Midnight Snack Conspiracy

Shouzhen carried a cup of steaming hot tea, his footsteps incredibly light, and placed it steadily in front of Lin Mo.

"Layman Lin, please enjoy the tea."

Lin Mo took the cup, blew away the rising steam, and took a small sip. It was, in truth, just cheap daily tea that cost a few bucks a pound.

He glanced at Shouzhen, who was standing ramrod straight beside him, and couldn't resist a teasing remark.

"Thanks for the tea. But honestly, why don't you switch to the Zhengyi Sect? At least they allow you to marry and have children. That has to be better than this half-baked existence in the Quanzhen Sect."

Shouzhen’s expression turned solemn. He clasped his hands in a traditional salute and bowed, articulating every word clearly. "Layman Lin, please mind your words. As long as Shouzhen is a disciple of Quanzhen, I will never speak of betraying my sect."

Lin Mo had only been speaking off the cuff; he wasn't actually familiar with the Zhengyi or Quanzhen sects. However, Shouzhen was indeed a stubborn mule; once he set his mind on something, nine bulls couldn't pull him back.

Still, for someone like that, cultivating the Dao might be a good fit.

After all, he truly stuck to his principles.

Seeing the atmosphere stiffen, Xia Zhi quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Brother Lin, are you waiting for them to come back?"

"Mm-hmm."

Lin Mo set his teacup down on the table. "There are some matters I need to explain face-to-face. I can't be bothered to repeat myself."

As his voice faded, the room fell instantly silent, leaving only the rustling sound of the breeze brushing through the leaves outside the window.

Three people, three different trains of thought. No one spoke again.

A moment later, Lin Mo stood up and walked into the other room.

Sleeping there was a little girl, no more than twelve or thirteen years old.

Xia Zhi and Shouzhen exchanged a glance but didn't move.

They knew perfectly well that with Lin Mo’s strength, if he had intended them any harm, he would have struck the moment he walked through the door. Why wait until now?

Consequently, there was absolutely no point in trying to stop him.

Lin Mo stood by the bedside, his gaze calm as he observed her.

Her eyes were shut tight and her breathing was steady; she looked just like an ordinary girl fast asleep.

It was just that this particular nap had lasted quite a while.

This little girl didn't need food or drink, nor did she need photosynthesis.

Simply digesting the spiritual energy she had absorbed into her body was enough to keep her alive for a long time.

However, the quantity of spiritual energy within her was massive. She would likely need to sleep for another stretch of time before she could wake up.

He turned and walked out of the room. Xia Zhi immediately went up to meet him, unable to hide the worry on her face. "Brother Lin, that child, she..."

"She's fine. No need to worry about her."

Xia Zhi couldn't help but say, "How can I not worry? She hasn't eaten or drunk anything for so many days. We were starting to consider hooking her up to an IV drip for nutrients."

"If you give her an IV, are you trying to make sure she sleeps even longer?" Lin Mo retorted, sounding annoyed.

"She isn't waking up because she's busy digesting that power."

"If you pump her full of nutrient solution, you'll just be diluting her digestive efforts, and she'll take even longer to wake up."

Hearing this, Xia Zhi realized her understanding had been too narrow.

Still, she recalled that she hadn't fallen into a coma when she had Awakened.

Before she could puzzle it out, a rhythmic knocking sounded at the door.

It was the secret signal that Liu Zheng and the others had returned.

Shouzhen immediately went to open the door.

In walked Liu Zheng and Old Bai. They looked as if they had just ransacked a night market, carrying bags upon bags of barbecue, crayfish, and fried skewers.

The scent of cumin and spicy peppercorns instantly flooded the room, stimulating the senses.

Liu Zheng had barely stepped inside, words still forming on his lips, when his gaze swept over Lin Mo, who was sitting in the chair with perfect composure.

He froze for a moment. "Why are you here?"

Lin Mo spread his hands, looking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Is it that surprising? I just came over to mooch a late-night snack."

The remark made Liu Zheng’s eyelid twitch.

He dumped everything he was holding onto the small dining table.

Old Bai was also carrying several large bottles of soda and orange juice with pulp.

It was clear they had intended to have a discussion tonight before setting off for Pengcheng the next day.

Liu Zheng, of course, knew that Lin Mo wasn't there simply to scavenge for food.

Nevertheless, he beckoned everyone to sit down and eat.

"Come on, come on. Shouzhen, here are your vegetable stir-fried noodles, roasted gluten, and roasted eggplant. I had them made separately so they haven't touched any meat or grease."

"Many thanks, Layman Liu." Shouzhen gave a shy smile and sat down.

Lin Mo, however, didn't stand on ceremony at all. Before the invitation was even finished, he had already pulled on a disposable glove, cracked open a glistening, oily crayfish, skillfully extracted the meat, and popped it into his mouth.

With his mouth full of garlic and spices, he mumbled a question.

"Heading to Pengcheng tomorrow?"

Lin Mo asked casually.

Liu Zheng was in the middle of tearing open the wrapper of a lamb skewer. He paused, then nodded.

"Right. We’ll go assess the situation first, and while we're at it... test the waters regarding Eastern Leaf's attitude."

Liu Zheng replied.

At this point, Old Bai suddenly interjected, "Eastern Leaf told us to find Ning Qingcheng. He never said anything about investigating other matters."

"You blockhead!"

Liu Zheng slammed the bamboo skewer in his hand onto the table with a crisp snap, causing the droplets of oil on the table to jump.

Liu Zheng cursed, "If we follow the trail of Ning Qingcheng, we’re bound to dig up some clues.

When that happens, we submit what we've found and see how Eastern Leaf reacts. Won't that make everything clear?"

Liu Zheng lowered his voice, but the caution in his tone didn't diminish in the slightest.

"We are gambling here! We're betting on whether Eastern Leaf is still on the side of Yanhuang Awakening, on the side of the nation! Only if he is can we hand Ning Qingcheng over to him!"

He took a deep breath and downed a large gulp of cola, though the ice-cold liquid couldn't suppress the tension in his heart.

Liu Zheng was self-aware enough to know that for a few people like them to wrestle with the colossal monsters hiding beneath the surface was akin to a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

If Eastern Leaf was also standing on the opposing side, then no matter what, they had to continue hiding Ning Qingcheng's existence.

This was the strategy they had decided on long ago, but the actual execution would depend on the situation.

There was no such thing as a flawless plan that accounted for every possibility.

It was all just a series of makeshift remedies.

As he spoke, Liu Zheng suddenly pulled a document envelope from his bag and handed it to Xia Zhi.

"I think you should take a look at this. It’s the file on the Safe House incident. A lot of people died, mostly from your Pengcheng branch. It’s a complete mess over there right now."

Hearing this, Xia Zhi’s eyes couldn't help but redden, especially when she thought of the teammate who had stayed behind to cover her escape.

She took the envelope, opened it, and immediately began to read.

The first thing she saw was the list of the deceased.

Her gaze scanned the list rapidly, and then she frantically flipped the page.

Xia Zhi murmured, "How is that possible?! Why isn't it there?"

Old Bai asked casually, "What isn't there?"

Finally, Xia Zhi flipped to the page listing missing persons.

There, she found her own name, and she also found the name of the teammate who had covered their retreat.

"Phew!"

Letting out a long breath, Xia Zhi shook her head.

"It's nothing. I found it."

She recalled the image of the dockyard explosion. Had he been blown to smithereens in the blast, sinking to the bottom of the ocean along with the dock?