Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Soon, a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses pushed open the door and entered, carrying a notebook and forms: "Mr. Hua, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, these two are Daoist Cheng Mo and Xia He, the people involved in today's human trafficking case. Please take their statements, making sure they are clear and accurate. I have some urgent matters to attend to."

Hua Feng then turned to the two men and said, "Wait a moment after you finish taking their statements. I'll be right there when I'm done."

"Okay, Mr. Hua." Xiao Zhao nodded in agreement, then turned to Cheng Mo and Xia He, speaking politely, "Gentlemen, please come with me to the conference room next door. We'll finish the procedures as quickly as possible so as not to delay you."

Cheng Mo and Xia He got up and followed Xiao Zhao to the next meeting room.

Xiao Zhao asked the two to sit down and opened his notebook: "Gentlemen, let's start from the beginning..."

The entire inquiry and recording process took about twenty minutes.

Xiao Zhao handed the prepared transcripts to the two men: "Please take a close look. If you confirm that everything is correct, please sign and affix your fingerprints at the end. If there is anything inconsistent, please let me know, and we can correct it immediately."

Cheng Mo and Xia He took the transcripts, read them carefully, confirmed that they were correct, signed their names on both transcripts, and pressed their red ink pads onto them.

Xiao Zhao carefully checked the signatures and fingerprints, put the record away, and smiled, "Alright, the process is complete. Please have a seat for a moment. President Hua should be here soon. There's water on the table and snacks next door, please help yourselves."

After saying that, she took the transcript and left the meeting room.

Xia He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in her chair: "So it was just about finding out what happened? I thought it would be much more complicated."

Cheng Mo took a sip of water: "It's not complicated at all, just business as usual."

"Oh right, that guy said there are snacks next door, let's go get some!"

Xia He pulled Cheng Mo out the door. Next door was a rest room with various snacks on the table.

Xia He's eyes lit up, and she picked up a Kobi drink and started eating it, even putting it on her fingertip and holding it to Cheng Mo's mouth: "This is so delicious~"

Cheng Mo naturally opened his mouth and bit down, while Xia He withdrew her hand and licked it. Neither of them noticed anything amiss.

When Hua Feng came in, he saw the two interacting intimately. His eyes flickered, and he greeted them with a smile, "Have you been waiting long?"

Xia He crunched away, pointing at the pile of snacks: "President Hua, can I take some with me?"

Hua Feng's lips twitched slightly: "...It's not impossible."

Xia He cheered, picked up five or six bags, and nudged Cheng Mo's arm: "Let's go!"

Cheng Mo looked at Hua Feng: "Is there nothing more for us to do here, Uncle Hua?"

"It's nothing serious." Hua Feng nodded, his expression turning slightly serious. "You'd better be extra careful in the next few days."

Cheng Mo frowned slightly: "Uncle Hua, are you worried about retaliation from their accomplices? They probably didn't have a chance to pass on the message."

Hua Feng shook his head: "When extraordinary people commit crimes, they sometimes cannot be judged by common sense. It's better to be careful than to make a big mistake."

Cheng Mo nodded seriously: "Understood, thank you for the reminder, Uncle Hua. If there's nothing else, shall we head out?"

"Wait a moment." Hua Feng raised his hand, a smile returning to his face. "It's almost lunchtime. Little Master Cheng, this is your first time coming down the mountain. If I don't even provide you with a meal, Master Cheng will definitely scold me for being stingy."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Perfect, this will also let you get to know the extraordinary people in our company. It's never a bad thing to make more friends when you're traveling. If you encounter any trouble in this area, you'll have someone to rely on."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mo looked at Xia He with a questioning gaze.

Xia He rolled her eyes at him: "Why are you looking at me? You decide."

She said that, but her eyes clearly said, "Why not go and get a free meal?"

Cheng Mo's mind raced. He knew he would inevitably have to deal with the company in the future, so refusing wouldn't be appropriate. Besides... having Xia He make an appearance and get registered with the official institutions might reduce the trouble for the Quanxing faction...

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Hua." Cheng Mo made up his mind and put on a sincere smile.

Hua Feng laughed heartily: "What's the trouble! You've already called me Uncle Hua, isn't this just what I should do? Come on, come on, I know a restaurant that serves authentic local food!"

The restaurant is not far from the outlet, but the storefront is small and the signboard is a bit old.

Hua Feng was clearly a regular customer, and the owner personally came out to greet them, smiling as he led them to a quiet private room inside.

A man and a woman were already seated at the round table. When Hua Feng entered, they both stood up.

"Mr. Hua"

"Mr. Hua, you've arrived."

The man was in his early thirties, with a buzz cut, dark skin, wearing a slightly worn jacket, a steady posture, and a reserved gaze.

The woman was about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with a low ponytail and delicate features. Her gaze swept over Cheng Mo and Xia He, her eyes friendly.

"Please sit down, don't be shy," Hua Feng said, taking his seat in the main seat and gesturing for Cheng Mo and Xia He to sit on either side of him.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Tang Yong, the mainstay of our Ankang branch's field operations. He has inherited his family's ground fighting skills, and his stance is as stable as if he's rooted to the ground. There's no place around Ankang that he doesn't know well."

Tang Yong nodded to Cheng Mo and Xia He as a greeting.

Hua Feng then pointed to the woman: "This is Lin Wei, our head of internal affairs. She is meticulous and quick-witted. She can handle any complicated matter smoothly."

He joked with a laugh, "It's just that sometimes when they're chasing after reports, even I get a headache."

Lin Wei feigned anger and lightly slammed her fist on the table: "President Hua! You've ruined my image again!"

She then turned to Cheng Mo and Xia He, her smile bright and cheerful, "Hello, I'm Lin Wei. And what are your names, young Taoist priest and this girl with the super cool hair color?"

"Cheng Mo is a Taoist priest from the Liangyi Temple in Zhongnan Mountain."

"Xia He, um... a naturally gifted person." Xia He tilted her head, glanced at Cheng Mo, then curled her lips and added, "Just messing around with this little Taoist priest."

Hua Feng smiled upon hearing this and introduced Cheng Mo to Tang Yong and Lin Wei, saying, "Cheng Mo is a highly accomplished disciple of Master Cheng Shou. You all know Master Cheng Shou, right? He is an old hero who participated in the War of Resistance against Japan and a highly respected master in our Zhongnan Mountain area."

Tang Yong and Lin Wei immediately showed expressions of realization and respect.

Tang Yong nodded and said in a deep voice, "I heard my master and uncle mention the deeds of Master Cheng. Back then, he fought as a guerrilla in the mountains, appearing and disappearing like ghosts, which caused the Japanese a lot of trouble."

Lin Wei chimed in, "Yes, Master Cheng is a legendary figure around here. I never expected to meet his esteemed disciple today."

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "My master is a hero, so I just followed him and practiced randomly in the mountains."

Hua Feng laughed and patted Cheng Mo on the shoulder: "You child, you're too modest! The fact that Master Cheng allowed you to come down the mountain is the greatest affirmation for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a middle-aged man with a kind face, about fifty years old, carrying two bottles of wine, walked in with a smile.

"Mr. Hua, the drinks are here! Oh, looks like I've arrived just in time. These two must be the young men who helped out today? They look very energetic!"

Hua Feng introduced, "This is He Guangping, a veteran here. He practices Hunyuan Palm and is our pillar of strength."

He then introduced Cheng Mo and Xia He to He Guangping.

"Uncle He," Cheng Mo nodded politely.

"Hello, Uncle." Xia He smiled and waved.

"Alright, alright!" He Guangping replied, putting down his wine and sitting in the empty seat next to Tang Yong. "Master Cheng Shou's esteemed disciple? That's truly a case of a great teacher producing a great student! Miss Xia is also very spirited, excellent, truly excellent!"

Once everyone had arrived, Hua Feng instructed the owner to start serving the dishes: gourd chicken, braised three delicacies, cold amaranth salad, and spicy flatbread. He also specially added a sweet fermented rice soup with eggs for Xia He.

He Guangping poured tea for everyone, and Hua Feng said casually, "You walk steadily and have plenty of energy. Master Cheng really laid a good foundation for your life force."

He paused briefly, expressing his doubt: "However, while your aura is perfectly harmonious, it seems... a little too calm? Have you encountered some obstacle in your cultivation?"

Cheng Mo frankly said, "To be honest, Uncle Hua, I have been cultivating for fifteen years and I feel that my physique has been honed to a decent degree, but I have never been able to truly perceive the Qi within my body, let alone circulate it. My master said that my spiritual aperture has not yet been opened."

The people at the table all looked surprised.

Lin Wei exclaimed, "Ah! I can't sense the Qi? Then how... how did you train?"

He Guangping stroked his chin: "When one cultivates life force to its deepest level, one's blood and qi become vigorous, and one's spirit and energy become abundant. One should become increasingly sensitive to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and one's own primordial qi... Strange thing. Even Master Cheng couldn't do anything about it?"

Hua Feng waved his hand: "There are three thousand paths to enlightenment, and everyone has their own destiny. Master Cheng is a scholar of both heaven and man. Since he is willing to let you go down the mountain, he must believe that the opportunity lies outside. Little Cheng, you don't need to be anxious. Just let nature take its course, and perhaps you will find a new path after a long and difficult journey."

Cheng Mo smiled and raised his cup to toast, "Thank you for your kind words, Uncle Hua."