For Long Feicheng, who dreamed of becoming a great hero, dealing with a faulty wire and a water-averse water ghost in one night was a bit beneath him.
Yan Shouyi stifled a laugh and comforted him, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It's not wrong for you to start with small matters. If you were to encounter a ghost king-level opponent right away, you wouldn't be able to handle it."
Long Feicheng pouted and whispered, "Thirty years by the river, thirty years by the sea..."
"You sit down right there!" Yan Shouyi shot him a look. "Who do you think you're talking to? Are you playing the 'don't bully the young and poor' game with me?"
Long Feicheng's demeanor instantly changed, and he cheerfully sat back in his chair. "I was just kidding."
Yan Shouyi withdrew his gaze and addressed everyone. "Since we're all here now, there's something I'd like to mention."
Everyone immediately adopted a serious expression.
"Does everyone remember the Twelve Yuan Chen?"
The eyes of the group sharpened, and they slowly nodded.
Two of the Twelve Yuan Chen, "Yin" and "Hai," were already dead. "Hai's" soul had been captured, but unfortunately, Yan Shouyi couldn't extract any information from her.
What they currently knew was that Li Genmiao had dispatched the Twelve Yuan Chen to infiltrate various locations and blend in with prominent orthodox sects.
Their objectives were twofold: to sow discord among the major orthodox sects and to create friction between the orthodox sects and the folk cults.
After Han San and others left Rongcheng, they split into pairs and quietly investigated each other's sects.
Two months had passed, yet there had been complete silence. Yan Shouyi had received no news.
"We all know about the Twelve Yuan Chen's plot, but two months have passed, and we still haven't received any information," Yan Shouyi said gravely.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Luo Ning said. "Perhaps the Twelve Yuan Chen realized we've become vigilant and have abandoned their plans?"
Yan Shouyi shook his head. "Based on my understanding of Li Genmiao, the people from the Xin Xuan Mountain Sect would not give up. Back at Longhu Mountain and in the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, these people would stop at nothing until their objectives were met, even if they were discovered."
Wang Jiwang stroked his chin. "Indeed, this matter should be taken seriously."
"According to my analysis, the Laojiao Mountain Sect and Emei Mountain are the most likely sects to be targeted by the Twelve Yuan Chen," Yan Shouyi said. "The Laojiao Mountain Sect lacks unity, with different peaks even holding animosity towards each other, making them the easiest for the Twelve Yuan Chen to infiltrate. As for Emei Mountain, it is populated entirely by women, who are less vigilant. Furthermore, Emei Mountain's overall strength places it at the lower end among top-tier sects, making them another primary target for the Twelve Yuan Chen."
A Gong inquired, "Han San should have already gone to Laojiao Mountain with Yuan Jianxin, so there shouldn't be any problems there. However, Emei Mountain... it seems Ling Xiaoxiao went with Yan Nanfei to the Yan family first. I'm not sure if she has reached Emei Mountain yet."
Yan Shouyi pinched his brow and sighed. "That's precisely where the problem lies."
Everyone frowned, sensing something was amiss.
Zhao Yiyao asked, "Did something happen?"
Yan Shouyi took out his phone and said, "Last night, I received a text message from Yan Nanfei. Strangely, the message only contained a mysterious link."
A link, or a URL, would redirect to the corresponding website upon clicking.
He Xiping asked doubtfully, "What was the target of the link?"
Yan Shouyi shook his head. "When I clicked on it, my phone prompted 'This website is risky' and then stopped the access."
Suddenly, the council hall fell silent.
Several girls looked perplexed, their brows furrowed in thought.
The boys, on the other hand, exchanged glances, suppressing laughter, their expressions conveying a "you know what I mean" understanding.
"Ahem! Brother Yan, actually, things might not be as bad as you think. Yan Nanfei might have just wanted to share some videos with you." Weng Qianxiang said with a mischievous grin.
"Videos? What videos?" Yan Shouyi asked, confused.
Long Feicheng chimed in, "You know, those short films with a single scene, a simple plot, and only two people needed to act them out!"
"You mean..." Yan Shouyi hesitated. "Cross-talk?"
"Pfft!"
All the males present burst out laughing. Long Feicheng couldn't hold it in any longer and went to Yan Shouyi's side. "Let me see the message!"
Yan Shouyi opened the message with surprise and showed the link to Long Feicheng.
Long Feicheng clicked on the link and indeed saw the warning about the risk.
【This website is risky】.
Risky?
If it's risky, then it's correct, continue accessing!
Long Feicheng, familiar with the process, clicked to continue accessing and then stared expectantly at the phone screen.
Yan Nanfei usually seemed honest, but who knew he was also a kindred spirit, sending such good resources to Brother Yan!
I have to see what kind of videos Yan Nanfei likes.
Neon?
European and American?
Lace?
Long Feicheng thought: My preferences have always been stable; black stockings are enough.
The link took a while to load, and what appeared on Long Feicheng's screen was not the anticipated short film.
Instead, it was a string of mysterious numbers.
29, 36, 103, 29.
"Huh? What does this mean?"
Long Feicheng was completely bewildered. He tapped the screen a few more times but found no "hidden buttons" on the webpage.
The webpage was very simple, with no content other than the numbers.
"Strange!"
Long Feicheng relayed the webpage's content to everyone, who were also baffled and couldn't figure it out.
Ma Jinxuan asked, "Should we make a phone call to confirm?"
"I already tried calling, but it's not connecting," Yan Shouyi said. "Not only Yan Nanfei, but Ling Xiaoxiao's phone is also unreachable."
Strange!
Everyone realized something was wrong.
Yan Nanfei and Ling Xiaoxiao couldn't possibly be out of contact simultaneously.
And Yan Nanfei would never send Yan Shouyi a cryptic link message before going incommunicado.
Unless they had encountered danger, and in their urgency, Yan Nanfei was asking Yan Shouyi for help, but couldn't ask too directly, lest it be discovered by others.
Therefore, he went to great lengths to send this string of numbers.
"There's one more thing."
Yan Shouyi said very seriously, "The abbess of Emei Mountain, Master Guanyun, is my grandmother's junior sister. I had intended to contact Master Guanyun, but I couldn't reach her for several days. I initially thought she was just very busy, but now I realize that might not be the case."
With this statement, the speculation in everyone's minds was almost confirmed.
Everyone at Emei Mountain was out of contact!
"It seems something has indeed happened at Emei Mountain," Wang Jiwang said solemnly.
"Mm."
Yan Shouyi hummed in agreement and said, "The morning meeting today is precisely to discuss whether we should send someone to Emei Mountain to investigate. Of course, it won't just be us; I will also contact personnel from some prominent orthodox sects to go together."