Fourteen feathers

"You..." Looking at Su Mo who looked innocent and pretended that it had nothing to do with me, Ye Linghan felt a surge of anger in his heart.

It was totally off the mark... He was a "regular" intern, but was misunderstood.

The policeman standing in front of Ye Linghan had a serious face, and he looked like he was going to arrest Ye Linghan as well if he couldn't explain himself today.

What a righteous posture.

Having learned from the previous misunderstanding, Ye Linghan naturally didn't want to be interrogated as a suspect again. He was forced to put away his smile. With a sullen face, he raised his hand and slapped his ID on Su Mo's chest, "You go and explain to him."

"Kah..." Not sure if he was pretending, Su Mo took half a step back.

Seeing this, Ye Linghan lost his temper and said angrily, "Don't try to scam me. Although I'm still an intern, I'm also a legal citizen. If you bully me, I can tell the police to arrest you!"

"Okay, okay."

Su Mo chuckled and accepted it, knowing he was in the wrong. "He is indeed our new intern, but he just passed the interview yesterday and hasn't officially started yet. This incident happened suddenly, so he hasn't had time to print his ID yet."

Even he himself felt a little embarrassed when he mentioned the poorly drawn certificate.

But he thought he was being very considerate of the newcomer by being able to think of it and draw it just one second before going out.

"Alright then." The police officer continued to look Ye Linghan up and down with suspicion. "This won't happen again."

"Okay." Ye Linghan watched the few people leave with a smile on his face, and the moment they turned around, his smile disappeared instantly.

I originally thought that the Investigation Bureau was a very impressive department, but just when I wanted to show off my intelligence and talent, my enthusiasm was dampened by a bucket of cold water.

The three watched the large group leave. The sirens became farther and farther away, and the alternating flashing red and blue lights gradually disappeared from their sight. Without the illumination of the lights, the small area that was originally still visible fell into darkness again. From time to time, a gloomy and evil wind blew at the entrance of the alley, making it seem even more eerie.

"Why does it feel like your Investigation Bureau seems to have no status?" Ye Linghan couldn't help but complain.

After all, it was a department founded by Blood Hunter, so it should have a lot of say. Why is it so low in status?

"Alas, this is a long story. I'll tell you slowly later." Su Mo sighed, feeling exhausted. "Let's collect the evidence first. If we can hurry, we might be able to rest for a while when we get back to the office. We'll be busy again when daybreak comes."

My life, which had always been very peaceful, suddenly seemed like someone had set it up, and I was busy with endless things to do every day.

Compared to Ye Linghan, Yao Qingluan was more familiar with the process. She took out an extra pair of gloves and mask from her bag and handed them to Ye Linghan, and also took out a few bags.

Although the police have already collected the items, the Investigation Bureau has its own procedures, and it is always a good idea to check them one more time.

Ye Linghan put on gloves and walked slowly around the car to observe it carefully. There were no obvious scratches on the body of the car, most of which were small scratches caused by not paying attention to protection. The glass was also intact. Except for the driver's door, there were no obvious signs of violent disassembly from the outside.

Ye Linghan opened the car door, and a foul smell mixed with blood, nicotine and some other smells hit him in the face. Fortunately, he was wearing a mask to block out some of the smell, otherwise the smell would have entered his nasal cavity directly, and he would probably be uncomfortable for a while.

As expected, he was an old smoker. Ye Linghan picked up the cigarette butts scattered from the ashtray of the passenger seat with tweezers. After preliminary observation, it was the same as the one he gave to Zhao Tang last time. He just didn't know whether the ingredients inside were the same.

He put the cigarette butt into the retrieval bag, "Where is the deceased?"

"He was taken away by the forensic doctor to collect evidence." The flash flashed many times. Su Mo raised the camera and took many photos. He replied in his spare time.

“Aren’t these our responsibility?”

Ye Linghan was puzzled. He had clearly heard the police say that the case would be investigated and handled.

Logically, the investigation and sampling should be handled by the Investigation Bureau, so why wouldn't they release the person? Furthermore, with the data being passed back and forth, there's a chance something might be missed.

"How to manage it? Are you coming?" Su Mo asked back.

"Don't we have someone specifically for this?"

Su Mo sighed, expressing his helplessness, "There are only three people in our department including you..."

"They say it's our responsibility, but in reality they just let us do odd jobs."

What's the reason for this?

Ye Linghan frowned. Although what Su Mo said made sense and they might not be able to handle it, this division was a bit too confusing.

"Aren't the police forbidden from handling matters related to vampires?"

When he was in school, he had heard about some cases involving vampires.

"Things are different now." Su Mo had almost collected the evidence, packed up his things, and called Yao Qingluan and Ye Linghan, "Let's go, I'll tell you in the car."

The car door was slammed shut. Su Mo drove, Yao Qingluan sat in the passenger seat, and Ye Linghan naturally sat in the back seat, stuck between the two front seats, waiting to listen to old stories.

The car struggled to move through the quiet alleys. The road was so narrow that only a regular-sized car could pass in one direction. The road was bumpy and the car swayed up and down.

"I'm not very clear about the specific reasons, but I heard some of them from the clan leader when we were young." The road the vehicle was traveling on was winding and bumpy, and Su Mo's voice was a little trembling.

"Clan leader?"

This was also the first time Ye Linghan heard such a formal address.

The car drove out of the alley and the surroundings became bright again. Neon lights shone through the windows into the car, casting a dazzling pattern.

"It's normal that you don't know. The Blood Hunters have been hiding for thousands of years, rarely showing up except when necessary, so few people know the ins and outs of it."

"However, compared to the vampires, the Blood Hunters are much smaller in size, but they can still suppress the vampires."

"Because of blood?"

"You know?" Su Mo's tone was filled with shock as he glanced at Ye Linghan through the rearview mirror.

"I heard it from a friend..." Ye Linghan felt a little guilty for a moment.

Su Mo heard this and smiled meaningfully, "So good that you can sleep together?"

"Pfft." Yao Qingluan, who was standing by, lowered her head and sorted out her notes while smiling without saying a word.

"Is it so obvious?" Ye Linghan held his forehead and smiled bitterly.

Su Mo didn't delve into the topic any further. "Regarding your previous question, it's not entirely true. Among the Blood Hunters, only the Ye family has pure Yang Phoenix blood. They have an extra bone in their heart compared to ordinary people, and this bone is the key to balancing the blood clan."

"Ye family..." Su Mo muttered to himself.

Yao Qingluan, who was standing by, looked up at Su Mo and understood his thoughts. "Ye...Brother, do you think he could be the orphan that the clan leader has been looking for?"

She turned her head and glanced at Ye Linghan.

Su Mo looked up through the rearview mirror. "So, why are you following a vampire? Where are your parents?"

"I don't have parents." Ye Linghan said lightly. Perhaps it was because he had never seen his parents since he was a child, so he had no emotions. No matter how others asked, he didn't think it was a big deal.

"I'm sorry for bringing up your sad story." Yao Qingluan quickly tried to make amends.

Ye Linghan forced a smile, "It's nothing. He treats me well, so it doesn't matter whether he has parents or not."

"Well..." Su Mo quickly changed the subject, "I'll continue telling you about Phoenix Blood."

Yao Qingluan nodded in agreement.

"Let me think about how to explain this to you. Take Ah Luan and I for example. Although we are from the Blood Hunter Clan, we are only considered a branch. We can't kill vampires, so we can only rely on our family's magic tools to capture them. However, we do have many advantages over ordinary people."

"But the Ye family is different. Because they have pure Yang Phoenix blood, they are naturally incompatible with vampires. The extra bone in their bodies is called Mingyuan, which means the abyss of hell. But it can only be used three times in a lifetime, and when it is used, it will inevitably meet the souls of the dead."

"It's so powerful." Ye Linghan exclaimed.

Su Mo nodded, "Indeed, but my understanding is rather superficial, so my explanation may be rather vague. Just listen to it."

"Then what about the situation between you and the police? Why do they seem to be disgusted with you?"

"Oh." Su Mo sighed. He was about to arrive at the investigation office. After working all night, the sky was already slightly brighter and it was about to dawn.

"Actually, they are not to blame for this." Yao Qingluan whispered. Seeing that Su Mo was a little tired, she continued the topic.

"My brother and I only know a little about this matter."

"Is it because the matter itself is complicated?" Ye Linghan asked.

"More than that, because this matter is the old patriarch's Achilles' heel, no one dares to mention it."

It seems to be quite serious. Since it involves the clan leader, it doesn't seem to be a simple matter. However, this also aroused Ye Linghan's curiosity.

"We only know that the Ye family wasn't originally a single-line lineage, but that the old patriarch had only one child. According to generational standards, we should call her aunt. But then, for some reason, aunt got together with a man outside her family and became pregnant. Unexpectedly, she met with danger on her way home, and the whereabouts of the child and the biological father are also unknown."

Ye Linghan was quite shocked after hearing this. No wonder the two of them had been confused just now. "Old Patriarch, won't you investigate?"

Logically speaking, Blood Hunter is so powerful that he would definitely not sit idly by and watch the disappearance of his single-line bloodline, but why is there still no trace of him until now?

"Because there is no way to check." Yao Qingluan sorted out the samples collected on the scene and prepared to take them to the agency for research.

"Why can't we investigate? With the unrivaled Phoenix bloodline, is there something we're afraid of?"

"We don't know about that." Su Mo finally spoke, "But I know that after that incident, the old patriarch ordered the entire vampire clan to completely withdraw from the world and turn a deaf ear to what's happening outside."

"Over time, some low-level vampires began to become increasingly rampant, and some even came out to harass the world. Ordinary police were unable to control them, and many of them died. As a result, they became dissatisfied with us over time."

"Although we can't be blamed, I do understand their resentment towards us. Furthermore, we were just established, so it's only natural for them to have such emotions."

The car stopped downstairs. Su Mo turned around and stretched out a hand, extending it to Ye Linghan. "Welcome to the Investigation Bureau. I hope we can become official colleagues."

Ye Linghan was immersed in acquiring information when the topic suddenly changed, causing him to panic. He quickly extended his hand, "It's my pleasure!"

Although the time and place of the welcome ceremony were relatively hasty, Ye Linghan felt happy from the bottom of his heart.

"But...I have one more thing I want to ask."

Su Mo raised his eyebrows, changing his usual sullen expression and revealing a hint of a smile. "While there's still time, ask. Once we get upstairs, we'll have to get down to business."

"Why did you recruit me? I don't believe you just agreed to let me come without any reason."

Especially after listening to Su Mo's talk, he couldn't understand why he had the opportunity to join such a rigorous organization.

Yao Qingluan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, also came over and said, "Yeah, brother, I'm a little curious too."

Su Mo was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "If I say it's based on intuition, would you believe me?"

Seeing Su Mo looking at him sincerely, Ye Linghan shrugged and showed an expression that said, "Do you think I believe it?"

Su Mo also expected Ye Linghan to not believe it, so he explained, "Even though you don't believe it, this is the truth. From the first time we met, when you saw our identities, I felt that you were no ordinary person."

"And from what I've seen so far, the Investigation Bureau isn't as formal as you think..."

Since they were already chatting, Su Mo simply opened up the topic and told everything.

"What I said during the day was just for show. As you can see, there are only me and A-Luan in the police station, so there won't be any confidential cases. Our police station isn't like theirs, where the screening process is very strict. Here, all you need is courage and a willingness to not get hurt."

Although Su Mo's last sentence was very conservative, Ye Linghan could sense that his implication was that the mission would be dangerous and life-threatening at any time.

However, Ye Linghan was more open-minded. He had been alone since childhood. Instead of living a mediocre life, he might as well do something meaningful.

"And the most important point." Su Mo added.

"What?"

"You can't rebel."

"certainly."