"Amitabha. Not yet. If the Reincarnation System collapses now, Azure Star will plunge into chaos."
This time it was Yun Chen who answered Han Lian's question.
Yunxi nodded. "For the moment we can only maintain the status quo. Once we have set up the Five Elements Reincarnation Formation, knocked on the Ghost Gate, and reconnected Azure Star to the underworld, then we can completely destroy this equipment and the purification crystals. We will also erase all memories related to the Reincarnation System."
Xun Kun's gaze turned deep. "Let's go. Now that we understand how the System runs, we need to act quickly. The longer we linger, the more we consume."
After bidding Elder Nan farewell, the four concealed their presence again and left the Special Department headquarters.
Elder Nan already looked far better than before. The deathly gray on his face had faded. Sitting behind his desk, he exhaled long and slow. Now all he had to do was watch over the Reincarnation Department and wait for the four to finish their preparations. Then he would truly have succeeded.
Elsewhere, the Sack family received visitors too: the Wei Lan guard captain, who, with Mr. Sack accompanying him, met with Daphne to ask how she came to know Xun Kun.
Daphne did not understand the fuss and simply recounted how she had rescued Xun Kun. She did not mention that Xun Kun had healed her brother Benjamin, nor that he had given her a protective talisman.
But the Wei Lan guard captain had clearly come prepared. He said solemnly, "According to our investigation, the unidentified Mr. Xun Kun gave you something as a token of thanks. Would you allow us to see it?"
Daphne's blue eyes held obvious reluctance, but at her father's hint she could only nod, aggrieved. She slipped the black jade talisman from her neck and handed it over.
The captain examined it closely. It looked like a piece of black crystal. Thinking of the man's unusual identity, he still kept a stern face. "Miss Daphne, given the giver's unknown identity, what he gave you could be dangerous. We will temporarily take it for further examination, to ensure it does not harm you."
Daphne's face changed at once. This was robbery in all but name. She frowned. "If your examination finds nothing wrong, when will you return it to me?"
"We will be quick," the captain said perfunctorily.
He gave no definite time.
Daphne could hear it. The talisman was not coming back. She pressed her lips together, heart sore. It was her last link to Mr. Xun Kun.
Mr. Sack, however, kept his expression neutral. "Daphne, your safety comes first. Let the Wei Lan clan handle this matter."
Though aggrieved, Daphne understood her father and could only nod.
Seeing there was nothing more to learn, the captain prepared to leave. As he stood, the black talisman slipped from his hand, struck the floor with a crack, and shattered into four pieces.
The accident happened so suddenly that both the captain and Daphne froze. In the next instant Daphne's eyes reddened. She had lost her last connection to Mr. Xun Kun.
No one present noticed that when the black talisman broke, three clusters of light leapt from it into Daphne's body one after another and vanished. The talisman's luster died completely.
"Apologies," the captain managed awkwardly.
Daphne turned away and went straight upstairs, a breach of etiquette. Mr. Sack merely said, "It is fine. I do not want Daphne accepting items from unknown persons anyway. Consider the potential hazard eliminated.
Since it broke, if any analysis can be run on the fragments, my butler will collect them for you to take."
The captain was a bit embarrassed, but he still accepted the gathered fragments and left the Sack estate.
Mr. Sack watched the Wei Lan guard unit depart, then let his face sink. Compared to the Wei Lan clan's overbearing manner, that unidentified yet well-mannered Mr. Xun Kun was far easier to bear.
He sighed and turned back to comfort his daughter.
At the same time, aboard the flying boat, Xun Kun opened his eyes from meditation. He was the one who shattered the talisman. Something he bestowed would not pass so easily into others' hands. Otherwise, anyone could claim his protection.
He had sensed the moment Daphne handed it over. His promise still stood. Even after the protective talisman broke, the guardian power sealed within entered Daphne's body all the same.
Daphne did not know any of this. She lay on her bed, crying quietly. Crying that she had failed to protect the last gift from Mr. Xun Kun. Crying that her first budding love had slipped away.
Over at the desert research base, Captain Chen was less fortunate. Upon his return, Mr. Noske put him through a head to toe examination, not sparing even a hair. He even inspected Captain Chen's soul. Results showed everything normal.
In the end, Noske could only let Captain Chen go, ordering him to rest two days before returning to duty, without reassigning him.
The next day, Professor Huang visited Captain Chen to ask about Han Lian.
Dressed in casual wear, chin propped in hand, Captain Chen said, "Madam Han Lian found her companions, two men and one woman, all outstanding. They also went to the Special Department office building in District W and met the person in charge there, Minister Ruo Bai. As for what they discussed behind closed doors, I do not know.
Madam Han Lian told me the Special Department entrusted the four of them with a very difficult task. She cannot return for now. She did mention one thing, that what she is handling relates to the creatures imprisoned at our base."
Professor Huang nodded thoughtfully and let Captain Chen rest, then returned to his office.
He pulled out Madam Han Lian's examination report and fixed his gaze on the DNA methylation analysis. It showed Han Lian's age between two hundred fifty six and two hundred sixty. The result far exceeded his expectations. By eye alone, he would have judged her twenty five or twenty six at most.
He had previously tried to persuade Han Lian to let him draw blood or take some hair, but she had refused. The only DNA he obtained came from the rim of her teacup when he had invited her for tea.
Because the sample was limited, so were the tests he could run. What concerned him most was her age. The ice coffin had a history of ten thousand years, so he wanted to know how old Han Lian truly was. The answer shocked him even more than he had imagined.
What was more, when Han Lian left, the ice coffin vanished as well. He suspected she had taken it with her.
Staring at the age in the report, Professor Huang was torn. The average lifespan on Azure Star was only sixty six, and the number was dropping year by year. In that light, Madam Han Lian was undeniably of immense research value.