At this moment, an old Taoist priest in a dark blue robe with white hair walked in through a side door and sat down in the main seat of the council hall. His eyes were sharp, and his hair and beard were white; he was exactly the same old Taoist priest that Lan Qin had seen in the Five Dragon Platform dungeon that day!
Is he wearing a human skin mask? Otherwise, how could he look exactly the same?
As Zhou Xingchuan thought this, looking at the person sitting there, he felt a heavy weight in his heart.
The master I've been calling for fifteen years isn't actually my master!
"Sit down, all of you!" The fake Zhou Zhenggang waved to his four disciples.
The four of them then sat back down.
"I've called you here today to discuss how to deal with that person in Zixiao Palace!" the fake sect leader said with a serious expression.
“Master, this person went to the cave on Dumenpo with Tianhao, and only saw a glowing stone. They didn’t find anything else. I have interrogated him several times already,” Yuan Xinghui said.
“If this person is an ordinary person, why not send him to mine?” Wang Xingbin said.
“He is no ordinary person; his identity is one that the Quanzhen Sect cannot afford to offend,” said the fake Zhou Zhenggang.
Everyone was startled; at the very least, they had to pretend to be surprised, otherwise they would arouse suspicion from the fake Zhou Zhenggang.
"Master, who exactly is he?" Zhou Xingkun asked.
"Boss, did you bring him?" Zhou Zhenggang ignored the third brother's question and turned to his eldest disciple.
"Master, I've brought it. It's in the left side room outside," Yuan Xinghui said hurriedly.
“Alright, release him. Have someone take him outside Wudang and release him.” said the fake Zhou Zhenggang.
Yuan Xinghui exchanged a glance with the second brother, and then said, "Master, why don't we bring him in and interrogate him?"
The fake Zhou Zhenggang waved his hand and said, "No need. I know who he is. We can't afford to offend him. There's no need to interrogate him. If he asks, just say we arrested the wrong person."
Seeing that he couldn't see Fourth Master and had no chance of getting close to him, Zhou Xingchuan said, "Master, are we just going to let him go like this?"
"What, do you have any objections?" Fake Zhou Zhenggang asked, slightly displeased that they were unwilling to carry out his orders.
"Master, then I'll just ask them to release him," Yuan Xinghui said helplessly.
Yuan Xinghui immediately stood up, gave his second brother a wink, and then went out to give instructions.
At this moment, Zhou Xingkun seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, and his whole body began to tremble.
"Fourth brother, what's wrong?" Zhou Xingchuan noticed something was wrong with him and quickly asked.
“It’s nothing, Master. I have a golden core to offer you. May I ask that you come inside?” Zhou Xingkun said. This surprised Zhou Xingchuan slightly. He had clearly said earlier that he didn’t have a golden core, but that he had promised to give him one. Yet, before he had even given it to him, Zhou Xingkun said he had a golden core to show his master. Why was that?
Zhou Zhenggang looked at the third brother, paused for a moment, but finally said, "Alright, third brother, come in with me."
Zhou Xingchuan could only watch helplessly as the two of them went inside. This was completely different from the plan he had discussed with his senior brother. What should he do? Should he make a scene? If he waited any longer, someone below might send word up.
"Second Senior Brother, what's wrong?" Wang Xingbin asked, noticing that Zhou Xingchuan seemed a bit off.
"Oh, it's nothing, I was just curious. Just now, Third Junior Brother clearly said that he didn't have a Golden Core, but now that he's seen Master, he says that he has one again," Zhou Xingchuan said.
Wang Xingbin revealed a knowing look and said, "The third brother has always been quick-witted. You believe what he says?"
Zhou Xingchuan frowned slightly, pondering how to steer the current situation in a direction favorable to his and his senior brother's plan.
Meanwhile, Lanqin and her two maids made their way up to the Golden Cauldron. They finally arrived at the entrance of the Golden Cauldron.
“Master, we haven’t seen a single Taoist priest here. It’s getting more and more eerie,” Si Hua said.
Lanqin also felt a little strange, but she thought it was good that no one was around, so she could go in and take a look.
The three of them walked inside. They didn't know where the council hall was, so they just wandered around inside the golden cauldron.
"Master, why is there no one here?" Shui Ling said. "It's really strange. Did they prepare for this all along?"
Lanqin was startled, and her heart tightened immediately. If the fake Taoist priest had made preparations beforehand, then Fourth Master and the others would be in danger.
"Quickly, find them! Search separately!" Lanqin urged.
The three women ran towards houses in different directions, trying to find where Fourth Master and the others were as soon as possible and then find a way to tell them what was happening outside.
Lanqin headed due north towards the red palace located at the highest point.
Lanqin was running and running when suddenly she saw a Taoist-looking person running towards her. She hadn't seen what the person looked like yet, but the person had already seen her.
"Why are you here?" The other person was clearly surprised to see Lanqin running up to them.
"Master? Why are you out here?" Lanqin asked, both surprised and delighted.
"Go, hurry up and go! Before they completely break off relations," said Fourth Master. It turned out that the newcomer was none other than Fourth Master, dressed in a Taoist robe.
"What's wrong?" Lanqin was grabbed by one hand by the Fourth Master and walked back.
"They must have noticed. They're prepared, but they haven't made their move yet. However, they probably know my identity, so they don't dare to touch me. But the situation could change at any time. We should leave Wudang as soon as possible and go back to get reinforcements. I can't let you be in danger any longer," Fourth Master said as he pulled Lanqin along.
"Master, Si Hua and Shui Ling have also arrived. We should search elsewhere. We can't leave them behind," Lan Qin said anxiously.
"No, we must leave immediately. We'll come back to rescue them when the reinforcements arrive," Fourth Master said, pulling on Lanqin's arm.
“But I can’t lose Si Hua and Shui Ling. They’ve served me for so many years and are very useful,” Lan Qin said, somewhat reluctantly. She was afraid that the internal strife among the Taoist priests would harm the two maids. They were innocent.
“Alright, you go down the mountain first, don’t look back, just keep walking towards the gate. I’ll go find them, and then take them both towards the gate. We’ll meet up there,” Fourth Master said.
"No, I won't leave you, my lord. I'll go with you to find him," Lanqin refused.
"I don't know if I can find them before they catch up. I just want you to get out of danger first. Be good!" Fourth Master said emotionally, grabbing Lanqin's shoulders.
"Master!" A familiar voice came from afar.
"Yes, it's Si Hua! Si Hua, over here!" Lan Qin turned her head and said to the voice. It turned out that Si Hua was about a hundred meters away from Lan Qin and Fourth Master, and she had just seen them.
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