Hillary has disappeared; no one can find her.
She came to the Eastern Country on a secretive mission, possibly under the direction of the high-level members of the Xiao Alliance, both to supervise Hu Weidong and to investigate in Qi Yuan. It's only been two days without news, so probably no one noticed.
However, some reactions were pretty fast, and more than one party took note of the situation.
First, Mr. Mi Hu Weidong contacted He Kao, inquiring with concern whether he knew Hillary's latest whereabouts, whether her intentions were uncovered, and what countermeasures were in place, among other things.
When Hillary was initially discovered frequenting Qi Yuan, He Kao had immediately notified Hu Weidong, who had just arrived in Xijing. However, Hu Weidong claimed it was Hillary's personal agenda, and he couldn't interfere, maintaining an air of detachment.
But just two days after Hillary went missing, he actively reached out to He Kao, expressing concern, clearly indicating he had heard some rumors or received some instructions.
He Kao simply countered, "Why is Mr. Mi suddenly concerned about this? Could it be that Hillary is missing? Maybe something happened, or she ran off..."
Since Hu Weidong initially didn't want to inquire, He Kao also didn't wish to disclose much at this moment.
Hu Weidong merely replied, "I understand!" though it was unclear what exactly he understood.
It wasn't just Hu Weidong asking questions; Li Xiuyuan also contacted He Kao for a meeting, the location still being Dragon Scale Slope. That evening, as soon as they met, Li Xiuyuan asked, "The news from the Xiao Alliance, Hillary is uncontactable, what's going on?"
He Kao could refrain from telling Hu Weidong, but in front of Li Xiuyuan, of course, he spoke honestly, recounting the entire course of events from discovering Hillary secretly using witchcraft, without any concealment.
He Kao had also previously informed Elder Li about Hillary frequenting Qi Yuan. Elder Li had stated at the time that where Hillary wanted to go was her personal freedom, and Magic Sect had no reason to interfere.
The Magic Sect also couldn't explicitly assign an elder to keep an eye on her. Since she was within the Qi Yuan territory, and He Kao's cultivation wasn't weak, he ought to watch over things himself, and should he encounter any difficulties, he could enlist Mei Wenhua's help.
Unexpectedly, trouble did occur in just a few days. Li Xiuyuan listened, speechless for a while before finally saying, "You handled it cleanly; I am relieved."
Elder Li didn't say anything else, shockingly offering only the assessment of "clean and reassuring."
To say He Kao handled it cleanly is quite accurate.
Hillary was hiding in a resort in the suburbs. A person like her surely had more than one legal identity, and during check-in, did not use her real passport or reveal her whereabouts to anyone.
He Kao erased the traces of the magical combat; Lan Jiwan was responsible for tying up loose ends. The resort owner only knew that this guest left hurriedly due to an emergency, and everything was settled, so there was no need for any police involvement.
Thus, no one actually knows where Hillary went; with no clues whatsoever, tracking her down is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even the Xiao Alliance or the Magic Sect's "intelligence leader," Li Xiuyuan, were clueless.
The Xiao Alliance probably had some secret means of contact with Hillary, and discovering they couldn't reach her, they suspect something went awry... The Magic Sect had information channels inside the Xiao Alliance, prompting Elder Li to question He Kao.
He Kao waited for a long time without hearing anything more from Li Xiuyuan, so he asked, "Do you have any other instructions, sir?"
Li Xiu finally patting He Kao on the shoulder, asked, "Xiao Kao, do you know why the Ancestral Hall sent Mei Wenhua to Qi Yuan in the first place?"
The question seemed somewhat redundant.
Around the New Year, Mei Guyu arrived in Qi Yuan to "work," rumors circulating from various quarters confirmed that she had entered the Vacuum, losing all her Divine Power.
In hindsight, Mei Guyu indeed needed to take that step, but hadn't at the time, so she served as bait.
To make this trap appear more genuine and rationale, the Ancestral Hall ostensibly sent a master to protect Mei Guyu, this person being Mei Wenhua.
Sending Mei Wenhua to Qi Yuan made reasonable sense both publicly and privately, as he was Mei Guyu's family, Sixth Uncle. But since Elder Li asked, he was evidently after something beyond this, so He Kao remained silent, respectfully awaiting what would come next.
Sure enough, Elder Li paused, self-questioning and answering, "At that time, Mei Guyu didn't need protection; the real risk lay with the person dispatched to protect her, who had to possess sufficient self-preservation skills.
Excluding the Hidden Moth Sect, among the Seven Great Magic Sects, masters from the Xingshen Sect are most adept at self-preservation.
Especially a Tier Five Heart Stealer, sensitive to various murderous intents and hostilities, often capable of sensing crises, skilled at numerous stealth and evasion methods, and leveraging certain magical treasures, they excel at preserving their lives.
If you merely scared off or retreated Hillary, it wouldn't be too surprising, but finding, capturing, and eliminating her silently and invisibly is indeed formidable.
Now that you possess such capabilities, we old folks can feel at ease."
Unexpectedly, Li Xiuyuan complimented He Kao, with a tone of a parent pleased their child has finally matured and become independent.
The statement indeed makes sense; a Tier Five Heart Stealer is really adept at self-preservation. If He Kao weren't from Hidden Moth, it might have been challenging to detect and track down Hillary.
He Kao didn't boast, somewhat stiffly shifting the topic, producing a handkerchief-like object, "This magical treasure is quite peculiar. I've had it for two days and attempted to refine it, yet have not unraveled its magical uses."
