Chapter 95: The Love Spy

“Sister Meng, what exactly are we looking for?”

Inside the Academy’s Scripture Hall, the Five Disciples of the Nanshan Alliance sat amid mountains of old records, their heads buried in dusty, headache-inducing documents. The Devouring Sea Gang had just been destroyed, bringing joy to the whole city. Yet, unable to participate in such a huge event, they’d been dragged here early this morning by Meng Zhixue to sift through old books. It was easy to imagine their gloom…

“All the Qi Refiner records from Willow Lake City sixteen years ago are here. Nothing’s missing…”

Meng Qing’er placed a thick stack of dossiers before Meng Zhixue, rubbing her slender arms and pouting. “Could you at least tell us what we’re looking for? Who? What? What can we possibly find by flipping through these old papers?”

Meng Zhixue stared silently at the towering pile of records before speaking. “I’m looking for the Human Elixir.”

“The Human Elixir?”

The Five Disciples of the Nanshan Alliance all looked surprised.

Word had spread throughout Willow Lake City that the Human Elixir had appeared at the Devouring Sea Gang’s Black Water Fort. Then, as the fort fell, it vanished again. Most believed Zhao Rong, the Devouring Sea Gang’s leader, had stolen it. They thought he’d burned down his own fort to cause chaos and escaped with the elixir—maybe even fled Willow Lake City. So why wasn’t Meng Zhixue hunting down Old Chao? Why was she looking for the elixir in ancient records?

“If my guess is right, the Human Elixir never left Willow Lake City.”

Meng Zhixue flipped through the records swiftly. “Old Chao himself doesn’t need the Human Elixir. He’s far too clever to trade his Black Water Fort for it. He vanished with it… triggering the fort’s downfall… first, because he knew that once everyone learned it had been there, the fort’s destruction was inevitable. Second… second, he intended to deliver that very elixir to the person who needed it most…”

She paused meaningfully. “Someone… inside Willow Lake.”

“Who?”

The disciples leaned in eagerly. “Who could be important enough for Old Chao to risk everything?”

Meng Zhixue stayed quiet for a long time before answering. “Old Chao’s original master. The Academy’s former headmaster. Bai Shou.”

A collective gasp cracked the silence.

Meng Qing’er reached out to touch Meng Zhixue’s forehead. “No fever?”

Meng Zhixue brushed her hand away and sighed. “You don’t believe me?”

“Headmaster Bai died over a decade ago!” Meng Qing’er protested, sounding baffled. “Back then, he was punished harshly after Immortal Master Fang Chi exposed him for using tigers to refine Demon Cores. He was forced into retirement. Then quite a few people used the chance to kick him even lower… shifting all the blame for refining the cores onto him! He lost heart… dying of illness in his secluded cottage just a few years later. Everyone knows this…”

Seeing their stunned expressions, Meng Zhixue felt a pang of helplessness. She hadn’t shared her plan precisely because she’d expected this reaction. She, too, had always believed it… until words from Fang Cun echoed in her memory. After a heavy silence, she spoke low. “With so many techniques of Qi Refiners… can we be certain?”

Yu Qingli spoke. “So, Sister Meng wanted to confirm the Headmaster’s death… by looking through these records?”

Meng Zhixue nodded. “Yes. The time of his retirement. Any odd incidents occurring those years. We need to investigate thoroughly. Not one detail can be missed.”

Seeing her firm resolve, the others settled back. Though unconvinced, they decided to help search diligently. All being Qi Refiners and working to quickly sort through piles of pertinent dossiers from various sources, their fingers flew through the pages. Though some records were missing, Headmaster Bai had been too prominent a figure; much was documented. They uncovered numerous traces soon enough.

“The Former Academy Head died. Elders from the Nine Immortals Sect attended his funeral… that couldn’t be faked…”

“After retiring, he lived quietly in his cottage for three years and six months. It seemed he spent it full of regret… never stepping outside again until his death. He saw no one… save for one personal attendant…”

“Sometimes late at night… they’d hear weird wails… like crying ghosts…”

“Oh! That was also when the Devouring Sea Gang started rising… gaining influence…”

“……”

Calls kept rising detailing findings. Meng Zhixue listened while searching herself. Hearing Nie Quan’s discovery, she froze abruptly. “What did you just say?”

Nie Quan blinked, raising his dossier. “Written here… the Devouring Sea Gang began emerging those years. That’s also when Old Chao showed up in Willow Lake City. These local criminals got bolder after Immortal Master Fang Chi left… well… really, after he departed the Nine Immortals Sect. Their activity increased from small tricks… until becoming truly problematic over recent years…”

Everyone paused, unsure why Meng Zhixue focused on this. She thought deeply then turned to He Zhenzhang. “What did you see?”

He Zhenzhang flipped a few pages back. “After retiring… the former headmaster stayed in his cottage… just one attendant…”

Deep focus sharpened her features. “Then… if only one attendant lived with the retired Headmaster… and Old Chao showed his face openly in criminal circles during those exact years… who was the person left beside him?”

Silence filled the hall. Their thoughts spun. “There was another person?”

Confirming Old Chao as Headmaster Bai’s former staff member remained easy. Though old news, many veteran Qi Refiners remembered it. But about another attendant? There existed total silence…

Meng Zhixue tensed, her voice cutting cold. “Dig in! The attendant… that’s our focus!”

They resumed searching frantically. Records about those days grew hazy and vague. Pages crumbled. Mentions about Lao Chao (then Zhao Rong) attending Headmaster Bai piled up. Yet the attendant’s name disappeared as if erased from time. Like one… deliberately erased…

“Miss Zhixue… the dossiers you wanted… gathered especially…”

Manager Xu Wenshu arrived suddenly. Nearby trailed a blue-clad attendant holding another towering stack of records. Seeing Meng Zhixue buried deep, he smiled weakly. “We shouldn’t grant Academy Disciples City Governor files… not at all… However… your insistence… in front of the City Governor… forced my hand…”

“Bring them over!”

Meng Zhixue quickly gestured them near, startled yet pleased. Authority to study such private records lay beyond her reach. Pure huffing insistence had won her this surprise tool aiding her quest.

Just as they began scavenging… gasps erupted.

Meng Qing’er stared at particular pages, face paling. Meng Zhixue rushed over immediately. Eyes locked… followed by shocked expressions…

……

Precisely then… Fang Cun calmly posed his question.

Sudden silence. All bird chirps inside the Academy’s treed courtyards ceased instantly.

Master Lan Shuang studied Fang Cun. Fang Cun maintained his formal posture, eyes keen.

Before long… a chuckle escaped Lan Shuang. Placing his blue-bound volume calmly onto his desk, its cover revealed its title: “Notes Concerning Nine Immortals Elixirs”. Though famed for immense learning, deep cultivation skills, classical documents study, formation arts and artifact forging… Fang Cun noted learning now: Lan Shuang possessed skill refining pills, too.

“How did you find this place?” Lan Shuang asked mildly moments later. “By studying records? Or hearing whispers?”

“My inclination is lazy… avoiding dusty searches. Therefore… a direct approach…”

Fang Cun gently pulled a pale blue glass vial from his book box. Inside, a firefly-like creature fluttered against the vessel’s side near Lan Shuang. Removing the lid, it escaped… hovering anxiously inside Master Lan Shuang’s quarters… eventually landing atop a box.

“Mother-and-son heart beetles… born paired. Extract liquid from one… use it marking things… the companion would feel pulled down… crossing mountains wide… from anywhere. Colorless, odorless… silent… Qi Refiners often fail detecting them… so frequent their use tracking… lovers.”

Fang Cun’s gaze settled upon Master Lan Shuang. “They call them… ‘Love Spies’.”

He added softly… “I gained this trick… tracing Lingxiu’s personal notes.”

“Love Spies… how amusing!” Lan Shuang chuckled, then slowly shook his head. Sigh slipped from him. “So… in the ending… I trip over Lingxiu.”

Fang Cun kept still. Expression barely changed… Yet his eyes faintly glowed red.