My Fairy Growth System

On the other side, in the Qi residence, the Family Head of the Qis, Qi Zhe, looked at the Blood Tracking Plate in his hand that was showing no response and silently made a decision.

Two days ago, that little thief had once again escaped from the heavily-guarded Qi family dungeons, even though his cultivation level had been sealed and he was shackled in chains.

This came as both a shock and a rage to Qi Zhe.

It had not been easy to capture that detestable thief. He had planned to slowly torment him, first by forcing out the details of the inheritance stolen previously, and then subduing him to become a dog of the Qi family.

But the duck that was ready to be served had flown away, how could he not be furious?

Immediately, he punished the clan members who were responsible for the watch that night, sending them to the mines to labor.

Fortunately, on the day the thief was captured, Qi Zhe had used an enhanced version of the Blood Tether on him, which would last a month without dissipating and had a greater sensing distance.

Moreover, the Blood Tracking Plate, this special spiritual artifact, used in combination with the Blood Tracking Technique, resulted in an even better searching effect.

Unfortunately, the discovery was made too late, and by the time they followed the sensation from the Blood Tracking Plate to pursue and kill, the sensation suddenly disappeared.

This gave Qi Zhe another shock.

Thankfully, on the following day, the Blood Tracking Plate sensed the target again, but they missed again, confirming that the thief had somehow blocked the Blood Tracking Plate’s sensation.

"You can’t escape!"

Qi Zhe took out an ancient-looking talisman, reluctantly chanting and injecting spiritual power into it to activate.

The talisman shone brightly with a green light, projecting a phantom image, with the main subject being eight enclosed stone rooms.

Recognizing the architectural style outside the stone rooms, Qi Zhe identified it as Tianxiang Pavilion.

The stone rooms were the reflection rooms.

This talisman was the Heavenly Mystery Talisman, a Third Stage talisman Qi Zhe had acquired by chance. Originally there were three, two of which had already been used; this was the last one.

However, the inheritance that the little thief had stolen was too important, so Qi Zhe gritted his teeth and used the last remaining Heavenly Mystery Talisman.

After obtaining the results, he immediately called upon the chief elder Qi Yong and third elder Qi Wei, and after some preparations, he sent Qi Wei with two teams of Enforcement Team members, along with himself and Qi Yong, straight to Tianxiang Pavilion.

It was already nightfall, and Tianxiang Pavilion was brightly lit and open for business.

Arriving at the entrance of Tianxiang Pavilion, Qi Wei instructed one team of Enforcement Team members to spread out around Tianxiang Pavilion with Qi Yong, subtly encircling it.

Seeing the group emitting an imposing aura and clearly up to no good, a mama-san approached, waving her handkerchief and smilingly said, "Greetings to the seniors and the honorable members of the Enforcement Team. I was wondering why there were magpies chirping this morning, turns out we have honored guests. Please come inside."

"Today we’re not here for the ladies, we have an escaped fugitive, and there is sufficient evidence that he is hiding inside Tianxiang Pavilion right now. We are here to search for this individual, please grant us passage. This is the Enforcement Team’s search warrant."

Qi Wei spoke expressionlessly, while producing a paper warrant.

Tianxiang Pavilion was not to be trifled with, and the preparations made by Qi Zhe were mainly for this purpose, to have an official reason.

"Such grandeur from Family Head Qi and Captain Qi, surrounding Tianxiang Pavilion immediately upon arriving, and accusing us of harboring a fugitive. Tianxiang Pavilion certainly does not dare to bear such an infamy of harboring criminals. May I know which fugitive it is? And what evidence proves that this person is within our Tianxiang Pavilion?"

A middle-aged beautiful matron, accompanied by eight Protecting Disciples, stepped out of Tianxiang Pavilion and asked sharply.

"It turns out to be Steward Liu. Please don’t misunderstand, Steward Liu. We are only preventing the suspect from escaping. You must have heard, too, how a thief broke into the Qi family’s treasure trove not long ago, brutally killing many of our Qi family members and stealing many of our precious collections, resulting in his being wanted by the Enforcement Team.

We have just received a tipoff that someone saw this thief hiding in Tianxiang Pavilion, and that is why we have come to search."

Qi Wei looked at the middle-aged woman in front of him with some apprehension, patiently explaining the situation.

This woman was none other than the head manager of the miscellaneous affairs at Tianxiang Pavilion, Liu Sandao.

To others, the position of head manager of miscellaneous affairs might not seem very important, but in reality, she not only managed the miscellaneous matters but also had authority over the Protecting Disciples of Tianxiang Pavilion. She was also the only cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, apart from Tower Master Gongsun.

"How is it that I’ve heard the thief has already been captured by you? Why are you here at Tianxiang Pavilion searching for someone now?"

Liu Sandao asked playfully.

Qi Wei’s face darkened, uncertain of how to reply.

The Qis certainly wouldn’t publicize the fact that the young master Fu had escaped again.

At this moment, Qi Zhe stepped forward and said, "Manager Liu, my respects. To be frank, we did capture him, but unfortunately, the thief was cunning and managed to escape. We are hoping for your assistance, Manager Liu. The Qis would be endlessly grateful."

Liu Sandao was somewhat surprised to hear this, surprised that someone who had been captured could still escape, and even more surprised that Qi Zhe would openly admit such a thing without concern for losing face.

She gained more respect for Qi Zhe, but she responded, "I cannot accept the Qis’ gratitude. However, you may search. What if you find him, and what if you don’t?"

Qi Zhe said, "We have taken the liberty of bothering you this time, and for that we are truly sorry. Here are two high-quality Second Stage Heavenly Thunder Talismans as compensation for our intrusion; would that be acceptable?"

He then took out two exquisitely crafted talismans from his Storage Bag, having prepared for this eventuality.

Liu Sandao accepted the Heavenly Thunder Talismans and for the first time, a smile appeared on her face, "In that case, we will extend this courtesy to the Qis’ Family Head."

She then stepped aside to open the path leading inside.

Qi Zhe and Qi Wei, along with a team from the Enforcement Team, entered Tianxiang Pavilion and headed straight toward the direction of the Punishment Room.

Soon, the group arrived at their destination.

With a curious expression, Liu Sandao looked at the Punishment Room being examined by Qi Zhe and asked, "Family Head Qi, do you suspect the person you’re looking for is inside here?"

"Yes, please grant us this convenience, Manager Liu."

Without further ado, Liu Sandao instructed one of the Protecting Disciples to take the keys to the Punishment Room from the hands of the servants guarding it and then opened the stone doors one by one.

Out of eight Punishment Rooms, five were empty, and the remaining three had disciples reflecting on their actions therein; one of them was naturally Yu Qingtan.

The moment Yu Qingtan heard a faint noise from the heavy stone door, she quickly retrieved the Moonlight Stone and Sun Flame Jade back into her System Space.

As the stone door opened, Qi Zhe’s Divine Sense quickly scanned the inside of the stone room, finding it entirely empty.

Qi Zhe’s heart sank. He personally walked into each stone chamber and conducted a thorough search, then used his Divine Sense to meticulously scan the small courtyard, including the underground area.

He found nothing, and his expression turned as dark as water, as he looked at the Tianxiang Pavilion disciples coming out of the Punishment Room.

"Family Head Qi, you’re not suggesting one of these Tianxiang Pavilion girls is the wanted criminal you’re looking for, are you? They’ve been raised by Tianxiang Pavilion since they were little, and their cultivation is all at the Qi Cultivation Stage,"

said Liu Sandao.

"Of course not, Manager Liu. You misunderstand. Let’s continue our search elsewhere,"

Qi Zhe said, suppressing his thoughts.

"You are free to search open areas and other non-critical places, of course, but locations such as the library and the Tower Master’s personal chambers are off-limits."

"Naturally."

Qi Zhe didn’t hold much hope but decided to try one last time regardless.