Chapter 260

"I'll go ask Guangtou Tuo again," said Zhang Lan.

"Mm."

Mo Hua nodded; this matter reeked of strangeness and needed clarification.

For the remaining time, Zhang Lan had his subordinates inventory the stolen goods, log them all into the register, after which Dao Ting Si would send personnel tomorrow to transport these items back to Xiancheng.

Mo Hua and the others would spend the night inside the inner mountain.

After the cave was tidied, they prepared to depart for the camp.

Just as they were leaving, Mo Hua suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?"

Zhang Lan turned back and asked urgently, "What is it?"

Mo Hua pointed to a small corner, "There's something here."

Hearing this, Zhang Lan's eyes lit up; he walked to the corner Mo Hua indicated, extended his spiritual sense, carefully discerned, then exclaimed:

"There really is a hidden compartment."

Previously, debris had blocked it, so no one had noticed.

Now that the cave had been cleared, Mo Hua's spiritual sense detected the hidden compartment.

"Is there a formation?" Zhang Lan asked.

"No," Mo Hua shook his head.

Zhang Lan turned to Mo Shan, "Brother Mo, it's up to you."

Mo Shan nodded, clenched his fist, and fire erupted upon it; then with a "Boom—" he punched the stone wall in the corner.

The stone wall groaned and cracked.

Mo Shan struck five or six times, smashing the rock entirely.

After the stone shattered, a tiny hidden compartment appeared behind it, containing a wooden box.

Zhang Lan retrieved the wooden box, scanned it with his spiritual sense, confirmed no danger, then opened it.

Mo Hua leaned in to take a look.

Inside the wooden box were two books and a map.

One book was The Long Wind Scripture; the other was The Swift Wind Technique.

The Long Wind Scripture was a wind-elemental cultivation method; The Swift Wind Technique was a wind-elemental movement art—both were Daoist methods Guangtou Tuo had learned.

It seemed this hidden compartment was where Guangtou Tuo stored his belongings.

As for the map, it appeared to be a terrain map.

Its lines crudely sketched mountain contours and cliffs, the handwriting was sloppy, with no annotations; at a glance, its origin was unidentifiable.

Zhang Lan said, "These cultivation method and movement art are valuable, but wind elemental roots are rare, so few can learn them. Copy a set later—you can sell them or trade for other Daoist methods; they'll likely fetch many Spirit Stones."

"As for this map…" Zhang Lan frowned and asked Mo Hua, "Can you tell where this terrain map is from?"

Zhang Lan was unfamiliar with the terrain near Xiancheng, especially the paths of Great Heishan.

He rarely used terrain maps himself.

He remembered Mo Hua had personally drawn terrain maps of Great Heishan, marking every ridge, stream, forest, and tree with perfect clarity.

If this truly was a Great Heishan terrain map, Mo Hua should recognize it.

Mo Hua took the map and studied it closely, feeling puzzled.

It felt familiar, yet also strange.

"The mountain contours resemble Great Heishan's terrain map, but I've never seen this exact layout."

Mo Hua mused, then asked Mo Shan:

"Father, can you tell what it is?"

Mo Shan studied it a while, found it odd, and said, "Didn't you draw maps of the inner and outer mountains? Bring them out for comparison."

"Oh, right," Mo Hua nodded, pulled out his own terrain map, and spread it on the ground.

Since Guangtou Tuo had been captured, the bandits' lair dismantled, and Lu Hui dead, there was nothing urgent—they carefully compared the maps.

Half an hour passed; they flipped through them several times but found no matching location.

Zhang Lan said, "Perhaps it's a terrain map of Great Heishan's outer regions beyond Xiancheng."

Mo Hua nodded; it seemed likely.

Great Heishan was vast; beyond the Xiancheng region, its mountain ranges extended into other territories.

If so, it explained why Mo Hua found it familiar yet couldn't pinpoint the exact location.

"We can ask Guangtou Tuo when we return—where this map came from and what it's for," Mo Hua said after thinking.

Guangtou Tuo had hidden this map alongside his cultivation method and movement art manuals—clearly he valued it greatly; it likely concealed a significant secret.

Mo Hua copied the map as well.

That night, the three stayed in Great Heishan; the next morning, they rose early, returning to Xiancheng with mountain dew and morning sun.

After a brief rest, Mo Hua went to Dao Ting Si, found Zhang Lan, and asked:

"Are you interrogating Guangtou Tuo? Take me along."

Zhang Lan looked uneasy. "Dao Ting Si interrogations cannot be witnessed by outsiders…"

"I helped capture Guangtou Tuo—how am I an outsider?"

"That's true, but rules are rules," Zhang Lan declined gently.

"Fine, I'll ask Zhou Zhangsi then."

Mo Hua turned to leave; Zhang Lan quickly grabbed his arm. "Why are you going to Zhou Zhangsi?"

"If you can't decide, Zhou Zhangsi must."

"Zhou Zhangsi won't agree."

Mo Hua grinned slyly, "How do you know the Chief Officer won't agree?"

Zhang Lan pondered for a moment and realized the Chief Officer really wouldn't refuse.

The man was captured with Mo Hua's help anyway; now, during interrogation, Mo Hua wanted to observe—there seemed nothing wrong with that.

Moreover, Mo Hua had wide connections and many sources of information; he might know certain things better than this Chief Clerk.

Letting him assist in the interrogation might actually yield something.

The old Chief Officer has always admired Mo Hua, and besides, Mo Hua is a First-Rank Array Master—this favor, they'd surely grant.

Zhang Lan's expression grew complicated; he sighed, "There'll be blood during the interrogation…"

Halfway through, Zhang Lan suddenly realized Mo Hua was still a Demon Hunter—he'd seen countless battles between cultivators and demonic beasts, and likely plenty of bloody scenes himself.

Realizing this, Zhang Lan gave up and said, "Come with me."

Mo Hua smiled, "Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

The interrogation chamber of the Dao Ting Si lay in a dark corner to the west.

Mo Hua followed Zhang Lan into the chamber and immediately smelled blood and rot; the room was dim, with torture instruments hanging along the walls, dark stains of dried blood on the floor, and a furnace burning a branding iron.

Bloody, gloomy, and oppressive.

No wonder Zhang Lan didn't want him to come in.

Zhang Lan instructed, "You just sit and listen. If you feel unwell, step outside for air. This isn't a good place—you should avoid it if you can."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang!"

Mo Hua thanked him again.

Zhang Lan smiled faintly, patted Mo Hua's shoulder, then ordered the guards to bring in Guangtou Tuo.

Mo Hua found a relatively clean chair and sat down; soon, he heard the clinking of chains, and looked up to see several Enforcement Officers dragging Guangtou Tuo in, his bones pierced through with iron chains.

Guangtou Tuo was covered in wounds, his figure ragged—he'd clearly suffered greatly in the Dao Ting Si prison.

The Enforcement Officers bound Guangtou Tuo to the torture rack.

Zhang Lan put on a cold expression and said:

"Guangtou Tuo, I'll ask you a few questions. Answer truthfully, and you'll suffer less."

Guangtou Tuo kept his eyes shut, saying nothing.

Zhang Lan asked several questions; Guangtou Tuo gave no answer, not even when tortured.

He acted like a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water.

Guangtou Tuo knew he was certain to die; he regarded the Dao Ting Si cultivators as lapdogs, and since he'd been captured by them, he'd decided to say nothing at all.

He was a man facing death—right now, he could only wait to die.

Zhang Lan asked several more times, applied torture a few more times, and finally shook his head helplessly.

Then he noticed Mo Hua signaling to him.

Zhang Lan thought for a moment and nodded.

Mo Hua strolled forward slowly and asked with a smile, "Big Baldy, have you heard of the Water Prison Technique?"

A clear voice reached Guangtou Tuo's ears; he looked up and saw a young cultivator with red lips and white teeth smiling at him.

How could there be a child in the Dao Ting Si's interrogation chamber?

And this figure and aura felt familiar—he seemed to be the Demon Hunter who had saved Ji Qingbai that day.

Guangtou Tuo felt puzzled and asked, "What's the Water Prison Technique?"

Mo Hua smiled faintly, raised his small hand, and condensed spiritual chains that wrapped around Guangtou Tuo's body.

This technique…

Guangtou Tuo's heart trembled violently; his eyes snapped wide open.

"It's you!"