Hidden moth

Chapter 352 The Moon Obscured by Mist, Dreams of the West Tower

The so-called art of divination is not omnipotent; the information it can uncover is very limited. However, based on this limited information, unexpected and important discoveries can often be made.

The Subtlety Sect has an applied technique called the Cleansing Technique, which is specifically designed to counter the Heavenly Secrets Technique. Although He Kao's Subtlety Technique skills are not very high, he has no problem learning this applied technique.

The Cleansing Technique is a variation of the weapon crafting method, which involves removing all traces of information left on oneself and items.

Even if someone has the cultivation to conceal their aura, a master of celestial secrets can still detect the remnants of environmental aura from their shoes, clothes, and personal belongings, thus knowing where they have been.

These traces can be erased using a removal technique.

He Kao had certainly put in the effort to cultivate the Cleansing Technique, and had reached the level of instantaneous awareness. He would often use the Cleansing Technique when switching identities to appear in different situations.

Cleansing techniques can remove environmental information from an object, but they cannot remove the object's inherent physical characteristics. This is because, unless an object is completely destroyed, its inherent physical characteristics are its primary constituent parts.

For example, those cherries and lychees—even with a cleansing spell, someone as skilled as Julie should still be able to spot the signs…

With these thoughts in mind, He Kao walked out of the school gate and came to a bend in an alley. After confirming that no one was watching him, he disappeared. When he reappeared at another secluded location in Qiyuan, he had already reverted to his original appearance.

It was still early, and the location wasn't far from his workplace, so He Kao went to Sesame Apartment.

He Kao hasn't given up the one-bedroom apartment he rented in Sesame Apartment and occasionally comes back to stay there. Lao Qian, Xiao Mei, Xiao Pang, and many other colleagues also live there, making it convenient for them to communicate about anything.

He's the kind of person who often disappears, so having multiple addresses helps him cover his tracks. For example, if you can't find him at the old house in Pugang Town, he might be at Sesame Apartment, or maybe in that big house in Guanliu Community.

He Kao wanted to eat a bowl of noodles, but found that the noodle shop was already full.

Mei Guyu's sixth uncle, Mei Wenhua, opened this Meishan Noodle Restaurant. Some time ago, he also took over the shop next door, more than doubling the dining area, but business is still very good.

The shop now has an additional "performance" every day: stir-frying toppings on the spot.

Meishan Noodle Restaurant offers a variety of toppings. They prepare ingredients based on daily sales statistics, and after a period of time, the topping that sells the worst will be replaced with another variety.

After a period of dynamic improvements, the number of toppings has now stabilized at eighteen, and another secondary sign has been erected in front of the store, which reads "Eighteen Bowls".

The toppings are all made fresh in the kitchen. If a particular topping sells out on a particular day, it will be stir-fried or boiled again.

Nowadays, the owner sets up a stove at the store entrance every day to stir-fry a pot of toppings and shows off his fancy wok-flipping skills, just like a juggling act.

In light of current news events, this also serves as a clear indication that their ingredients are fresh and not pre-prepared.

Most of the toppings are made in the kitchen; the one being stir-fried in front of the shop is just for show. When He Kao walked by, he noticed that they were stir-frying toppings again in front of the noodle shop, clearly indicating that a batch of toppings had sold out and they were making a fresh batch.

Originally, this kind of work was done by the boss, Mei Wenhua, but today it was done by an unexpected person, Wang Yuheng, He Kao's classmate.

Wang Yuheng, 23 years old this year, graduated from Qiyuan University last year. After returning to his hometown, he worked for a while but felt very unhappy. He then contacted his former counselor, Luo Mingzhi, to confide in her.

Luo Mingzhi encouraged him to move to Qiyuan, saying that even if he couldn't find a satisfactory job, he could still study for the postgraduate entrance exam. So Wang Yuheng came to Qiyuan, and Luo Mingzhi even lent him a rented apartment to live in.

Wang Yuheng was very grateful, but he did not know that Luo Mingzhi, under Jiao Bide's instruction, had installed a surveillance point in Sesame Apartment in the most inconspicuous way.

Not only was Wang Yuheng unaware of what was going on at the time, but even Luo Mingzhi was kept in the dark. As for how to use Wang Yuheng as a pawn, only Jiao Bide knew; high-level cultivators have various methods.

However, these methods were ultimately ineffective because the Clan Court discovered that Wang Yuheng's situation was suspicious through investigation. With Li Xiuyuan's personal assistance, He Kao even entered Wang Yuheng's dream to investigate and discovered clues about Luo Mingzhi.

Through further investigation of Luo Mingzhi, the investigation team uncovered Jiao Bide's involvement...

Later, Jiao Bide disappeared and Luo Mingzhi was taken away by the police for investigation, and Wang Yuheng was left unattended, presumably because his apartment lease had expired.

He hadn't seen this person for a while and thought he had gone back to his hometown. But when he saw him again, he was working as a kitchen helper in a Meishan noodle shop and had even inherited the owner's skills, performing street cooking demonstrations.

The topping that Wang Yuheng stir-fries is one of the best-selling in the restaurant. It's called "Four Shredded Delights," which consists of shredded chili peppers, shredded pork, shredded pickled cabbage, and shredded dried tofu. The order in which the ingredients are added varies, and some of them even need to be stir-fried again.

He Kao was stunned after just one glance, then used his divine sense to scan Wang Yuheng from the outside in, giving him a thorough examination.

Looking at Wang Yuheng's footwork and posture, as well as the rhythm of his movements—hesitating with his left hand to hold the large ladle and swinging the spatula with his right—even though it's just ordinary stir-frying, he creates a unique sense of rhythm that is pleasing to the eye no matter how you look at it.

This is clearly something he's practiced, and he's already mastered it.

Many passersby even stopped to take out their phones and record a short video, especially young girls.

He Kao had also practiced foundational kung fu, including internal and external skills, fist techniques, and spear techniques. The effects included lightness of body, focus of mind, stability of waist and stance, and hand-eye coordination. It had been a while since I'd seen him, and I never expected that Wang Yuheng had gone to practice kung fu. As for who he learned from, judging from what he's doing now, the answer is self-evident.

Mei Wenhua, the owner of the noodle shop, came to Qiyuan before New Year's Day. He is a fifth-level love-stealer of Xingshenmen and also Mei Guyu's cousin. It is said that he came to protect Mei Guyu's safety.

However, Mei Guyu at that time did not need Mei Wenhua's protection at all. Mei Wenhua's true identity was the chief liaison of the Shumen Special Envoy Qiyuan.

Mei Guyu is now staying in Qiyuan to "work," and Mei Wenhua hasn't left either, still running a noodle shop there. This shows that, in the eyes of the Zongfa Hall, things in Qiyuan are not over yet.

Unexpectedly, Mei Wenhua managed to find some free time amidst his busy schedule and took on another apprentice in the local area.

Is Wang Yuheng a bit too old? He Kao then remembered that this person was not yet twenty-four years old, so it was not too late for him to start practicing magic.

This kid not only secretly had a crush on his academic tutor, but she even appeared in his erotic dreams... Keep in mind that Luo Mingzhi is seven years older than him, which is quite something!

But He Kao then remembered that Gao Xue'e was seven years older than him, so he stopped cricketing. Not only did he stop cricketing, he also thought to himself—hmm, this kid is quite daring, but what's the use of daring to think but not daring to act?

He Kao returned to his apartment, set up a sound-gathering array, and then took out his phone to order takeout from Meishan Noodle Restaurant, which was freshly stir-fried noodles with four-shredded auspicious ingredients.

Actually, noodles aren't really suitable for takeout; they easily get soggy when packed, and the taste is nowhere near as good as eating them in. But if you insist on ordering, the restaurant can deliver, and they'll try their best to package the soup, noodles, and toppings separately.

Not long after, someone knocked on the door. Judging from the sound, it wasn't a finger but a toe. When the door was opened, Mei Wenhua was standing there holding a large bowl of noodles.

He Kao: "Oh my, why did Boss Mei personally bring the noodles? Why didn't you just give them to the delivery guy?"

Mei Wenhua chuckled and said, "You'll still get your delivery fee. I was just about to go back to my apartment anyway, so I brought it to you so you wouldn't have any noodles."

He Kao: "The boss is so thoughtful, come in and sit for a while."

He took the bowl of noodles and placed it on the table, activated the soundproofing array, then brewed a cup of tea and offered it to Mei Wenhua, saying, "Sixth Uncle, have a cup of tea. Is there anything you need?"

Mei Guyu called Mei Wenhua "Sixth Uncle," and He Kao followed suit, making it seem like they were close.

Mei Wenhua: "It's been quite a while since you've stopped by Sesame Apartment. Do you still remember Luo Mingzhi, the counselor from Qiyuan University?"

He Kao: "I remember, what happened to her?"

Mei Wenhua: "She reported it to the police! She said that a mysterious person had illegally broken into the dormitory and asked her about Jiao Bide. She believes that this means there is more to Jiao Bide's disappearance than meets the eye, and that the police could find clues by catching the intruder."

She even caused a scene at the police station, losing control of her emotions at one point, grabbing the clothes of the officers and demanding that they send more people to intensify the investigation, saying that Jiao Bide might be in danger and that they must rescue him..."

He Kao's expression turned serious: "Is such a thing really true?"

Mei Wenhua nodded and said, "It is true. I specifically went to verify it. Recently, someone did go to see Luo Mingzhi, and not just once, but at least twice. They should be different people."

Luo Mingzhi only knew about one of the intruders, the first one, whose intruder's situation was unknown. As for the second intruder, it was likely a cultivator from the Xing Shen lineage, with a cultivation level of at least a fifth-tier Love-Stealing Realm cultivator…”

According to Mei Wenhua's investigation, a few nights ago, Luo Mingzhi was suddenly awakened from her sleep and found that there was an extra person in the room.

She immediately screamed, but the students in the next dormitory did not respond at all, and it seemed that their bodies were also controlled, and they could not move at all.

The intruder walked around the house, looked through many of her belongings, including her private items, and then asked her a few questions before leaving.

It took her quite some time after the intruder left before she regained control of her body and quickly called the police... Because the lights were off in the house, she couldn't see what the intruder looked like at all.

But she told the police that the intruder was likely a woman, and a foreign woman at that. Don't ask her how she knew; it was just a gut feeling.

However, when the police questioned the neighbors, no one heard any noise at the time, there were no signs of intruders in the dormitory, and the surveillance cameras did not capture any evidence. Therefore, they suspected that she had mental health issues.

The above information can be found in police records, and Mei Wenhua also found other clues.

Upon receiving the news, Mei Wenhua secretly went to investigate Luo Mingzhi's situation early this morning without disturbing Luo Mingzhi herself. Mei Wenhua noticed something amiss as soon as he entered the dormitory; someone had just been there, and there were traces of magical fluctuations.

He was very familiar with this magical power; it was the unique technique of the Xing Shen Sect, the Emotion-Stealing Technique. If he had arrived any later, he might not have noticed it; if he had arrived any earlier, he might have run into the caster.

The fifth-level cultivators of the Xing Shen Sect are also known as Love Stealers. Mei Wenhua himself is one of them. The Love Stealing Technique requires at least a fifth-level cultivation to master, and at a higher level, it can even modify a person's consciousness.

Someone had just been here, perhaps wanting to ask Luo Mingzhi something, but instead used magic to put her in a state of semi-consciousness. She won't remember the experience afterwards, and even if she does, she'll think it was a dream.

**
(End of this chapter)