Chapter 59

Just as Ding Qi returned to the medicinal garden and fell into a deep sleep, about half an hour passed before Wei Zhuo, who had been knocked unconscious by the stone thrown by Ding Qi, finally woke up again.

The解散功散 (Dissolving Power Powder) truly lived up to its reputation as a renowned martial arts medicine. Despite the long time that had passed, the Qingyun Sect disciples who had been affected by the Dissolving Power Powder had yet to wake up. Even the younger disciples with weaker skills showed no signs of regaining consciousness.

On the contrary, it was Wei Zhuo, who had fainted twice, who woke up again.

Wei Zhuo's last memory was of his thick-backed broadsword breaking under a massive force, and he himself being knocked unconscious by that same force.

At that moment, he had already prepared himself for death.

But when Wei Zhuo woke up and saw that he and the surrounding disciples were still unharmed, and the person who had knocked him out had disappeared, he immediately felt relieved.

After confirming that the surroundings were safe, he immediately got up, not bothering to check his own condition in detail. He endured the lingering pain in his hands from blocking Ding Qi's flying stone and ran towards a nearby unconscious Qingyun Sect female disciple.

When he reached the young female disciple and saw that she was only unconscious and not injured, Wei Zhuo couldn't help but feel relieved.

"Little Junior Sister... Little Junior Sister..." Wei Zhuo gently held the girl in his arms and kept shaking her.

His face was full of concern, and it was clear that he had a deep relationship with this female disciple. They seemed to be a couple.

After a while, the girl woke up and asked drowsily, "...Senior Brother, what's going on?"

However, as soon as she realized she was in Wei Zhuo's arms, she no longer cared about the situation and her face turned a charming shade of red.

...

A few days later, a group of Qingyun Sect members gathered in the valley at the bottom of the forest.

In fact, after Wei Zhuo woke up and forcibly woke up his still unconscious fellow disciples, the Qingyun Sect members quickly discovered that the goods they had been transporting had been completely taken away. During subsequent patrols of the surrounding mountains, they found the bodies of numerous Tianquan Sect members, including Deputy Sect Leader Xing. With the information provided by Wei Zhuo, Elder Ke and others understood that the missing goods were definitely related to the person Wei Zhuo had seen.

In the following days, a large number of Qingyun Sect members continuously appeared in the forest, meticulously investigating the scene, trying to find clues.

During this period, there were several intense conflicts with the Tianquan Sect.

On the night of the incident, when Deputy Sect Leader Xing and others did not contact the Tianquan Sect as planned, they realized something was wrong and immediately sent people to the valley. This led to conflicts with the Qingyun Sect members who were searching for clues.

After several conflicts, the Tianquan Sect members finally understood what had happened.

After several days of fruitless searches in the area, the Tianquan Sect temporarily abandoned the search.

Due to the loss of a group of elite members, the Tianquan Sect was unwilling to have further large-scale conflicts with the Qingyun Sect in the valley, which would result in more casualties.

Now, only the Qingyun Sect members continued to search the valley, trying to find clues to the missing goods through the smallest details.

Several hall masters, enforcers, and disciples were gathered in the center of the valley, with a few elders, who were second only to the sect leader, at the core. From time to time, someone would direct a large number of Qingyun Sect members to meticulously search the area and report the results to the elders.

Among these elders, an elderly man named Deputy Sect Leader Xin was the center of attention. It was clear that he was the highest authority on the scene.

Obviously, this Deputy Sect Leader Xin was the new deputy sect leader appointed by Zuo Yang after he became the sect leader.

After receiving another report from a disciple that no valuable clues had been found, the elders sighed helplessly. Then, one of the elders in a green robe asked the surrounding hall masters and enforcers, "Everyone, we have been searching here for several days, but we still have no leads. What do you think about this matter?"

Hearing this, the only woman among the high-ranking officials frowned and said, "This matter is indeed strange. The goods were over 5,000 pounds of medicinal herbs, but from the clues we have found, it seems as if these herbs have vanished into thin air."

Another elder in a martial outfit with a white beard nodded in agreement and said, "Elder Mu is right. We have searched this valley for over ten miles, over a dozen times, but we have found no useful clues. Not even a suspicious footprint or any traces of the herb boxes. This is indeed very strange."

At this point, several Qingyun Sect high-ranking officials showed signs of agreement. Then, they all appeared puzzled and helpless by the situation.

The medicinal herbs being transported by the Qingyun Sect were of great importance to the sect. They were the accumulation of all the precious herbs left after nearly 200 years of the sect's existence. Many of these herbs had been secretly cultivated for nearly a century, with some even over a century old.

These precious herbs were used sparingly by the Qingyun Sect, a top-tier sect in Jingzhou, only for core disciples to break through cultivation bottlenecks. Over the years, less than one-fifth had been used, and the majority were lost in this transport. This left all the Qingyun Sect's high-ranking officials extremely anxious.

No martial arts sect could afford to lose such precious herbs, which were essential for cultivating high-level disciples. A shortage of these herbs would have catastrophic effects on the sect's development, potentially leading to a decline in the number of high-level disciples over several decades, reducing the sect to a second-tier status. This was something the Qingyun Sect's high-ranking officials could not allow to happen.

They had to find the missing herbs.

The herbs taken by Ding Qi were too important for the Qingyun Sect to lose. Due to the severity of the matter, the sect leader Zuo had personally handled the situation for the past few days, focusing all his energy on it.

However, with the accumulation of various internal affairs, Zuo had to return to the sect and hand over the matter to Deputy Sect Leader Xin.

"Speaking of which, all this is the fault of that despicable traitor, who caused the loss of the sect's goods! If it weren't for that person, this wouldn't have happened."

As everyone was frowning, a hall master to the right of Elder Mu sighed angrily, thinking of the person responsible for the sect's misfortune.

This remark immediately stirred the emotions of several Tianquan Sect high-ranking officials, and their faces showed signs of intense hatred.

The hall master was referring to the spy from the Tianquan Sect who had infiltrated the Qingyun Sect's high ranks, causing this situation.

...

"Qi Zheng, that shameless scoundrel, was promoted to elder by Sect Leader Nie for his great contributions to the sect. Who would have thought he was a spy for the Tianquan Sect?"

...

"Upon reflection, those great contributions he made were likely arranged by the Tianquan Sect to help him quickly rise to a high position in the sect. It seems we were all deceived."

...

Every word spoken about this person was filled with icy coldness.

When Elder Ke realized they had fallen into the Tianquan Sect's trap, he could guess that there was a spy in the sect. The others in the Qingyun Sect could also think the same.

After this incident, the Tianquan Sect spy in the Qingyun Sect's high ranks could no longer hide. With a focused investigation, the spy's identity was quickly discovered to be an elder surnamed Qi.

However, this elder surnamed Qi had already realized that, after this incident, whether the Tianquan Sect's operation succeeded or failed, he would be exposed. So, after drugging Elder Ke and others, he immediately fled the Qingyun Sect and returned to the Tianquan Sect. By the time the Qingyun Sect discovered the spy's identity, it was too late, and they could no longer find him.

The Qingyun Sect's efforts to capture him were in vain, leaving the high-ranking officials of the Qingyun Sect still seething with hatred, wishing to capture and punish him.

Finally, Deputy Sect Leader Xin waved his hand and said, "Enough, everyone. The matter has already happened, and there's no point in talking about it now. When we meet that spy again, we will make him pay for his actions. Our main task now is to find the herbs."

Everyone nodded, and a cold-faced Qingyun Sect enforcer spoke with doubt, "We have searched for so many days and found no traces of the herbs being moved. As Elder Mu and Enforcer Shi said, this situation is too abnormal. It would be very difficult for one person or a few people to move thousands of pounds of herbs without being noticed. I think it would require a large group of people to move such a heavy load in a short time. After all, when the sect's reinforcements arrived, it was only about an hour and a half after the incident. Without a large group, it would be impossible to move over 5,000 pounds of herbs in such a short time. From the current situation, it seems they used a large number of professionals to move the herbs and then erase all traces. Otherwise, we wouldn't be unable to find any clues."

The other Qingyun Sect high-ranking officials listened to the cold-faced enforcer and showed signs of deep thought.

Deputy Sect Leader Xin nodded in agreement with the cold-faced enforcer's speculation and then said to the outer layer of Qingyun Sect disciples, "You are all core disciples of the sect. These herbs were originally prepared for your future cultivation. What are your thoughts on this matter? Feel free to share them."

The outer layer of Qingyun Sect disciples, who did not expect Deputy Sect Leader Xin to ask for their opinions, looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Among them was the silver-bell girl Ding Qi had met in the tavern.

However, this time, her hair was tied with a black ribbon, which added a different charm.

Strangely, when the disciples were unsure of how to respond to Deputy Sect Leader Xin's question, they all looked at the young girl, as if expecting her to take the lead.

The girl, however, could only smile bitterly.