Chapter 11: A Lost and Wandering Sunday (5)
When we arrived at Lanhua’s house, a woman in pajamas greeted us.
This person was probably Lanhua’s aunt. Although it’s rude to say, she had a strange aura about her, like a doll decaying from the inside. Was Lanhua influenced by this woman, which caused her to become so abnormal?
I hid my discomfort and tried to politely ask if Lanhua was home, but the answer was no.
“What are you saying? Lanhua isn’t home?”
“Yes, she probably left… suddenly went out and hasn’t returned since. Honestly, this child has caused you trouble again, hasn’t she?”
Did it start from the day Juncheng died?
Where did she go?
Could she have gone to find the Yata no Kagami alone?
This is bad. If Lanhua gets there first, things will spiral out of control!
She wouldn’t make a kind and benevolent choice like ‘for everyone’; instead, she would choose the path of possessing Juncheng all by herself!
With that thought, I immediately left Lanhua’s house, devised a new plan, and began a comprehensive search for Lanhua.
This kind of carpet search continued until…
It was Teachers’ Day, Sunday, and there was still no progress.
A living person seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving not a single trace.
Did she already find Juncheng through the mirror?
Perhaps she entered some hidden world… Has she hidden the mirror in a place where we’ll never find it?
For the past while, besides pretending to be Juncheng and going to class, I spent the rest of my time at the Investigation Department’s Class 6 building, collecting information with others and searching for Lanhua.
I leaned back wearily against the chair, pressing my fingers to the area below my eyes to relieve the strain.
“Lord Zi’ai, you are too tired. Please get some rest.”
“We haven’t found any clues yet, how can I rest? To find Juncheng’s soul, we must first find the Yata no Kagami. Lanhua is the only one who knows its whereabouts, but now even Lanhua is missing… What is going on? These troublesome events, as if they were planned, tsk.”
I spat with a distinct lack of ladylike decorum, which was enough to show how terrible my mood was.
This roundabout, long quest line, like those found in domestic online games, made my mood worse.
“Who knows where Lanhua is right now? She might have already left this city. Are there any other departments with news?”
“Yes, there is no news for now. Senior Lanhua has a very high level of tracking and searching ability, so her counter-tracking and counter-searching abilities are also at the highest level. In fact, she alone can handle the workload of an entire department. Moreover, Senior Lanhua has blackmailed people and turned them into her subordinates, creating her own information-gathering organization. Her search capabilities might even surpass those of the Investigation Department. This organization, similar to the members of the ‘Troupe,’ used to cooperate with our organization, but recently, all information supply has been cut off… Thinking back now, Senior Lanhua probably started preparing to hide herself around that time.”
“She’s truly a cunning woman…”
No wonder Juncheng sometimes called her Lanhua the Fox; she indeed possessed fox-like wisdom.
In the end, even in this special situation, she has the leisure to play hide-and-seek with us. This completely explains what kind of woman she is.
Is she determined to have Juncheng all to herself this time?
“Then, Yu Hui, do you know the name of Lanhua’s organization?”
Upon hearing my question, Yu Hui awkwardly scratched his nose and said.
“Yes, I know. It’s called ‘Sky Net.’ In fact, I am also a member of this organization. However, I am different from other members. I wasn’t blackmailed by Senior Lanhua, but rather I made a deal with her…”
“You’re a member too, Yu Hui…”
That’s right. Yu Hui’s various abilities are very convenient, and he always stayed close to Juncheng. Lanhua wouldn’t possibly overlook Yu Hui. A comprehensive surveillance with no blind spots? Juncheng was truly under ‘loving’ ‘protection.’
Although he ended up dying, though… heh…
Hearing my murmurs, Yu Hui perhaps thought I was blaming him and fell silent. He lowered his head and said with difficulty.
“…Because at that time, I thought it was a good deal. In short, it’s information sharing. I would help report Lord Juncheng’s location in special circumstances, and normally Senior Lanhua would provide me with Lord Juncheng’s location…”
“No, I don’t blame you. If anything, it’s thanks to you that we haven’t been searching without any plan. Do you have any way to find some informants?”
“There is almost no communication between members of the ‘Sky Net’ organization. Everyone contacts Senior Lanhua directly, so I don’t even know how many people there are. After all, concealing identities is also an important factor in gathering information.”
“…”
Although I knew things wouldn’t be simple, hearing it firsthand still caused some disappointment.
What they did was so seamless that they left us not even a single clue or loophole.
I truly have to admire you, Lanhua…
You should be the most ‘ordinary’ person by Juncheng’s side, not having awakened any special abilities so far, yet you’ve managed to achieve this much with just a single obsession…
“Please cheer up! Things will work out eventually!”
The robot maid brought a cup of coffee to me. Ai clasped her fists and encouraged me.
“Yes, if Zi’ai collapses from exhaustion, others will be even more at a loss.”
Phil also clasped my hands and earnestly persuaded me. The round shadow on the coffee table was also making various encouraging gestures.
“…Xiao Fei, you and Shadow, and…”
“Xiao Ai is right, and that was also Juncheng’s catchphrase—no, it was your catchphrase too, wasn’t it?”
Eddie looked up and adjusted his glasses, glancing at me. For some reason, I felt his gaze was a bit complex, as if he wanted to say something.
“What is it? Just say it if you have something to say.”
“Nothing… Anyway, everyone else in the class is also helping to find Juncheng. I’ve already asked those few ‘insiders’ who are most sensitive to magical artifacts. After all, even if we can’t find Lanhua, as long as we find the Yata no Kagami, it’ll be fine. Speaking of which, if we can use some items collected by the organization, the search can become a little easier.”
“Lily has already gone to apply for permission. These procedures cannot be streamlined, so it’s taking a lot of time.”
Since the search had been stagnant, we were also preparing to use some unconventional methods.
Using the anomalous items from the organization, we would find Lanhua in the simplest and most brute-force way.
Clang!
“…Ha!”
Lily burst in, panting heavily as she held her knees. Sweating profusely, she raised the paper in her hand, unable to hide the excited smile on her face.
“Zi’ai! Permission granted!”
I immediately perked up, stood up, and slammed the table.
“Excellent! Commence the hunt immediately! The targets are Lanhua and the Yata no Kagami!”
After experiencing confusion, overcoming hesitation, and grasping that sliver of a clue amidst the bewilderment.
Now, we stand at the starting line!
