Chapter 150: A White Cat Takes a Life in a Single Swipe

Lin Xiaosu said, "Last night, when you orchestrated the scheme of using the ghost flute to command the insects, you exposed three points that are extremely fatal!"

"Three points... fatal?" The mother's brows locked tightly... No, at this moment, it had already been proven that he was Chu Tiankuo.

"First point: this robotic flying insect, equipped with an audio playback device and female blood-sucking flying ant pheromones, is of remarkably high technological grade. It is standard top-tier equipment of the Hidden Dragon organization. Just based on this single robotic flying insect, I concluded that the person behind the attack is none other than you, the Hidden Dragon traitor, Chu Tiankuo!"

"I didn't expect that when faced with the blood-sucking flying ants, you didn't flee, but instead precisely located that robotic flying insect. Therefore, this flaw wasn't a flaw in the strategy itself," Chu Tiankuo said. "What about the second point?"

"The second point is that the control of this robotic flying insect relies on a signal chain. That very chain is the reason why I locked my sights on Yixiang's old house."

"So it turns out I underestimated Hidden Dragon's latest technology! It really is 'a few days in the mountains, a millennium in the mortal world,'" Chu Tiankuo sighed softly. "And the third point?"

He attributed this to technology.

In fact, he was wrong.

Lin Xiaosu had used a technique to trace back through spacetime; he did not rely on any new Hidden Dragon technology. In truth, to this day, Hidden Dragon possessed no such advanced technology capable of precisely intercepting specially encrypted signal chains. However, Chu Tiankuo was unaware of this and simply jumped to the conclusion that Hidden Dragon had developed breakthrough technology.

"The third point is a matter of logical deduction!" Lin Xiaosu said. "Your objective was to use the ghost flute and the insects to instigate a direct conflict between Yixiang and me, allowing you to reap the benefits as the third party. But reaping the benefits as a fisherman requires a prerequisite: you had to be close enough to us to launch a surprise attack. Who was closest to our battlefield? Or rather, who was in the position to be closest to us? Undoubtedly, only you, disguised as her mother."

Chu Tiankuo let out a long breath. "Three fatal points... three fatal points. Hearing you put it this way, I realize that the ingenious scheme I meticulously designed truly doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Is there a fourth point?"

"The fourth point isn't crucial, but it is quite interesting!" Lin Xiaosu said. "That would be your habit."

"A habit?"

"Yes. A year ago, your temperament underwent a drastic change, and you became extremely xenophobic toward outsiders. Whenever a Han person entered your courtyard, you would directly drive them out with a stick. Why? Because you knew that the vast majority of people within Hidden Dragon are Han. Under the guise of protecting Yixiang, you were actually evading Hidden Dragon's reconnaissance. Even more interestingly, when facing me—a quintessential Han person—you actually put down your carrying pole, picked up your back basket, and headed up the mountain to avoid the conflict that would arise from my entering your courtyard. You knew that a detective of my caliber couldn't be chased away with a stick, so you chose to open your doors to a guest, executing a decisive, ultimate strategy to eliminate future troubles once and for all!"

"The Divine Detective of Fengcheng truly lives up to his reputation. I am genuinely impressed!" Chu Tiankuo let out a long sigh.

These words and that deep sigh declared that everything Lin Xiaosu had stated was as solid as iron.

Yixiang trembled all over. "You... a year ago, you had already..."

"Yes. In this old house of yours, I've already spent a New Year's festival! Although the Han New Year isn't the same as the Miao New Year, I still ate a New Year's Eve dinner on that night. You even asked me back then if there was something joyous to celebrate. Unfortunately, you aren't a detective, so you failed to catch the only flaw I ever revealed in your presence," Chu Tiankuo said with a hint of emotion.

Yixiang's mind completely collapsed at this moment.

He had moved into the old house as early as last year!

The mother she had lived with day in and day out had been this person for an entire year!

This was terrifying beyond measure!

Lin Xiaosu said, "If my guess is correct, her father was actually pushed off the cliff by you, wasn't he?"

As soon as this question was asked, Yixiang's heart tightened violently.

When climbing the mountain, he had seemingly asked about her father's death quite casually, while also raising a doubt: why would a generation's Witch God, who had spent his entire life gathering herbs and knew every blade of grass, every stone, and every slope of these mountains like the back of his hand, accidentally fall to his death?

Now, a horrifying question lay before her.

Was it murder?

Chu Tiankuo smiled. "Just as you said, the cards are already on the table, so there's no need for concealment anymore. The generation's Witch God—I pushed him off the cliff with my own hands."

Yixiang abruptly raised her head, her gaze entirely transformed at that instant. "Then... my mother? Where is she?"

When this question was posed, Lin Xiaosu's heart tightened.

This was a question he did not wish to face.

Because the answer was glaringly obvious.

Facial disguise and impersonation require the original person to be eliminated to prevent discovery.

For someone like Chu Tiankuo, who intended to impersonate her mother, how could her mother possibly be allowed to live?

He undoubtedly would have casually dug a pit and buried her deep. Therefore, what she should have asked wasn't "Where is she?", but rather "Where is she buried?!"

In a single day, she learned the truth of one parent being murdered, while simultaneously losing the other.

The world was truly this cruel.

Yet, Chu Tiankuo smiled instead. "You knew your mother was still alive?"

"Her natal Gu worm is still alive! She must still be alive!" Yixiang said. "Answer my question immediately: where is my mother?"

Every single word of that final sentence was hammered out!

Lin Xiaosu's heart leaped wildly...

Her natal Gu worm was still alive, therefore her mother was still alive...

This touched upon the most mystical realm of Miao sorcery...

Precisely because of the existence of this sorcery, Chu Tiankuo had not dared to kill her mother. For if her mother died, the natal Gu worm would die; and once the natal Gu worm died, her mother could no longer be produced alive.

Chu Tiankuo would thus have lost the opportunity to impersonate her.

Therefore, her mother was still alive today!

Chu Tiankuo said, "Now you face a choice! Choose him, or choose your mother!"

Yixiang shuddered violently. "What did you say?"

Chu Tiankuo continued, "If I die, no one in this world will know where your mother is. If you cooperate with me and kill him, I can return your mother to you! That... is the choice before you."

At this moment, Yixiang's eyes were webbed with layers of crimson, filled with boundless rage...

In her lifetime, she had faced many choices.

Upon graduating from university, she had faced the choice of living in a metropolis or returning to the Miao village.

After returning to the Miao village, she had faced the choice of how to live.

When her mother's personality underwent a drastic shift, she had faced the choice of obedience or rebellion...

Today, she faced an even crueler choice...

The enemy before her had killed her father, and she loathed him to the core.

Yet Lin Xiaosu, standing beside her, had uncovered the truth of her father's death and helped her find the enemy who had murdered her father and imprisoned her mother.

In theory, there was no choice to be made: she should join forces with Lin Xiaosu and kill the man before them!

However, the cruel reality lay bare: no one else knew the location of her mother's imprisonment. If she refused his condition, her mother would undoubtedly die.

Lin Xiaosu smiled faintly. "Chu Tiankuo, you truly are someone adept at creating opportunities. But before me, not a single opportunity you create will ever succeed!"

"Is that so?" A cruel smile hung on Chu Tiankuo's face. "You probably don't understand a Miao woman's feelings for her mother."

"You probably don't understand either that my specialty is finding people!" Lin Xiaosu said. "Yixiang, I've already found where your mother is located!"

Yixiang cried out, "Where?"

"That large tree—there is a hollow in it! Your mother is inside..." Lin Xiaosu raised a hand, pointing toward an ancient tree on the left. It was a massive tree, half withered and half lush with foliage.

Yixiang dashed toward that large tree.

Chu Tiankuo's expression shifted abruptly.

Suddenly, he took a step forward!

His movement technique was incomparably swift. In the blink of an eye, the black dagger in his hand was only five inches away from Lin Xiaosu's throat.

However, the dagger in Lin Xiaosu's hand was only three inches away from his throat.

His speed was fast; Lin Xiaosu's reaction was faster.

He had struck Lin Xiaosu with absolute suddenness.

Lin Xiaosu countered him with calm readiness.

This was their opening exchange.

Then, human figures vanished entirely!

On the hillside, it seemed as though there were ten thousand figures, yet it also appeared entirely empty.

One was a former gold-tier operative, number 37, of Hidden Dragon.

The other was a super detective who practiced ancient martial arts to a profound realm, his cultivation constantly breaking through.

As their fierce battle unfolded, every single move was perilously lethal, every strike utterly unexpected. What they pitted against one another was speed, strength, and survival amidst complex and treacherous terrain...

Yixiang had already reached the base of the large tree. The tree was surrounded by a thicket of thorn bushes, through which an ordinary person couldn't even force their way. But Yixiang cared nothing for this; she charged straight in. Her hands were lacerated and dripping with blood from the external thorns, but she finally reached the tree. At first glance, the trunk looked normal, but upon closer inspection, a remarkably concealed seam ran through the bark. Pulling back the bark revealed a cleverly disguised secret door.

Yixiang cast her gaze into the gloomy hollow of the ancient tree and instantly burst into tears.

An elderly woman lay inside the tree hollow, emaciated to skin and bones, her original features entirely unrecognizable...

With a deafening roar accompanied by the clashing of metal, a figure soared up from the hillside and lunged toward Yixiang.

It was none other than Chu Tiankuo.

After exchanging at least a hundred moves in fierce combat with Lin Xiaosu, he had gradually fallen into a disadvantage. Finally seizing an opening, he broke through the encirclement. Once escaped, he gained a turning point: taking Yixiang hostage to create a new opportunity...

The thought formed, and he was already behind Yixiang.

He reached out to lock her throat.

However, at that very instant, a flash of white light swept past from before them.

Rip!

A bloody hole appeared right between his eyebrows.

At the very top of the ancient tree, a small cat's eyes burned with fierce hostility, one of its sharp paws dripping with blood.

Chu Tiankuo's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the small cat, slowly collapsing to the ground...

He was intimately familiar with this small cat.

It was a pet cat kept by Yixiang. Back when he resided in the old house, he could stroke its fur whenever he pleased. Yet today, a single claw from this cat had killed him!

Down in the thicket, like a giant serpent slithering past, the wind rose and vanished. A figure materialized before Lin Xiaosu—a village woman.

She was, of course, no village woman; she was the Blue Demon.

When the Blue Demon entered the Miao village, she had used a transformation technique, but she hadn't dared to approach too closely for fear of alarming the fish she intended to catch.

Consequently, when the battle between Lin Xiaosu and Chu Tiankuo erupted, she was still on a neighboring mountain peak.

She had pushed her speed to the absolute limit, but by the time she arrived, the battle had already concluded.

Chu Tiankuo was dead.

He had not died at the hands of human adversaries, but under the paw of a small cat.

This delivered a profound shock to the elite operative...

Lin Xiaosu gave her a slight wave of his hand.

The Blue Demon vanished abruptly.

Lin Xiaosu walked toward the tree hollow, where Yixiang, her face streaming with tears, was gently lifting her mother out. She moved with utmost care, as though terrified that her mother might fall apart.

Naturally, she paid no attention whatsoever to the appearance and disappearance of the Blue Demon.

Lin Xiaosu reached out his hand. "Let me!"

Extending his arms, he gently lifted her mother and sprinted back to Yixiang's courtyard. Yixiang followed closely behind every step of the way, consumed with anxiety.

At last, her mother was laid upon the bed.

Yixiang rushed into the innermost bedroom and emerged carrying a small jar containing a plump, white worm. She placed the worm upon her mother's brow, and the creature suddenly extended countless tentacle-like feelgers, piercing her mother's forehead like silver needles.

A miraculous sight ensued.

Her mother's complexion shifted instantly from ashen pale to rosy.

Yixiang let out a long breath. "Xiaowu!"

The pure white turtle Lin Xiaosu had seen earlier poked its head out from beside the doorway, leaped up, scampered into the room, and jumped onto the bed. It bit down sharply on her mother's nostril, and from that nostril crawled out a long green-headed worm, fully three inches in length.

Yixiang produced a small glass vial and dropped the worm inside.

Her expression grew dark once more.

"How is your mother?" Lin Xiaosu, having watched the entire process, felt a deep sense of wonder.

"She'll be fine!" Yixiang said. "Thank you!"

"As long as she's alright! I'll head back to the inn first..."

"Mmm." Yixiang walked him out. Just as one of his boots crossed the courtyard threshold, she called out, "Can you come over tomorrow?"

"Is something the matter?"

"Yes, and it's very important."

"Alright!"

Lin Xiaosu stepped out of the courtyard and cast his gaze back toward the hillside. The grass was undisturbed; Chu Tiankuo's corpse was already gone.

The Blue Demon was gone as well.

He traversed the winding mountain path and the tea plantation, returning to the inn on Witch God Mountain.

His room had not been checked out; even though he hadn't slept there last night, it still belonged to him.

He re-entered the room, took a bath, and lay down upon the bed.

Until the sun sank in the west...