The Storm Approaches
The girl in yellow, who was the murderer, was wearing the school uniform of the Life Spirit Academy. At most, her figure had been slightly modified to fit her body, but her original style was still evident. Moreover, it was not a temporary alteration. Judging from the signs of aging, the outfit had been washed and starched many times, and it was clearly her everyday clothes.
Did the Life Spirit Academy send its students to carry out kidnappings?
Looking back at the girl behind him, Bai Cai instantly dismissed the possibility of the Evil Soul Master.
Normal academies conduct thorough screenings before admitting students, including considering their Martial Soul type and personality habits, to prevent students from developing degenerate tendencies.
One cannot advance through killing. Even if one slaughters countless civilians, one still cannot be considered an Evil Soul Master. Ten thousand years ago, the Poison Douluo massacred more than ten thousand people on the battlefield, yet the written records still state that His Majesty was capricious and unpredictable, rather than other slanderous evaluations.
Similarly, Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix and Dai Huabin's Evil-Eyed White Tiger are only prefixed with the word "evil," indicating certain Ability such as being out of control or having heterochromia, rather than being evil.
The girl in yellow comes from the Life Spirit Academy. Theoretically speaking, she is innately excluded from being Evil Soul Master. Her spiritual aura is pure and righteous. From this perspective, her acquired personality is not evil or corrupted.
One cannot advance through killing. Compared to a certain city-slaughtering Douluo, his personality is already extremely benevolent, thus ruling out the possibility of him Evil Soul Master.
However, now that the previous conclusion has been overturned, new problems arise as well.
Judging from her physique, the girl is at most twenty years old. Since we've ruled out advancement through killing, what merit does she possess to reach the Soul Saint or higher?
At twenty years old, Ma Xiaotao's cultivation level was only Soul Emperor, and it would take her at least two more years to break through to Soul Saint.
Ma Xiaotao is a top genius, appearing only once in a millennium. And what about this "girl"? A once-in-ten-thousand-years Mold Breaker genius?
Why was the city lord kidnapped? Why was he framed? Why was he forced to live as a fugitive?
These mysteries are closely related; a dark cloud seems to hang over the Belun region, concealing something.
Bai Cai immediately fell silent. The detailed investigation, which involved meticulously unraveling the mystery, turned out to be a complete mess. If it weren't for the need to write a report, she should have simply left the task to avoid causing a lot of trouble.
"The day the apricot blossoms bloom is the day disaster strikes."
Having already toured half of Belun, fragments of memories kept flashing through her mind. The girl in yellow looked lost and wistful. "I won't ask any more questions. That's all I have to say."
Revealing a hint of the disaster's secrets, the girl is about to turn and leave, seemingly preparing to disappear once more.
Bai Cai immediately stopped thinking and asked, "Where are you going?"
For Belun, the young girl was like a bird separated from its flock, with nowhere to go and nowhere to hide; to fall and rest was tantamount to death.
Unwilling to get involved in intrigue doesn't mean inaction; if an investigation into this matter is necessary, the girl will undoubtedly be a key figure.
However, Bai Cai still hesitated. If she took the girl in temporarily, and the girl refused to cooperate with the investigation, it would only increase the danger.
The city lord's guard is one of the dangers, and the Life Spirit Academy is probably the same. The saying "when the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked" is self-evident.
The girl may seem pitiful, and the case may have its reasons, but ultimately she has committed a serious crime. Whether it is worth the risk is something Bai Cai has not yet decided.
Where to?
The girl tilted her head. "Nowhere to go, just waiting to die."
Time is running out, what difference does it make who kills us? Unfortunately, this disaster still cannot be extinguished.
Within life there is life; tigers eat sheep, sheep Sap Sipper, grass grows from the soil, and the soil originates from mountains, rivers, and the remains of living beings.
Tall trees block out the sunlight, which in turn stifles grass and shrubs. For trees, death is the end of life, and for grass seeds, it is the origin of life.
A thousand years of prosperity are like this: they shield from wind and rain, block out the sun, yet leave Belun in shackles, unable to break free.
His own death should be able to change Belun, and...
Let's go together.
After a moment's thought, Bai Cai finally extended her right hand. "Perhaps, things aren't so serious."
The girl turned around and looked back, slightly surprised. "You're worried, you're afraid, but why...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Bai Cai interrupted immediately, "What's the point of worrying? What's the point of being afraid? Can these emotions solve anything?"
The girl suddenly fell silent. The light autumn rain danced in the wind, and the misty fog enveloped the surroundings, dispelling the sweltering heat of the past few days.
Perhaps for a moment, perhaps for a thousand years, the girl also extended her right hand and placed it over the Bai Cai's hand.
Bone age fifteen, pure Soul Power, smooth skin, excluding Power Attack System and defensive types.
Making numerous judgments in an instant, Bai Cai immediately asked, "What's your name?"
"Heart..."
The girl added softly, "A heartfelt sentiment."
The single character is clearly an alias. Of course, this isn't a big deal, since the two parties are strangers, and Bai Cai also uses an alias.
The plan was set: to leave the city through the wine shop, bring the girl back to the manor, and encounter no checks or obstructions along the way.
There aren't many Soul Masters in the Belun region, and their average Soul Power is lower than that of first-tier cities. Due to the concentration of Soul Master, most of Belun's strong individuals leave to work in certain sects or academies as retainers, thereby earning cultivation resources.
In other words, apart from the Life Spirit Academy, there are very few strong individuals in the Belun region. If the girl hides herself, the city lord's guards will have no way to catch her.
Ten thousand years ago, at the fourth test of the Shrek Academy, after Tang San passed the test, Tang Hao secretly spoke. Zhao Wuji could not find anything unusual, so he had to follow the sound to find the person. This shows how terrifying the suppression intensity of a high-level Soul Master is to a low-level Soul Master.
The girl is at most Soul Douluo, far inferior to a certain Your Majesty. However, the ordinary members of the city lord's guard are usually below Soul Elder, even less comparable to Zhao Wuji.
Some of the elders at the Life Spirit Academy, whose cultivation levels may be higher than those of Soul Saint, were naturally able to Frisk the anomaly.
However, putting aside whether the Life Spirit Academy is willing to help, even if they send such powerful experts to search, they would still need to search the entire city. Why specifically target Belun's Wine Shop?
Therefore, the return process went very smoothly, and Dianya was Frisk that there was an extra guest in the manor, temporarily staying in Bai Cai's bedroom.
The manor's guest rooms are quite spacious, with a tea room, bathroom, master bedroom, and guest bedroom, and everything except the kitchen is provided. It is not designed specifically for entertaining guests; members of the branch clan who return to the family also need to stay here, so the supporting facilities are relatively complete.
Because she needed to cultivate and conceal her tracks, Bai Cai did not move to the guest room, but went to the tea room instead. Of course, being a winery, the tea room was well-stocked with wine, exuding a rich aroma.
There were very few servants in the manor, and apart from three meals a day, Bai Cai rarely encountered Dianya. This lady was elusive, either going to the nursery to prune branches, to the fountain to feed the birds, or to other parts of the manor.
The temporary dwelling of the heart is like a pebble thrown into a lake; it creates ripples upon impact, then disappears without a trace once submerged, and the lake quickly returns to calm, undisturbed.
Of course, as news of the case spread, tensions rose in the Belun region, and rumors began to escalate.
The tranquility of the manor was now tinged with a sense of oppression, like a dark, gloomy cloud that might soon bring a storm, or like the eye of a hurricane that happened to be at the center of the event and thus escaped unscathed.