Chapter 64: Jin Meiyu and Xu Mo Finally Meet
The heavy wooden door creaked as it swung open, the dim lantern light flickering under the sudden gust of air. Long Bai stood at the threshold, his towering figure exuding barely restrained fury. His sharp gaze swept across the room like a storm on the verge of breaking, his arms crossed as his presence filled the space with an overwhelming pressure.
Behind him, Jin Meiyu stepped lightly into view, her poised yet cautious demeanor a stark contrast to the elder's brimming rage. Dressed in the flowing robes of an inner disciple, her bright eyes flickered between the two figures seated before her—Wei Han and the other young man, who remained eerily calm despite the tense atmosphere.
Her brow furrowed slightly as she examined them. Wei Han, with his rugged and slightly disheveled appearance, seemed somewhat rough around the edges, yet his demeanor held an obvious wariness. Then, her gaze landed on the second figure. He sat in stillness, his long, dark hair casting faint shadows over his face, his expression unreadable.
Something about him made her pause. His silence was unnatural—not the nervous silence of someone afraid to speak, nor the defensive silence of someone withholding information. It was a silence that existed on its own, unmoved, as if words had no place in his world.
Wei Han possessed a rugged yet composed appearance, the kind that made him look both reliable and imposing at first glance. His tall, broad-shouldered frame exuded the air of a seasoned cultivator, while his sharp, deep-set eyes carried an unspoken confidence, as if he had seen through the world's schemes long ago. His jet-black hair, often tied in a loose warrior's knot, had a few rebellious strands falling over his forehead, giving him an effortlessly unrestrained look.
A faint scar ran along his left cheek, a testament to countless battles, yet it did nothing to diminish his stern handsomeness. He wore dark brown robes with understated golden embroidery, marking his affiliation with the sect while avoiding unnecessary extravagance. His presence alone commanded attention—not because he sought it, but because he carried himself with the quiet strength of someone who had weathered storms and remained standing.
Xu Mo… probably not, she thought as she looked at Wei Han.
Her fingers curled slightly at her sides.
Xu Mo.
Though she had never spoken to him before, an inexplicable certainty settled in her mind. This was the one Long Bai had stormed in for.
Jin Meiyu turned her head to look behind her at her aunt, who had camouflaged herself. As Jin Meiyu rotated her head, many officers of the Disciplinary Hall blushed, some mistakenly thinking she was looking at them.
"Yes. That young man is Xu Mo—the one I told you about," Lan Yuehai's voice echoed in Jin Meiyu's ear. She turned her head back to its original position.
"Interesting." Lan Yuehai's voice once again sounded in her mind.
Why? What did you find interesting, Aunt? Jin Meiyu asked inwardly.
Her aunt replied, "That boy named Xu Mo. He looked at you."
Jin Meiyu was confused. So? That's nothing new. You know how much my beauty affects both males and females.
"Haha…" Lan Yuehai covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her laughter. "He took a quick glance and looked away." She paused before continuing, "I saw dread in his eyes."
Dread?! Aunt, I don't remember doing anything to him that would make him afraid of me, right?
"It's possible that he's afraid of females," Lan Yuehai suggested. It wasn't common, but there had been cases of people who, after being kidnapped by demonic sects as children and later rescued by righteous path sects, developed strange conditions. Some became twisted, while others suffered from peculiar psychological afflictions.
"Head Elder…" Wei Han tried to hold back his anger, but the bulging vein on his forehead betrayed him. "Xu Mo attacked the elder of the Technique Hall, rendering him unconscious. He still hasn't woken up." Wei Han's sharp glare intensified.
"So what?!" Long Bai scoffed. Wei Han had expected Long Bai to at least be forced to back down for now, but instead, the elder asked curtly, "Are you certain of what you say? Or did you just arrest Xu Mo without even determining who the real culprit and victim were?"
"I don't care," Wei Han shot back. "Attacking an elder is against the sect's rules—the very rules set by the founder of the Hidden Dragon Sect. Even the Ancestor cannot change them, right?"
Wei Han smirked. He had no enmity with Xu Mo; he merely wanted to uncover the young man's true identity—why the Sect Master, the Ancestor, and the Head Elder all seemed unable to ignore him. He also suspected that the Head Elder might be using the names of the Sect Master and Ancestor without their knowledge.
If he escalated this matter, he might be able to attract the Sect Master's attention. Only then could he confirm whether Xu Mo truly had the support of all three.
"You're right. But…" Long Bai turned to Xu Mo. "Xu Mo, I'll be taking the locket for a second."
With a wave of his hand, he commanded the Qi in the air to form two ethereal yet solid hands. The Qi hands reached for Xu Mo's neck with precise control, lifting the locket that hung there before floating it toward Long Bai.
Throughout the process, Xu Mo merely lowered his head, not even daring to move his eyes, afraid that Jin Meiyu might still be looking at him.
His mind started playing tricks on him, using his fears to convince him that Jin Meiyu was staring straight at him. But in reality, she was calmly observing the Head Elder and Wei Han.
It looks like these two may have some past conflicts. Thought Jin Meiyu.
Deciding to ignore the situation, Xu Mo turned his attention inward, focusing on the entity that called itself a system.
It introduced itself and revealed its function: he would be rewarded for investing in either "Major Antagonists" or "Major Protagonists." Any resources he provided to them would be returned to him, but doubled in value. If he gave one of them a low-grade pill, he would receive the same pill—but its rank would be upgraded to mid-grade.