A Hidden Hint
After confirming that Xiao Bing had been kidnapped by the cult, Lu Yuan immediately rode to the Internal Affairs Bureau in Ning City. Cultivator Ji Yin had made it very clear that day: if he found any trace of the cult, he was to report it to the Internal Affairs Bureau immediately.
Although Lu Yuan now had a system, he had yet to find a way to increase his combat strength. The growth of his True Essence had not made him any stronger. When he punched a wall, it still hurt so much that he jumped.
Besides, he had no idea where to find traces of the cult. The Internal Affairs Bureau had been pursuing it all along, and the cultivators might have some miraculous means.
For example, they might be able to determine Xiao Bing's current location using a single strand of her hair.
Lu Yuan had come with complete confidence in the Internal Affairs Bureau, but reality left him bitterly disappointed. In fact, he had nearly failed to get through the door.
Several heavily armed guards at the entrance questioned him at length and checked his identity several times before letting him in.
In the Internal Affairs Bureau's reception hall, a stern-faced woman patiently listened to Lu Yuan's account. By the time he finally finished telling it all in one breath, she had lost her patience.
"So the cult kidnapping your sister is just your guess?"
"It's not a guess!" Lu Yuan hurriedly protested. "It was definitely the cult!"
"Heh." The woman smiled.
"All right, I've noted it down. Go home and wait to hear from us."
She casually scribbled a few words on a piece of paper and moved to send Lu Yuan away.
How could Lu Yuan be willing to leave? He still didn't know what had happened to Xiao Bing, and every moment of delay put her in greater danger.
"Wait for what? Isn't the Internal Affairs Bureau supposed to catch cultists? Hurry up and help me find my sister!"
Lu Yuan was agitated, and his voice grew loud.
There were many Internal Affairs Bureau staff members in the hall, and Lu Yuan's shouting drew everyone's attention.
The woman's expression changed, and she snapped:
"Enough!
Just because you say it's the cult, that makes it the cult?
You tell me to look for her, so I have to?
What do you think the Internal Affairs Bureau is?!"
Lu Yuan turned pale. He knew he had been too agitated and had spoken the wrong way, but he couldn't calm down at all now.
Just then, someone beside them sighed and spoke up:
"Xiao Zhou, he's still a student. Be gentler."
The woman snorted, tossed down the papers in her hand, and left. The person who had just spoken picked them up and sat down across from Lu Yuan.
He was a man in his thirties, with regular features and a gentle smile.
"My name is Zhang Baocheng. You can call me Brother Zhang or Old Zhang."
"Lu Yuan, Xiao Zhou had a bad attitude. Let me apologize to you on her behalf."
"But in principle, she wasn't wrong. Our Internal Affairs Bureau isn't a police station; we're a military organization. Without orders, we can't deploy at will."
Lu Yuan's heart felt as though it were being cut by a knife. Ever since his rebirth, he had never felt so desperate.
"Brother Zhang, my sister is still little. She doesn't understand anything. Please help me. I'm begging you."
Lu Yuan's voice was choked, and his words came out in a jumble. If anything happened to Xiao Bing, he didn't dare imagine how he would explain it to their parents.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Baocheng felt great sympathy for him and tried to console him:
"Lu Yuan, try to look on the bright side. Maybe your sister just went out to play with her friends and will be home tonight.
"How about this? I have a few friends at the police station. I'll call them now and ask the police to check the surveillance footage.
"If the footage shows that your sister really was kidnapped by the cult, our Internal Affairs Bureau will act immediately. What do you think of that arrangement?"
Lu Yuan understood that what Zhang Baocheng said was quite reasonable. Xiao Bing was his family, not anyone else's.
Besides, before coming here, he really hadn't known that the Internal Affairs Bureau was a military organization. He had thought it was much like a police station.
For now, it seemed this was all he could do. Lu Yuan nodded in agreement, wondering whether he should ask Jia Shengnan to investigate later. Jia Shengnan certainly had more influence than he did.
Seeing Lu Yuan agree, Zhang Baocheng picked up the landline and called the police station, explaining what had happened.
Just then, a robust voice rang out from outside the hall.
"Hahaha, junior sister, since you've honored us with your presence, you have to give me a chance to play host!
"It's settled, then!"
The man who came in with the sound of that voice was none other than Cultivator Ji Yin, whom Lu Yuan had met once before.
The aloof air the cultivator had worn atop the school tower that day was gone. He was talking on his phone, his face animated and his mood evidently very cheerful.
As if he had grasped his last life-saving straw, Lu Yuan hurried over to him.
"Cultivator, I have a lead on the cult! You said that if I had a lead on the cult, I should come report it to you immediately!"
He moved so quickly that the other staff members had no time to stop him.
"What's going on?"
Ji Yin lowered his phone and frowned.
The woman surnamed Zhou, who had just received Lu Yuan, immediately pulled him away. She was so strong that Lu Yuan was practically flung aside.
"This kid keeps shouting that cultists kidnapped his sister, but he didn't see anyone at all. He imagined the whole thing out of thin air."
The woman surnamed Zhou resentfully gave an account of Lu Yuan's situation.
He had not only shouted at her but also barged up to her superior. She had come to hate Lu Yuan.
"That's not true!" Lu Yuan protested loudly. "I'm certain the cultists kidnapped my sister!"
"And you still dare to make trouble!"
Ji Yin chuckled and stopped the woman surnamed Zhou. "Let's talk this out. Why resort to force? We're not those blockheads from the Blood Tax Army!"
With that, he walked up to Lu Yuan, stared into his eyes, and asked, "Young man, oh, you're a student at First High, aren't you... You say you're sure it was cultists? Are you really sure?"
"I'm sure!" Lu Yuan said earnestly. Even with the unfathomable cultivator before him, he dared to meet his gaze.
Ji Yin burst out laughing.
"Young man, how can you be sure?" Ji Yin asked with a laugh, patting Lu Yuan on the shoulder.
"If a cultist stood in a crowd, even I wouldn't be able to pick them out. How can you be sure?
"Don't tell me you're so young, yet your cultivation is higher than mine?
"Hahahahaha!"
Cultivator Ji Yin had made a joke, and everyone in the hall joined in the laughter.
Cultists were hard to identify, and that was also the hardest part of catching them. Unless they were caught in the act, it was difficult to drag these insects out from the shadows.
Another reason everyone laughed along with Ji Yin was that they were relieved. It was wonderful that Lord Ji Yin hadn't gotten angry.
The head of the Ning City Internal Affairs Bureau was known for his eccentric temperament. The bureau's staff had to tread carefully when speaking to him.
Of everyone there, only Lu Yuan didn't laugh. It wasn't because he was angry, but because he was surprised.
No one knew that when Ji Yin had patted Lu Yuan's shoulder, a burst of hidden force had struck into Lu Yuan's body through his palm. It had startled him so badly that he had nearly cried out.
What did this mean?!
Looking at Cultivator Ji Yin, who was still laughing heartily before him, Lu Yuan instinctively realized that the cultivator might be trying to alert him to something.
He came to a realization: the next few seconds might be his only chance to save Xiao Bing.
Lu Yuan's mind raced, countless thoughts flashing through it in an instant.
Was Ji Yin trying to threaten me?
Impossible!
If that were the case, he could simply slap Lu Yuan to death.
What did he just say... Could it be...
Lu Yuan seemed to have thought of something. His pupils contracted sharply, and the hairs on his back stood on end.