Zhu Yanyi was curious, but she did not dwell on it. She agreed, accelerated the growth of the red spider lily, and distributed them to the three men. Then, she hurried to the Yamamoto Library and Jinghe Cinema to execute her assigned tasks.
The Yamamoto Library required special credentials for entry. Zhu Yanyi raised an eyebrow slightly. Using her illusion technique, she slipped into the library quietly.
The library was very quiet. Zhu Yanyi pinned the red spider lily casually to her chest like a brooch. Guided by the flower, she quickly reached a corner. There, a book looked extremely old.
Once confirmed, Zhu Yanyi moved her hand slightly and stored the book away. Then, she left the library unnoticed.
Although the trip went smoothly, Zhu Yanyi still felt a bit nervous. Next, she headed to the Jinghe Cinema.
The book in the cinema was hidden in a surprising place: inside the wall beneath a wooden table holding a potted plant in the restroom. It was stuck there with adhesive tape. If Zhu Yanyi had not brought the red spider lily, she would never have found it.
Having completed the task successfully, Zhu Yanyi left the cinema. However, after walking just a few steps, she sensed someone following her. She turned around but saw no one. Her eyes darted as she formed a plan. She checked her direction and continued walking.
When she reached a deserted spot, Zhu Yanyi turned around with a cold smile. She waved her hand, scattering a handful of medicinal powder. Soon, a person collapsed. It was a white-clad ninja.
Due to Zhu Yanyi’s medicine, she had already fallen into a coma.
Zhu Yanyi knew that capturing someone directly would attract attention. After thinking for a moment, she led her to a secluded area and fed her truth-revealing powder. After learning what she needed, she left her there. She remained in a semi-comatose state, having already told Zhu Yanyi everything.
Back at her accommodation, Zhu Yanyi worried about the others. She did not know their situation or if they were being followed.
However, this was just anxiety born of care. Zhu Yanyi knew that although Sikong Xuran and the others did not speak the local language, they were cultivators. No one here could handle the three of them.
While she was worrying, Sikong Xuran and the others returned one by one. The last to arrive was Yan Aohan, though only by a few minutes.
"The Noble Academy was a bit troublesome, so I arrived late." They handed the books to Yan Aohan. He checked the condition of the souls. "Ani, give me a few Soul-Attaching Pills. They all need them, or they won’t last much longer."
Zhu Yanyi agreed and handed her a bottle of Soul-Attaching Pills.
Yan Aohan gave one pill to each soul. Only after confirming they had entered sleep did he sigh in relief. "These souls are saved. However, they have been separated from their bodies for too long. Regardless of the body's condition, even if the body still exists, I fear their souls can no longer return to it."
Zhu Yanyi looked at this situation, slightly stunned. Then she said, "Aohan, they took so many souls, but the bodies are missing. What do they want with those bodies?"
"I really can't say. Based on the arrangement of the souls, I can deduce it is the 'Nine-Nine Return to One' formation. Now that the ninety-nine souls are found, if I am not mistaken, the final 'one' soul should be in the book containing Qingyun’s soul." For now, other matters were secondary; the souls were the priority.
Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly. "I was just curious." Then she added, "Since you deduced the location of the ninety-nine souls, surely you can also calculate the location of the last book."
"It is hard to calculate. The last book could be in a fixed place or carried on someone’s person." Yan Aohan looked at Zhu Yanyi. He knew what she was thinking, but some things could not be easily deduced.
"Let’s ignore the fixed location. Let’s assume it is mobile. The person carrying the book is ninety percent likely to be Mingchuan Yunzi," Yi Yunfei said.
"Correct. I agree with Senior Brother Yunfei’s view," Ouyang Tianyun said from the side. "There is a seventy to eighty percent possibility."
"Then, according to your views, if the book is indeed with Mingchuan Yunzi, where do you think she keeps it?" Yan Aohan asked everyone, his eyes looking at Zhu Yanyi.
Zhu Yanyi smiled. "Don’t worry about where it is. The main thing now is that I need to place a seed in her bag or on her person. Only then can I find out exactly what she is carrying."
It would be a waste not to use her abilities.
Hearing Zhu Yanyi’s words, Yan Aohan chuckled lightly. "Then let’s try to get close to her."
Getting close to Mingchuan Yunzi would be impossible for others, but for Zhu Yanyi and her group, it was no problem. Their abilities were sufficient. If not for searching for Yu Qingyun, they would not need to be so restrained.
Sikong Xuran looked at Zhu Yanyi, then at Yan Aohan, and slowly said, "Little Junior Sister, your medicinal skills are so powerful. Why are you so restrained? Why not just drug Mingchuan Yunzi directly and use truth-revealing powder? Wouldn’t that solve everything?"
"(⊙o⊙)…" Zhu Yanyi looked silently at Sikong Xuran. After a long while, she spoke slowly. "Wow. What kind of madness is this? Just as Senior Brother Sikong said, why make it so complicated when I have medicine?"
Ouyang Tianyun and Yi Yunfei also realized this and laughed. "Exactly. We really overcomplicated it. If we had just captured Mingchuan Yunzi earlier, we would have known what was going on. We wouldn’t need to do all this."
Yan Aohan also smiled helplessly. "It seems we were all blinded by our own involvement. Now that we understand the situation, let’s act directly against Mingchuan Yunzi."
"Oh, acting against Mingchuan Yunzi requires caution. I feel it won’t be that simple." Seeing the confused expressions of the four men, Zhu Yanyi explained:
"When I came here today, I noticed someone following me. Later, I used medicine and found it was a white-clad ninja. However, this ninja was just a low-ranking subordinate with little skill. But using the truth-revealing powder, I learned he was sent to watch the library. He wanted to know who would come to take the book."