Taking the opportunity of traveling through books

A slight ripple suddenly arises to disrupt the new journey

The man in black was getting closer and closer, and I could even see the cold light flashing in his eyes. I gripped the dagger tightly, ready to fight to the death if they found us.

"Hush!" Elder Wei gestured for silence, signaling us not to act rashly. He pulled a small packet of medicinal powder from his pocket and carefully sprinkled it downwards. The powder fell silently, blending into the air. I couldn't even detect a trace of it.

After a while, the men in black under the tree began to cough, and some even fell to the ground groaning in pain. It seemed that Elder Wei's powder had taken effect.

"This is Ecstasy Powder," Elder Wei explained in a low voice, "It can temporarily incapacitate a person, but it's not fatal."

This was a good opportunity to escape. Taking advantage of the confusion among the men in black, we quickly slid down from the tree and ran deep into the woods.

We ran a long way, not stopping to rest until we were sure we had shaken off our pursuers. I leaned against a tree trunk, breathing heavily. Although this operation had been a near miss, it had also exposed a major flaw in our plan: insufficient intelligence.

"It seems that the intelligence we received was inaccurate," I said somewhat dejectedly. "The defense of this stronghold is much tighter than we imagined."

We originally thought that this stronghold was only lightly guarded and could be easily infiltrated, but we unexpectedly encountered such tight defenses. This makes me begin to doubt the reliability of the intelligence we received.

"Perhaps someone is deliberately misleading us," Elder Wei said thoughtfully. "We need to re-evaluate our intelligence sources and formulate a new plan."

I nodded in agreement. This failure made me realize that we can no longer act blindly and must be more cautious.

As night fell, the woods were completely silent. We found a secluded spot and built a fire to rest. The flickering flames illuminated my face and the anxiety in my heart.

"What should we do next?" Hao Yang asked me.

I looked at the map in my hand and fell into deep thought. This failure made me realize that our previous plan was too simple and did not take into account various unexpected situations.

"We need to come up with a new plan," I said. "A more comprehensive and safer plan."

I looked up at Hao Yang and Elder Wei, my eyes filled with determination. "We must succeed, for ourselves and for those who are being persecuted by the mysterious organization."

I spread out the map and pointed to several marked locations. "Let's first..." Before I finished my words, I suddenly heard a faint sound coming from the distance.

I immediately became alert and signaled Hao Yang and Elder Wei to keep quiet. The sound was getting closer and closer, as if something was approaching us... I clenched the dagger in my hand and looked vigilantly in the direction of the sound... "Who is it?"

The sound grew closer, and I could almost hear the crackling of dead branches. I held my breath, my heart pounding. In the darkness, a pair of green eyes slowly emerged, and then a dark figure emerged from the woods. It wasn't the man in black! I felt relieved, but I still didn't dare let my guard down. The man, dressed in coarse linen and thin, looked like an ordinary country bumpkin. He held a wooden stick in his hand and regarded us warily.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" He spoke in a thick dialect with a hint of doubt in his tone.

I thought for a moment and decided not to reveal my identity for now. "We are travelers passing through. We are lost and would like to stay here for the night."

He looked us up and down, his eyes still filled with suspicion. "How could there be travelers in this deep forest? Where are you from?"

I made up a lie, saying we were visiting relatives from a neighboring town. He didn't seem to believe me, but he didn't ask any further questions. Perhaps because he saw we had no ill intentions, he finally agreed to let us stay the night.

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed like this was just a false alarm.

We sat around the fire again, but the atmosphere wasn't as relaxed as before. What had just happened reminded us that this place was not safe and we had to be more cautious.

"Looks like we have to change our plans," I said. "This place is much more complicated than we thought. We can't act rashly."

Hao Yang saw my expression, stroked my hair gently and comforted me, "It's okay, we can find another way." His voice was like a warm spring breeze, soothing my inner anxiety.

I nodded and held his hand, feeling the warmth of his palm. I felt incredibly safe with him by my side.

We decided to leave this place and find a safer place to make plans later. Just as we were about to leave, we heard another rustling sound in the woods. My heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding came over me.

"Who's there?" I shouted.

As soon as he finished speaking, several dark figures emerged from the woods and surrounded us. They were minions from the mysterious organization!

"Humph, you're here as expected!" one of the minions said sinisterly, "Let's see where you can run this time!"

It seems that we have been discovered after all.

A fierce battle is inevitable.

I drew my dagger and stood back to back with Hao Yang, watching the surrounding minions with vigilance. Although they were not strong, they were very cunning and kept launching sneak attacks, making it difficult for us to defend ourselves.

A thug took advantage of my unpreparedness and attacked me from behind. I dodged and the dagger cut his arm. He let out a scream and fell to the ground, clutching the wound.

Another minion took the opportunity to pounce on Hao Yang, but Hao Yang kicked him sideways, sending him flying.

Although we managed to hold off their attacks, the situation remained grim. The minions were numerous, and we gradually felt overwhelmed.

Just when I was about to collapse, a figure suddenly fell from the sky and landed in front of us.

"Stop!" Master Hao! Why is he here? I stared blankly at the old man with white hair and beard in front of me. He was agile, his eyes were sharp, and he exuded a powerful pressure from his whole body.

The minions, so arrogant just moments ago, were now frozen in fear, cowering like mice at the sight of a cat, afraid to move. Master Hao didn't even use a weapon; with just a few clean, sharp grappling moves, he subdued them all. His acupressure techniques were precise and ruthless, revealing the skill of a master steeped in martial arts for many years.

I turned to look at Hao Yang. He was also shocked. Obviously, he did not expect his master to appear suddenly.

"Master!" Hao Yang stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Master Hao nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Hao Yang and me before finally settling on the restrained minions. "What's going on?" His voice was deep and powerful, carrying an undeniable authority.

Hao Yang briefly explained the situation we encountered and the conflict with these minions. Master Hao frowned slightly after listening.

"How dare these scoundrels be so bold!" He snorted coldly, then walked up to a small thug and grabbed him by the collar. "Tell me! Who are you? Why are you attacking them?"

The little thug turned pale with fear and trembled as he said, "I...we...we are just following orders..."

"Whose orders are you following?" Master Hao asked sternly.

The little henchman hesitated, not daring to speak. Master Hao increased the pressure on him, causing him to grimace in pain. He finally confessed, "It's...it's Wei Xue...the second young lady of the Wei family...she...she asked us...to follow Wei Yao..."

Wei Xue? It's her again! I cursed inwardly, this woman is really haunting me!

Master Hao continued to ask: "Why did Wei Xue follow Wei Yao? What is her purpose?"

The little henchman didn't dare to hide anything and immediately told Wei Xue all about her plan. It turned out that Wei Xue had always been jealous of me. After she learned about my and Hao Yang's plan, she sent people to follow us, hoping to sabotage our plan and even take the opportunity to get rid of me.

After hearing the little henchman's confession, Hao Yang and I were both terrified. If Master Hao hadn't shown up in time, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Master Hao has extracted a lot of useful information from the minions, including Wei Xue's specific plans and the forces behind her. This information is crucial for us and will help us better deal with the challenges ahead.

"Master, how did you know we were here?" Hao Yang asked curiously.

Master Hao smiled and said, "I noticed your aura was a little unstable, so I followed you all the way. Fortunately, I arrived in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."

I looked at Master Hao with gratitude. His appearance was undoubtedly a timely help. He not only saved us, but also provided us with important information.

"With this information, we can adjust our plan and better deal with Wei Xue's conspiracy." I clenched my fists, my eyes full of fighting spirit.

Hao Yang also nodded, a determined light flashing in his eyes. "We will definitely succeed!"

Master Hao looked at us and smiled with satisfaction. He handed the minions over to the local authorities and then took us away from this troubled place.

We found a safe place and carefully studied the information we had obtained from the minions. These pieces of information were like pieces of a puzzle, gradually piecing together a complete picture. We discovered that behind Wei Xue, there seemed to be a bigger conspiracy...

Master Hao looked at the new information with a frown on his face...

However, Master Hao's brow furrowed as he looked at the new intelligence. He twirled his graying beard and paced back and forth, his expression as solemn as the dark clouds gathering before a storm. Hao Yang and I felt our hearts lift as well; Master Hao's silence was more unsettling than any words could have been.

"Master, have you discovered anything?" Hao Yang couldn't help but ask, with a barely perceptible tremor in his tone.

Master Hao paused and sighed deeply. His gaze darted back and forth between us, finally settling on the intelligence in my hand. "The information these minions have provided... I'm afraid it's just the tip of the iceberg." His voice was low and hoarse, as if forced from the depths of his throat.

My heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding washed over me. "Master, are you saying...that there's someone else behind Wei Xue?"

Master Hao nodded, walked to the table, picked up the intelligence, pointed to a section and said, "Look, it mentions a mysterious organization. This organization acts in secret and has a huge influence. Even the Wei family is afraid of them."

I read the text carefully. I had previously been too focused on Wei Xue to have noticed this detail. Now, I realized that this mysterious organization was the real mastermind behind the incident, and Wei Xue was just a pawn.

"What is the origin of this organization?" Hao Yang's expression also became solemn.

Master Hao shook his head. "It's still unclear at the moment, but judging from the descriptions of these minions, the strength of this organization cannot be underestimated. They seem to be secretly plotting something bigger."

A bigger conspiracy? My heart sank. Could it be that this wasn't just aimed at Hao Yang and me, but at the entire cultivation world? Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.

"So what should we do now?" I looked at Master Hao, seeking his advice.

Master Hao pondered for a moment and slowly said, "The most urgent task is to first understand the details of this mysterious organization and their purpose. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle."

"But how do we investigate this organization?" asked Hao Yang.

Master Hao turned his gaze to me and said, "Yao'er, your system might be useful."

I was stunned for a moment, then realized that my system, with its powerful information collection and analysis capabilities, might be able to help. I immediately called up the system interface and began searching for information on this mysterious organization.

Time passed minute by minute, and various data and information kept jumping on the system screen, but there was very little information about this mysterious organization, as if they did not exist in this world at all.

Just when I was about to give up, the system suddenly beeped and an encrypted file appeared on the screen. I was delighted and quickly clicked to open it, but found that I needed to enter a password to view it.

"Need a password?" I looked at Master Hao, hoping he could provide some clues.

Master Hao walked over to me, carefully looked at the file on the screen, and after a moment's silence, he said, "Perhaps, we can try Wei Xue's birth date."

I entered Wei Xue's birth date and time, and the screen flickered as the file opened successfully. It contained a wealth of information about the mysterious organization, including their membership, locations, and ultimate goals...

Seeing this information, Hao Yang and I were both shocked. The ambition of this organization was far beyond our imagination. They actually wanted to overthrow the entire cultivation world and establish a new order!

"It seems that we must stop them!" I clenched my fists, my eyes full of determination.

Master Hao nodded and said, "Without further delay, we should contact Elder Wei immediately, tell him this information, and discuss countermeasures together."

I immediately contacted Elder Wei and told him the details of the situation. Elder Wei was also very shocked and said that he would immediately call together all the family members to discuss countermeasures.

After hanging up the phone, Master Hao looked at us and said seriously, "Based on this intelligence, we must re-formulate our plan..." He paused, his gaze fixed on the dark night outside the window, "Tomorrow, we'll set off..."