Ye Qiu woke up to find the room shrouded in darkness.
“Awake?” The Dragon King, sitting by the bed, asked with a smile.
“Where am I?” Ye Qiu asked.
“You’re at my place. You fainted earlier, so I brought you back. The doctor said you were just too exhausted.”
The Dragon King walked to the window and pulled open the curtains.
Instantly, the setting sun poured in like mercury, casting a warm glow on Ye Qiu’s face, adding a touch of color to his pale complexion.
Using the tracking talisman had drained Ye Qiu’s energy significantly. His cultivation level was limited, and after using it twice consecutively, he had attempted a third time, resulting in a backlash that caused him to vomit blood and faint.
“How long did I sleep?” Ye Qiu asked again.
“Not long, three or four hours, maybe.”
“What, I slept that long?” Ye Qiu sat up and asked, “Did you find Chen Dong?”
“We have a lead. Zhao Yun is investigating. Also, there’s news about the sender. We should have them soon,” the Dragon King said with a smile. “If you’re still tired, you should rest a bit more.”
“I’m already rested.”
As soon as Ye Qiu finished speaking, the door to the room was pushed open.
Zhao Yun rushed in excitedly, saying, “Dragon King, I found Chen Dong and also located the sender.”
“Where?”
“At the Gude Temple!”
“Then what are we waiting for? Gather a few brothers, and let’s go.”
“Dragon King, you should stay here with Ye Qiu. I’ll take the brothers to catch them,” Zhao Yun suggested.
The Dragon King shook his head and said, “I want to meet the people from the Shaman God Sect personally.”
“I’m going too,” Ye Qiu said, quickly getting out of bed.
Immediately, Zhao Yun called four or five brothers, and a group of them headed to Gude Temple in a grand manner.
Half an hour later.
The car stopped by the roadside.
Ye Qiu looked up and saw, through the car window, a temple with exotic architecture standing two hundred meters ahead.
This temple was different from the traditional ones they usually saw; its design resembled an ancient Greek temple.
Above the temple’s entrance hung a horizontal plaque with three characters engraved on it:
Gude Temple!
Zhao Yun said, “Chen Dong is inside the Gude Temple. To avoid alerting them, we’ll get off here.”
“Alright,” the Dragon King and Ye Qiu got out of the car.
Zhao Yun then instructed the brothers he brought, “Listen up, block the back door of Gude Temple. Remember, no one is allowed to enter or leave without my order.”
“Yes.”
Then, Ye Qiu, the Dragon King, and Zhao Yun walked slowly towards the main gate of Gude Temple.
Along the way, Ye Qiu observed quietly.
On both sides of the road were small eateries, with few people around, giving a somewhat desolate feeling.
Nothing unusual was noticed.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the main gate.
The temple gate was wide open.
Zhao Yun stepped in first, followed closely by Ye Qiu and the Dragon King.
“Why is there no one here?” Ye Qiu looked at the scene in front of him, puzzled.
Normally, there would be monks and worshippers in a temple, but here, there was no one in sight.
Zhao Yun replied, “I found out that Gude Temple has had very few visitors in recent years. There are only an abbot and two disciples here, and this is the time they do their evening prayers.”
“What about Chen Dong?”
“He’s inside. Follow me.”
Zhao Yun led the Dragon King and Ye Qiu through several corridors, finally stopping at the entrance of a courtyard.
Zhao Yun pointed to the courtyard and said, “This is where the worshippers stay. Chen Dong is inside.”
“Let’s go in and take a look.”
The three of them entered the courtyard.
Still, no one was seen, only a row of rooms with doors closed.
“Where is he?” Ye Qiu asked in a low voice.
“He should be in one of these rooms,” Zhao Yun said.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew in from outside.
Ye Qiu shivered, a sense of unease spreading from the bottom of his heart. He asked, “Brother Zhao, how do you know Chen Dong is here?”
“My men found out,” Zhao Yun said. “One of them saw on the surveillance footage that Chen Dong hid in Gude Temple at six this morning. Later, this brother disguised as a worshipper and heard Chen Dong telling the abbot that he wanted to stay here for a few days, and the abbot agreed.”
“Is this brother reliable?”
“Reliable.”
“What about the person who sent cash to Chen Dong?”
“Also here,” Zhao Yun said. “I had someone check, and the sender’s address is Gude Temple. My men also found that the sender is hiding in Gude Temple.”
This is too much of a coincidence. Both Chen Dong and the sender are hiding in Gude Temple.
Ye Qiu frowned and continued to ask, “Brother Zhao, when did the sender hide in Gude Temple?”
“Last night.”
“Last night? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Ye Qiu’s face suddenly turned serious.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Yun asked.
“This doesn’t make sense!” Ye Qiu said. “The package sent to Chen Dong was dispatched at eight this morning, which is after Chen Dong entered Gude Temple. In other words, if the sender hid in Gude Temple last night, then before sending the package, Chen Dong was already in Gude Temple. They should have met.”
Zhao Yun was stunned for a moment and said, “Maybe the sender didn’t know Chen Dong was hiding in Gude Temple?”
“Do you think that’s possible? This temple is only so big. If Chen Dong moved in, wouldn’t the sender know?”
“If they had already met, why would they still send a package to Chen Dong?”
Zhao Yun was also confused.
Ye Qiu had already thought of a possibility, but he found it hard to believe. He looked at the Dragon King.
At this moment, the Dragon King’s face was also very serious. He said, “If I’m not mistaken, this is all a plot by the Shaman God Sect.”
“A plot? What plot?”
“To lure us into a trap!”
Just as the Dragon King finished speaking, there was a loud “bang” as a room door opened, and a man walked out.
He was short, with a round face and short hair, and a small black mole on his chin.
“Chen Dong!”
Zhao Yun immediately recognized the man.
Chen Dong’s gaze fell on the Dragon King’s face, and he laughed, “You’re not too stupid, old man. You saw through my plan, but unfortunately, it’s too late.”
“What do you mean?” Zhao Yun shouted.
“I’ve been waiting for you all. Fortunately, you didn’t disappoint me and finally found this place,” Chen Dong said, clapping his hands.
Instantly, four figures rushed out from the room and stood beside Chen Dong.
Seeing the number of people on the other side, Zhao Yun quickly said, “Ye Qiu, take the Dragon King and leave.”
“We can’t get out,” Ye Qiu sighed.
Zhao Yun turned to look at the courtyard entrance and saw a familiar face smiling at him, causing his pupils to contract sharply.
“It’s you!”