Longjiang City Investigation Office.
Meng Yunzheng stood at the door of the infirmary, his expression extremely grave.
Although he had never worked directly with the leader of the inspection team, they were still colleagues within the same system. Hearing about the meridian damage filled him with profound distress.
Shen Hui's usual smile was also gone.
He stepped out of the infirmary, frowning and lowering his voice, "Damaged meridians... it will be very difficult to continue cultivation in the future."
That inspection team leader would never be able to attempt breakthroughs to higher levels in this lifetime, and might even gradually regress to being an ordinary person.
"I'm going to beat those scumbags to death!" a furious roar erupted from inside the infirmary.
Someone weakly tried to stop it, "Don't go!"
"Team Leader, they've gone too far!"
The Team Leader, enduring the pain, said, "The matter has already escalated. If you go beat them up now, are you prepared to face disciplinary action?"
"But—"
"Enough," the Team Leader coughed a few times, soothing them, "No 'buts'. I'm the Team Leader. Listen to me."
Silence fell within the infirmary.
Damaged meridians could not be reconnected. The doctor in the infirmary had only bandaged the Team Leader's external wounds.
Everyone was holding back a suffocating anger.
Suddenly, someone cried out, "It's all my fault! It's all because I couldn't hold back! I shouldn't have started the conflict with them! Before we went in, the Team Leader told us not to act impulsively no matter what. I was too impulsive. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry!"
"It's not your fault. Honestly, I wanted to punch them a few times too," the Team Leader said gently. "I just can't advance anymore, it's not like I'm dying. What's with all the crying?"
"Team Leader, they hurt you. They can't just get away with it, right?" another team member said coldly. "Causing meridian damage—making him serve some prison time isn't too much to ask, is it?"
The Team Leader let out a soft sigh.
The situation had already become ugly enough. He didn't know what instructions would come from above.
Outside the infirmary.
Tang Mian bit through a lollipop, chewing it fiercely, and said coldly, "They should go to jail!"
She refused to believe those Taoist masters acted unintentionally.
Having been Taoist masters for so many years, could they not know the severity of their strikes?
To damage someone's meridians—how vicious must that strike have been!
Meng Yunzheng's face showed regret as he said, "I've already asked Senior Qi Quan. She said she would come as soon as possible. She's experienced and knowledgeable. I wonder if she has any solutions."
"The senior really said she's coming?" Shen Hui asked in surprise.
Meng Yunzheng, "Yes, why?"
"Why didn't you arrange for me to drive and pick her up!"
Meng Yunzheng, "..."
Oh no. Things were too chaotic; he had genuinely forgotten.
Oh heavens!
"Go, you should drive right now to—"
His words cut off abruptly.
Two figures appeared in the corridor. Under the bright white lights, their appearances were exceptionally striking, their skin glowing with a jade-like sheen.
"Senior!" Shen Hui called out joyfully.
The sound reached the infirmary, causing the inspectors inside to freeze momentarily.
Within the same system, everyone knew each other's reputations. Who else could Shen Hui address with such delighted reverence but the great Senior Qi Quan?
An inspector whispered, "Is it that... great senior?"
"Probably, right?"
"I... I'm so nervous."
"Team Leader, why are you trembling? Is the pain that bad?"
Team Leader, "..."
He was trembling with excitement!
Was it really that senior? Could he really get to meet that senior?
Outside the infirmary.
Qi Quan and Ling Sheng approached.
"Senior, how did you get here?"
...
Meng Yunzheng was stunned. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed since his phone call?
Qi Quan said, "Swift Travel Talisman."
"It was my oversight. I forgot to have Shen Hui pick you up," Meng Yunzheng said apologetically.
"Swift Travel Talisman is faster," Qi Quan replied. "Saving someone is more urgent."
The lives of inspectors within the Taoist Association weren't easy. Those selected to be inspectors were all people of strong will and upright character.
Meridian damage not only hindered cultivation progress; the pain involved was also unbearable for ordinary people.
She, too, was unwilling to see elite talent end their paths with such regret.
Meng Yunzheng's eyes lit up, "Senior, do you have a solution?"
Qi Quan didn't make any promises, "I can only confirm after seeing him."
"Alright! He's inside. Please, come in!"
Tang Mian stepped forward and opened the infirmary door.
As soon as it opened, a row of straight-backed inspectors stood inside the room, their eyes shining brightly, all focused intently on Tang Mian... and the person behind her.
It's the senior! It really is the senior!
The Team Leader sitting on the sickbed flushed red.
He looked truly disheveled.
Qi Quan glanced over everyone and said calmly, "The Team Leader stays. Everyone else, step outside."
Accustomed to giving orders in her past life, her tone naturally carried the authority of a superior.
The inspectors all shuddered reflexively, then filed out in an orderly, disciplined line.
There was also a doctor sitting at a desk.
Qi Quan said politely, "My apologies, but we need to borrow your infirmary for a moment."
"Ah, it's no trouble at all! Please, go ahead! I'll step out!"
The doctor, catching on, left the infirmary to the three of them and thoughtfully closed the door.
The previously crowded room instantly became much more spacious.
The Team Leader was a man with regular features, nearly thirty years old. Due to the nature of his work, he usually wore a stern, serious expression.
Now, facing the senior he deeply admired, he was actually blushing, fidgeting, and utterly at a loss for words.
Qi Quan's voice was low and gentle, "Lie down."
The Team Leader lay down on the bed without the slightest hesitation.
"Close your eyes."
He closed his eyes with utmost compliance.
Qi Quan observed the dark circles under his eyes and drew a Tranquilizing Talisman in the air, which sank into the space between his eyebrows.
The Tranquilizing Talisman took effect quickly, and the Team Leader soon fell into a deep sleep.
His nerves had been stretched taut for too long; it was time for a proper rest.
Qi Quan set up an isolation array within the infirmary and said to Ling Sheng, "Examine his arm."
Ling Sheng sat on the chair by the sickbed and placed his hand near the edge of the Team Leader's wound.
The wound was long and thin, made by a peach wood sword.
The peach wood sword carried spiritual energy, which rushed into his meridians, causing the damage.
Ling Sheng closed his eyes. Spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, transforming into an extremely fine thread that slowly probed into the man's wound, reaching the damaged section of his meridian.
He clearly "saw" that part of the meridian filled with other, chaotic spiritual energy. This energy forcefully blocked the flow of the man's own spiritual power, causing that section of the meridian to become sluggish and obstructed.
The Taoist master who inflicted the injury had a higher cultivation level than the Team Leader. His spiritual energy was more domineering. The Team Leader couldn't use his own power to expel it, and the spiritual energy of others couldn't help him either.
Even a high-level Taoist master couldn't precisely channel their own spiritual energy into another person's meridians and perfectly "expel" a third party's energy.
Meridians were inherently narrow. With foreign energy already packed inside and under obstruction, the meridian's capacity was even lower. A third party rashly probing with their energy could easily cause more severe damage.
But the spiritual energy of a healing cultivator was different.
The spiritual energy cultivated according to the healing path by a healing cultivator could be easily accepted by most practitioners.
Although Ling Sheng hadn't fully embarked on the healing path, his constitution was special, possessing an extremely strong affinity for all types of spiritual energy. As expected, his spiritual energy met no resistance from the Team Leader's meridians.
He easily captured several strands of the "destructive elements."
His spiritual energy carefully enveloped them. Once all the "destructive elements" were surrounded, he forcefully pulled them out and dispersed them into the air.
With the destructive elements gone, the Team Leader's meridians were no longer obstructed, and the flow of his spiritual energy returned to normal.
As Ling Sheng manipulated his spiritual power to leave, he conveniently repaired the flesh wounds on the team leader's meridians, speeding up the healing process.
He withdrew his hand and looked up at Qi Quan.
Qi Quan could sense the changes in spiritual energy at the team leader's arm and praised sincerely, "Truly amazing."
Ling Sheng's lips curved into a smile, his entire brow radiating joy.
The entire "surgery" took no more than ten minutes.
Qi Quan put away the isolation barrier and walked out of the infirmary with Ling Sheng.
The area outside the infirmary was crowded with people, all waiting for the result.
Qi Quan said, "It's done."
"Done?" Meng Yunzheng asked eagerly, "You mean his arm is fine? He can continue cultivating?"
"Yes."
Everyone looked at Qi Quan with a mix of pleasant surprise and admiration.
Qi Quan didn't want to take the credit. "I didn't do it."
If she didn't do it, then it was naturally Ling Sheng who did.
Even the assistant by the big shot's side is this capable!
Regardless of how he managed to heal it, just this skill alone is enough for him to establish himself in the mystical arts community!
Meng Yunzheng was clearly also somewhat surprised.
His impression of Ling Sheng was still stuck on "exceptionally good-looking, unable to speak."
Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover.
As expected, a master's side is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Qi Quan instructed, "He's resting, don't disturb him for now. Also, don't spread this matter."
Those present naturally nodded.
They'd have to be out of their minds to talk about it.
With the task completed, Qi Quan and Ling Sheng returned to the villa.
On a whim, the former sat down in front of the computer to write; the latter, after entering his room, took out a brand new notebook and began jotting down his thoughts and experiences from his first "house call."
At ten o'clock in the evening, a new chapter of "Diary of the Wealthy" was published.
[What does it mean when an avatar is shrouded in ghostly energy?
It means this person is either tainted by a ghost, or is a ghost themselves.
Either way, it's not good for my colleague.
Seeing me stare blankly at the avatar, my colleague somewhat uncomfortably pulled her phone back and asked, "Is there a problem?"
How should I answer?
Should I tell her the other party is connected to a ghost?
Absolutely not.
She, deeply in the throes of infatuation, would definitely not believe me and would distance herself from me from then on.
I can't just watch a young girl walk into a fiery pit.
I weighed my words and said, "I just think his avatar looks familiar."
"Familiar?" My colleague said in surprise, "I think his avatar is very unique. I've never seen anything like it."
As she spoke, a blissful smile appeared on her face. "He must be a very special man."
For a moment, I didn't know whether I should shatter her fantasy.
"I remember now." I decided to warn her anyway. "I've seen this avatar before. It's a talisman pattern."
My colleague exclaimed happily, "He even studies talismans! He must be a noble and unsullied person, detached from worldly concerns!"
I: "..."
My colleague was too deeply poisoned. I shouldn't have been indirect; I should have administered a strong dose of medicine.
I said, "This is a type of hallucination-inducing talisman. It has a disorienting effect."
"What do you mean?" She frowned at me, clearly harboring doubts and wariness towards me.
I said seriously, "How about we make a bet?"
"Bet on what?"
"Bet on what kind of person he is in real life."
My colleague looked suspicious. She didn't trust me, but she clearly also wanted to know what the other person was really like.
Before her condition became terminal, I decided to take her to sober up.
"Let me ask you, do you want to see him?"
In the chat logs, my colleague had repeatedly suggested meeting up, but was always refused by the other party.
It was because the most opportune moment hadn't arrived yet.
Once my colleague became "deeply attached" to him, he would treat her as a slave, ordering her around arbitrarily; she wouldn't resist even insults or abuse.
My colleague nodded fiercely. "I do!"
She asked me mysteriously, "You're not some kind of internet expert, are you? Can you find out who he is? Would that be illegal?"
I smiled. "Not an internet expert. I have other methods."
"Alright." My colleague was half-convinced, half-doubting.
The mystical arts community has special methods. I could use the other party's avatar to locate their position.
Seeing me form hand seals, my colleague's face took on the expression of an old man on the subway looking at his phone.
Her doubt turned into speechlessness.
One minute later, I lowered my hands and said, "I've found him. Want to go see him?"
My colleague's face was full of conflict. "You're not just going to grab some random guy off the street and claim it's him, are you?"
She thought I was playing a prank.
I directly grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.
Colleague: ?
Fortunately, the man wasn't far away—after all, my colleague had found him through a "shake to meet" feature.
The man was in an internet cafe, wearing a floral shirt and baggy shorts, flip-flops on his feet. His hair looked like it hadn't been washed for who knows how many days, greasy and giving off a strange odor.
I led my colleague past him slowly from behind.
He happened to be chatting online with someone.
My colleague glanced over, her face instantly turning pale.
On the computer screen, his chat avatar was unmistakably that "unique talisman pattern"!
I deliberately chose the empty seat next to the man to sit down; my colleague sat on my other side.
I turned on the computer, pretending to play a game, then discreetly messaged my colleague on my phone: [Chat with him.]
After the initial shock, my colleague took out her phone, put it on silent, opened the chat interface, and started chatting with him.
The moment she sent the first message and he replied, my colleague pretended to get up and walk towards the counter. As she passed behind the man, she saw the chat box on his computer screen, and her lips trembled even more violently.
She had finally seen this man's true face!
Afraid she might still be holding onto hope, I kept her in the internet cafe, sitting right next to the man, listening to him hum a terrible tune and spit out a few curse words from time to time.
My colleague was almost depressed.
The "special" man in her mind had completely crumbled.
On the way back, she resentfully blocked the man and posted a moment on her social feed.
[Online dating is risky; who knows if it's a person or a ghost on the other end of the line!]
It was then that I realized what I had forgotten earlier.
The man wasn't a ghost, yet his avatar had ghostly energy.
So, was there a problem with the talisman pattern?]
The new chapter ends.
[Call Me to Prepare Lessons When You See Me: Ahhhhh the author finally updated again! I've been waiting so hard! Thankfully my colleague recognized that man's true colors! So is there something wrong with that talisman pattern?]
[Dying of Laughter: What does the talisman pattern actually look like? Are there really talismans that can confuse people's minds?]
[We Want Male Virtue Stories: Dying of Laughter, this is just a novel, you actually believe it? PS: I don't even care about the male lead anymore, these little supernatural stories are quite interesting, author can you update faster!]
[Soaring Sky and Noble Steed: Grabbing a front-row seat! One hundred depth charges!]
[Book Famine is Deadly: Ahhhhh I have pocket money again, twenty depth charges!]
[Goddess of Clear Water, My Wife: Hehehe, you might not know this, but that colleague is me. The goddess held my hand, hehehe.]
[Today is Auspicious: The one above, go dream on, you can have anything in dreams. One hundred depth charges!]
[Today Brings Great Profit: Better not dream; wouldn't it be even more painful to wake up? One hundred depth charges!]
[Auspicious and Profitable: All I'm saying is, girls, keep your eyes open and don't get fooled by scumbags. One hundred depth charges!]
[Passerby A: Looking forward to what comes next.]
Longjiang City Investigation Department.
The leader of the inspection team slept soundly for several hours before slowly opening his eyes.
He hadn't slept this well in a very long time.
"Leader, you're awake!" a team member exclaimed joyfully. "Would you like some water?"
A cup of warm water was brought to his lips.
The leader took a sip, then suddenly remembered something and cried out in alarm, "The senior! Senior Qi Quan! How did I just fall asleep?"
He raised his hand in frustration to knock on his own head.
Huh?
The injury on his arm seemed almost completely healed?
The leader looked at his team member with a bewildered expression and asked, "Am I dreaming? I dreamed that Senior Qi Quan came to treat me."
"Hahahaha!" The team member burst out laughing. "Leader, I really should take a picture of you like this."
It was mainly because their leader was usually so proper and stern.
Now, he really had a cute contrast going on.
The leader gave a light cough, resuming his usual stern face, and asked, "What exactly happened?"
"Leader, you did indeed meet Senior Qi Quan, and your meridians were indeed healed. You should be the clearest about that, right?" The team member also straightened his expression, becoming serious.
The leader nodded.
Whether his spiritual power flowed smoothly or not, he knew best.
"So, it really was the senior who healed me?" His stern face couldn't hold any longer.
Team member: "To be precise, it was Senior Qi Quan and her assistant working together to complete it."
The leader grinned.
He was simply overjoyed!
"By the way, leader, how should we deal with those few practitioners who injured people?" the other team members asked indignantly.
There was more than one person who had attacked. The members of the inspection team had all suffered some minor external injuries, but only the leader had sustained meridian damage, making his situation the most serious.
Those who had injured people were still locked in the interrogation room.
The leader said coldly, "We'll follow the instructions from above."
They had been monitoring the association's operations day and night, not just current ones but also past dealings, and had indeed uncovered some practitioners with unclean hands.
Perhaps this touched on certain people's interests, provoking this conflict, or perhaps someone was deliberately stirring the pot.
He stood up and said, "I'm going to find Director Meng."
The conflict between the inspection team and the staff of the Practitioners' Association had already been reported to the headquarters in Longjing.
Meng Yunzheng was listening to Li Guoyan's instructions.
"Let it be?" he asked, puzzled. "Why let it be? Wouldn't that just fuel their arrogance?"
Li Guoyan said slowly, "Precisely to fuel their arrogance."
Meng Yunzheng thought for a moment and suddenly understood.
This conflict wasn't particularly intense yet. Those practitioners who injured people were stubbornly sticking to excuses like 'it was an accident' or 'it wasn't intentional.' At most, they would be detained for a few days for education and made to pay some medical compensation. That would likely be the end of it.
After all, members of the inspection team had also taken action.
But the cause of the incident was far too simple.
A certain practitioner had "accidentally" bumped into an inspector and insisted on turning the tables, starting with a war of words. When emotions ran high, peachwood swords and techniques were used, and the two began to fight.
Then, more and more practitioners and inspectors joined in, turning it into a brawl.
The one who initially stirred up trouble was now the most cowardly.
In the interrogation room, he kept insisting that he just didn't like that inspector. After bumping into him, he seized the chance to curse at him a few times. He never imagined it would escalate into a group fight.
The matter wasn't major, but it wasn't minor either.
The difficulty lay in how to handle it.
If the punishment was too light, the inspection team would be looked down upon; if it was too heavy, the Practitioners' Association would make a fuss.
And right now, they couldn't determine if it was just a random incident or if there was a mastermind behind it.
If there was a mastermind behind it, then they might as well let this fire burn even more fiercely.
"I understand," Meng Yunzheng replied.
Li Guoyan suddenly said, "It's not just Longjiang City. I've received similar feedback from other regions. Some of our inspectors have been injured and may no longer be suitable for this kind of work in the future."
Injured?!
Meng Yunzheng quickly asked, "Is it also meridian damage?"
He hadn't had time yet to report the matter of Qi Quan and Ling Sheng treating the inspection team leader.
Senior Qi Quan only said not to spread it externally; within the Investigation Department was not included in that restriction.
"Also?" Li Guoyan caught the implication, his voice grave. "It seems team members in Longjiang have also been injured."
Across the country, such large-scale conflicts erupting simultaneously—it's impossible for there not to be something fishy going on.
That's why Li Guoyan intended to adopt a wait-and-see approach.
Meng Yunzheng said with a smile, "Director Li, you don't need to worry. Our inspector has already been healed."
"Healed?" Li Guoyan instinctively lowered his voice. "You mean, truly cured?"
"Yes."
Li Guoyan: "How is that possible? Isn't it said that if a cultivator's meridians are damaged, they can no longer continue cultivating?"
"But it is indeed cured." Meng Yunzheng felt immense gratitude towards Qi Quan and Ling Sheng in his heart.
Because of her, because of Ling Sheng, the elite members of the inspection teams could be saved!
Li Guoyan was still hesitant. "Completely cured? No side effects?"
It should be known that the headquarters was still holding a seventh-level practitioner.
Yan Fengqing's leg meridians had been damaged over twenty years ago, leaving him unable to walk, and his spiritual power unable to circulate.
Logically, after so many years, his spiritual power should have degraded completely, making it impossible to maintain seventh-level cultivation.
The Investigation Department had already asked about this.
Yan Fengqing's explanation was that he had researched ancient texts and developed a medicine. As long as he took the medicine according to the prescription on schedule, his damaged meridians would temporarily return to normal for a day and night after taking it. He used that brief window to maintain his seventh-level cultivation.
He also said that if the Investigation Department needed it, he could provide this prescription.
Shortly after he said this, chaos broke out in Practitioners' Associations across various regions, and many inspectors suffered meridian injuries.
It was by connecting these dots that Li Guoyan suspected this turmoil likely had someone deliberately muddying the waters behind the scenes.
After receiving the news, he questioned Yan Fengqing in detail and had professional physicians examine him.
The meridians in his legs were still in a damaged state, and the ingredients listed on that prescription required enormous financial resources and effort to obtain.
Not only that, but taking the medicine too much was not very beneficial for the body and could even affect fertility.
Li Guoyan was unwilling to see inspectors suffer the pain of blocked meridians, nor did he want them to undergo such a treatment plan.
While he was in a dilemma, Meng Yunzheng's words were like a timely rain, instantly dousing the anxiety and simmering anger in his heart.
"Director Li, it was Senior Qi Quan who came in person."
That one sentence was enough to prove everything.
Qi Quan had never made a mistake when she acted. She was the stabilizing pillar, the hope of the mystical world.
Li Guoyan's face showed excitement. "Good, I'll contact her right away."
He picked up the phone, then remembered it was the middle of the night and worried about disturbing Qi Quan's rest. He restrained himself and waited until the next morning.
Lakeside Villa.
After finishing breakfast, Qi Quan received a call from Li Guoyan.
"Master, from what Meng Yunzheng said, you healed a damaged inspector's meridians last night. I was wondering if there were any special requirements during the treatment?" Worried about the inspectors' conditions, Li Guoyan didn't waste words and got straight to the point.
Qi Quan looked towards Ling Sheng, who was beside her, intently studying a medical text.
"To be precise, it was done by Ling Sheng."
Li Guoyan was taken aback for a moment before continuing his inquiry, "Last night, similar conflicts occurred at Heavenly Master Associations across the country. Many inspectors suffered injuries of varying severity. I wonder if Ling Sheng can treat them?"
Qi Quan replied, "I'll ask him."
The situation had been urgent the previous night, so she had taken Ling Sheng with her directly.
Now, with so many inspectors injured, rushing wouldn't help, and given the large number of people, she felt she must consult Ling Sheng's willingness.
She said, "Ling Sheng, there are many people now with injuries similar to that person from last night. Are you willing to treat them?"
Ling Sheng paused, took out his phone, and typed: [Can I earn money to support the family?]
Qi Quan chuckled, put the call on speakerphone, and asked Li Guoyan on his behalf, "In principle, the Investigation Department has a medical office. Would Ling Sheng practicing medicine without a license be considered illegal?"
The implication was clear.
Li Guoyan decided to handle this as a special case. Moreover, as far as he knew, there were no mystical methods within the metaphysical community capable of healing a cultivator's damaged meridians. Someone like Ling Sheng could be considered the foremost expert in medical arts. Such talent naturally had to be promptly recruited by the Investigation Department.
He immediately replied, "Rest assured, if he can treat our inspectors, the department will certainly appoint him as the Chief Physician, with full salary, bonuses, and other benefits."
Qi Quan looked at Ling Sheng, seeking his opinion with her eyes.
Ling Sheng continued typing: [Does this count as a career?]
[Hahahaha, Ling Sheng is still thinking about his career!] The system was amused by him.
Qi Quan smiled and nodded, "It counts."
[I am willing.] Ling Sheng typed these three words.
Qi Quan relayed the message to Li Guoyan, "Ling Sheng is willing to treat the injured. However, please keep his identity confidential for now, limited to within the Investigation Department."
"I understand, Master. Please rest assured, the Investigation Department will not leak a single piece of information," Li Guoyan said. "I will immediately notify all local Investigation Departments to have the injured gather at the Longjiang City branch for treatment. How does that sound?"
Qi Quan: "That's acceptable."
Longjing City Investigation Department.
After hanging up, Li Guoyan immediately sent out a notice to all local Investigation Departments, instructing all personnel with meridian injuries to proceed to the Longjiang City Investigation Department.
As for the reason, it wasn't explicitly stated.
They just needed to follow orders.
...
Local Investigation Departments had been grappling with the inspectors' injuries. Once the order from headquarters came down, they sprang into action. Almost simultaneously, dozens of inspectors from across the country headed towards Longjiang City.
With the inspectors' injuries being addressed, Li Guoyan breathed a sigh of relief, but the phone rang again.
He answered. It was Sect Leader Yin.
Yin Yi's voice was very grave, "Director Li, we located the production base in Longlin City, but there's a ninth-level protective array surrounding it. With just the few of us, we truly cannot break through it."
"Not even with attack talismans?" Li Guoyan asked.
Yin Yi said, "We have attack talismans, but don't they have spiritual talismans? Moreover, the person who can set up a ninth-level array... we few seventh-level cultivators are simply no match."
It wasn't cowardice; it was that sacrificing themselves would be utterly meaningless.
Precisely because of this, the other side was acting so brazenly.
Even knowing their base had been discovered, they showed no reaction, not even bothering with Yin Yi, Fu Jiuchong, and the others.
They had no choice but to return to Longjing City.
Li Guoyan's expression turned solemn. "Thank you for your hard work."
As soon as the call ended, the phone rang again.
The caller was Sect Leader Wan Du.
His message was the same as Yin Yi's: the site in Longtang City was also protected by a high-level array he couldn't crack, forcing him to return to Longhai City.
Li Guoyan's heart grew heavy once more.
A ninth-level array indicated that the organization behind it had at least a ninth-level array master.
Previously, they had sent three seventh-level and one eighth-level cultivator to deal with Master Qi. Now, a ninth-level array had appeared. The more the opponent revealed, the more alarmed Li Guoyan became.
This was a colossal entity.
Eradicating it completely would not be a simple task.
Perhaps even Yan Fengqing was merely a pawn.
He entered the interrogation room again.
Yan Fengqing was handcuffed to the chair, looking at him calmly.
"Made up your mind?"
Li Guoyan asked, "How many years have you been taking this medicine?"
A faint, cold smile tinged with a hint of scorn appeared on Yan Fengqing's pale face.
"About twenty years now."
Li Guoyan: "You said these medicinal ingredients are very expensive. Twenty years must have cost a considerable fortune. Your accounts don't show that much money. Where did the funds to buy the ingredients come from?"
"I am a member of the Yan family. The Yan family is far wealthier than you imagine," Yan Fengqing said, lowering his gaze. "If the Yan family couldn't even support a cripple like me, what right would they have to call themselves the premier family?"
Li Guoyan went straight to the point, "You and Yan Fengjun have a good relationship?"
"I know what you're thinking," Yan Fengqing sneered. "You just want to say, since Yan Fengjun and I don't get along, why would he spend so much money."
Li Guoyan stared at him.
"He is the impartial and selfless head of the Yan family. He needs to demonstrate his benevolence and righteousness; otherwise, how could he command respect?" Yan Fengqing's lips curled in mockery.
Li Guoyan's eyes darkened. "I asked him. He said he didn't."
"Generally speaking, testimony from both family and enemies lacks sufficient credibility. He happens to be both."
Li Guoyan: "..."
This man was cunning, constantly leading him in circles.
He struck directly at Yan Fengqing's sore spot, "You've searched for over twenty years and still haven't found a way to cure your legs. Have you ever considered it might be because of things you've done? Karma is a cycle; retribution is inevitable."
Li Guoyan wasn't speaking without basis.
It was known that Yan Wu was involved in the ghost marriage case, and Yan Mao ordered two sixth-level Heavenly Masters to attack the villa when Qi Quan was besieged, cooperating with the evil cultivator in Longhu City to unsettle Qi Quan.
Both of these individuals were connected to Yan Fengqing. It could be inferred that both the ghost marriage case and the Bloodburst Pill case were intricately linked to Yan Fengqing.
It was known that Fu Jiuge was ambushed in Longhu City years ago while investigating the bloody pills, encountering a peripheral member of the Buddhist cultivator group. Previously, during the Peach Blossom Seal case, Qi Quan killed a Buddhist cultivator and brought back Ling Sheng.
It was known that Ling Sheng's photo bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Fu Jiuge's photo. Furthermore, after Master Qi attended Fu Luanfei's birthday banquet, Fu Jiuge regained consciousness. It could be speculated that Ling Sheng and Fu Jiuge were related.
It was known that Ling Sheng could heal damaged meridians.
If Yan Fengqing had truly participated in these evil deeds, harming Fu Jiuge and causing Ling Sheng to live in darkness for nineteen years, then he truly had brought this upon himself.
The only person in the world who might have been able to cure his legs, because of his own greed and cruelty, had made it utterly impossible for him to ever be healed.
If one day Yan Fengqing learned this truth, what would he think?
"Heh," Yan Fengqing scoffed at his words. "Karma is a cycle? Retribution is inevitable? If that were really true, why did I end up like this after hunting down evil cultivators back then?"
A genius had fallen. He had lost everything.
The position of family head, the woman he loved, his healthy body—he had lost far too much.
He had watched helplessly as the inferior Yan Fengjun ascended to the head of the family, watched helplessly as Fu Jiuge married a rogue cultivator, watched helplessly as the spiritual power within his body slowly dissipated.
He was about to become an ordinary person.
He would have nothing left.
The pity, the mockery, the kicking someone when they're down from others pierced him like sharp thorns, leaving him bleeding.
He refused to accept it.
Li Guoyan looked at him with both sympathy and pity.
If Yan Fengqing hadn't been so deluded, he might have waited for the birth of a new life, for the hope that belonged to him.
But he didn't.
"What do you mean?" Yan Fengqing was provoked by his gaze, his face growing even gloomier. "What right do you have to look at me like that? You're just an ordinary person. I am a seventh-level Celestial Master, the most talented Talisman Master in the Mystic Arts community!"
"Wasn't the most talented one Xie Lanzhou?" Li Guoyan stabbed at his sore spot once more.
Yan Fengqing scoffed, "What is he? Just a poor, wretched rogue cultivator. What does he have to compare with me?"
"I heard he was a fifth-level Talisman Master at seventeen, even capable of crafting talismans beyond his level," Li Guoyan said leisurely. "While you advanced to the fifth level at eighteen and could not craft beyond your level."
Yan Fengqing: "..."
"I heard he was a kind and righteous person, extremely passionate about the profession of a Celestial Master. He diligently studied the Talisman Path, all to create better talismans for exorcising evil and capturing ghosts. For a rogue cultivator to achieve such a level is truly outstanding. Otherwise, Fu Jiuge wouldn't have..."
"So what!" Yan Fengqing interrupted him, his face contorted. "He was still foolish to the extreme, dying—"
He caught himself and promptly shut his mouth.
Li Guoyan feigned surprise, "He's dead? You know about it? Why don't we talk about how he died."
Yan Fengqing gave a cold laugh.
"Something even the Fu family doesn't know, yet you know so clearly. Yan Fengqing, I have reason to suspect you are connected to the case from back then. Please cooperate with the interrogation."
The corner of Yan Fengqing's mouth lifted, "With no news of him for so many years, anyone could guess he died out there."
No matter how much Li Guoyan pressed him, he stuck to this story.
Li Guoyan didn't waste any more time. With Yan Fengqing's self-exposure, he had grounds to detain him for a few more days.
"Continue the interrogation," he instructed the interrogator.
"Yes."
Early the next morning, Shen Hui drove to Lakeside Villa to pick up Qi Quan and Ling Sheng.
"Senior, all the injured inspectors from various regions arrived yesterday," Shen Hui said with a pleased smile. "They are all arranged in the training room now."
The infirmary was too small and couldn't accommodate them all.
Qi Quan replied, "Mm."
This time, there were no unexpected incidents on the road. The journey to the Investigation Department was smooth.
Everything inside the Investigation Department had been arranged.
The more severely injured were placed at the front, the less severely injured at the back.
Meng Yunzheng met Qi Quan and Ling Sheng at the entrance and asked quietly, "Senior, there are quite a few injured. I wonder how many patients Physician Ling Sheng can treat at once?"
"His surname is Qi," Qi Quan corrected. "We haven't tested his limits yet."
Meng Yunzheng understood. "Senior, Physician Qi, the most severe case has damaged meridians in both legs. He currently cannot walk at all."
"Mm, let's take a look first," Qi Quan said, not making any promises.
She came this time primarily because it was Ling Sheng's first official "house call." After this, Ling Sheng would be able to come and go from the Investigation Department freely.
The two entered the infirmary, set up an isolation array, and only then had the first injured person brought in for treatment.
The patient was carried in on a stretcher.
Both the patient and the two carrying him gazed at Qi Quan with shining eyes.
They got to see the Senior!
Qi Quan hadn't paid it much mind initially, but when she looked at the patient, she suddenly froze.
She sensed an extremely faint trace of ghost energy.
The ghost energy was very well concealed. Its source should be an eighth-level green ghost. Others couldn't detect it, and the Investigation Department's instruments couldn't monitor it, but she, at the Human Emperor realm, vaguely sensed it.
She asked directly, "Have you recently encountered an eighth-level green ghost?"
The injured man: ???
What? How would he know!
