At four o'clock in the morning, the streets in front of the Azure Dragon City government office were deserted.
Suddenly, a baby woke up from a nightmare, its cries mingled with the barking of dogs, drifting over from a distance, carrying the deep silence of the night.
The gatekeeper, a constable, was almost dozing off, but the faint noise jolted him awake.
He quickly rubbed his eyes and strained them wide open, scanning the surroundings.
Seeing nothing unusual, the constable returned his gaze to his boots and yawned.
Shen Jizhi, dressed in black, blended into the night, and with a light leap, he entered the government office.
A bird perched on the tiles of the government office, and as Shen Jizhi passed by, it remained oblivious, still pecking at its black feathers.
With his cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, Shen Jizhi was at the bottom of the hierarchy in the world of cultivation, but within this government office, he could come and go as he pleased.
The cities of the Nine Provinces Continent are governed by two forces.
One is from the imperial court, which continues to use the official system of past dynasties. The highest official in Azure Dragon City is the Azure Dragon City Prefect. Ordinary people's affairs fall under his jurisdiction.
The other is led by various sects, with the imperial court playing a supporting role. The city lord, as the head of the city, manages the Imperial Pacification Office, which deals with the city's cultivators and supernatural beings.
Chu Chu, the missing granddaughter of the Chu family, was a dual-linguistic cultivator. Chu Laoye reported the case to the Imperial Pacification Office.
The Imperial Pacification Office is home to cultivators of the Golden Core and even Nascent Soul stages, and Shen Jizhi couldn't infiltrate it.
Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.
Thus, Shen Jizhi's target was the prefect's government office.
Not all commoners have the awareness to take their children to test their spiritual roots.
Most ordinary people live and die without knowing the world they inhabit. From dawn to dusk, that is their entire understanding.
If their children go missing, they will only turn to the government office.
Now that the investigation through Chu Chu's line has hit a dead end, Shen Jizhi must explore other possibilities, eliminating each one.
The most likely scenario is that Chu Chu was abducted by human traffickers.
Those traffickers, fearing the Chu family's pursuit, might have destroyed all traces out of caution.
But if they abducted a child from an ordinary family, would they be so meticulous?
For various reasons, all with the aim of making money, Shen Jizhi has frequented the government office of Approaching Immortal City over the years.
The government office of Azure Dragon City, though different in some aspects, is not too dissimilar.
He deftly slipped into the Record Office, casting a spell to prevent anyone from suddenly entering.
A faint light glowed from his fingertips as Shen Jizhi began to search through the archives.
Based on past experience, the government has uniform requirements for the classification of archives, which are stored in chronological order.
This task was familiar to Shen Jizhi, and he quickly found the archives related to the missing persons cases in Azure Dragon City over the past three years.
The archives were thick, and he flipped to the last page, quickly reviewing them from the back.
Jian Huan, too, was not idle.
After a brief rest, she swallowed a pill to stave off hunger and quietly ascended the stairs.
Since Chu Chu's disappearance, the west wing room had been unoccupied, and the wet nurse had moved to another courtyard.
The moonlight, like frost, gently illuminated the wooden carvings on the corridor, lifelike beasts baring their teeth as if ready to pounce.
As she ventured further in, the surroundings grew darker, and even the moon seemed powerless, lingering at the edge, allowing the depths to fester in darkness.
Jian Huan was always bold, and now that she was a cultivator with various talismans at her disposal, she feared no ghost stories.
...
She wanted to see if there was anything unusual in Chu Chu's room at night.
Jian Huan crouched by the window, poking a small hole to peek inside.
The window was half-closed, and the pink gauze fluttered gently in the breeze, like a sprite dancing under the moonlight.
She watched silently for a while, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, before pushing the door open and entering.
As she took a few steps towards the bed, a cold glint of steel flashed, and a fierce blade wind came from behind.
Jian Huan's heart raced, but under immense danger, her mind was clearer than ever.
The orange talisman between her fingers turned to ash, and a golden spiritual shield appeared behind her.
When the blade struck the golden armor shield, the tremendous force pushed the wielder back three steps.
The armor shield shattered with one blow, and Jian Huan rolled to the window.
Her teleportation talisman was ready, but she wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary.
The suspected human trafficker was right in front of her, and Jian Huan wouldn't leave until the last moment.
She looked closely at the man and exclaimed in surprise, "Jian Tianxia?!"
The man, about to strike a second time, was also taken aback by the name. He looked at Jian Huan, equally surprised, "Who are you to know my twin brother?"
Upon hearing this, Jian Huan examined the man more closely.
Though their eyes and eyebrows were similar, there were differences. This man's skin was fairer than Jian Tianxia's.
Jian Huan's teleportation talisman remained in her hand, but she felt less wary. She sensed that this was a misunderstanding.
"I just met your brother this morning. Didn't he leave on a teleportation array? Why are you still here?"
His brother had indeed gone to meet someone...
The man hesitantly lowered his blade, "You're not... the Money Master?"
"Yes, I am the Money Master, the talisman seller," Jian Huan replied, "Why are you in Chu Chu's room? Did you abduct Chu Chu?"
The man quickly denied, "Of course not! We were commissioned by Chu Laoye."
Jian Huan let out a long breath, "I was also commissioned by Chu Laoye."
It was a misunderstanding.
Baili Dao sheathed his blade, sincerely apologizing, "I am Baili Dao. If I have offended you, please forgive me."
Jian Huan waved it off, not taking it to heart, "Where are the others?"
Baili Dao seemed hesitant, "They've all left... I'm the only one still investigating."
Jian Huan lit a candle, looking puzzled, "Why?"
"To be honest, we've been searching for five days with no results. A higher-paying mission came up, so my teammates took that," Baili Dao said with a shy smile, "But since we received an advance of ten thousand spirit stones from Chu Laoye, it didn't feel right to leave without finishing our task. As a blade cultivator, I must remain true to my heart and continue the search."
Jian Huan understood and asked curiously, "How much was the reward Chu Laoye offered you?"
Baili Dao answered honestly, "Thirty thousand, with an advance of ten thousand."
Jian Huan was even more curious, "So if you don't complete the task, you don't have to return the advance?"
Baili Dao shook his head, explaining the details of accepting missions.
Whether it's killing demons for their cores or finding people, an advance payment is always made. If the task is completed, the remaining payment is given. If not, the advance is not returned, considered the fee for the effort.
Jian Huan held the candle, examining every corner of the room, asking as she searched, "But wouldn't some people take the money and not do the work?"
Baili Dao, having searched the room many times before, stood by and replied, "Such behavior could damage one's dao heart, not worth the risk. Few cultivators would dare to do so. And employers also screen and select carefully."
Jian Huan nodded, understanding.
Baili Dao thought for a moment and suggested, "I'm alone, and you're also alone. How about we work together?"
Jian Huan crouched by the bed, peering under it, "I have two people."
Baili Dao: "Where is the other one?"
Jian Huan got up from the floor, "Oh, he went out of the mansion to search other places."
Baili Dao was puzzled, earnestly seeking advice, "Are there other places to search outside the mansion?"
Chu Chu disappeared from the Chu mansion, and they had been searching within it.
Jian Huan didn't elaborate, spreading her hands, "Baili Dao, you see, we're competitors, so..."
This man seemed too earnest and not very flexible, likely not much help.
So Jian Huan naturally wouldn't let Baili Dao join and share the reward.
Baili Dao pondered for a long time, finally understanding Jian Huan's meaning as she prepared to leave.
He quickly said, "Please stay!"
Jian Huan turned from the windowsill, "What is it?"
Baili Dao: "You may not know, but if both our teams find Chu Chu, we can both claim the reward. Chu Laoye won't give it to just one side."
Finding people is a special mission; the employer's goal is to find the person, naturally wanting all parties to cooperate, working together instead of competing against each other.
So long as both parties involved in the collaboration can provide evidence of their ongoing cooperation, they are eligible to receive the reward.
Jian Huan raised an eyebrow lightly: "Oh?"
She thought for a moment, then sized up Baili Dao and asked, "What is your cultivation level?"
Baili Dao replied, "I am at the third layer of the Foundation Establishment stage."
Jian Huan's eyes lit up: "So you can fly using your flying sword?"
Baili Dao, not understanding the reason behind her question, nodded: "Yes, but it's slower than using a teleportation array."
Jian Huan suddenly jumped down from the windowsill, giving Baili Dao a friendly punch on the shoulder, her face beaming with joy: "No problem, Brother Baili, let's combine our teams and find the person together!"
Baili Dao was also delighted: "Thank you for taking me in, Miss."
"It's no big deal," Jian Huan waved it off, then narrowed her eyes slightly, her smile changing, "But let's make it clear, your share of the reward will be split between us two. But my share, you don't get a cut, okay?"
Baili Dao quickly shook his head: "Of course, no problem!"
"Good!" Jian Huan leaned closer to Baili Dao, "Remember, this is between heaven, earth, you, and me. Don't let a third person know, especially my teammate, okay?"
Although Baili Dao didn't understand why Jian Huan wanted to keep it a secret from her teammate, it was an internal matter for her, and it wasn't his business, so he naturally had no objections.
"Let's go, we're going to find Shen Jizhi!"
Jian Huan climbed back onto the windowsill and agilely jumped down, her slender waist twisting as she darted into her room.
Hmm, it's still faster to go straight up and down through the window.
Baili Dao followed Jian Huan, watching her as she took a man's outer robe and began to draw on it.
He watched very intently, though he couldn't understand anything.
Jian Huan had practiced drawing teleportation talismans so many times that she had them memorized.
She deftly held the talisman brush and traced patterns on Shen Jizhi's outer robe, slightly altering the line movements as Yu Qing had instructed.
The ink from the talisman brush glowed with a faint golden light on the dark blue robe.
After finishing the last stroke, she put the talisman brush into her spatial pouch, holding the robe in one hand and Baili Dao's hand with the other. She channeled her spiritual energy to activate the teleportation talisman on the robe.
Soon, a powerful...
Spiritual energy surge enveloped them, pulling them into the void. A burst of golden light filled their vision, and in an instant, Jian Huan and Baili Dao appeared above a small forest three streets away from the government office, falling straight down.
Seeing the ground getting closer, Jian Huan quickly said, "Baili Dao, hurry up and use your flying sword!"
Baili Dao hastily summoned his flying sword, which was a bit unsteady, and they barely landed.
Jian Huan steadied herself by leaning on a tree trunk.
Baili Dao wasn't so lucky; he was severely disoriented by the teleportation talisman and fell face-first into the soft ground.
Three steps away, Shen Jizhi stood with his sword, silently observing.
After a moment, he walked over, carefully picking up the outer robe from the ground, glanced at the person lying face down, and asked Jian Huan, "Who is this?"
