"Oh! Luo Beiming is gone too! This young Song Hao is truly remarkable!" Gu Xiaofeng paused slightly, then stood up. He said, "He's starting to resolve this complicated situation. Excellent! This is exactly what we've been hoping for. Young Song Hao, it's not that I want to offend you, but the timing of that 'Medicine-Free Divine Formula' is terrible, and Ji Dongyang shouldn't have come here to find you either. Otherwise, we would still be on good terms. However, the 'Medicine-Free Divine Formula' is extremely important to the Life and Death Sect. It's a golden opportunity, and I can't let it pass me by."
"How is Diao Cheng doing now?" Gu Xiaofeng then asked.
"He didn't do anything unusual; he seemed to be waiting for instructions from above," the disciple said.
“Given Diao Cheng’s vigilance, he should already know I’m here. Yet he still hasn’t come to see me. It seems he’s carrying out a special mission. Although he has neither the ability nor the courage to stop our next possible action, we still don’t understand his true intentions. Therefore, it’s necessary for me to meet with him, and it’s time for him to explain everything,” Gu Xiaofeng said.
Just then, the phone on the table rang. The disciple stepped forward to answer it and then said to Gu Xiaofeng, "Master, it's Chairman Qi Yannian on the phone."
Gu Xiaofeng answered the phone and said, "Brother Qi, it's me!"
It is unclear what Qi Yannian said to Gu Xiaofeng on the phone, but Gu Xiaofeng's expression changed drastically.
On the Baihe River Bridge in Baihe Town, a black Audi sedan was parked. Gu Xiaofeng sat alone inside, gazing thoughtfully at the Tianyitang building in the distance.
A few minutes later, a man walked over from one end of the bridge; it was Diao Cheng. Diao Cheng stopped next to the car.
The car window rolled down, and Gu Xiaofeng inside said calmly, "Come on in and let's talk."
Diao Cheng hesitated for a moment, then got into the car and said, "Did Master want to see me about something?"
"Don't call me master. I haven't formally accepted you as my disciple, and besides, there's no master-disciple relationship between us," Gu Xiaofeng said coldly.
"After all, my master taught me kung fu, and I dare not forget the principle of being a teacher even for a day," Diao Cheng replied respectfully.
“You assisted the Gate of Life and Death before, so we’re even,” Gu Xiaofeng said.
"That's what I should do. May I ask why Master has asked me to meet you on this bridge today?" Diao Cheng said respectfully.
"Can you tell me who you work for?" Gu Xiaofeng asked.
A hint of surprise flashed in Diao Cheng's eyes, but he calmly said, "Please forgive me, Master, I cannot say this. But I promise that I will not do anything to betray the Gate of Life and Death."
“You’ve already done it, and now you need to put it into action,” Gu Xiaofeng said.
Upon hearing this, Diao Cheng's body trembled slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "I am trying my best to resolve this matter."
"How do we resolve this?" Gu Xiaofeng was taken aback upon hearing this.
“As long as Song Hao hands over Ji Dongyang in the next two days, this matter should be resolved. And I’ll have Song Hao hand Ji Dongyang over to the Gate of Life and Death,” Diao Cheng said.
"Do you think Song Hao will listen to you?" Gu Xiaofeng's expression softened slightly.
"The chances are slim." Diao Cheng shook his head helplessly.
"So, you will continue with your mission?" Gu Xiaofeng's expression darkened again.
“Before this, I thought that as long as I found Ji Dongyang and got him to leave, I would have no reason to continue this operation. But I searched all over Wansongling and still couldn’t find him,” Diao Cheng said.
"Wansongling is such a vast forest; finding someone hiding in it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Song Hao is also stubborn and won't listen to your advice to hand him over. At that point, will you still go and kill him?" Gu Xiaofeng glanced coldly at Diao Cheng.
Diao Cheng's expression changed, and he said, "So Master already knows everything!"
“You’re working for Qi Yanfeng of Tianyi Group,” Gu Xiaofeng said.
Diao Cheng remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
“I had initially suspected that you were working for Qi Yannian, the chairman of Tianyi Group, and I almost misunderstood this old friend.” Gu Xiaofeng’s face showed a relaxed expression.
"How did Master know all this?" Diao Cheng asked, bewildered.
"You've concealed your identity remarkably well, even fooling me before. I have to admire that. However, when you appeared here, I suspected you had another employer behind you, possibly the Tianyi Group. Even so, I almost misjudged the situation; I never expected your boss to be another figure within the Tianyi Group. I only learned of this from my son because I received an important phone call. You know Hong Huang, right? He was originally sent by Qi Yanfeng to assist you in this mission. However, he's a pragmatic person; he recognized the stakes and changed his mind at the last minute, reporting Qi Yanfeng's secret assassination operation to Qi Yannian, the chairman of the Tianyi Group. He said the assassin Qi Yanfeng sent to kill Song Hao had arrived in Baihe Town. Although Hong Huang himself doesn't know the assassin's true identity, who else could it be but you, Ghost Hand Diao Cheng!" Gu Xiaofeng said.
"So it was Hong Huang!" Diao Cheng closed his eyes helplessly.
"You should know about Song Hao's special relationship with the Qi family of the Tianyi Group. His unexpected appearance has reignited existing conflicts within the Qi family, and Song Hao will also affect Qi Yanfeng's position as the second-in-command. Therefore, Qi Yanfeng has taken a series of actions against Song Hao, which have been effective. He first sowed discord between Song Hao and his parents, increasing their misunderstandings. To this day, Song Hao has still not acknowledged his ancestors and biological parents. Qi Yanfeng's move may have succeeded, but he still believes that Song Hao poses the greatest threat to him in the future. This is also based on his past actions against his brother and sister-in-law during the struggle for the Tianyi Sect leadership." Revenge drove him to eliminate Song Hao as quickly as possible. He had once attempted an assassination of Song Hao, but failed, which alerted me and Qi Yannian, so he dared not act rashly again. It wasn't until the emergence of the "Medicine-Free Divine Formula" from the Ji family of the Medical Clan that Qi Yanfeng felt an opportunity had presented itself once more. First, he wanted to obtain the "Medicine-Free Divine Formula" to try and turn his fortunes around within the Tianyi Group. Second, he wanted to take advantage of the various forces in the martial arts world vying for the "Medicine-Free Divine Formula" held by Ji Dongyang, and kill Song Hao amidst the chaos, attributing the blame to this uncontrollable situation to absolve himself of responsibility. "That's why Qi Yanfeng sent you here. Wasn't I right?" Gu Xiaofeng said.
“Things are indeed as Master analyzed,” Diao Cheng said. “Many years ago, I received a great favor from Mr. Qi Yanfeng, so I began to work for him. Regarding the acupuncture bronze man incident, although I was hired by Luo Beiming of the Demon Needle Sect with the help of Feng Huo Tang, I was actually searching for this medical treasure for Qi Yanfeng of the Tianyi Group.”
“To achieve your goals, you will stop at nothing. For this, you murdered the couple who hid this bronze figure for the Dou family of the Golden Needle Sect,” Gu Xiaofeng said.
"That was out of necessity. Mr. Qi Yanfeng was in a real hurry, insisting that the Tianyi Group have exclusive access to this treasure and not wanting to leave any clues for others. But later, I accidentally met my master and the Life and Death Gate, and learned that you were also working for the Tianyi Group, so I decided to cooperate with you. Later, Mr. Qi Yanfeng was forced by his brother Qi Yannian's order to stop investigating the acupuncture bronze figure and abandoned the whole plan. Only then did I learn that Song Hao was a descendant of the Qi family and the future heir of the Tianyi Group. Until the news of the Ji family of the Medical Sect revealing the 'Medicine-Free Divine Formula' was exposed, Qi Yanfeng informed me that I must obtain this medical secret first. But although I found Ji Xuan, he refused to reveal the secret of the 'Medicine-Free Divine Formula' no matter what. In order to prevent this clue from falling into the wrong hands, and following Qi Yanfeng's orders, I had no choice but to end his life," Diao Cheng said.
"You killed Ji Xuan!" Gu Xiaofeng was stunned upon hearing this.
Chapter Fourteen: The Real Culprit
The interplay of Yin and Yang is called the Dao.
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“The fact that Ji Xuan remained silent until his death only proves that this secret technique is still in the possession of his grandson, Ji Dongyang. Capturing him would allow us to obtain the elixir of immortality, while keeping Ji Xuan alive would only give someone else an opportunity. Therefore, we had no choice but to kill him. This is my job; I have no other option but to obey orders from above,” Diao Cheng said calmly.
"And then what happened?" Gu Xiaofeng frowned.
"After much effort, I obtained Ji Dongyang's whereabouts and informed Hong Huang, instructing him to bring him to Qi Yanfeng. Unexpectedly, they ran into Song Hao, who rescued Ji Dongyang. I knew this opportunity was lost forever, so I reported it to Qi Yanfeng. I said Song Hao was involved, and the Life and Death Gate had intervened, forcing us to abandon the investigation into the 'Medicineless Divine Formula.' Firstly, we were powerless against the Life and Death Gate, and secondly, I didn't want to offend my master. Qi Yanfeng, left with no other option, ordered me to temporarily abandon the matter of the 'Medicineless Divine Formula,' saying he would send someone else. However, he secretly ordered me to find an opportunity to kill Song Hao. This was particularly difficult for me; Song Hao was protected by my master's Life and Death Gate, and I dared not offend him. Fortunately, at this time..." Song Hao evaded the pursuit of all sides and returned to Tianyi Hall. I then used the excuse that the opportunity had been lost to temporarily abandon the plan. However, I didn't expect that Ji Dongyang would come to Tianyi Hall seeking Song Hao's protection, bringing the situation here. I then received Qi Yanfeng's death order to kill Song Hao in the chaos; he couldn't wait any longer. The rapid development of Tianyi Hall made him feel that Song Hao was not just a threat to his status, but the failure of all his plans. At this moment, I had the opportunity to kill Song Hao, but I couldn't, because my master was protecting him. So I strongly urged Song Hao to hand over Ji Dongyang, so that he and Tianyi Hall could stay out of the mess, and I could also find a reason to persuade Qi Yanfeng to postpone the execution of this plan," Diao Cheng said.
“You showed a moment of kindness at the last moment, and for that, I can spare you,” Gu Xiaofeng said.
“But if Song Hao doesn’t hand over the person two days later, I will still kill him and then die in front of Master. This is Qi Yanfeng’s last move. At the same time, he also wants to use Song Hao’s death to incite conflict between you and Qi Yannian and profit from it. Master has also started to deal with Song Hao for the sake of the Divine Formula Without Medicine, and I must tell Master this.” Diao Cheng said.
"I didn't expect you to still remember the small favor I gave you; it's quite touching. However, I must tell you that I've reached an agreement with Qi Yannian. As long as my actions don't directly conflict with Song Hao or affect the normal operation of Tianyitang, I can use any means necessary to obtain the Divine Formula. I'm not afraid of offending Song Hao. Also, I must tell you not to harm Song Hao, because it's meaningless to you now. Your boss, Qi Yanfeng, is on his way to being 'exiled' by the Qi family. He will spend the rest of his life on a private island in the Pacific, never to leave. His brother gave him a chance to reform, but he remained unrepentant, forcing Tianyi Group to take action," Gu Xiaofeng said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Diao Cheng's expression changed. He quickly took out his phone and dialed a number. A series of beeping sounds came from the dead end. This was the phone number he used to communicate directly with Qi Yannian; it was never turned off unless there were special circumstances.
“Mr. Qi…” Diao Cheng was stunned.
"Given your respect for me and the fact that you haven't done anything to harm me, I don't want to pursue any wrongdoing on your part. But you must promise to leave the underworld from now on. You can leave now," Gu Xiaofeng said calmly.