Seven hours later.
After a night of turmoil, the sky outside had already brightened. Being the first day after New Year’s Eve, the weather in the capital was quite pleasant. The elderly folks, who rose early for a walk, bathed in the morning sun, greeted and exchanged New Year wishes with familiar faces amidst a thick festive atmosphere.
Just across the street, within the office building, Elder Lin, who was observing every movent on the street after Gu Shenghui stepped into his office, slowly drew the curtains and pointed to the chair in front of the desk, "Sit down!"
Looking around the office, besides Elder Lin and Elder Zuo, the other three high-level leaders from the bureau were all present, sitting silently with closed eyes on a sofa beside.
"How is Pei Yan’s condition?" Gu Shenghui asked bluntly after glancing at the bookshelf behind Elder Lin.
Elder Lin held a steaming teacup, his face darkened as he said, "Not very good. His ntal state has suffered significant damage from repeated attacks, requiring continuous recuperation for so ti."
"How long will it take? Is it serious? Will there be any aftereffects?" Gu Shenghui asked, frowning and leaning forward slightly. He knew that forcibly retrieving mories could cause ntal trauma, but he hadn’t expected the consequences to be so severe, and he began to regret his decision at the ti.
"He should wake up in four or five days, and after more than half a month of recuperation, he can leave the hospital bed. However, fully recovering from the hidden injuries caused by this ntal attack may take six months or even longer, and as for aftereffects, we cannot say now."
Elder Lin took a sip from his tea cup before continuing, "Today, all the higher-ups from the bureau are present, and those absent are listening via secret techniques. Let’s discuss what really happened last night after we were defeated. Based on my observations, Pei Yan, although a bit cunning, knows his limits and is not unreasonable. For him to lose his mind and bla you, it must have sothing to do with the decision you made."
"Director Gu, we are all aware of the complex relationship between you and Mu Fanchen—ah, I heard he changed his na to Mu Fanchen. So, speak frankly, don’t hold back. We can understand." A man on the sofa, who looked not much older than Gu Shenghui, gently tapped the armrest and said with a smile.
"Yes, Secretary Yu!" Gu Shenghui replied without turning around, sitting upright. He then roughly recounted the events that transpired that night between him and Mu Fanchen.
"This is nonsense!" Elder Lin exclaid, placing his tea cup down with a thud, not caring as so of the liquid spilled. He sternly scolded, "It’s our incompetence if we can’t save soone. But if there’s a chance to save, yet we let the other party torture our colleague, how is that different from betrayal?" He pointed at Gu Shenghui, "You are jeopardizing the sense of belonging Pei Yan painstakingly established with the bureau. This is utterly counterproductive!"
Previously speaking, Secretary Yu shook his head and sighed, "Indeed, Director Gu, this matter was sowhat ill-considered. In the past, it might have been fine, but through this incident, we’ve co to understand Pei Yan’s importance. Doing this is too disheartening."
"I don’t think Director Gu did anything wrong. Precisely because of Pei Yan’s importance, we should understand the origin of his abilities better. If we can’t do it ourselves, having soone else do it is fine. I heard about the conditions that kid set, right? Director Gu’s move successfully aroused his enmity towards Mu Fanchen and Shen Yu." The only woman in the room, who was seated on the sofa, took off her glasses, gently massaging her Qingming Acupoint, speaking nonchalantly.
Secretary Yu glanced at the colleague sitting next to him and objected, "Xiaoyao, I disagree with you. Once a gap forms, it becos a hurdle, a thorn. You never know when you won’t be able to overco that hurdle or when the thorn will dig deeper."
The woman referred to as Xiaoyao put her glasses back on and retorted, "Co on, Secretary Yu, whose life is smooth sailing? Everyone’s had their ups and downs. Even if not in our bureau, the kid would face them in society. If an ability user can’t withstand a bit of grievance, then their endurance is too low!"
"But Mu Haoran ended up on the opposing side because of small matters like this!"
"If this kid is the sa, it shows that’s his inherent nature! There would be other issues even without Director Gu. We are an investigation bureau, not a nursery!"
"Enough!" Elder Lin intervened, softly reprimanding both, clearing his throat as he took a tissue to wipe the table, "Let’s not stray from the topic. We can’t predict the future, but Secretary Yu isn’t wrong about not stumbling over the sa stone repeatedly. You must realize that from Shangxing’s report, Pei Yan ended soone’s life for the first ti yesterday and then encountered such an incident. If not handled properly, it could lead to psychological issues."
After speaking, Elder Lin tossed the tissue into a nearby trash can and looked at Secretary Yu, continuing, "Next, we will proceed with ntal and physical recovery. Secretary Yu, please ensure the bureau’s psychological counselors provide consultation and rehabilitation for Pei Yan."
"No problem, Elder Lin, this is exactly what I intend to do." Secretary Yu slightly bowed and nodded in agreent.
Elder Lin folded his hands together, looking at Gu Shenghui, and asked, "Then tell us, Xiaogu, why you made such a radical choice."
"He’s already far ahead of us!"
Following this statent, the room fell into silence. After a long pause, Xiaoyao, puzzled, asked, "Director Gu, are you sure Mu Fanchen has mastered the sa origin as Pei Yan? You should know that his previous internal origin was no different from ours. If I recall correctly, he cos from the Daoist Realm’s internal origin, right?"
"Yes, that’s correct, it’s the Daoist Realm’s internal origin. I conducted his entry test myself, so there can be no mistake!" Zuo Huaxian, who had remained silent and seated sideways next to Elder Lin, confird.
Secretary Yu, with crossed legs, tapped the armrest faster and murmured, "Maybe he used so thod to transform his internal origin to simulate Pei Yan’s origin, to confuse and mislead us into making the wrong judgnt. Being a psychic, this wouldn’t be difficult for him."
"No, his power truly originates from Pei Yan’s source, and he knew more about it earlier than any of us. He knows exactly what he’s searching for!" Gu Shenghui said with determination, hitting the table with emphasis.
Elder Lin sighed, massaging his forehead, "Xiaogu isn’t wrong. When he saw Pei Yan appear before him, he showed no surprise. Such an expression cannot be faked. Moreover, he ntioned that there possibly isn’t just one person like Pei Yan in the world, while we’ve only had this information for six months."
"So what do we do? Director Gu, did you find any useful clues from Pei Yan’s mory last night?" Secretary Yu asked, brows deeply furrowed.
Gu Shenghui shook his head and replied helplessly, "No, at the most critical mont, a defense formation arose in Pei Yan’s consciousness, preventing Mu Haoran’s action. At that ti, he was very excited and said sothing!"
Secretary Yu’s eyes lit up as he pursued further, "What did he say?"
"As expected, it’s her! So you’re her fallback plan?"
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