Perfect Coordination

At the time, Ji Yin had patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder, using a hidden burst of force to remind him to pay attention to what he was saying.

He told Lu Yuan, "You can't pick cultists out of a crowd."

It sounded as though he were explaining how hard cultists were to identify.

But what he really meant was that there might be cultists among the Internal Affairs Bureau personnel present.

Otherwise, Ji Yin could simply have said so outright instead of warning him in such a discreet way.

In truth, everything Ji Yin had done was just an attempt-a desperate bid to treat a dead horse as though it were still alive.

If Lu Yuan had jumped up in fright at the hidden force and asked him about it, Ji Yin would have laughed and said, "You're a sturdy young fellow. You've got the makings of a fine cultivator."

But Ji Yin hadn't expected Lu Yuan to react so quickly!

Not only had he instantly grasped Ji Yin's meaning, but he had also tossed out a piece of bait the very next second.

Lu Yuan had said that Xiao Bing had something on her that could be tracked.

He hadn't said that for Ji Yin's benefit. Both of them knew there was no such thing.

He had said it for the cultist mole present to hear.

Sure enough, Zhang Baocheng took the bait. He abducted Lu Yuan outside, only for Ji Yin to follow them the whole way.

As for Ji Yin pretending to be angry and sending Lu Yuan flying with a slap, and Lu Yuan cursing him out at the Internal Affairs Bureau's entrance, those moves were flowers embroidered on brocade.

The beauty of the plan was that it had been entirely improvised. Ji Yin and Lu Yuan had dug a huge pit right in front of Zhang Baocheng, and he had actually jumped into it.

Zhang Baocheng was an old fox who had hidden himself well within the Internal Affairs Bureau. Even Ji Yin hadn't expected it to be him.

But Zhang Baocheng could never have suspected Lu Yuan, because when he received Lu Yuan, his despair, anxiety, and anger had all been real.

"Student Lu Yuan... very good!"

Having figured it all out, Zhang Baocheng spoke with a bone-deep hatred in his voice. How could he have imagined that he would fall into the hands of a high school student?

"Zhang Baocheng, surrender! Tell us honestly who the protector above you is, and I'll spare your life!"

"Dream on!" Zhang Baocheng twisted his face into a smile.

"The holy sect endures forever, and I shall never perish!"

At those words, Ji Yin's expression changed. Spiritual light shimmered around him, and with a swift flash, he appeared right in front of Zhang Baocheng.

But it was already too late. Before Ji Yin could touch him, Zhang Baocheng's head suddenly burst apart like a watermelon.

Lu Yuan covered Xiao Bing's eyes, keeping her from seeing the bloody scene.

With Zhang Baocheng dead, none of the remaining cultists could withstand a single exchange. The Internal Affairs Bureau personnel soon subdued them.

But few were left alive. Knowing they were no match for their enemies, the cultists shouted their slogans and took their own lives.

The five or six who survived had been knocked unconscious before they could do the same.

The cult's methods of beguiling people were indeed formidable.

Cleaning up the battlefield took even longer. Besides the survivors, there were documents and records in the hideout. They were all valuable intelligence on the cult and had to be collected and taken away.

Of course, there was no need to trouble Lord Ji Yin with such cleanup. He drove a large SUV and personally took Lu Yuan and his sister back.

The cultivator complained all the way.

"Tell me, Lu Yuan, why didn't you agree to it?"

Ji Yin was referring to when Zhang Baocheng had told Lu Yuan to come clean. If he had, Zhang Baocheng might have spared him and let him join the cult.

That way, Ji Yin could have stayed in hiding until the Holy Descent Ceremony the next day.

"Is the Holy Descent that important?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Of course it is. At least one cult protector will show up for the Holy Descent. Catch one of them, and we'd have a big fish!"

"What could I have told him? My sister didn't have anything on her, and you know it."

"Couldn't you have lied a little more? You're so quick-witted, you could've made up any excuse-some kind of telepathy between brother and sister, or something."

Ji Yin couldn't let go of the big fish that had escaped.

Lu Yuan couldn't be bothered to respond. The cultivator had seemed aloof when they first met, but once they got to know each other, he seemed noisy.

Seeing that Lu Yuan wasn't going to answer, Ji Yin dropped the subject and kept driving.

As they neared the Internal Affairs Bureau, he suddenly asked another question.

"Lu Yuan, weren't you worried back then? What if I'd chosen to sacrifice you so I could wait for the protector to show up?"

"You wouldn't have."

"Why?"

"Because you're a good person."

Lu Yuan offered no explanation.

A man in a high position who would personally visit a school to remind the students to be careful, and who hadn't forgotten his old homeroom teacher after rising to prominence, was not someone who would abandon righteousness for profit. Besides, Lu Yuan had no choice but to trust him.

Ji Yin drove into the Internal Affairs Bureau compound. As soon as he got out, he headed for his office. He wouldn't have a moment to spare that night. He had to report to his superiors and hurry to interrogate the surviving cultists.

Lu Yuan hesitated, then called him back.

"Could you arrange a car to take us home? My sister doesn't have any shoes."

Xiao Bing had been abducted from home and was now standing barefoot on the ground, looking pitiful.

Ji Yin turned back and laughed.

"No!" he said. "Walk home yourself."

Ji Yin was taking revenge. Lu Yuan hadn't cooperated, and he had lost a very big fish.

And Lu Yuan had given him the good person card. Did he really think Ji Yin couldn't tell what he meant?

Lu Yuan was dumbfounded.

"Hey! How can you do this?"

"Why can't I?" Ji Yin beckoned a subordinate over. "Xiao Zhou, this student wants our Internal Affairs Bureau to send a car to take him home. Talk some sense into him. I've got work to do."

The woman who came over was the same woman surnamed Zhou who had received Lu Yuan during the day. Her eyebrows shot up, and she planted her hands on her hips and shouted:

"Kid!

You think we'll take you home just because you say so?

You think we'll send a car just because you say so?

What do you take the Internal Affairs Bureau for?"

Lu Yuan...

Fuck!

An arm couldn't twist a thigh. Looking at the Internal Affairs Bureau, still in a frenzy in the middle of the night, Lu Yuan decided he had better leave first.

Xiao Bing had no shoes, so he planned to carry his sister home on his back.

"Brother, it's still a long way. You won't be able to carry me all the way. Why don't I walk for a bit?"

Xiao Bing felt sorry for her brother. He had often carried her on his back when they were little, but she had grown up since then and weighed over eighty jin. She was no longer as small as she had been.

"I'll carry you for now. We'll see if we can flag down a taxi on the way. If I can't carry you anymore, I'll put you down."

"All right."

So Lu Yuan carried his sister along the main road toward home. Xiao Bing looked around from his back every so often, hoping a taxi would come their way.

But that was how it was with taxis. The more urgently you needed one, the fewer there were. When you didn't need one, they were bound to be everywhere.

After they had walked for more than half an hour, Xiao Bing urged him, "Brother, put me down."

"It's fine. I'm really not tired."

Lu Yuan wasn't forcing himself. He found it a little strange himself. By rights, after carrying more than eighty jin for half an hour, he should have needed a break to catch his breath.

Yet his face wasn't red, and his heart wasn't racing. After turning it over in his mind, he wondered if it was the system's doing.

He shifted his gaze to the edge of his vision to check the system. Sure enough, he noticed some changes.

Merit Points: 1,499

True Essence: 110/120 ling+

Spiritual Pressure: 12 seals

Divine Sense: 20 thoughts

Return Progress: 11.17%

As expected, his True Essence had changed.