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

Rong Shan paused for a moment on the other end of the phone.

The pause was brief, but in the quiet room, the brief silence from the phone receiver was particularly jarring.

Then Rongshan said in a lower, heavier voice, mixed with disbelief and reluctance, "Master—this disciple has failed in his duties."

That sorcerer from Quanxing is dead.

It was as if he had suddenly died, but there were no wounds on his body. He was fine before, and his disciple even gave him half a bowl of water, which he still knew to swallow.

Then the disciple went to wait for Manager Dou at the door. After about half an incense stick's time, he returned and found him lifeless.

Zhang Zhiwei stood up from his chair.

The way he got up was so fast, it didn't seem like something a centenarian would do.

His knuckles, gripping the phone tightly, turned slightly white from the force. A piercing golden light flashed in his eyes beneath his white eyebrows in the dim light. His voice, in that instant, lost its usual composure and calmness, replaced by a deep and sharp question: "What! Someone died! When did it happen? Before the people from the company arrived—or after they arrived?"

Rong Shan's voice came from the phone, carrying a hint of fear after being stunned by his master's tone, but more so a deep sense of guilt that he could not shirk: "Master, as you instructed, I accompanied Director Dou to the woodshed to bring people out."

Upon entering the room, they discovered that the person was already dead.

Dou, the person in charge, can testify that he went into the woodshed with me and saw it with his own eyes.

"This disciple would never dare to lie to my master."

Zhang Zhiwei remained silent for a long while.

He slowly lowered his hand from his phone, letting it hang at his side. The expression on his face changed from shock to ashen, and then from ashen to a deeper, more solemn silence.

His voice had regained its composure when he spoke, but it was a depth several degrees deeper than before, as if a layer of lead had been added to ice: "I understand. Are the people at the company—waiting for their master?"

"Yes, Master."

Dou Le, the head of the East China region, is waiting for you.

Oh, right—he should be reporting to his superiors right now. I just saw him go outside into the yard to make a phone call. He talked for quite a while; he was probably talking to the chairman or a higher-level leader.

After listening, Zhang Zhiwei only said, "I'm going now," and then hung up the phone.

He put his phone into the inner pocket of his Taoist robe and turned to leave.

Tian Jinzhong abruptly straightened his remaining upper body from his wheelchair, his deep-set eyes gleaming with a fierce light that seemed about to burst forth. His voice rose several octaves, carrying the urgency and trembling of someone driven to the brink of despair: "Senior brother! The man is dead! There's no way to prove it! This—"

Zhang Zhiwei raised one hand, palm outstretched, fingers slightly spread, signaling the other person to stop talking.

The gesture was very light and calm, but Tian Jinzhong had followed him for most of his life and knew all too well what it meant—his senior brother was truly enraged.

Zhang Zhiwei didn't turn around when he spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like tempered iron, cold and hard, carrying a hint of desolation and self-mockery, as if he had been cornered and then laughed out loud.

He seemed to have used decades of cultivation to suppress all his emotions under that sentence, letting only a little bit of them leak out from between the lines: "Good—it's really good."

They all have a problem with me, this old man.

When did so many wicked creatures arrive at the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain? I had no idea about any of them.

A charlatan from Quanxing Sect used a genuine Taoist certificate to deceive people at the mountain gate for half a month. Just as they were about to interrogate him, he died.

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

He paused, then gently brushed the Taoist certificate sealed in an evidence bag on the table with the cuff of his robe, the movement as light as if he were brushing away an invisible speck of dust.

Then he turned around, nodded slightly to Tian Jinzhong, and his tone had returned to its usual calm and peaceful state, but the determination hidden beneath that peace was like the tremors of the earth before a flash flood: "I will go and give the company an explanation."

Junior brother, you should get some rest. Don't wait for me.

Just then, a series of footsteps and the rustling of clothes came from outside the door.

A slender young man carrying a tea tray stepped in from outside the door—the gray Taoist robe looked particularly large on him, and the slightly oversized Hunyuan scarf covered half of his eyebrows and eyes, only revealing a faint, obedient and humble smile under the brim of his hat when he lowered his head.

The boy walked carefully with each step, but as he stepped over the threshold, he tripped and stumbled a couple of steps. The two teacups on the tea tray clattered together and wobbled a few times, spilling a few drops of tea.

He managed to steady himself, bent down, and raised the tea tray high, calling out in a clear, childish voice, "Grand Tutor! Second Grand Tutor! Little Yu has come to bring you tea!"

Zhang Zhiwei looked down at the clumsy young man who almost tripped while carrying the tea tray, his expression unchanged in the dim light.

He was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Little Yu, take good care of your Second Grand Tutor."

With that, he strode towards the door.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped.

The hem of his Taoist robe was still swaying slightly, but he stood motionless, as if he had suddenly thought of something in the shadow cast by the door frame.

He turned his head, his profile facing the boy carrying the tea tray behind him, and asked in a casual, indifferent tone, "Little Yu, how many years have you been up the mountain?"

Xiao Yuzi paused for a moment, her arm holding the tea tray wobbled slightly, and the teacups clinked together twice.

He quickly steadied his arm, bowed slightly, and replied in a respectful and proper junior's tone, "Ah! Replying to Grand Tutor—it has been three years since Xiaoyuzi came up the mountain!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiwei neither nodded nor shook his head, nor made any other movements. He remained silent for a moment, then stepped over the threshold without looking back. The wide hem of his Taoist robe flashed behind him, and he disappeared into the night outside the door.

The mountain breeze in the courtyard made his footsteps faint and indistinct, growing farther and farther away until they could no longer be heard.

Xiao Yuzi stood at the door with a tea tray in her hand, staring blankly in the direction Zhang Zhiwei had disappeared for a long while.

Then he turned around, carried the tea tray to Tian Jinzhong, carefully poured a cup of tea, and held it to Tian Jinzhong's lips with both hands.

His expression remained obedient and bewildered, but he kept muttering, "Second Master, please have some tea."

"Grand Tutor, that was terrifying—did Xiaoyuzi do something wrong?"

Tian Jinzhong leaned forward slightly with his remaining upper body and took a sip of tea from the other man's hand. Then, leaning back in his wheelchair, he let out a long breath and said to the boy beside him in a soothing tone, "Xiao Yuzi, don't take your grandmaster's words to heart."

He's in a bad mood today and has some matters to attend to at the Celestial Master's Mansion; he's not here for you.

Don't take it to heart.

Xiao Yuzi put the teacup back on the tea tray, then went around behind Tian Jinzhong, placed her two thin hands on the old man's only remaining shoulders, and began to knead them gently.

While kneading, he said in a solicitous and obedient tone, "Second Grand Master, the Grand Master is the pillar of our Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion. He is busy with all kinds of affairs every day. Xiao Yu Zi is just a servant who serves tea and water. He dares not delay the Grand Master's important business."

"Come here, Second Master, let me give you a shoulder massage—it's humid today, your shoulders must be sore again."

Tian Jinzhong closed his eyes slightly, enjoying the gentle massage on his shoulders, and softly said, "Thank you for your hard work."