The Anticipated Mission (Continued)

What are your instructions, Master?

Yan Jinghong did not come in person, which was within Si Ming's expectations. On the one hand, he was too busy with work to find the time, and on the other hand, he could vaguely sense that there was some kind of conflict between his master and his senior master.

This conflict is estimated to be neither too big nor too small. If one side needs help, the other side will likely lend a helping hand without hesitation. However, resolving it is almost impossible.

In this awkward situation, neither of them wanted to meet with the other regularly because they had nothing to talk about. Both of them were the type to take action rather than talk, and were down-to-earth people who preferred practical work to words. Arguing was pointless, and reminiscing was unnecessary; it was better to prove themselves right through actions.

Men are creatures who care about their pride. They might be able to temporarily set aside their pride and compromise when facing women, but it's very difficult for them to back down when facing men, especially when both of them are particularly stubborn. Getting them to back down is harder than cutting off their necks. Therefore, in such situations, a woman is needed to act as a bridge for communication, even if she is not good with words.

"The Grandmaster Trial, to France," Ling Huanxi replied.

Si Ming nodded, showing no surprise. He had vaguely anticipated this day after he reported the message relayed by Yuezheng Yao.

After all, the information was left by a traitor, and it might not be true. It could be a deliberate attempt to create a false impression. Moreover, the incident occurred in another country. It would be meaningless for Su State to send a bunch of ordinary experts, while sending Spirit Transformation expert would easily arouse the suspicion of the rulers of other countries. They need to find another reasonable excuse.

However, completely ignoring it would be inappropriate, as this is a matter of great importance concerning the Eternal Barrier. Even if it is a feint by the enemy, we must confirm it clearly before we can feel at ease. After considering all factors, it is still safest to send these younger generations to explore the way. They have sufficient ability, experience in multiple incidents of anomalies, and are young and unlikely to attract attention.

The above is Yu Shuying's analysis. Moreover, she predicted a month ago that the courses at Linked Mountains University next semester would likely be canceled, and they would most likely go to France as exchange students.

In retrospect, her prediction was remarkably accurate, almost perfectly predicting the outcome. The only miscalculation was—

"This trial will be led by my third brother and me."

"Huh? Is this alright? With my master and my aunt personally handling things, are there no objections from the France side?"

Si Ming originally wanted to ask, "Is it okay to have an elder accompany you on the trial mission?" But then he suddenly remembered the time he went to Russia. Although Senior Zhu Hao didn't accompany him the whole way, he participated in the entire trial process. From this point of view, the Grandmaster Trial does not reject the help of elders.

That makes sense. The evaluation of a trial isn't based on the outcome of the task, but on your performance during it. Even if you fail the task, you can still get a high rating if you perform well. However, if you slack off the whole time and rely on others to complete the task, you'll only get a failing grade.

"We have friends in France," Ling Huanxi thought for a moment, then added, "My second sister is France."

It's finally here!

Si Ming's eyes lit up. He had heard of this mysterious second sister for a long time. When he first helped Xiao Xuan come out of the mountains, he knew that the four of them had become sworn brothers. Moreover, Uncle Xiao Xuan said in person, "Given her infatuation with the third brother, even if a mouse falls in love with a cat, she would never fall in love with someone else." It was clear that this second sister was also a suitor of Master Yan Jinghong.

Over the years, he had never heard of the existence of this senior nun. Sometimes when he asked his seniors, they either knew nothing about it or were very secretive and told him not to inquire. This made him think that the senior nun was either dead or had violated some taboo and been imprisoned like Martial Uncle Xiao, so he dared not inquire any further. Now he realized that the senior nun was not from Su State at all. No wonder he couldn't find out about her. Si Ming's network of connections had not yet extended to other countries.

Could it be considered a reunion of old flames since the master himself personally took action this time?

Si Ming was filled with anticipation, wanting to see if his workaholic mentor would be as solemn, serious, and meticulous as usual when facing his Beauty.

"By the way, since my aunt is leading the group, will Murong Qing also be traveling with us?"

"Um."

After Ling Huanxi finished answering, she continued to look at Si Ming, seemingly waiting for his next question.

"Uh, I don't have any other questions. You go ahead and do your work, Auntie. Don't worry about me."

Si Ming coughed and was about to leave when he felt a tightness in his clothes behind him. He turned around and found that his aunt was holding him with two fingers. She didn't say anything, just looked at him, as if she was waiting for him to ask a question.

"Um... is there anything I can do for you, my aunt?"

Ling Huanxi said, "I don't know where my elder brother is."

"Okay, I'll take you there right away."

This conversation is really difficult, Si Ming sighed inwardly, wondering how Murong Qing usually communicates with her master.

At the quarry, just like Si Ming had cleared the mountain for the railway engineering team yesterday, Xiao Xuan was now acting as a human machine, single-handedly performing the functions of a vibrating screen feeder, jaw crusher, cone crusher, impact sand making machine, and circular vibrating screen. Only the final transportation task had to be handed over to others.

After bringing Ling Huanxi, Si Ming, without listening to their conversation, turned back to Dyed Azure Town. He checked the day's work and found it was road compaction. This was less work than yesterday, but more technically challenging. He couldn't simply bombard the ground with palm strikes from a height, since mountains have a greater margin for error. On flat ground, too much force would create a large crater that would have to be filled in. Therefore, road compaction required continuous palm strikes, pushing forward at an angle to create a straight, level road.

In the end, Si Ming spent two hours paving a 30-kilometer road. He blasted away all the obstacles he encountered along the way with a single punch. For a humanoid Gundam like him, clearing a path through mountains was much easier than building a bridge over water.

After finishing his work, Si Ming was about to check if his two senior colleagues had finished their conversation when the town's postman ran over and said, "Mr. Si, here's your telegram."

Dyed Azure Town is located in a very remote area. Currently, it only has telegraph service and no telephone line. To make a phone call, one must travel to a city fifty kilometers away.

Si Ming glanced at the contents of the telegram. It was sent by Yao Bilian. It mainly mentioned that Ying Zhou's father had been released from prison and wanted to harm the orphanage. It also described Ying Zhou's father as a mentally ill psychopath. The telegram, which was only a hundred or so words long, was half filled with descriptions of how crazy and unreasonable the other party was. The amount of information was pitifully small.

"Even Hualiu felt he couldn't handle him, so he must be at the peak below the Spirit Transformation, and skilled in stealth. Even the Mohist Knight Guard couldn't find him after he was put on the wanted list..."

Si Ming couldn't help but frown. An enemy who hadn't even reached the Spirit Transformation was naturally a small fry that he could easily defeat with two or three punches. It was not worth mentioning. With Murong Qing's current cultivation level, he could also withstand it. However, he and Murong Qing were about to go abroad, and it was impossible to take Ying Zhou and Murong Wu with them. Even if they asked Jiang Zhengtai, Pan De, and others for help, it would only provide temporary relief. After all, there is no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days.

After thinking about it, he decided to go to the nearest city to make a phone call to Yu Shuying.

"... That's the situation. Is there any way to break this deadlock?"

Yu Shuying across from her yawned. "I thought it was some big deal related to the Heaven-Defying Society, but it turns out it's just a small-time wanted criminal... It's simple, just hire an assassin to kill him and put up a high bounty. There's a Blood Pupil Society's quite famous in the underworld lately, with a high success rate and good reputation."

"Will this work? Even the Mohist Knight Guard can't find his whereabouts."

"It's not that the Mohist Knight Guard can't find him, but that the Mohist Knight Guard in Tange City can't find him. It's not like the Grandmaster the order; it's impossible for them to mobilize the entire nation's Mohist Knight Guard to find a wanted criminal, right? Besides, the reason the Mohist Knight Guard in Tange City can't find him has nothing to do with his stealth skills; it's simply because he left the city."

"... I always felt that hiring assassins to carry out assassinations was something only villains would do, and they usually failed, unless the protagonist was an assassin. As righteous people, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to do such a thing?"

"Just don't tell Murong Qing about this."

"Are you excluding both of us from the righteous path?" Si Ming retorted, displeased. "You're one thing, a gangster boss, you certainly don't qualify as righteous. But I'm a messenger of love and justice, the embodiment of light, a synonym for hope. You can tell at a glance that I'm a future pillar of the righteous path. How could I do something that would tarnish my resume?"

A disdainful voice came from the other end of the phone. "What are you pretending for now? Anyway, it's settled. I'm currently preparing the Gu, I don't have time for idle chatter, bye."

Before Si Ming could respond, the phone went dead with a ringing tone, and he could only shake his head helplessly.

Seeking help from an assassin organization is the best option when there's no other choice. Besides, every snake has its own path, and for someone as elusive as Qin Wujun, assassins from the same faction are indeed easier to find than the Mohist Knight Guard.

Although Si Ming felt that someone like Qin Wujun shouldn't have died at the hands of an assassin, otherwise how would the "plot" of Ying Zhou develop? But he also thought that Chu Gengyin would continue to entangle him, but in the end, it still ended prematurely. The materialistic world operates independently of human will.