Chapter 94: A Major Event

That was the thing: the ship had blown apart somewhere nearby, so every day they had to patrol this area and ask around, carrying Lin Hao’s portrait with them. They had already come to our place several times today alone.

I mean, I’d like to know too. If Lin Hao is really still alive, why has he never crossed paths with us?

If I were the one who ran into him, wouldn’t that be a fortune falling into my lap?” The innkeeper told them everything he knew.

The others all frowned. There was not a single truly useful clue. They still could not tell whether this Lin Hao was the same Lin Hao from their Qingcheng Sect.

Besides, even if he were a disciple of the Clearwind Sect, what did that have to do with Cao Yi? There was no way to connect that to the Qingcheng Sect’s eldest senior brother.

The four of them fell into deep thought.

Seeing them like this again, the innkeeper finished speaking and went back to serving the other guests.

As for the four men, since they had finally uncovered a clue, they decided to stay here and rented several rooms.

Back in their rooms, all six of the people who had come together gathered around the one seated at the table.

One of them said, “Boss, is this person really the Lin Hao from the Clearwind Sect? The timing seems to match, but there are still some differences from the portrait.”

“Yes, but it took us several days out here to finally get a lead. Let’s stay here and watch for a while,” another said.

“But even if he really is from the Clearwind Sect, what does that have to do with the eldest senior brother? The senior brother told us to investigate the connection between this Lin Hao and Senior Brother Cao Yi.

Senior Brother Cao Yi has never had any dealings with the Clearwind Sect, and he’s never even been here. Even if we figure out this Lin Hao’s identity, what good will that do?” someone else asked.

“Don’t put it that way. If Lin Hao really is a disciple of another sect and has now come to take part in our Qingcheng Sect’s affairs, that can still be used to attack Cao Yi.”

The six of them traded words back and forth.

After weighing it all, the advantages and disadvantages each seemed to balance out.

Their leader, seated above them, remained in thought the entire time and said nothing.

Only after they finished did he speak. “Whether he is or not, we can just go take a look at the Clearwind Sect. Even if he isn’t, we can fabricate one. Their names are the same anyway, and we can arrange things on the Clearwind Sect’s side as well. By then, even if there was no connection before, we can make one appear. Isn’t that right?

In any case, the senior brother’s intention is to make this matter a weakness in Cao Yi’s hands. We only need to carry out the senior brother’s orders.”

As he spoke, a sinister smile crept onto his lips.

The five below him all brightened at once. “Exactly. Who says the connection has to be real these days? It can be invented just the same. If one person tells the truth and a hundred people tell lies, then the lie becomes the truth.”

At that moment, another group had also tracked the matter to this area, and their thinking was the same.

Just like that, both groups headed for the Clearwind Sect.

Once they arrived at the Clearwind Sect, the leader first sent a few people to gather intelligence in secret.

After about a day of probing within the Clearwind Sect, they finally got a clear understanding of Lin Hao’s situation.

At a tavern beneath the Clearwind Sect, the same six men were once again gathered in a room.

One of them said, “Boss, I spent all day asking around and learned some things about this Lin Hao. Turns out he really is something. He’s quite capable, and his strength is not bad. He’s even on the verge of entering the inner sect here in the Clearwind Sect.

I also found out that Lin Hao and the Clearwind Sect’s eldest senior brother Qingyun together dealt with one of their sect’s elders.

Apparently, this trip to Skyfeather Mountain included that elder’s son, and he ended up dying inside Skyfeather Mountain. If we really want to use this matter against Senior Brother Cao Yi, I think we can make something of that elder.”

“Oh? You’re certain everything you found out is true? Nothing was discovered by others and passed along to you wrongly?” the boss asked cautiously after hearing his subordinate’s report.

“Of course it’s accurate. The Clearwind Sect’s strength means nothing to me. Boss, I was very careful. In fact, this matter is already known by everyone in the Clearwind Sect, so there’s no false rumor here. I investigated it in several places, and they all knew the same thing,” the man immediately assured him.

“Is that so?” The boss’s interest was piqued.

Still, for the sake of prudence, he asked once more.

The man answering was full of confidence. “Absolutely.”

Hearing this, a cold glint flashed through the boss’s eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, “Good. Tomorrow you will be responsible for contacting the Clearwind Sect’s Elder Zhou and asking whether he would be willing to cooperate. I’ll immediately send word to the senior brother and see if he has any other arrangements.”

Clearly, he agreed with the suggestion.

After the other five had all left, the boss immediately took out a communication talisman and sent word of Lin Hao’s situation, along with everything concerning the Clearwind Sect, over to the other side.

After hearing his report, the other side fell silent for a while. Then, with great interest, they asked, “You mean that even now, you still haven’t found any link between this Lin Hao and Cao Yi?”

“Yes, senior brother. The Clearwind Sect is a great distance from our Qingcheng Sect. One would have to use a teleportation array to get here. And Senior Brother Cao Yi in the Qingcheng Sect has always been devoted to cultivation. How could he possibly have come to the Clearwind Sect?

Besides, I’ve sent people to check, and there truly is no connection at all between the Clearwind Sect and Senior Brother Cao Yi. It’s just that this Lin Hao does seem to have a great deal of contact with the Clearwind Sect. We simply don’t know whether he is really this Lin Hao,” the boss replied.

The other side thought for a moment and said, “The matter is becoming more and more interesting. The less information we can dig up, the more I want to know it. How could Cao Yi possibly have no relation to this Lin Hao? I don’t buy it. Keep investigating.

Also, as for the matter you mentioned regarding the person from the Clearwind Sect, whether or not he really is Lin Hao, I need him to be. You should understand how to arrange that.”

“Yes, senior brother. I’ll make the arrangements at once,” the boss replied quickly.

It seemed the senior brother’s thinking matched theirs exactly. Using this matter to cause Cao Yi some trouble was all the better.

If handled properly, perhaps Cao Yi could be dragged in completely.

As expected, once this side agreed, the senior brother over there said, “You may send people to contact Elder Zhou, but you must be absolutely certain of the information. We cannot expose ourselves under any circumstances. Whether he is reliable or not is secondary. As long as he can cooperate with us when the time comes, that will be enough.

If necessary, we can allow him to receive some benefits.”

“Don’t worry, senior brother. I’ve already sent people to make contact with Elder Zhou. They will be extremely careful and will never let him learn anything about our side,” the boss promised.

After that, the communication talisman went dark.

Right now, the Clearwind Sect was truly overwhelmed with busyness and chaos, every corner turned upside down as they searched for Lin Hao.

After the explosion, everyone aboard the ship had been recovered.

The elder and all the disciples were dead. Only Wuwen had survived, but he was severely wounded and still unconscious.

And Lin Hao had vanished as well.

For the Clearwind Sect, this was absolutely a major affair.

Because of Lin Hao and because of this incident, the Clearwind Sect had already postponed their inner sect grand ceremony.

During this period, Qingyun was also under tremendous pressure.

Meanwhile, on Elder Zhou’s side, he kept shouting that whoever had killed his son, Zhou Yichen, must be found, and he had been spreading rumors all along that it was Lin Hao.

What was more, because Lin Hao was the only one missing after the ship explosion, the people aligned with Elder Zhou started spreading the claim that Lin Hao had been behind the entire disaster.

They said he had killed everyone aboard the ship and then fled on his own, intending to betray the Clearwind Sect.

In this way, many people who knew nothing were stirred up by Elder Zhou’s faction. Quite a few came to believe what they were saying.

And Qingyun, bearing enormous pressure, was still sending people to search for Lin Hao.

Many simply could not understand this and privately cursed Qingyun for being blind and unreasonable.

Little by little, the position of the Clearwind Sect’s eldest senior brother began to tremble.

That day, Qingyun was in his master’s room, looking utterly resolute as he said, “I must find Lin Hao. Master, please trust me. Lin Hao is definitely not that kind of person.”

It turned out the sect master had been speaking to him at length, asking whether he truly intended to keep insisting on finding Lin Hao.

The sect master also knew what had happened recently. At first, he had indeed supported Qingyun’s search for Lin Hao. But so much time had passed, and they still had not found him. Add to that the agitation from Elder Zhou’s side, and even the sect master could not stop everyone’s mouths.

He did not want his disciple, by stubbornly holding on to this, to lose so much public support.

So the sect master was trying to persuade Qingyun to give up on Lin Hao.

But Qingyun was unwilling. In his heart there was a powerful intuition that he absolutely must not abandon Lin Hao. His instincts told him that Lin Hao was no ordinary man, a hidden dragon who should never be dismissed.

Moreover, those who knew the inside story could all tell that this was absolutely not Lin Hao’s doing. Qingyun and the sect master had already found evidence of tampering, and it pointed to Elder Zhou’s faction.

Yet Elder Zhou and the others had cleaned up their tracks quickly, and for the moment there was no evidence to be found. There was nothing Qingyun could do except grit his teeth and watch Elder Zhou fan the flames, helpless to stop it.

Still, Qingyun remained firm: no matter what, he would search for Elder Zhou’s evidence on one side, and for Lin Hao on the other. He would never simply give up on Lin Hao.

“Qingyun, but the inner sect grand ceremony really cannot be postponed any longer. If, for the sake of Lin Hao alone, this year’s ceremony keeps being delayed, then your prestige in the Clearwind Sect will only continue to fall.”

Seeing that Qingyun would not listen, the sect master was somewhat displeased, but he was still fond of his disciple and could only take a step back.