Chapter 1040: Breaking In
As one residential building after another was thoroughly investigated, the old man leading the way was very tired, but the leading Saint felt disheartened.
The old man leading them was just an ordinary person, and quite advanced in years. Continuously leading this group of Saints in and out, up and down, it was only natural for his old bones to be unable to bear it and feel utterly exhausted.
In contrast, these Saints, though all women, possessed Saintly Power within their bodies, so they naturally wouldn't feel fatigued from merely walking a few extra steps.
The leading Saint was the strongest among them, and since the other Saints hadn't felt tired, neither had she. The reason she felt disheartened was that after consecutively investigating several residential buildings, they still hadn't found anything.
For her, this was not good news. If she couldn't find any clues or traces within this slum, she could still report back to Saint Xia Xinger, but it would be somewhat humiliating.
Therefore, she still hoped her efforts would yield some results. The investigation had progressed this far without any findings, so it wasn't surprising for her to feel disheartened; after all, not everyone can remain calm and composed in every situation.
Although she felt deeply disheartened, she did not give up. Until the investigation reached its conclusion, no one could say what the outcome would be, so she instructed the old man to continue leading the way.
The old man was very tired and yearned for a short rest, but he dared not voice such a request. He could only grit his teeth and continue leading, even feigning an eager-to-serve expression.
Knowing she had a mission, the leading Saint did not waste too much time on these believers. After a simple return of their greetings, she omitted any further pleasantries, thereby minimizing the impact on their schedule.
Finally, they arrived at the small courtyard where Yang Haoran was temporarily staying.
This small courtyard was not the very last stop on their investigation plan for the day, but there weren't many areas left to check. When they reached the courtyard's exterior, the old man, an ordinary person, nearly fainted from exhaustion.
Throughout the day's journey, the old man leading the way had long been dizzy, panting for breath, yet he continued to grit his teeth and persevere, doing his utmost to fulfill his duties. This included introducing buildings and courtyards to the Saints, pointing out believers, leading the way, knocking on doors, and so on; he did not miss a single one of the tasks expected of him.
It wasn't that he didn't want to skip them; it was that he didn't dare. In the face of his life, what did a little fatigue matter?
Standing outside the small courtyard, the old man, as was his custom, first briefly introduced the situation inside to the Saints: how large the courtyard was, how many people lived there, and so forth.
The leading Saint frowned slightly, a hint of impatience in her heart. She didn't want to waste time on such details, especially since it was already quite late.
“No need for introductions. Just knock on the door. ”
Before the old man could finish his explanation, the leading Saint interrupted him. He detected the displeasure in her tone, so he quickly nodded in assent, ceased his introduction, and hurried to knock on the dilapidated courtyard gate.
Knock, knock, knock!
As the courtyard gate was knocked upon, there was no response from within. The old man couldn't help but feel puzzled, muttering to himself, panting heavily.
“That's strange. They should all be back by now. Why is no one in the house? ”
After speaking, the old man knocked on the courtyard gate a few more times, but still, there was no reaction from inside.
This time, not only was the old man perplexed, but the Saints behind him also grew suspicious. The leading Saint, in particular, immediately thought that there was something peculiar inside the courtyard, and they might discover something there, making her reaction the most intense.
The old man was merely an ordinary person, so he couldn't sense whether there were living people inside the courtyard. But she was different; she was no ordinary person.
Under normal circumstances, if there were living people within the courtyard, it would be impossible for her not to sense them. To be precise, not just living people—as long as it was a living creature, she could sense the life fluctuations emanating from it.
However, at present, she couldn't even detect the life fluctuations of a dog, let alone a human. The absence of life fluctuations within this courtyard usually led to only two explanations.
The first was that there were simply no living creatures inside the courtyard.
The second possibility was that there were living creatures inside, but their life fluctuations had been concealed by special means, such as a restrictive barrier, or perhaps some secret art, and so on.
The old man leading the way had just made it clear that by this time, everyone living in the small courtyard should have returned, and their Saint Mother Cult had not assigned any extra tasks to these believers today. In other words, this courtyard should not be empty right now.
Therefore, she felt that the current situation was most likely due to the second possibility: the presence of a restrictive barrier within this dilapidated small courtyard, or the life fluctuations of the ordinary people inside had been concealed by special means. Whichever the case, it indicated that the people inside the courtyard were problematic.
It was precisely because she considered these factors that her reaction at this moment was much stronger than others'. She had a feeling, a very strong one, that today's investigation might just conclude here.
“Break down the door! ”
The leading Saint uttered in a deep voice. At this moment, she had shed her earlier gentleness, her eyes turning sharp. Though she tried to conceal it, a hint of excitement still laced her voice.
As her words fell, a Saint behind her immediately stepped forward, radiating power fluctuations from her body, and slammed a palm towards the courtyard gate.
The snowy-white, jade-like hand appeared soft and boneless, as if a gentle squeeze could wring out water, but when her palm landed on the small courtyard's gate, it unleashed terrifying destructive power.
Bang! ! !
The courtyard gate shattered, transforming into several irregular wooden splinters that were instantly sent flying.
The old man beside them was startled by the sudden violence. In such a situation, he dared not speak casually, for he knew he had no right to do so.
Never mind just a shattered courtyard gate; even if a living person had been smashed, he would still choose to hold his tongue, absolutely unwilling to invite trouble upon himself.
The Saints present had no time to concern themselves with the old man. The moment the courtyard gate was pulverized, their gazes were drawn to a scene within the courtyard.
The fragments of the gate flew into the courtyard. Under normal circumstances, these fragments would surely fly for some distance before falling, but the scene they witnessed was not like that. The instant the fragments flew into the courtyard, a curtain of light formed by a restrictive barrier suddenly appeared, blocking them.
The fragments' impact was limited; they lacked the power to penetrate the light curtain. Instead, they slid down along the light curtain and eventually landed on the ground.
All the Saints present frowned. The sight before them explained everything: this dilapidated small courtyard was indeed strange. Otherwise, a restrictive barrier would never appear, as ordinary people certainly didn't possess the ability to set one up.
What appeared before everyone was a blood-red barrier. Aside from the courtyard gate, this barrier enveloped everything inside the entire courtyard. Standing at the courtyard entrance, it was impossible to see the situation within; all the naked eye could perceive was a field of blood-red.
The restrictive barrier only showed itself for a brief moment. As the gate fragments landed, the light curtain formed by the restrictive barrier immediately vanished, revealing the scene within the courtyard.
The courtyard was filled with various sundry items, and clothes resembling strips of cloth hung on a drying rack. There was nothing particularly special about this scene; other similar small courtyards had internal situations largely identical to what was before them, truly offering nothing strange to note.
However, this was only true for ordinary people like the old man. For the non-ordinary Saints present, they would never believe that everything they were currently seeing with their naked eyes was real. The restrictive barrier had just revealed itself, indicating that everything they now perceived was very likely just an illusion created by the restrictive barrier, not the true scene within the courtyard!
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