Chapter 660 - 391: The Storm of Troubles Facing the Wandering Guest
As He Kao expected, just two days later, Hu Weidong arranged another meeting with him. Before that, He Kao had already met Li Xiuyuan to ask the questions lingering in his heart and learned more about the duel’s inner details.On the day of the duel, He Kao looked up to see the sky full of white clouds and heard Kang Rulin’s voice coming from the sky, suspecting that Gu Chun had also come, hiding on a cloud.
The result was that Li Xiuyuan told He Kao that Elder Gu was not present that day, he had only lent A Cloud to Kang Rulin in advance.
A Cloud, whose original name was A Piece of Cloud, was once a treasured item in the Huiming Shi Family’s secret vault. After the Shi Family’s downfall, the Ancestral Hall confiscated it, and later Gu Chun used it.
A Piece of Cloud had been passed down for at least five generations in the Shi Family. If you trace further back, its origin becomes unclear. However, it can be confirmed that it was crafted by the founding ancestor of the Magic Sect as a flying divine artifact.
A thousand years ago, when internal strife caused the Magic Sect to split, many artifacts were dispersed, some landing in the hands of the Xiao Alliance, while others became private heirlooms scattered among civilians.
The Huiming Shi Family always maintained the divine soul mark inheritance of A Piece of Cloud. The Ancestral Hall not only reclaimed this divine artifact but also received back the divine soul mark inheritance from Kang Rulin, restoring it to the Magic Sect, and this time it was borrowed temporarily once again.
That is to say, on the day of the duel, Kang Rulin carried two divine artifacts, besides the flying divine artifact Cloud, there was also another one that could store items, a spatial divine artifact.
During the duel, Kang Rulin himself never appeared, he was hiding all along within a cloud in the sky. If the Xiao Alliance still had any plans against him, he could escape at any time...
These inner details, of course, were unnecessary to explain further to Hu Weidong.
Hu Weidong and Kang Rulin agreed that one week after the duel ended, a delegation would be dispatched to the Stone District. Now, the specific regulations regarding this matter had already been set, and he had come in advance to give He Kao the details.
As soon as they met, Hu Weidong gave a deep bow to express his gratitude for the help from Junior Brother Huo Qing, which allowed him to smoothly complete the duel.
He Kao did not stand much on ceremony and immediately asked what was going on with Hailari. Hu Weidong replied that the investigation was mostly clear but the result was somewhat comical.
Because he did not become a Senior Elder of the Supreme Council, Hailari had been holding a grudge against Hu Weidong. When Hu Weidong also asked to take the Celestial Net Umbrella from him, it exacerbated their conflict, so he wanted to cause trouble for Hu Weidong.
The Supreme Council sent Hu Weidong to participate in the duel intending to embarrass him. After hearing about it, Hailari wanted to stir things up even more... but what could he do? He went and consulted Fabre.
Fabre told Hailari that it was not an easy matter, because both parties had agreed not to act against each other until the duel concluded and that Fabre, as a Great Elder, must adhere to this agreement.
However, Fabre also mentioned that if something unexpected occurred unrelated to the conflict between the Xiao Alliance and the Stone Gang, then it was not covered by the agreement and couldn’t be pinned on anyone.
Thus, Hailari came up with an unscrupulous plan by getting in touch with a group of corrupt cops. The so-called ’black cops’ were official police from Luoshan City who often engaged in shady deals, a common occurrence.
Hailari did not even need to show up in person, he handled it through intermediaries and offered some benefits.
Those police officers knew nothing about the sorcerers and only knew that Shi Haoji was a city councilman of Eastern Country descent, so they thought that if they could successfully frame him, there might be more benefits to gain.
But Shi Haoji was also a Tier Four Cultivator and would not obediently let himself be framed and taken away by the police. Therefore, Hailari hid with the Observation Hall Ruler to stop any potential violent resistance to arrest.
Everyone’s attention was on the duel site. If, just before the duel started, Shi Haoji was suddenly taken away, Kang Rulin would surely think it was the Xiao Alliance causing trouble upon hearing the news.
Thus, Hu Weidong, representing the Xiao Alliance, would become Kang Rulin’s target for venting his anger and might end up miserably... As for the Stone Gang not pursuing the matter, afterward, they could have the investigating officers claim it was all a misunderstanding and let Shi Haoji go, and that’s that.
This was Hailari’s little maneuver, and one must admit his way of thinking was quite novel. But thinking carefully, many in the Xiao Alliance indeed operated in this manner, both externally and in their internal conflicts.
The internal punishment handed out to Hailari by the Xiao Alliance was the sealing of his cultivation, suspension of all cultivation resources and benefits.
The punishment sounds severe but honestly, it was already quite light. Once the heat died down, they might lift his seal and the withheld resources could be compensated in other ways.
Therefore, Hu Weidong felt it was insufficient and insisted on adding another stipulation, the removal of Hailari from the position as Director of the Intelligence Department, which shouldn’t have been his responsibility anyway, giving it instead to Xingshen’s lineage Elder Craig.
Xingshen’s lineage currently had two Elders in the Supreme Council, and Wenges was seen as Hu Weidong’s ally. If he were to strongly push for Wenges to take comprehensive responsibility for the Xiao Alliance’s intelligence work, Arthur would not agree, so Hu Weidong pushed Elder Craig instead.
This result was originally to be communicated to the Stone Gang, but Hu Weidong came in advance to ask He Kao if this handling was acceptable?
He Kao smiled and said, "Since Kang Rulin publicly tossed Hailari to you, as long as you clarify the reasons and hand out the punishment, the Stone Gang can be appeased, though it’s unthinkable the Xiao Alliance would truly dispose of a Tier Five Cultivator.
This Hailari really is like a gift-giving boy, the Celestial Net Umbrella in my hand was taken from him by you, and that day I picked up an Observation Hall Ruler... It seems like this person must be kept around!"
Compared to an intense desire in the Illusion Realm to quickly eliminate Hailari, at this moment He Kao’s mindset had calmed considerably.
Then Hu Weidong introduced the "Learning Plan" for entering Stone District this time. The first phase of the investigation team consisted of thirty people, mostly confidants selected by Hu Weidong and his allies, led by the elder of the Supreme Council, Tier Five Heart Stealer Wenges.
He Kao sensed something odd about the atmosphere, because Hu Weidong’s tone was like a subordinate reporting to a leader, explaining his plan arrangement and wanting to see the leader’s opinion on it.
In truth, given their identities and relationship, this wasn’t necessary at all! Hu Weidong was lowering his stance so much; could it be that he had something to ask He Kao for help with?
Thinking this, He Kao asked, "Senior Brother Hu, speaking so politely, is there something else you need?"
Hu Weidong felt somewhat embarrassed and bowed deeply: "Indeed, I can’t hide it from Junior Brother. I actually have one more thing I sincerely ask Fire Qing Junior Brother to save my life!"
He Kao was taken aback: "Save your life? Who wants to kill you, who can kill you, Great Elder Hu?"
Hu Weidong sighed: "It’s a long story..."
After arranging the matters of the investigation team, Hu Weidong was set to depart for the Eastern Country. As he joined the Supreme Council, the responsibilities decided by the elders included having him take over all Eastern Country affairs.
His duties encompassed rebuilding the organizational network crippled by Jiaobide’s disappearance, managing, training, and discovering Xiao Alliance disciples across the Eastern Country, including those infiltrated into the Magic Sect.
This work couldn’t be remotely controlled from North America; he had to visit the Eastern Country personally. In He Kao’s Illusion Realm, Hu Weidong used this chance to send his children to enroll in university there, with Hailari secretly monitoring him, sent by the Supreme Council.
This time going to the Eastern Country, the Supreme Council also tasked Hu Weidong with a secret mission to contact Zhao Ci and inquire whether Zhao Ci wanted to unseal without anyone knowing.
If Zhao Ci was tempted—which seemed almost certain to Arthur and Mei Lin—then Zhao Ci would surely ask what price he must pay?
At that time, Hu Weidong only needed to respond that Zhao Ci didn’t have to pay any price, nor was there any other exchange condition. It was merely due to admiration for his great-grand ancestor, Ancestor Master Huailin, that he wanted to make a friend.
This saying was familiar; many in the world make mistakes, starting simply with "making a friend."
He Kao understood the situation, frowned, and said: "The task given by the Supreme Council is just to test Zhao Ci’s attitude, not to have you unseal anything for him?"
Hu Weidong smiled bitterly: "I don’t have that ability either!"
He Kao: "If you were given both the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror and the Divine Soul Mark legacy, then Senior Brother would have that ability."
Hu Weidong: "But Mei Lin couldn’t possibly hand me the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror, and even if she dared to give it, I wouldn’t dare take it!"
He Kao shook his head: "Actually, it makes no difference whether you take it or not."
Hu Weidong sighed again: "Who doesn’t think so! If the Ancestral Hall noticed this matter, I would fear for my life, unable even to have a place to be buried!"
What is meant by this? If Hu Weidong did indeed contact Zhao Ci and this was noticed by the Ancestral Hall, the Magic Sect would naturally think that the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror was with him; otherwise, why would Zhao Ci get unsealed?
If it were another matter, it could be overlooked, but this involves the lost thousand-year Sect’s Sacred Artifact, enough to make the Ancestral Hall make a move.
Originally, with Hu Weidong’s cultivation, facing an elder of the Ancestral Hall, even if he couldn’t win, he could likely escape. For individuals of high cultivation like them, unless there’s deep hatred, there’s no need to pursue life and death.
Unfortunately, this matter has become significant enough for the Ancestral Hall to mobilize sufficient power, sparing no cost to leave Hu Weidong behind.
Would others believe he truly didn’t have the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror? Why come to stir such trouble with nothing in hand? It’s known that there’s a need for Tier Six Cultivation to master the divine artifact’s magical mastery, and Hu Weidong just happens to be among the Supreme Council’s Great Elder, possessing Tier Six Cultivation.
Moreover, once a divine artifact is refined, it can merge with form and soul; others can’t probe it by any means; it must be taken out by himself or drop naturally after being slain...
Hu Weidong can’t explain it to anyone; if rumors leak, it not only appears as a blatant reveal but akin to walking into a trap.
Moreover, he couldn’t trust Zhao Ci; even if Zhao Ci said nothing, the Magic Sect might be monitoring Zhao Ci. Once contact with Zhao Ci is noticed, he might immediately attract the Ancestral Hall’s encirclement.
If he’s blocked, unable to escape and can’t win, whatever he says would be in vain. If the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror truly were in Hu Weidong’s possession, handing it over might avert disaster, but he really doesn’t have it!
Luckily, Hu Weidong had laid groundwork earlier, already having connections with the Ancestral Hall through the intermediary Hidden Moth... After explaining his situation, he further asked: "In light of these circumstances, does Junior Brother have advice for me?"
**
PS: Happy International Labor Day!