Chapter 112

On the main mountain road, the bus stopped for dozens of seconds, leaving three people behind, then it sped onto the road again; Zhou Shuo together with Xia Lao Tou, and also a tall and sturdy Balun stood at the roadside, looking at the Old Forest on the distant hillside; Azure Tour Village is inside that Old Forest on the other side of the hill, Divine Machine Hundred Reflections.

I say, Xia, just how bad are your connections? Only Zhou came as a helper; where are the rest of the Quanxing people? Balun glanced sideways at the old man beside him.

Hey, they can barely protect themselves now, yet they still help me; I've sought out every helper I could find! Xia Lao Tou had his hands behind his back, gazing toward the hillside, involuntarily furrowing his brows, absentmindedly uttering a sentence.

Old Xia, Old Bal, are we going straight to Azure Tour Village, or what? Zhou Shuo withdrew his gaze and looked at the two beside him.

No, on the way here I already carefully observed; the Omnipresent Company's people have already sealed off this place, we can't assault directly, and we must avoid Ma Xianhong's side executing hostages; all we can do is sneak in quietly and then find Jin Feng. Xia Liuqing flatly refused.

The Omnipresent Company's people have sealed this place? When did you observe? I didn't notice anything. Zhou Shuo glared; Xia Liuqing had been with him all along, and on the way they hadn't seen any suspicious traces, so how did he discover that the Omnipresent Company's people were sealing off this place?

You little brat, you find out everything, what do you need this old hand for! Ma Xianhong's ambitions are not small—turning ordinary people into aberrants; his affair has likely been under the Omnipresent Company's watch for a long time, and this time it's just a coincidence; even if we let them cause trouble, we'll just fish in troubled waters and find Jin Feng. Xia Liuqing forced out a scoffing laugh, yet his heart felt heavy, both alarmed by the undercurrents of the Azure Tour Village trip and worried for his companions' safety.

Let's first sneak in and check the situation before we decide! Balun surveyed the secluded road and couldn't help but speak up.

Go! Xia Liuqing showed no hesitation, leaping into the forest, while Balun and Zhou Shuo followed close behind.

After passing through a dense stretch of forest and climbing a rugged mountain path, the destination soon appeared before Zhou Shuo's eyes: a village built on flat mountain land, with rice fields, residential areas, and cooking smoke forming a picture of an idyllic paradise, ordinary yet brimming with a pleasing vitality—this was Azure Tour Village.

Because Omnipresent Company personnel had already intervened, and with Jin Feng Po Po in the hands of the village chief, Xia Lao Tou felt a bit hesitant to act against the mouse, so the idea of paying respects to the village could not be carried out. The three waited outside the village for half a day, and only after darkness fell did Balun sneak into the village to search for Jin Feng Po Po; this foreign fellow was also a formidable figure—once he restrained his aura, he seemed to vanish.

Balun was responsible for sneaking into the village to search for Jin Feng Po Po, while Zhou Shuo was not idle either; he similarly projected his soul thoughts outward to search the village for Jin Feng Po Po, while also taking the opportunity to observe the interior of Azure Tour Village. Upon inspection, he was startled to discover that the villagers of Azure Tour Village were by no means ordinary people—of course, this did not mean they were aberrants, but rather their identities in the ordinary world.

The residents of Azure Tour Village, Zhou Shuo initially thought they were not aberrants nor related to aberrants, merely long‑time inhabitants of the area; however, as he used his soul to wander, he overheard their casual conversations and found that those living in the eastern part of the village were developers, those in the western part were architects, and picking anyone at random turned out to be either a boss, a boxer, or a singer, with accents from all over the country and every conceivable profession, yet there was no connection among them whatsoever.

Hey, a bunch of clueless things, they probably just want to become like us; it's no wonder Ma Xianhong drew the company's attention—the thugs who once besieged me were low‑level fighters who won by relying on a full set of magical tools, likely they were the aberrants created by that device that transforms ordinary people, and that transformation device has probably already been completed in some sense.

Longing to become superheroes, that's understandable—who doesn't have an extraordinary heart? Zhou Shuo nodded along with Xia Liuqing's explanation; with that, this village gathered from people all over the country left no room for doubt.

Really, I brought you here not to look at these things—where is Jin Feng! You should have found Jin Feng for me. Xia Liuqing stared at the nodding Zhou Shuo, feeling a surge of anger; I asked you to come to find a person, yet you're paying attention to something else!

I can't find her! My soul thoughts have combed through every corner of the village, yet I still can't locate Jin Feng Po Po—is Jin Feng Po Po really still here? Could she have been taken elsewhere by Ma Xianhong, or perhaps detained somewhere? Zhou Shuo looked at the vexed old man, offering an innocent explanation.

Detained? Jin Feng, kid, you said Ma Xianhong captured Jin Feng for what reason? Does he have a grandfather or something like that? Xia Liuqing caught a certain word in Zhou Shuo's speech, his mind instantly filled with many images, his face turning slightly green.

Old man, where are your thoughts wandering? Zhou Shuo looked at Xia Liuqing's greenish face, couldn't help but twitch his mouth; that Jin Feng Po Po is already past her seventies.

What do you mean by "where are your thoughts wandering"? You don't know—Jin Feng is so good, so beautiful, back then who knows how many people liked her; eh, I'm saying this for nothing—hurry up and go find her for me. Xia Liuqing stiffened his neck, but was soon overtaken by anxiety and worry, unable to suppress his irritation again.

Fine, fine! In this village I've already used my soul thoughts to search thoroughly; I'll go look elsewhere, dawn is approaching, Balun will be back soon, you'd better take it easy—my physical body is quite frail. Zhou Shuo glanced at the sky above, then at the anxious old man, and could only project his soul outward.

You'd better search carefully and also be cautious…. Xia Liuqing watched the figure whose soul had emerged from his body, hurriedly giving all kinds of reminders, fearing he might miss someone or expose his trail and thus scare the snake.

Got it. Zhou Shuo replied, and then his soul swiftly flew away; he had already examined every corner and every face in Azure Tour Village, and now he needed to go outward to look around.

Where to go, huh? Zhou Shuo drifted in mid‑air, scanning the miniature view of the village below, when his gaze suddenly shifted—he saw two figures dash out of a house in the village, holding something in their hands, then swiftly hurry along a small path outside the village toward the mountain.

Mechanical men, delivering meals? Zhou Shuo instantly followed the two abrupt figures; upon seeing these two figures, he couldn't help but stare for a moment—although they looked no different from ordinary people, their pallid faces lacked vitality, their movements were stiff and their eyes stared straight ahead, each holding a lunch box, marching straight toward some destination, just like puppets carrying out a task.

The two puppet‑like figures clutched their lunch boxes and ran straight up the mountain; this seemed like they were going to deliver food to someone. Zhou Shuo had no second thoughts, he hovered directly beside the two figures, following them up a steep mountain path, after which a building erected on a level platform on the mountainside suddenly came into view; the structure had a rather classical air, its eaves soaring toward the sky, and the door bore an inscription.

Self‑Cultivation Hall. Zhou Shuo lagged two steps behind, looked at the characters on the door, blinked his eyes, then cautiously slipped inside; even before entering he felt a surge of excitement rising within him.

I finally succeeded, thank you so much, Brother Qing.

The interior space was not large; at that moment most of it was in disarray, metal objects littered the floor, and there were many vacant‑eyed figures standing like the puppets seen earlier; among them, a youth in white clothes with red bead strings on his wrists was happily clasping the hand of a black‑clad youth, expressing his gratitude repeatedly, while behind the two stood something resembling a chemical furnace, standing still as if it had just been completed.

That's nothing, Sect Leader—just be happy. The black‑clad youth had a neat short haircut, his eyes narrowed into slits, like a fox lurking in the grass.

Ma Xianhong, Zhuge Qing. Zhou Shuo looked at the black‑ and white‑clad youths and instantly recognized them: the black‑clad figure resembling a fox was the one he had seen at the Luotian Grand Rite; his fans could not help but feel sorry for Wang Ye, a terrifying fellow; and the white‑clad youth, being called Sect Leader, was most likely Ma Xianhong, the inheritor of the ultimate artifact‑refining skill Divine Machine Hundred Reflections among the Eight Extraordinary Skills, the chief of Azure Tour Village, surnamed Ma, presumably a descendant of the Three‑Foot Small Class Horse among the Thirty‑Six Thieves.

Hahaha, I've said it countless times—just call me Village Chief; Old Qing, you don't treat me as one of your own! Breakfast has arrived, come, let's eat together. The white‑clad youth had a white headband tied across his forehead, with a faint tear‑shaped mole beneath each eye, giving him a fresh and handsome appearance; he paid no heed to the polite distance in Zhuge Qing's words, gazing at the two meal‑delivering puppets coming from outside, full of enthusiasm.

Sect Leader is joking; we merely hit it off. Zhuge Qing smiled, stepped forward, and sat beside Ma Xianhong in front of the chemical furnace to have a meal, yet his tone remained utterly unchanged.

Old Qing's saying that we hit it off—doesn't that already make us kindred spirits? Speaking of which, how is your cultivation of Divine Machine Hundred Reflections going? Ma Xianhong looked at the breakfast the puppets had set before him, eager to begin, and asked.

Divine Machine Hundred Reflections. Zhou Shuo looked at the white‑clad youth Ma Xianhong, not daring to think too much, and turned his gaze to the opposite side.

These days I've been helping you build this Self‑Cultivation Furnace—when would I have time to look? Zhuge Qing's narrowed eyes opened a little, light flickering in his pupils, his tone full of amused laughter.

Is it still undecided whether to take a look or not! Ma Xianhong snatched up his bowl and chopsticks; his words caused Zhuge Qing's hand reaching for the breakfast to pause, then withdraw, as he produced from his waist a small ball‑sized trinket.

What is this thing? Zhou Shuo watched the figure pull out the little ball, frown in thought, couldn't help but blink his eyes—could Divine Machine Hundred Reflections be inside this object?