Chapter 469: Ning Laotou (3/10, Autumn Subscription)

Fang Yue thought for a moment, then told her about Lin Ling's disappearance.

"Someone sent a bracelet—this is the only lead."

"Mm?"

You Sisi raised an eyebrow—someone dared to challenge her investigative abilities on her own turf?

Very well, the team that kidnapped Captain Lin—you've successfully caught my attention!

Taking the bracelet fragments from Fang Yue's hand, she said, "I'll have Jue Lao of the Researching Weirdness Gate look into it. Since you say it's a weird object, let's start the investigation from that angle."

"Alright."

You Sisi left with the Fluorescent Bracelet.

Fang Yue, meanwhile, summoned a group of Black-clothed Guards and Grey-Clad Qing Guards, ordering them to find Lin Ling's whereabouts as well—and... Bai Xiaoya's whereabouts.

Having become a White-Clad, Fang Yue could now officially mobilize the Qing Division's forces, making many things far more convenient.

The White-Clad Qing Guard rank in Qingsi County was second only to the two Blue-Clad, and could basically command the majority of the Qing Guard forces.

Previously, Fang Yue had already asked You Sisi and the others to help investigate Bai Xiaoya's whereabouts.

But Bai Xiaoya was far too unremarkable; unless one had some special skill or stood out in the game, the records in the archives would only contain a few sparse notes of her entering the county town. Other details would require questioning people one by one to dig up any information.

Even though Jing Yan had helped him find out who took Bai Xiaoya away back then, no further leads had been uncovered.

Now that he could call the shots and had a large batch of local Qing Guards at his disposal, he believed finding Bai Xiaoya's whereabouts shouldn't be a problem.

After instructing his subordinate Qing Guards to handle the matter, Fang Yue arrived at the Qing Division's Researching Weirdness Gate.

The moment he stepped inside, he was spotted by You Sisi.

"You came at just the right time—we've got a lead on our end."

There's news already?

Fang Yue's heart leaped with joy. He took two steps in three strides and came to stand beside You Sisi and an old man.

The old man was holding a bracelet fragment between two fingers, examining it closely.

"This is Jue Lao, a first-rank Weird Object Forger, and the person in our Qing Division with the deepest research into weird objects and the richest knowledge of them."

A Weird Object Forger!

Fang Yue's eyes lit up at once, and he bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Jue Lao!"

Yet Jue Lao paid Fang Yue no heed. He suddenly stood up and walked into a pitch-dark room beside them.

Fang Yue and You Sisi exchanged a glance and followed him in.

In the dark room, the bracelet fragments were emitting a faint fluorescent glow.

"Jue Lao, did you see—"

"Shh!"

Jue Lao gave a stern hiss, then placed the bracelet fragment in his palm. Qi flowed through his palm as he subtly channeled some inner force, and with his other hand, he pressed down gently.

Crack, crack, crack!

The bracelet was ground bit by bit into fine powder.

When his palm opened, the powder had eerily arranged itself into a snake-shaped symbol, and the faint fluorescent glow gradually shifted to a scorching red light.

"Just as I thought!"

The solemn Jue Lao suddenly let out a long breath.

Amid Fang Yue and You Sisi's bewildered expressions, he scattered the powder forward and tapped the empty air with a finger.

All the powder, as if drawn to his finger, spiraled clockwise through the air like a vast silver river.

As the spin grew faster and faster, the powder moved toward the center of his fingertip, finally condensing into a small, fiery-red sphere, like a marble.

Pocketing the red bead, Jue Lao led the two of them outside, had a Grey-Clad Qing Guard waiting nearby pour three cups of hot tea, and only then spoke slowly.

"The material of this bracelet is Variable Resistance Jade. Variable Resistance Jade is a very special material with extremely strong concealment properties. Used on its own, it's an utterly terrible material—so terrible that even some basic talismans can't be inscribed into it."

"But if it's mixed with certain special materials and used together, it transforms completely, becoming a high-quality weird-object material with strong conductivity, high sealing properties, and moderate stability."

"The bracelet you gave me was forged by mixing two primary materials with Variable Resistance Jade, supplemented by auxiliary materials."

Watching Jue Lao speak so knowledgeably, Fang Yue's heart surged with excitement.

To be able to discern this much—he truly knows his stuff.

"Then can Jue Lao tell where the bracelet's materials came from, and possibly whose handiwork it is?"

"Where the materials came from, it's hard to say, because the sources are fairly widespread. But as for whose handiwork it is, I'm quite confident I can tell. After all, Heiqing Shanmai isn't large, and within this circle, only a handful of people can master this kind of craftsmanship."

Saying so, Jue Lao crushed each of the bracelet powders one by one, turning them into small fiery-red beads. Finally, he placed all the beads in his palm and crushed them together with force, gathering them into one.

A fist-sized, fiery-red, translucent bead appeared in Jue Lao's hand.

Inside the bead were intricate, tangled fluorescent thread-like patterns. In this room where sunlight streamed in, one couldn't see them clearly without looking closely.

These patterns were all broken and fragmented, as if thoroughly destroyed. It was unclear whether Jue Lao could make anything of them.

After waiting patiently for a while, Jue Lao suddenly seemed to notice something. His expression darkened somewhat, and he put away the fiery-red bead.

"Jue Lao?"

"Ningguang Mountain."

"What?" Fang Yue was stunned for a moment.

You Sisi beside him, upon hearing this term, visibly furrowed her brow.

Jue Lao thumped his own aching lower back, coughed twice, his face showing some pain—apparently because the careful examination of the bracelet had drained his spirit.

After resting a while, he said, "This bracelet made of Variable Resistance Jade material is the handiwork of Ning Laotou of Ningguang Mountain. As for the other materials, I'll write up a list later. If Lord You wants to investigate, you should be able to find purchase and sales records at the various material shops in Qingsi County."

At this point, Jue Lao began shooing them out, saying the list would be delivered to You Sisi a bit later.

Fang Yue, full of questions, tried to ask, but was pulled outside by You Sisi.

After putting some distance between them and Researching Weirdness Gate, You Sisi finally let go.

"Who is Ning Laotou?" Fang Yue asked immediately.

Since it concerned Lin Ling and Lord Han, Fang Yue had to get the full story straight.

"Ning Laotou used to be Jue Lao's friend, but later some things happened, they had a falling out, and after that they barely kept in touch. This whole matter has always been a sore spot for Jue Lao — no one would bring it up in front of him."

Saying this, You Sisi also sighed, because by that time she had already joined the Green-Clad ranks in Qingsi County and had personally watched Jue Lao grow dispirited and dejected.

Later, as time passed, he slowly recovered.

For someone who could be called the top-tier technical reserve of Qingsi County, You Sisi held him in genuine respect.

Pausing for a moment, and seeing that Fang Yue still looked thoroughly puzzled, she went on.

"Since we already know the Fluorescent Bracelet is Ning Laotou's handiwork, then if you want to investigate further, it'll be simple. Just go to Ningguang Mountain, find Ning Laotou, and ask him when he made the Fluorescent Bracelet and who he sold it to — then you'll be able to figure out who kidnapped Lin Ling.

As a White-Clad officer, you're entitled to requisition a Qingsi Horse. You can take one and use it first, then file the paperwork later — I'll approve it for you."

(End of Chapter)