440: Chapter 440 Concealing Heavenly Secrets

Then, heavy footsteps could be heard.

Three people appeared on the screen, dragging the three young girls out like sheep.

The image in the water bowl remained locked on Yang Yujie's terrified little face.

However, at the very moment the image flashed and vanished, a few crooked little characters appeared where Yang Yujie had been sitting, written with her finger in the layer of dust on the carriage floor.

The next second, a young man also saw this line of text, lifted his foot to rub it away, and sneered, "The little girl has quite a few tricks up her sleeve, but what's the use? Who besides you and us could know what you wrote in that place? Don't tell me you're hoping for some clairvoyant to come and save you? Surely the little girl knows the meaning of 'marking the boat to find the sword,' right? Hahahaha..."

The image in the water bowl continued to move as the three girls, including Yang Yujie, were carried toward the gate of a farm courtyard.

The gate was very ordinary, the kind common in the countryside of Lu Province: jujube-red tiles paired with a black iron gate, and the four large black characters "Fugui Yaju" on the lintel.

However, the moment Yang Yujie was carried through the gate, the surface of the water in the bowl rippled without warning, and the image in the water vanished silently.

Han Jingyang's expression darkened. "There are practitioners involved. That courtyard has relevant magic arrays or dharma instruments, so there's no way to observe it further."

Shi Xiaoya's expression was also grim. "Why are there so many scoundrels? Honey, we need to hurry."

"Hmm, Xingong Village. Search and see if this village exists."

"I already searched. There are two. One is in Yin County, west of Quancheng, thirty-two kilometers away."

"Thirty-two kilometers? And it took over two hours?"

"Did they take a detour?"

"No need. As long as they leave the city and avoid surveillance, they can leave at full speed after changing cars at most twice. There's no need to take a detour."

"Could Yang Yujie have written it wrong?"

"Unlikely," Han Jingyang recalled the last time he communicated with Yang Yujie from a distance using telepathy. The young girl wasn't old but had some courage and wit. Having experienced kidnapping before, she should be calmer. Since that was the case, she wouldn't have made a mistake when leaving the message.

Perhaps the girl wrote it specifically for him to see; otherwise, taking such a huge risk to do something as futile as "marking the boat to find the sword" would be too foolish.

That little girl, Yang Yujie, shouldn't be that stupid.

Shi Xiaoya was still very worried. "Besides, the three girls were tied up and locked in the car the whole time. How did she know the destination was Xingong Village? What if they were just passing through Xingong Village?"

Han Jingyang shook his head. "Regardless of which possibility it is, it's a clue. Let's do this: search for Xingong Village online and see if there are any leads."

"It's impossible for such a small village to be on the map."

"Not necessarily a map. It could also be daily clips filmed by netizens, especially on video software like Douyin or Kuaishou."

"Hey, that's a thought."

"Let's go. We'll search while we head that way," Han Jingyang took a deep breath. "In any case, Yang Yujie must have had a reason to write down this name. She definitely wouldn't risk a beating or even death to write it randomly."

At this moment, Shi Xiaoya suddenly said, "Honey, this short video shows there is official surveillance at the entrance of Xingong Village. Should we let Shen Yuhai and the others assist..."

Han Jingyang interrupted directly. "Not for now."

"Why?"

"I'm worried about alerting the enemy."

"This..."

"Human hearts are treacherous; we must be on guard. If word really gets out, we'll be fine, but those kidnapped girls, especially Yang Yujie, will definitely be in danger."

"Then we should also be careful when we set off."

"That's not a problem. After leaving the city, we'll set things up and split into two groups. Jinyuan will drive east to attract attention, and the three of us will take a taxi to Xingong Village."

"Okay."

After driving out of the city and avoiding surveillance, Han Jingyang used two dharma instruments in succession to conceal heavenly secrets.

1:00 AM sharp.

Yang Jinyuan drove Han Jingyang's car directly eastward at high speed.

Han Jingyang and the other two hired a private car and headed straight for Xingong Village.

There are many props for concealing heavenly secrets; almost every enemy he has encountered has had one, though the effects vary in strength.

Han Jingyang has them too.

And not just one. Functionally, they can be roughly divided into two categories.

The first category conceals movements, primarily masking information left on the physical level, such as footprints and scents.

The second category shields one's existence on the metaphysical level. Some dharma instruments and spells can directly lock onto a target's location or direction using clues like blood or personal clothing. However, these types of instruments are specifically designed to counter such instruments and spells. Huang Jianshe must have had a similar dharma instrument on him, and a very powerful one at that, capable of contending with his own item skills.

Since these people have them, he naturally wouldn't be without them either.

It's just that the related attribute items he obtained previously were of relatively low level, and their effects could only be described as better than nothing.

But after the recent battles, he obtained several fifth-grade items from the spoils of war he seized.

The pastel bowl with the "Great Circle Light Technique" was seized after the destruction of Zhang Dahai.

As the saying goes, killing and arson bring golden belts.

Without war, where would the wealth come from?

It is so for nations.

It is so for the jianghu as well.

Xingong Village is only thirty-two kilometers away from the urban area of Quancheng.

It took half an hour to arrive.

However, the road conditions were not very good, and combined with poor visibility at night, it was already 1:45 AM by the time they arrived at Xingong Village.

Arriving at the village entrance.

Entering the village, Han Jingyang and the other two got out of the car and walked into the village in the dark.

In this situation, walking was much more stealthy than driving.

With an item possessing the "Stealth" attribute in hand, they wouldn't be exposed even if they walked past dogs, even if the three of them were chatting loudly.

Shi Xiaoya observed and analyzed as she walked.

"From the image seen through the Great Circle Light Technique, it can be confirmed that the courtyard is not by the roadside. There are many trees around it, it should be a detached house, the location is relatively remote, the open space at the entrance is quite large, and at least three off-road vehicles are parked there."

"Therefore, there should be relatively obvious tire tracks on the road surface, but they are not very clear on the asphalt."

"The fact that box trucks can travel on it means the road conditions aren't too bad; at least the width is sufficient."

"..."

Shi Xiaoya analyzed while leading the way.

Han Jingyang did not disturb her, because this was Shi Xiaoya's strong suit.

Besides, since they were already here, it wouldn't matter if the analysis was wrong; it wouldn't take long to circle the entire village.

Moreover, Shi Xiaoya's analysis was quite accurate; in less than ten minutes, they found the "Fugui Yaju" seen in the Great Circle Light Technique.

The three of them hid behind a tree, quietly observing the situation at the entrance of Fugui Yaju while discussing countermeasures.

Meanwhile.

Inside Fugui Yaju.

An old man with a flat-top haircut, looking vigorous but having fierce eyes, came to the living room surrounded by a crowd. His sinister gaze swept across the faces of the many women of various ages crowded into the living room, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face. "Not bad, not bad. Well done. To find so many top-quality ones in half a month, not bad. Extra reward of twenty Great Recovery Pills. Hurry up and send over the remaining quotas. Forty-nine, not one less. Understand?"

"Rest assured, Elder Xu. According to current progress, we will be able to gather forty-nine in another three days. It's just..."

"Just what? Worried about the officials?"

"I'm not worried about the officials, I'm worried about that meddlesome Han Jingyang."

"Han Jingyang," Elder Xu snorted. "Han Jingyang is very strong, but here, I have plenty of ways to deal with him. If he dares to come, I'll make sure he never leaves. If it weren't for fear of ruining the big plan, I'd wish he would come right now!"