Rong Jiaojiao awkwardly touched her nose and followed Zhang Zekai back.
Zhang Zekai took her onto the tram tracks. It was dinnertime, and there weren't many people on the tram.
After taking her seat, Rong Jiaojiao quietly asked, "Brother Zhang, what kind of work does our inspection team usually do?"
Zhang Zekai immediately perked up, but remained cautious, speaking only after establishing a barrier between them: "There's a lot! Investigating abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations, handling disputes within the Xuanmen (Taoist sects), hunting down evil cultivators..." He lowered his voice, "The most troublesome case recently is a series of disappearances; six children have already gone missing."
Rong Jiaojiao's heart skipped a beat: "Any clues?"
"It was definitely done by evil cultivators," Zhang Zekai said with a look of hatred. "The scene is still filled with lingering malevolent energy. Team Leader Leng hasn't slept a wink for days..."
The two chatted all the way, and after changing buses twice, they finally got off near their destination.
Just as the two were about to walk forward, a voice came from not far away: "Jiaojiao!"
Rong Jiaojiao looked up and saw her senior master's cold and beautiful face under the dim night light.
She waved happily and called out, "Master Uncle!"
Leng Muya was dressed in a neat black uniform, her long hair tied up high, exuding a heroic and cold aura.
Rong Jiaojiao secretly admired him: "Master Uncle's aura is even stronger than before."
Leng Muya walked over quickly, first looking Rong Jiaojiao up and down to make sure she was alright, then she snorted softly, "You finally decided to come?"
Rong Jiaojiao gave Leng Muya a playful salute and said, "Reporting to Team Leader Leng, Rong Jiaojiao is here to report for duty."
Leng Muya chuckled and waved, saying, "You two come with us too."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards a black sedan parked on the side of the road.
Rong Jiaojiao winked at Zhang Zekai, and the two of them jogged after him.
There were also two young people, a man and a woman, here. The man was driving, and the woman was sitting in the back seat.
Upon seeing Rong Jiaojiao get into the car, the young woman immediately extended her hand enthusiastically: "You must be the genius junior apprentice that Captain Leng often talks about, right? Hello, I'm Su Yuqing, from the action team."
The young man driving the car turned around and smiled, saying, "I'm Chen Pengfei, and I'm in charge of field driving."
Rong Jiaojiao shook hands with Su Yuqing: "Hello, Sister Su, hello, Brother Chen, please guide me in the future."
"Of course, of course!"
Leng Muya, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at her in the rearview mirror: "Alright, since you're here for training, you should act like one. Su Yuqing, show her the case files."
Su Yuqing handed over a manila file folder: "Seven children born in the lunar calendar, the most recent one went missing last night at the Chengnan Welfare Home."
Sitting next to Rong Jiaojiao, Zhang Zekai exclaimed, "Another child has gone missing?"
No one answered him, isn't that obvious?
Rong Jiaojiao was surprised that she could go out and broaden her horizons right away, and she was a little excited.
Flipping through the files, the innocent smiles of the children in the photos felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over her heart.
She noticed a faint red birthmark on each child's wrist and frowned, asking, "This birthmark..."
“It looks like it was marked with some kind of secret technique the day after tomorrow.” Su Yuqing lowered her voice. “We suspect that someone deliberately marked these children.”
"Were any clues left behind?"
Su Yuqing shook her head: "The first few left behind nothing but a strong aura of yin energy."
"And the last one?"
"We don't know yet. We reported the case this morning. After the police intervened and investigated, they found that the missing child also had the same birthmark. They couldn't find any clues, so they transferred the case to us this evening."
Rong Jiaojiao frowned: "If it's always like this, the clues are invisible to ordinary people. Won't they disappear over time?"
Chen Pengfei sighed: "What can we do? That's just how the procedure works."
The atmosphere in the carriage was somewhat heavy. Leng Muya spoke up: "Zhang Zekai, what did you gain today?"
Zhang Zekai shook his head: "Just like before, the bloodthirsty aura I was tracking disappeared outside the city."
Everyone fell silent as the car drove past the bustling Nanjing Road and turned onto a quiet side street.
We soon arrived at our destination, a two-story gray-white building with withered ivy climbing all over its iron fence.
The room was quiet, with only a few dim lights shining through the windows, making it seem particularly eerie.
Leng Muya got out of the car first, followed closely by the others.
As soon as Rong Jiaojiao stepped into the courtyard, she felt a faint, chilly aura swirling around her ankles.
She subtly cast an exorcism spell, and the aura immediately dissipated.
"You felt it?" Leng Muya glanced at her sideways.
Rong Jiaojiao nodded: "It's a very faint yin energy, as if it had been deliberately cleaned up."
"Not bad." A hint of approval flashed in Leng Muya's eyes. "Much better than some people."
Zhang Zekai scratched his head awkwardly: "Team leader, my perception is indeed not as good as Xiao Rong's..."
"Enough talk, get to work." Leng Muya interrupted him and turned to the group, "Split up and carefully check for any clues. Don't alert the people inside."
At Leng Muya's command, the inspection team members quickly dispersed.
Rong Jiaojiao and Zhang Zekai were in charge of inspecting the backyard.
The night breeze was cool, and a faint, fishy smell filled the air, like rust mixed with rotting vegetation.
She lightly flicked her fingertips, a wisp of spiritual energy flowing in her palm as she sensed the anomalies around her.
"Brother Zhang, don't you feel..." Rong Jiaojiao lowered her voice, "...that the distribution of yin energy here is a bit off?"
Zhang Zekai gripped the compass, his brow furrowed: "Hmm, logically speaking, the yin energy in places where evil cultivators have stayed should be concentrated in one place, but the yin energy here... seems to have been forcibly drawn away by something."
A dozen minutes later, everyone gathered together and shook their heads in unison: "Apart from the faint aura of bloodlust everywhere, we found nothing."
Leng Muya frowned, her fingertips gently stroking the copper coin sword at her waist, and said in a deep voice, "Since we can't find any clues here, let's follow the direction of the remaining evil energy."
She looked at Zhang Zekai, who immediately took out a compass and searched carefully. After a while, he said, "Northwest direction."
"Let's go." Leng Muya decisively ordered, "Chen Pengfei, drive."
Everyone quickly got into the car, and the black sedan sped through the night towards the outskirts of the city.
The further northwest you drive, the more desolate the road becomes, with sparse streetlights and overgrown weeds on both sides.
Rong Jiaojiao pressed herself against the car window, gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips as she carefully sensed the lingering yin energy in the air.
She suddenly spoke up: "The malevolent aura has faded."
Su Yuqing said angrily, "It's always like this. Every time it seems like we've reached the edge of the truth and then it disappears again."
The others also looked grim.
A dozen minutes later, the car braked suddenly and stopped outside an abandoned factory.
The iron fence was already rusted, the gate was half open, and it was pitch black inside.
Everyone got off the bus and looked around. Before long, they all returned dejected, as the bloodthirsty aura had dissipated.
Zhang Zekai said, "They always lead us in different directions, which is definitely to confuse us."
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