Chapter 229
Chapter 229
The group stood on the hillside before the three sets of remains, listening as Qin Ying finished the story.
The moment she stopped speaking, the bespectacled middle-aged man adjusted his glasses and nodded. “They really could be members of the Hu Family.”
“And they may even have belonged to the direct line.”
In ancient times, every family jealously guarded the secret recipes behind its prosperity, wishing they could bury them deep within their hearts and never let another soul see them.
Assuming the booklet was telling the truth, the Tooth-Shedding Formula was unquestionably a priceless source of wealth.
It would never have been disclosed lightly.
For whoever these bones had belonged to carry it on their person, they must have held considerable status within the Hu Family.
Qin Ying said, “Could the Hu Family have never fled at all? Did they come into the mountains to work as someone else’s lackeys?”
Even today, the Hu Family residence was a tourist attraction. The sprawling mansion was extraordinarily comfortable.
Why abandon a mansion like that to stand watch for someone in this miserable place?
Then again, this involved an evil cult. Once people got mixed up with cults, common sense could no longer be used to judge their actions.
Deputy Director Chen removed his gloves and rubbed his chin with his fingers. “Qin Ying.”
“Yes?”
“It’ll take several more days to drain the groundwater and finish the excavation here. You won’t get any proper rest if you stay.”
“In a bit, you and Xie Shao will take these three bodies to Yunlan City for forensic examination.”
“Go home and get two good days of rest. If you’re feeling better after that, help Xie Shao investigate the Hu Family.”
He turned to Xie Shao. “Go to the old city and find out how the Hu Family made its fortune, as well as which individuals or factions they had close dealings with.”
They were already looking into the identity of the engineer from Italy, but the more important target was the Shiye who had escaped with a large quantity of Marrow Fluid.
They had to find some way to pick up this mysterious figure’s trail.
Qin Ying and Xie Shao both acknowledged the orders.
Xie Shao found body bags among the delivered supplies. They packed the clothing from the bodies and the bag of teeth along with the remains.
Qin Ying rode in the mortuary van he drove and returned to Yunlan City along the way.
Xie Shao wasn’t much of a talker, so music played throughout the drive.
With three bodies stacked in the cargo compartment, Qin Ying leaned against the passenger seat and dozed.
After arriving in Yunlan City, the two went their separate ways, exchanging WeChat contacts before parting.
If Xie Shao needed any help, he could immediately contact Qin Ying, who knew the local scene inside and out.
When Qin Ying finally returned home and opened the door to find the house bustling with activity, all the tension drained from her body.
Thunderbird chirped noisily at its little companions, either greeting them or showing off.
Wangcai had been left at home and was originally so upset that it had resolved to ignore Qin Ying completely.
But the moment she walked through the door, it sprang up, ran over, and sniffed her all over.
Then it raised its head to look at her as if asking, Why do you reek of corpses?
Qin Ying couldn’t smell it herself. “I rode back in the same van as three bodies.”
She had already felt a little uncomfortable about that. Now, thinking back on everything she had touched and come into contact with over the past two days, she suddenly felt filthy from head to toe.
Without even changing into her slippers, she hurried upstairs to take a thorough shower.
When she came back out with her hair still dripping wet, the first thing she did was go to the Box.
She opened it to find that it was nighttime inside.
Qin Ying could see a bitter wind sweeping across the rose-colored dunes.
Having personally descended into the Box and experienced the nighttime temperatures of the Chixia Desert, Qin Ying felt cold just listening to the howling wind.
She searched the landscape until a flicker of fire caught her eye.
Still in his Monstrous Beast Transformation, Han Lie remained on the dune in obedience to her order.
He had gathered camelthorn and built a small fire. Leaning against the Sand Lizard, he appeared to be dozing lightly.
Even a Qilin who had undergone Monstrous Beast Transformation could get tired.
Han Lie remained vigilant, guarding the important items Qin Ying had entrusted to him day and night.
By the dying firelight, Qin Ying could tell that the scales covering his body had lost much of their luster.
Her heart ached for him. She wanted to scoop him out of the Box and buy him something delicious.
In the World in the Box, Han Lie’s tail suddenly twitched. He opened his eyes and looked up at the star-filled sky. “Supreme Deity?”
Qin Ying smiled. “It’s me. You’ve done very well.”
Fine black scales covered the sides of Han Lie’s face, and his gray, teardrop-shaped eyes brimmed with delight. “Are you feeling better?”
Qin Ying’s heart softened. “A little. I’m here to retrieve the items. You should come out too.”
“And bring that Sand Lizard.”
Awakened by Han Lie’s voice, the Sand Lizard uncurled from its ball and poked its head out, looking around.
Animals were naturally alert. It sensed that something was watching it and uneasily pressed closer to Han Lie.
Just then, a metallic silver filament descended from the vast sea of stars above Chixia Mountain.
It looked like the radiance of the stars and moon spilling down into the mortal world. Moving like a living thing, it reached into the sand dune.
It wrapped around the test tubes of Marrow Fluid and everything else Han Lie had buried there, lifting them all out.
Then, before the Sand Lizard could react, it whipped around the creature’s waist.
The predatory movement scared the Sand Lizard half to death.
It immediately shed its burdensome tail, which had only grown halfway back, and tried to flee for its life.
Unfortunately, the silver thread might have been thin, but there was no way the Sand Lizard could break free.
Dangling in midair, the Sand Lizard shrieked like a pig being slaughtered.
Outside the Box, Qin Ying rubbed her forehead helplessly. “Di Shang, be gentler.”
The silver filament paused in midair as if considering her words.
Then it split into countless strands, which wove around one another.
They formed a small latticed sphere that enclosed the Sand Lizard like a cage.
As the cage passed Han Lie, it shifted and opened a small door.
“Come inside,” Qin Ying said from Outside the Box.
Han Lie had no idea when the Supreme Deity had obtained this new weapon, but he would obey any order from Qin Ying.
After putting out the campfire, he stepped into the cage woven by Di Shang.
Di Shang’s threads slowly rose into the sky.
This was Han Lie’s first time leaving the Box from such a vantage point. He gazed in fascination at the sprawling desert below as they ascended into the clouds.
After a dizzying blur, he found himself sitting on something soft.
When he looked up, he found himself staring straight at Qin Ying, her hair still dripping wet.
Realizing that he was sitting in Qin Ying’s palm, his face turned beet-red.
His entire body flushed and began radiating heat like a hand warmer.
Qin Ying had to warn him, “Calm down. You’re about to catch fire.”
She held Han Lie in her palm and carefully examined him. Sure enough, she hadn’t imagined it.
Her Little Qilin’s scales had grown dull, his lips were cracked, and even the two horns on his head had lost their shine.
Her heart aching, Qin Ying hurriedly poured him some water. “Why didn’t you bring the Water Jade?”
Han Lie buried his face in the little cup she gave him and drank ravenously before answering, “I did.”
But the Sand Lizard needed water too, and he had to make sure it had enough to drink.
He quickly urged, “Supreme Deity, please check the items.”
He was worried that the heat might have damaged them, especially the eyeball in the glass jar. Who knew whether it had spoiled?
Qin Ying set him down on her desktop. Han Lie quietly shook the fine grains of sand that might be clinging to his clawed feet, while the Sand Lizard beside him had already rolled onto its back with all four legs in the air, playing dead.