"Put this in the tea."

As soon as Su Xuan stepped out of Zhong Huilan's private room, he gave the powder to a waiter. He instructed the waiter to put it in the tea before taking it to the private room occupied by Yan Xiaosong and his group.

He then entered Yan Xiaosong's private room as if nothing was amiss.

"Young Master Yan," Su Xuan said with a smile after entering. "I've already discussed it with the manager. She said she needs to work on the girl, considering we're new clients."

"She just wants more money!"

Yan Xiaosong pulled out a stack of money and threw it to the girl. "Go talk to your manager. You must keep me company tonight!"

The girl glanced at Su Xuan as she held the stack of money.

Su Xuan waved at her. "Go on, then!"

She nodded and left the private room.

Just then, a waiter entered carrying a new pot of tea and replaced the previous pots of cold herbal tea on the table.

This tea was, of course, the drugged tea. It contained the powder from Zhong Huilan.

"Young Master Yan, you must be tired from all that singing. Have some tea to soothe your throat!" Su Xuan said with a beaming smile.

"You really know how to handle things," Yan Xiaosong complimented, reaching for a cup. Just as he brought it to his lips, he paused. "You know," he said to Su Xuan, "the tea in this world below the mountain is far inferior to what we have up on the mountain. It's utterly bland and insipid. When you have the time, you should come up to the mountain with me. I'll show you what real tea tastes like!"

He had a good impression of Su Xuan and genuinely wanted to be friends with him. But he'd never actually take Su Xuan up the mountain. It wasn't because the world above forbade visitors from the world below, but because Su Xuan is too handsome. He'd steal my thunder! What would I do if my junior and senior martial sisters stopped liking me?

"Of course, it's a deal," Su Xuan said, not taking the offer seriously but feigning great interest. "I'd love to see the world on the mountain, maybe even become a Taoist and see if I can cultivate my way to a long life."

His eyes remained fixed on the cup in Yan Xiaosong's hand.

Meanwhile, Qiao Yongshou and the others also held their cups, ready to drink. After a night of drinking and singing, their throats were practically smoking. Even if the tea was terrible, they had already drunk several pots of it.

It was at this critical moment that a strange noise suddenly rang out.

BZZZT... BZZZT...

As soon as the sound began, Yan Xiaosong lowered the cup from his lips. The others followed his lead, their expressions turning solemn as all eyes focused on him.

Yan Xiaosong then took out a tomato-sized metal sphere. It had a small wooden stopper on top. The peculiar buzzing was coming from this sphere.

"We've found her!"

With a hint of excitement, Yan Xiaosong pulled the wooden stopper from the sphere.

A wisp of Dark Smoke drifted out of the opening and floated in a single direction, as if guiding them!

"The party's over for tonight!"

Yan Xiaosong's lazy demeanor vanished. He waved to his men. "Let's go get Qi Li!"

Then he turned to Su Xuan. "I'm still riding with you!"

The group immediately left the private room and hurried out of Lycar.

This left Su Xuan dumbfounded. We were only seconds away from success!

"Change of plans!"

"Stay in touch!"

As he walked out of Lycar, he secretly sent a message to Zhong Huilan. He then got into his Koenigsegg with Yan Xiaosong and drove off down the street. Qiao Yongshou and the others followed closely behind in a separate chartered car.

In the car, Yan Xiaosong cradled the metal sphere, asking Su Xuan boastfully, "Do you know what kind of treasure this is?"

"A tracking device?" Su Xuan guessed.

"You've got a sharp eye," Yan Xiaosong said with a glance at Su Xuan. "This is called a Soul-Seeking Incense. It may have looked like we were searching blindly all day, but we were actually setting up a network of these things. Now that the net is complete, we've finally sensed the girl's soul-aura and locked onto her location!"

"So it's basically like cell tower triangulation," Su Xuan remarked. "You set up points to form a network, which can then easily locate any phone connected to it."

"Er... exactly!" It was unclear if Yan Xiaosong actually knew what a cell tower was, but he nodded anyway. He then focused on the wisp of smoke emanating from the sphere, continuously giving Su Xuan directions.

These mountain folk really have some impressive things, Su Xuan murmured to himself as he drove. Ever since people from the mountain started showing up, it would be a lie to say he wasn't interested in their world. He was, in fact, extremely interested. But he would never let his curiosity tempt him into actually visiting. The reason was simple: the people from the mountain world seemed to have a strong propensity for violence. They treated killing like a game, and their society seemed primitive. He much preferred the civilized world below.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. On the surface, he was working with Yan Xiaosong. But if they actually found Qi Li, could he perhaps seize the opportunity to rescue her? The look on Yan Xiaosong's face would be priceless.

As the car drove on, the Dark Smoke from the metal sphere grew denser and the strange buzzing became more frequent. They were getting very close to Qi Li.

Meanwhile, Zhong Huilan had also left Lycar. She was sitting in a police car, tracking Su Xuan's phone and following from a distance. Su Xuan, you have to be careful...

Su Xuan had helped her so many times that she couldn't help but entertain the idea of recruiting him. But how could that be possible? He was incredibly wealthy, the boss of several companies. He would never work under her; it was more likely she'd end up working for him.

"Director Zhong, why does Su Xuan keep helping us?" the officer driving couldn't help but ask.

He was puzzled. Su Xuan had helped them catch several major criminals now. Was it really just for the bounty money?

"You still don't understand him," Zhong Huilan murmured, gazing out the window at the passing night. "Every time he acts, it's to help his own people, not purely to help us. It's also his way of repaying favors, since we've helped him before. That's just the kind of person he is. If you do him a kindness, he'll repay you tenfold. But if you cross him... well, you'll find out what happens."

"Oh," the officer said. "So he's a man of honor."

"Someone like him isn't really suited for this secular world of Red Dust," Zhong Huilan said cryptically. "He belongs in the world on the mountain. If he went there, he'd undoubtedly become an overlord."

"Director Zhong, I have to disagree," the driving officer chuckled. "He's already an overlord here. His status and wealth are terrifyingly high. A hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand people would answer his call without question!"

"Hmm..." Zhong Huilan blinked. "You're right. I suppose he is an overlord in our world, too."

"So why is he so set on helping Qi Li and Lu Dongshan this time?" the officer asked again. "They aren't his friends, are they?"

Zhong Huilan pursed her lips. "That's a long story..."

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