39: Chapter 39 Intercepting Lingmi

"The token is here. Please keep it safe, Senior Brother."

A smug smile flashed in Lin Hao's eyes as he reached out to take the token.

He tucked the token away close to his body and softened his tone slightly, though it still carried a warning: "Rest assured, I am only taking thirty thousand catties of Spiritual Rice."

"You can just fudge the accounts to fool them!"

Manager Liu Cheng understood clearly in his heart but didn't dare to point it out. He could only bow and reply, "Junior Brother understands. I will follow your instructions, Senior Brother."

Seeing Manager Liu Cheng's appearance, Lin Hao also revealed a smug smile.

...

Over the past few days, Hu Nan had been hiding in the valley, secretly monitoring Lin Hao.

After several days of observation, he had already figured out Lin Hao's patterns of movement perfectly.

Qin Changsheng discovered that Lin Hao would come to the Great Array every night, no longer bringing any confidants and arriving alone.

Every time he arrived before the Great Array, Lin Hao would take out a token from his robes.

As Qi was injected into the token, the Great Array would open.

Around the hour of the Rat (midnight), Lin Hao would emerge from the Great Array, holding a Storage Pouch in his hand.

What surprised Qin Changsheng even more was that when Lin Hao left the Great Array, his guard was extremely low.

Often, he would leave before the Great Array had fully closed.

Through several days of observation, a plan had formed in his mind: Lin Hao's routine was fixed, and his guard was lax when closing the Great Array; this was his opportunity.

He could completely take advantage of the moment Lin Hao left to rush into the Great Array.

After rushing in, he could use several Explosive Flame Talismans to block Lin Hao's pursuit.

In this way, Qin Changsheng decided he could easily steal all the Spiritual Rice.

Late that night, Hu Nan hid not far from the Great Array according to Qin Changsheng's instructions.

Before long, the sound of stumbling footsteps came from the small path in the dense forest.

Hu Nan slightly adjusted his position and peered through the gaps in the leaves. He saw Lin Hao walking alone, his steps staggering and his body swaying from side to side; he had clearly drunk a lot of wine.

As Qin Changsheng perceived this scene, a sharp light instantly flashed in his eyes.

With Lin Hao drunk, his guard would inevitably be even more lax, and his reaction Speed and Spiritual Qi control would be greatly diminished. This undoubtedly increased the success rate of his interception plan significantly.

Lin Hao staggered to the stone platform and fumbled for a long time before pulling out that Black Iron Token from his robes. The token wobbled in his hand, nearly slipping out several times.

Squinting his drunken eyes, he struggled to align the token with the groove on the stone platform, only managing to insert it precisely after two attempts.

"Phew..." Lin Hao let out a long breath and staggered into the array.

Watching Lin Hao enter the Great Array, Qin Changsheng knew that the moment Lin Hao came out would be the time to act.

At the same time, Qin Changsheng understood that this was his only chance.

As long as he could successfully enter the Great Array, he could snatch away all the Spiritual Rice.

Qin Changsheng also ordered Hu Nan to lie in wait at the entrance of the Great Array.

Half an hour later, the array markings suddenly lit up with a faint green light. The previously silent array gate slowly opened inward, and Lin Hao's staggering figure emerged from within.

He carried a bulging Storage Pouch in his arms. His steps were still unsteady, his face bore the flush of alcohol, and his eyes were unfocused; he was completely unaware of anything unusual in his surroundings.

Unlike previous days, Lin Hao didn't even glance around with his peripheral vision this time. Without even waiting for the array gate to close completely, he turned and walked away into the distance.

The array gate slowly closed behind him, and the spiritual light of the array markings gradually dimmed, leaving only a narrow gap that had yet to shut.

Now was the time! Hu Nan did not hesitate, and a Swift Wind Talisman was suddenly detonated.

Faint green Spiritual Qi wrapped around a fierce wind that swept out, pushing his body forward violently. At the same time, he pushed the Smoke Shadow Evasive Footwork to its limit. His figure became like a wisp of light smoke, and with the help of the swift wind, he dashed toward the Great Array.

His movements were as fast as lightning. At the moment when the array gate was only half a foot wide, he slipped in sideways, precisely passing through that gap.

Just as he entered the Great Array, the array gate behind him closed completely with a "clack," and the spiritual light of the array markings vanished.

"Who's there?!" Almost at the instant Hu Nan rushed into the Great Array, Lin Hao ahead of him spun around, his previously unfocused eyes instantly sharpening.

That dashing figure instantly startled him into full sobriety.

He never imagined that someone would actually dare to lie in ambush around the Great Array.

Even less did he expect someone to dare to break into the Great Array right under his nose.

Lin Hao's eyes were filled with fury. He wished he could rush back into the Great Array and kill Hu Nan.

However, just as he rushed to the front of the Great Array, he regained his composure.

Because he suddenly remembered that this Great Array was a top-tier defensive array within the Sect.

The defensive strength of this array was astonishing. Once fully activated, even a Golden Core Cultivator trapped inside could not hope to break out in a short time, let alone a sneaky intruder.

Thinking of this, he no longer insisted on immediately rushing into the array. Instead, he took two steps back and fully activated the Great Array.

Looking at the activated Great Array, a smile appeared at the corners of Lin Hao's mouth.

He only needed to call Manager Liu Cheng and his many confidants here, and they could trap the person inside to death.

When the time came, they could catch a turtle in a jar.

Originally, Lin Hao had stolen ten thousand catties of Spiritual Rice and hadn't been able to find a scapegoat.

Now, he could completely pin all of that Spiritual Rice on the person inside.

Meanwhile, after entering the Great Array, Hu Nan quickly ran toward the interior.

Before long, an open area appeared before his eyes.

Hu Nan looked up and saw dense rows of hemp bags neatly stacked in the center of the grounds. The bags were sewn from special spiritual cloth that could preliminarily lock in Spiritual Qi, and every bag was bulging.

He quickly scanned the area and did a rough count; there were actually as many as two thousand bags.

"This should be the Spiritual Rice to be handed over to the Sect!" Seeing these bags, Qin Changsheng knew this was the Spiritual Rice Manager Liu Cheng had prepared for the Sect.

"Quickly collect this Spiritual Rice!" Qin Changsheng issued the command.

Hu Nan received Qin Changsheng's command without the slightest hesitation.

He waved his hand, and a soft yet powerful surge of Spiritual Qi swept out, enveloping all the hemp bags in front of him. Then, with a thought, he continuously pulled these bags into his Storage Space.

Although two thousand bags of Spiritual Rice was a massive amount, his Storage Space was Qin Changsheng's Golden Trait with ample volume, making it effortless to store them.

In less than half the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the Spiritual Rice in the center of the grounds had been completely scavenged.

"Two hundred thousand catties of Spiritual Rice!"

"Still short by one hundred and fifty thousand catties!" Qin Changsheng was very clear in his heart.

This year, Manager Liu Cheng had collected three hundred and fifty thousand catties of Spiritual Rice from the spiritual fields.

The two hundred thousand catties of Spiritual Rice just now was what Manager Liu Cheng intended to hand over to the Sect.

The one hundred and fifty thousand catties of Spiritual Rice embezzled by the Lin family was not here.

Hu Nan also began to investigate whether there were any hidden storage points.

The core area of the Great Array was not large. Besides this open ground, only the stone walls on both sides remained.

Soon, he noticed a weak Spiritual Qi barrier at an inconspicuous part of one stone wall, which felt completely different from the aura of the surrounding walls.

Hu Nan pressed his hand against a groove in the stone wall. Accompanied by the slight sound of a mechanical transmission, the stone wall slowly shifted aside, revealing a secret room entrance only wide enough for one person to pass.

Hu Nan stepped quickly into the secret room and saw over one thousand four hundred bags of Spiritual Rice stacked below.

"One hundred and forty thousand catties." With just one glance, Qin Changsheng knew why there were only one hundred and forty thousand catties.

It was inevitable that Lin Hao had embezzled ten thousand catties of Spiritual Rice.