Zhao Wanqing's Initial Investigation

At this moment, Ah Nian suddenly felt that he hadn’t read enough books. His mind was blank, unable to come up with any suitable words to beautify the situation of this young man who was on the verge of becoming a cripple.

After all, the young man before him might not even have the chance to eat with both hands in the future.

Ah Nian had pulled out a silver needle from the young man’s left hand. Even though the needle was removed, the meridians in his left hand were already on the verge of being completely ruined.

If the young man could even lift his hand to eat, it would already be a testament to Ah Nian’s exceptional medical skills.

As for the other silver needles still embedded in the major acupoints, it was likely that even moving would be extremely difficult.

The blood energy had already begun to churn within the meridians.

And it wasn’t just his limbs that were immobilized—his lower body had also been sealed by the silver needles.

In theory…

This young lad was someone Ah Nian had never seen before. He must be a newcomer to the Demon Suppression Bureau. That female demon, Zhao Wanqing, had always been cold and unapproachable, and she hadn’t introduced him to anyone.

If Ah Nian had known, he would have risked pulling out the silver needles from the lower body as well, wouldn’t he?

Moreover, he had no idea what kind of mission the young man had been assigned to, but it was clearly not without its dangers.

“At least the kid is still alive, right?!” Ah Nian could only console Zhao Wanqing with these words in the end.

Zhao Wanqing’s hand unconsciously rested on the short sword at her waist. She didn’t turn around to look at Ah Nian, but his words seemed to have the opposite effect.

Her voice was cold as she asked, “Did you insert these silver needles?”

“No… but don’t jump to conclusions. Without these needles, the kid would have probably already died.” Ah Nian quickly explained, “I checked, and the needles were inserted not long ago.”

Zhao Wanqing nodded slightly, accepting Ah Nian’s explanation.

Then, she drew the short sword from her waist and gently pierced the meridians. The blood energy within the young man’s body instantly surged toward the newly introduced spiritual energy.

Zhao Wanqing’s expression remained unchanged. She took out a talisman from her waist and attached it to the blade. After absorbing some of the blood energy, she immediately stored the talisman away again.

Then, she gently sealed the puncture wound.

She wasn’t a professional physician, and dealing with the blood energy that was wreaking havoc within the already damaged meridians wasn’t her expertise.

Handling the blood energy wasn’t difficult for Zhao Wanqing, but doing so without further damaging the meridians was an entirely different matter.

She only needed some of the blood energy.

Zhao Wanqing took one last look at her unconscious younger brother before quickly turning to leave.

“Take care of him, Physician Ah Nian.”

“It’s my duty,” Ah Nian replied with a slight shake of his head.

After leaving the medical room, Zhao Wanqing headed straight for the archives.

Her brother had been assigned to the second team. Zhao Wanqing hadn’t interacted much with the people from the Demon Suppression Bureau. Could someone have taken the opportunity to retaliate against her?

Zhao Wanqing quickly flipped through her brother’s mission records and soon found the file for this particular mission.

It was an investigation into the disappearance of people from Wang Family Village.

The team leader was a seasoned member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, someone Zhao Wanqing had heard was quite capable.

After her brother had been fished out of the river, the Demon Suppression Bureau had immediately sent people to search the river for any other victims. At the same time, another team had been dispatched to Wang Family Village to investigate.

The Demon Suppression Bureau had acted swiftly.

With this in mind, Zhao Wanqing dismissed the possibility of retaliation. After all, the seasoned team leader was still missing, and her brother, at least, was still alive.

But Zhao Wanqing also understood that relying solely on the Demon Suppression Bureau, the case might never be fully resolved.

Even if it were resolved, the investigation would likely be slow.

If it were a demon beast causing trouble, the Demon Suppression Bureau would throw all its resources into the case.

But this was clearly the work of humans—a malicious attack. Such cases were always slower to solve.

After all, humans were far more cunning than demon beasts.

On top of that, the Demon Suppression Bureau was extremely busy, and there weren’t many investigators to spare.

Now, she would have to open her own line of investigation.

After grabbing the file, Zhao Wanqing quickly turned and headed straight for the streets.

In the Bamboo Jade Pavilion, Yaoqin sat surrounded by numerous books. A dark red blood energy spirit stone was suspended above a formation array.

She held a book in her hands, carefully reading while delicately manipulating the array, trying to reverse the process of the blood energy eroding the spirit stone.

But soon, the spirit stone suddenly emitted a dark red light, shattering the array that had been trying to control it.

Yaoqin sighed in frustration, “Damn it…”

Ling, her maid, who had been watching from the side, softly advised, “Lady Yaoqin… why don’t you take a break? You haven’t rested in so long. That scoundrel’s matter isn’t that important, is it?”

Yaoqin raised her slender, pale hand and gently rubbed her forehead.

“Alright, I understand. You can leave now.”

Ling immediately understood. This wasn’t Yaoqin agreeing to rest—it was her way of dismissing her so she could continue her research in peace.

“Lady Yaoqin…”

“Go ahead and leave,” Yaoqin said, her tone unchanged.

Ling could only sigh and step out of the room.

Once the maid was gone, Yaoqin closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts, then began setting up the array again.

It had to be said, ever since Chu Xingchen’s cultivation had improved, the tasks he entrusted to her had become increasingly difficult.

This spirit stone wasn’t something Yaoqin could easily resolve, even with the numerous books from her sect as references.

But since it was something he had asked of her, she couldn’t give up.

As expected, her next attempt failed.

The array was once again shattered, and the blood energy spirit stone fell onto the table with a crisp sound.

Yaoqin couldn’t help but feel a bit disheartened, but at least some progress had been made.

Failure wasn’t something new to her, so she quickly adjusted her mindset and prepared to continue her research. Just then, Ling’s voice came from outside the door.

“Lady Yaoqin, Miss Zhao is here to see you.”

Yaoqin replied casually, “I’m busy. Tell her I’m not available.”

There was a brief silence outside before Ling spoke again.

“Lady Yaoqin, she says it’s urgent.”

Yaoqin took a deep breath, stored the spirit stone in her sleeve, and said, “Let her in.”

As soon as she spoke, the door was pushed open.

Yaoqin looked up to see Zhao Wanqing standing at the entrance. Her face was slightly haggard, and the usual confidence in her eyes had faded.

“I’m busy lately. State your business and then leave.”

Zhao Wanqing took two steps inside and clasped her hands in a respectful gesture. “I need your help.”

“I’m busy,” Yaoqin answered almost instantly.

These people all seemed to think she was some kind of problem-solver. Couldn’t they handle their own issues?

Zhao Wanqing acted as if she hadn’t heard the refusal. She took out a talisman sealed with blood energy and placed it on the table.

“I need you to help me trace the origin of this blood energy. It was used in an attack on the Demon Suppression Bureau. In the future, if you ever need anything, I won’t refuse.”

Blood energy?

Yaoqin, who had initially been uninterested and ready to send Zhao Wanqing away, instinctively turned her gaze to the talisman on the table.

No way…

After a moment of hesitation, Yaoqin reached out and touched the talisman.

As she infused it with her spiritual energy, she immediately felt the violent blood energy sealed within.

Yaoqin clenched the talisman tightly, her eyes closing in frustration. “I understand. I’ll send someone to inform you once I have results.”

Zhao Wanqing was visibly surprised. She hadn’t expected Yaoqin to agree so readily. Before coming here, she had prepared herself for rejection.

What puzzled Zhao Wanqing was the look on Yaoqin’s face—it seemed she knew something about this blood energy.

However, Zhao Wanqing trusted Yaoqin’s position, given the sect she was affiliated with.

“Thank you.”

Zhao Wanqing clasped her hands again and left without further delay.

She still had much to do.