Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Letting Hu Songqi go was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Some people are both timid and stubborn, destined to never settle down and always cause trouble.

Hu Songqi is this kind of person. Once he confirms that Lin Ke is not in the provincial capital, he will be unwilling to be exploited like this and will secretly cause trouble.

Link wanted Hu Songqi to cause trouble so he could find more clues about ancient witchcraft and evil witchcraft.

As for Hu Suqi, Link didn't actually believe her side of the story.

Although he felt somewhat guilty towards his senior brother, Link still used some methods to guide him to confess his feelings to Hu Suqi.

Whether Hu Suqi accepts it or not, it is a form of restraint.

Whether it will work or not remains to be seen; there's no rush to make a definitive judgment.

What entered the Lotus Heart Pavilion was actually a clone.

Link's true form has now been completely transformed, and even his aura and mental energy fluctuation frequency have been altered.

It is believed that even Li Shuwen, who is at the Void Realm, would not be able to recognize Link in person.

A passenger ship sailing down the river towards Tianshui County.

Link bought a first-class ticket and moved into a suite with a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, a servant's room, and two bathrooms.

The suite has windows that offer views of the river and let in natural light.

Sitting at his desk by the window, listening to the roaring river, Lin Ke flipped through the documents he had scavenged from Hu Songqi.

There were gains, but the quality wasn't as good as the large volume I got from Hu Suqi.

Link didn't bother to investigate the reasons. After putting away the ancient books, bamboo slips, and secret manuals, he focused on studying the map of the "Valley of the Dead" secret realm.

After visiting Tianshui County and seeing my single mother whom I haven't seen in ten years, I'll make a surprise return to the provincial capital to see how things are going then.

The Valley of the Dead is very large.

Based on the scale lines on the map, Link roughly estimated that it would take at least ten days to half a month to explore the area thoroughly.

"Let's take a long-term view."

With a mutter to himself, Link put away the map of Dead Man's Valley and looked up at the river view outside the window for a while.

After relaxing for a while, Link immersed himself in perfecting the "Construct" system.

When inspiration strikes, there's no stopping it.

Link has made a decision: after returning to the provincial capital, he will begin experiments on implanting "constructs" into human immortal martial arts practitioners.

As for the design work of individual pieces and sets of "constructs", we can start now and make adjustments based on feedback later.

The river flows eastward, and boats race along.

provincial capital.

Link has already left, and the effects he left behind are only now beginning to ferment.

In the secluded courtyard.

Hu Suqi looked at Shi Gandang, who was kneeling in front of her on one knee, holding flowers in one hand and a ring in the other, and felt a mix of emotions.

She was actually a little unsure whether this was Shi Gandang's true feeling or more influenced by magic.

Given Hu Suqi's expertise in ancient witchcraft, she could certainly see that Link had not deliberately concealed the traces of his spellcasting.

However, magic is not omnipotent, especially magic that alters cognition.

Shi Gandang was no ordinary person; he was a powerful martial arts expert in the early stage of the Guiyi Realm.

To alter the understanding of Shi Gandang, given Hu Suqi's mastery of ancient witchcraft, it would likely require years of repeated rituals and continuous refinement to succeed.

Therefore, Hu Suqi wasn't actually unsure, but rather afraid to admit it.

As long as she doesn't admit that Shi Gandang's confession is sincere, she won't need to question her own conscience when rejecting him.

He opened his mouth, the words of refusal rising in his throat, but he swallowed them back down when he saw the sincere look in Shi Gandang's eyes and heard his increasingly erratic heartbeat.

"Your eighth junior brother is so annoying!"

After a long silence, just when Shi Gandang thought his confession would be rejected, Hu Suqi spoke softly, her tone full of resentment.

"Huh? Eighth Junior Brother? You're annoying?"

Shi Gandang was greatly surprised and very puzzled.

What is all this about? I confessed my feelings to you, how did it involve Eighth Junior Brother?

Hu Suqi didn't leave Shi Gandang in doubt for long before revealing the truth: "Your eighth junior brother, Young Hero Lin, outwardly believed me, but in reality, he turned around and guided you to test me and keep an eye on me. Don't you think that's annoying?"

"Did your eighth junior brother come looking for you? When?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Gandang grasped the key point and quickly asked a question.

Moreover, when did my eighth junior brother guide me to test and spy on him?

Seeing Shi Gandang's blank and ignorant expression, Hu Suqi had to admit that Shi Gandang's confession was indeed sincere.

"Ugh!"

With a sigh, Hu Suqi said, "Last night, shortly after you left."

Then, changing the subject, she asked, "Have you considered what you would face if I accepted your advances? What would the Bajiquan Martial Arts School face?"

This question instantly diverted Shi Gandang's attention.

Hu Suqi has relented and seems to be accepting his confession.

Could there be better news than this?

there is none left!

However, what Hu Suqi said is also very worthy of attention.

After all, her status was undeniable; she was the second daughter of a provincial military governor and a socialite with extensive connections in high society.

Shi Gandang, on the other hand, was the founding disciple of the increasingly powerful Bajiquan martial arts school.

Ordinary people may not know about Bajiquan, but those with certain status, position, power, and wealth will certainly understand that its founder was Li Shuwen, who once dominated the martial arts world in the south.

Given their respective statuses, their relationship would be more than just between the two of them.

Regardless of the true story, to outsiders it appears to be a powerful alliance between Governor Hu and Bajiquan/Li Shuwen.

Even if it doesn't trigger an earthquake, it will at least cause a great commotion.

It could even cause panic among many people and forces.

After all, Governor Hu and Bajiquan/Li Shuwen had many enemies.

Did Shi Gandang think about these things before he came?

Of course I've thought about it.

During the two hours he hesitated, he was both making a decision for himself and weighing the pros and cons.

But he still came in the end and confessed his feelings.

This shows that Shi Gandang had thought things through very clearly, understood what he was going to do, and what the consequences would be if he succeeded.

"I know what the consequences will be, but I don't think we can't afford the risk."

Shi Gandang said firmly and decisively, "I've made my decision, and my master will never object. If you're willing to accept it, even if there's pressure from Governor Hu, we can overcome it together."

"Oh……"

Hu Suqi chuckled lightly. "Pressure? What pressure? Who can put pressure on me?"

"So, you're agreeing?"

Shi Gandang was only somewhat oblivious when it came to matters of the heart, but he wasn't a complete fool who couldn't understand the hidden meaning in someone's words.

"We'll see how you do."

Hu Suqi said a few words, took the flowers and the small box from Shi Gandang, and turned to walk into the house.

As for the ring in the small box, of course, I put it on immediately.

Shi Gandang laughed so hard his eyes narrowed into slits; this man in his thirties looked like a child.

Lotus Heart Boat.

Hu Songqi cleaned up the mess but had no intention of changing rooms.

She sat in front of the dressing table, her expression gloomy and her mood extremely resentful.

Not long ago, she resigned from her position as the leader of the "Witchcraft" organization, in accordance with Link's second condition.

Even without Lin Ke supervising, Hu Songqi dared not be perfunctory or delay.

A large forest has all kinds of birds.

If Hu Suqi, the founder, could lose the "Witchcraft" organization, then his successor Hu Songqi certainly wouldn't lack internal rivals.

The "Witchcraft" organization quickly elected its third leader, and under the new leader's guidance, it completely severed ties with Hu Songqi.

The Lotus Heart Pavilion has been completely abandoned by the "Witchcraft" organization.

Fortunately, Hu Songqi did indeed own the property rights of Lianxin Pavilion, which prevented him from losing his status and power, but also his property and wealth.

"Dead Man's Valley!"

But Hu Songqi was really unwilling to accept it.

Especially Link's nonchalant threat, which, without her noticing or reacting at all, grabbed her heart and made it stop beating for a beat.

This indicates that if Link really wanted to kill her, she would already be as dead as the other corpses that were cleared away.

This made Hu Songqi feel uneasy, and it also gave rise to different thoughts in him.

He can be replaced!

If only she could safely enter the Valley of the Dead and find the secret manual copied from the legendary source of evil witchcraft.

Hu Songqi took a deep breath, stopped thinking, swept away all the items on the dressing table, spread out a sheet of white paper, and began to draw a map of Dead Man Valley from memory.

There were many more pieces of white paper like this on the side.

The paper, pen, and ink are all old items that have been around for a while.

After being processed using special techniques, the resulting map of Dead Man's Valley becomes an old map.

Hu Songqi's plan was self-evident.

Since the plan to turn a Void Realm martial artist into a puppet is impossible, let's stir up trouble and spread the map of Dead Man Valley.

As a result, many people who only see the benefits and actively ignore the dangers will go on the adventure.

As long as Dead Man's Valley is attractive enough!

"Immortality! Immortality! What elderly ruler could resist such temptation?"

Hu Songqi recalled a secret story that could be found in official history, and couldn't help but chuckle.

Legend has it that there is a peach tree in the Valley of the Dead that bears fruit only once every thousand years.

Anyone who eats a peach from this tree can live for three hundred years.

Eat three of them and you can live for a thousand years.

Historically, there was indeed a person who lived to be four hundred years old.

Legend has it that this peak Void Realm martial artist, who was only one opportunity away from the fifth realm of the legendary Human Immortal Martial Arts, "Seeing God," once miraculously escaped from the Valley of the Dead unscathed.

Whether this peak Void Realm martial artist ate a peach or not, and whether his four hundred years of life had anything to do with peaches, remains to be seen.

No one can give an absolute answer.

However, historical records clearly document the cause of death of this peak Void Realm martial artist.

He died from being surrounded by six Void Realm warriors who were nearing the end of their lives, rather than from natural death!

If this hadn't happened, would that person have been able to live for a thousand years?

On the back of the paper on which the map was drawn, Hu Songqi wrote this secret story and thoughtfully provided a bibliography.

It's the truth anyway, so I'm not afraid of anyone investigating.

"Hehehe..."

After doing all this, Hu Songqi laughed somewhat maniacally.

She did this with the intention of muddying the waters and increasing her chances of finding the evil sorcery manual in the Valley of the Dead.

He also had some ulterior motives, wanting to disrupt Link's plans.

"You wanted to go to the Valley of the Dead? Now let's see what you're going to do!"

Two days later.

Link's ship arrived at its destination, the county seat of Tianshui County.

Before even disembarking, Link saw a large number of people dressed as martial artists gathered on the dock, densely packed, surging towards the ship.

"What happened?"

Among the passengers who were also preparing to disembark, someone immediately spoke up to ask.

"They've gone mad! They've all gone mad!"

Upon discovering that the pier was blocked and passengers were having difficulty disembarking, the anxious captain contacted the pier management to inquire about the situation.

Upon learning of the situation, the captain immediately rushed to the deck and started shouting.

"What's crazy? Who's crazy?"

Immediately, a curious passenger asked loudly.

"Valley of the Dead! Valley of the Dead! Valley of the Dead! Cough cough cough..."

The captain shouted three times, until he was out of breath, but he still couldn't get a clear answer.

The passengers, who were eager to watch the drama unfold, were so anxious that they wanted to strangle the captain.

Upon hearing the words "Valley of the Dead," Link's mind raced, and a possibility came to mind.

The information Hu Songqi gave him described Dead Man Valley as one of the most unique places.

"That's interesting."

With a thought to himself, Link silently appeared on the dock without anyone on the deck noticing.

Link casually swiped a cheap photocopy from a martial artist dressed in typical mechanical martial arts attire, examining it as he walked, confirming his guess.

Sure enough, it was Hu Songqi, who was unwilling to continue to be so frustrated, who stirred up trouble.

Moreover, the things he did were quite unexpected by Link.

Surprisingly, it wasn't targeting Hu Suqi, Bajiquan Martial Arts School, or the "Witchcraft" organization, but rather him.

They used the Longevity Peach to attract the attention of the entire world and muddy the waters.

It must be said that this move was indeed quite effective.

"We'll see."

With a wave of his hand, Link handed the photocopy back to the bewildered mechanical martial artist, then glided smoothly out of the crowded dock and headed towards Tianshui County.

A copy of the map, which mysteriously disappeared and then mysteriously reappeared, was left behind, terrifying the young martial artist to the point of near death.

"Oh my god!"

The young martial artist let out a strange cry, as if his hand had been burned, and threw away the copy of the map in his hand at lightning speed. He struggled to push his way through the crowd and squeezed his way out of the dock.

This world is terrifying!

We encountered this before even reaching the Valley of the Dead.

If we really enter the Valley of the Dead, wouldn't we die without even knowing how we died?

Link, who had saved a life without much thought about it, had already arrived at the booked hotel at a seemingly normal but actually extremely fast speed.

This hotel is the tallest building in Tianshui County, on the 22nd floor.

The room that Link had booked offered a distant view of the Jiang family's vast mansion in Tianshui County.

Of course, the two are quite far apart, more than two thousand meters.

However, with Link's enhanced vision after using the secret technique, he could easily break through the defenses of the Jiang family mansion and see what was happening inside.

Standing by the window, gazing at the Jiang family mansion, Link couldn't help but recall that naive and childish single mother.

It's been ten years. How have you been? (End of Chapter)