Chapter 412 - 208: Terrifying Clue! The Beautiful Woman Goes Alone! (Please Subscribe!)_2
But if it’s just some words from the elderly, Yuchi found no way to discover any useful clues.
Quite empty.
The answers given by the elderly provided no hope for finding the missing person.
In the end, Yuchi and Song Yinghan even visited the street mentioned by the elderly, but after asking around, they got no good results. The people around seemed unclear and suggested that there might be such a child, but also as if there is none.
The first volume of archives can only be set aside temporarily. Now is not the time for single investigations; all three volumes must be reviewed to simulate Ling Huzhong’s situation.
...
The second volume encountered was about a woman whose husband went to Canglan City to escort goods, but didn’t return for a month. She was scared alone at home, so she went to the government to report the case, coincidentally encountering Ling Huzhong, who took up her case.
It resulted in no useful clues besides some in-depth investigation at night, which seemed as though he took advantage but then left.
Yuchi himself had no opinion on this matter; a woman’s word alone couldn’t define Ling Huzhong’s character. This woman clearly knew Ling Huzhong’s identity, so accepting his "in-depth investigation" couldn’t mean she was entirely innocent?
After all, it takes two to tango. If Ling Huzhong really forced his way, couldn’t this woman just extort him for a substantial amount of money? But facts didn’t support this.
Song Yinghan was quite angry.
Ling Huzhong was from their Stargazing Terrace, and now their disciples seem unreliable. Investigating a husband’s disappearance, ending up entangled with his wife?
What’s going on?
Thus, the second volume still yielded no results. Yuchi directly declined the woman’s evening invitation and began probing the last volume.
...
This volume was the last one Ling Huzhong borrowed from the government before his disappearance. He kept it for two days and then returned it to the Imperial Decree Department, after which he never appeared there again.
Did those two days yield any clues from this volume? Yuchi was unsure, but proceeded as if treating a dead horse as a living one. Short-term solutions seemed elusive and... not very likely.
Missing person cases were truly challenging; the longer the time, the more people forgot, not to mention a possible super mastermind behind it, blocking many clues.
Unless Yuchi experiences a "disappearance" himself, external discovery of others’ secrets seemed nearly impossible.
Song Yinghan felt similarly; recent developments were quick, but progress stalled noticeably recently.
A small sigh came with a sense of discomfort.
She initially didn’t expect much from the third clue.
When she learned about Ling Huzhong from the Wanyan maiden, she thought him upright, seeing him help an elderly who’d lost a grandson with diligence.
But then?
After investigating for a while, realizing he couldn’t complete the case, he simply gave up. Without finishing one task, he started another, involving a secretive relationship with someone else’s wife. Chaos.
The reality was quite different; the report came from a middle-aged man. When Yuchi asked him about interactions with Ling Huzhong, the man showed great surprise and urgently asked if his daughter was found.
Yuchi felt quite awkward and could only say they’re investigating, encountering some problems, unsure if the man could recount past occurrences.
The man clearly felt deep disappointment, yet it was evident that he’d experienced much, speaking with a spontaneous dignity, though such a man had become so ordinary, seemingly fallen from grace.
From the man’s introduction, a clue emerged:
This middle-aged man was once a sect leader, attacked by villains later, losing all cultivation. Fortunately, he had some silver remaining and started living in Canglan City, eventually meeting his current wife.
They were very loving and later had a daughter, whose spirit root didn’t matter. The man hoped his daughter lived a peaceful life, away from cultivator affairs, knowing there’s no "small matter" among cultivators. Things either don’t happen or result in life-and-death struggles.