Ever since last month, disappearances had been happening one after another.
But he had never imagined one would happen so close to home.
Chen Zilu nodded and sighed. "The police are doing everything they can to hunt for them, but... almost none of the people who disappeared recently have been found."
Nearby, Li Zhichao frowned. "Could a Shadow Calamity have broken out in Ancheng?"
Chen Zilu shook her head. "If it were a Shadow Calamity, the Shadow Hunter Bureau would have noticed right away. These disappearances are very likely the work of people."
"People?" Jiang Ye asked, taken aback.
If people were responsible, why hadn't the police dealt with it yet?
Chen Zilu asked, "Have you heard of the Hidden Spirit Organization?"
Jiang Ye and Li Zhichao both shook their heads.
Chen Zilu explained, "The Hidden Spirit Organization is a force formed by a group of rats who worship the Shadow Clan. It's complex and vast, and has infiltrated the networks of almost every major city in the Federation."
"Worship the Shadow Clan?"
At that, Jiang Ye and Li Zhichao were both stunned.
People actually worshipped those things?
"How could anyone worship something like that?" Jiang Ye couldn't help asking.
"Because there are benefits, of course."
Chen Zilu shook her head. "Members of the Hidden Spirit Organization can obtain some of the Shadow Clan's abilities, and even gain incredibly powerful strength for a short time."
"There will always be people willing to take desperate risks for that kind of power."
She sighed softly. "These people are secretive, and they have a powerful ability to infect others. They turn ordinary people into members of their ranks."
"Every year, hundreds of thousands of disappearances are linked to this organization."
"Hundreds of thousands of disappearances every year." Jiang Ye's breath caught.
That number showed just how immense the Hidden Spirit Organization was.
If all those people had been turned into members...
How many members did the organization have after all these years? It was impossible to imagine.
Jiang Ye couldn't help asking, "Teacher, can Xia Qing be rescued?"
"It'll be difficult."
Chen Zilu shook her head and said no more on the matter.
It hurt her, too, that one of her students had gone missing.
"In any case, be careful. The Hidden Spirit Organization's habits are similar to the Shadow Clan's; they like to operate at night."
Chen Zilu warned them, "So don't go anywhere secluded. Avoid going out at night, and don't respond if strangers try to talk to you."
"Understood."
Jiang Ye and Li Zhichao both answered in subdued voices.
"All right, head back early. It's getting late." Chen Zilu waved them off.
Li Zhichao nodded and turned to leave first. He had been frightened, too, and looked terribly pale.
But Jiang Ye didn't hurry away.
"What is it?" Chen Zilu looked at him.
Jiang Ye took out the bag of prize money. "Teacher, I can pay back the thirty thousand yuan you lent me last time."
Chen Zilu froze for a moment.
Then her pretty face turned stern.
"What do you take me for? Do I look like someone who needs that little bit of money?"
Chen Zilu pushed the money bag back. "I told you to pay me back after you graduate."
"Teacher..." Jiang Ye tried to say more.
Chen Zilu stuffed the bag back into his hands and glared at him with her beautiful eyes. "Enough. Who's the teacher here, you or me?"
Only then did Jiang Ye put it away.
He had actually guessed she wouldn't take it.
But just as his father, Jiang Dahai, had said, whether she accepted the money and whether he offered it were two entirely different things.
Offering to pay her back early was a gesture in itself.
Although Chen Zilu kept her face stern, a hint of a smile glimmered in her eyes.
Jiang Ye's actions made her appreciate him even more.
She left the subject alone and changed the topic. "Once you've mastered your Cultivation Method, the school will arrange a free Starry Sky Refinement for you."
"This kind of opportunity is hard to come by," Chen Zilu said. "So break through as soon as you can."
"Okay." Jiang Ye nodded.
His heart leaped. A free Starry Sky Refinement? It really was a rare opportunity.
As far as he knew, before breaking through to First Break, each Starry Sky Refinement cost tens of thousands of yuan.
That was a huge expense.
Thinking of that, he asked, "Is there a time limit for the Starry Sky Refinement arranged by the school?"
"A time limit? No."
Chen Zilu shook her head. "It lasts as long as you can endure."
"But you experienced the difficulty of Starry Sky Refinement today. The Thunder Fire Trial was just a weakened version. As for a real Starry Sky Refinement? Use your imagination." Chen Zilu smiled at him.
Jiang Ye couldn't help but stare in disbelief.
The Thunder Fire Trial had already been that agonizing, and it was only a weakened version?
"Looks like I'll have to train my Martial Will even harder when I get back."
Jiang Ye clenched his fists in silence.
"Go on back and focus on your cultivation." Chen Zilu smiled. "The placement exam at the start of senior year is very important. If you make it into the top hundred in your grade, you'll get a bonus, too."
Jiang Ye's eyes lit up.
"Teacher, I'll head back now." He waved to the girl. Time was precious; he had to seize every moment to improve himself.
"Mm, go ahead."
Chen Zilu waved as she watched Jiang Ye leave.
She propped her pale, delicate chin in her hand, anticipation rising in her eyes. "Starry Sky Refinement?"
Chen Zilu had suffered from a rare illness since childhood. Whenever she cultivated, she was wracked with pain.
Yet that very flaw had let her astonish everyone during a Starry Sky Refinement.
How far would Jiang Ye make it? She found herself looking forward to it.
After leaving school, Jiang Ye walked along the road, unable to stop thinking about the Hidden Spirit Organization Chen Zilu had mentioned.
His heart felt heavy.
After coming second in the trial, Jiang Ye should have been overjoyed.
But Xia Qing's disappearance swept all that joy away.
He didn't have any special feelings for her, but no matter what, she had brought him water several times. They had been fairly close.
Now she had simply vanished, and Jiang Ye couldn't help feeling awful.
From what his teacher had said, Xia Qing would probably be very difficult to find.
If she ever turned up again, she might already have been assimilated into the Hidden Spirit Organization.
"Get stronger." Jiang Ye couldn't change the situation. The only solution was to keep making himself stronger.
He quickened his pace and got home before dinner.
Taoyang Residential Area, Building 12, Room 606.
Jiang Ye told his parents the good news and handed the thirty thousand yuan to Jiang Dahai to buy Martial Arts Ingredients.
"You won another thirty thousand yuan?"
When Jiang Dahai and his wife heard this, they were both stunned.
It would take the two of them more than half a year of work to earn that much.
But Jiang Ye?
In just two months, he had won thirty thousand yuan twice?
Since when had money been so easy to earn?
"Our Xiao Ye is amazing." Li Anping's eyes brimmed with affection.
She knew Jiang Ye must have put in unimaginable effort to achieve this.
After all, she often saw him training hard at one or two in the morning.
"Xiao Ye, don't put too much pressure on yourself. You're already doing great," Jiang Dahai said.
The couple had always supported Jiang Ye's pursuit of martial arts with everything they had.
Now that he was finally achieving something, they were relieved.
But they also worried that he might push himself too hard and end up with lasting injuries.
Jiang Ye smiled. "Mom, Dad, don't worry. I know my limits."
Then he added, "By the way, Dad, are you still working the night shift? I heard there have been a lot of disappearances in the city."
"Disappearances?" Jiang Dahai furrowed his brow.
Jiang Ye told them what Chen Zilu had said about the Hidden Spirit Organization.
"The Hidden Spirit Organization?"
Jiang Dahai's expression turned serious. He nodded. "I've heard people at the Shadow Hunter Bureau talking about this, too. It seems this really is having a big impact."
Jiang Ye was worried. "Dad, be careful when you work the night shift."
"Mm." Since his life was at stake, Jiang Dahai took it seriously and nodded. "Don't worry. I'll stay in the security room during the night shift and won't go anywhere."
Then he looked at Jiang Ting, who was sitting nearby.
"Tingting, you stay home from now on, too. Don't go anywhere," Jiang Dahai said sternly.
He was more worried about this girl than Jiang Ye.
If she ran into danger, she wouldn't have any way to protect herself.
Seeing this, Jiang Ting hurriedly said, "I'll stay by my brother's side. I won't go anywhere."
As she spoke, she scooted closer and sat beside Jiang Ye, wrapping her arms around his.
Looking at the little girl clinging to him affectionately, Jiang Ye shook his head with a smile.
But when he instinctively opened the panel, he suddenly froze.
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