Fairy, don't be afraid, I'm about to begin my strategy.

Lin Zhixia was extremely flustered at the moment, but she had to try her best to control her movements so as not to make a sound.

She scrambled into the house, desperately hiding in the innermost part, but fate was unkind. The door opened again, and a tall figure entered, carrying an oil lamp.

The man made no attempt to conceal himself and entered the house, beginning to search for something.

As time went by, the person drew closer and closer, and Lin Zhixia could only keep moving her feet, inching her way into the darkest part of the place, hoping to conceal her figure.

Suddenly, an arm reached out from the darkness and grabbed Lin Zhixia, pulling her backward. Before she could even cry out in fright, her mouth was covered by a hand.

Shen Mo and Lin Zhixia huddled together and hid in the deepest part of the cubicle.

This compartment must be a storage room for miscellaneous items, separated from the outside only by a row of wooden shelves.

At this moment, Lin Zhixia was pressed close to Shen Mo. Through her thin clothes, Shen Mo could feel her beautiful curves and her body trembling slightly.

Lin Zhixia's mind went blank as she was held captive by someone with an extremely shy gesture. She dared not break free, nor did she dare to question the other person loudly.

Shen Mo was also extremely nervous. He had no choice but to tie Lin Zhixia up, hoping that neither of them would be discovered.

The faint sounds of searching for something and the faint footsteps constantly agitated their tense nerves.

The footsteps grew closer, and the light from the oil lamp continued to devour the darkness inside the room.

Shen Mo unconsciously tightened his grip on Lin Zhixia's waist, while Lin Zhixia continued to pull her body back, making their posture particularly ambiguous.

Finally, the beam of light shone on the wooden frame of the cubicle, and through the small gaps in the frame, the light also shone on the two people.

The man stopped beside the wooden shelf and carefully searched through it, the utensils making a tinkling sound.

The three were separated only by a thin wooden frame. Shen Mo had a strange feeling that the other person's gaze was also falling on him through the gap.

Sweat slowly gathered on Shen Mo's forehead, then pattered onto Lin Zhixia's snow-white neck. A sensation of both surprise and ticklishness rubbed against her delicate nerves, and the two bodies unconsciously drew closer together.

Time only seems to drag on during the most agonizing moments; the figure lingered for a long time before finally turning and leaving.

As the beam of the oil lamp slowly receded, the cubicle returned to darkness, and Shen Mo and the other person finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them collapsed in the corner, exhausted, still in an ambiguous position, panting heavily.

"Why is it you?"

Taking advantage of Shen Mo's moment of relaxation, Lin Zhixia suddenly ripped off his mask, looking surprised.

"Hmm!"

Shen Mo rudely silenced Lin Zhixia's mouth again, silencing her.

"Senior sister, stop arguing, or neither of us will be able to get away!"

After waiting a moment, Shen Mo realized that the person had gone far away, and then he released Lin Zhixia.

"Senior sister, isn't that Deacon Zhao?"

"You've been following me?" Lin Zhixia didn't answer Shen Mo, but instead looked at him angrily.

"Senior sister, wouldn't you like to stand up first?"

Lin Zhixia then realized that the two were still tightly embracing, and she blushed and hurriedly stood up.

"Senior sister, you're here to investigate the Nine-Turn Soul-Eating Grass, right?"

Lin Zhixia's expressive eyes widened in surprise. "How...how did you know?"

"Did you find anything?"

Lin Zhixia sighed and shook her head.

"Senior sister, don't you think this house is a bit strange?"

Lin Zhixia looked around, deep in thought. "It is indeed a bit strange. Why is Master Zhao raising so many Gu worms?"

As she spoke, Lin Zhixia began to examine the Gu worms in the room again.

"strangeness!"

"What did you discover, senior sister?"

"Although I don't know much about Gu worms, I can tell that all the Gu worms here are in the nurturing stage. Why haven't any of them hatched into eggs?"

After examining several Gu worms, Lin Zhixia frowned. "The refining of Gu worms is generally divided into three stages: blood battle, nurturing, and egg formation. Only when a Gu worm enters the egg formation stage can it be considered truly refined."

"All the Gu worms in this room are still in the nurturing stage and haven't hatched yet, so they can't function. Why are they being refined into Gu worms but not used?"

This problem stumped both of them, and neither of them had a clue for a moment.

The two discussed it further afterward, but as expected, they still didn't come to any conclusions.

However, Lin Zhixia still revealed quite a bit of information in just a few words.

She confessed that she was rejected when she asked Deacon Zhao to be her apprentice, but he had always treated her well, generously sharing all his skills and experience with spiritual plants without reservation. It wasn't until Lin Zhixia accidentally discovered that Deacon Zhao was researching the Nine-Turn Soul-Eating Grass and also discovered this secret place in the valley.

Later, when the virus incident involving the medicinal plants in the herb garden broke out, Lin Zhixia was very uneasy and worried that Steward Zhao was involved in the matter. Later, she couldn't help but find out the truth.

She was partly curious and partly wanted to prove Deacon Zhao's innocence.

If the higher-ups of the Lingyun Sect discover this, they will not let it go easily.

Deacon Zhao had long been a role model for her on her path of cultivation, and she refused to believe that he was behind this whole affair.

Shen Mo looked at her with amusement. "So, if this really was Deacon Zhao's doing, what are you going to do? Report it to the sect?"

Lin Zhixia bit her lip. "I don't know!"

The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment, and Shen Mo didn't dare to press the matter further.

"I'll help you investigate him!"

Lin Zhixia looked at him in surprise, "You're helping me? This...this might not work and could get you into trouble!"

"We're already in this together today, so we're all in the same boat. What's there to hesitate about?"

The two searched the room carefully again but found no more useful clues. Before they were discovered, they left the place.

Back in his room, Shen Mo let out a heavy sigh of relief. Although tonight's operation hadn't yielded much, at least one thing had been confirmed.

Deacon Zhao is definitely involved. Even if he wasn't the mastermind behind the herb garden plant incident, he's definitely involved.

"Could it be that Deacon Zhao has someone backing him? Or is there a bigger conspiracy involved?"

Although no evidence has been obtained yet, Shen Mo has already begun to characterize the matter.

After you've watched a thousand movies, you'll find that there's nothing truly bizarre in this world.

Police officers focus on evidence, while Shen Mo only cares about the outcome.

What did you say? Could it be an accidental killing?

Oh, sorry, I'm just playing a game, what do I care about you!

Shen Mo clearly didn't have the patience for playing the step-by-step game. Since he already knew the outcome, he might as well be more direct.

How to make the villain reveal even greater weaknesses?

It's simple, just beat them up first!

No villain would willingly endure humiliation and accept being beaten a few times.

What? You're saying he refused to admit it, endured hardship and humiliation?

So I'm the villain after all! This kid must not be allowed to live; he must be eliminated completely!

Thinking about this, Shen Mo suddenly realized that he was a genius, with a closed-loop logic, perfect!

Looks like it's time to hire some thugs!