One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

Ding Shian patted his waist and said proudly:

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together! With your senior brother here, ensuring your safe retreat is not difficult."

Besides, didn't we already submit our "pledge of allegiance" through special channels? According to the rules, some people should be thanking us tonight!

Upon hearing this, Gong Qing not only did not feel comforted, but instead let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

The laughter was soft, sounding particularly faint in the howling night wind.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the majestic main peak hidden in the clouds under the night sky, his eyes gradually becoming extremely clear from a daze.

"The saying goes, 'You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're standing in the mountain yourself.'"

Gong Qing exhaled a long breath of white air, his eyes reflecting the pale, waning moon:

"Senior brother, just like this Longhu Mountain."

When you stand at the foot of a mountain and can see its entirety at a glance, it means the mountain is actually quite far away from you; similarly, when you can truly see the whole picture of a matter, it often means... you are no longer involved.

He shook his head with a wry smile:

The ancients said that there are three realms of life: seeing a mountain as a mountain, seeing a mountain as not a mountain, and seeing a mountain as a mountain again.

Ding Shian frowned even more deeply: "Junior brother, stop trying to be clever with your senior brother."

You mean... the mountain isn't a mountain anymore? We can't get out?

"We have no way out, senior brother."

A resolute glint flashed in Gong Qing's eyes: "Tonight, I have no choice but to enter the game myself and face death to live."

This is not only our last resort, but also our only stance and attitude in the face of official organizations.

Ding Shian's expression finally turned serious.

"I'm sorry, senior, but I've dragged you into this after all."

Gong Qing sighed, his tone filled with awe and helplessness towards reality:

"Actually, I should have realized it sooner... but I never expected that the leader of the Zhuge family was so cunning that his schemes had already exceeded the scope of 'magic'."

That's not some kind of divination or occult practice; that's the legitimate operation of the state apparatus!

"Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but the inspection team's special operation was aimed at me, the acting leader, from the very beginning."

What merit do I possess? I'm nothing more than a puppet on someone else's performance evaluation form, being manipulated by strings.

Gong Qing laughed again, even with a touch of nonchalance:

"However, none of that matters anymore."

Let's go, senior brother. Time is of the essence. This time, it's my turn to try and get you a small amount of leniency.

After all, when you joined Quanxing, you were only obsessed with martial arts sparring; there's no record of you doing anything heinous or illegal in the files.

Ding Shian's breath hitched, and he asked in a deep voice, "And what about you? What will you do?"

"I?"

Gong Qing shrugged and pointed to the Taoist robe he was wearing:

"I'm nominally the leader of Quanxing and the number one suspect in the case, so my treatment is naturally much worse than yours, senior brother. I'll leave it to you to decide what to do with me."

However, it mainly depends on my attitude in cooperating with the surrender and my level of political awareness.

He turned his head to glance at the dark, dense forest behind him, a smug smile playing on his lips:

"As for the future... who knows? I didn't pass the civil service exam, so I can't predict the future."

But I can assure you of one thing—those lawless idiots who went to the back mountain to cause trouble tonight will never have the chance to come out of the police station alive and seek revenge on me.

"Good luck to them. Assaulting police officers and storming a key unit is enough to put them in jail for life."

Ding Shian remained silent for a long time.

Looking at his junior brother, who seemed young but had already grasped the rules of survival, a strange emotion welled up in his chest.

But he was still Ding Shian, that seeker of the Way who was pure to the extreme.

"Since you know perfectly well what's going on, I won't say anything more."

A chilling glint suddenly flashed in Ding Shian's eyes, his fighting spirit surging like a raging tide:

"However, junior brother, I have not forgotten the original purpose for which I set foot on Longhu Mountain tonight."

"The Heavenly Daoist, Zhang Zhiwei, is unparalleled! Even before turning myself in, I must... personally test the weight of this unparalleled skill!"

Gong Qing looked at the almost obsessive purity in his senior brother's eyes and a hint of admiration appeared in his own.

These are two heroes, martial arts fanatics who have no ulterior motives or calculations.

"Okay, as you wish."

Gong Qing responded softly, then his gaze shifted slightly, suddenly falling on a thick old locust tree not far away, and his tone abruptly turned cold:

"Have you seen enough? Come out now, I almost left you, this 'high achiever,' behind."

As soon as the words were spoken, a small head slowly peeked out from behind the rough tree trunk.

He was a cute little boy who was only 1.53 meters tall and wore black-rimmed glasses.

He was thin and frail, wearing a loose hoodie, and his baby face was plastered with an awkward yet polite fake smile. He exuded the cunning and shrewdness typical of a seasoned veteran.

"Oh dear... well, acting sect leader, Brother Ding, it's a misunderstanding! It's absolutely a misunderstanding!"

Lü Liang shrank back, raised his hands high above his head in a gesture of surrender, and cautiously stepped out from the shadows of the trees:

"I swear, I didn't hear anything! I just arrived, really! More real than pearls! I was just thinking... Just now you gave the order to send out the Three Corpses, the Four Madmen, and the Six Thieves, but you didn't call on me."

"Didn't we agree that you'd need my Soul Clarity Technique to assist? I just came to ask which squad I should go to for the mission..."

Ding Shian crossed his arms, looking down at the short, stocky man with a mocking smile, and said to Gong Qing:

"This kid is a shrewd and clever man."

However, his breathing had only just stabilized, and his movements when he approached were like a thief's; he probably didn't hear many important words.

Lu Liang's heart clenched suddenly, and his pupils behind his glasses trembled violently.

Didn't you hear me?

Even if he's deaf, he's not brain-damaged!

When the main force was assembling, Lü Liang felt a chill run down his spine.

In the Quanxing sect, Lu Liang was at best a technical support character, with his combat strength being almost at the bottom.

Gong Qing infiltrated the Celestial Master's Mansion for three years, going to great lengths to bring him up the mountain. His core purpose was to use his Soul-Clearing Technique to dig out Tian Jinzhong's brain.

Just now, on the eve of the final battle, Gong Qing threw everyone out like water to be cannon fodder, without mentioning the Soul-Enhancing Technique at all!

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!

In the Quanxing Gang, without some political acumen, you'd be dead by now.

Lu Liang immediately concluded that the acting sect leader was setting a trap, and a trap that could wipe out the ashes of all the main forces of Quanxing!

Thinking of this, Lü Liang dared not show the slightest bit of joking around.

He dropped all pretense, his expression solemn as if he were attending a family ancestral worship ceremony.

He strode up to Gong Qing, lifted his robe, and without hesitation knelt down on one knee with a thud, raising his hands in a fist above his head!

"Acting Sect Leader!"

Lü Liang's voice even carried a hint of sorrow and extreme sincerity:

"Let's not beat around the bush! I, Lü Liang, was summoned to the mountain by you, and I was only willing to obey your orders! But why have I ended up in Quanxing? Acting Sect Leader, please understand, I was framed by the Lü family, and in order to survive in this world, I had no choice but to infiltrate Quanxing for refuge!"

He spoke extremely fast, as if afraid that if he slowed down even a second, Ding Shian would casually slap him to death:

"Since joining Quanxing, I've honestly asked myself, at most I've only helped people erase their memories and caused minor disturbances, which at most affected public order! I, Lü Liang, have never committed any heinous crimes, murder, or arson! My record is much cleaner than theirs!"

Lü Liang abruptly raised his head, his glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose without him noticing, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Tonight, I'm going up the mountain at the risk of being torn to pieces—my great-grandfather, Lü Ci, the head of the Lü family, is sitting right here in a guest room at the Celestial Master's Mansion! Acting Sect Leader, I'm speaking these heartfelt words to you, asking for neither fame nor fortune, but only that, in your grand scheme, you grant me a way out!"