Chapter 1339: Life Viewing Tower
The so-called progress in finding Bai Xue didn't mean she had actually been found. Instead, through Shui Ling's exhaustive search, some faint traces regarding Bai Xue had been discovered.
These traces led to the area where Bai Xue had fought with a black-robed man that day, and Shui Ling found signs of a struggle there.
It took three days to locate this place for a couple of reasons. Firstly, its location wasn't exactly secluded, nor was it particularly conspicuous. It was a place that utterly lacked presence, like an extra in a crowd. Such peculiar areas and unremarkable spots are easily overlooked.
Secondly, the battle's scope was limited, and the damaged area was small. Furthermore, being deep in the mountains and old forests made it even harder to detect.
It was precisely because of these two reasons that Shui Ling spent three days before finally discovering this battle site, giving some direction to what had previously been a completely baffling situation.
In truth, Shui Ling didn't actually spend three full days. From the moment Yang Haoran assigned her the task until now, it had been a grand total of only two full days. To achieve such progress in a situation that offered no clues at all, in just two days, was quite remarkable and not as slow as one might imagine.
Based on Shui Ling's understanding of Bai Xue the snake demon's identity and combat style, combined with various details from the battle traces at the scene, Shui Ling concluded that Bai Xue had fought someone there, and it was highly probable that Bai Xue had been on the losing side.
As for whether Bai Xue was currently dead, severely wounded and recuperating somewhere, or captured and imprisoned by her opponent, Shui Ling couldn't make an accurate judgment due to the extremely limited clues gathered so far.
However, she had no choice but to make this decision because the matter concerned Bai Xue, and even Bai Xue's life. If she didn't report to Yang Haoran immediately, and something untoward were to happen to Bai Xue, not only could she not bear the responsibility, but given her personal relationship with Bai Xue, she also didn't want to see such a tragedy befall her.
So, after only a brief moment of consideration, she immediately rushed back to the Guardian District to report her discoveries and conclusions to Yang Haoran.
It was just as she expected. Yang Haoran, who had been in an excellent mood, immediately darkened his face upon hearing the news. He, who had already been preparing to pick up the bride, not only abandoned the immediate plan but instead summoned all his trusted subordinates to his study. He informed them of Bai Xue's disappearance, along with Shui Ling's findings and assessment, wanting to hear their opinions and suggestions before formulating a countermeasure.
Upon learning of the situation, all his trusted subordinates, without exception, showed a change in expression. Recently, they had been busy with Yang Haoran's wedding preparations, so their attention to Bai Xue, and indeed to other matters, had been minimal. Thus, none of them had noticed that Bai Xue had been missing for several days.
Now, with Yang Haoran suddenly bringing this up at such a crucial moment, they were not only inwardly shocked but also realized that this matter was exceedingly troublesome.
Furthermore, their primary concern was Bai Xue's safety. In their estimation, even if Bai Xue wasn't dead, her situation was likely not good, which explained their grim expressions.
Yet, to their surprise, this was just the first piece of bad news. Shortly after Yang Haoran announced Bai Xue's disappearance, and before anyone had time to discuss a countermeasure, Shui Ling suddenly received a Communication Talisman.
Given Shui Ling's special status, the Communication Talismans she received often contained confidential information. Therefore, she never broadcast the contents of a Communication Talisman aloud in front of others, with the sole exception of Yang Haoran himself. This rule applied even to Yang Haoran's other trusted subordinates or her closest friends.
When she received this particular Communication Talisman, Yang Haoran's other trusted subordinates were also present in the study. In such circumstances, she naturally wouldn't broadcast its contents aloud. Instead, after seeking Yang Haoran's permission and receiving his nod of assent, she accepted the Communication Talisman, but chose a different reception method: she allowed the Communication Talisman's voice to play directly in her mind. This way, no one else present would know its contents.
Regarding this, no one present found anything amiss with Shui Ling's actions. They all understood the nature of Shui Ling's position and thus comprehended her methods. If Shui Ling lacked even a shred of wariness, she would certainly not be in her current position.
After accepting the Communication Talisman's contents, Shui Ling's expression did not brighten from its gloomy state; instead, it grew even more grim. Her reaction naturally fell into the eyes of everyone else present, including Yang Haoran.
Without needing to ask, everyone knew that the Communication Talisman Shui Ling had just received must have brought more bad news—and not just generally bad news, but something exceedingly terrible. Otherwise, Shui Ling's face wouldn't have shown such a drastic change in front of them all.
Even if a matter of monumental importance arose, Shui Ling would not publicly announce it unless Yang Haoran specifically asked. This was the rule, and Shui Ling, of course, understood it. So, she remained silent, merely bowing respectfully to Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran understood Shui Ling's meaning. So, with his nod of assent, Shui Ling publicly relayed the contents of the Communication Talisman.
According to the Communication Talisman, something had also happened in Honghai City. Honghai City's Death God Temple had been destroyed, and Emissary of Death Yang Kang, along with his Night Watchers and other experts who had pledged allegiance to the Underworld Office but were not its direct members, were either dead or had vanished without a trace.
As soon as Shui Ling spoke these words, Yang Haoran's already grim expression instantly grew even more grim, as did those of his other trusted subordinates present.
Of everyone in Honghai City, Yang Haoran's primary concern was naturally the safety of Xiao Kang and Xiujuan. After a brief moment of stunned silence, Yang Haoran immediately inquired about the two of them from Shui Ling. The result was that their bodies had not been found, leaving their fates unknown. This outcome, for Yang Haoran, was a blessing in disguise amidst misfortune, because the absence of their bodies meant they weren't necessarily dead; it was possible they were still alive.
Consequently, he immediately arranged for Shui Ling to make a trip to the Life Viewing Tower in the Guardian District, handing her a token. Without this token, even if Shui Ling were Yang Haoran's trusted subordinate, and even if her status in the Guardian District was extremely high, she would still not be qualified to enter the Life Viewing Tower. This applied not only to her but to all of Yang Haoran's other trusted subordinates as well; no one in the entire Guardian District, apart from Yang Haoran, could enter the Life Viewing Tower freely.
The Life Viewing Tower was merely an ordinary-looking three-story pavilion. It didn't seem like anything extraordinary, yet it was a restricted area within Yang Haoran's Guardian District. Without Yang Haoran's command, no one else was absolutely permitted to enter. Not only had a grand array been laid there, but the Life Viewing Tower was also heavily guarded from the outside.
The reason Yang Haoran placed such importance on the Life Viewing Tower was because it housed a large number of Life Beads. These Life Beads were refined through special techniques. As long as a drop of one's fresh blood was dripped into it, the Life Bead would form a mysterious connection with the individual who dripped the blood, becoming that Life Bead's master. Once the master's physical body died, a crack would appear on the Life Bead.
For ghosts without physical bodies, a wisp of their remnant soul could also be injected into the Life Bead, with the same effect as the former. Furthermore, simply separating a wisp of remnant soul from one's own spirit body would not cause any harm to the spirit body itself. If the remnant soul's injector underwent Soul Transformation, then the Life Bead would directly shatter, and the wisp of remnant soul injected into it would also vanish into thin air.
All of Yang Haoran's trusted subordinates, as well as his high-ranking officials, including himself, possessed their own Life Beads. His and his trusted subordinates' Life Beads were placed on the top floor of the Life Viewing Tower, which was the third floor, while those of other high-ranking officials were on the second floor.
As for his important figures who operated in the shadows, they also had their own Life Beads, but Yang Haoran did not place them within the Life Viewing Tower. Instead, he kept them separately within his personal spatial dimension.
Yang Haoran established the Life Viewing Tower precisely to deal with situations like the present one. If a high-ranking subordinate or trusted confidante went missing, their Life Bead in the Life Viewing Tower could be used to confirm whether they were alive or dead, whether their physical body had died, or if they had undergone Soul Transformation.
Although the Life Bead's ability was limited to this and could not pinpoint the owner's whereabouts, for Yang Haoran, this was already sufficient. At the very least, it was better than not knowing whether a missing person was alive or dead.
Currently, Bai Xue, Xiao Kang, and Xiujuan had all gone missing. Yang Haoran sent Shui Ling to the Life Viewing Tower specifically to check if the Life Beads of these three were intact.
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