94. Seize the golden opportunity on the front lines.

“Of course, I mean no disrespect to you, Grand Elder. As you said, if there isn’t enough evidence, then any accusation is baseless. But what about our Xie Wuji? All you have is speculation, nothing substantial. If he’s innocent, wouldn’t that be tragic?” Ji Liancheng replied with a smile.

Ding Desheng glanced at Ding Xuanming, who nodded. Ding Xuanming stepped forward and said, “It’s said that the Sect Leader’s second disciple, Ji Liancheng, is brilliant and cunning. Meeting you in person, I see your reputation is well deserved. If you refuse to let us take him away, so be it, but during this investigation, Xie Wuji is not permitted to leave Danxia Sect, not even for a step!”

“Good, now the matter is clear,” Ji Liancheng said. “This gives us time to catch the real culprit who helped Simen escape, and everyone will have ample opportunity to prepare. At least we won’t mistakenly arrest the wrong person, right?”

“Let’s go!” Ding Desheng called to his disciples.

A crowd had arrived in force, but now, unwilling though they were, none dared defy the Grand Elder’s wishes and so they departed, disgruntled.

The crowded plaza suddenly quieted. Dongmen Yong frowned and asked, “Wuji, why did you go looking for Simen?”

“Wasn’t it for the three thousand pills? You said the Grand Elder, being our sect’s foremost alchemist, would never teach me willingly. He just wanted to see me fail. As for seeking Simen, while his alchemy is unconventional, he is still a master. I went to consult him, hoping to learn new methods,” Xie Wuji replied, cupping his hands in respect.

Dongmen Yong nodded thoughtfully. “The three thousand pills was Elder Ding’s way to make things difficult for you. If you failed to resolve it, the responsibility would fall to me as your master. But you managed to pull through. Clearly, this business with Simen is related to Elder Ding. This time, it’s far more serious than the pills. If you’re found guilty—associating with a rogue like Simen and saving his life—the Hall of Justice will bring you to trial immediately…”

“By the way, Master, about the Ten-Thousand Demons Hall…” Xie Wuji took out his phone.

Dongmen Yong had seen the phone several times before, so he assumed it was Xie Wuji’s spiritual device, capable of displaying images, and had no suspicion.

Dongmen Yong took the phone, put on the headphones Xie Wuji handed him, and his expression changed.

To outsiders, the device was intriguing, and the headphones prevented eavesdropping.

Dongmen Yong spoke in a low voice, “Where did you get this footage?”

Xie Wuji explained honestly, though he didn’t mention Chu Sheng. Dongmen Yong said, “Just keep this to yourself; no need to share it with others…”

Just then, Xie Wuji’s phone had another film queued up—a little movie featuring a Japanese actress. As soon as the previous video ended, the movie started playing.

The unmistakable sounds startled Dongmen Yong, who stiffened and stared wide-eyed. “You rascal, why did you record such things?”

“It… someone else gave it to me,” Xie Wuji replied, embarrassed.

Dongmen Jianhao, puzzled, asked, “Father, what are you watching? Why’s your face so odd?”

Dongmen Yong quickly hid the phone behind his back, saying, “Ahem, I was discussing important matters with Wuji. Wuji… this spiritual device is impressive. Prepare a set for me as well. I want to study it carefully as your master…”

Xie Wuji chuckled quietly. “Master, then this phone—oh, I mean this spiritual device—can be my gift to you. The controls are a bit tricky; let me show you…”

He taught Dongmen Yong the basics of operation. Dongmen Yong was delighted and immediately went off to study his new phone.

At this moment, Yang Hongliu slipped over and bumped Xie Wuji with his hip. “I saw that! You hid such a treasure. Get me one, too!”

“Alright…” Xie Wuji replied, sweating. “Fine, I’ll prepare a spiritual device for every brother here. This is an exclusive item.”

After all, Xie Wuji had made a fair bit of silver selling noodles, buns, and pills. The silver could be exchanged in the real world for yuan, and then he could buy many things. A phone was no problem.

With his current assets, Xie Wuji could easily have over two hundred thousand.

Of course, there was no signal here; the phones could only run offline games or play videos.

Dongmen Qianyun, her cheeks flushed, said, “Brother Xie, won’t you get one for me?”

“Of course, everyone gets one!” Xie Wuji replied. A mid-range phone only cost a couple thousand; since there was no internet here, it hardly mattered.

But then Feilong, always the shrewd businessman, spoke up, “Brother Xie, this device is called a phone, right? I’ve never heard of it. If we promote it, couldn’t we make a fortune?”

Feilong’s reminder made Xie Wuji slap his forehead. “You’re smart! Why didn’t I think of that? But if we’re going to promote it, we need a signal tower and someplace to charge them.”

“I think you’re discussing the wrong topic,” Ji Liancheng interjected, sweating. “Shouldn’t we be talking about the Grand Elder and Simen?”

Xie Wuji waved dismissively. “Let it be. That old man is clearly setting me up. I’ll handle whatever comes.”

With that, Xie Wuji left the plaza and climbed to the rooftop of the Alchemy Hall. He examined the surroundings and realized it was the perfect spot for a mobile signal tower. Being a phone enthusiast, Xie Wuji knew a bit about transmitters; these towers emit electromagnetic radiation, and the waves decay quickly as they travel.

Furthermore, electromagnetic waves are weakened fourfold when passing through brick walls, so the higher the tower, the better. To install one here, he’d need a base station, or else connect to real-world signals.

If he used real-world signals, he couldn’t bring optical cables across, so a base station was the only option.

As luck would have it, one of his neighbors in his rented apartment was a tech geek who cared a lot about phones. Xie Wuji thought of asking him for help, but he’d have to return to the real world first.

There was no hurry, so Xie Wuji continued to manage things here.

“Brother Xie, do you need help?” Dongmen Qianyun asked, seeing how busy he was.

Xie Wuji looked up, wiped sweat from his forehead, and asked, “Hey, where’s Master and the others?”

“They saw you rush into the Alchemy Hall and thought you had work to do, so they all left. Only I stayed behind,” Dongmen Qianyun replied.

Xie Wuji smiled, “Oh, you changed your hairstyle today?”

Dongmen Qianyun used to wear a ponytail; now her long hair fell to her shoulders, reaching her waist, and her locks were styled into a lovely knot, resembling a blooming lotus.

“Does it look good?” Dongmen Qianyun swayed lightly.

“It looks beautiful. My Qianyun looks good in anything, and any hairstyle suits her,” Xie Wuji said, smiling.

Hearing his praise, Dongmen Qianyun felt as though she’d tasted honey—sweet and warm.

She stole a glance at Xie Wuji. “So you’re finally agreeing to marry me?”

“Huh?” Xie Wuji was stunned.

“You said I’m yours…” Dongmen Qianyun said, covering her face.

Xie Wuji laughed, “Well, you are one of us. Your brother is one of us, Feilong and Shouhu are one of us, too. Does that mean I’ll marry a whole bunch of men?”

“You—you scoundrel!” Dongmen Qianyun kicked him. “You’re not allowed to misuse that word ‘family’!”

Realizing her mistake, Dongmen Qianyun’s face burned redder still.

Xie Wuji thought she was angry, but in truth she was mortified.

“These days, I’ve really been worried about you. My brother and the others came back, but you didn’t… Did you go to see your sweetheart?” Dongmen Qianyun huffed.