Jiang Zhihao and his group arrived—ten Humvees, twenty drivers and bodyguards, vehicles fully loaded with daily necessities, a large amount of tools and supplies, truly having everything one could need.
Shui Miao originally wanted to pull Jiang Zhihao and the other two aside to inform them about what had just happened and ask for their advice. However, upon seeing the mixed crowd Jiang had brought along—people of all kinds—Shui Miao changed his mind. With so many people around, keeping things quiet would be impossible. Therefore, he made an excuse, sending them to Xiao Li’s place to pick up some vegetables, arranging to meet back here in twenty minutes.
Jiang Zhihao and his group dared not defy Shui Miao’s suggestion. With only twenty minutes to spare, they quickly led the convoy to Xiao Li’s location.
Still shaken from the incident, Shui Miao had temporarily forgotten that his Holy Yuan Ring contained many space冥器 items he had taken from the Yellow Spring Treasure Vault but hadn’t yet used. He immediately asked Wang Yong to drive him back, quickly retrieved an ordinary space冥器, used it to collect the corpses, summoned Xiaohei to clean up the bloodstains, and then hurriedly got back into the car to leave.
Luckily, during the daytime, most villagers had gone to work in the city, leaving few people behind. Even though gunshots had echoed earlier, the elderly villagers simply assumed someone was setting off firecrackers and didn’t think much of it.
“Xiao Shui, that ring of yours just now was amazing!”
Wang Yong was driving, and having witnessed Shui Miao use the ring to make the bodies vanish, he couldn’t help feeling envious, secretly wishing he could also have a similar spirit artifact, though he didn’t know how to ask.
Shui Miao simply grunted in response and said, “Don’t mention this incident again. Pretend it never happened.”
“I get it, I really do.”
Wang Yong nodded repeatedly, knowing there would be time later to bring it up again.
Lin Qing’er and Lin Feiyan were waiting at the village entrance.
At the village entrance, several elderly folks were peeking curiously from a distance but didn’t approach to ask questions.
The taxi stopped. Seeing Shui Miao waving, Lin Qing’er and Lin Feiyan quickly got into the car.
After closing the windows, Shui Miao said, “I’ve cleaned everything up over there. I don’t want any unnecessary trouble. Let’s just pretend nothing happened. Also, Qing’er, please call off the ambulance—it’ll only cause more trouble if it comes.”
“Okay, I’ll call right away.” Lin Qing’er immediately took out her phone.
After finishing the call and putting the phone down, Lin Feiyan anxiously asked, “There were three people over there. How did you handle them? Surely you didn’t hide them behind the car?”
“Hehe, hidden inside a treasure!” Wang Yong excitedly replied.
Shui Miao frowned slightly. “Feiyan, why are you still talking about it? I did this for your own good.” Lin Feiyan had essentially killed two people; if caught, even if she wasn’t sentenced to death, she would likely spend the rest of her life in prison.
“I, I’m sorry.”
Lin Feiyan was momentarily taken aback, realizing her mistake, and quickly lowered her head in apology.
Wang Yong also looked embarrassed, scratching his head and deliberately picking up a story magazine to pretend to read.
The car remained quiet for a short while before Lin Qing’er turned to Shui Miao and said, “Shui Miao, I won’t thank you directly. Are you and them going on a trip?”
“Not exactly. I plan to take them into the mountains to search for dragon veins. You know I’m into feng shui; a feng shui master naturally likes to wander through mountains.” Shui Miao’s tone was low, still troubled by his inability to use xian power.
Lin Qing’er gently bit her lip, then exhaled softly. “Though it seems unbelievable, I’ve finally resolved my emotional issues. I want to take my father’s ashes back, settle company affairs, and then—regain my strength and restart my life.”
“Are you really going back?” Shui Miao frowned slightly.
Lin Qing’er smiled gently, blinking her eyes. “Yes! Now that everything is resolved, I’ll take my father’s ashes back. Whatever happens, I must first complete the mourning period for my father.”
“Sister, I’ll go back with you. From now on, I’ll listen to you for everything.”
“Okay! Great!”
Lin Qing’er nodded eagerly at Lin Feiyan, then turned to Shui Miao. “Shui Miao, if you’re going on a trip, maybe consider going to Taiwan. I can be your tour guide.”
“I might go if I have the chance.” Shui Miao nodded lightly, then sighed softly. “But for now, I need to find my grandfather first. I haven’t seen him in nearly half a year. You go back, and call me once you’ve sorted things out.”
After careful consideration, Shui Miao decided he must ask Bai Feng and the fox spirit Qi Mei to protect Lin Qing’er, otherwise he wouldn’t feel at ease.
Instantly, Shui Miao used his mind to send messages to Bai Feng and the fox spirit Qi Mei.
When a younger sibling has a request, the elder siblings naturally won’t hesitate. They readily agreed, very willing to help.
Shui Miao asked them to bring sufficient spirit stones to avoid interrupting their cultivation.
Immediately, Lin Qing’er called Da Shuang, asking her to personally come and handle Lin Senior’s remains.
Shui Miao also summoned Bai Feng and the fox spirit Qi Mei.
Parting words were unnecessary.
※※※
Ten Humvees lined up in a row, speeding down the highway, exuding sheer dominance.
For Jiang Zhihao and his group, this was nothing. Even bringing ten helicopters would be a piece of cake.
But they were obedient disciples—whatever the master said, they did without question.
“Tsk tsk, Shui Miao, you’re really climbing the ladder. So many wealthy tycoons are now your underlings. Ten armored off-road vehicles, each worth millions, all following behind my taxi like a bunch of eager puppies. Haha! Feels great!” Wang Yong, with his cynical attitude, surprisingly also harbored resentment toward the rich.
Shui Miao faintly smiled, shaking his head slightly, and continued looking at the map in his hand.
The road ahead was smooth and easy to travel. Three hundred miles west of Zhonghai City was a place called Niutou Mountain. Beyond Niutou Mountain, the road would become much more difficult.
Shui Miao estimated his grandfather might be near Kunlun Mountain. At the current pace, it would take at least ten days to reach there.
If his grandfather was indeed in trouble, this speed wouldn’t be fast enough.
As Shui Miao was contemplating the map, wondering whether he should directly head to the airport and fly, Wang Yong began cheerfully humming a risqué tune…
Wang Yong’s frivolous behavior made Shui Miao slightly annoyed.
As irritation arose, Shui Miao couldn’t help but once again think about his current inability to summon his immortal energy, the absence of Bai Feng, and the responsibility of taking care of three apprentices who were all wealthy entrepreneurs—should any kidnapping occur, it would become a major crisis. Therefore, he needed to find a quiet place to cultivate and see if he could restore his immortal powers.
Clearly, the taxi was not a suitable environment for focused cultivation.
Thus, Shui Miao asked Wang Yong to pull over to the roadside.
“Godfather, I need to discuss something with Jiang Zhihao. I’ll go to the back car.” Without waiting for Wang Yong’s response, Shui Miao took the map and got out of the car.
Seeing Shui Miao get out, Jiang Zhihao hurriedly followed.
Shui Miao directly walked to the third vehicle—Jiang Zhihao’s personal ride.
Shui Miao told Jiang Zhihao he needed a quiet place to cultivate, and Jiang immediately asked the bodyguards inside the car to switch to the taxi.
Jiang took the front passenger seat, and the convoy continued moving forward.
Wang Yong had to keep quiet, as his company was now a very muscular, intimidating black-clad bodyguard. The bodyguard was clearly unhappy about switching from a luxury car to a taxi, his expression particularly terrifying. Wang Yong swallowed hard, feeling as if he were enduring a living hell.
※※※
Shui Miao comfortably settled into the car, looked up at the driver, and realized it was a woman, whose back was very familiar.
“Lin Xue jie?”
Shui Miao immediately recognized her—whose back could it be other than Lin Xue’s?
“Haha! Water Miao, you finally recognized me!” Lin Xue took off her sunglasses, snapped her fingers, and sweetly smiled at Shui Miao through the rearview mirror. “I’m not a cop anymore. Guess who I beat up?”
Shui Miao’s eyes lit up. “Not the provincial bureau’s Yao Jun?”
“Ha! Smart! I left him disabled, and he’s still in the hospital recovering.” Lin Xue snapped her fingers again, smirking. “But I also lost my job as a cop. Still, Miaoyi is safe now, and I’m doing fine on my own. Now I’m driving for Boss Jiang, with food, drink, and shelter provided. Life is pretty comfortable.”
“Wow! I had no idea you knew my master! If I had known, I definitely wouldn’t have let you drive!” Jiang Zhihao still didn’t know Lin Xue had been a police officer. He only knew she came from a martial arts school, was particularly strong, and extremely fierce—several grown men couldn’t beat her.
“No problem, driving is fine.”
Lin Xue casually waved at Jiang Zhihao.
Shui Miao couldn’t help shaking his head. “Lin Xue jie, you really weren’t considerate. After we last parted, I heard nothing from you. You went to work for my apprentice but didn’t even look me up?”
“Tsk, you still have the audacity to say that!” Lin Xue waved her hand, speaking in a tough tone. “Miaoyi and I specially came looking for you several times, but we either couldn’t find you or your phone was unreachable. Otherwise, I would definitely have come to your Chen Group. At the very least, you should have offered me a managerial position!”
“Haha, that’s true.”
Shui Miao felt a bit doubtful about the truthfulness of Lin Xue’s words.
In Shui Miao’s memory, although Lin Xue was wild and unrestrained, she had strong principles and wouldn’t likely attack Yao Jun. Besides, she had helped solve a major case last time, so she should have been promoted instead of impulsively attacking her superior. Perhaps she had come for another case, or maybe she had come for Wang Yong.
“Well then, Lin Xue jie, I’m feeling a bit unwell, so I’ll practice some qigong first.”
After thinking it over, Shui Miao felt some topics couldn’t be discussed with Jiang Zhihao present. Rather than awkwardly holding back, he’d better start practicing.
“Sure! Let’s chat later…”
Lin Xue also felt relieved, put her sunglasses back on, and continued driving.
About 500 meters behind the convoy, a black car followed. Inside, a beautiful female police officer turned her eyes, put down the microphone, and said to the older officer beside her, “Captain, Shui Miao is in the car too. He seems to be Jiang Yinghao’s master. What do we do?”
“Hehe, I couldn’t be happier he’s here.”
The older officer was none other than the former head of the criminal investigation team in Huanghai City—now the deputy head of the provincial criminal investigation team, still in charge of investigating the theft of cultural relics from ancient tombs.
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