Chapter 2823: Ask Qin Xia Whether Master Liang’s Name Ring Any Bell
Chapter 2823: Chapter 2823: Ask Qin Xia Whether Master Liang’s Name Ring Any Bell
"That sounds wonderful. Perhaps I will just stay in here for a few days to hide from Min Liang." Qin Xia replied with a faint smirk.
"I definitely can’t let you do that. Secretary Min would turn the entire city upside down looking for you." Yu Qi shook her head, chuckling.
"I am only joking." Qin Xia chuckled softly.
Yu Qi exchanged a quick glance with Long Hui, who looked entirely unconvinced that Qin Xia had actually been joking.
"Alright, enough messing around. Let me guide us over to the gazebo so we can talk comfortably." Yu Qi said, leading the way.
As they walked toward the gazebo, Xiaohua came bounding over from the direction of the lake, throwing her tiny arms around Yu Qi’s leg.
"Master!" Xiaohua cheered happily.
"Mhm..." Yu Qi patted Xiaohua’s head affectionately.
Xiaohua then tilted her head, looking up at Qin Xia with wide, curious eyes. Qin Xia similarly returned her gaze with a look of genuine intrigue.
Realising that Qin Xia had never met her little plant companion before, Yu Qi stepped in to introduce her.
"Senior Brother Xia, this is my tree monster, Xiaohua." Yu Qi then pointed over toward Xiaoliu, who was standing a short distance away. "And that one over there is Brother Hui’s tree monster, Xiaoliu."
"Mhm... I can easily tell which one belongs to you and which one belongs to him." Qin Xia remarked, eyeing both Xiaohua and Xiaoliu thoughtfully.
"Master, what is a Senior Brother?" Xiaohua asked, tugging on Yu Qi’s dress in genuine curiosity.
"Well, a Senior Brother is someone who trained under the very same master as you when you were younger, and who happens to be older than you." Yu Qi explained patiently.
"Oh! I see..." Xiaohua nodded in understanding.
"Why don’t you two go play by the lake for a while? We have important matters to discuss." Yu Qi suggested gently to Xiaohua and Xiaoliu.
Xiaohua nodded obediently, grabbing Xiaoliu’s hand and dragging him back toward the ancient tree near the water.
Qin Xia’s eyes followed them, settling squarely on the colossal, glowing tree standing by the lake.
"That tree... it did not originally belong inside this space, did it?" Qin Xia asked, his tone turning curious.
"Oh? Senior Brother Xia can tell?" Yu Qi chuckled softly.
"Yes, I can tell." Qin Xia nodded. "So, is your reason for bringing me here related to this tree?"
"Mhm. That’s part of it." Yu Qi nodded, her expression gradually settling into a grave look.
"I am listening." Qin Xia said, leaning back comfortably in his chair.
"Do you know... Someone out there has been performing live experiments about cultivators?" Yu Qi’s voice dropped, turning sharp and serious.
"What?" Qin Xia narrowed his eyes, a glint of cold anger flashing through them.
"We have been investigating an illegal entity known as the MicroTech Organisation. Initially, we assumed they were merely manufacturing illicit drugs. However, as our investigation deepened, we discovered they were conducting horrifying human experimentation. While we have yet to locate their main headquarters, our raid on one of their regional facilities revealed their true objective. They are trying to artificially create cultivators using normal human beings." Yu Qi explained in detail.
"What? Attempting to forcefully turn humans into cultivators? Who is the fool behind this?" Qin Xia demanded, his fist clenching tightly on his lap.
"We have not uncovered his true identity yet, but we do have his alias. He is known as Master Liang. Does that name ring any bells for you?" Yu Qi asked.
Given that Qin Xia had lived for centuries, she reasoned he might have crossed paths with such a figure in the past.
Qin Xia pondered the name for a moment. However, having encountered countless individuals bearing that surname throughout his long life, he could not reach a definitive conclusion based on a simple name alone.
"No... I have known far too many people with that name over the years." Qin Xia stated honestly.
"Based on the clues we have gathered, I strongly suspect this Master Liang is a genuine cultivator himself. Not only that, but he likely possesses the means to freely travel between the cultivation world and this realm." Yu Qi analysed calmly.
"Oh?" Qin Xia raised an eyebrow, his eyes shifting toward the far side of the lake. "So this ancient tree... did you snatch it directly from that ’Master Liang’s clutches?"
"I knew Senior Brother Xia would put the pieces together quickly. Yes, we indeed took the ancient tree right out from under his nose." Yu Qi admitted with a bright smile.
"Where was it hidden?" Qin Xia asked.
"Inside the Shenxie Research Centre, which turned out to be one of their key underground facilities. The military actually received an anonymous tip reporting that the research centre was engaging in human experimentation, so they dispatched a team to investigate. Brother Hui took charge of the mission, and we infiltrated the facility together yesterday. To our surprise, we discovered this ancient tree hidden deep within a secret subterranean chamber. Its core spiritual power had been systematically drained over a long period to fuel their experiments. It seems Master Liang was attempting to extract its spiritual energy and force it into normal human subjects to trigger artificial cultivation." Yu Qi detailed.
"Has he completely lost his mind?" Qin Xia gritted his teeth, anger lacing his voice.
"Well... I could not say." Yu Qi shrugged playfully, indicating she had no insight into the madman’s mental state. "Though judging by the scale of the operation, he has probably been obsessing over this for decades without giving up."
Suddenly, a thought crossed Yu Qi’s mind, making her eyes light up with a sharp, mischievous brilliance.
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