The following morning, a heavy sense of anticipation hung in the air as Chang Shuchun returned to the police station, accompanied by Officer Huang Ning. The officer had recently received an urgent call from Lou Weizhe, informing the station that he was en route and would soon arrive to finally take Chang Shuchun ho. Because of this, the two won had been sitting in the lobby, waiting quietly for the arrival of her kin.
Suddenly, the heavy glass doors of the station burst open with a startling force. A group of n and won, all dressed in traditional and understated white robes, rushed into the sterile environnt of the precinct. They moved with an innate elegance that seed at odds with the modern surroundings, their pristine garnts marked by the subtle, intricate embroidery of a soaring crane. An old man with a flowing, long white beard led the group. His eyes glowed with a profound spiritual depth that seed to pierce through the very soul. He pushed past the startled officers with a single-minded focus.
"Shuchun!" The old man cried out, his voice cracking with a mixture of grief and overwhelming relief as he called her na.
"Master!" Chang Shuchun cried, standing up so abruptly her chair nearly toppled over.
Without a second thought, she threw herself into the old man’s protective embrace. Having spent the previous day maintaining a stoic front, she finally let her guard down and sobbed like a helpless child, her tears soaking into his white robes.
The old man gently patted Chang Shuchun’s back, his own eyes misty. To him, this girl was more than just a student. She was like his own granddaughter. When she had vanished without a trace three years ago, he had exhausted a trendous amount of effort and resources trying to find her. Despite months of dead ends and silence, he had never allowed himself to believe she was gone. Deep in his heart, he had always held onto the flickering hope that she was still alive sowhere in the world.
The disciples who had accompanied him were all Lou Liwei’s personal inner-circle students. They operated like a tightly knit family, and to them, Chang Shuchun was the precious younger sister they had thought lost forever. They had been ecstatic when Lou Weizhe inford them of her discovery, and they had insisted on following their master to personally escort her back to their sanctuary.
Once the initial, overwhelming emotions of the reunion had settled, Lou Weizhe stepped forward to face the police officers, his deanour shifting to one of sharp authority.
"Officer, you ntioned in our briefing that Shuchun was the victim of a kidnapping. Do you have any concrete clues regarding the identity of the culprit?" Lou Weizhe asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"We have recovered several significant clues from the scene, but we currently lack sufficient evidence to definitively na a suspect." Officer Huang Ning stated professionally.
"Is that so?" Lou Weizhe narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto Officer Huang Ning with an intensity that made the air in the room feel heavy. "Then, would you be so kind as to show exactly what these ’clues’ are?"
"Mr Lou, I must be clear. The police have no legal obligation to disclose active evidence to civilians at this stage of the investigation. We will continue our work, and once we have verified results, we will inform the family." Officer Huang Ning replied calmly.
Despite the oppressive pressure of being stared down by a dozen formidable cultivators, she held her ground with steady nerves.
"Senior Brother..." Chang Shuchun intervened softly, reaching out to touch Lou Weizhe’s sleeve. "Please, let the police officers do their jobs. They have been kind to ."
"I understand." Lou Weizhe nodded, though his jaw remained tight. He turned back to the officer. "So, are we permitted to take our sister ho now?"
"Yes. We have her contact details and will reach out if we require any further statents regarding the case." Officer Huang Ning replied with a respectful nod.
As the Heavenly Crane Pavilion group departed the station, the remaining officers stood in a daze, watching them go. The atmosphere they left behind felt strangely empty. One of the younger officers finally broke the silence.
"Wow... they did not even look like they belonged in this century. They looked like immortals out of a movie."
"Hmm... you are right about that. The air around them felt different."
"Just what kind of group are they, anyway?"
"Who knows? Maybe they are out there cultivating the essence of heaven and earth in the mountains." One officer joked, though his laugh was a bit nervous.
"Silence! This is not a ti for jokes." Officer Huang Ning snapped, her voice sharp enough to make the room go still.
Everyone beca silent.
The Heavenly Crane Pavilion group moved through the city with purpose, eventually finding a high-end hotel large enough to accommodate the entire entourage. None of them had slept a wink since receiving Chang Shuchun’s call the previous day. Instead, they had chartered a flight and rushed to the city with desperate speed. Once they were settled, the inner disciples gathered in Master Lou Liwei’s suite to hear the truth of her disappearance.
"Now, Shuchun, please tell us the truth. Exactly what happened during those missing years?" Lou Liwei asked, his tone fatherly yet serious.
Chang Shuchun took a deep breath and recounted every detail she could rember of her ordeal, including her confusion regarding the tiline.
"You an to say that you had no perception of the passage of ti? That you did not know three years had vanished?" Lou Liwei asked, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that ans it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shaless author, ZerahNeko***
User Comments
0 comments from readers