Chapter 258 212: Miss, I'm Sure You Don't Want...

Chu Bamboo was disoriented for a moment. Then he realized the scene before him had changed completely, and he heard Hai Feiyun's voice coming from his phone.

'Is this the right time?' A flash of understanding crossed Chu Bamboo's eyes. He then spoke to Hai Feiyun in a normal tone for a few moments before hanging up.

He walked to the window and glanced at the escorts who were receiving medical treatment. After a moment of contemplation, Chu Bamboo quickly headed out, ignoring a dumbfounded Li Kang as he pulled out his phone and dialed Hai Mingyue's number.

"Hello? It seems you got the notice. Yes, everything on my end is going smoothly—"

Chu Bamboo cut off Hai Mingyue's slightly excited words. "That's not important!"

"I want to ask," Chu Bamboo began, his gaze flickering, "do you know a woman with the surname Su?"

Hai Mingyue's expression froze. She narrowed her eyes.

"As the current Miao Girl of your sect in the Jiangnan region, she should be your master, right? Do you know her true identity?" Chu Bamboo nodded knowingly, having already discerned many answers from Hai Mingyue's current attitude. His tone was firm.

"True identity?" Hai Mingyue hesitated slightly, her voice tinged with confusion.

"I see." A look of realization flashed in Chu Bamboo's eyes, and he gave a short, incredulous laugh. "You know her surname, but you don't know her true identity? So even you were kept in the dark... It all makes sense now. It really was her... She hid it so well!"

'To think that even my past self was completely deceived.'

"Wait, makes sense? What do you mean, it makes sense?" Hearing this, Hai Mingyue finally reacted, her heart skipping a beat. "You weren't sure at all, were you? You were... testing me? You actually..."

Ordinarily, she wouldn't have been so easily shaken, but Chu Bamboo's previous display of flawless planning had frightened her, leading her to assume he knew everything.

Chu Bamboo didn't respond, simply hanging up the phone. He then proceeded to ignore the series of frantic calls that came from Hai Mingyue...

After a brief moment of thought, he looked at Li Kang, who had chased after him. "Let me borrow the keys to your scooter."

...

A small alley off Joy Street.

A dilapidated bar.

Chu Bamboo arrived, scanned the area, and ignored the bartender currently asleep on the counter, heading toward the back of the bar as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

First, he opened the door to an ordinary room!

Then, he took down a painting from the wall, revealing a hidden door.

Chu Bamboo stepped through.

...

Inside a room that resembled a KTV lounge, filled with flashy, colorful lights.

A woman who looked to be in her forties or fifties was sipping coffee with great interest. "Miss Xue, this is coffee from the Western Land. Over there, its status is equivalent to tea in Daqian. I'm actually quite fond of coffee! It's so... invigorating."

The woman spoke with casual eloquence, "Compared to tea, I think this coffee from the Western Land is much more suited to the palate of us Jinghai people! Would you like a cup?"

Xue Fusheng stared at the woman with a savage expression, then glanced at Long Mei, who stood behind her with her head bowed so low it was as if she were searching for ants on the floor.

Xue Fusheng's features were now exquisitely beautiful, bearing a striking resemblance to Madam Xue, but far younger and prettier, with skin as fair as jade. In response to the woman's words, she snapped, "Go fuck your whole family!"

"Now, now," the woman said with a smile, not the least bit angry. "My family only consists of one old man! And with your current looks... if you were truly willing to sleep with him, I'd say he's the one getting the better end of the deal."

"???" Hearing this, Xue Fusheng's body trembled with rage.

The woman put on a wronged expression. "I asked you several times if you wanted to learn Kung Fu! You had no talent, and I told you I had some special methods to grant you that talent... You clearly agreed... you were willing to pay the price! Why are you making a face like that now?"

"Sigh." The woman sighed softly, stroking an open box on the table. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get something like this... even for our faction? This is a Divine Power Pill, refined from the entirety of a Third Realm Cultivator!"

The Divine Power Pill uses a Cultivator who has been dead for no more than half an hour and whose body is mostly intact as its primary ingredient! It is then refined by an Alchemist from the Agricultural Education sect, a Third Realm master of alchemy-type Divine Techniques.

Generally speaking, a First Realm Cultivator can be used as the raw material for Alchemy, but the failure rate is far too high! Only a Third Realm Cultivator, or even one of a higher realm, can guarantee success.

After consuming it, one will naturally break through to the First Realm and awaken the Divine Techniques of the Cultivator who was refined into the Elixir.

Because this method is so grotesque and heretical, most orthodox Alchemists of the Agricultural Education sect will not accept requests for this type of Alchemy.

Of course, this is also the key to how the top-tier, legacy Divine Techniques of various sects are passed down...

"But you never said—" Xue Fusheng roared.

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening cut her off.

Chu Bamboo walked in. After scanning the scene, his expression changed. His gaze swept past the woman, then landed on the person opposite her—a woman who could be called a younger version of Madam Xue, with features even more captivating than Lu Muxue's.

He slapped himself on the cheek and sighed. "I can't believe I found you at the third spot I checked. But... I'm still too late! Wait, do you people perform surgeries this fast now? Oh, right, I used to think it was surgery... but now I see it's a Divine Technique! Seriously, what kind of Divine Technique is this? A gender-swap Technique? Is this an LGBT thing? That's a bit too progressive, don't you think? This new version updated way too fast!"

A brief silence.

The woman's brow furrowed, and the atmosphere in the room turned heavy and murderous. She had just raised her hand when Xue Fusheng suddenly reacted, her voice urgent.

"You can't kill him! If you kill him... you won't be able to bear the consequences! You went to all that trouble and spent so much to turn me into this... this monster. You must have something you want me to do, right? If you kill him, I won't cooperate with you on anything in the future!"

The woman's movement paused. Her eyes flickered for a moment, and then she suddenly laughed out loud. "So what you're saying is... if I capture him, then you will do whatever I want you to do?"

Xue Fusheng's expression stiffened. 'Not good,' he thought. 'Did I just do something incredibly stupid?'

"Alright!" Chu Bamboo spoke with a hint of resignation. He looked at the woman. "I don't believe you don't know who I am! And as long as you know, you can't possibly want to kill me... Besides!"

Chu Bamboo waved his phone. "Take a guess. Did I have a little chat with Huo Qiming before I came here?"

"And take another guess. Do you think I came here without leaving some arrangements in place? The moment I'm confirmed dead or missing, your entire organization will be uprooted... You know that if I can find this place, I also know where all your other little secret bases are!"

After a brief pause, Chu Bamboo stared intently into the eyes of the plain-looking woman, whose expression was now a mixture of uncertainty and anger. He spoke with profound meaning, "Miss Su, I'm sure you don't want..."