At that moment, Liu Manyun's heart was pounding.
Is this what it feels like to be in love? How strange!
Liu Manyun tried to hug Jianming tightly; the scent of male hormones almost overwhelmed her brain.
Jianming's earlobes turned red again, and a hint of youthful shyness flashed across his resolute face, which seemed somewhat incongruous.
Not far away, Lu Qing and Gu Xicheng craned their necks and peered out the window.
"Looks like these two are a couple!"
Lu Qing was genuinely happy for Liu Manyun, but at the same time, she was also worried.
She didn't want Jianming to invest too much emotion, otherwise, if Liu Manyun left, it would be a devastating blow to him.
Gu Xicheng noticed Lu Qing's worry and reassured her:
"He's concise and sensible. Since he made this choice, he's prepared. There's no need to worry!"
Lu Qing twitched the corner of his mouth and nodded.
Jianming and Liu Manyun entered quickly, holding hands, their faces beaming with happiness from the sweetness of their romance.
When the other members of the Investigation Bureau saw that the captain of the "eternal iron tree" had actually blossomed, they all started to jeer.
"Captain, that's impressive speed!"
"The team leader has to treat us to a nice lunch today to celebrate!"
"..."
Jianming waved to signal everyone to be quiet:
"I'm willing to treat you to a meal, but we need to finish the case at hand first."
"Once this case is closed, I'll treat everyone to Yun Ji and we can eat as much as we want."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately shouted in unison, "Long live the captain!"
"Everyone, let's get to work! For the sake of this meal, we also need to catch this celestial dog and the murderer as soon as possible!"
Everyone went off to work.
In half a day, everyone had compiled all the information and data about Liao Cheng.
Jianming extracted some useful information from it, gradually narrowing down the scope.
"Everyone come over here, let's have a meeting!"
Jianming gathered everyone in the meeting room.
"After the incident, we initiated city defense and tracking. What we can confirm now is that the murderer and the Tengu have not left the city. But where in this city is Liao Cheng and the Tengu's safe house?"
Jianming circled several points on the map:
"The entire city is under lockdown now. Skynet has been tracking Liao Cheng and the evil spirits, so their hiding place must be very secluded, possibly even in the mountains where no one goes."
"Based on the biographical information we have compiled about Liao Cheng, these are the places I drew that are most likely to be where they appeared, and also the places that best absorb moonlight."
“These places are Da'an Mountain, Xiazi Ridge, and Xuanwu Tower, the tallest building in the city. The first two are deep in the mountains, and the last one is in the bustling city. All of them could become their targets.”
"The most likely candidate is Da'an Mountain, because the rural houses that appear most often in Liao Cheng's photos with his mother are in his hometown of Xi Village, which is right next to Da'an Mountain."
"Therefore, we need to focus our efforts on the area around Da'an Mountain. Of course, we cannot ignore the other two places either."
Jianming looked at Lu Qing and Gu Xicheng:
“The three of us will split into three groups, each with fifty men, to guard these three locations. Once we spot Tian Gou and Liao Cheng, we must capture them immediately. What do you think?”
Lu Qing and Gu Xicheng nodded slightly.
“Then I’ll go to Da’an Mountain!” Lu Qing said.
Gu Xicheng quickly said, "No! Tiangou and Liao Cheng are most likely to go to Da'an Mountain, which is the most dangerous place. I'll go!"
Lu Qing chuckled softly:
"Gu Xicheng, do you think you're so capable now that you're always standing in my way?!"
"How long have you been cultivating? How many demons have you dealt with? When it comes to this, I have far more experience than you."
Lu Qing patted Gu Xicheng's head and laughed:
"It's decided then. I'll go to Da'an Mountain. You can choose between me and Captain Jian."
Gu Xicheng knew he couldn't go against Lu Qing's wishes, so he had no choice but to agree.
"It's getting late, we need to set off early, quietly, so as not to alert Liao Cheng and Tian Gou!"
Jianming divided the 150 people that the Investigation Bureau could mobilize into three groups, each following him, Lu Qing, and Gu Xicheng to one of the three locations.
Before setting off, Lu Qing gave his fire talisman to Gu Xicheng, and Gu Xicheng also gave a wisp of the Nine Nether Lotus Fire to Lu Qing.
As for Jianming, he didn't have divine bones and couldn't control the Nine Nether Lotus Fire, so he wasn't given any.
But he brought along a jar sealed with Maitreya clay and some detached weapons, so it wasn't a big problem.
The most difficult thing to deal with now is actually the Tengu, not that evil aura.
In order to avoid causing a big commotion, everyone went in groups using different modes of transportation.
Everyone hurried along and finally arrived at the designated meeting point before dark.
Lu Qing looked up at the sky. It was already dark, and the moon was faintly hidden in the clouds, not very obvious.
Xi Village is not far away, and Liao Cheng and Tian Gou are very likely hiding there.
Lu Qing decided to investigate before it got dark.
"You all wait here, I'll go take a look around Xi Village and see if there's anything going on."
After giving the instructions, Lu Qing changed into a white t-shirt and shorts, blackened her face to make herself look more ordinary, and bought a bag of spicy strips from a roadside convenience store and ate them.
When Lu Qing wandered to the vicinity of Liao Cheng's old house, he did not see anyone, nor did he sense the presence of the Heavenly Dog.
Across from them, a middle-aged woman was washing rice and cooking, so Lu Qing went over to inquire:
"Auntie, can I ask you something?"
The older woman was very welcoming, smiling as she asked:
"Young lady, what do you want to ask? There's no one in this whole area that I don't know!"
"I just wanted to ask if anyone from the family across the street has come back recently?" Lu Qing asked.
The old woman nodded: "Someone did come back the night before last, and he brought back a dog. The dog was huge, and it barked loudly all night, disturbing the peace of the neighbors."
“I complained to him about it last night, and he agreed verbally, but the dog kept barking all night, it was so noisy.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing couldn't help but frown.
According to the old lady's description, Liao Cheng and Tian Gou should have returned, but was it really necessary to cause such a commotion?
Tiangou is no ordinary dog. Knowing that it and Liao Cheng are currently being hunted, why would it bark every day to attract attention?
Unless it was intentional!
Lu Qing thanked the old woman and then left.
But she didn't go far. Instead, she circled around and came to the back of Liao Cheng's house, looking inside through the window.
It was dark inside, with little furniture, but there was a pile of empty bread bags and chicken bones in the corner.
This indirectly confirmed the old woman's statement and also confirmed Lu Qing's suspicions.
As night deepened, the moon gradually became clearer, its bright light illuminating the mountains and forests.
The people lying in ambush at the foot of the mountain were getting drowsy.
Just then, a figure slowly walked over, and the person at the front immediately reported to Lu Qing.
"Captain Lu, it's Liao Cheng! Liao Cheng has appeared!"
Lu Qing immediately snapped out of his daze and grabbed his binoculars to look at the mountain road in the distance.
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