Chapter 465: Chapter 465: Tracking

The threat in the master’s words made Jin Zhicheng shudder violently. He felt a pang of regret. ’If this master didn’t have something on me, I never would have tried to harm that girl, Su Qing. If it weren’t for that, would my brother still be alive?’

Looking at Jin Zhiwei, who lay on the grass with no vital signs, Jin Zhicheng couldn’t help but cover his face, crouch down, and begin to cry in anguish.

"Enough. You’re a grown man. Are your tears so worthless?" the master said with disgust. "Get up."

At this moment, Jin Zhicheng was clearly even more afraid of the master. He didn’t dare disobey his words, so he quickly stood up, head lowered, and kept wiping away his tears.

"Let’s go." The master used some of his little tricks, and soon, all the footprints and other traces around Jin Zhiwei were cleared away one by one.

Watching the master’s methods, fear flickered in Jin Zhicheng’s eyes. He gave Jin Zhiwei’s body one last, reluctant look before silently following the master out of the woods.

The rest of the time reversal showed Jin Zhiwei’s body being discovered, the police being called, the police conducting an on-site investigation, and a series of other events, right up until the ivy vines were cleared away and thrown into a trash can.

Su Qing finished the time reversal and let out a deep sigh. ’Come to think of it, Jin Zhiwei’s death is somewhat related to me. If he hadn’t known about me, and if he hadn’t happened to like me, he probably wouldn’t have come to warn me even if he found out what was happening. If not for that, he wouldn’t have met such an undeserved end.’

But Su Qing found something odd. ’That master from Xiangcheng has his methods, but he doesn’t know about my Wood Ability. In his eyes, I should just be a girl with a somewhat special background. So if he wants to deal with me, why not do it directly? Why go through the trouble of ordering Jin Zhicheng around?’

’Considering the way that master dealt with Jin Zhiwei, he theoretically shouldn’t need Jin Zhicheng to achieve his goal. Besides, I have no connection to this Jin Zhicheng whatsoever.’

Su Qing mulled it over for a long time but couldn’t figure it out, so she decided to drop it. ’In any case, thanks to the time reversal, I know where Jin Zhicheng lives. I’ll just go grab him later and ask him directly what they’re planning to do to me.’

Just then, there was a stir from Tian Qiu’s courtyard.

Tian Qiu was back.

Su Qing watched coldly as Tian Qiu returned to his courtyard. She had given him the phone number for this house in Xilin Alley. When she had first returned to her own courtyard, Su Qing had already used the plants to perform a time reversal. The phone had never rung. Clearly, Tian Qiu hadn’t tried to contact her these past few days.

Since he hadn’t sought her out, she wasn’t in a hurry either. ’If Tian Qiu wants to get close to Mr. Gong, he’ll most likely have to go through me.’

She watched as Tian Qiu went inside, drank a glass of water, and then picked up a medical book to read for a while. After checking the time, he picked up the phone and dialed a number. Then, the phone in Su Qing’s house began to ring.

Su Qing raised an eyebrow. ’He’s calling me!’

But before Su Qing could answer, the phone only rang twice before Tian Qiu hung up. Su Qing’s brow furrowed. Two men came out of the kitchen and went into Tian Qiu’s room.

Su Qing narrowed her eyes. ’If I remember correctly, when Tian Qiu came in, I scanned the area. The courtyard was empty, let alone the kitchen.’ Su Qing glanced at the kitchen stove. ’It looks like there’s a tunnel in this kitchen.’

"Young Master." The two men saw Tian Qiu and bowed respectfully, a standard Japanese gesture. Su Qing snorted inwardly. ’Looks like my guess was right. This Tian Qiu must be that guy, Qiutian.’

"Yes, you’re here." Tian Qiu was clearly not surprised to see them. He said, "Is everything ready on that end?"

"Yes, Young Master. We can move at any time," one of them said quickly.

"Good." Tian Qiu nodded. "The things in the basement were delivered a few days ago. Move them out today. Be vigilant on the road. Make sure no one notices anything amiss. These things weren’t easy to come by."

"Yes, Young Master. Don’t worry, we guarantee we’ll get the items out smoothly," the other man said hurriedly.

"Have the items at the other locations been secured?" Tian Qiu asked again.

"Reporting to the Young Master, they have all been secured. We’re just waiting for this batch from your side to be moved, and then we can depart."

"Good. Thanks for your hard work."

"It’s no trouble, Young Master."

Tian Qiu smiled and patted them on the shoulders, then led them to the basement. He had the two men take out over twenty cultural relics and antiques.

Su Qing could guess where those twenty-odd artifacts were headed, even with her eyes closed. ’Since I’ve stumbled upon this, I can’t just stand by and watch my country’s cultural treasures be smuggled away. And those other batches they mentioned are probably more of the same.’ Su Qing snorted. ’With me here today, they won’t be getting a single piece out.’

There were no plants in the tunnel, so Su Qing controlled a small branch covered in green mist and made it fly into one of the men’s pockets. Then, under the cover of night, Su Qing followed the scent of the green mist and tracked them.

The tunnel wasn’t short. The other end opened into a small, privately-owned restaurant. The two men brought the items out of the tunnel, hitched up a donkey cart, and placed the packed antiques onto it before heading out.

"Hey now, Da Yao, Er Yao, you two heading out?" Just as they stepped outside, a neighbor saw the two men and greeted them with a smile. "Why are you leaving so late at night?"

One of the men laughed and said, "My younger brother’s wife is due any day now, and he’s anxious to get back to her. We’re also taking the chance to go see our old mother, so we’ll be closing the shop for a few days."

"Oh, Er Yao’s wife is giving birth? That’s wonderful news! No wonder you’re carrying all these bags. When you get back, I’ll have to come over and get a red egg for good luck," the neighbor said with a chuckle upon hearing the news.

"Haha, no problem, Brother Song. Well, we’ll be heading off now. See you in a few days," Da Yao said with a laugh.

"Alright, you’d better get going. Be careful on the road."

"Okay, sounds good! See you, Brother Song!"

The two men exchanged smiling goodbyes with their neighbor and drove the donkey cart out of Beijing.

Su Qing followed at a discreet distance, using the surrounding plants to mask her presence and aura. The two men had no idea someone was tailing them.

After about an hour, the donkey cart arrived at a desolate, abandoned factory. The area was deserted, obviously a good hiding spot.

The moment Su Qing neared the abandoned factory, she paused. She sensed a faint, familiar aura.

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