140: Jacquard

On a mountain near Pingan Village, halfway up.

There was a man-made cave carved into the wall, with four masked bandits standing on either side. Occasionally, a bandit would leave, mostly returning with stolen goods, then coming out empty-handed.

On a small slope about fifty meters diagonally opposite the cave, Xie Ning and the other two stood on tree branches, carefully observing, hidden by the foliage.

Su Qin looked at the cave and said with concern, "Is this really a good idea? What if we can't beat them..."

"Even if we can't beat them, escaping won't be a problem. Let's wait a bit longer," Xie Ning replied.

At this moment, Little Mantis returned, bringing back news from inside the cave. Xie Ning couldn't help but frown after hearing it.

Su Qin quickly asked, "What's wrong? Are these bandits too strong?"

Qin Tianyu also looked at Xie Ning, waiting for his words.

"No, these people are very weak."

"Isn't being weak a good thing? Why are you still frowning?" Su Qin asked, puzzled.

"These people are indeed not ordinary bandits," Xie Ning looked solemnly at the cave entrance. "Their true identities should be Fallen Demon Tamers."

"Fallen Demon Tamers?!"

Su Qin was greatly alarmed, and Qin Tianyu also frowned.

"Yes, Little Mantis saw some people inside with the symbol of a Fallen Demon Tamer tattooed on them," Xie Ning finished, a sharp killing intent in his eyes. "Since they are Fallen Demon Tamers, we absolutely cannot let them go!"

Yan Ruyu had told him about the symbols of various organizations.

Qin Tianyu gripped his dagger and looked at Xie Ning: "What's their strength like?"

"One Silver Rank, doesn't seem to have a foundation in ancient martial arts; Little Mantis will handle it. Thirteen Bronze Rank, twenty-five Black Iron Rank," Xie Ning finished, pointing at the cave. "Seven at the entrance, eight in the passage, left and right sides..."

After briefly explaining the situation, a black light flashed on Qin Tianyu, and he rushed towards the cave. Little Mantis was even faster.

"You watch outside; don't let anyone escape," Xie Ning said to Su Qin, then leaped down, summoning White Fang midway, and charged directly towards the cave.

Outside the cave, two bandits saw Xie Ning charging and were about to sound the alarm when their necks felt a chill, and they collapsed to the ground.

Xie Ning burst through the entrance, and with his longsword dancing, three Black Iron Rank and one Bronze Rank were instantly cut down. White Fang killed two with two claw strikes, withstood a Demon Tamers Beast attack, and spat fire, burning one to death.

The seven at the entrance were easily dealt with; the battle in the passage continued.

At this moment, the other bandits in the cave also reacted, summoning their Demon Tamers Beast and charging over. Some held guns, pointing them at Xie Ning and Qin Tianyu.

Xie Ning raised his hand, and an elemental armor appeared on him and White Fang. He then charged in, his sword rising and falling, reaping lives. The attacks from the Demon Tamers Beast were all negated by the elemental armor.

However, the one who ended the battle fastest was neither Xie Ning nor Qin Tianyu, but Little Mantis.

While they were still fighting fiercely, Little Mantis had already arrived with the head of the Silver Rank bandit leader, crushing the bandits' morale. Then, like slicing vegetables, it swiftly cut down many bandits, leaving only three Bronze Rank.

These three trembled, looking at Xie Ning and the others with faces full of fear.

"Speak! What do you want the identification documents for? Where have the captured people gone?" Xie Ning demanded, pointing his longsword at one person's neck.

"I, we..." One of the bandits stammered, seemingly about to answer, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his eyes widened, and he died on the spot. The one who killed him was his companion beside him.

Another Bronze Rank bandit was killed in the same way.

Xie Ning narrowed his eyes, looking at the bandit who killed his companion to silence him: "Fallen Demon Tamers are indeed ruthless."

"Since you know my identity, you should know that we are not ones to be forced to reveal information. Hahaha~" The captured bandit in the middle finished speaking with a few laughs, and his stomach gradually swelled.

"Careful!" Qin Tianyu shouted, grabbing Xie Ning to retreat, but it was still too late. The bandit exploded, and violent energy surged towards the two. The power of this self-detonation was no less than a full-power attack from a Silver Rank.

At this critical moment, White Fang, using its Fire Shadow, appeared in front of the two, ready to withstand the impact. Little Mantis appeared next, its dual blades infused with energy, like two sharp light blades. It blocked in front, slashing left and right, and the space instantly twisted.

Like the parting of the sea, the rampant energy, as it approached White Fang and the two, was carried by the twisted space to the left and right, brushing past their clothes and arms, rushing towards the exit.

Boom!

A violent explosion echoed at the cave entrance. Su Qin watched this scene, greatly alarmed. When the fluctuations subsided a bit, he quickly rushed in with Light Cat.

"Big Brother Xie, Tian Yu, are you alright? What was that explosion just now?" Su Qin asked anxiously, looking at the messy scene.

Xie Ning calmed himself down, briefly explained to Su Qin, then patted White Fang and Little Mantis on their heads, smiling.

Then the three searched and plundered the cave for a while. They didn't find any captured people, but there were many valuable items piled on the ground. In an innermost room, there was a machine, and next to it was a stack of identification documents. Several cards were being cut on top, and at the very bottom, there was a row of test tubes containing a liquid that resembled jade marrow but was much more crystalline.

Hiss—

Upon seeing these liquids, Xie Ning immediately gasped, his heart pounding uncontrollably. Even Su Qin couldn't help but breathe rapidly, his eyes gleaming.

"What is this?" Qin Tianyu asked.

Xie Ning carefully took out a test tube, examined it for a moment, then let out a long breath and said, "This thing is called heavenly jade marrow. It's a widely used material, recognized as the material in the world that contains the most life energy."

At this point, Xie Ning fell silent again, lost in thought. Su Qin then took over, continuing:

"Not only that, but using it allows Demon Tamers Beast to evolve to higher ranks, and weapons are more likely to gain consciousness. Another characteristic is its safety. Even if evolution fails after using heavenly jade marrow, it won't cause any harm to the Demon Tamers Beast."

Xie Ning looked at Su Qin with surprise after hearing this.

How does Little Brother know so much?

heavenly jade marrow is not something ordinary people can come into contact with, so how could he know it so well?

"There's another reason that makes the world go crazy for it," Xie Ning said.

"What is it?" Su Qin looked at Xie Ning in bewilderment.

Xie Ning took a deep breath, looking at the half-filled test tube in his hand, and slowly said:

"Human transformation."

Only a very small number of Yao Beasts in the world can naturally take human form. If one wants to transform into a human through humanoid evolution, heavenly jade marrow is indispensable.

He hadn't expected to find a full seven tubes of heavenly jade marrow in this cave.

Even more unexpected was that one of the world's most expensive and priceless Materials, heavenly jade marrow, was hidden within the identification cards that every Chinese citizen possessed. Why was this?

Why would Huaguo make heavenly jade marrow into identification cards?

Even if they were rich, they couldn't be this extravagant!

Unable to understand this, Xie Ning simply stopped thinking about it. Since they found it, they shared it. He gave one to Su Qin and Qin Tianyu each, and kept the rest for himself. He also confiscated the machine.

After another thorough search, they still found no trace of the captured people.

They searched inside and out twice, finding no clues, no hidden doors, or secret passages.

"They might all have been killed."

The three exchanged glances, then reluctantly left, heading towards Pingan Village.