CHAPTER 222: CHAPTER 120: HALF BOTTLE, WULIANG, AND TWO MACE MESS

Chen Yuhua appeared at the airport, surprising quite a few people.

A guy with a crew cut and a baseball cap secretly sent a message: "Brother Wuliang, what’s Chen Yuhua doing at the airport?"

Brother Wuliang replied: "No way, you must be mistaken?"

The crew cut guy walked towards the arrivals gate, casually positioning himself in front of Chen Yuhua, pretending to peer inside. He found an angle with his phone to take a photo, then sent the photo to Brother Wuliang.

Brother Wuliang was busy confirming something, and after a while, he replied: "Keep an eye on her, report any developments immediately."

He Kao was watching all this from a distance, and his phone received a message: "What’s happening on your end? Has that woman not returned home yet?" Followed by three garbled symbols.

This message was not meant for He Kao, but for the "Cleaner."

He Kao, after returning from Sawa Country, had brought his usual phone but removed the SIM card, then retrieved another phone from home, which was not registered under his name.

His presence should still be in Sawa Country; if anyone checked that his phone had mysteriously been online domestically during this period, it would effectively expose Hidden Moth’s identity.

He acquired two more phones from the Cleaner, one for personal everyday use, and another for work purposes.

He Kao unlocked one of the phones, having discreetly observed the Cleaner’s unlocking actions to deduce the password. This should be the work phone, featuring only pre-installed essential apps, with little other content.

The social accounts had only a dozen or so contacts and two groups, with no retained chat records, suggesting a habit of deletion.

Checking the few friends, he couldn’t identify anyone by their avatars, and the timeline was completely barren... The user’s nickname was surprisingly "Cat Hated Dog Disliked."

It’s often said that a humble name leads to longevity; in this dangerous line of work, such a nickname is understandable. And the person messaging him had the nickname "Kucha Zi," seemingly elegant but phonetically similar to "Underpants."

He Kao replied: "I’m at the target’s house waiting, she hasn’t returned."

He finished typing but paused before sending the message, noticing the three garbled characters following "Kucha Zi’s" earlier message, suspecting they might be a form of password or identity confirmation.

Since he didn’t know the corresponding code, any reply could result in exposure, hence he chose not to respond. Several messages arrived, but He Kao didn’t reply.

At this point, Yang Lingxi emerged, carrying almost no luggage, and looked surprised on seeing her mother. Chen Yuhua approached her and exchanged some words, then the two turned and took the escalator upstairs.

Like most airports, the first floor here was arrivals, the second was departures; after reaching the second floor, the mother and daughter headed straight for security, and... just went in!

The crew cut guy was a bit dumbfounded, quickly messaging Brother Wuliang: "She picked up her daughter, then they went to the second floor, through security, dunno where they’re flying to."

Brother Wuliang: "Follow them in!"

Crew cut guy: "I can’t get in!"

Brother Wuliang: "Just buy a ticket for tonight, isn’t that how you get in? Do I need to teach you this?"

Crew cut guy: "I didn’t bring an ID."

Brother Wuliang: "Use an electronic ID."

Crew cut guy: "I haven’t set that up, don’t know how."

At this moment, a call came through; presumably, Brother Wuliang couldn’t hold back anymore, opting for a call instead of texting back and forth, asking what the situation was.

Brother Wuliang finally grasped the situation and commanded: "Go check her house."

Everything was perfectly arranged today: before Yang Lingxi flew back to Nanhua City, eliminate Yan Congfei and Chen Yuhua, while arranging a plausible reason for their deaths.

When Yang Lingxi returned home, all she’d find were two dead bodies. Let her report it to the police, and after the cause of death was determined, the police would question Yang Lingxi—the other leads would be cut off there.

Yet things went inexplicably wrong; Chen Yuhua didn’t return home, the Cleaner couldn’t be reached either, and it’s unclear what the situation is over there.

The crew cut guy followed Brother Wuliang’s instructions and arrived at Pearl Garden, knocking on Chen Yuhua’s door, but received no response. He messaged Brother Wuliang: "No one answered when I knocked, I didn’t bring a key, can’t get in!"

Not everyone has skills like He Kao; these locks are difficult to pick, even professional lockpicking firms often resort to destructive lock removal.

He Kao’s mastery of the Auditory Form Technique enhances lock-picking, but the technique itself is not the Lock-Picking Skill. Even sorcerers with similar abilities, if they don’t understand various lock mechanisms and principles, likely can’t unlock doors as effortlessly as He Kao.

Of course, if a Tier Three or higher sorcerer comes, as long as the lock tongue can be moved, the door can be opened easily, but the crew cut guy clearly doesn’t have this level of cultivation.

Forcibly breaking in is an option, but the commotion would inevitably alert neighbors or security.

Brother Wuliang: "Wait downstairs, I’ll send more people over."

After about half an hour, a few people showed up, more than one, arriving in two vehicles.

One car stopped outside the community, four people got out and entered separately, spreading out near building fifteen for surveillance, with one meeting up with the crew cut guy.

Another car entered from the underground garage, with three people inside, but only one got out and headed upstairs.

This was one of the two experts accompanying Yan Congfei today; he arrived in front of room 703, closed his eyes, focused, grasped the handle, and after a few seconds, opened the door as if it hadn’t been locked.

The room was cleaned thoroughly, leaving almost no traces—no bodies, no bloodstains, not even the half cup of tea on the coffee table, and the cleaner was missing too.

That person wandered through the various rooms, then silently went downstairs to meet up with his companions and quickly departed. Five others were still watching from outside, including Little Pingtou who had rushed over from the airport.

He Kao also returned to Pearl Garden, but he didn’t follow Little Pingtou all the way back; he traversed directly through space. When these people arrived, he wasn’t waiting in the room, nor did he approach.

He discovered through surveillance that someone had entered Chen Yuhua’s house, and the person who opened the door was clearly a skilled infiltrator, someone He Kao didn’t have confidence to confront.

In today’s Eastern Country, wearing a large face mask when going out is common, so these people were all wearing masks, making it difficult to identify their faces.

Does wearing a mask make someone unrecognizable? Not necessarily, if He Kao encounters them again, he’s sure he can identify them. A person’s characteristics go beyond just the nose and cheeks, but if the opponent disguises well, some records can’t be treated as evidence.

He Kao didn’t recognize this group of people.

The locksmith who went upstairs alone was named Shi Haosheng, a Tier Four Artisan of the Micro Realm Sect, whose cultivation was already at Tier Four Perfection, with the nickname Two Mace. His private social account username was also "Two Mace."

As for Brother Wuliang, his name was Shi Haowu, also a Tier Four Artisan of the Micro Realm Sect. He was Shi Haosheng’s cousin and a disciple of the same branch of the Micro Realm Sect. His private account username was "Wuliang."

Two Mace got into the car and left first, discussing the situation at Chen Yuhua’s house with Wuliang on the way. The cleaner seemed like they had never been there, and Yan Congfei’s body was nowhere to be found.

But he used his Divine Sense to meticulously search every corner, and there were still some traces in the house; not only had the cleaner been there, another person seemed to have come too. What had happened later, where had the people and body gone?

The most unsettling thing in this world is the uncertain unknown.

Some people who wronged others always say there are no ghosts, people don’t need to fear ghosts, but if a ghost unexpectedly appeared before them, they’d probably be more terrified than anyone!

Wuliang felt a chill at that moment and asked over the phone, "Is anyone following you?"

Two Mace: "I didn’t follow Half Bottle and them directly, I went up from the underground parking garage, left first, and didn’t notice anyone tailing me... Even if there were someone, they should’ve been shaken off by now."

Half Bottle, that’s Little Pingtou’s code name. Little Pingtou’s name was Li Weiping, just an auxiliary member in this group, essentially the errand boy.

Half Bottle was originally only supposed to watch at the airport to see when Yang Lingxi would arrive, theoretically not leaving any flaws, hence not requiring high cultivation, unexpectedly discovered the most important situation.

Wuliang’s voice faltered a bit, "Brother, could it be Hidden Moth?"

"Very likely!" Two Mace reached the same conclusion and then asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Wuliang sounded unsure, responding, "What advice do you have?"

Two Mace pondered, "Two options for you to choose from.

The first option, Yan Congfei is already dead, and there’s no evidence linking this matter to our Shi Family. Even if that woman and her child are still alive, it can’t be traced back to us—it was Yan Congfei who ordered that girl.

Now, Yan Congfei might have disappeared, or his body might have been discovered somewhere, deceased from poisoning. According to the Ancestral Hall’s view, he might have killed himself, or maybe Hidden Moth did it.

As long as there’s no evidence, this matter doesn’t concern us. We can completely remove ourselves from it, pretending this never happened, even the Ancestral Hall can’t do anything to our Shi Family."

Wuliang: "But it’s not the Ancestral Hall coming now. It seems like Hidden Moth has come knocking."

Two Mace: "Isn’t that perfect? We might consider the second option!

We only need to be wary of the Ancestral Hall, not Hidden Moth. Originally, our target was Hidden Moth. Now, although the situation is slightly different from our expectations, the plan is halfway successful. Hidden Moth is already here.

Use this opportunity to lure him out, at least determine Hidden Moth’s identity."

Wuliang: "I was just about to tell you, Three Pots just found something unusual in Half Bottle’s pants pocket, like a button but not actually a button, it’s possibly a tracking device.

Half Bottle may have been recognized, either at the airport or after returning from the airport, ultimately he was tampered with. If Hidden Moth did it, then Hidden Moth is likely tracking Half Bottle now."

Three Pots is also a code name; the person’s name was Hu Shulue, a recently advanced Tier Four Artisan of the Micro Realm Sect. He was Shi Haowu’s cousin-in-law, currently stationed outside Building 15 of Pearl Garden, he’s the one who discovered the anomaly on Half Bottle.

The most easily overlooked spots by men are the two pockets at the back of the pants; even if someone silently slipped something in, it’s hard to notice, assuming the item isn’t too large or heavy.

In the crowded airport, He Kao quietly placed a miniature tracking device in Little Pingtou’s left pocket. This wasn’t taught by Qian Guran; He Kao had figured it out himself.

The versatile Eastern Country online marketplace can bring up all sorts of quirky things, and such devices can be found in major electronics towns too. He Kao’s secret base in Gu Mountain had them stocked.

He Kao’s handy work was discovered by Little Pingtou’s partners; there were more than one skilled individual there!

Two Mace inquired further, "Did Three Pots warn Half Bottle?"

Wuliang: "No, he doesn’t want to alert them just yet."

Two Mace: "Then that’s perfect, let’s keep them thinking the plan is working, and use Half Bottle to draw Hidden Moth out!"

**

PS: Sorry, I was drinking yesterday.