A gleam flickered through Captain Chen's eyes. As if bewitched, he nodded. "I understand. Once I am back, I will do everything I can to destroy those creatures."
Satisfied, Han Lian nodded and returned to the residence with Ran Xi and the other two. Moments later, the entire three-courtyard estate was swallowed by thick white mist. When members of the Wei Lan clan arrived with the Gongsun brothers to demand accountability, the fog dispersed before them to reveal open ground. There was no residence at all.
"What is going on here?" The Wei Lan guard captain frowned.
The Gongsun brothers exchanged a look and shook their heads at the same time. "We have no idea. There was clearly a house here before."
The guard captain ordered the men behind him, "Pull the surveillance feeds. I refuse to believe they vanished into thin air."
The Wei Lan entourage entered the Special Department building together with the Gongsun brothers.
When they reviewed the footage, they saw that the four, along with the residence, had indeed disappeared into nothing. As the four left the Special Department building, Ran Xi glanced once toward the camera, and in that glance was ridicule and disdain.
Ran Xi was also the last to enter the residence. After the vermillion gates closed, white mist drifted in from nowhere and submerged the entire compound. The fog only dissipated when they arrived, and by then both people and residence were gone.
The Wei Lan guard captain turned to Minister Ruo Bai with a scowl. "Minister Ruo Bai, you were the last they met. What did you discuss? Do you know where they went?"
Minister Ruo Bai shook his head and replied evenly, "Miss Ran Xi came to tell me only that Wei Lanliang insulted her first, so she destroyed his soul. To avoid conflict with the Wei Lan clan, they would be leaving ahead of time. As for where, Miss Ran Xi did not say."
The guard captain pressed his lips together. "Minister Ruo Bai, why did you not detain them?"
Ruo Bai lifted his gaze, cool. "Miss Ran Xi went alone to the Wei Lan manor, and even then you failed to detain her. Now all four came to see me together. I certainly did not have the ability to keep them."
Choked by the retort, the guard captain snorted coldly and left the building with his men. They had to report back. He even tried to contact Captain Chen from the military, but Captain Chen had just encountered Academician Noske's team en route.
Noske pushed his glasses up his nose and barked, "Captain Chen, what is the meaning of this? I told you to follow Madam Han Lian. Why are you heading back? Where is Madam Han Lian and her group?"
Captain Chen seemed to wake from a dream. He looked around, sucked in a breath, and explained,"Mr. Noske, I only remember Madam Han Lian calling me over and saying two sentences. After that, I remember nothing, not until you called out to me just now."
The deputy captain wore the same baffled expression, but said honestly, "I only saw you speak briefly with Madam Han Lian, then they returned to that residence. Immediately afterward, you ordered us to return to base. I asked whether we should keep following Madam Han Lian. You said there were other arrangements and told us to depart at once. You do not remember any of that?"
Captain Chen shook his head like a rattle drum. "I do not."
Noske almost jumped with anger, but had no solution. He could only take Captain Chen back to the base for a full examination, then investigate what had happened.
When Wei Lansong contacted the research base deep in the desert, personnel there confirmed that they, too, had lost contact with Madam Han Lian.
Wei Lansong had no choice but to order the search to continue. He refused to believe people could vanish into thin air. Only Wei Lanlan knew that Master Ran Xi had once appeared out of thin air. Naturally, she would not let anyone find her when she chose to leave.
The Wei Lan clan announced publicly that Wei Lanliang had died suddenly of overwork. After a simple funeral, the matter was put to rest.
The other families were indifferent to the news. They assumed Wei Lanliang's allotted reincarnation time had arrived. In upper society, the incident barely caused a ripple.
As for Yunxi and her three companions, now being tracked by the Special Department, the military, and the Wei Lan clan, they had already arrived at the Special Department headquarters in District C, standing before Elder Nan, the head of the Reincarnation Department.
Elder Nan's yellowed eyes regarded the four. He had met Yun Chen once before and could roughly guess the identities of the other three. He remained composed. "Please, be seated. I did not expect you so soon. Forgive me for not welcoming you in advance."
"Amitabha. We are the ones intruding."
The four sat wherever they liked, ceding the lead in conversation to Yunxi and Yun Chen.
Yun Chen first introduced Ran Xi and the other two, then said, "We came to see the Reincarnation System, and we have some questions for you."
Elder Nan adjusted himself into a more comfortable posture and spoke plainly, "Ask what you wish. I will tell you everything I know."
It was Yunxi's first time meeting Elder Nan, but the aura of twilight around him was heavy. As Yun Chen had said, he did not have long to live. Even lasting until now had taken every means he possessed. Yunxi worried that he might stop breathing before he finished answering.
Before questioning him, she flicked a thread of spiritual energy into Elder Nan's body, letting it nourish his organs and prolong his life as much as possible.
Elder Nan felt a warm current flow through him. The suffocating pressure in his chest slowly faded. He looked at Yunxi with gratitude. "Many thanks, Miss Ran Xi."
Only then did Yunxi smile and ask, "You do not seem surprised by our appearance. Have you seen us before?"
Elder Nan drew a deeper breath. "I have not met Miss Ran Xi, but I have seen Mr. Yun Chen and Madam Han Lian."
Yun Chen thought he meant their previous meeting. But this was Han Lian's first time at the District C headquarters, so they should not have met.
Han Lian asked directly, "Today should be our first meeting. Are you mistaken?"
Elder Nan smiled. "Strictly speaking, what I saw were your portraits five hundred years in the future, and the stone tablets that recorded your deeds."
This time it was Yun Chen and Han Lian who were stunned. Yunxi's eyes flashed with insight. She fixed her gaze on Elder Nan. "You are from a future Azure Star. The reason Azure Star lasted five hundred years without completely becoming a ghost realm was the appearance of Yun Chen and Han Lian."
Elder Nan nodded. "Yes. Mr. Yun Chen and Madam Han Lian staked their lives. They only delayed Azure Star's demise. They did not truly change the fate of the planet.
When the time-space transmission device was finally perfected, I was assigned to travel back to a point before the Reincarnation System appeared, to strangle that technology in its cradle.
Unfortunately, there was a temporal deviation during my transmission. When I awoke, the reincarnation technology had already been developed. I only had time to arrange for the Xie couple to die in succession. I thought my mission was complete, but…"