Xiuxian: I use magnetic fields to prove my truth

Chapter 166: Driving the tiger away from the mountain
Although Wang Xiaohu was completely infatuated with the female cultivator, he still maintained basic self-awareness.

He understood that with his own conditions—his spiritual root talent was not high, his appearance was ordinary, his cultivation level was far lower than the other party's, and unlike Zhou Qing, he did not have talent in array formations—why would the other party be interested in him?
Unless the other party has ulterior motives towards him.

So Wang Xiaohu kept a close eye on things, trying to figure out what the other party was after.

Until a few days ago, perhaps feeling that he had completely captivated Wang Xiaohu, the other party slowly revealed his intentions.

The female cultivator began to inquire, intentionally or unintentionally, about Wang Xiaohu's work in inscribing the array for Zhou Qing, and then, feigning shyness, asked Wang Xiaohu to write down the array diagram for her.

"I just want to know if you truly love me. You won't even reveal a small array diagram to me. How can you say you truly love me?"

The female cultivator said, "Or rather, you're worried that I'll reveal the array diagram. Don't you trust me?"

Wang Xiaohu then realized that the other party had approached him only to extract Zhou Qing's array diagram from him.

How will you reply to her?

Zhou Qing asked.

Wang Xiaohu blushed and said, "I couldn't handle it, so I covered my head and ran out of her place."

Zhou Qing asked, "Where does she live?"

Wang Xiaohu said, "It's in a small courtyard outside the market."

Zhou Qing nodded and said, "You should go back first. Don't leave Ziyun Mountain for now. Let me think of a solution."

Wang Xiaohu bid farewell and left the bamboo grove courtyard.

Zhou Qing fell into deep thought.

On the surface, the matter seems simple: someone coveted the array diagram and wanted to seduce Wang Xiaohu to extract information about it.

But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that things are not so simple.

The fact that the female cultivator could always manage to bump into Wang Xiaohu indicates that she could accurately track his movements.

Therefore, she, or the person behind her, could obtain information from within the Qingyun Sect.

This indicates that the mastermind behind this incident was not another sect, but rather the affiliated families of the Qingyun Sect.

But since they are affiliated families, their choice of target should absolutely not be Wang Xiaohu.

Everyone knows that Wang Xiaohu and he both come from Yunzhou and have the closest relationship. Using Wang Xiaohu as a breakthrough point is the most difficult to succeed and the easiest to arouse his vigilance.

Wang Xiaohu was not a good choice, but they chose him anyway, which created a sense of disharmony that Zhou Qing found very bothersome.

unless…

Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Unless they aren't after the array diagram at all, but something else entirely."

But if they weren't plotting against the battle formation, what else could they be after?

Zhou Qing almost immediately had an answer in his mind: they were plotting against him!
The moment this thought arose, it instantly illuminated everything that was suspicious.

The other party must have calculated that Wang Xiaohu would leak the information to them.

Once I learn the news that someone is after the talismans, I will definitely go to tell them, and then they can take action against me.

This should be their general plan.

However, there is still a loophole that cannot be ignored. After learning the news, he could have entrusted his senior uncle Mu Zhuosha or other senior uncles to investigate. How could they be sure that he would go in person?

Unless everyone else has unavoidable matters to attend to, as long as the other party can find a way to transfer Mu Zhuosha's faction out of the sect, I will have no choice but to go and investigate personally.

He only needed to personally go to Qingyun Mountain to see if his other senior uncles had suddenly encountered trouble to verify his conjecture.

Zhou Qing left his small courtyard and strolled towards Qingyun Mountain.

As soon as he reached the foot of Qingyun Mountain, he saw Lu Qiushui emerge from the miscellaneous affairs hall, riding her flying sword, seemingly intending to go out.
Zhou Qing asked, "Uncle-Master, where are you going?"

Lu Qiushui said, "The ore from the Red Maple Lake Spirit Mine this year needs to be transported to the sect ahead of schedule. As usual, the elders of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall must personally go to inspect the ore during the transport."

Zhou Qingxin understood and smiled, "Why is it earlier this year?"

Lu Qiushui said, "Liu Wentian is in charge of Red Maple Lake. It is said that he discovered a hidden mine and thus completed the quota set by the sect ahead of schedule."

Zhou Qing nodded and smiled, "I wish you a safe journey, Uncle-Master."

Lu Qiushui smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."

Just as she was about to ascend into the sky on her sword, she suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, be careful lately. No matter what happens, don't worry about it. We'll talk about it when we get back."

Zhou Qing asked, "What do you mean?"

Lu Qiushui said, "It seems that things are not peaceful in the sect recently. The sect's caravans have been hijacked one after another while transporting goods to various shops. Even Qingxuan personally escorted the goods. I'm afraid we will not return to the sect until those audacious robbers are caught."

"The news from Nanwanbao City is even worse. There are rumors that Hu Guan of Nanwanbao City is colluding with demonic cultivators. The Discipline Hall sent disciples to investigate in secret, but they have not been heard from since."

"Without a choice, Elder Jiang Renqing, who was in charge of this matter, had to go there in person. Since it involved demonic cultivators, the sect could not take it lightly. When Qingxuan was selecting elders, Jiang Renqing was willing to offend the man surnamed Lü, but he still voted for Qingxuan."

“We cannot fail to repay this kindness. Our senior sister has decided to personally accompany Jiang Renqing to prevent him from falling into the clutches of the demonic cultivators.”

"Currently, the only person among our people in the sect is Yu Liangmou, who will be serving at Zichen Palace."

“These things happened in a scattered manner and were not connected to each other. I didn’t think much of it at first.”

"I just realized that our people have all left the sect one after another as we set off today. This may be a coincidence, but we should still be more careful."

Zhou Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, Uncle-Master, I've always kept to myself and won't have any problems."

Lu Qiushui smiled and nodded, saying, "What do I have to worry about with you? I'm leaving now, see you in a month."

Having said that, the sword flashed and soared into the sky in the blink of an eye.

As Zhou Qing watched Lu Qiushui leave, his expression darkened.

He realized that his guess had been confirmed: someone was going to make a move against him.

Moreover, this operation was by no means a single family's action. To be able to transfer Chen Qingxuan, Mu Zhuosha, and Lu Qiushui away, it would require the combined efforts of several major families within the affiliated families.

He must respond appropriately.

The safest thing to do is stay at home and wait until Mu Zhuosha and the others all return. Then there will be no danger.

But Zhou Qing understood that this passive approach would not eliminate the problem.

Since the other party has set their sights on him, they are unlikely to give up easily. Even if he manages to get away with it this time, there will inevitably be a next time.

Only a thousand days to be a thief, not a thousand days to guard against thieves.

Moreover, not only was he being targeted, but Wang Xiaohu's experience also made him realize that if he didn't find a way to make those people give up completely, his men would be tested time and time again.

(End of this chapter)