Chapter 87 - 86: Great Detective Li Hao

Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Great Detective Li Hao

The Cyan Sun Sect was in the clear!

When Li Ye finished speaking, Meng Mingzhe’s heart instantly settled.

From now on, the focus of Qu Hao’s investigation would be on the completely fictitious Wenda Alliance.

Even if he did manage to expose Shen Weifeng and the others, he wouldn’t take his anger out on the Cyan Sun Sect. But with Li Hao involved, it was highly unlikely Qu Hao would ever find Shen Weifeng anyway...

One scheme was linked to the next, each part interlocking perfectly.

’The Wenda Alliance in this world is fake,’ Meng Mingzhe suddenly thought as he looked at the stunned Qu Hao, ’but does the one in Li Hao’s world actually exist?’

But the thought merely flashed through his mind before he forcibly dismissed it.

’The Wenda Alliance must exist.’

’Otherwise, how could a young man in his early twenties dare to cause such a storm in an unfamiliar world?’

’It has to exist. It has to...’

Meng Mingzhe kept repeating this to himself, a desperate mantra to calm his panicked heart. The alternative—that the great Cyan Sun Sect was being played like a fiddle by some young brat—was simply too galling to accept.

...

Li Ye’s words struck Qu Hao like a flash of lightning, jolting him back to his senses.

’That’s right!’

’How could an organization that has remained hidden for five thousand years suddenly surface, only to be discovered by me?’

’It’s completely illogical!’

’A conspiracy... There must be a deeper conspiracy behind all this.’

Qu Hao felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He wished he could fly back to the Dao Sect that very instant and report this to the Sect Leader. Their investigation was going in the wrong direction; the Third Elder was very likely innocent...

...

To make a conspiracy truly believable, you must wrap it in an even deeper conspiracy.

Li Ye understood this principle well. With a plan riddled with flaws, he had cemented the existence of the Wenda Alliance in their minds.

Now, Qu Hao and Zou Kun were so focused on what the Wenda Alliance’s grand conspiracy might be that they had completely ignored the fundamental question of whether the Alliance existed at all.

In truth, from the moment Qu Hao arrived at the Cyan Sun Sect, he had already implicitly accepted the Wenda Alliance’s existence. After all, he was the one who had "discovered" it, so his preconceptions were already firmly in place.

Li Ye had simply followed Qu Hao’s line of thinking and given him the answer he was already looking for.

"Junior Martial Uncle Qu, I achieved Perfect Foundation Establishment at twenty-three. When Elder Zou heard this, he was visibly impressed. But when you looked at me just now, your expression was as placid as still water." Li Ye smiled. "That tells me there are plenty of people like me in the Upper Three Sects. And yet, the Wenda Alliance members you uncovered were the likes of Pan Yun and Ji Tianwen. A secret sect that has operated for thousands of years... have they truly run out of capable people?"

"This..." Qu Hao frowned, lost in thought.

"I’m afraid the only things Junior Martial Uncle Qu could find were the things they *wanted* you to find." Li Ye sighed. "Junior Martial Uncle Qu, you’ve been used as a pawn."

"Li, what do you think the Wenda Alliance’s conspiracy is?" Qu Hao asked reflexively, his eyes fixed on Li Ye.

Li Ye fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Junior Martial Uncle Qu mentioned that the Wenda Alliance once instigated the great war between the righteous and demonic paths, all to install their own members in the upper echelons of the various sects.

They weren’t exposed that time, but now they’ve revealed themselves intentionally. Their scheme is clearly much grander. What could possibly be a grander scheme than a war between the righteous and demonic paths?"

"That’s right... what scheme could be grander than the great war?" Qu Hao murmured to himself.

GULP!

Li Ye swallowed hard and said hesitantly, "Junior Martial Uncle Qu, do you think it’s possible... that the Wenda Alliance wants to step out of the shadows and into the light?"

CLATTER!

Startled by Li Ye’s words, Meng Mingzhe jerked his head toward him, accidentally knocking his teacup lid off the table and onto the floor.

Fortunately, his reaction fit perfectly with the shocking conclusion Li Ye had just presented, so no one found it suspicious.

Qu Hao and Zou Kun’s reactions were hardly any better; they were also frozen in place.

"That’s it. It must be. No one would be content to hide in the shadows forever," Li Ye said with conviction. "They deliberately exposed Senior Brother Ji and the others to draw the attention of the major sects. Then, their agents, lurking within those very sects, will seize this opportunity to make their move. After that... I fear the entire world will be plunged into chaos."

SCRAPE!

Qu Hao shot to his feet, his chair scraping against the floor. "Sect Leader Meng, forgive my discourtesy, but I must return at once."

Watching Qu Hao being twisted around Li Ye’s little finger, Meng Mingzhe felt an unexpected pang of pity. He nodded absently. "Indeed, you should return at once."

"Junior Martial Uncle Qu, please wait a moment," Li Ye called out, stopping him.

"What is it?" Qu Hao asked.

Li Ye had deduced the Wenda Alliance’s objective in just a few sentences. In Qu Hao’s mind, the young man before him was now his equal.

Meng Mingzhe shot Li Ye a baffled look. His eyes clearly said, ’What are you doing? Why aren’t you letting him leave? Are you waiting for him to stay here and expose you?’

Zou Kun looked at Li Ye with unconcealed envy.

’This boy has such outstanding talent, and now he’s managed to latch onto someone as powerful as Qu Hao. He’s poised to soar. Meng Mingzhe is just too lucky. Why didn’t I ever come across such a promising talent?’

"What will you say when you return, Junior Martial Uncle Qu?" Li Ye asked. "That this is all my speculation?"

"I..." Qu Hao faltered.

"Junior Martial Uncle Qu, your mind is in turmoil," Li Ye said, shaking his head. "One must remain calm in the face of great events. If our theory is correct, rushing back now will only alert the enemy. You might not even be able to find the Wenda Alliance’s moles."

"At least I know the Third Elder is innocent," Qu Hao argued. "We need all the help we can get right now..."

"Is the Third Elder really innocent?" Li Ye countered. "If Senior Brother Ji and Senior Brother Pan could be used as bait, why not the Third Elder?

An organization that could secretly orchestrate a war between the righteous and demonic paths without leaving a single trace wouldn’t leave such an obvious flaw. I’m sure they’ve run countless Inferences on every aspect of their plans. Sacrificing one or two people is perfectly normal for a plan of this magnitude."

’Inference my ass!’

’He’s so convincing I’m starting to believe him myself!’

’What in the world are you trying to accomplish?’

’The great war never had a secret mastermind to begin with, so how could there be any traces left behind?’ Meng Mingzhe screamed internally, watching the eloquent Li Ye.

"Li, what do you think we should do?" Qu Hao asked. Without realizing it, he had begun to rely on Li Ye as his guide.

"There’s no such thing as a perfect secret, nor a flawless plan. You didn’t discover the Wenda Alliance before because you never thought to look for it," Li Ye said. "But now that they’ve shown themselves, their flaws will appear along with them—be it a person or an object.

If we work backward, we might even find some clues from the great war. But that was too long ago; most traces have been erased. We have to start with the present."

"Go on," Qu Hao said.

"We still need to find Senior Brother Ji and start with him," Li Ye said. "Then, we follow the trail upward, link by link. Eventually, we’ll find the source."

Meng Mingzhe’s heart skipped a beat. ’Aren’t *you* the source? Do you enjoy dancing on a knife’s edge this much?’

Qu Hao stared at Li Ye, speechless for a moment. ’So, after that whole song and dance, we’re right back where we started. I came here to investigate this in the first place!’

"Junior Martial Uncle Qu, don’t look at me like that." Li Ye chuckled. "Investigating with a clear direction is completely different from investigating without one.

If you had continued with your original line of thought, you would have just been led by the nose.

Now, we have a clear objective. Even if the Wenda Alliance tries to interfere, we can analyze the situation and distinguish what’s real from what’s misdirection..."

Embarrassed that his thoughts had been seen through, Qu Hao’s face flushed. "You speak truly, Li. I have learned a valuable lesson."

’Learned a lesson, my ass! You’re already being led around by the nose.’

Meng Mingzhe had become a master of internal commentary, ranting furiously in his mind. On the surface, however, he had to play along with Li Ye. He stroked his beard and said, "Fellow Daoist Qu, my young disciple has spoken childishly. Please don’t take his words to heart; it’s rather embarrassing."

"Master, everything I said is true," Li Ye said with a frown, feigning annoyance at his elder’s dismissal. "Junior Martial Uncle Qu’s investigation was headed in the wrong direction from the start."

"Li, you are right. If we can uncover the Wenda Alliance’s conspiracy, you will deserve the highest credit." To Qu Hao, Li Ye, a young man in his early twenties, was still just a child. He smiled and nodded, then asked, "Li, would you like to investigate the Wenda Alliance with me?"

"Of course I do." Li Ye’s eyes lit up. He glanced back at Meng Mingzhe and sighed. "But I’m afraid Master won’t let me go. My cultivation level is too low, after all."

"Sect Leader Meng, what say you to lending me your prized disciple for a few days?" Qu Hao asked, turning to Meng Mingzhe with a smile.

"This...?" Meng Mingzhe looked at Li Ye, his expression troubled.

’He didn’t know if he should let Li Ye go. The boy was so dangerously unpredictable; he was genuinely afraid his "good disciple" would end up selling out the entire Cyan Sun Sect!’

’Besides, once Li Ye was out of his sight, the situation would be completely beyond his control.’

"Master, please let me go!" Li Ye pleaded. "Junior Martial Uncle Qu is a Direct Disciple of the Dao Sect. Helping him with this investigation can only benefit our Cyan Sun Sect. There’s no downside!"

Qu Hao watched Li Ye with a broad, approving smile, growing more satisfied by the second.

"Old Meng, let him go!" Zou Kun chimed in. "Pan Yun and Ji Tianwen are both implicated. The sooner we uncover the Wenda Alliance’s conspiracy, the sooner our two sects can be cleared of suspicion."

"So be it!" Meng Mingzhe finally looked away from Li Ye and shook his head in resignation. "Then I must trouble Fellow Daoist Qu to look after Li Hao."

"Rest assured. As long as I’m here, I won’t let any harm come to your precious disciple," Qu Hao said with a laugh.

’I’m not worried about him being in danger! I’m worried he’s going to sell you out, and me along with you!’

Meng Mingzhe sighed inwardly. He turned to Li Ye and said, "Li Hao, while you’re away, listen to Junior Martial Uncle Qu. Don’t act on your own authority and jeopardize his mission. If you do, not even I, your Master, will be able to protect you."

Li Ye pretended not to understand the threat in Meng Mingzhe’s tone. He cupped his fist in a salute. "Rest assured, Master. Nothing will go wrong. Your disciple will simply treat this as an opportunity to gain experience abroad."

"Sect Leader Meng, what do you mean, ’jeopardize the mission’? Li has been a tremendous help," Qu Hao laughed. "If he weren’t the future Sect Leader of the Cyan Sun Sect, I’d be tempted to snatch him up and take him as my own disciple."

As he spoke, he gestured outside. "Sect Leader Meng, I see one of your disciples has been pacing out there for a while. Is there something urgent? Perhaps you should tend to your sect’s affairs first. I happen to have a few things I’d like to discuss with Li alone..."

Meng Mingzhe looked up and saw Xiao Yuan outside the hall. With a wave of his hand, he lifted the restrictive spell and called out, "Xiao Yuan, what is it?"