Chapter 318: Stirring The Grass To Startle The Snake.

For the first time, Li Xiaofei felt real pressure. In front of an opponent like the Realm of Traces, even the slightest mistake could lead to fatal consequences.

"You should head back," Li Xiaofei said, his gaze fixed on Yu Youyu, his tone more serious than ever before. "Wait for my message, and remember, don’t try to do anything on your own. Don’t trust anyone else either."

"I will," Yu Youyu responded, placing her absolute trust in him.

After sending Yu Youyu off, Li Xiaofei sat down in his office. He pulled out a sheet of paper and started to scribble down notes.

This was a habit he had developed five hundred years ago. Whenever he encountered a truly difficult situation, he would sit down and calmly list every problematic obstacle in his path, thinking through each one repeatedly until he figured out how to solve them. He did this over and over.

An hour later. He had over ten sheets in front of him that were filled with notes. He had finally worked out most of the details. Li Xiaofei clasped his hands together, crushing all the papers into powder. He had an idea of what he needed to do.

There was one more extremely important thing other than Ye Liuying that he needed to confirm. Since the Realm of Traces had already arrived in Liuhe Base City and arrested Ye Liuying, it also meant that Hu Yuer’s situation had become incredibly dangerous.

Has she been exposed? Is she already under surveillance?

These questions were crucial. If Hu Yuer was at risk of exposure, Li Xiaofei would need to make arrangements to have her leave as quickly as possible. He couldn’t afford to involve the school in this mess.

If that happened, not only would the school face consequences, but the Cloudy Sky Gang and even Li Xiaofei himself would be plunged into a crisis. Moreover, if Hu Yuer was exposed, then all efforts to rescue Ye Liuying would be rendered meaningless.

However, Li Xiaofei didn’t contact Hu Yuer right away. He had a gut feeling that he, too, might be under surveillance. Any move he made could be seized upon by the enemy, magnified, and used against him.

It might have sounded like paranoia. But considering his own unclean background, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.

Li Xiaofei had already made a contingency plan in case things took a turn for the worse. If he did fall into a trap, he would make absolutely sure that Tan Qingying wouldn’t get dragged into the mess related to Old Tan’s matters.

For the first time since arriving in this era, Li Xiaofei mentally prepared himself for the possibility of death.

He left his office. Riding his motorcycle, he headed toward the military base. Before making any decisions, he needed to understand the situation more and gather as much useful information as possible. After all, the adage went ‘know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never lose a hundred battles’.

Soon, he arrived just outside the military camp. He immediately noticed something unusual. The camp felt different from before. There was a tense atmosphere lingering in the air.

Taking out his Qinling Badge, Li Xiaofei requested an audience with Ding Longao, the commander of the stationed troops. After all, Ye Liuying was a military officer. Her arrest meant that Ding Longao would likely have access to some insider information.

Moments later, a young officer, Wu Junzhuang, walked out.

"Commander Mai requests your presence," he said, gesturing for Li Xiaofei to follow.

Commander Mai?

Li Xiaofei was puzzled by the name.

Since when did someone named Mai arrive?

The expression on Wu Junzhuang's face was also strange, as if he didn’t recognize Li Xiaofei. A moment later, they entered the military reception room.

"President Li, haha, I’ve heard a lot about the biggest boss in Liuhe Base City," said Acting Commander Mai Zixiong, sitting behind his desk with a faint smile. "I’ve wanted to meet you ever since I took office. But I didn’t expect you'd come knocking on my door today."

His tone was anything but friendly.

Li Xiaofei didn’t back down. "I came to see Commander Ding."

"Oh? You don’t know yet?" Mai Zixiong feigned surprise. "Ding Longao was arrested for harboring the heretic Ye Liuying."

Li Xiaofei’s heart sank.

Old Ding was arrested too?

The situation was even worse than he had anticipated.

"How could Goddess Ye be a heretic?" Li Xiaofei responded, "Could there be a mistake?"

Mai Zixiong, with a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes, said, "The detectives from the Realm of Traces never make mistakes. If you really want to meet them, perhaps you could try the heretic prison."

Li Xiaofei understood the situation. He turned to leave.

"Stop right there." Mai Zixiong barked coldly, "Do you think this military camp is a place where you can come and go as you please?"

Li Xiaofei turned back with a smile. "What’s this? You want to detain me?"

Mai Zixiong slowly stood up, his expression darkening as he said, "Do you think I wouldn’t dare?"

Li Xiaofei replied calmly, "You’re no match for me. Do you believe me when I say that I could turn you into a corpse in three moves?"

Mai Zixiong’s face twisted with anger as the tension in the air spiked. Suddenly, Mai Zixiong broke into laughter.

"Haha, just joking around. No need to take it seriously," he said, his expression softening. " Young people really don’t know how to respect their elders these days... Oh, and send my regards to my old friends, Chen Fei and Qin Dewei."

Li Xiaofei’s heart stirred.

"You know them?" he asked.

Mai Zixiong chuckled meaningfully. "Old friends. You can ask them yourself and find out."

Li Xiaofei’s eyes narrowed as he replied, "They better really be friends."

He turned and left without another word.

Behind him, Mai Zixiong watched Li Xiaofei's retreating figure with a sly grin.

"Hehehe..." Mai Zixiong chuckled to himself, the cunning smile never fading.

Stirring the grass to startle the snake.

***

After leaving the military camp, Li Xiaofei’s expression was grim. He made a call to Chen Fei via his light core device.

"Mai Zixiong?" Chen Fei sounded surprised over the phone. "That scum still dares to show up in Liuhe?"

"Is there a story?" Li Xiaofei asked. "Is he a bad person?"

"Bad person?" Chen Fei’s voice carried an uncharacteristic hint of killing intent. "Calling him a bad person would be too kind. He’s a traitor, scum, worse than a pig or a dog... Whatever you do, don’t tell Old Qin about this. He might get agitated, and his condition could worsen."

"Understood."

Li Xiaofei hesitated before sharing everything he knew about the situation.

"The Realm of Traces?" Chen Fei was shocked. "I didn’t see that coming... Listen, you absolutely must not get involved any further in this. Just come back and focus on your classes. This is way beyond what you can handle."

Li Xiaofei replied, "Got it."

After hanging up, Li Xiaofei hesitated again before making another private call. When Li Zhoumin answered, Li Xiaofei recounted everything that had happened.

"This is something you must stop investigating," Li Zhoumin said, his tone serious. "This is far beyond your capabilities. When the Inquisition sets its sights on something, no one in the world can change it. If you dig any deeper, you might find yourself caught in their trap as well."

Li Xiaofei chuckled, "Teacher, I know that. I just... I want to see Ye Liuying. Is there any way?"

"She’s in such a predicament, and you still want to see her?" Li Zhoumin asked, clearly displeased.

Li Xiaofei sighed, "I can’t help it. I like her."

"Hmm?"

Li Zhoumin was taken aback by his response.

Li Xiaofei continued, "North of the Qilian Mountains, Liuying is the most beautiful... Teacher, to be honest, I’ve been hopelessly captivated ever since I first laid eyes on her. If I don’t see her again, I fear my martial heart will have a flaw."

"You..." Li Zhoumin was furious.

He hadn’t expected that the student he had high hopes for, a future Saint of Great Xia, would fall into such a common love affair.

"Oh, by the way, Teacher, it seems I’ve made another breakthrough in my strength. I should be able to face a regular Golden Body Realm expert head-on now," Li Xiaofei added.

"What?" Li Zhoumin’s tone shifted to one of delight. "You brat... Well, alright, give me a moment. I’ll see what I can find out."

After hanging up the phone, Li Xiaofei leaned against his motorcycle and lit a cigarette, patiently waiting. About half an hour later, he got a call back.

Li Zhoumin’s voice said, "Remember this phone number. Call it and talk to them. If they’re willing to help, you might be able to see Ye Liuying. Keep in mind, this person is greedy."