"How is it? Did they leave?"
Jian Shishi emerged from the bedroom and asked Ye Ling, who was standing by the window.
Ye Ling drew the curtains and said lightly, "En, it's fine for now. Your father wasn't involved in that experiment. He'll likely be released after a few days of detention."
Seeing the inspectors leave, Jian Shishi breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly asked Ye Ling, "What exactly happened in the laboratory? I felt the ground shake several times from here, the commotion was huge!"
"Tianhui Pharmaceutical was using living people to nurture a giant snake, hoping to evolve it into a Flood Dragon. Then I had Xiao Yu fight that giant snake. The commotion was basically caused by Xiao Yu and the giant snake," Ye Ling said casually, as if discussing something insignificant.
"You made Xiao Yu fight a giant snake? The child inside the house?" Jian Shishi stared at Ye Ling in disbelief, completely unable to comprehend that Ye Ling would do such a beastly thing!
The thought of the blood-soaked girl lying in the bedroom made Jian Shishi's heart ache, wishing she could punch Ye Ling!
Was there any humanity left?
"She needs training. This fight was just the introductory part. Don't spout nonsense if you don't understand."
Ye Ling didn't want to argue with Jian Shishi about this matter. He said directly, "I need to go out for a while to handle some things. Please take care of that girl for me. Don't let her go to school for the next few days, and don't go out. Just have her lie low here."
"Also, don't talk to others casually. Those two haven't let go of their suspicions. I told you the truth just now. If you let them pry secrets out of you with a few words, I won't be bothered, but you'll be in trouble."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Jian Shishi's mouth twitched, and her forehead was covered in black lines. "Why do I suddenly feel like you deserve a beating? Am I really that unreliable?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "Who knows? Let's leave it at that for now. I'm heading out."
"Hey, hey!"
As Ye Ling finished speaking, he vanished like a gust of wind, leaving Jian Shishi alone and bewildered.
"Who... who is this person?"
...
Qingye Town.
After his encounter with Ye Qingyan, Ye Ling had been thinking about her, wanting to know the relationship between that seventh-grade异士 and his aunt.
The Ye family's ancestral land was in Qingye Town. Ye Qingyan being in Qingye Town could not be a coincidence.
Ye Ling followed the imprint he had placed on Ye Qingyan and soon found her residence.
However, what shocked Ye Ling was that Ye Qingyan's address was his aunt's residence!
"The imprint is here, but I don't sense Ye Qingyan's aura. What's going on?"
A hint of doubt flashed in Ye Ling's eyes.
"Xiao Ling? Is that really you?"
At this moment, Ye Qin walked out of the courtyard, looking at Ye Ling standing outside with a face full of surprise.
"Aunt?" Ye Ling looked at his aunt standing before him, his mouth opening, unable to speak for a moment.
The woman before him was indeed Ye Qin. She had no spiritual power within her, completely a normal woman, unlike the seventh-grade 异士 Ye Qingyan!
But...
The imprint Ye Ling had placed on Ye Qingyan was now on Ye Qin!
The imprint Ye Ling placed on Ye Qingyan, let alone a seventh-grade 异士, even a ninth-grade Red Dust Immortal wouldn't be able to detect it, let alone move it.
This meant that Ye Qingyan and Ye Qin were the same person!
Yet, Ye Ling did not sense another soul within Ye Qin.
This kind of contrary-to-common-sense situation was something Ye Ling had never encountered.
'Even with a split personality, the cultivation wouldn't be completely erased... With my aunt's current body, she's just an ordinary person, easily pierced by a small knife, a world apart from Ye Qingyan's seventh-grade 异士 physique.'
"Xiao Ling, come in and chat! Last time, I heard from Xiao Yu that you were back. Unfortunately, I was on a business trip outside and didn't get to see you."
Ye Qin came over and excitedly hugged Ye Ling, then pulled him into the house, being extremely hospitable.
"Ever since your parents had their accident, there's been no news of you and Xiao You. I've been looking for you!"
"It's great that you're alive. If my brother knew, he'd be incredibly happy." Ye Qin said while pouring Ye Ling water, her eyes already red, tears flowing uncontrollably.
"Xiao Ling, have some water first!"
"Thank you, Aunt."
Ye Ling took the cup and said to Ye Qin, "Aunt, I came to ask you about something."
Although Ye Ling was happy to reunite with his relative, Ye Qingyan's matter remained a problem.
With this unresolved, Ye Ling couldn't rest easy.
"You child, you're asking about serious matters as soon as you get back."
Ye Qin wiped the tears from her eyes and sat down, complaining about Ye Ling, but still said, "Ask away, what do you want to know?"
"Aunt, do you know Ye Qingyan?" Ye Ling asked directly.
"Ye Qingyan? I don't know..."
Ye Qin shook her head, her expression not like she was lying.
Hearing Ye Qin's answer, Ye Ling's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected the first question to lead to a dead end.
Ye Qin was an ordinary person and could not withstand a soul probe. Therefore, Ye Ling couldn't investigate the truth within Ye Qin's soul.
He would have to find another way to investigate Ye Qingyan's matter.
Seeing Ye Ling frown, Ye Qin couldn't help but ask with concern, "What's wrong, Xiao Ling? Is that Ye Qingyan someone important to you? Should Aunt find someone to inquire for you?"
"It's nothing, she's just an ordinary friend of mine. I haven't been able to contact her recently, so I wanted to ask Aunt."
"If Aunt doesn't know, then forget it."
"By the way, Aunt, have you encountered anything strange recently, like always forgetting things?"
"Strange things?" Ye Qin paused. "I haven't forgotten things, but I've been particularly sleepy these past few years. I often fall asleep, sometimes even at work, or while cooking, nearly causing a major disaster."
"I've been to many hospitals, but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong. They just said I was working too hard and needed more rest."
Ye Qin said with a wry smile, "But Xiao Ling, you know we have a restaurant in the county town. We're extremely busy with work, so there's hardly any time to rest..."
Hearing Ye Qin's words, Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. He had found the way Ye Qingyan appeared.
No matter what method Ye Qingyan used, she must have been using Ye Qin's body, and Ye Qin would have no memory of the time she occupied Ye Qin's body.
Therefore, every time Ye Qingyan occupied Ye Qin's body, Ye Qin would think she was sleeping.
However, Ye Qingyan had no recollection of Lin Yu, and she didn't even realize she was occupying Ye Qin's body...
This was another puzzle for Ye Ling.
'Ye Qingyan's appearance should be related to the orders from the Red Dust Pavilion... To unravel Ye Qingyan's mystery, I need to find another user of the Red Dust Pavilion and have them hire Ye Qingyan.'
Ye Ling's gaze was distant, and with a thought, he transmitted a message to Tian Zhu, "Tian Zhu, go and check if anyone in the Tianyi Consortium is a user of the Red Dust Pavilion."