Hidden Moth-Chapter 521 - 297: The Mountain in the Painting, the Painting in the Mountain

The announcement from the Ancestral Hall described the internal conflict of the Magic Sect from a thousand years ago, but it did not mention the "Uprising of Yin Niang and the Woodcutter," nor did it mention the past and present of the Hidden Moth and the Hidden Moth Sect.

He Kao was also not mentioned in the announcement, as if everything had nothing to do with him. This gave He Kao the feeling of being a hero who has hidden his achievements and fame, much like Jiang Daozhen and Guo Qianhuai, whom the announcement also didn’t mention.

What happened next, although it alarmed all the Magic Sect Disciples, required no further concern from He Kao. The most noticeable change around He Kao was the disappearance of a large number of "neighbors."

Currently, the Sesame Apartment has a 100% occupancy rate, with not a single vacant room. Recently, some people even tried to use connections to get in, attempting to rent even the storage rooms, leaving Manager Hu in sales completely baffled.

Now, in just two short days, over five hundred households have requested to terminate their leases, dropping the occupancy rate to just over seventy percent.

Actually, maintaining an occupancy rate between sixty and seventy percent is the normal level from before. But with so many people leaving within two days, Manager Qin couldn’t handle it; he was even more baffled.

The Sesame Apartment is a long-term rental, with the shortest lease period being six months. Upon moving in, one must pay six months’ rent and a two-month deposit, and many people directly rented for a year.

They were terminating their leases before the lease had ended, with many not even bothering to argue, directly not caring about the remaining rent and deposit. Initially, Manager Hu subtly hinted at them, but eventually just straightforwardly asked—

"Since that’s the case, why are you terminating your leases early? If you want to move out, just move out; the rent has already been paid, the apartment can remain vacant, you can come back anytime, and you can still get your deposit back when the lease ends."

But people chose not to do that; they preferred to lose their deposit and rent rather than formally terminate the lease.

There were also a very few who didn’t do this at all, neither completing any lease termination procedures nor informing anyone. On the day the Ancestral Hall issued the announcement, they quietly left, without even packing their luggage.

However, it’s precisely people like this that the Ancestral Hall is pursuing... Anyone who wants to be caught just go ahead.

Of course, there were also those who didn’t move out. Although they came to Qi Yuan directly or indirectly because of Elder Mei, they themselves were unaware of the inside story, such as Jiang Yuheng, a graduate of Qi Yuan University.

Jiang Yuheng had nothing to do with this matter. He just followed the suggestion of his university counselor, Luo Mingzhi, resigned from his hometown job, and came to Qi Yuan to find work. Luo Mingzhi had a senior who happened to rent a place but had gone out of town, so she let him move in.

In fact, Jiang Yuheng was being used by Luo Mingzhi, both serving as a backup informant for the Xiao Alliance and confusing them, while he himself was completely unaware. Luo Mingzhi was quite concerned about him and frequently visited him at the Sesame Apartment.

Jiang Yuheng harbored affection for Luo Mingzhi, dreaming of her even in his sleep.

It was by infiltrating Jiang Yuheng’s dreams that He Kao discovered the suspicious clue of Luo Mingzhi, and then sent Lan Jiwan and Chang’an Residence to secretly investigate, identifying a liaison that the Xiao Alliance thought impossible to expose—Jiaobide.

The Xiao Alliance never expected that someone could conduct an investigation in this way, nor did He Kao himself foresee it.

After mastering the Divine Technique of Primordial Spirit Travel, he accidentally stumbled upon the method of Transference. With Elder Li’s guidance, he discovered that the best objects for Transference are actually people, allowing entry into their dreams during dreaming.

He Kao couldn’t decide what dreams others were having, so Elder Li’s Illusion Master technique came in handy.

He Kao and Elder Li collaborated not only to infiltrate Jiang Yuheng’s dream but also the dream of Xiaoliang’s father, Li Gongcheng. Xiaoliang’s family also didn’t move out of the Sesame Apartment.

Xiaoliang was brought to Qi Yuan by his parents to attend an arts exam prep class. His father is Li Gongcheng, and his mother is Zhao Qingfang. Both are Guests of Fate who have yet to master entry-level cultivation of techniques. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Xiaoliang’s maternal grandfather, Zhao Huai’en, is a Tier Two Mountain Guest of the Alchemy Sect, with modest cultivation but quite a seniority, and Zhao Huai’en has a disciple named Liu Haixiu.

It was Liu Haixiu who revealed the information about Mei Guyu, claiming that it was told to him "in person" by Steward Xing Rui, and he encouraged Li Gongcheng and his wife to come to Qi Yuan.

Liu Haixiu later disappeared, suspected to have been silenced by Xing Rui... in hindsight, this was part of a plot by the Xiao Alliance to frame Xing Rui with the goal to promote Geng Yanxin.

Li Gongcheng and his wife were quite informed as well; they knew Liu Haixiu had disappeared. After the Ancestral Hall issued the announcement, the couple had an urgent discussion behind closed doors—

Li Gongcheng: "Your father read the announcement, called us, and asked if we came to Qi Yuan because of Elder Mei. He told us to leave at once, heard the news from someone, and asked us to tell him quickly.

He also said that since we are not formal Magic Sect Disciples, the Ancestral Hall won’t really do anything..."

Zhao Qingfang, increasingly displeased, said: "We haven’t done anything, we have nothing to do with this Xiao Alliance, so why should we move out? It would be wasting rent and deposit and would be like admitting we have an issue!"

Li Gongcheng, puzzled, said: "Do we have a problem? It was Liu Haixiu, my senior brother, who told me back then..."

Zhao Qingfang, impatiently interrupting, said: "What problem could we have? Don’t talk to me about Liu Haixiu, that guy is likely a mole for the Xiao Alliance, either fleeing or being silenced.

Even if he were caught by the Ancestral Hall, it has nothing to do with us. You were drunk that night; you don’t even remember what he said. We just brought Xiaoliang here for arts exam prep classes, and the Ancestral Hall should be reasonable about this, aren’t they?"

Because of her family’s background, Zhao Qingfang was also quite assertive and immediately decided firmly not to admit that their coming to Qi Yuan and staying in the Sesame Apartment was related to Elder Mei; it was merely for the child’s education, just a coincidence!