308: Chapter 308 Searching for People

Bai Nianci was slightly stunned.

"Searching for someone?"

She muttered the words again, her mind turning halfway as she failed to react for a moment.

"Our Medical Valley... has the person you are looking for?"

Chen Ran did not answer immediately.

Holding his teacup, he merely turned his head slightly, his gaze falling upon the pitch-black river surface outside the window.

"Shen Wanying."

Bai Nianci froze all over.

She took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, raised her head, and tried hard to maintain her composure.

"I don't know her..."

Chen Ran held his teacup and nodded slowly.

"Mm."

Bai Nianci secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness.

"Then that means you do know her."

Chen Ran calmly added.

Bai Nianci: "..."

She was stunned for a moment, the expression on her face slowly freezing.

What does saying she doesn't know her mean she does know her?

Er...

Bai Nianci's mind turned halfway, and realizing something, her face turned pale.

"No, I am no match for him at all."

"I must never speak carelessly again after this."

Bai Nianci gritted her teeth secretly, wishing she could give herself a slap.

Just as she intended to remain silent to the end, the sound of chair legs rubbing against the floor softly rang out.

Chen Ran stood up.

Bai Nianci instinctively raised her head.

Holding his teacup, that man walked toward her nonchalantly, unhurriedly, step by step.

Chen Ran stopped in front of her, looking down at her with a calm voice.

"In the Medical Valley, do you have anyone close to you?"

Bai Nianci did not understand his meaning and was stunned for a moment,

not knowing whether she should tell the truth or a lie.

If she lied, it would probably allow the other party to guess it, and instead deduce even more information.

In the end, she could only answer truthfully:

"I do..."

"Fellow sect practitioners, fraternal bonds—are there any you cannot let go of?"

"Yes."

Chen Ran nodded, as if confirming something, and then lowered his voice, every word clear.

"Then remember this well."

"Not a single word of my identity must be leaked out."

"If anyone finds out,"

He turned his head slightly, his eyes as dark and deep as a pool under the moonlight,

"Not a single person around you will be left alive."

"I remember." Bai Nianci covered her mouth with both hands. "Mph, I won't say a single word."

"It's good that you remember."

Chen Ran stepped back half a step.

He turned and walked toward the window, casually putting down the teacup, his fingers curving slightly.

A dark red speck emerged from his fingertips—an extremely tiny grain, resembling a solidified blood bead, casting a faint halo in the moonlight.

Bai Nianci looked at that speck, instinctively feeling uneasy.

"Open your mouth."

Chen Ran turned his head back to look at her.

"What... is this?"

"Just swallow it down."

Chen Ran walked back in front of her, the dark red blood bead at his fingertips suspended right in front of her lips,

"You won't die."

Bai Nianci stared at that speck, her heart pounding with anxiety.

But what else could she do?

In the end, she could only close her eyes, raise her head, and open her mouth.

That tiny speck fell upon the tip of her tongue, like a slightly cool dewdrop, and vanished without a trace as she swallowed.

Bai Nianci waited for a long time, but didn't feel any abnormality at all.

"Done."

Chen Ran stepped back one step, his tone indifferent.

Bai Nianci opened her eyes, looked at herself, and then looked at him.

"What... kind of thing is this?"

"A Blood Seed."

Chen Ran walked back to the side of the chair and sat down again,

"As long as you harbor no rebellious intentions, you won't feel any reaction."

"But if someone uses your mouth to find out who I am,"

Chen Ran paused,

"your body will swell up like a balloon and finally shatter into powder with a pop."

Bai Nianci understood the meaning behind these words, gritted her teeth, and remained silent.

Having swallowed this speck, she could be considered completely trapped with no way out.

Chen Ran did not look at her again; he picked up his teacup, and his gaze fell back onto the river surface outside the window.

"I am going to the Medical Valley only to look for someone, not to make a move against the Medical Valley."

His voice became much calmer,

"As long as you don't stir up trouble, no one will touch you along the way, and the Medical Valley will not be implicated."

Bai Nianci was stunned.

She hadn't expected this person to suddenly say such a thing, and immediately said with pleasant surprise:

"Really?"

Chen Ran looked at the young girl speechlessly:

"Do you think I have any need to lie to you."

...

A few days later.

In the small hall of the cabin furnished with a low table, breakfast had already been served.

This Great Wei secret ship was exceptionally well-equipped; the provisions in the storehouse were diverse, and all three meals daily were prepared by dedicated personnel.

The ingredients were fresh, and the presentation was exquisite, no worse than the restaurants in ordinary cities.

Chen Ran sat by the table, picked up his chopsticks to pick up a piece of soft pastry, and chewed slowly.

Sitting opposite him was Bai Nianci.

Holding her bowl with her head lowered, her mind drifted off to who knows where.

Outside the window was the river surface in the early morning.

The light mist had not completely dispersed, and the morning sun had just climbed above the horizon, dyeing the entire river in a pale golden-red.

A few sporadic archipelagos emerged from the mist with rugged reefs and lush trees on the islands.

Bai Nianci looked at that familiar archipelago, her gaze flickering slightly.

The waterways in this area were ones she had traveled more than once.

Traveling forward for another half day, entering the Chishui River, and rounding that bend, she would be able to see the continuous greenery along the edge of the bamboo sea from afar.

Ciyin Medical Valley was almost here.

She had stayed in the capital for a long time; the last time she returned to the valley was many months ago.

At that time, Master was still nagging that when she returned, she would help her re-examine the condition of her meridian channels.

Bai Nianci clutched her bowl, took small sips of porridge, and casually spoke:

"Along the way these past few days it has been peaceful, you shouldn't really be planning to do anything detrimental to the Medical Valley, right..."

Chen Ran picked up a piece of pickled vegetable and did not respond.

Bai Nianci changed her phrasing.

"Shen... that person, when you look for her, is there some urgent matter?"

"Eat your food."

Chen Ran raised his eyes to glance at her and dropped a casual remark.

Bai Nianci instantly pressed her lips together like a chick pecking at rice, not daring to ask any more questions.

She lowered her head, quietly eating the porridge in her bowl.

The dining table grew quiet again.

The morning sun outside the window gradually rose higher, golden light bit by bit paving over the river surface, illuminating the contours of the distant archipelago more and more clearly.

The shadows of the bamboo could already be faintly seen.

"Milord."

A respectful voice came from outside the cabin door.

A subordinate walked in from outside, knelt on one knee, and reported in a low voice:

"Reporting to Milord, in a few hours, we will arrive at the territory of Ciyin Medical Valley. I wonder what arrangements Milord has?"

Chen Ran glanced out the window.

In the morning light, those patches of bamboo shadows were much closer.

"Go tell the others,"

His voice was calm,

"Bring all the Disciples of Ciyin Medical Valley to the deck."

"Yes."

The subordinate acknowledged the order, stood up, and retreated.

...

On the deck, a group of people were successively brought out.

Liu Qing walked at the very front.

Over the past few days of confinement, although they could not move around freely, their food and clothing were never lacking. There was neither beating, scolding, nor harsh treatment; all things considered, they were treated even better than in an ordinary inn.

If not for the constant guards, it almost felt like a not-so-bad river journey.

But Liu Qing could not view that treatment with gratitude as "lenience".

She looked around, her gaze sweeping over several subordinates with solemn expressions on the deck, and then landing on that figure standing with hands behind their back not far away.

Pausing her steps, Liu Qing walked forward and spoke in a deep voice:

"Where is Bai Nianci?"

No one around responded.

The river breeze blew from the water surface, brushing away a few strands of her scattered hair before letting them fall back.

Liu Qing lowered her voice another degree, feeling somewhat anxious in her heart.

Seven days and seven nights.

Ever since that burly man took Bai Nianci away from the cabin hall until now, she hadn't seen even a shadow of her Junior Sister once.

She dared not think about what had happened during these seven days.

She knew very well what background that person had.

A Demonic Path expert wanted by the imperial court.

Unscrupulous in methods and resolute in actions, he was by no means an ordinary person.

Junior Sister was still young, falling alone into the hands of such a person.

A thin layer of sweat oozed from Liu Qing's palms. Her gaze stared fixedly at the figure in front of her as she spoke in a deep voice:

"Where is Bai Nianci now!?"