TGA Chapter 105

A moment later, Chu Qianli and Tan Muxing stood at the foot of Xinhé Residence, staring in surprise at the darkened villa on the hill. They wondered why the bedroom lights on the second floor were off.

Mei Rujing was supposed to be inside, yet the entire house remained unlit.

Tan Muxing hesitated. “Has Rujing-jie gone to bed already?”

“That can’t be…” Chu Qianli instinctively performed a quick divination. She hurriedly ran upstairs and was about to knock on the door when it slowly creaked open, revealing a familiar face in the dim light.

“You’re back?” Mei Rujing sighed in relief upon seeing them. She was gripping a wooden stick, though it was unclear what she was defending against.

Chu Qianli asked curiously, “Why didn’t you turn on the lights?”

“Someone climbed over the wall into the neighboring villa. I didn’t want to alert them, so I left the lights off,” Mei Rujing said, frowning. “Everything was done methodically—it wasn’t just an ordinary thief.”

According to Mei Rujing, after the two had left for the banquet, she had been feeling drowsy and didn’t turn on the lights. She simply lay by the window to rest, but then she noticed suspicious individuals scouting the area. Since she remained lying down on the second floor without moving, the people below hadn’t detected her. Through the gap in the window, she observed what was happening at the neighboring villa.

“I secretly recorded them. At first, I was worried they’d come over here, but it looks like they moved downward instead.”

Mei Rujing took out her phone and showed them the video.

On the screen, a group of people wearing special fabric clothing flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, making their facial features completely indistinguishable. They skillfully avoided surveillance points, swiftly climbed over the walls, and used the dark tree shadows as cover while scaling the villa. Their movements were highly organized—clearly not security personnel.

Due to the limited shooting angle, Mei Rujing couldn’t see what they did inside the house or which direction they left. If she hadn’t been lying by the window the whole time, she might not have seen them at all. The entire operation was so fast that it barely lasted a few minutes.

Tan Muxing commented, “These people are trained.”

After watching the video, Chu Qianli was startled. She instinctively reached for the Tarot deck in her pocket, then rummaged through Tan Muxing’s bag to check on the compass, ensuring both key items were still safe.

Noticing her subtle movements, Mei Rujing remarked, “I had the same reaction. I don’t even know where to put that broken bell anymore. I just finished checking the room again, afraid they might have planted surveillance devices or bugs.”

The efficiency of these night operatives had shaken Mei Rujing. She had seriously performed a divination inside her room earlier, fearing someone had already infiltrated while they were off guard.

“They shouldn’t be Mondesen’s people,” Chu Qianli frowned. “If they wanted trouble, now wouldn’t be the time.”

She and Lin had just reached an agreement—it wasn’t the moment for an open confrontation. If Lin truly intended to seize the keys from others, he would have come directly to Xinhé Residence rather than scouting around the villa district.

This seemed more like a third party investigating the situation.

Lin’s private meeting had made one thing clear to Chu Qianli: Mondesen only had complete control over two keys. The remaining key holders likely hadn’t reached a consensus.

Currently, she possessed the compass and Tarot deck, Mei Rujing had the Sanqing Bell, Xu Zaiyuan carried the peachwood sword, and the last item remained unaccounted for.

“The real issue now is that this place isn’t safe at all, and we don’t even know who to report this to,” Mei Rujing said helplessly. “This past week has been a mess—first the foreigners fighting each other, then that haunted house incident, and now this.”

They had only been here for less than a week, yet so much had already happened.

Uncertain whether these night operatives were enemies or allies, Chu Qianli and the others found themselves in a dilemma.

Logically, only contestants in the second round of selection should be staying in the villa district. But now, a highly trained, unidentified group had shown up.

Chu Qianli informed Mei Rujing about her private meeting with Lin and added, “We can’t trust anyone in this competition, whether they’re locals or foreigners. Until we figure out everyone’s true identity, each of us should keep one key item. That way, if anything happens to one, the others won’t be affected.”

Since Lin was willing to meet them privately, he could very well be recruiting others as well.

“I’ll message Uncle Qi. He should be nearby and can respond quickly if anything happens,” Tan Muxing said, using his phone to contact Uncle Qi, hoping he would stay in touch with the police in case the selection process turned into a crisis.

Meanwhile, at Xianhe Residence, Liu Jun said seriously, “I’ve already reported this to the higher-ups, but aside from the one Mei Rujing has, we still can’t confirm where the remaining items are or whether they’re all under Mondesen’s control.”

“If Mondesen has all five remaining pieces, it will be difficult for us to negotiate later. Initially, we agreed to discuss things after the selection, but now the situation looks grim. On top of that, the embassy has been making a lot of moves lately, stirring the waters even more.”

Liu Jun was participating in the selection as a member of the Qian Sect. In the process, he frequently clashed with the spirit mediums, appearing to be a righteous and indignant Daoist. However, in reality, he had another hidden identity.

He and Xu Zaiyuan had come under orders. If there were no special requirements, Xu Qian would not have let his disciple leave the mountain.

“The remaining ones can’t all be in their hands. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so eager to suppress us. Recently, other teams have been closely watching us. I suspect someone is giving secret instructions,” Xu Zaiyuan said. “What about those three people?”

“Mei Rujing indeed doesn’t have many friends. She only seems to communicate closely with those two. There aren’t many other leads, but she has had dealings with the Shi family, and Shi Zhuoqu is one of Monderson’s people…” Liu Jun sighed. “The other two are fresh graduates who have had contact with the Religious Association. We’ve already approached the person in charge at the time to see if we can pull them to our side.”

The interests behind the Infant Stone mine were immense, and there was no guarantee that there weren’t double agents.

Liu Jun and his team did not dare to disclose their plans to others lightly. They observed the standout individuals in their group and privately investigated whether they could be trusted or recruited.

The next day, the selection process resumed, and everyone gathered again at Tingfeng Xiyu Tower.

On stage, Lin held a special emblem. His expression was warm as he glanced around, his gaze casually sweeping over Chu Qianli and the others.

Chu Qianli feigned ignorance. She turned to chat and laugh with Tan Muxing and Mei Rujing, as if she hadn’t just accepted a massive deposit from someone the night before.

A noticed Lin’s subtle expression and thoughtfully looked at Chu Qianli, sighing regretfully, “I thought you would make a better choice.”

A had already given her advice in advance, but it seemed that Chu Qianli had sided with Lin, leaving him slightly disappointed.

Chu Qianli glanced back at him but did not explain. Instead, she smiled and said, “No need to take it so seriously. Just treat it like a game.”

A: “Is this a game?”

Chu Qianli nodded. “Yes.”

“Then what role are you playing in this game?” A raised an eyebrow slightly. “Justice? Evil?”

Chu Qianli pondered for a moment, propped her chin up, and answered seriously, “If I had to say, I guess I’m a Bug.”

A: “?”

On the other side, Shi Zhuoqu stood on the stage and announced the rules: “Thank you all for gathering here again. Considering the progress of the upcoming projects, we have set up a special selection process for today. Various locations inside the building contain simulated Infant Stones, candidate number tags, and a special emblem.”

“Within the allotted time, the candidate who collects the most simulated Infant Stones will receive a special emblem. Additionally, there is one emblem hidden within the building. In this round of selection, there are a total of two emblems. Furthermore, candidate number tags are scattered throughout the building. If you find someone else’s number tag and use it, you can swap your respective amounts of simulated Infant Stones. However, the found emblems are not subject to exchange.”

Shi Zhuoqu took out a simulated Infant Stone. “This is the tool used for this round of selection. Everyone can familiarize themselves with it in advance.”

The simulated Infant Stones were actually uniquely designed red crystals, scattered everywhere as scoring tools for this round.

Each person also received a small bottle with their candidate number printed on the mouth. The bottle cap contained an electronic device that would automatically calculate the number of simulated Infant Stones inside. If someone found another person’s number tag, they could scan it on the cap’s device, triggering an exchange of their respective stone counts.

Mei Rujing: “So as long as someone finds an emblem, they’ve already won half the battle. After all, the emblems can’t be taken away.”

If someone worked hard collecting simulated Infant Stones only to have them swapped away by others using number tags, all their effort would be for nothing. However, special emblems were non-exchangeable, ensuring security once found.

“Then obviously, the best choice is to find the emblem,” Chu Qianli immediately calculated. “If I get another one, I’ll have two.”

“The search range includes Tingfeng Xiyu Tower and its vicinity. Barriers have been set up at the exam site’s perimeter. Any simulated Infant Stones placed in bottles after the time limit will not be counted. Now, the countdown officially begins!”

“This means the more people on a team, the faster they can collect stones?” Huang Jue chuckled. “So there are only three main factions!”

The Qian Sect, the Chuma Immortals, and Joe’s team had the largest numbers, giving them a natural advantage in collection speed.

Lilith sighed deeply. “Why go through all that trouble? As long as I can participate in the project, I don’t care about the emblem.”

Mei Rujing: “I’ll go look for stones, and you guys find the emblem.”

Chu Qianli advised kindly, “Rujing-jie, you don’t have to take it so seriously. Just treat it like a game.”

Despite saying that, Chu Qianli still rushed out with Tan Muxing, using divination to search for the hidden emblem outside.

The sky was clear, and the clouds were light.

Outside Tingfeng Xiyu Tower, the hillside was deserted, filled only with lush bushes and towering trees.

Chu Qianli looked around according to her divination, occasionally gazing at the sky in confusion. “Why does this hexagram point to midair, in the northwest direction, with many obstructions…?”

She was incredibly fast at casting divinations and had hurried over to secure the emblem. However, the indicated location was oddly mysterious.

Tan Muxing accompanied her in the search. His eyesight was sharp, and he glimpsed a shining object flicker among the leaves before disappearing. It glinted faintly under the forest shade, swaying with the wind. “Is that it? It’s too far to tell.”

In the northwest section of the hillside, a tall tree stood with the emblem seemingly suspended among its leaves.

“Let’s check it out.”

The two immediately set off. They sprinted towards the tree, only to find another group on the hillside!

Xu Zaiyuan and his team also spotted them.

Liu Jun exclaimed in disbelief, “They’re incredibly fast!”

Xu Zaiyuan was known for his speed in divination, yet Chu Qianli’s group was not lagging behind.

Without a word, Xu Zaiyuan accelerated his pace and decisively sprinted towards the northwest tree.

Sensing trouble, Chu Qianli feared falling behind and called out, “Xingxing!”

Chu Qianli was not used to running on mountain slopes and was far slower than Xu Zaiyuan, who had spent years navigating mountain terrain. Unwilling to be a burden, she immediately called for backup.

Tan Muxing instantly understood and joined the race!

The two teams sprinted side by side, appearing evenly matched!

The observing Taoists were amazed. “He’s actually running as fast as Little Martial Uncle?”

Xu Zaiyuan rarely left the mountain and had practically explored every inch of Qian Mountain. When it came to speed on mountain paths, no one could beat him.

Chu Qianli proudly put her hands on her hips and said, “Of course! Your mountain used to belong to my people!”

I am just a novice translator and Chinese is not my native language. I try my best to translate the chapters as accurate as possible.
If there are any mistakes then kindly comment and remind me. Your support means a lot.