"...One Mixed Element Fire Lotus... I should retrieve it for my brother... If misfortune befalls me, I hope my senior brother will not worry."
These were the two lines that appeared on the scroll; clearly, these sentences were not connected, and surely, there were other messages hidden in the half of the scroll that Gongsun Yudie had taken.
Holding the scroll with slightly trembling hands, Chen Nan felt a sourness in his heart.
He had suffered from headaches since childhood, which pained him once or twice each month. The Mixed Element Fire Lotus was the only cure in the world.
Although he hadn’t seen the complete message, from these two sentences, Chen Nan could mostly guess that his junior sister must have learned about a place with the Mixed Element Fire Lotus, and it was a very dangerous place, yet she had gone there, disregarding her own safety to seek the medicine.
"If misfortune befalls me, I hope my senior brother will not worry!"
Reading this last sentence, although it was not a vow of eternal love, Chen Nan felt a tearful sensation.
He could not repay his junior sister for this act of kindness.
"Yiyi, oh Yiyi, you ask me not to worry about you, but how can I not!"
Chen Nan stared at the scroll in his hands, lost in thought for quite some time before finally standing up and walking towards the outside of the forest; he had to find Gongsun Yudie and get the other half of the scroll back.
Only by retrieving the other half of the scroll could he completely see the message his junior sister left and know where she had gone to get the medicine.
Pocketing the scroll, Chen Nan was about to leave in search of Gongsun Yudie to settle the score, but just then, his phone rang. It was a call from Qin Yixuan.
"Did you catch the murderer?" Qin Yixuan asked.
Chen Nan turned his head to look at the middle-aged man lying on the ground, not knowing whether he was dead or alive, "Caught him, come over quickly."
"I should come? Where are you then?"
Chen Nan glanced around, "I don’t know where I am, you locate my phone signal."
"Okay, wait for me, I’ll be right there."
Chen Nan hung up the phone.
Although he was anxious to find Gongsun Yudie, he was injured, and even if he found Gongsun Yudie, he might not be a match for her, let alone retrieve the scroll. It would be better to heal in the forest before taking any risks.
Looking at the middle-aged man beside him, Chen Nan walked over and checked under his nose, finding him still breathing and not dead.
"Good, he’s not dead, so that crazy woman won’t blame me for killing him."
Chen Nan touched the man’s body at two acupoints to seal them and then transferred some True Qi to make sure he wouldn’t die. He then sat down cross-legged and took two pills for healing inner injuries, starting his Qi Movement to heal.
After circling his True Qi through his body forty-nine times, Chen Nan felt his True Qi was about seventy percent restored, and his injuries were much better. By that time, Qin Yixuan had arrived with several policemen.
"Where are they? Where is the person?" Seeing Chen Nan sitting motionlessly, Qin Yixuan ran up and asked.
Chen Nan exhaled a foul breath, his True Qi returning to his Dantian, and pointed to the bushes beside him, saying, "Such a big guy; didn’t you see him?"
Qin Yixuan stared at the middle-aged man, "Are you sure this guy is the murderer?"
"If it’s not him, who else could it be? Sure it’s not me?" Chen Nan unlocked the man’s acupoint that had kept him unconscious and said, "That murder dagger should still have his fingerprints. Take him into custody for verification. I have to go now."
Seeing that Chen Nan was about to leave, Qin Yixuan hastily said, "What’s the rush? Help me escort this guy back. His martial arts are so advanced; what if he runs away on the way?"
"I have sealed his Inner Strength with a unique acupoint technique. No one but me can unlock it; he won’t be able to run," Chen Nan, not looking back, walked out of the forest and said, "Oh, and remember to ask him why he wanted to steal my scroll."
"Asshole, are you in a hurry to be reborn or what!"
Qin Yixuan cursed irritably and then glanced at the two policemen beside her, "Cuff this suspect and take him away."
After Chen Nan left the forest, he wasn’t sure where to find Gongsun Yudie. After pondering for a while, he dialed Zhao Dongshan’s number.
In Ningjiang City, he was considered a local kingpin. The Zhao family had informants covering a quarter of Ningjiang City. As long as it was within their territory, their ability to find people was incredibly strong.
After talking to Zhao Dongshan on the phone, Zhao promptly agreed to help.
However, since there was no photo of Gongsun Yudie, Chen Nan had to visit the Zhao family personally, sketched a likeness of Gongsun Yudie, and handed it to Zhao Dongshan.
"Brother, rest assured, as long as she’s on Zhao family territory, even if she turns to ash, I’ll definitely find her for you," Zhao Dongshan said.
"In that case, thanks a lot, Brother Dong," Chen Nan bowed his hands and said, "I’ve got other things to handle, so I won’t stay long. Next time, let’s not go home unless we’re drunk."
"Sure, since you’re busy, I won’t keep you. Next time we’ll have a good drink," Zhao replied.
After leaving the Zhao family, Chen Nan changed his dirty clothes and headed towards the school.
In such a vast Ningjiang City, searching on his own was not reliable; he needed to rely on connections.
Although Zhao Dongshan had already agreed, the reach of the Zhao family was limited, so it was essential to get more people involved. Jiang Xiaomi was the best candidate since her father was the head of the Jiang family. If Jiang Xiaomi agreed to help, the chances of finding Gongsun Yudie would double.
After all, the Jiang family’s influence was comparable to that of the Zhao family. If both families helped, it would effectively cover half of Ningjiang City.
Since he didn’t have Jiang Xiaomi’s mobile number, after returning to school, Chen Nan had to avoid the gaze of Lan Yuqin, Su Qingqing, and others. He sneaked into Senior Three Class Eight to find Jiang Xiaomi.
"Looking for me for something?"
Perhaps because of the previous rejection, Jiang Xiaomi’s tone was a bit unfriendly.
Chen Nan nodded and said, "Do you have time now? I’d like to invite you out for a cup of coffee."
Jiang Xiaomi’s eyes brightened, somewhat unable to believe her ears. Didn’t this guy disdain her before, and now he’s asking her out for coffee?
"Are you sure you want to invite me?" she asked.
"Of course," Chen Nan said.
Jiang Xiaomi immediately became smug, tilted her head back, and said with a proud face, "I won’t go unless you beg me."
Chen Nan glared at her, "I’m inviting you out for coffee, and you still want me to beg you, why don’t you go hit a wall?"
"Exactly, if you don’t beg this lady, this lady won’t go."
"Then forget it." Chen Nan turned and walked away.
Watching Chen Nan leave, Jiang Xiaomi paused for a second, then cursed herself in her mind for being an idiot. He had taken the initiative to ask her out, why did she have to act so tough? She was so foolish!
"Hey, hey, wait a minute, I’ll go, I’ll go!" Jiang Xiaomi shouted, hurrying to catch up.