Wait a minute, where is my master?

"What news? Where is the young Taoist?"

Xia Yunzhao's eyes were filled with anticipation as she asked.

The subordinate hesitated upon hearing this, glancing up at Li Mi seated at the head, unaware of the white-clothed woman's identity.

"Speak."

Mr. Li commanded authoritatively.

"To inform all the respected officials, the young Taoist only left a message before he departed. He mentioned there's a scent of Transformation Fruit near Wild Wolf Ridge outside Gusu City."

After receiving a nod from Li Mi, the subordinate bowed deeply and relayed the message to everyone in the hall.

Upon hearing that the person had left, Xia Yunzhao disappointedly sat back down in her chair.

She had hoped to see Jin Xu again.

Upon hearing the news of the Transformation Fruit, the other four began discussing it.

"Li Mi, is the person who delivered the message reliable?"

Mr. Song, sitting at the first position on the right, asked.

"Yes, Little Mimi, how come the moment we three arrived, clues about the Demon Sect appeared right at our doorstep. And how did you end up injured like this after a two against one fight?"

As the saying goes, 'Hit not the face in a fight, reveal not the shorts in a spat.' With that statement, Mr. Mei hit Li Mi's face and exposed his shortcomings.

The four had known each other since their academy days, which was why the Three Friends of the Cold Season were assigned to Gusu City. Regardless of relations, familiarity was surely better than none.

"Little Mimi" was one of Mr. Li's regrettable nicknames from his academy days.

Li Mi did not take issue with the nickname knowing that arguing with Mr. Mei would likely lead to greater social embarrassment, especially with the princess of his own dynasty listening right beside.

"At that time, I encountered one of the hall masters from the Twelve Halls of the Demon Sect."

As Li Mi spoke, deep wariness appeared in his eyes, and his knuckles involuntarily tightened around the scroll he held, as if recalling some unpleasant memories.

"Twelve Halls? Based on previous experiences dealing with the Demon Sect, shouldn't the highest cultivation among them be only at the Void Refinement Realm?"

Mr. Song asked with confusion.

The war between immortals and demons was long past, and although demon cultivators could never be a major threat, their covert actions had never ceased.

The hall masters of the Twelve Halls, they at Qingmu Academy had fought and killed numerous of them.

This inadvertently increased the chances for newer members of the Demon Sect to rise in ranks.

"Correct, according to usual experience, those Twelve Hall Masters should only be at the Void Refinement Realm at most, but the one I encountered that day had some peculiar strength. Initially, he exhibited only the aura of Void Refinement, then he used some kind of magic to stimulate his potential. After that, he consumed some strange item, and his aura surged tremendously,"

Li Mi continued without pausing.

"As for that young Taoist who delivered the message, I have heard my subordinates mention him a few times. This person has helped our constables solve a couple of cases, so the source of the information should be somewhat credible. Moreover, it seems the Seventh Princess recognizes him."

Li Mi quickly finished speaking, glancing subtly at Mr. Mei who tried to interject but couldn't.

After hearing his words, everyone's gaze turned towards Xia Yunzhao.

"I trust Jin Xu,"

she said gently, tapping the armrest.

Then, Xia Yunzhao briefly recounted the scenario of her rescue to the four men.

However, she didn't elaborate on the specific methods.

The miraculous fishhook that had pulled her out that day, she believed it to be a treasure and voluntarily covered for Jin Xu.

Seeing the Seventh Princess of Great Xia so convinced, everyone else believed the message must be quite reliable.

Hence, the group discussed for a while and ultimately decided to send the Three Friends of the Cold Season to check. Li Mi would hold the fort in Gusu City. As for Xia Yunzhao, at her strong insistence, she would also go along.

Being a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, though inexperienced, she was powerful enough to establish a sect in a smaller locale.

Li Mi thus did not dissuade her much.

...

After leaving a message with the night watchman in Gusu City, Jin Xu hastened back to Little Platform Mountain.

According to his plan, leaving a message was enough; he could return to Xuanxu Temple early and start his cultivation plan for the day.

In recent days, there had been many things to handle, and he felt his cultivation had become lax, so he needed to properly make up for it today.

However, things did not go as he wished.

At the foot of Little Platform Mountain, beside the stream,

Jin Xu saw the young constable from Qian Deng Town pacing anxiously on the spot.

When the constable saw him approaching, a look of relief appeared on his face, and he began to speak as he ran.

"Taoist, Taoist. I've been waiting for you. Please, save my uncle."

"Tell me everything, what happened?"

The Taoist was a bit puzzled.

Weren't these two fine at noon? Why were they asking for help now?

"It's like this."

The young constable walked up to Jin Xu, raised his hand to touch his nose, and started to stammer an explanation.

...

He had followed a woman in a purple sheer dress to the outskirts, then he had passed out, and when he regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a tree.

The constable's uncle, also known as Head Li, was hanging on a cliff opposite the tree, his life or death unknown.

In his panic, he shouted loudly and struggled desperately.

Unexpectedly, the ropes binding him somehow came loose.

The young constable had wanted to climb the cliff to rescue his uncle, but he found that the cliff was sheer and impossible for ordinary people to scale, which led him to run to Little Platform Mountain for help in a frantic state.

"I went to the temple to find you, but the gates were closed tight, and two women inside said you had gone to Gusu City, so I waited for you here at the mountain's base."

As he spoke, the young constable suddenly knelt down, about to kowtow.

Jin Xu quickly helped him up, thinking to himself that Yu Yaoer and Little White were obedient, having been told not to run about; indeed, they had not left the house.

"Let's go, you lead the way."

Though the situation seemed peculiar, with a life at stake, the Taoist couldn't just ignore it.

"If it comes to it, I'll summon Xuanxu Temple to escape," Jin Xu thought to himself.

Upon hearing this, the young constable quickly turned and led the Taoist towards the cliffs.

...

In the outskirts, not far from Wild Wolf Ridge,

Three Hall Masters had already set up the formation, quietly waiting for the Taoist's arrival.

Originally, they hadn't planned to take action so soon, but opportunely, the chance had arisen; besides, the Third Elder was pressing them urgently.

All three sets of flags were delivered through a small movement array.

They only needed to insert the flags as instructed.

"Are you sure? Will that young constable successfully bring the person here?"

A muscular man spoke impatiently.

He had only left the cave a short while ago and had been called back by these two, not even getting to till the ground.

Consequently, he did not look very happy.

"About eighty percent chance. They were afraid the Taoist would notice anything unusual, so they didn't dare use any spiritual power at all. They just secretly guided the young constable to seek help. Moreover, according to the information, this Taoist is a good person," Hall Master Xia whispered.

The three of them were hidden in a dark place, whispering among themselves.

Not far away, Jin Xu followed the young constable, hurrying over.

PS: Thanks to Kepler B22 for the monthly ticket, book friend 3137 for the monthly ticket, and Fat Tiger for the monthly ticket. Thank you all for your recommendations and support. We finally got to try pushing through, starting at midnight on the 14th, dear readers, let's get reading! Whether this book lives or dies should be seen in this round!