Chapter 38 - Investigation

 Chapter 38 - Investigation

Sitting behind a luxurious desk, Li Dongze was holding a sharp razor, grooming his two sideburns.

"I don't like trimming my beard because it's troublesome, but for the sake of elegance, it's a necessary price to pay," Li Dongze chuckled, scrutinizing Zhang Yuanqing and said, "It seems you've passed the screening of the Taiyi Sect."

As expected, the squad leader knew the purpose of Taiyi Sect approaching me. He didn't give me any hint beforehand. If he continues like this, he might lose me... Zhang Yuanqing casually said, "Does the squad leader also know about the Demon Lord?"

"In official organizations, evil organizations, underground groups, and among wild cultivators, there have been more than a dozen high-level spiritual realm practitioners who died in the hands of the Demon Lord. His infamous reputation is widely known, and naturally, I'm aware of it," Li Dongze said, focusing on trimming his beard.

"However, such a prominent figure is too distant from us. An elephant might crush ants, but it would never deliberately trample on them," he added.

"The Demon Lord is no good person. How does Brother Bing have any association with such a guy?" Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to ask.

Sitting behind a luxurious desk, Li Dongze was holding a sharp razor, grooming his sideburns.

"I don't like trimming my beard because it's troublesome, but for the sake of elegance, it's a necessary price to pay," Li Dongze chuckled, scrutinizing Zhang Yuanqing and said, "It seems you've passed the screening of the Taiyi Sect."

As expected, the squad leader knew the purpose of Taiyi Sect approaching me. He didn't give me any hint beforehand. If he continues like this, he might lose me... Zhang Yuanqing casually said, "Does the squad leader also know about the Demon Lord?"

"In official organizations, evil organizations, underground groups, and among wild cultivators, there have been more than a dozen high-level spiritual realm practitioners who died in the hands of the Demon Lord. His infamous reputation is widely known, and naturally, I'm aware of it," Li Dongze said, focusing on trimming his beard.

"However, such a prominent figure is too distant from us. An elephant might crush ants, but it would never deliberately trample on them," he added.

"The Demon Lord is no good person. How does Brother Bing have any association with such a guy?" Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to ask.

"Commander, please help me inquire about the progress of the Lei Yibing case in Jiangnan Province. Also, check Lei Yibing's actions and social interactions during his university days, the more detailed, the better," Zhang Yuanqing said seriously.

Before, due to his inexperience and lack of ability, Zhang Yuanqing had imagined Bing Ge's disappearance as part of a long-term mission. However, now that he knew the truth about the Demon Lord's role card, he had to redefine Bing Ge's disappearance. Why did Bing Ge go missing? Is he alive or dead? What was the reason for giving him the Demon Lord's role card?

The truth behind all this was shrouded in layers of mist, and it concerned Bing Ge and himself. Even though his strength was currently weak, he couldn't help but try to explore and investigate.

Bing Ge only sent him the role card without revealing any information. Zhang Yuanqing understood the reason behind this, as sometimes, even if someone wanted to talk, others couldn't pry it out of them. Today's conversation was a prime example.

Bing Ge's silence probably had Zhang Yuanqing's best interests at heart, but he would definitely leave behind corresponding clues to guide him in exploring and uncovering the truth. Therefore, Zhang Yuanqing needed as much information about Bing Ge as possible.

Li Dongze pondered and nodded, "Alright, I will make a phone call to request help from my colleagues there, but it will take some time."

In his view, it was only natural for Yuanqing to care about the safety of his childhood friend, but Li Dongze believed that as a spiritual realm practitioner, staying in the spiritual realm for a whole week most likely meant death.

After discussing Bing Ge's matter, Zhang Yuanqing got to the main topic with a serious expression, "Commander, I have something to report."

Seeing his subordinate's serious demeanor, Li Dongze put down the razor, closed the makeup mirror, and straightened his back slightly, asking, "What is it?"

Zhang Yuanqing then detailed the haunted hospital where his cousin worked and how he inadvertently brought the baby spirit (婴灵) home, but he concealed and altered the information about the spirit servant (灵仆). He described the baby spirit as a spirit that underwent sacrificial refining but had not yet become a servant.

While speaking, Zhang Yuanqing calmed his emotions, making sure his expression and tone didn't reveal any flaws, to avoid being noticed by spies.

Finally, he summarized, "I suspect that there is a spiritual realm practitioner conducting experiments on creating spirit servants in the hospital, and it's likely to be a Night Walker. However, I don't know if they are a wild practitioner or an official one."

Li Dongze's expression grew grimmer as he clenched his cane and said angrily, "Oh, my goodness, that's a scoundrel who deserves to go to hell. I swear I will make him pay for his actions."

Consuming spirits and enslaving them are two different concepts. Spirits will inevitably dissipate over time, but consuming them accelerates this process. Enslaving spirits is against humanitarian principles, especially in the case of a baby spirit.

Prohibiting the creation of spirit servants from the spirits of ordinary people is also based on humanitarian principles. The straightforward explanation is, how would you feel if your family or friends, after death, were turned into servants by someone?

"I thought you'd say you really want to kick his ass with your boots..." Zhang Yuanqing silently commented on his commander's catchphrase.

"Commander, I have already guided that child to peace and obtained information about the target person from its memories. I would like to apply for a solo mission to further train myself," Zhang Yuanqing proposed his idea.

He knew Li Dongze would definitely not agree to it.

Li Dongze shook his head, "Your idea is good, but during the process of accumulating experience, it's inevitable to encounter pitfalls.

In the case of Yingling, he must obtain the initiative to cover up Xiaodoubi's existence. But as Li Dongze said, the incident of the Spiritual Realm Walker must be handled with extreme caution; the price of negligence is often death, as seen with Ou Xiangrong.

Therefore, he needs an experienced assistant.

When he expressed his desire to gain experience, Li Dongze would probably not personally take action but compromise by having Guan Ya accompany him.

Because everyone knows that as a Night Traveling God with rule-type props at his disposal, Zhang Yuanqing has a high tolerance for mistakes, and ordinary dangers cannot defeat him easily.

In Zhang Yuanqing's view, Guan Ya is much "easier to fool" than Li Dongze.

"Should I go find Guan Ya now?"

Li Dongze responded with a nod and suddenly teased, "You sing well; just don't sing next time."

"......"

Kangyang District, Pingtai Hospital.

As a top-tier Grade A hospital, Pingtai's flagship department is Obstetrics and Gynecology, with several authoritative experts in the field, ranking among the top five in the country.

A black business car drove into the hospital, and the doors automatically slid open. Guan Ya examined Zhang Yuanqing's vacant expression and asked with concern, "Have you been seeing double images on your phone and computer recently?"

"Why do you ask?" Zhang Yuanqing withdrew his thoughts as he pondered how to track down the target.

Guan Ya raised her delicate lips and blinked her watery, alluring eyes. "Your expression tells me that you haven't been restraining yourself lately."

Zhang Yuanqing was already used to her style of speech and ignored her teasing. He said, "The Captain asked me to cooperate with you. In this situation, what is our usual approach?"

Guan Ya put away her smile and spoke seriously, "First, we lock onto the target, then investigate their real-life identity. You've seen what he looks like, so locking onto the target shouldn't be difficult. After that, we make contact. If the target isn't too powerful, we directly control them. Otherwise, we inform the Captain and make a violent arrest."

"But we don't know if there are accomplices in the hospital, and we're not sure about the scale of spirit servants being produced. So it's best to hold off for now and conduct a reconnaissance of Pingtai Hospital."

"We can start with the haunted rumors. Find out when they began and determine a rough timeframe. Aside from Yingling, are there any other haunted rumors? Check the records of abortions and miscarriages during that period. Male infants with a certain age range shouldn't be too many, so it won't be difficult to identify Yingling's identity."

"Babies with abnormally weak spiritual power will disperse quickly after dying, so anyone who had contact with pregnant women during that time will be our target for screening. If any of these people match the target you saw with your spiritual vision, we'll proceed with the arrest. If not, it means there are accomplices."

The plan was clear and organized. This is what reconnaissance is all about... Zhang Yuanqing listened attentively and said, "My aunt works in the hospital, and I may not be convenient to visit the Obstetrics and Gynecology department. How about splitting up? I'll investigate the spiritual-related aspects, and you can check the Obstetrics and Gynecology department."

The two got out of the car, put on masks and caps, and split up outside the outpatient building.

Inside the building, they took the elevator to the fourth floor. Guan Ya's gaze swept over women with slightly bulging bellies or obviously pregnant ones when suddenly her eyes lit up.

Approaching them was a female doctor in a white coat, with a round, fair, and smooth egg-shaped face. She had large and bright eyes, a straight nose, and wavy hair flowing down her back.

With a piece of candy in her mouth, her cheeks were slightly puffed, making her look even more sweet and adorable. Even someone as beautiful as Guan Ya couldn't help but admire her.

Quickly, Guan Ya stepped forward and blocked the path of the female doctor, smiling, "Doctor, I'm planning to prepare for pregnancy. Could you advise me on what to pay attention to recently?"

"........."

On the other side, Zhang Yuanqing went to a quiet corridor and summoned Xiaodoubi.

"Abba, Abba..." The round and adorable baby with sparse fetal hair lay on the ground, its shining eyes looking at Zhang Yuanqing with innocence and purity.

Zhang Yuanqing conveyed thoughts of "freedom to move" and "go play" to it.

He planned to use Xiaodoubi to lure the snake out of its hole. If a precious spirit servant went missing, the person behind it would undoubtedly search for it. When they discovered that Yingling had reappeared in the hospital, they would certainly be drawn there.

Even if the plan to lure the snake out of its hole failed, Xiaodoubi could still lead him to find the person behind it. It had memories of the person who created it and felt naturally close to them.

With Zhang Yuanqing's permission, Xiaodoubi happily paddled its limbs and crawled along the corridor. Zhang Yuanqing followed it all the way, arriving at the fourth floor, pushing open the corridor door, entering the waiting hall, and then following it to the Obstetrics and Gynecology department.

That guy is really in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department?

While Zhang Yuanqing was thinking about this, he heard a melodious laughter saying, "Really? Really? You also like that brand of skincare products? I often go abroad, I'll bring some for you next time."

It was Guan Ya's voice.

Following the voice, Zhang Yuanqing saw that woman chatting and laughing with a female doctor. That female doctor in a white coat was his aunt.

Damn it! Zhang Yuanqing lowered his hat as much as possible, trying to shift his gaze downward, avoiding eye contact with his aunt to prevent her from recognizing him. Even though he wore a mask and a cap, with his aunt's familiarity with him and their deep understanding of each other, she could probably recognize him just by looking into his eyes.

At this moment, he saw Xiaodoubi happily crawling towards his aunt.