62: Chapter 62 Missing

Su Jiuchuan stroked his chin, and he finally understood. So, this so-called talisman weapon was essentially an energy weapon that required a Xiantian Martial Artist to act as a human charger. And the charging cycle took over a month?

This... Su Jiuchuan sighed. He didn't have the ability to find a Xiantian Martial Artist willing to act as a charger for him.

Suddenly, he fished out that pale yellow crystal and asked, "Take a look at this... can it replenish the True Qi for this talisman weapon?"

"A soul crystal?" Cai Rujin actually recognized it. She muttered, "That's unlikely."

She took the crystal and examined it repeatedly, even injecting her True Qi into it. After a long while, she said, "This really is a soul crystal."

"How is that possible? You... how could you have something like this?"

"I obtained it from an Ape Monster," Su Jiuchuan honestly explained its origin.

Cai Rujin shook her head and said, "That's not right. My father once said that when monsters are killed, their Mental Energy usually dissipates quickly, making it difficult for a soul crystal to remain. That's why these things are extremely rare."

Su Jiuchuan recalled how Wang Chenghu had been ecstatic when he obtained this soul crystal and could understand that it must be very precious. However, he had only assumed that all monsters left behind a soul crystal upon death.

So that wasn't the case. Could it be related to the characters on the Ape Monster?

Now was not the time to think about this. He hurriedly asked, "What is the use of this soul crystal?"

"I've heard it can be used to refine certain high-grade Medicinal Pills, talisman weapons, and so on. But I've only heard about it."

"Then, for example, replenishing a talisman weapon shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I wouldn't know about that," Cai Rujin said somewhat impatiently. "You, a First-grade Martial Artist, are pestering me, a Third-grade, with endless questions. Aren't you ashamed?"

After saying this, she walked to the other side of the small boat on her own.

Su Jiuchuan ignored her. He recalled that this short sword had been able to attract this crystal before, so it should be possible.

According to the life simulation, he would encounter that man in black within two months at most. Ordinary methods had already allowed him to escape death, so he had no choice but to gamble on this talisman weapon.

He acted on the thought and placed the pale yellow crystal directly onto the short sword.

Although the two objects were firmly stuck together, there were no visible changes. Su Jiuchuan couldn't be bothered to simulate it; after all, a simulation costing ten thousand taels of silver was simply too expensive.

Since there was no other way out, he might as well let nature take its course.

Su Jiuchuan also closed his eyes and began to meditate.

The small boat traveled upstream and soon returned to the pier outside Tianshui City.

Su Jiuchuan opened his eyes and was surprised to find that the short sword was now emitting a faint red light, while the soul crystal had turned into a pile of powder.

"This is..." He was a bit unsure. He reached out to touch it and felt the short sword was slightly hot, and he couldn't help but feel a wave of anxiety.

"Why does this look a bit like when a cell phone from my past life gets damaged from charging for too long?"

Fortunately, other than being slightly hot, Su Jiuchuan didn't notice any other issues. He had no choice but to put the short sword away.

On the pier, the Cai family's hunchbacked woman, Aunt Li, was already standing there. Before the boat had even stopped, Cai Rujin leaped onto the shore in a single stride and grabbed Aunt Li, speaking to her in a low voice. Before long, her eyes turned red; she was likely thinking of her father again.

"So, where are we going next?"

"I want to go back to Tianmu City!" Cai Rujin looked back at Su Jiuchuan. Although she wasn't used to it, she still remembered her father's instructions and didn't act petulant, but instead asked for his opinion.

Su Jiuchuan was mainly thinking about how to deal with the imminent man in black. It didn't matter to him where they went now; in any case, he wouldn't be able to escape him no matter where they went.

"Alright." Immediately after, the group returned to the inn to pack their things, then checked out and left.

Walking on the street, Aunt Li kept holding Cai Rujin's hand, but since she was a mute and couldn't speak, she could only walk with her in silence.

Su Jiuchuan followed behind, feeling bored. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he said, "You guys go ahead. I have something to attend to and will catch up later."

After saying this, he leaped a few times and disappeared into the vast crowd.

Just now, Su Jiuchuan seemed to have caught sight of a familiar figure in the crowd, so he had briefly greeted Cai Rujin and chased after them.

Unexpectedly, as soon as that person saw him move, they also started running.

Su Jiuchuan hurriedly followed. The two chased each other along the street and soon arrived in a secluded alley.

Upon arriving here, the person stopped running and stood still, keeping their back to him.

"Why are you here?" Su Jiuchuan called out in surprise.

Only then did the person slowly turn around. It was Zheng Xinyue, but her expression was cold, and her gaze toward him was somewhat angry.

"Hmph, you're off enjoying romantic moments with other women while leaving me alone in the wilderness."

Huh? Why does this sound so full of resentment and sourness? Is there some misunderstanding about me?

But at that time, with so many government soldiers chasing them, he hadn't had time to look for her.

Su Jiuchuan didn't know how to respond for a moment, but he suddenly noticed that under Zheng Xinyue's coarse cloth coat was a wolf-patterned uniform, which was the uniform of the Great Wei Zhenfu Bureau.

"You... how did you become a member of the Zhenfu Bureau?"

"Hmph!" Zheng Xinyue was clearly very angry and didn't want to talk to him.

Su Jiuchuan also didn't know what to say, so the two just stood there in silence.

After a long while, Zheng Xinyue sighed and said, "That day, the government soldiers of Xuzhou went to chase you. I didn't dare to go over, so I changed directions. On the way, I met my father."

"Your father?" Su Jiuchuan nodded. Back then, Chief Escort Master Zheng Nanhai had fled with the Third Prince and then disappeared without a trace.

"Because my father rescued the Third Prince, he was promoted to a Captain in the Zhenfu Bureau. And I thought that perhaps I could use the power of the Zhenfu Bureau to find you, so I also joined the Zhenfu Bureau."

Su Jiuchuan felt a bit moved, yet also at a loss. As a "steel-straight man" in his past life, he really didn't know how to handle the situation before him.

"Who knew that after I worked so hard to find you, you were out there living it up!" After saying this, she looked at him with a resentful expression.

Su Jiuchuan could only smile awkwardly and said, "Are you talking about Miss Cai? I... just promised her father to take care of her... oh, no, to protect her." He felt that the more he spoke, the less right it seemed.

"Hmph!" Zheng Xinyue's eyes were turning red.

Another damn silence.

After a long while, Zheng Xinyue finally controlled her emotions and suddenly said, "By the way, your big brother and your second sister are missing?"

"Huh?" Su Jiuchuan was shocked and hurriedly asked, "What exactly happened?"

"After I joined the Zhenfu Bureau, I thought that since you had already offended City Lord Guan Lin of Xuzhou, your big brother and second sister might be in danger there, so I sent people to check on Xuande Temple."

"Who knew, the people who reported back said that Xuande Temple was destroyed ten days ago, and your big brother and your second sister have both gone missing?"

"What?" Su Jiuchuan became anxious. He had originally thought that Xuande Temple would be safe enough to temporarily place Su Yunxia and Su Yuanjiang there, and that he would bring them back when he was strong enough. He hadn't expected something to happen after all.