As Ye Ling asked this question, the avatar of the Heavenly Dao Will twisted, and the light of the sphere intensified, becoming increasingly blinding. Shen Weiwei beside him had to shield her eyes with her arm and turn away.
"Something's wrong..."
Looking at the dazzling sphere, Ye Ling frowned, sensing something amiss. He reached out to grasp the sphere, enveloping it with his spiritual energy.
The avatar of the Heavenly Dao Will was showing signs of losing control. If it wasn't contained and were to explode, half of Jiangcheng might vanish into thin air!
This situation indicated that Ye Ling's question had exceeded the Heavenly Dao Will's authority to answer.
The outcome of this question would have a profound impact on Earth's future.
"Xiao You's whereabouts are related to Earth's survival? What kind of joke is this?"
Ye Ling was somewhat bewildered. He couldn't fathom what his sister had experienced. After calming the sphere, he immediately posed another question: "Where is Ye Feng?"
Boom!
As Ye Ling's question was uttered, the sphere formed by the Heavenly Dao Will instantly collapsed. Ye Ling didn't even have time to stop it as the explosion swept outwards.
"What is all this connected to?"
With no other recourse, Ye Ling had to spread his spiritual energy around. Before the explosion could reach Shen Weiwei, he forcefully suppressed the blast, which was capable of destroying half of Jiangcheng, absorbing it himself.
The surrounding starry sky dissipated, and a tattered piece of sheepskin parchment fell onto the kitchen floor.
Ye Ling's expression was somewhat grim, white smoke rising from his palm.
Seeing that the surroundings had returned to normal, Shen Weiwei turned around and noticed the tattered parchment on the floor. Not understanding what had just happened, she asked Ye Ling, "Is that... finished?"
"There were some minor issues."
Ye Ling rubbed his temples with considerable annoyance and replied.
He had thought that spending sixty thousand years on the Eastern Xuan Continent was already extraordinary, but now it seemed that Xiao You's experiences over the years were likely no less than his own.
Ye Ling had believed he would have the opportunity to find the truth and locate Xiao You, but he never expected that two questions would cause the Heavenly Mystery Chart to explode, leaving him no chance to retract them.
Shen Weiwei didn't know how to comfort Ye Ling, so she simply said, "Is that so... That's truly a pity. Keep up the good work..."
What had just transpired had shattered Shen Weiwei's worldview, which she had cultivated for over twenty years. Her ability to speak and think now was a testament to her exceptional composure.
Anyone else in her place would likely have fainted by now.
"Xiao Ling, Weiwei, I'm back!"
At that moment, Liu Xiu's voice came from the living room. Ye Ling snapped back to attention, picked up the half-destroyed Heavenly Mystery Chart, and put it into his spatial ring. He then smiled at Shen Weiwei and said, "Weiwei, what happened just now must be kept a secret."
"Mhm! Don't worry!"
Shen Weiwei nodded repeatedly and gave Ye Ling an "okay" gesture.
"You two were here, I've been looking all over for you. How was the chat?"
Liu Xiu entered the kitchen carrying a large bag of groceries and smiled at Ye Ling and Shen Weiwei.
As if nothing had happened, Ye Ling smiled and helped Liu Xiu with the bags, saying, "Auntie, you bought too much, let me help."
"Xiao Ling is such a good boy. It would be wonderful if you could be my son-in-law."
"Auntie, please don't tease me."
"I'm serious. I even went to the market specifically to buy some lamb kidneys to help you replenish yourself. You're staying here tonight..."
"Aunt... Auntie..."
Hearing Liu Xiu's words, Ye Ling's mouth twitched, and his smile became somewhat stiff.
Liu Xiu's thinking was a bit too progressive, even for Ye Ling, who didn't know how to respond for a moment.
At this point, Shen Weiwei was so embarrassed her head felt like it was about to smoke. She exclaimed, "Mom!!!"
"You child, I gave you an opportunity and you're not taking it!" Liu Xiu grumbled.
Shen Weiwei was exasperated, "I'm not that kind of person!!!"
"Alright, alright! I get it! You ungrateful child!"
"..."
And so, amidst the commotion, Ye Ling and Shen Weiwei spent a pleasant yet awkward lunch.
After chatting with Liu Xiu during afternoon tea, Ye Ling, fearing that Liu Xiu might buy birth control supplies, hastily bid farewell. He firmly refused Liu Xiu's offer to return the bank card and then made a swift escape from Shen Weiwei's home.
After leaving Shen Weiwei's house, Ye Ling calmed himself down by the West Lake and carefully examined the Heavenly Mystery Chart.
Although the Heavenly Mystery Chart was almost completely destroyed due to the self-destruction of the Heavenly Dao Will's avatar, fortunately, its core was preserved. Ye Ling could repair it with some time.
"Hong Chen Ge... Heavenly Mystery Chart... Tian Yin Ge... It seems I'll have to visit Tian Yin Ge again sometime to investigate Ye Feng's true identity."
Ye Ling put away the Heavenly Mystery Chart, deeply noting down Ye Feng's name, and then headed to Jian Shishi's house.
By the time Ye Ling arrived at Jian Shishi's house, it was already evening. He found Wang Liren and Zhang Hao at the door once again.
Unlike last time, Ye Ling sensed at least ten cultivators within the residential complex, and many plainclothes officers were stationed outside.
It was clear that Wang Liren and the others had investigated something, otherwise, they wouldn't have deployed such a large force.
'Where did something go wrong?'
Ye Ling casually went upstairs, his mind beginning to race.
After the Tian Hui Pharmaceutical incident, Ye Ling had done a lot of cleanup. He had altered the memories of all related personnel, relevant documents, and even the memories of passersby.
Through normal channels, the Dragon Department and the Cang Yan Army absolutely could not have traced him and Jian Shishi.
'Could it be... the matter with the Jiang family?'
Ye Ling's heart skipped a beat. After all, when he clashed with Jiang Wen Chun at the Sky Auction House, he hadn't acted discreetly. That incident had caused a huge stir, and many people had remembered his face. Coupled with the deaths of the Li family father and daughter at West Mountain Villa, the annihilation of the Jiang family, and even the incident at the He family in Qingye Town, he hadn't concealed any of these events...
These events had all happened recently. If the Dragon Department were to investigate, it would be easy for them to connect these clues and find him!
'I was careless...'
Underestimating the Dragon Department's capabilities, Ye Ling surmised that his background had likely been thoroughly investigated. A faint glint flashed in his eyes as he took out his key and opened the door.
In the rented apartment, Jian Shishi and Lin Yu were sitting face-to-face with Wang Liren, the atmosphere tense.
Upon seeing Ye Ling return, Jian Shishi acted as if she had seen a savior and quickly got up to greet him, "You're finally back!"
As she spoke, Jian Shishi took Ye Ling's hand and frantically signaled to him, indicating that the visitors were not friendly.
Ye Ling gave Jian Shishi a reassuring smile and then looked at Wang Liren and Zhang Hao, saying with a smile, "Gentlemen, you've come to see us again, is there something you need?"
Zhang Hao looked at Ye Ling calmly and said faintly, "We've been waiting for you for a long time."
"Ye Ling."