The narrow alleyway, the cold and dull stone walls, along with the dim yellow candlelight, led us forward and we entered a wide dark room.
Qi Yuan's face was gloomy. He clenched his hands and made hand seals, with light shining out from the palms, gently pressing them onto the round disc on the stone wall.
The round disc trembled and became transparent. White light spread along the walls and around, revealing the complete pattern of the array.
Two men in black clothes were lying on the ground, bleeding from their mouths and noses, their lives unknown.
Qi Yuan whispered, "Check their condition."
Beside him, who was the owner of the Heaven Tower, quickly came to the two and checked their breaths. His right hand pressed against their foreheads.
After a few breaths, the owner said, "The meridians have been completely severed, and the five internal organs are shattered. They should have been killed by the force of the Canghai Blood Dragon Beast."
Qi Yuan took a breath and couldn't help narrowing his eyes. "Indeed, this is the Canghai Blood Dragon Beast. Even my Heaven Tower's Soul Guard can't hold it back. Fortunately, I set up an additional seal, otherwise its roar would have been heard throughout Qingzhou."
While speaking, he walked forward through the dark and pitch-black hall, and again made hand seals and pressed them onto another round disc.
Under the control of the array, the round disc began to rotate slowly, and the entire wall started to tremble, emitting a heavy sound.
The ground finally cracked open, revealing a huge pit beneath the dark hall. Immediately, two red lights flashed in the darkness.
Qi Yuan instinctively stepped back two steps, his face pale. Then, he couldn't help laughing uncontrollably. "Well, it's awake. It really scared me too."
In the pit was a huge body, over seven or eight feet long, shaped like a lizard, but covered in red scales. It had two wings on its back and a towering dragon head and two dragon horns.
It was breathing slightly, and each breath seemed to contain wind and thunder, giving people endless pressure.
Qi Yuan swallowed hard and muttered, "This thing... is truly terrifying. I must add several more layers of seals. Otherwise, something serious could happen."
The owner said, "Did Yang Wu and others hear that roar?"
Qi Yuan said, "They definitely heard it, but they couldn't guess it was the Canghai Blood Dragon Beast. Everything was carried out according to the plan."
While speaking, he carefully took out a compass and began to cast the array.
He must ensure that the Canghai Blood Dragon Beast wouldn't be discovered by anyone. ...
On the way back to Lingxuan Si, Yang Wu remained silent, his face extremely solemn.
Yi Han and Wu Yuanshan followed behind, unable to figure out Yang Wu's thoughts and not daring to speak.
Yi Xia'an's disappearance had made everyone feel like a knife was hanging over their hearts, urgent yet requiring restraint.
Finally, Yi Han couldn't help but say, "General Commander, with so many people missing, only my sister's case is special. It's very likely that these magical patterns are the key to solving the problem. Does our Lingxuan Si have such professional talents?"
Yang Wu shook his head and said, "There are professionals in case investigation, and those who are good at carrying out tasks, but there is no one who understands magical patterns. Looking for a breakthrough from here can be said to be very difficult."
After saying that, he stopped and turned to look at Yi Han, saying, "Half a month is not much time. We all need to make the most of it. Yi Han, you must strive to obtain information about these magical patterns. So far, only you among my subordinates have some knowledge in this area."
"Old Wu, you still lead your people to search for clues throughout the city. As long as a clue emerges, we can unravel the truth step by step."
At this point, he forced a smile and said, "And I have to face the anger of the Director of the Bureau."
The two of them exchanged glances and couldn't help sighing.
Wu Yuanshan whispered, "The officials in the government are not made of paper. They probably have already searched the entire Qingzhou City. Not finding any clues in this situation indicates that I need to go to the surrounding villages and towns outside the city to look."
"Next, you should focus on the magical patterns. This is a major matter and the time is tight. If you can make a contribution... the Qingzhou Lingxuan Si will surely have your place."
At this point, Wu Yuanshan patted his shoulder and said, "At that time, no one would dare to provoke you in Qingzhou. You have money, power, and are respected. It can be said that you have achieved your ideal life."
Yi Han nodded slowly and smiled gently.
He watched Wu Yuanshan's figure gradually disappearing in the crowd, while the dense crowd was bustling through the streets.
This era was so prosperous. Just in this small Qingzhou City, there were over a million people.
In the future world, there were hardly any cities with a population of over a million.
People were all buried in wars.
"Uncle Wu, actually, my ideal is not so small."
His voice was very soft, his words were very slow, but his eyes were very clear.
Regarding the magical patterns, Yi Han didn't know much. He only knew that there had been several similar events in history, but the impression wasn't very deep.
But he wasn't completely without solution. At least, his family had a knowledgeable Light Divine Officer living there.
So Yi Han headed straight for his home. Just as he reached the door, he heard urgent voices inside, a chaotic scene.
He thought something had happened, pulled out a knife and kicked the door open, rushing in directly.
In the small courtyard, there were seven or eight people. A teenager was covered in blood, lying on the ground, seemingly in a very serious condition.
Yi Ren was holding his hand and constantly infusing spiritual energy into him, but it seemed that there was no improvement.
"Uncle Zhou? Uncle Wu? You..."
Yi Han was a little confused. This big family he knew. They lived opposite each other and had a good relationship.
In his blurry memory, Yi Han still remembered that his father often worked overtime and didn't come home. So he would go to the opposite side to get food and drinks.
"It's Xiaohuan back. Son, Xiaohuan, your Xiaohuan brother is back. Look at it!"
The wife, around forty years old, was a little overweight, her face was tired, her eyes were red, as if she had just cried.
Yi Han frowned and walked forward, speaking sternly, "What happened? My younger brother was injured by whom?"
The lying teenager was named Zhou Fan. He was only seventeen years old and belonged to the type of quiet and taciturn.
He usually didn't talk and had a rather stubborn personality. He often hung out outside and was rebellious.
Yi Ren said, "Stop talking nonsense. The situation is still unclear. Now, treat his injuries first."
Yi Han carefully examined him. He had multiple knife wounds, but they weren't fatal. It was just excessive blood loss.
So he waved his hand and said, "Stop inputting the spiritual energy. This stuff doesn't work."
Zhou Fan was the precious possession of the Zhou family. Since their eldest brother Zhou Yong had no children and his only daughter had already married, the second brother Zhou Qiang had only this one son.
In other words, Zhou Fan was the only male in their generation. Now that he was injured, everyone was naturally extremely nervous.
Zhou Yong couldn't help but exclaim, "Xiaohuan, hurry up and go inside. Don't cause any more trouble now. There's no need for any here."
"It's true, Xiaohuan. Go and read your books. You don't need to be here."
Yi Huan glared and said, "No, Uncle Zhou. He just lost too much blood and doesn't need..."
"Oh dear, Xiaohuan, you don't understand anything. Why bother with this? Don't hold up your brother."
Zhou Yong pushed him towards the house, and the whole family became confused and disoriented.
Yi Reng stopped, turned to look at Xiaohuan, and narrowed his eyes, "Earlier, it seemed like you were making medicinal pills at home... Do you understand alchemy?"
Xiaohuan nodded, "Yes."
Yi Reng was silent for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the pavilion.
As he walked, he shouted, "You guys don't need to be so busy either. Come over and have some drinks to warm yourselves up. Xiaofan, take care of my son."
"Ah?"
The parents of Zhou Fan, his uncle and aunt, his grandparents, all froze.
Zhou Qiang, as Zhou Fan's father, was also a blacksmith. After Yi Reng retired, he spent his time forging iron with him.
He glanced at Xiaohuan and couldn't help but say, "I say, Brother Yi, aren't you joking? Xiaohuan doesn't know these things at all."
Zhou Yong couldn't help but say, "Brother Yi, don't joke about your nephew's life. Come quickly."
Yi Reng snorted and waved his hand, "You can believe whatever you want. I'm already drinking."
The whole family started arguing again.
"Enough, enough. Stop arguing."
Xiaohuan shouted directly, calming everyone down.
He walked over with a big stride, glanced at everyone, and said, "Uncle Zhou, Uncle Bai, the two aunts, and the two elders... Just calm down. Can rushing solve the problem?"
"I've seen it all. Xiaofan has eight knife wounds on his body. Only the side rib wound is very deep, but it's not fatal."
"Now the most important thing is to stop the bleeding. After stopping the bleeding, I'll give him the San Sheng pill, and it will take effect in a quarter of an hour."
While speaking, he took out a pill from his pocket and gave it to Zhou Fan.
The Stopping Blood Pill, as the name suggests, and the San Sheng pill can promote wound healing. These are all life-saving things that Xiaohuan always carried with him.
Zhou Qiang rubbed his hands anxiously beside him, wiping the sweat off his face. "Xiaohuan, Uncle believes your father. Just follow your method."
Zhou Yong was about to speak, but Zhou Qiang pulled him away and shouted loudly, "Don't be so anxious, Brother Yi is someone you know. He won't do anything random."
Xiaohuan couldn't care about what they were saying around him and gave the San Sheng pill to him again.
For a moment, the inside the pill spread, and Xiaofan's not very deep wound was visible to the naked eye as it healed.
He let out a painful groan and gradually woke up.
"Ah, it really works!"
Zhou Yong shouted excitedly, "Xiaohuan, you really did it. Just now, my uncle was being impulsive. Don't mind him."
"Good boy, you've grown up."
Zhou Qiang patted him on the shoulder and looked at Zhou Fan, "Xiaofan, how are you feeling? How did this happen?"
Zhou Fan was in a daze and looked around, but didn't speak.
Yi Reng shouted from the pavilion, "Enough, the person is fine now. The two elders go back to rest. It's such a cold day."
Zhou Qiang's expression wasn't good. His eyes became serious and he said, "Zhou Fan! I'm asking you a question! What did you do? Who injured you?"
Zhou Fan supported himself to stand up and turned his head, "It's none of your business."
"What do you mean! "
Zhou Qiang's eyes widened and he shouted angrily, "What do you mean it's none of your business? What you eat and what you wear, isn't everything I forged with my hammer?"
"You're seventeen years old, yet you still don't have a proper demeanor. You just know to go and mix with others all day long. Even your little brother Xiaohuan went to the Lingxuan Bureau. You're even worse than him!"
Xiaohuan was stunned.
What? How can you say I'm worse than you? I'm very weak, you know? Zhou Fan glanced at Yi Han and said nothing. He raised his head and said, "I can do it on my own."
"By your mother's fault! I see you are... ah ah ah... in pain..."
While Zhou Qiang was still giving off a pleasant aroma, his ears were grabbed.
"Madam, Madam, please spare me. It was my fault for speaking carelessly just now."
Everyone knew that Zhou the blacksmith was a bully who didn't fear anyone. The only thing he was afraid of was his own wife.
So, he didn't dare to be arrogant anymore. He slunk off to the pavilion to drink.
Zhou Fan's mother was named Wang Cuiping. She was big-boned and had strong fighting skills. Even when he was young, Yi Han was somewhat afraid of her.
"Xian Han, ask your younger brother. You are of the same age, so it will be easier to talk to him."
"Come to my house for lunch at noon. Auntie will cook braised meat for you."
Yi Han involuntarily swallowed and smiled, "No problem, Auntie. Go ahead. Zhou Fan will handle it."
So, everyone helped Zhou Fan to the bedroom and placed him on Yi Han's bed.
Yi Han closed the door and let out a deep sigh of relief. Finally, he was quiet.
His mood was already agitated, and this argument made his mind almost explode.
He turned to look at the young man lying on the bed and couldn't help laughing, "After being stabbed eight times, Brother Fan, you are quite good at fighting, aren't you? Why did you fail this time?"
Zhou Fan and him had always had a good relationship. Now there were only the two of them left. He directly said, "We were tricked. That person was holding a knife."
Yi Han glanced at him and said, "Joining a gang is so much fun? Engaging in petty theft and thievery doesn't have any future."
Zhou Fan said, "Who said it was petty theft and thievery? This time we are upholding justice and fighting those traffickers."
Yi Han couldn't help laughing, "Oh, you are doing official duties now?"
Zhou Fan said proudly, "It's not doing official duties. Those traffickers are kidnapping children everywhere. Punishing them is upholding the law."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Yi Han laughed loudly, and then the laughter suddenly stopped.
He widened his eyes and stared at Zhou Fan intently, exclaiming, "What did you say? Kidnapping children?"