CHAPTER 369: CHAPTER 323

Hua Kongque glanced at the peach chain on her wrist, then gave Lan Tian a sidelong look, pondering whether or not to get one for Shen Jingbing. Shen Jingbing didn’t have one, and she feared his crazed outbursts; Lan Tian would not be able to escape when the time came.

"Mr. Zhang’s already gave it to him," Lan Tian seemed to have heard Hua Kongque’s thoughts. "Just like passing him a note, burn it after reading, and the two of you remember to come back for the rendezvous in half an hour."

Yang Lan and Ye Junying glanced at the note in their hands again. After memorizing the names, they took out lighters and burned the notes.

The four split into three teams, each taking their assigned tasks and leaving the pavilion. After sitting for a while, Lan Tian also left, standing in a corner of the garden looking towards Hua Hall. Unable to spot Mr. Mo’s figure, Lan Tian watched quietly for a moment before turning to leave. Then, she saw two people who shouldn’t be there appear and widened her eyes in shock.

"Wu Zongyu, Bai Qingqing, how did you two get here?"

"Lan Tian," seeing Lan Tian made Wu Zongyu in a good mood, "came with friends."

Bai Qingqing glanced at Lan Tian and nodded without speaking. Although she didn’t speak, the arrogance in her eyes couldn’t be hidden from Lan Tian.

These two still showed up, Lan Tian couldn’t help but sigh at the power of fate. Previously, Mr. Mo had suggested bringing the two of them over, but after she mentioned the danger of the banquet, they dropped the idea, and now...

"Grandpa is in Hua Hall, have you met with him? I’m about to see him myself, let’s go together!" Lan Tian made a sudden decision, as she was worried no one would be watching Mr. Mo. With Wu Zongyu’s arrival, she had no more concerns.

"Let’s go!" said Wu Zongyu. Bai Qingqing still felt somewhat embarrassed but it didn’t show on her face. The two of them followed Lan Tian to Hua Hall.

Mr. Mo was surprised to see Wu Zongyu and Bai Qingqing, then smiled and said, "Mischievous monkey, still as playful as when you were a child."

The other elders around just smiled.

"Grandpa, Brother Wu and Senior Sister Bai are here to accompany you. Don’t let them out of your sight, I have to go for a bit," said Lan Tian, knowing that Mr. Mo was aware she was looking for the person behind the poisoning. Mr. Mo nodded in understanding.

"Brother, Senior Sister, you’ve come at the right time, I have to go out for a bit, please stay here and accompany Mr. Mo, thank you." When Wu Zongyu arrived, his father had instructed him to take good care of Mr. Mo. Even if Lan Tian hadn’t said anything, he would have stayed by Mr. Mo’s side. Bai Qingqing’s purpose wasn’t to attend the banquet; her target was Wu Zongyu. When she heard Wu Zongyu was going to the banquet, she begged her Master, who agreed to let her follow Wu Zongyu—wherever Wu Zongyu was, she would be there.

Bai Qingqing snorted coldly, glancing at Lan Tian. The way she spoke, as if Brother Wu wouldn’t take care of Mr. Mo properly—as if Brother Wu hadn’t been the one taking care of Mr. Mo before she arrived.

Lan Tian headed towards the building nestled in the bamboo grove. Exiting Hua Hall, she sprinted toward the bamboo, her figure concealed by the night.

...

After parting from Lan Tian, Mo Junhua first wandered through the garden. The place was too obvious, revealing nothing unusual. Using the flower beds and bushes for cover, he cautiously made his way to the backyard.

Mo Junhua hid behind a group of artificial mountains. The mountains were made of stone on three sides with a gap in the middle, just wide enough to squeeze two people through. The entrance was blocked by a tall scenic tree, perfectly concealing it. Mo Junhua hid inside, peering through the crevice. Just ahead was an arched gate leading to the wing rooms of the backyard. The spot was far from the garden, eerily quiet, with faint sounds of commotion coming from the front.

The scene inside the archway is not clear, only the lighthouse opposite the archway is visible, its lights flickering on and off. Dense vines crawl up the walls, winding around each other, leading to a secluded path that vanishes into the night...

It looks like an ordinary yard, free of danger, but somewhat desolate, as if it has been uninhabited for a long time. The vines covering the wall spread across the path, indicating no one has passed this way for quite some time.

Mo Junhua holds his breath and hunkers down, not rashly bursting in. His instincts tell him that there is danger inside, as if something lurks in the night.

After waiting for a while, the area inside the archway remains still and silent. Remembering his arrangement with Lan Tian, Mo Junhua decides to leave this place first, planning to regroup with Lan Tian and then come back. As he turns to leave, a dark shadow glides out from the archway.

It really glides, the sort that doesn’t touch the ground, as if the shadow is a piece of paper floating out. Mo Junhua’s pupils constrict. He immediately retreats into the rockery, presses himself against the stone wall, and stays still, his heartbeat slowly diminishing until it seems as if there were just a rock lying within.

Another strange person with supernatural powers, just like that girl.

Things are different. In his previous life, he did not know the girl was a cultivator, nor did he know about ’He Xu Palace’ in Beijing, let alone that Beijing was home to so many cultivators.

While Mo Junhua’s mind races with chaotic thoughts, more dark shadows float out from the archway, and some float in. As his eyes adjust to the darkness, he recognizes these shadows as the guides who had led them here earlier.

This garden indeed has issues.

It’s unclear how much time passes, but eventually, no more guides come out of the archway, and none enter. Mo Junhua waits a bit longer before emerging from the crevice, walking past the scenic tree. Not far ahead, near the lighthouse, stands a girl backlit by the light, dressed in a bright red cheongsam. Her fragile figure holds a flower, sniffing it lightly at the tip of her nose. The dim orange light makes it impossible to discern her face, but her graceful figure could stir the deepest desires in a man’s heart.

Mo Junhua tenses up, slightly turning his body, and steps forward with one leg, placing one foot in front of the other. His hands loosely clenched, hanging at his sides, he assumes the optimal position for an attack.

In the dead of night, a girl stands by the road, holding a flower. Perhaps for someone else, this might suggest an amorous encounter, but Mo Junhua senses danger and nothing else.

"Do you think you can escape?" The girl turns around, her eyes smiling as she looks at him, her gaze falling on his hands.

Tian Family’s second daughter, Tian Yuying?

"I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, Camp Commander Mo. I thought I’d have to wait even longer," Tian Yuying says, twirling the flower in her hand, looking at his hands, "I advise you not to entertain the thought of making a move. You cannot defeat me."

Mo Junhua: "..." Being underestimated by a woman.

"Miss Tian, what do you mean by this?" Mo Junhua retracts his legs and frowns in her direction, "I remember we haven’t had any conflict between us."

"Giggling," Tian Yuying seems to have heard something amusing and suddenly bursts into laughter, shaking like a branch in the wind, only slowly regaining composure after a long time, wiping the tears that came out from laughter.

"Camp Commander Mo, why keep up the act at this point? Had you not come here, maybe I’d have believed you. Do you just want to know what’s happening inside? I’m about to enter myself, come on, let me give you a tour."