"...Apart from those, nothing else can be sensed. They probably cleaned up the rest..."
The man conversing with Lin Yu possessed a slightly gaunt frame, heavy dark circles beneath his eyes, and a pallid complexion—nearly as pale as Glenn's, presenting an almost sickly white hue.
At Glenn's uninvited approach, the man grew visibly wary and fell silent, simply staring at Glenn while his entire being began emanating an ominous aura.
"Yaolin, it's fine. This is my cousin."
Lin Yu waved dismissively, indicating Yaolin needn't maintain such vigilance. Upon seeing this gesture, the dangerous atmosphere the man had been subtly projecting completely dissipated, his furrowed brow relaxed, and his entire demeanor shifted to one of casual indifference.
"You should've mentioned that earlier. I was wondering why foreigners were participating in this operation—especially one who appears quite young. Brought him along for field experience?"
"I distinctly remember telling you about this already, but you were eating at the time. Apparently, you didn't absorb a single word."
At this, Yaolin's dark aura vanished entirely, and he became rather sheepish, scratching his head with an embarrassed chuckle.
"What choice do I have? Food is life's foundation. You understand my circumstances—show some mercy."
Lin Yu regarded Yaolin with an expression of weary familiarity, sighed deeply, and redirected his attention to Glenn, preferring not to observe this troublesome individual any longer.
"Besides, Glenn isn't someone requiring training. Eagle Kingdom dispatched him to assist our operations."
"Impressive indeed. A genuine young prodigy."
"Speaking as if you're ancient yourself."
"Rich words coming from you—aren't you doing the same?"
"Then demonstrate some consideration for someone bearing countless responsibilities."
Observing the pair about to engage in verbal sparring again, Glenn decided against further delays and decisively interrupted.
"Gentlemen, what exactly did you discover moments ago?"
"Blood traces."
Lin Yu indicated some vegetation nearby.
"Precisely speaking: one hundred thirty-eight milliliters of spattered, cast-off, and impact-pattern human blood, plus two hundred fourteen milliliters of drip-pattern divine beast blood, distributed across several concealed locations. I cannot identify which divine beast species the blood originated from—such knowledge exceeds my expertise."
Yaolin stood casually, supplementing Lin Yu's account with additional specifics. Though his tone suggested some showing off, after Glenn conducted his own examination, he found the young sorcerer's assessment remarkably accurate.
Based on his extensive experience, the scene indicated someone had suffered arterial lacerations from a divine beast's claws or sharp appendages, subsequently receiving blunt force trauma elsewhere. The divine beast had created cast-off blood patterns while wielding its sharp extremities, while the creature's own wounds produced drip patterns during movement or escape attempts.
Synthesizing available information, this location likely witnessed dark sorcerers attacking a divine beast. Both parties sustained injuries before relocating due to the beast's flight. However, the dark sorcerers probably maintained tactical superiority—as Yaolin observed, everywhere except their discovery sites appeared unnaturally pristine, presumably sanitized by the perpetrators' accomplices.
Possessing sufficient composure to eliminate blood evidence suggested they hadn't faced immediate peril, yet incomplete cleanup indicated either incompetence or time constraints resulting in oversight.
The trio approached vegetation bearing blood droplets. Yaolin crouched, severed a stained leaf segment, and placed it in his mouth for careful analysis.
He subsequently expelled the leaf, grimacing with profound revulsion while spitting repeatedly.
"Ptah, ptah, ptah... absolutely revolting. Judging by these blood traces' freshness, the incident occurred approximately twenty-four hours ago. The blood tastes utterly foul—undoubtedly those individuals."
"Can your techniques track them?"
Lin Yu crossed his arms, gazing toward distant flattened shrubbery.
"I attempted tracking. Unfortunately impossible. Something appears to have severed the mystical connection between this blood and its original owners. Their group includes someone exceptionally cautious."
Yaolin shook his head, retrieved a water bottle from his pocket, and began vigorous gargling.
"I can trace their movements, though only roughly determine their travel direction."
Glenn briefly surveyed the surrounding environment, discovering the dark sorcerers or Death Eaters hadn't completely eliminated all evidence of their activities, prompting his offer.
"Excellent. We'll rely on your assistance then."
Lin Yu harbored no doubts regarding Glenn's capabilities. Observing his voluntary participation, he readily agreed.
"However, if you intend sensing the surroundings as before, exercise greater restraint—otherwise, perceptive individuals will detect your presence."
Glenn, preparing to deploy his enhanced perception, paused momentarily before internalizing Lin Yu's counsel. Concentrating briefly and focusing his will, he projected his enhanced awareness more subtly.
"Can you detect it now?"
His enhanced perception's radius had encompassed Lin Yu, who appeared momentarily startled, carefully assessed the situation, then laughed with resigned admiration.
"Completely undetectable. Glenn, your natural talent proves genuinely terrifying—immediate mastery. You may commence your investigation."
Yaolin observed the two enigmatic conversationalists with narrowed eyes. Glenn and Lin Yu's coded exchange left him thoroughly bewildered, though he quickly dismissed his confusion. Offering a parting comment, he pivoted toward the young sorcerers' rest area.
"Blood traces have been eliminated. I'll leave the troublesome matters to you both. Time for refreshments~"
Lin Yu calmly watched Yaolin's departure, contemplating when he might persuade this individual toward greater productivity, when Glenn had already uncovered evidence.
Through his enhanced senses' meticulous perception, Glenn identified numerous locations where vegetation had undergone magical restoration via Mending Charms.
Even when damaged flora could have severed branches reattached and abraded bark restored through Mending Charms, the underlying plant cellular tissues couldn't achieve such rapid regeneration. Glenn deduced the dark sorcerers' and Death Eaters' pursuit direction through these microscopically invisible traces.
"They proceeded in that direction."
Glenn raised his head. After identifying evidence from several magically concealed sites, he provided precise coordinates.
Lin Yu followed Glenn's indicated bearing, stroking his chin thoughtfully while murmuring:
"Mm... so they did advance toward the center after all."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (150+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/DarkGolds
Happy reading, everyone!