Peerless Martial Expert in the City
Chapter 546 - 544 Suspicions

Chapter 546: Chapter 544 Suspicions

Chapter 544: Suspicions

"It’s nothing serious, you don’t need to worry, I’ll be fine after some breath regulation."

Xiao Yi gave Situ Qingfeng a smile as he watched his expression, then turned and headed toward the doorway of the room.

Although Situ Qingfeng’s injuries were not particularly severe, under normal circumstances or if it had been someone else, Xiao Yi definitely would not have resorted to the Seven Needles Needle Technique. At most, he would have used some other common needle techniques supplemented with medicine, or for a common person, he would have simply prescribed a few medications.

But in order to speed up the healing of Situ Qingfeng’s injuries, he still decided to apply the Seven Needles. This time, the process of administering the Seven Needles was comforting for him because it was much more comfortable and easier than before. At the very least, he no longer felt like every strand of True Energy in his body was drained afterward.

This also proved that his cultivation power had made great progress over these past few days.

Returning to his room, he sat cross-legged on the bed and focused on regulating his breath for several cycles. Xiao Yi immediately felt much more spirited. Because this time he hadn’t exhausted himself completely, there was still a thin strand of True Qi remaining in his body, and the recovery process was much faster than before. After a few cycles, although his cultivation power hadn’t fully recovered, it had at least returned to about thirty to forty percent.

Alright, I should go out and ask Situ Qingfeng about the situation with that case, there’s no rush for the remaining cultivation power, I can slowly recover it later on.

Opening his eyes, Xiao Yi pondered for a moment in his mind, stepped down from the bed, and walked toward the door. But just as he reached the door, he almost bumped into someone face to face and couldn’t help but pause and say, "Situ, what are you doing here?"

"Big brother, are you alright?"

Situ Qingfeng was standing anxiously at the doorway. Seeing Xiao Yi suddenly appear, he was startled at first, but after seeing the revitalized spirit on Xiao Yi’s face, joy flashed across his features.

"Didn’t I tell you, I was fine to begin with. It’s just that I overexerted myself while treating your injuries a moment ago, that’s all."

Xiao Yi saw the anxious look on Situ Qingfeng’s face and felt a rush of emotion. This kid actually had some conscience, wasn’t ungrateful, and even cared about him. Yet, he gave Situ Qingfeng a blank stare and said.

"That’s good to hear, haha, boss, I have to say, your medical skills really are miraculous. I can’t believe such a severe injury has recovered so much so quickly."

Relieved that Xiao Yi was alright, Situ Qingfeng’s mind relaxed, and suddenly, he remembered his own injuries. He looked at Xiao Yi with a face full of amazement and admiration.

Although he was ignorant about medical knowledge, as a martial artist, he had some understanding of the human body, and he was aware of the severity of his injuries. At the start, when he heard Xiao Yi say he’d have to lie in bed for a week, he thought it would be at least two weeks and impossible in only one.

To his amazement, after just one dose of Xiao Yi’s medicine and a single session of acupuncture, he felt his injuries had improved by more than fifty percent. He thought that Xiao Yi’s estimate of a week was even too much. Maybe in just two or three days, he would be bursting with energy again!

"Kid, take it easy, keep it down for the next few days. Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet, so don’t get agitated, otherwise, I won’t be responsible for what happens to you. Even if I want to, I won’t be able to save you, and if you get injured again, not even immortals could save you."

Xiao Yi was taken aback by Situ Qingfeng’s sudden burst of vigor. He knew well Situ’s reckless nature and was worried that he might really think himself invincible and start acting recklessly again, so he quickly warned him.

His injuries might feel much better, but in reality, they were still not fully healed. For a complete recovery, it would require at least another three days, and this was due to the application of the Seven Needles.

Some injuries required time; even the miraculous Seven Needles couldn’t regenerate bones and flesh instantaneously.

"Don’t worry, boss, I won’t be impulsive," Situ Qingfeng replied upon seeing Xiao Yi’s grave warning, not daring to take the matter lightly.

"That’s the best, now tell me how the investigation of the case has been going during this period, and about the circumstances of your injury?"

Seeing that Situ Qingfeng was taking his words to heart, Xiao Yi allowed himself to relax, nodded, and then with a somewhat solemn expression, he began to ask Situ Qingfeng about the details of the case at hand.

This time, even Situ had been injured, which made Xiao Yi take the child trafficking ring’s organization even more seriously.

"Alas, it’s a long story. Boss, this gang is really not simple. That day..."

When Xiao Yi asked about the case, a bitter smile suddenly appeared on Situ Qingfeng’s face, and he started to tell the story, showing signs of fear in his eyes as he recounted certain details.

And as Situ Qingfeng narrated, Xiao Yi’s expression also gradually became more and more serious.

He had already deduced that this gang was definitely not simple, but he hadn’t anticipated that they would be complicated to such an extent.

From Situ Qingfeng’s account, he learned that not only was the gang powerful, but the organization itself was also extremely tight-knit. Situ Qingfeng, along with a group of elite police officers, including Zeng Xiaomei, had cast a Heavenly Net in several areas of G Province where child disappearances had occurred, especially in areas that had been particularly severe lately. They had used every means at their disposal, yet they could find no trace of the gang. It seemed as though the child disappearances in each area were isolated incidents, unrelated to them.

At one point, everyone in the police force, Zeng Xiaomei included, began to doubt that the areas chosen by Situ Qingfeng were of any significance at all, perhaps suspecting that Situ Qingfeng’s judgment was flawed. But Situ Qingfeng held his ground, trusting his intuition. Over many years, his sensitivity and instincts concerning cases had never failed him.

It was almost a week later when Situ Qingfeng finally started to feel impatient, and for the first time in many years, began to doubt his own instincts.

Could it be that he was, in fact, wrong?

And just when he was about to give up on his previous plan, the gang finally slipped up, showing a hint of anomaly that he instantly recognized. Following that hint, he traced it down and stumbled upon a vital clue.

However, just as he had grasped that thread, another accident occurred. Some policemen he had sent out to follow the lead were inexplicably killed, and when he looked into it, he found that the attackers were a group of mental patients!

This whole incident placed a significant psychological pressure on the police and raised tremendous alarm in his heart. He realized the entire affair was tinged with an oddity known only to him and Zeng Xiaomei; the two victims had had their circulation of blood and energy sealed by a master martial artist—a technique known as acupoint sealing—and were devoid of all power to resist, thus beaten to death by the mental patients. The rest of the police thought that the victims were merely too embarrassed to retaliate, wanting to give the mentally ill a chance, which is why they ended up killed by those savagely violent individuals.

With heightened caution, he no longer sent out policemen, instead having them stay at the station while he and Zeng Xiaomei conducted the investigation in secret. Relying on his abundant and sophisticated criminal investigation experience, together with the important clue he had discovered earlier as well as the lead from the mental patients from the psychiatric hospital, he finally found one of the gang’s hideouts.

But as he led the police to raid the hideout, expecting to take them by surprise, an Initial Tier Bone Tempering master appeared before them, directly issuing a warning to let them know it was best to retreat, bluntly stating that this matter was out of his depth.

Moreover, his tone seemed to carry an air of familiarity with Situ Qingfeng’s background.

Of course, Situ Qingfeng was not frightened by the warning, and he considered an Initial Tier Bone Tempering individual to be insignificant. He prepared to apprehend him then and there, but the man proved to be extremely shrewd and experienced in escape, managing to elude capture.

Nevertheless, Situ Qingfeng was not discouraged. They did not know that he had already located their main lair. Even if they escaped now, he would simply head to their stronghold later and take them down in one fell swoop—they would not be able to escape.

Unexpectedly, the person who had issued the warning, merely at the Initial Tier of Bone Tempering, was not the only obstacle. As he raced to the hideout with the police, ready to apprehend and eliminate the gang members, a Peak Bone Tempering individual appeared, blocking their path. The newcomer’s moves were vicious, instantly killing several policemen.

If not for Situ Qingfeng’s quick reaction and desperate fighting, the entire squad of police might have been annihilated!

"Boss, I suspect that this child trafficking gang might be part of an international criminal organization with tremendous strength. I think they intentionally went easy on us this time. They probably knew that I was injured but still let us off the hook," Situ Qingfeng said solemnly.

He was all too aware of the specifics of the situation. While on the road, he had felt that his earlier ruse, exacerbating his internal injury and displaying a fierce demeanor, had scared the opponent away. But upon reflecting on it again, he noticed many doubts: the opponent’s meaningful glance as he left, the disparity in strength between himself and the opponent, and more. All these things were proving that the opponent might not have been scared off, but had deliberately held back, allowing him to escape.

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your vote and monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)