. Take the use of the Wuyingqing cub to replace the young beast for the task, for instance. The disparity between the two is enormous, and the task description was seriously misleading. The high number of casualties was due to the false information about the mission's danger level. Anyone who handled this matter should have known it violated Zhishi Hall's principles, and they should have escalated the issue to higher authorities. If the upper management had been aware and intervened, when I came back to gather information, there would have been no silence."
Chen Xiao understood. He continued where Xi Yunqing left off, "So, someone must have suppressed this matter."
Xi Yunqing nodded and said, "Yes. I suspect that the steward is one of the people involved. He was absent for far too long, and there is suspicion of intentional delays. I think that even if Immortal Master Wu suggested that Junior Brother Tong and I meet with the person in charge, he would find another reason to prevent us from seeing them."
Even if it wasn't the entire Zhishi Hall, but just a part of it, Wu Qing was furious. His meridians were already in poor condition, and this time, the anger surged through him, causing him to vomit blood. Chen Xiao was startled, and before he could react, Xi Yunqing quickly moved forward, pressing on Wu Qing's pressure point, causing him to faint. Afterwards, Xi Yunqing placed a rest-replenishing pill in his mouth.
After the commotion, no one felt like speaking anymore. They sent Wu Qing back to his room and each went to rest. After all, they had just returned from a long journey, and everyone was feeling exhausted.
The next morning, Wu Qing appeared with a pale complexion. "Since the steward is in the know, why don't we just capture him and force him to reveal who is really behind this?" he suggested.
Xi Yunqing shook his head and replied, "The situation is unclear, and we cannot act rashly. After all, the other party is only part of Zhishi Hall. If we're not careful, we might end up facing the entire sect. If we anger the city lord and get hunted down by the entire city, it would be more dangerous than offending the lord directly."
Du Rong expressed concern, "Immortal Master Wu, your injuries haven't fully healed, and after yesterday's blood loss, they're only getting worse. You should rest properly."
Wu Qing smiled bitterly. "How can I rest peacefully? Just thinking that the Zhishi Hall, which I once trusted completely, is now filled with murderers makes me restless. The companions who once trusted me, who tried to come back and warn us, perhaps they were betrayed by those very people or even killed by their hands!"
Chen Xiao furrowed his brows. After some thought, he realized that this was indeed a possibility. He turned to Xi Yunqing and asked, "Is it safe for us to stay here? Or should we return to the valley? If they discover we're staying here, what if they come to silence us?"
Xi Yunqing replied, "Yesterday, we left directly from the Zhishi Hall gates. There are too many people there, so the Zhishi Hall members wouldn't dare follow us openly. For now, it's fine to stay here. But if we return to the valley immediately, we might attract attention. If their backing is powerful, they might have already been monitoring the exits of the city. The moment we leave Hanshan City, they might send assassins after us."
Chen Xiao felt increasingly uneasy. If they had the power to monitor the exits, they could have people stationed throughout Hanshan City to search for them. The longer they stayed, the more dangerous it became.
Clearly, Xi Yunqing was thinking along similar lines. He said, "Let's not act in haste. Today, I'll try to make contact with the local leader of Zhishi Hall. Since the steward suppressed the matter and prevented us from meeting the person in charge, it suggests that the main faction may not be involved. If the leader is willing to meet and clarify the truth, this matter should be easy to resolve."
As soon as Xi Yunqing finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room relaxed. The idea of a solution gave everyone a sense of relief, and they were no longer as anxious as they had been earlier.
Chen Xiao and the others urged Wu Qing to rest, but Wu Qing was still unwilling. He had been played by the steward yesterday and wasn't ready to give up on getting to the bottom of it. However, it was clear that the timing wasn't right, so he reluctantly agreed to rest and recuperate.
Soon after, Xi Yunqing left Chen Xiao's quarters to meet with the local Zhishi Hall leader. However, he didn't return after a day and a night.
This prolonged absence caused the four of them to grow increasingly uneasy. They couldn't help but wonder if something had gone wrong. Among them, Xi Yunqing was the most skilled and had the most powerful background. If something had happened to him, how could they possibly escape unscathed?
Unable to bear the uncertainty any longer, they waited anxiously until morning. If Xi Yunqing was in trouble, staying here would no longer be safe. They decided it was better to leave first and then find a way to gather information.