Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 73: Discussion

Neither Liu Yan’s parents nor the other parties involved in the remaining cases, after smelling the fragrance released from the "burning" general spirit stone, all stated that this scent was exactly the same as what they had smelled at the time the incidents occurred.

As for the reason, Shen Hao believes that, on one hand, their memories of everything during the incident are too deep—even a scent, once noticed, is impossible to forget; on the other hand, the smell produced when the general spirit stone "burns" is indeed quite distinctive, so that after smelling it a second time, it is readily recalled.

This time, both Wang Jian and Zhang Liao personally brought progress reports back to the Li City Guard Station, understanding that now the case held a new common element, which meant there was substantive progress; at this moment, they must return and await further instructions.

Seizing the opportunity the return of Wang Jian and Zhang Liao presented, Shen Hao held a small-scale case briefing in his own Public Office, sorting through the current stage of the case and conducting logical deductions.

"Let’s hear your opinions. Wang Jian, you start." Shen Hao sipped tea as he leaned back in his chair, the table before him holding the newly supplemented case file. After today’s discussion, another provisional conclusion would be added to this file.

Wang Jian nodded, cleared his throat, then spoke: "General Flag, at present, there are three clues at hand. One pertains to motive—namely, Yin-Yang Blood and Qi. Thus, previous assessments suggested these cases were committed by one or more evil cultivators.

Another clue is that the perpetrator can abduct people in broad daylight on the street without anyone noticing; this point later led to the conclusion that enchanting soul or blinding magical artifacts were likely used.

The final clue is the strange fragrance appearing at the crime scene. Previously, we suspected it was caused by an incense sachet carried by the perpetrator, but now General Flag has discovered it was a result of "burning" general spirit stone.

Linking these three clues provides a preliminary deduction: the perpetrator abducted children possessing Yin-Yang Blood and Qi in various places to refine primordial Qi and profit from it. These evil cultivators do not possess high cultivation; unable to use magic to cloak themselves in public, they must rely on magical artifacts.

For magical artifacts to cover and stably shield half a street’s worth of people, at minimum it must be middle grade, ideally upper grade.

Moreover, as the function of general spirit stone can only be used with middle, lower, or inferior grade magical artifacts, in sum, the likelihood of the perpetrator using a middle-grade magical artifact is highest. From this, we can also infer their cultivation is most likely between Gathering Spirit Realm Third Layer and Gathering Spirit Realm Sixth Layer."

Wang Jian finished and cupped his hands to Shen Hao, eyes discreetly glancing at Zhang Liao seated nearby—he was quite eager to hear what Zhang Liao would say next.

Zhang Liao’s expression remained unchanged, though Wang Jian had taken the three main clues, he held a different perspective.

"General Flag, I believe that though the case’s clues have increased, it has not become any clearer. In fact, I believe the fog has grown denser.

There are two main reasons.

First, I think the perpetrator’s identity is questionable. Logically, if it were one or several evil cultivators, even if their cultivation was insufficient to directly use magic to blind passersby and conceal their abductions—thus requiring magical artifacts for easier and more stable support—there would be no need to use general spirit stone as a power source, would there?

Second, the day before yesterday I personally went to the Population Department in Yu City, discovering their population ledger storage is heavily guarded, right next to the Government Office’s Silver Vault. Both use the same array defense system. Without brute force, with my own Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, it would be impossible to approach, let alone infiltrate.

I inquired with the Office’s Chief Officer, who said the Silver Vault’s array defense system was constructed by unified Court deployment, its defense extremely strong—able to withstand a Primordial Pill Realm cultivator’s full force assault for half an hour. The array core operates independently, requiring no humans to maintain it, thereby blocking external intrusion vulnerabilities. To enter the array undetected is simply impossible.

Therefore, I believe the perpetrator’s method of targeting remains in doubt!"

These two points of doubt directly punched holes in Wang Jian’s earlier deduction.

The crucial thing is these doubts are not baseless—they are reasonable and supported. Though no alternative answer is offered, it logically demonstrates Wang Jian’s deduction is not fully reliable and contains major loopholes.

Wang Jian showed little expression, yet the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth showed he was anything but calm—his hand on his knee verging on bursting veins.

After hearing his two subordinates, Shen Hao did not comment on whether either was correct or incorrect.

Wang Jian had said he based his deduction on three main clues; since it’s a deduction, uncertainty is inevitable, flaws normal—this is a probable outcome from limited clues, unrelated to ability.

Zhang Liao’s remarks were "critique" rather than deduction—a fundamental distinction from Wang Jian, though not incorrect; based on those three key clues indeed there were two major loopholes he pointed out, and they could not be explained.

But Zhang Liao’s words left Shen Hao somewhat gratified; this loose cultivator whom he promoted actually knew to proactively check for omissions—a very good sign. Had he not gone to the local Population Department to inspect the ledger storage, Shen Hao wouldn’t have realized the population ledger’s defense was so stringent.

"Motive—no objections, I suppose?"

"None from me."

"I have none, either."

Shen Hao set down his teacup and stood from his chair, pacing as he said, "With motive unproblematic, the issue becomes the perpetrator’s identity and the doubts about their method of target selection.

Zhang Liao, you have been to the Population Department in person, suggesting you were already suspicious—tell us, what do you think, based on your observations, is the method by which the perpetrator precisely targets children with Yin-Yang Blood and Qi across different regions?"

"General Flag, before returning I gathered some information on this point. According to the local Population Department officials, the registration process for newborns is as follows:

First, after three months of pregnancy, you need to register at the Village Chief; aside from receiving eggs distributed by the Government Office, families without means can also reserve a midwife from the Office. Regardless of whether the child is born safely or dies young, you must go to the Village Chief to cancel the record. For added population, the Village Chief issues a slip for further registration at the Office, at which point entry into the ledger is permitted—this directly affects household fields, so no one dares neglect it.

Afterward, each place submits its population ledgers to the higher-level Government Office once a year.

The local Offices under Li City all report to Li City’s Population Department, and Li City’s Population Department reports annually to the Fengri City Population Department. Finally, Fengri City’s Population Department submits to the Ministry of Revenue for archival.

Since local ledgers change rapidly, every month new volumes are drawn up to add new population; every three months volumes are updated to mark deceased population, and these tasks are handled by designated personnel.

Therefore, even members of the Population Department themselves cannot easily enter the area where population ledgers are stored.

We previously investigated the Population Department staff covertly and found nothing suspicious. Added to the extremely high defense grade of the population ledger itself, I believe the possibility of the ledger leaking from the various locations where the cases occurred is unlikely."