299: Chapter 293 You are all monsters!

NH Coast, mountain range.

Inside the mountain base, the Director was busy at the computer desk in his room.

*Knock knock—*

"Come in."

The Director turned his head and saw Lin Miao walking in. He shifted his attention back to the computer screen. "Xiao Miao, why are you back too?"

"Brother Ye..." She stood behind the Director. "I was worried about his safety, so I just went home to see my parents and hurried back on a flight."

"Don't worry, Immortal Xu is there..."

*Knock knock—* The sound of knocking interrupted him. "Come in."

"Director." Yue Ruo pushed the door open while holding a stack of documents, saying as she entered, "Regarding the public reaction to the video, I've already... Oh, Xiao Miao?"

"Sister Yue."

Yue Ruo gave her a look, signaling they would chat in her room later, then placed the documents next to the mouse. "Overall, it's consistent with the Director's expectations."

"The public is constantly urging for the follow-up."

"Hmm."

"What about abroad? Especially Ying Country."

"Over there..." She scratched her cheek. "The reaction is quite subtle."

The Director rotated his chair to face her, puzzled. "How so?"

"They are paying a lot of attention. After all, Ying Country and we are currently the only two countries on Planet Blue with supernatural sightings."

"It just feels like Ying Country isn't very panicked, as if they have some sort of trump card."

"A trump card..." The Director rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hogwarts?"

"Most likely."

After a moment of contemplation, the Director waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about them. Anyway, Hogwarts is being suppressed by Immortal Xu."

"We just need to proceed steadily. Once Ye Ming's training is over, we'll just release the process."

He was very confident, but Yue Ruo looked worried. "The plan is fine, but... can we actually get the footage of the training process?"

"Don't worry, I've already discussed it with Ye Ming."

The Director thumped his chest as he spoke, but inwardly he felt a bit guilty.

Immortal Xu hadn't shown his face during the three-day break. By the time they met, the six of them had departed immediately. The Director hadn't found a gap to confirm the matter with Ye Ming.

As for why he acted so confident...

First, he inferred from Immortal Xu helping with the aerial shots of the town that his request shouldn't be refused.

Second, as a leader, he was long accustomed to maintaining a calm image in front of his subordinates.

Sure enough, seeing him like this, Yue Ruo's furrowed brows relaxed. "Then I'll head out first. Xiao Miao, let's go to..."

The landline phone next to the Director's right hand, which was holding the mouse, suddenly rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, he stood up abruptly and grabbed the phone. "Old Chief!"

"What kind of trouble are you stirring up now?!"

"Uh, I don't quite understand..."

"You don't know what you've done?"

Realizing it was about the video, the Director's tense expression suddenly relaxed. "Oh, I thought something else happened."

"Old Chief, rest assured, there will absolutely be no mistakes."

"No mistakes? Absolutely?"

"Have you considered whether the mission process might accidentally leak intelligence? Or if the enemy might probe our true strength?"

Despite being scolded, the Director wasn't flustered at all. He said calmly, "Immortal Xu said it's fine."

"..."

Silence fell on the other end of the line for a moment before the Old Chief's calm voice came through. "Hmm, well done. It seems my careful teaching in the past wasn't in vain. Put everything else aside for these few days."

"Focus on getting this done right."

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright, I'm hanging up... Oh, right, remember to send me a copy when the video comes out."

"Yes, sir!"

After hanging up, the Director waved his hand to dismiss Yue Ruo and Lin Miao.

Only after the door closed with a *click* did he sit back in his chair and rub the bridge of his nose. "Ye Ming... I'm counting on you. Don't drop the ball."

"If I don't get that video, the higher-ups will skin me alive."

...

"Strange, why do I feel like someone is talking about me?"

Inside a jewelry shop, Ye Ming was leaning against a waist-high counter when he suddenly shuddered.

Luo Xiling was sitting in front of an antique dressing mirror, while a charming middle-aged proprietress stood behind her, styling her hair into a bun.

Hearing Ye Ming's mutter, she smiled without turning her head. "It must be Sister Xiao Miao missing you. Quick, touch your earlobes and see if they're burning."

"You're always so cheeky. Stop moving, or your hair will come loose again."

"Oh."

After quieting Luo Xiling, Ye Ming looked toward the three young men on the other side.

They no longer looked like modern people; their short hair had become long, tied up into hair crowns or ponytails reaching their waists.

One of them felt uncomfortable and scratched his hairline. "Brother Ye, where did these wigs come from?"

"I knew we'd need them... so I specifically asked the Director to prepare a few for me."

"Brother Ye is always so thorough." Having finished, Luo Xiling skipped over. "Look, do I look good?"

"Senior Sister looks beautiful." The three immediately offered their flattery, and even the girl sitting at the dressing mirror managed to squeeze in a compliment.

"Hehe." Happily touching the hair bun on her head with her palm, she asked, "Brother Ye, shall we..."

Just as she spoke, Ye Ming's eyes narrowed and he interrupted her. At the same time, he looked at the proprietress, who had her back to them while tidying up hair accessories. The others, not knowing why, fell silent.

The sudden silence behind her felt strange. The proprietress instinctively raised her eyes to the bronze mirror and met Ye Ming's scrutinizing gaze.

Feeling the oppressive nature of his stare, she hurriedly lowered her head. Her hands, which had slowed down due to her distraction, sped up again, even showing a hint of urgency.

Seeing this, Luo Xiling ran to Ye Ming's side as if realizing something and whispered, "Is it her?"

Coming back to his senses, he looked at her with total confusion. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"We just arrived in town and haven't even started a preliminary investigation. How could I possibly identify the culprit?"

"Then why were you staring at her so fiercely?"

"Uh, did I look fierce just now?"

Luo Xiling gave a thumbs-up and pointed over her shoulder at the three young men behind her. "Ask them."

Ye Ming looked over, and the three nodded honestly.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he approached the proprietress. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about some personal matters, so..."

"There is no need for that, Sir. It was this humble one who was being clumsy."

"There, it's done."

The girl stood up and admired herself in the bronze mirror with delight. "What great craftsmanship!"

"You flatter me."

Feeling that the proprietress was somewhat fearful, Ye Ming didn't know if it was because of his unfriendly gaze just now or the influence of the recent Prodigy incidents.

It was probably both.

Since the task was done and she was scared, he didn't waste any more words. He asked for the price and took out a piece of broken silver to settle the bill.

The proprietress went behind the counter, grabbed a handful of copper coins from a drawer—about twenty of them—and gave them as change.

Ye Ming took them, thanked her, and led the five newly dressed companions out of the shop, turning right.

Because the main road of the town was built along a slope, there were steps every few intervals. One had to focus while walking to avoid tripping, but it was built wide enough for six people to walk side-by-side.

The long swords of the five were all wrapped tightly in linen and held in their arms.

The surroundings were unusually silent, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing. Luo Xiling felt a bit uneasy and tightened her grip on the moon bright sword.

"Brother Ye, where are we going?"

He scanned the deserted street. "Looking at the situation, everyone in town is probably living in fear. They definitely won't open their doors for guests at night."

"We'll find an inn to rest and start investigating for clues first thing tomorrow morning."

"Huh? Aren't there outer disciples here? Why don't we just go ask them?"

Ye Ming took off his backpack, fumbled around for a bit, and took out a notebook. "Immortal Xu appointed me as the captain. I don't know the deeper meaning behind it, but he explicitly instructed me to record your performance during the mission and grade you, then report back to him."

"Contacting outer disciples and obtaining their help is a point deduction."

"Of course, there's no hard rule saying you can't seek help from mundane forces, but I've made the consequences clear. The choice is yours."

Although they didn't know what the downside of a "point deduction" was, since it was a deduction, it certainly wasn't anything good.

Thus, the five of them almost instantly reached a consensus—unless the task became impossible, they would never seek outside help.

While chatting, the six arrived in front of an inn.

The innkeeper was likely someone who valued money over life, or perhaps there were no young women in his family, as he had left the shop door wide open without any qualms.

The group went inside, and Ye Ming asked the innkeeper for two rooms across the counter, preferably adjacent.

With the frequent disappearance cases, there were no tourists in Jinshui Town, so many rooms were vacant. They checked in smoothly.

After eating the dinner brought by the innkeeper, the six went to their respective rooms to rest.

The night passed in silence.

The next morning.

After having breakfast, the six took their linen-wrapped long swords and walked out onto the street.

The rising sun's bright light dispersed the darkness, and the town's residents emerged from their homes to begin a new day of work.

The crowd was dense, street vendors were hawking their wares, and the stoves at breakfast stalls were emitting smoke.

The atmosphere seemed peaceful, but it was shattered by the hurried footsteps of the pedestrians.

Ye Ming wove through the crowd, scanning the faces of the passersby with his peripheral vision—they were either solemn, anxious, or sorrowful.

The former two likely had family members who fit the victim profile, while the latter probably already had missing family members.

Having gained a general understanding of the current situation, Ye Ming pondered where to start this mission.

Cases where people had been missing for a while wouldn't work. After so much time, even if the culprit had left clues, they would have long been destroyed by funeral processions.

He needed to find someone who had just gone missing, preferably last night.

With a plan in mind, Ye Ming gestured for the five to follow him and headed straight to the Government Officials' office.

They sat down at a tea stall across the road and ordered six bowls of herbal tea. He unhurriedly picked up his bowl and took a small sip.

Luo Xiling had zero interest in the coarse tea before her. "What are we doing here?"

"Waiting for someone."

"Waiting for who?"

"They're here."

Ye Ming looked toward the Government Officials' office across the street, and the five followed his gaze.

A woman, wiping away tears, stumbled to the front door and struck the Grievance Drum placed to one side.

Shortly after, a Bailiff came out and led her inside.

Frequent disappearances meant the Government Officials were unable to handle it. Ye Ming knew the woman would likely come out in a short while.

Things developed exactly as he expected.

After about a few minutes, the woman was escorted out by a Middle-aged Man wearing official robes.

"Please rest assured, this official will do everything in his power to apprehend the culprit."

Whether this official was being perfunctory or sincere, Ye Ming couldn't tell, nor did he care.

Seeing the woman walk into the distance, he immediately signaled the five to follow.

They didn't follow her covertly; in fact, they were quite blatant, trailing about ten steps behind.

The woman wasn't blind and soon noticed something was wrong. She looked back once and then quickened her pace.

She was likely from a poor background, living in a corner of the town, and the way home was very secluded.

With no one around, the woman became increasingly panicked and involuntarily started to run.

Clearly, she couldn't outrun six young people who exercised regularly.

The six caught up and blocked her path.

"You... in broad daylight... do you intend to do something indecent?!"

"Don't be afraid, Ma'am, we aren't bad people." As usual, Luo Xiling stepped forward with a friendly smile to negotiate.

Scanning the group, the woman felt they indeed didn't look like thugs.

Besides, having worked in the fields for many years, she was long past her prime. Even if someone were to commit a crime of passion, it wouldn't be directed at her, right?

"Gentlemen..." She relaxed and was about to ask what they wanted when she caught sight of the linen-wrapped long swords in the arms of the five. She corrected herself, "What do you heroes want?"

Hearing the word "heroes," a spark of inspiration flashed in Ye Ming's mind. He spoke up, "It's like this, Ma'am."

"We have come from afar and stayed in Jinshui Town for a night. Having heard of a Prodigy doing evil, we intend to eliminate it. It just so happened that we saw you striking the Grievance Drum, so we wanted to ask you for clues about the Prodigy."

The woman's eyes lit up.

She understood the Government Officials were powerless; otherwise, the Prodigy would have been eliminated long ago, rather than being allowed to kidnap the girls of Jinshui Town's residents.

The people before her had an extraordinary aura and were carrying weapons, so they surely had some skill.

Thus, she hurriedly led them to her home, a dilapidated residential house with a courtyard.

Just as the group was about to enter the courtyard, a middle-aged woman walked out from next door and called out to them.

She knew the woman, and seeing her lead several strangers home, she came over curiously to inquire.

After a brief exchange between the two, the middle-aged woman learned the six were "heroes acting for justice" and immediately pulled everyone excitedly into her own home.

Ye Ming couldn't refuse, so he told the first woman to go back first and that they would be over shortly, then followed the middle-aged woman into her living room.

After some conversation, they understood the situation.

The middle-aged woman had a daughter, sixteen years of age, the same age as the neighbor's daughter, and they were classmates and childhood friends.

This morning, she learned the neighbor's daughter had vanished without a trace and was scared into a cold sweat.

Her own daughter was even more beautiful. Since the neighbor's girl was gone, it meant the Prodigy had targeted this area. How could her own daughter not meet with disaster?

After seeing the Government Officials' grand but futile search operations while the town's girls continued to disappear one after another, she, like the first woman, knew they couldn't be relied upon.

Just now, she was worrying about what to do, but she never expected heroes to come to her door.

Your daughter is already gone anyway, so waiting a bit won't hurt, but my child is still here and can still be saved.

With such a calculation, the middle-aged woman had hurriedly pulled the six into her home.

Ye Ming sensed her calculation. Although he didn't quite like it, he also understood that it was indeed the reality.

The neighbor's daughter had been missing for a night. Based on the frequency of one young woman disappearing per day, she had likely already met with misfortune.

Since that was the case, priority naturally had to be given to the girl who had not yet been harmed.

Ye Ming frowned and interrupted the middle-aged woman's incessant chatter. "Where is your daughter?"

"In the backyard, she's in the backyard!"

She hurriedly got up and went to the backyard, returning with a timid-looking girl of about seventeen or eighteen.

In this short time, Ye Ming had already formulated a plan. "It's not safe here. There are mountains in front and behind the house, making it hard to find the Prodigy if it hides. Take her and come with us to the inn in the town center."

"Alright, alright, I'll go pack some clothes."

Ye Ming took advantage of this gap to go to the neighbor's house with the five for a detailed inquiry.

Having finished asking most of what he needed to know, he stood up to take his leave, while inwardly wondering why she hadn't finished packing her luggage after all this time.

*Bang—*

The courtyard gate was kicked open from the outside, and the middle-aged woman swarmed in with a large group of soldiers.

She held the arm of the leading officer with one hand and pointed at Ye Ming and the others with the other, wailing, "It's them! They just took one look at my daughter, and she's gone!"