In fact, the mastermind behind this whole affair was Cao Jingxuan's wife. She was a member of the Japanese organization, and Cao Jingxuan was merely a pawn in her scheme to conceal her identity.

This time, they colluded with their accomplices in a neighboring city prison to create chaos, a pretext to transfer all their forces out of the area.

This makes it easier for them to get things done, and it also provides them with more helpers.

These people have a good idea: to act simultaneously so that they can both rescue Sato and have a chance to enter the valley.

Among the people they rescued this time were sorcerers skilled in unorthodox methods. As for who instructed this woman, that remains a mystery.

As for Dong Chunxiao, she was only helped because she was threatened. She was once Cao Jingxuan's classmate, and Cao Jingxuan had a crush on her back then. However, that crush couldn't withstand the money offensive of the young master of the Bai family, and he could only watch helplessly as his beloved was taken away by another man.

They thought they would never see each other again, but fate had other plans, and the two met at the train station. Dong Chunxiao's life was not going well, and Cao Jingxuan was a sentimental man.

The two met again after many years, rekindled their old feelings, and got back together. However, both of them now have their own families, and Cao Jingxuan's wife happened to find out about it. As a result, Dong Chunxiao was forced to become a pawn as well.

Otherwise, she would be reported and her family would find out that she was having an affair with another man. For the sake of her family, her reputation, her face, and her money, Dong Chunxiao agreed to do things for them.

As for Jiang Mei and Cao Jingxuan, one wants to have an affair, and the other wants to find a powerful backer. However, due to the limitations of their surroundings, the two have not made any substantial progress so far.

However, Cao Jingxuan's wife was not idle either. She asked Dong Chunxiao to help them frame Jiang Mei. In fact, she had already read the book. Her daughter worked in the library and looked after things. Wasn't it convenient for her?

The purpose of bringing up Jiang Mei was simply to divert attention.

Tonight's operation is so important, yet this woman chose to flee with her child. The reason is that she wasn't very confident about the operation, but her superiors were pressing her, so she had no choice but to make this move. Unfortunately, Zhang Dalei had already spotted her. Where could she run to?

"Who told you that there's an elixir of immortality in that valley? Or that there are immortals there? Don't tell me it's in some unofficial history; it's never been written about at all. How did you come up with this out of thin air?"

Not to mention Song Zhi's curiosity, even Song Shutian was puzzled. What were these people thinking? Where did these gods come from? Had they even seen them? They treated legends as fact. He even wondered if, if some unofficial history recorded a dragon or phoenix, they would be ready to go and capture these things.

The woman's expression was somewhat stiff. "Yes, as mentioned above, we've searched. We haven't found it anywhere else. We've tested the wild vegetables here, and their nutritional content is higher than in other places, so we suspect this is the place we're looking for. As for the details, I'm afraid only our superiors and Sato know."

"So once you're inside, you're not going to take even the weeds away, are you? Don't you have any purpose at all?"

The woman shook her head. "They said that once we're inside, we'll naturally understand what's good and what we need."

How did you contact her?

The woman shook her head. "It's no use. If I don't contact them by midnight today, it means the operation has failed and we've been exposed."

Enraged, Song Shutian slammed his fist on the table. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

The woman said expressionlessly, "You didn't ask—"

Song Shutian calmed himself down and asked, "Tell me, who is your boss, and where is he? Where are the other members of your organization?"

The woman shook her head. "I don't know who she is, but she knows who I am. We only communicate through one-way channels. I really don't know where she is."

Song Shutian's brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, and yet another one had appeared who didn't know.

"You're not even from the same organization, yet you've all met? How is that possible? I can understand the younger ones who came later, but you're all older, and you don't even know who the other person is, you've never even met them. How can you believe that the other person is your superior?"

The woman gave a bitter smile. "You don't understand our organization. We don't have our own names, only numbers. We've met a few of us once or twice, but so many years have passed, who knows who's still alive?"

Many of the original members are gone, and it's even harder to get to know the new hires. I was one of the later hires; if someone contacts me and still knows my code, they're definitely my superior.

Song Shutian snorted, "Your organization is really well-organized. It must be quite difficult for you people. You know who else is involved, write them all down—"

In fact, in the end, he felt that all they had done was arrest a group of people, and there was no real progress.

Finally, Song Shutian also asked Sato Shinichi, and he was surprised to find that this woman had actually met Sato before.

"Now that's good, let's see how that old devil tries to deny it."

As for the two meeting, that's something for now; they're going into the mountains tomorrow, so Song Shutian told his men to get some rest.

The next day, when Song Shutian and Song Zhi led their men back into the mountains, Jiang Qiao had already boarded a train and left.

Ma Liu and the old man traveled by boat, while Jiang Qiao and his family of four headed straight for the capital.

Gu Zhengfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief after boarding the train. He was worried that Song Shutian would come looking for his daughter to go into the mountains. Even though the two of them hadn't been inside, they could imagine how terrifying it was. There were so many snakes; it would be too difficult to get in.

Even if there were immense wealth inside, he wouldn't be envious. No matter how big his stomach was or how much food he ate, no matter how good the things inside were, they had no appeal to him compared to his child's life.

Jiang Qiao was even less concerned. She had plenty of treasure; her spatial storage was overflowing with it. She lacked nothing in terms of food or clothing, so why take the risk? Given her current situation, it was best to stay away. Even if she obtained it, she might not be able to protect it. Why bother? She was very open-minded about this.

While reading, Wen Jingwan exclaimed, "Tell me, how did you read this? I feel like I can't understand it at all!"

Leaving aside the words, the content itself was quite a brain teaser for Wen Jingwan.

Gu Zhengfeng snatched the book from his wife's hands. "If you don't understand it, don't bother reading it. Do you think traditional Chinese medicine is so easy to learn?"

You know, that's enough. At your age, don't be so hard on yourself. Just do your best in your own field, that's good enough. Don't compare yourself to our daughter; Qiao'er has talent, even her uncle says so.”

"Mom, stop looking. You've been busy these past few months, so that's enough. Some things can't be learned in a short time. Just memorize the prescription. If you need anything else, I'm here for you. Come on, have something to eat."

Jiang Qiao glanced at her younger brother lying on the bed, drinking milk from a bottle. "My brother is the most comfortable. Mom, you should lie down and rest for a while too."