Chapter 37: Illusion Array

Not long after Li Jing communicated with Lu Yangcheng and Yi Xiuzhu, Kong Wu sent a message asking the two to return to patrol.

Kong Wu didn’t say much to Li Jing.

He only told him to be careful.

Time ticked by, second by second.

About ten minutes later, the ground staff of the Assistant Inspector Department arrived.

They did not enter the seafood market, but dispersed around the market to seal off the nearby streets.

At the same time that the Assistant Inspector Department’s ground personnel completed the lockdown, members of the Serious Crime Squad Six verified the identities of the crowd at the scene and orderly let them leave.

Normally, those who enjoy watching the scene might not cooperate with such inspection requests.

However, after collective identity checks, the majority of bystanders became subdued.

Watching a bustle isn’t a big deal.

But some troubles are not meant to be observed too much.

With such a large array inside and outside the market, it was obvious that there was a big problem. Who would dare to stay here for long?

With the onlookers gone, members of Serious Crime Squad Six scattered and began to check the stores in the market one by one.

Li Jing stood at the entrance of the seafood store, watching them work, hesitating whether to go over and lend a hand, but thinking that he wasn’t as professional as them, it was better not to mess things up.

Realizing that he shouldn’t just stand there alone, Li Jing decided to look around the seafood store.

Just as he was about to enter, Chen Yuran stepped out quickly from inside.

The two bumped into each other head-on and both paused.

Then Chen Yuran spoke up.

"We have a result on the victims’ identities, we have to go to the seaside temporarily."

"The seaside?"

Li Jing frowned.

Before he had a chance to ask questions, Chen Yuran brought out a tablet at the door, and flicked the screen twice to bring up some images.

Li Jing looked down unconsciously.

On the tablet screen, sixteen identity information entries were displayed.

Fourteen of the identities were presented in gray.

"These grayed-out ones are the identities of the victims, confirmed by Sister Yang through biological methods."

Chen Yuran spoke in a low voice, quickly explaining.

"There are a total of fourteen victims. They either don’t have any family or relatives or are living on their own in Jianghai without any steady jobs. Among them, nine people have criminal records and five people live on social aid. The criminal is smart, specifically targeting this type of people. Even if these people disappear, no one will notice in the short term."

She said, pointing at two colorful entries displayed on the screen.

"These two are the operators of the seafood store; their specific identity information just arrived from the district headquarters after investigation. I originally thought they would be one of the fourteen victims, but it seems I oversimplified it."

Li Jing listened to Chen Yuran’s explanation and studied the two’s identity information.

The two who run the seafood store are a married couple.

Both of them are locals in Jianghai and have been earning their living from fishing and seafood for more than twenty years. Their records are clean with no criminal history.

The possibility of these two being the suspects is quite low.

As if knowing what he was thinking, Chen Yuran said.

"No matter whether these two persons are the criminal suspects or not, they are presently missing. I already conveyed this news to Captain Dai, he told us to go to these two people’s residence to confirm the situation."

Having said this, Chen Yuran added.

"We’ll leave the scene to others. You don’t have a flying sword so your Sky Control speed is slow, I’ll take you."

Before Li Jing had time to reply, he felt a delicate boneless small hand grab his.

Then, a sudden strong pull.

The next second, he was abruptly pulled into the sky, riding on Chen Yuran’s flying sword.

"Uh!"

Li Jing hastily covered his mouth and nose.

Flying sword, this was his first time on one.

With no preparation, this ride nearly made him vomit on the spot.

Whether the speed was fast or not was secondary.

The key was that Sword Controlling was completely different from Sky Control or Wind Control Magic.

Sky Control and Wind Control Magic were skills that bestowed the ability to float in the air on the Caster themselves through spiritual Qi and spell formulas.

Sword Controlling was different.

The spell formula was bestowed on the flying sword...

Whether it was the person casting the Sword Controlling magic or the person riding along, there was no enhancement, they were purely taken to the sky by the light of the sword.

Falling down wouldn’t happen.

But the process of Sword Controlling to ascend to the sky is akin to riding a high-speed roller coaster in the clouds.

For someone with Sword Controlling experience and has adapted to it, they definitely wouldn’t feel anything.

But for someone like Li Jing who had never ridden a flying sword before, the feeling really wouldn’t be pleasant, especially without any mental preparation.

Seeing Chen Yuran staring straight ahead, completely unaware that he, her passenger, was feeling dizzy from the ride, Li Jing didn’t know what to say.

He didn’t mind Chen Yuran’s serious and decisive nature during work.

But to be honest, he quite liked the more casual and slightly naive Chen Yuran in private.

...

Sword Controlling is indeed fast.

In less than two minutes, Chen Yuran had brought Li Jing, through Sword Controlling, to the coastline, and they landed in front of a house near the sea.

As soon as they landed, they both frowned.

This seaside residence was not an independent building.

There were seven or eight houses lined up around it.

It was just past six in the evening, almost dinner time.

Including the house in front of their eyes, all houses were brightly lit, and there was even an old man next door leisurely enjoying the sea breeze in the yard.

This scene seemed abnormal in its normality.

The other residences were not problematic.

The one in front of them, owned by the couple who ran the seafood shop, had no reason to be lit.

If the couple were suspects, they should have fled by now.

If they weren’t, why would the missing couple be at home?

"Something doesn’t feel right."

Chen Yuran murmured, summoning her flying sword to her hand.

"Hmm."

Li Jing agreed.

The two of them had a great understanding, and their gazes simultaneously fell on the old man in the neighboring yard, who was enjoying the sea breeze.

One of them was wearing the Assistant Inspector’s uniform, the other the Patrol Inspector’s uniform. Any normal person would have at the very least sparing them a glance and inquire as to their presence.

However, the old man in the neighboring yard had been consistently looking out at the sea, completely ignoring them.

After staring at the old man for a while, Chen Yuran slightly opened her crimson lips.

"This place seems to have an illusionary array laid out to stop people noticing."

An illusionary array?

Li Jing was slightly taken aback.

Arrays.

A highly advanced field of study, independent of the Immortal Learning Magic Skill System, one must expect to be at least at the Three Realm Cultivation Level to delve into it.

Like practicing magic, the array diagrams needed to establish an array are totally public, and one could find thousands of them with a simple online search.

Yet, to truly set up a complete array, one must thoroughly understand all the variables contained in the array diagram.

If you don’t understand the variables in the array diagram, forcibly setting up the array would be a mere semblance of what it should be.

Even a slightest disturbance can cause the entire array to collapse.

It was unquestionable that what was in front of them was a complete array.

Otherwise, the illusionary array would have been broken when they breached it with Sword Controlling.

If you want to break a complete array, you either locate and destroy the core, the Array Eye, or tear open the array posturing with sheer cultivation level.

As for tearing open the array with their cultivation level, they ruled it out.

The only option left was to locate the Array Eye.

The problem was, the Array Eye was not so easy to find.

Turning his head to look at Chen Yuran, just as Li Jing was about to speak, she beat him to it.

"Don’t look at me, I don’t understand arrays."

"..."

Li Jing.

It wasn’t quite a surprise to him that Chen Yuran didn’t understand arrays.

Array theory is notoriously head-wracking.

You can find an array diagram anywhere.

However, the diagram is just that - a diagram.

Understanding it depends on aptitude, let alone thoroughly understanding the variables in it.

Besides, other people’s experiences are of no use when studying the array diagram, they will only make you more confused.

Only when you understand it for yourself, will you truly understand it.

Chen Yuran, being in the Three Realm at just twenty-four years old, one would say she had outstanding talent, and the second, that she was diligent in her cultivation.

Spend all her time on cultivation, where would she have spare time to study array diagrams?

Even if she did, she would definitely spend her spare time on cultivation.

After a brief silence, Li Jing said,

"Or...shall we call for backup?"

On hearing this, Chen Yuran simply raised her hand and pressed on her communication earpiece.

"Captain Dai, Li Jing and I have reached the home of the seafood shop couple. This place has been covered by an illusionary array used for deception. The array does not directly affect us, it only serves to confuse and distort perception, the grade of the array is probably not too high. If nothing unexpected happens, this place might be another corpse hiding location. Would you like to come and try to break the array in person, or should we bring in an expert?"

Listening to Chen Yuran’s rapid-fire report, the corner of Li Jing’s mouth twitched slightly.

What she was saying was based in reality and was the most likely scenario.

However, upon hearing this, Dai Hong would probably crack on the spot.

They had just taken over the case, and hadn’t even had time to arrange a specific investigation direction, when another corpse hiding place was found...