Chapter 148: Damn, I Never Expected Han Hong to Have a Hidden Identity Too

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Xu Lin’s spiritual energy swept over the map and was quickly drawn to its contents. The map appeared hastily sketched, making it difficult to pinpoint the target based solely on it. Yet Xu Lin immediately realized that this location was not the target marked on the map. She had once obtained another map from the Ji family, which depicted these mountain ranges quite clearly. Cross-referencing the two, Xu Lin surmised that this map must be pointing toward the deep mountains.

Deep mountains? Xu Lin’s eyes widened. Could it be that Ning Xiaodong was searching for the poison source? Considering Ning Xiaodong’s complicated background, which turned out to be even more complex than she expected, Xu Lin decided to take a good look at his facial features to try to deduce his origins. However, when she attempted to divine his background, she found that Ning Xiaodong’s facial features had been tampered with, making it impossible to ascertain his true origins.

Well, things were getting more and more interesting.

Xu Lin hadn’t expected that her simple trip to the countryside to relax and bide some idle time would instead bring so many troubles, each more serious than the last. And she was deeply entangled in them, forced to intervene.

Not to mention the poison source—Xu Lin could not simply stand by and do nothing. First, she was a divine healer; although she did not possess a healer’s compassion, she bore the responsibility of a healer and could not allow the poison source to harm the world. Second, as a cultivator, she needed merit; eliminating the poison source would undoubtedly grant her great merit. Third, as a citizen of the Dragon Kingdom, her hatred for those despicable people was ingrained in her bones. Faced with such scoundrels—even if it were just a petty thug—Xu Lin could not help but want to strike them down.

Ning Xiaodong passed one mountain ridge after another, finally letting out a long sigh and slowly folding the map away. For the past three years, whenever he had time, he would come out to search for the target. Unfortunately, no clues had been found. It seemed impossible to find anything nearby.

Then! Ning Xiaodong’s gaze settled on the deep mountains, and so he resolved to risk venturing into them. Looking up at the sky, there was still some time before dawn, but rushing into the deep mountains now would be impossible. He decided to request leave to enter the mountains because he felt uneasy lately, as if some misfortune were about to happen.

He could no longer delay; he had to find the target quickly and complete the mission assigned to him.

Seeing Ning Xiaodong descending the mountain, Xu Lin took the lead in heading back to the Youth Cadre Compound, slipping into her room to lie down on the bed.

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After a while, unable to fall asleep, Xu Lin gave up and sat up, preparing to cultivate. Thinking of the jade pendant gifted by Old Lady Huang, she took it out and placed it in her palm to absorb the dragon energy within.

In no time, the dragon energy was fully absorbed, and the pendant returned to the appearance of an ordinary jade piece. Though still an old artifact, it had lost its spiritual aura. Of course, laypeople couldn’t tell the difference; the pendant was still quite valuable.

Xu Lin stored the pendant in her spatial warehouse and sat cross-legged to begin cultivation.

An hour later, Ning Xiaodong climbed over the wall back into the Youth Cadre Compound. Compared to Xu Lin’s ease, Ning Xiaodong was considerably more disheveled.

After Ning Xiaodong returned to his room, Xu Lin’s spiritual energy swept through the compound again, causing her to exclaim silently, “Good heavens.”

What had she seen? Several windows had been quietly opened, revealing eyes peering out cautiously.

Huang Zishu carefully closed the window and whispered into Lin Zihao’s ear: “He’s back—he went out for another whole night. I wonder what he’s searching for?”

“Whatever he’s looking for, he hasn’t found it yet. Let’s keep watch quietly and avoid unnecessary moves,” Lin Zihao replied.

“What if he finds it and we don’t notice?”

“Hah,” Lin Zihao sneered coldly. “That’s impossible. We just need to keep an eye on Ning Xiaodong.”

Lin Ziyi pulled the blanket over and urged, “Go to sleep, we have work tomorrow.”

Huang Zishu said nothing, obediently lying back on the kang, but his eyes were wide open. Another night wasted—how many useless nights had Ning Xiaodong spent like this? It was impossible he hadn’t found anything yet.

Huang Zishu felt they had to stay vigilant and keep a close watch on Ning Xiaodong. No matter what he intended, they could not let their guard down. Nothing could go wrong in the Wangzhuang Brigade, especially not anything that would affect the elders in the thatched hut.

At the same time, Han Hong lay on his bed, propping his head with one hand, looking puzzled. Why did Ning Xiaodong sneak out at night instead of sleeping? What was he searching for?

Judging from the footsteps, Ning Xiaodong was an expert—so skilled that Han Hong wasn’t confident in his ability to track him.

This was unacceptable; he needed to report upward and request a tracking expert to assist.

This mission was becoming increasingly interesting. Han Hong had initially thought watching Qin Fang would yield no results, but unexpectedly they had discovered Ning Xiaodong.

Were these two connected?

Reflecting on Qin Fang’s behavior, Han Hong saw no obvious problems, nor any signs of espionage. Of course, this did not mean Qin Fang was innocent; she might be hiding very deeply.

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From the intelligence gathered, Qin Fang had recognized Xu Chenglin at a young age and knew she wasn’t a Qin family daughter. Even at that tender age, she had played a masterful game, manipulating the Qin family in the palm of her hand.

If Qin Fang had never passed information to Xu Chenglin, neither Han Hong nor anyone else would believe it.

Han Hong turned over, patted his head, and murmured, “Now it’s certain that Xu Lin is innocent, not connected to espionage. But is her medical skill really self-taught?”

Xu Lin, who had sensed all this through her spiritual energy, raised an eyebrow. Damn, she hadn’t expected Han Hong to have a hidden identity as well.

What a lively situation—truly too lively!

Recalling Qian Li’s mention that her old classmates would also send people to investigate, Xu Lin knew the Youth Cadre Compound was only going to get busier.

Thinking of Qian Li, Xu Lin’s spiritual energy scanned her room and found the young woman sleeping soundly. Yet even in sleep, her brows were furrowed, as if troubled by some problem.

Next, Xu Lin turned her spiritual sight to Qin Fang’s room and smiled bitterly. Qin Fang looked utterly miserable—the backlash this time had nearly taken her life.

No one knew how Qin Fang would make up for this by dawn.

Since there was no work today, Xu Lin decided to wait and watch Qin Fang’s next moves.

Snapping back to the present, Xu Lin resumed her cultivation. Before she knew it, dawn had broken and the whistle blew, slowly stirring the Youth Cadre Compound to life.

Soon, the sounds of washing echoed in the courtyard.

Finishing her cultivation, Xu Lin got up and left the compound to begin her morning jog and exercises.

Shortly after Xu Lin left, Qin Fang sneaked out of her room. This time, she didn’t alert Su Liang but hurried out of the compound alone.

Qin Fang dreaded anyone seeing her current state—especially Su Liang. She looked truly hideous.

She had to find a few unlucky scapegoats quickly to restore her youthful appearance.

“System, can I search for the target directly within the Wangzhuang Brigade?”