Chapter 18: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Meanwhile, after Xu Mo had been carried back to the outer sect by Long Bai…

In the Sect Master’s Hall.

"Senior, what does your experience tell you?" the Sect Master asked the shadows. Moments later, an old man emerged from behind the throne.

A sudden cough echoed in the hall—it came from the ancestor who had been lurking in the shadows, silently observing everything. It seemed he'd been boasting a little too much.

"He’s lying," the Ancestor said, appearing from behind the throne like an assassin.

"Yeah, I thought so too." The Sect Master stifled a laugh, recalling how hard he had tried to hold back his laughter when Xu Mo was making up his cover story. But in the end, he had almost lost control.

"You did well to replenish his Qi. Otherwise, he would have died without even realizing when or how."

Hearing the Ancestor's praise, the Sect Master felt content.

"Everyone has their own opportunities, and it was smart of him to remain cautious even when offered the position of True Successor."

The Ancestor had a satisfied expression on his face. Although what Xu Mo had requested was dangerous and could threaten his life, it also proved that he had enough talent to make a comeback.

"Do you really believe all that talk about dreams and destiny?" the Sect Master asked, genuinely curious. In the entire sect, only the Ancestor had the same talent as Xu Mo, so he was the best person to judge.

"I've heard of such strange phenomena before. Most are rumors, but as they say—there's no smoke without fire. Some people claim to have had visions, some say they were chosen by an immortal, and a few even had their entire lives changed overnight after experiencing a dream."

The Ancestor descended the stairs with his hands behind his back, not even bothering to look at the Sect Master. If it had been anyone else acting so arrogantly, the Sect Master would have surely punished them. But in front of the Ancestor, he was no more than an ant. His arrogance was well-earned—he had the strength to back it up.

"Then why have I never heard of such a phenomenon?"

"Because it happened to a friend of mine."

"Friend?! You don’t mean—"

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

The Sect Master knew that, in his younger days, the Ancestor had been unbelievably arrogant. Compared to that, his current self was just a child. And his friends? They were never ordinary people. If someone made it onto the Ancestor’s "friend list," it meant they were either as talented as him or even more so.

"Yeah," the Ancestor confirmed. "And he's coming for a visit next month. Says it’s a surprise."

"What?! Senior, why are you only telling me this now? You should have informed me earlier so I could prepare!"

Today, the Sect Master had no idea whose unlucky face he had seen first upon waking, but he had already lost his composure more times today than he had in centuries.

The Ancestor rubbed his nose and disappeared. The Sect Master, now in full panic mode, had no time to worry about him and immediately summoned all the sect elders for an emergency meeting.

[XU MO’S POV]

Elder Long dropped me off a short distance from the male residence. He had intended to walk with me, but he was suddenly summoned by the Sect Master.

From a distance, I saw a massive crowd gathered outside the male residence. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but something in my gut told me otherwise. Cautiously, I approached and blended into the crowd.

"What happened here? I just got here, brother," I asked a fellow disciple.

"I don’t know. I’m just here for fun."

I had no words. Only silence could express my feelings toward this disciple.

Then, I noticed a group of people in uniforms—the same ones I had seen before at the entrance ceremony. They had surrounded the area around the male apartments, preventing anyone from getting too close. Meanwhile, the rest of their team seemed to be inside, searching the rooms.

"I heard someone reported that a male disciple was hiding stolen items from an outer sect elder in his room."

"Yeah, and the reporter is anonymous."

"What?! But how?"

"Shhh… It’s clearly a setup. Poor guy must have offended someone powerful."

By now, I had already connected the dots and had a pretty good idea of who the "culprit" would be.

"Who here goes by the name Xu Mo?"

A young man—likely in his thirties—stepped forward. His uniform had two stars on the left side of his chest, while the others had none.

The crowd erupted into hushed whispers, the once-silent gathering now buzzing with speculation.

"I am!" I raised my voice loud enough for him to hear over the murmurs.

Every eye in the crowd turned toward me.

Ignoring their judgmental stares, I walked forward.

"Is he stupid? This is clearly a trap."

"Idiot. Should’ve just run away."

But I kept walking.

The man who had called my name stood behind a line of his team members, who had cordoned off the area. He glanced at one of them, and after receiving a subtle nod, he stepped aside and gestured for me to come forward.

"Are you really Xu Mo?" he asked, suspicion evident in his gaze.

"Here, my outer disciple token."

He barely touched it before nodding in confirmation. There must be some hidden function in these tokens that we "common" disciples weren’t told about.

"Apprehend him."

Before I could react, ropes bound my arms.

"Agh—!"

I shot a glare at the guy who had tied the ropes extra tight, cutting off circulation to my wrists.

"You didn’t need to bind me. I was going to cooperate anyway."

The man smirked. "Yeah, I’ve heard that before. The last guy who said it ran the moment his ropes were untied."

"Not everyone’s the same."

"True. But precautions are better than regrets, right?"

We exchanged a few more words, but soon, he gestured for his team to move.

A rough elbow jab to my side signaled for me to start walking. Before I knew it, I was surrounded on all sides by eight people.