However, Old Master Yuan held a different opinion on this matter. He firmly opposed Yuan Ruoshen walking this path again.
Despite Old Master Yuan’s best efforts to dissuade him, Yuan Ruoshen’s determination remained exceptionally firm, completely unmoved.
Ultimately, Old Master Yuan helplessly realized that he simply could not change Yuan Ruoshen’s mind, so he could only let him go.
But now, the tragic news had arrived once more. It was as if he were facing the same sentence from seven years ago all over again, with his children dying for their country.
Old Master Yuan could no longer withstand another blow.
If there was even a single thread of hope, he had to grasp it!
“Elder Yuan, you must take care of your health. Do not worry too much. We are already having people prepare rescue measures, and the headquarters has issued an order to deploy personnel over here.”
Old Master Yuan let out another sorrowful sigh. He understood, but precisely because he understood, his heart sank further and further.
They could not afford to wait for time!
Yet, he could not let even half a shred of his emotion show.
At this moment, a black pathway suddenly materialized in the hall, startling everyone.
Bureau Chief Chen hurriedly ran in front of Old Master Yuan, standing alongside Director Zhang as they stared vigilantly at this pathway.
However, they saw a youth wearing a Daoist robe emerge from it, followed by a young man dressed in a white, wide-sleeved robe, whose head of pitch-black long hair was truly quite striking.
Old Master Yuan instantly stood up in excitement.
He pushed away the two people in front of him, walked up to Gu Yun, and grasped Gu Yun’s hands with trembling palms. “Young Master Gu Yun, you have finally arrived. You must save my Shen’er!”
Gu Yun was momentarily at a loss for what to do. Seeing an elder whom he usually respected for his seriousness lose his composure like this showed how utterly frantic he was.
He quickly said, “Senior Yuan, please do not panic. Since I have come, I will certainly do my best to help you save him.”
Old Master Yuan choked up and said, “Good! Good! Good!”
Director Zhang and Bureau Chief Chen exchanged glances. Gu? Young Master Gu?
Was it the Young Master Gu they were thinking of?
Old Master Yuan then introduced the two of them. “This is the Young Master of the reclusive Gu family from Mount Yan. I am aware of the terrifying old masters in the Ranye organization, so I would not let ordinary people go and take risks.”
“And the Spiritual Record Division is short-staffed, with most of them busy containing spiritual creatures. I, an old man, know this well and cannot delay larger matters for the sake of one person.”
Therefore, Old Master Yuan had gone to entreat the Gu family. He knew that the Gu family had always guarded Mount Yan and had their own mission, so they would not easily leave the mountain. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they would not even cooperate with the authorities.
However, the current situation was different from the past. Supernatural incidents were occurring frequently everywhere, and cooperation with the Gu family had increased.
Thus, Old Master Yuan took a gamble and tried his luck, bowing his head and pleading with others for the first time.
“Young Master Gu is a cultivator with a profound cultivation base. This old man believes that with a cultivator like Young Master Gu present, saving a person will not be an issue. This old man only has this one hope, which is to get him out safely.”
Director Zhang and Bureau Chief Chen suddenly understood. It really was that Gu family they had in mind!
They all knew of the reclusive Gu family since the Gu family did have cooperation with the authorities. However, they had only interacted with the Gu family’s diplomatic personnel in the past. Furthermore, their profession was different from that of the Spiritual Record Division, so they were not familiar with the Gu family.
But they knew that the Gu clan of Mount Yan specifically cooperated with the authorities, and their capabilities were not to be underestimated, though they generally did not leave the mountain.
They did not expect that Old Master Yuan could actually invite someone from the Gu clan, and the person who came was even the Young Master of the Gu family.
Nevertheless, thinking about Old Master Yuan’s identity and achievements, they felt reassured. No matter what, as people of the Great Xia, they held a degree of respect for a veteran of the nation.
Yan Qinyu went straight to the point and asked directly, “Have you found out where Yuan Ruoshen is?”
Bureau Chief Chen froze for a moment, but he was not someone who wasted words. Reacting instantly, he said, “We found it. The location is in the East District of Yancheng. However, it is highly likely a trap.”
Yan Qinyu replied, “Whether it is a trap or not, we must go and rescue him.”
“Do you know the exact location? We will go save him right now.”
Bureau Chief Chen expressed some displeasure. “Going over just like this is too dangerous. They certainly know we will find a way to rescue him, so there might be ambushes everywhere.”
Yan Qinyu frowned. “We are cultivators. You should have witnessed extraordinary powers before. Whatever danger there is, it is ineffective against me.”
Director Zhang, however, said, “But they have guns. Even cultivators can get hurt.”
Gu Yun chimed in, “Don’t you know? Once cultivation reaches a certain level, guns cannot harm us. The one you are talking about must have had insufficient cultivation to be injured.”
“But.” Bureau Chief Chen was still a bit hesitant.
Old Master Yuan glared at him and scolded, “Enough! Didn’t you hear what they said? State the location once you have found it!”
Bureau Chief Chen froze, realizing that he had asked too many questions and caused annoyance.
Yuan Ruoshen was the apple of Old Master Yuan’s eye, so how could he not be anxious?
Moreover, the person who came was the Young Master of the Gu family. As the Young Master of a major reclusive family, his capabilities naturally went without saying.
His own mind must have slipped to have said such things.
Bureau Chief Chen no longer hesitated and immediately said, “We have our people over in Yancheng. After you go there, look for Yan Lan. He will take you there.”
Old Master Yuan was taken aback. “Yan Lan?”
Bureau Chief Chen explained, “It is that second young master of the Yan family. He also desperately wants to rescue Yuan Ruoshen, so he has been investigating for information. The news of Yuan Ruoshen being in Yancheng was actually found by him.”
Old Master Yuan sighed, “What a good child. For Shen’er to have such a friend is a blessing.”
Since he knew where the person was, Yan Qinyu did not have the habit of wasting words with others.
Yancheng was very far from the Capital. Yan Qinyu extended his divine sense, avoided the tribulation qi, and carefully connected the spatial pathway between Yancheng and the Capital.
Yan Qinyu said, “Gu Yun, we are going directly to Yancheng.”
Seeing that Yan Qinyu had opened a spatial pathway again, Gu Yun quickly replied, “All right.”
Then he said to Bureau Chief Chen, “Please inform Yan Lan that we will head straight over.”
By the time the two left directly through the spatial pathway, Bureau Chief Chen was completely dazed.
Hiss~
Director Zhang said, “Old Master Yuan, it seems there is truly no need to worry. Since they possess such methods, they will definitely be able to rescue Ruoshen.”
East District of Yancheng.
Buildings of varying sizes intersected, traffic surged, and people came and gone.
This place was a mixed bag of all sorts of people, making it an excellent spot to hide.
Yan Qinyu, Gu Yun, and Yan Lan entered the underground city together.
After Yan Qinyu and Gu Yun reached Yancheng through the spatial pathway, Bureau Chief Chen contacted Yan Lan, asking him to meet the two individuals and go together to rescue Yuan Ruoshen.
Upon hearing Bureau Chief Chen say that the newcomers were cultivators with immensely powerful strength, the heart Yan Lan had been holding in his throat halfway settled back into his stomach.
As the direct son of the Yan family, one of the four major families, he naturally knew about cultivators and had interacted with them before.
With cultivators around, rescuing Yuan Ruoshen would be much simpler!
Based on Bureau Chief Chen’s description, Yan Lan happened to encounter Yan Qinyu and Gu Yun at the entrance of the East District of Yancheng.
The three exchanged the secret code, and Yan Lan then led the two into the underground city.
The underground city was massive. The first floor was a bar hidden between this residential compound and the suburbs, where absolutely no one would discover it.
Yan Qinyu cast a spell, directly lowering their presence.
As they walked, Yan Lan’s gaze couldn’t help but drift toward Yan Qinyu a few times. He always felt that the feeling this person gave him carried an inexplicable sense of closeness and familiarity.
Yan Qinyu suddenly asked, “Are you the direct son of the Yan family?”
Yan Lan froze for a moment, then nodded.
Yan Qinyu spoke again, “You are the second young master of the Yan family. Then do you also have an older brother?”
Bureau Chief Chen and the others had mentioned it in passing before, noting the second young master of the Yan family, so Yan Qinyu had kept it in mind.
Hearing this, Yan Lan paused, as if thinking of something sorrowful. “Yes, I also have an older brother named Yan Qinyu. We had a very good relationship. It’s just that when I was very young, my brother was abducted by enemies, and we have never been able to find him.”
Speaking up to this point, Yan Lan’s gaze darkened.
Gu Yun was shocked to his core, looking at Yan Qinyu with a completely blank expression.
“Yan, Qinyu?!”
Seeing that Gu Yun’s expression was somewhat strange, Yan Lan asked, “Is something wrong?”
Gu Yun quickly shook his head and waved his hands. “Uh… it’s nothing… it’s nothing.”
He suddenly remembered that Yan Qinyu had told him before that during the Tribulation of the Human Soul, Yan Qinyu had reincarnated as the direct son of the Yan family. Later, he was captured by enemies and sold to the Ranye organization, becoming the assassin An Qing.
So what was this, destiny?
Yan Qinyu’s gaze was complex. The Yan family.
As a natural living being, he was created by heaven and earth, possessing no father and no mother. He had finally managed to reincarnate twice and originally had the chance to experience what familial affection felt like. Yet in the end, they were fated to meet but not to stay together; he remained alone after all.
Yan Lan did not speak further. Tidying up his mood, he observed the surroundings and led the two to the entrance of the second floor.
There were three people guarding the entrance to the second floor. Yan Lan did not stand too close to them, and for the time being, he did not intend to take Yan Qinyu and Gu Yun down yet.
Yan Lan lowered his voice. “This is their branch point, but I haven’t discovered exactly where they hid the person.”
“This underground building has four floors in total. The second floor is already inconvenient to enter. Their vigilance is very high, and there are many people guarding the second floor. Your abilities are mysterious; do you have a way?”
Gu Yun looked toward Yan Qinyu.
Yan Qinyu nodded. “Let me check.”
Yan Qinyu closed his eyes and released his divine sense to investigate.
During this interval, Yan Lan asked Gu Yun, “I don’t know the names of you two yet. Hearing Chief Chen, you are the Young Master of the Gu family. Is he also a member of your Gu family?”
Gu Yun smiled. “You can just call me Gu Yun. He… uh, he is not a member of our Gu family, but he is very formidable.”
Yan Lan was somewhat surprised. “I thought you were together.”
Gu Yun did not know how to explain it. He also did not know what Yan Qinyu’s actual thoughts were. However, since Yan Qinyu had not spoken up, he probably did not want to acknowledge the relationship.
“Then how should I address him?”
Yan Qinyu finished checking the second floor without finding any issues. Hearing Yan Lan ask for his name, he said casually, “My name is Duan Fuyu.”
Yan Lan repeated, “Duan Fuyu? ‘The sea has bright pearls and tears from the moon; Blue Fields have warm sun and jade breeds smoke.’ This name is truly beautiful. But… why do I feel like it is so familiar?”
Gu Yun almost burst out laughing.
How could it not be familiar?
The Great Yan’s Guardian General of War, Duan Yan, styled Fuyu, was also called Duan Fuyu.
Yan Lan pondered for a moment and finally remembered why this name felt so familiar. “I remember now! The Great Yan’s Guardian General of War, Duan Yan, styled Fuyu! Is this name of yours, real?”
Yan Qinyu’s expression remained unchanged as he said faintly, “If it isn’t real, could it be fake? Sharing the same name is merely a coincidence.”
Gu Yun held back his laughter on the side, trying his hardest to maintain his expression.
Yan Lan revealed a look of suspicion. Was that so?
However, with so many people in the Great Xia, those sharing the same name and those sharing names with historical figures, existed in large numbers after all. Yan Lan did not dwell on the matter of the name either. In any case, their purpose was to save a person, not to worry about these trivial details.
Yan Qinyu glanced at the secretly laughing Gu Yun, gave a helpless smile, and continued to check further down.
Yet very soon, he was no longer able to smile.