Chapter 29: Nanshan
Jiang Hong had never imagined they would meet here so unexpectedly, both of them silent. Lu Xiu's silence was contemplative, pondering strategies, while Jiang Hong's was due to a mind swirling with confusion, still processing the flood of information relayed by Lu Xiu.
"So, are you going to capture him later?" Jiang Hong asked again.
"No," Lu Xiu answered, "that's for the Exorcism Committee to handle. Cao Bin sent me here to find a way to get his contacts with others. We don't know how many traitors are in the Exorcism Committee; there could be many more. Mai Qing might just be a middleman for them. If the person handling this case at the Exorcism Committee is also part of this secret organization, capturing Mai Qing might just be to silence him, making it impossible to trace the rest."
"Hmm..." Jiang Hong said, "That's so impressive, like a spy movie!"
Lu Xiu: "......"
Jiang Hong: "But such contacts wouldn't have a 'secret organization list' just lying in a desk drawer, right?"
Lu Xiu: "What are you thinking! They communicate through special artifacts."
Jiang Hong: "So have you found it?"
Lu Xiu: "Not yet, I'm still searching. This is too difficult for me. I'd rather tear his house apart."
Jiang Hong: "Then you should focus on your task, why are you telling me this?"
Lu Xiu, almost driven mad by frustration, returned to scrutinizing the bookshelf.
"How much more time can your roommates buy?" Lu Xiu asked again, "Ask them to stall for me a little longer."
Jiang Hong poked his head out of the window to signal Jin, who in turn gestured back through the glass.
Lu Xiu: "You two are so in sync?"
Jiang Hong: "This is our own '903 language'. The message is 'Dad, sleep for another half hour'."
Lu Xiu: "......"
Accustomed to overpowering enemies with brute force, Lu Xiu found this task of searching for something quite challenging. Watching for a while, Jiang Hong voluntarily stepped forward to help, suggesting, "There should be a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf."
Lu Xiu: "How do you know that?"
Jiang Hong: "Isn't that how they always show it on TV?"
Lu Xiu watched as Jiang Hong pressed against the wall, tapping here and listening there. Jiang Hong then said, "No, see, because the study and the adjacent reception room are quite far apart, I suspect there's a small space in between. Listen? This part sounds hollow."
Jiang Hong then lifted several calligraphy and paintings in the study, searching for a mechanism.
Lu Xiu thought for a moment and responded, "You're right."
"It's right here," Jiang Hong pointed at a wall, saying, "But I don't know how to open it, maybe it requires a spell."
"The Mai family mainly practices Feng Shui and prediction," Lu Xiu said, "Their other skills are negligible, almost non-existent in magic. Move aside, I'll try brute force."
Remembering what Jin had said, Jiang Hong wondered, "Do you think he could have predicted our actions today through his own foresight?"
Lu Xiu: "Not necessarily, I guess his attention is more focused on the Exorcism Committee sending people to capture him... Break!"
Jiang Hong: "Wait a second!"
Lu Xiu snapped his fingers towards the wall, and with a loud rumble, the entire wall collapsed. Jiang Hong yelled, "Shouldn't you have done some soundproofing first?!"
Lu Xiu: "This is his study, it already has a soundproof barrier."
As the bookshelf collapsed, there was no indication outside. Behind the fallen wall was a narrow space less than two square meters, filled with thread-bound ancient books, various antiques, and calligraphy and paintings.
"Wow!" Jiang Hong exclaimed in surprise.
With another gesture from Lu Xiu, all the items in the cavity flew out. Some emitted a glow, while others remained still.
Jiang Hong, having learned in class, knew that Lu Xiu was using a method of infusing spiritual energy to test the artifacts; those emitting light were magical artifacts, while the quiet ones were ordinary antiques.
Lu Xiu partially withdrew his magic, causing books, scrolls, and some antiques to clatter to the ground, filtering out potentially useful magical artifacts.
"Which one could it be?" Lu Xiu frowned.
Jiang Hong, having attended classes for most of the semester and barely reaching beginner level, suggested, "If it's not phone or WeChat for fear of being monitored, there must be a unique channel. This artifact, therefore, possesses the capability to access that channel."
"Hmm." Lu Xiu had about a dozen artifacts floating in mid-air and glanced at the lower right corner, asking, "Is this the compass you're looking for?"
"Wow, yes!" Jiang Hong saw a dark compass, identical to the one Mai Qing had shown in the next room, which was probably a fake. It was surprisingly easy to find! He immediately picked up the compass.
"Unique channels," Jiang Hong said, "either through heavenly or earthly veins."
Lu Xiu: "You're right."
"Look at the runes on the outside of this wind chime," Jiang Hong pointed out, "They're used for transmitting messages, utilizing the direction of the wind. When you vibrate it in one place, the sound of the wind chime can be heard in another."
Lu Xiu once again filtered, leaving behind the iron wind chime that Jiang Hong had noticed.
"Since you say so," Lu Xiu said, "let's go with this one."
Lu Xiu put away the wind chime and then snapped his fingers, causing a grand piano to appear in front of him, and he sat down at the piano.
Jiang Hong: "???"
Jiang Hong then asked, "If you're not so sure, why not just take all the artifacts here in one go?"
Lu Xiu started playing the piano, "Why didn't you just let me teleport the whole house away? Waiting to be detained by the Exorcism Committee?"
Jiang Hong: "But you've already turned the scene into this…"
Lu Xiu played Bach's Minuet, and amidst the tinkling sound, the scattered magical artifacts, antiques, and calligraphy rose up, flying back into the hidden compartment, followed by all the broken wood and decorations reverting back, restoring the original bookshelf.
Lu Xiu: "?"
Jiang Hong: "Forget I said anything…"
Lu Xiu: "Call your roommates, let's get out of here."
"How did you get in?"
"I came under the pretext of visiting him using Principal Cao's name, asking him to help predict something. Before we started, another visitor arrived..." Lu Xiu, along with Jiang Hong, climbed directly out of the window, signaling Jin, and Jiang Hong raised his hand to show him the compass, meaning they had succeeded and it was time to retreat.
"The Exorcism Committee's people will be here to take him away soon," Lu Xiu said as he landed, "Less than half an hour left."
Jin moved to put his arm around Jiang Hong's shoulder, but Lu Xiu immediately pulled Jiang Hong to the other side of his body, not letting Jin touch him, and said to Jin: "Go find your companions."
Jin called He Jian and Zhang Xiting to send the signal to terminate the mission.
Passing through the garden, Jiang Hong went to check on the boy behind the rockery, who was still unconscious.
Lu Xiu: "?"
With a puzzled expression, Lu Xiu listened as Jiang Hong explained the situation. Lu Xiu stood there longer than usual, observing, and then said, "He's not Mai Qing's son, but from another family who happened to visit today. His name is Yuan Shiyu."
"You know him?" Jiang Hong was a bit worried, hoping they hadn't accidentally assaulted a friend of Lu Xiu.
"I don't know him, but I've seen his father. He looks a lot like him. His father died many years ago," Lu Xiu explained further.
Jin said, "In recent years, many exorcists have left the Exorcism Committee. They might all be part of the same group. Let's go."
Jin urged them to return to the car, while Lu Xiu stood for a few more seconds, gazing at the young man, then turned to leave.
Jin sat in the back seat, with Lu Xiu and Jiang Hong each getting into the car, Jiang Hong still driving. The three waited for a moment, then suddenly, an alarm sounded out of nowhere.
Zhang Xiting, along with He Jian, didn't even use the main gate, directly climbing out from the garden.
Jin rolled down the car window and shouted, "What are you doing?"
"I'll explain later! Let's go!" Zhang Xiting said, "Before he wakes up!"
He Jian, seeing Lu Xiu in the passenger seat, exclaimed, "Great! We have backup!"
Lu Xiu said, "I can't show myself here, it would cause trouble for Principal Cao."
"Everyone's here, let's go!" Jiang Hong cheerfully shouted, "Let me show you the skills of the Autumn Name Mountain car god!"
Jiang Hong floored the accelerator, performed an on-spot drift to straighten the car, then hit the gas again, driving his dad's business Mercedes with the flair of a McLaren, speeding away!
"We haven't got the item yet," Zhang Xiting said, "You guys distract his house security, I'll get off halfway and go back to check."
Jin took out the compass, showing them, "We've already got it."
Jiang Hong: "Why did you take so long?"
He Jian: "We didn't directly retrieve the artifact, just used the pretext of visiting to ask him some questions. We wanted to hypnotize him while he was off guard and steal the compass."
Zhang Xiting: "Mai Qing has a protective amulet that made him immune to my Endless Dream."
Jiang Hong: "The thing in front of you was fake! The real compass was hidden in the study."
Zhang Xiting: "You entered his study? How did you get it?"
Just as He Jian and Zhang Xiting were saying goodbye and walking downstairs, Mai Qing entered the study, glanced around, and immediately hit the alarm, realizing the study had been tampered with. He knew then that the thieves must be in league with He Jian and his group.
Lu Xiu, always watching the rearview mirror, suddenly said, "They're coming after us."
Jiang Hong adjusted the rearview mirror and saw three cars and two motorcycles chasing them. Everyone looked back, and Lu Xiu said, "If they don't use magic, you guys shouldn't either. Otherwise, if the Chongqing Exorcism Committee gets involved, they'll interrogate you about what you've done..."
"Got it! Teacher!" said Jiang Hong.
Lu Xiu was about to recline his seat when Jiang Hong suddenly accelerated, sending Lu Xiu lurching backward.
Lu Xiu: "......"
"Brother, slow down!" Zhang Xiting shouted.
The motorcycles and private cars continued the chase. They seemed reluctant to use magic, persistently following them through the roads of Nanshan in Chongqing. Jiang Hong skillfully drifted around a corner near the Botanical Garden, the Mercedes performing a tail flick, swiftly maneuvering away!
The mountain roads in Chongqing, especially in Nanshan, were notoriously winding and narrow, often allowing only one car to pass. Jiang Hong, familiar with the area, turned into a small road near the Botanical Garden, then dashed out, leaving a trail behind and entering a construction site.
Lu Xiu snapped his fingers, turned the rearview mirror back, and saw that the vehicles were still doggedly pursuing them.
"Should we get out and draw away the pursuers?" Jin suggested.
"No need to get out," Jiang Hong turned the rearview mirror back and said, "I can shake them off! Whoa! What's happening?!"
Suddenly, the road ahead of them rose into the air!
Jiang Hong jerked the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding driving the car off the cliff. Lu Xiu immediately sat upright, adjusted the seat back to face outward, and shouted, "Watch out!"
The surroundings underwent a shocking transformation. The mountain road undulated like the waves of the sea, trees retreated rapidly, buildings began to tilt, massive boulders rolled down, and the road in front gradually rose at a steep forty-five-degree angle, forming a massive slope.
Jiang Hong floored the accelerator, and the vehicle began to climb the slope with great difficulty, while the pursuers behind started to wait.
"What kind of magic is this?" Jin exclaimed. Could Ma Jiayou really move mountains and seas?
"It's impossible! This is the effect of the Shanhe Shiji Tu!" Lu Xiu also couldn't believe it. He reached for the door, preparing to open his seatbelt. Just as he hesitated whether to join the battle, Jiang Hong forcefully pressed him down, and the seatbelt remained fastened.
As the road ascended higher and higher, without hesitation, Jiang Hong sharply turned the car around, making a U-turn on the nearly sixty-degree slope. The Mercedes-Benz rushed toward the pursuers from behind!
"Oh my God!" He Jian shouted. "Roll down the windows and let us out! At least I can fly!"
Jiang Hong: "Is this a very powerful magical artifact?"
Zhang Xiting: "Of course! This is the Shanhe Shiji Tu!"
Jiang Hong: "Oh, what's that? Sounds super powerful!"
Everyone: "Focus on driving your car!"
Lu Xiu: "The spellcaster is in Ma Jiayou's house!"
Zhang Xiting quickly said, "It's impossible! The Shanhe Shiji Tu is an extremely powerful magical artifact!"
Lu Xiu: "I'm sure it's the Shanhe Shiji Tu!"
Jin: "Regardless, how do we break it?"
He Jian: "I-I-I... I know! Blow up the spellcasting location... or leave its force field!"
Just as Jiang Hong turned back, the road behind them also began to rise, forming a massive U-shape with both ends still ascending, trapping them like a bag closing at the bottom of a valley.
"Hold on tight!"
Jiang Hong pushed the car to its maximum speed, breaking out of the U-shaped section of the road. Trees in front started falling chaotically, forming a barrier, forcing Jiang Hong to swerve sharply. Lu Xiu asked, "Can you make another two kilometers?"
"I'll try my best!"
Jiang Hong suddenly switched lanes, driving the car off the high road sideways. In that moment, the Mercedes was airborne, eliciting screams from the three passengers in the back. Lu Xiu leaned out from the passenger seat, unleashing Dragon Speech, warping and rippling the air like invisible artillery, clearing the way by destroying the trees and rolling stones ahead.
Jin and He Jian each opened a window in the back seat, half-climbing out. Jin took a deep breath and let out a lion's roar.
The shattered wood was flung up, smashing onto the pursuing private cars, causing them to swerve out of control.
He Jian raised his hand, blowing air, and mist rose from the ground, enveloping the area in a dense fog. Motorcycles charged into the fog, making loud crashes, continuously being impeded.
"Let's go!" He Jian waved his hand, throwing the Xuan Guang Jin Dou out of the window!
Jin: "Hey! Be careful with that!"
The Xuan Guang Jin Dou, heavy like a discus, about ten kilograms, was thrown by He Jian like a frisbee, overturning a motorcyclist. With a flick of his wrist, it flew back into the car.
Jiang Hong: "Back at the complex again, huh! What do we do?"
Lu Xiu made a hand gesture and said firmly, "Get closer!"
Jiang Hong drove back towards Mai Qing's villa complex. Lu Xiu focused on the three-story building of the Mai family. Jiang Hong turned the car sideways, and in the few seconds it took to turn the car around, the view from the driver and passenger windows briefly swept across the windows of the three-story building.
Jiang Hong felt as if someone was watching him from behind the windows.
Lu Xiu, pointing at the villa a hundred meters away, unleashed a black flame from his hand that howled like a meteor, trailing fire as it flew towards the window, exploding on impact. The back of the villa was breached, and the black fire shot into the sky.
Lu Xiu's move interrupted the opponent's spellcasting, returning the world to normal. He then shouted, "Now's our chance, let's get out of here!"
Jiang Hong immediately accelerated, quickly leaving the complex far behind.
"The Exorcism Committee's people are here," Lu Xiu glanced back, rolling up the window, and said, "No matter what checks we encounter on the road, don't admit we're exorcists."
Finally breathing a sigh of relief, Jiang Hong took a moment to catch his breath, thinking how thrilling the experience had been.
"The Map of Mountains and Rivers," Zhang Xiting said, "How could Mai Qing, a Feng Shui master, possess such an artifact?"
Jiang Hong: "Is that something very powerful?"
He Jian: "Isn't the Map of Mountains and Rivers under the custody of the Exorcism Committee?"
Lu Xiu's face remained somber, and he stayed silent.
Jin explained to Jiang Hong: "It's one of the most powerful artifacts, a 'Heaven'-grade one, guarded by the Exorcism Committee."
Jiang Hong: "Oh, so why is it in the hands of a Feng Shui master like Mai Qing?"
Jiang Hong was just following the conversation, not yet realizing the seriousness of the issue. At this time, a peculiar change occurred again in Nanshan, with dark clouds enveloping the area behind the Botanical Garden, thunderclouds rolling, and a massive beast seemed to be churning within the clouds.
"The most serious problem is that some high-ranking members of the Exorcism Committee are in cahoots with Mai Qing," Zhang Xiting said, "I need to warn my father right away."
Jiang Hong: "Oh... A traitor in the higher ranks? That is indeed serious... Wait a minute..."
Jiang Hong suddenly remembered the somewhat familiar figure he saw on the second floor of the Mai family's house. Who was that?
"Focus on driving," Lu Xiu reminded.
Sure enough, there were roadblocks set up on the way down the mountain, and people were being interrogated.
Jiang Hong rolled down the window, suddenly coming face to face with an exorcist.
Jiang Hong couldn't recall the exorcist's name but remembered that he was one of Xu Xuyang's colleagues who had gone to the hospital together to subdue the bat demon.
Jiang Hong smiled, about to exchange pleasantries, when the exorcist glanced at Lu Xiu sitting in the passenger seat, said nothing more, and let them pass, telling his colleagues, "They're one of us."
"Are they afraid we're smuggling out the target?" Jin asked.
"Hmm," Zhang Xiting observed the surroundings at the foot of the mountain. They didn't encounter any more checks along the way.
"Let's check the artifact."
He Jian and Jin began examining the Xuan Guang Jin Dou, while Jiang Hong occasionally looked back. Once they reached Binjiang Road, they found a parking lot and slowly pulled over to park.
"Where to now?" Zhang Xiting asked, "Going to your place? Shouldn't we head back to Xi'an soon? Today's the last day."
"Let me check first." Autumn Name Mountain car god Jiang Hong, having raced in Nanshan, finally calmed his adrenaline rush, starting to worry.
Everyone: "???"
Jiang Hong got out of the car, walked around to the back. He had heard several thuds earlier, leading to a bad premonition...
"We're doomed—!!!" Jiang Hong freaked out instantly.
The rear hatch of the Mercedes was dented in, the back of the car was a mess, with two dents in the rear door and a broken tail light.
Lu Xiu: "......"
Everyone stood by sympathetically, observing Jiang Hong's handiwork; even the car's chassis was damaged.
"I'll buy you a new one," Lu Xiu said, "How much does this car cost?"
Jiang Hong, holding his head in his hands: "A new one is no use! How am I going to explain this to my dad... It's all over!"
Chapter 29: Nanshan
Jiang Hong had never imagined they would meet here so unexpectedly, both of them silent. Lu Xiu's silence was contemplative, pondering strategies, while Jiang Hong's was due to a mind swirling with confusion, still processing the flood of information relayed by Lu Xiu.
"So, are you going to capture him later?" Jiang Hong asked again.
"No," Lu Xiu answered, "that's for the Exorcism Committee to handle. Cao Bin sent me here to find a way to get his contacts with others. We don't know how many traitors are in the Exorcism Committee; there could be many more. Mai Qing might just be a middleman for them. If the person handling this case at the Exorcism Committee is also part of this secret organization, capturing Mai Qing might just be to silence him, making it impossible to trace the rest."
"Hmm..." Jiang Hong said, "That's so impressive, like a spy movie!"
Lu Xiu: "......"
Jiang Hong: "But such contacts wouldn't have a 'secret organization list' just lying in a desk drawer, right?"
Lu Xiu: "What are you thinking! They communicate through special artifacts."
Jiang Hong: "So have you found it?"
Lu Xiu: "Not yet, I'm still searching. This is too difficult for me. I'd rather tear his house apart."
Jiang Hong: "Then you should focus on your task, why are you telling me this?"
Lu Xiu, almost driven mad by frustration, returned to scrutinizing the bookshelf.
"How much more time can your roommates buy?" Lu Xiu asked again, "Ask them to stall for me a little longer."
Jiang Hong poked his head out of the window to signal Jin, who in turn gestured back through the glass.
Lu Xiu: "You two are so in sync?"
Jiang Hong: "This is our own '903 language'. The message is 'Dad, sleep for another half hour'."
Lu Xiu: "......"
Accustomed to overpowering enemies with brute force, Lu Xiu found this task of searching for something quite challenging. Watching for a while, Jiang Hong voluntarily stepped forward to help, suggesting, "There should be a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf."
Lu Xiu: "How do you know that?"
Jiang Hong: "Isn't that how they always show it on TV?"
Lu Xiu watched as Jiang Hong pressed against the wall, tapping here and listening there. Jiang Hong then said, "No, see, because the study and the adjacent reception room are quite far apart, I suspect there's a small space in between. Listen? This part sounds hollow."
Jiang Hong then lifted several calligraphy and paintings in the study, searching for a mechanism.
Lu Xiu thought for a moment and responded, "You're right."
"It's right here," Jiang Hong pointed at a wall, saying, "But I don't know how to open it, maybe it requires a spell."
"The Mai family mainly practices Feng Shui and prediction," Lu Xiu said, "Their other skills are negligible, almost non-existent in magic. Move aside, I'll try brute force."
Remembering what Jin had said, Jiang Hong wondered, "Do you think he could have predicted our actions today through his own foresight?"
Lu Xiu: "Not necessarily, I guess his attention is more focused on the Exorcism Committee sending people to capture him... Break!"
Jiang Hong: "Wait a second!"
Lu Xiu snapped his fingers towards the wall, and with a loud rumble, the entire wall collapsed. Jiang Hong yelled, "Shouldn't you have done some soundproofing first?!"
Lu Xiu: "This is his study, it already has a soundproof barrier."
As the bookshelf collapsed, there was no indication outside. Behind the fallen wall was a narrow space less than two square meters, filled with thread-bound ancient books, various antiques, and calligraphy and paintings.
"Wow!" Jiang Hong exclaimed in surprise.
With another gesture from Lu Xiu, all the items in the cavity flew out. Some emitted a glow, while others remained still.
Jiang Hong, having learned in class, knew that Lu Xiu was using a method of infusing spiritual energy to test the artifacts; those emitting light were magical artifacts, while the quiet ones were ordinary antiques.
Lu Xiu partially withdrew his magic, causing books, scrolls, and some antiques to clatter to the ground, filtering out potentially useful magical artifacts.
"Which one could it be?" Lu Xiu frowned.
Jiang Hong, having attended classes for most of the semester and barely reaching beginner level, suggested, "If it's not phone or WeChat for fear of being monitored, there must be a unique channel. This artifact, therefore, possesses the capability to access that channel."
"Hmm." Lu Xiu had about a dozen artifacts floating in mid-air and glanced at the lower right corner, asking, "Is this the compass you're looking for?"
"Wow, yes!" Jiang Hong saw a dark compass, identical to the one Mai Qing had shown in the next room, which was probably a fake. It was surprisingly easy to find! He immediately picked up the compass.
"Unique channels," Jiang Hong said, "either through heavenly or earthly veins."
Lu Xiu: "You're right."
"Look at the runes on the outside of this wind chime," Jiang Hong pointed out, "They're used for transmitting messages, utilizing the direction of the wind. When you vibrate it in one place, the sound of the wind chime can be heard in another."
Lu Xiu once again filtered, leaving behind the iron wind chime that Jiang Hong had noticed.
"Since you say so," Lu Xiu said, "let's go with this one."
Lu Xiu put away the wind chime and then snapped his fingers, causing a grand piano to appear in front of him, and he sat down at the piano.
Jiang Hong: "???"
Jiang Hong then asked, "If you're not so sure, why not just take all the artifacts here in one go?"
Lu Xiu started playing the piano, "Why didn't you just let me teleport the whole house away? Waiting to be detained by the Exorcism Committee?"
Jiang Hong: "But you've already turned the scene into this…"
Lu Xiu played Bach's Minuet, and amidst the tinkling sound, the scattered magical artifacts, antiques, and calligraphy rose up, flying back into the hidden compartment, followed by all the broken wood and decorations reverting back, restoring the original bookshelf.
Lu Xiu: "?"
Jiang Hong: "Forget I said anything…"
Lu Xiu: "Call your roommates, let's get out of here."
"How did you get in?"
"I came under the pretext of visiting him using Principal Cao's name, asking him to help predict something. Before we started, another visitor arrived..." Lu Xiu, along with Jiang Hong, climbed directly out of the window, signaling Jin, and Jiang Hong raised his hand to show him the compass, meaning they had succeeded and it was time to retreat.
"The Exorcism Committee's people will be here to take him away soon," Lu Xiu said as he landed, "Less than half an hour left."
Jin moved to put his arm around Jiang Hong's shoulder, but Lu Xiu immediately pulled Jiang Hong to the other side of his body, not letting Jin touch him, and said to Jin: "Go find your companions."
Jin called He Jian and Zhang Xiting to send the signal to terminate the mission.
Passing through the garden, Jiang Hong went to check on the boy behind the rockery, who was still unconscious.
Lu Xiu: "?"
With a puzzled expression, Lu Xiu listened as Jiang Hong explained the situation. Lu Xiu stood there longer than usual, observing, and then said, "He's not Mai Qing's son, but from another family who happened to visit today. His name is Yuan Shiyu."
"You know him?" Jiang Hong was a bit worried, hoping they hadn't accidentally assaulted a friend of Lu Xiu.
"I don't know him, but I've seen his father. He looks a lot like him. His father died many years ago," Lu Xiu explained further.
Jin said, "In recent years, many exorcists have left the Exorcism Committee. They might all be part of the same group. Let's go."
Jin urged them to return to the car, while Lu Xiu stood for a few more seconds, gazing at the young man, then turned to leave.
Jin sat in the back seat, with Lu Xiu and Jiang Hong each getting into the car, Jiang Hong still driving. The three waited for a moment, then suddenly, an alarm sounded out of nowhere.
Zhang Xiting, along with He Jian, didn't even use the main gate, directly climbing out from the garden.
Jin rolled down the car window and shouted, "What are you doing?"
"I'll explain later! Let's go!" Zhang Xiting said, "Before he wakes up!"
He Jian, seeing Lu Xiu in the passenger seat, exclaimed, "Great! We have backup!"
Lu Xiu said, "I can't show myself here, it would cause trouble for Principal Cao."
"Everyone's here, let's go!" Jiang Hong cheerfully shouted, "Let me show you the skills of the Autumn Name Mountain car god!"
Jiang Hong floored the accelerator, performed an on-spot drift to straighten the car, then hit the gas again, driving his dad's business Mercedes with the flair of a McLaren, speeding away!
"We haven't got the item yet," Zhang Xiting said, "You guys distract his house security, I'll get off halfway and go back to check."
Jin took out the compass, showing them, "We've already got it."
Jiang Hong: "Why did you take so long?"
He Jian: "We didn't directly retrieve the artifact, just used the pretext of visiting to ask him some questions. We wanted to hypnotize him while he was off guard and steal the compass."
Zhang Xiting: "Mai Qing has a protective amulet that made him immune to my Endless Dream."
Jiang Hong: "The thing in front of you was fake! The real compass was hidden in the study."
Zhang Xiting: "You entered his study? How did you get it?"
Just as He Jian and Zhang Xiting were saying goodbye and walking downstairs, Mai Qing entered the study, glanced around, and immediately hit the alarm, realizing the study had been tampered with. He knew then that the thieves must be in league with He Jian and his group.
Lu Xiu, always watching the rearview mirror, suddenly said, "They're coming after us."
Jiang Hong adjusted the rearview mirror and saw three cars and two motorcycles chasing them. Everyone looked back, and Lu Xiu said, "If they don't use magic, you guys shouldn't either. Otherwise, if the Chongqing Exorcism Committee gets involved, they'll interrogate you about what you've done..."
"Got it! Teacher!" said Jiang Hong.
Lu Xiu was about to recline his seat when Jiang Hong suddenly accelerated, sending Lu Xiu lurching backward.
Lu Xiu: "......"
"Brother, slow down!" Zhang Xiting shouted.
The motorcycles and private cars continued the chase. They seemed reluctant to use magic, persistently following them through the roads of Nanshan in Chongqing. Jiang Hong skillfully drifted around a corner near the Botanical Garden, the Mercedes performing a tail flick, swiftly maneuvering away!
The mountain roads in Chongqing, especially in Nanshan, were notoriously winding and narrow, often allowing only one car to pass. Jiang Hong, familiar with the area, turned into a small road near the Botanical Garden, then dashed out, leaving a trail behind and entering a construction site.
Lu Xiu snapped his fingers, turned the rearview mirror back, and saw that the vehicles were still doggedly pursuing them.
"Should we get out and draw away the pursuers?" Jin suggested.
"No need to get out," Jiang Hong turned the rearview mirror back and said, "I can shake them off! Whoa! What's happening?!"
Suddenly, the road ahead of them rose into the air!
Jiang Hong jerked the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding driving the car off the cliff. Lu Xiu immediately sat upright, adjusted the seat back to face outward, and shouted, "Watch out!"
The surroundings underwent a shocking transformation. The mountain road undulated like the waves of the sea, trees retreated rapidly, buildings began to tilt, massive boulders rolled down, and the road in front gradually rose at a steep forty-five-degree angle, forming a massive slope.
Jiang Hong floored the accelerator, and the vehicle began to climb the slope with great difficulty, while the pursuers behind started to wait.
"What kind of magic is this?" Jin exclaimed. Could Ma Jiayou really move mountains and seas?
"It's impossible! This is the effect of the Shanhe Shiji Tu!" Lu Xiu also couldn't believe it. He reached for the door, preparing to open his seatbelt. Just as he hesitated whether to join the battle, Jiang Hong forcefully pressed him down, and the seatbelt remained fastened.
As the road ascended higher and higher, without hesitation, Jiang Hong sharply turned the car around, making a U-turn on the nearly sixty-degree slope. The Mercedes-Benz rushed toward the pursuers from behind!
"Oh my God!" He Jian shouted. "Roll down the windows and let us out! At least I can fly!"
Jiang Hong: "Is this a very powerful magical artifact?"
Zhang Xiting: "Of course! This is the Shanhe Shiji Tu!"
Jiang Hong: "Oh, what's that? Sounds super powerful!"
Everyone: "Focus on driving your car!"
Lu Xiu: "The spellcaster is in Ma Jiayou's house!"
Zhang Xiting quickly said, "It's impossible! The Shanhe Shiji Tu is an extremely powerful magical artifact!"
Lu Xiu: "I'm sure it's the Shanhe Shiji Tu!"
Jin: "Regardless, how do we break it?"
He Jian: "I-I-I... I know! Blow up the spellcasting location... or leave its force field!"
Just as Jiang Hong turned back, the road behind them also began to rise, forming a massive U-shape with both ends still ascending, trapping them like a bag closing at the bottom of a valley.
"Hold on tight!"
Jiang Hong pushed the car to its maximum speed, breaking out of the U-shaped section of the road. Trees in front started falling chaotically, forming a barrier, forcing Jiang Hong to swerve sharply. Lu Xiu asked, "Can you make another two kilometers?"
"I'll try my best!"
Jiang Hong suddenly switched lanes, driving the car off the high road sideways. In that moment, the Mercedes was airborne, eliciting screams from the three passengers in the back. Lu Xiu leaned out from the passenger seat, unleashing Dragon Speech, warping and rippling the air like invisible artillery, clearing the way by destroying the trees and rolling stones ahead.
Jin and He Jian each opened a window in the back seat, half-climbing out. Jin took a deep breath and let out a lion's roar.
The shattered wood was flung up, smashing onto the pursuing private cars, causing them to swerve out of control.
He Jian raised his hand, blowing air, and mist rose from the ground, enveloping the area in a dense fog. Motorcycles charged into the fog, making loud crashes, continuously being impeded.
"Let's go!" He Jian waved his hand, throwing the Xuan Guang Jin Dou out of the window!
Jin: "Hey! Be careful with that!"
The Xuan Guang Jin Dou, heavy like a discus, about ten kilograms, was thrown by He Jian like a frisbee, overturning a motorcyclist. With a flick of his wrist, it flew back into the car.
Jiang Hong: "Back at the complex again, huh! What do we do?"
Lu Xiu made a hand gesture and said firmly, "Get closer!"
Jiang Hong drove back towards Mai Qing's villa complex. Lu Xiu focused on the three-story building of the Mai family. Jiang Hong turned the car sideways, and in the few seconds it took to turn the car around, the view from the driver and passenger windows briefly swept across the windows of the three-story building.
Jiang Hong felt as if someone was watching him from behind the windows.
Lu Xiu, pointing at the villa a hundred meters away, unleashed a black flame from his hand that howled like a meteor, trailing fire as it flew towards the window, exploding on impact. The back of the villa was breached, and the black fire shot into the sky.
Lu Xiu's move interrupted the opponent's spellcasting, returning the world to normal. He then shouted, "Now's our chance, let's get out of here!"
Jiang Hong immediately accelerated, quickly leaving the complex far behind.
"The Exorcism Committee's people are here," Lu Xiu glanced back, rolling up the window, and said, "No matter what checks we encounter on the road, don't admit we're exorcists."
Finally breathing a sigh of relief, Jiang Hong took a moment to catch his breath, thinking how thrilling the experience had been.
"The Map of Mountains and Rivers," Zhang Xiting said, "How could Mai Qing, a Feng Shui master, possess such an artifact?"
Jiang Hong: "Is that something very powerful?"
He Jian: "Isn't the Map of Mountains and Rivers under the custody of the Exorcism Committee?"
Lu Xiu's face remained somber, and he stayed silent.
Jin explained to Jiang Hong: "It's one of the most powerful artifacts, a 'Heaven'-grade one, guarded by the Exorcism Committee."
Jiang Hong: "Oh, so why is it in the hands of a Feng Shui master like Mai Qing?"
Jiang Hong was just following the conversation, not yet realizing the seriousness of the issue. At this time, a peculiar change occurred again in Nanshan, with dark clouds enveloping the area behind the Botanical Garden, thunderclouds rolling, and a massive beast seemed to be churning within the clouds.
"The most serious problem is that some high-ranking members of the Exorcism Committee are in cahoots with Mai Qing," Zhang Xiting said, "I need to warn my father right away."
Jiang Hong: "Oh... A traitor in the higher ranks? That is indeed serious... Wait a minute..."
Jiang Hong suddenly remembered the somewhat familiar figure he saw on the second floor of the Mai family's house. Who was that?
"Focus on driving," Lu Xiu reminded.
Sure enough, there were roadblocks set up on the way down the mountain, and people were being interrogated.
Jiang Hong rolled down the window, suddenly coming face to face with an exorcist.
Jiang Hong couldn't recall the exorcist's name but remembered that he was one of Xu Xuyang's colleagues who had gone to the hospital together to subdue the bat demon.
Jiang Hong smiled, about to exchange pleasantries, when the exorcist glanced at Lu Xiu sitting in the passenger seat, said nothing more, and let them pass, telling his colleagues, "They're one of us."
"Are they afraid we're smuggling out the target?" Jin asked.
"Hmm," Zhang Xiting observed the surroundings at the foot of the mountain. They didn't encounter any more checks along the way.
"Let's check the artifact."
He Jian and Jin began examining the Xuan Guang Jin Dou, while Jiang Hong occasionally looked back. Once they reached Binjiang Road, they found a parking lot and slowly pulled over to park.
"Where to now?" Zhang Xiting asked, "Going to your place? Shouldn't we head back to Xi'an soon? Today's the last day."
"Let me check first." Autumn Name Mountain car god Jiang Hong, having raced in Nanshan, finally calmed his adrenaline rush, starting to worry.
Everyone: "???"
Jiang Hong got out of the car, walked around to the back. He had heard several thuds earlier, leading to a bad premonition...
"We're doomed—!!!" Jiang Hong freaked out instantly.
The rear hatch of the Mercedes was dented in, the back of the car was a mess, with two dents in the rear door and a broken tail light.
Lu Xiu: "......"
Everyone stood by sympathetically, observing Jiang Hong's handiwork; even the car's chassis was damaged.
"I'll buy you a new one," Lu Xiu said, "How much does this car cost?"
Jiang Hong, holding his head in his hands: "A new one is no use! How am I going to explain this to my dad... It's all over!"
