Free Web NovelChapter 234: Chapter 234: The Missing People of Qi Yuan City
Qi Yuan City was the city closest to Beast God City, and Yu An reached it in three days by carriage. freewebnovёl.ƈom
A messenger from the Beast God Hall’s branch temple, who had long been waiting outside the city, spotted the carriage and rushed forward to greet them.
A city as large as Qi Yuan City should have been bustling and prosperous, but the moment Yu An stepped out of her carriage, she sensed something was amiss.
As far as the eye could see, the streets were nearly empty. The few people she saw scurried along, looking as though they wished they had flaming wheels on their feet to get them home faster.
"It’s related to that strange incident," Ao Yi said softly. "Hundreds of citizens have gone missing in Qi Yuan City, so now people are too afraid to go out."
Master Zhu, the head of the branch temple, added, "Hall Master, it is as the East Hall Master says. I feared more people would disappear, so I ordered the citizens to stay in their homes and not go out unless it is absolutely necessary."
People only ventured out if they had no food left at home. Even then, they would hurry back as quickly as possible, terrified of being the next to disappear.
Yu An nodded. "Go on. Have you found any clues? And since you call it a ’strange incident,’ it can’t be a typical missing persons case. What, exactly, is so ’strange’ about it?"
Master Zhu glanced at Ao Yi, but Ao Yi said, "You should tell her, Master Zhu. You’re more familiar with the situation here than I am."
"Yes," Master Zhu said, nodding to Yu An. "Hall Master, what’s strange is that there were no signs of a struggle where they vanished. You would think that with so many people disappearing, at least a few would have fought back when they were taken."
"What’s more, five of them disappeared in broad daylight, right in front of witnesses. According to the townspeople who saw it, the five were just walking down the road, and then they were gone."
Yu An considered this for a moment. "Who was the first person to disappear? Take me to the spot where they vanished."
Master Zhu hurriedly replied, "It was a youth from a nearby village. Hall Master, you and the East Hall Master have had a long journey. Please, come into the city and rest first."
"That’s not necessary," Yu An said with a wave of her hand. "We’re going now."
’The people are all believers and children of the Beast God,’ she thought. ’Since I am the Hall Master appointed by the Beast God himself, I have to do my job properly before I can focus on uncovering the truth of my own memories.’
She was concerned about the missing townspeople—the sooner she solved the case, the fewer people would come to harm. She was also anxious to return to Beast Emperor City, afraid that Feng Xuan and Zaizai were worried about her.
Master Zhu had no choice but to say, "Hall Master, I will lead the way."
The village wasn’t far from Qi Yuan City, and soon, Yu An and her party arrived at the home of the first person who had disappeared.
The path to where the child had vanished passed by her home, so Yu An decided to stop in to learn more about the situation.
The Beast God Envoys stationed in the village accompanied them. Through them, Yu An learned that the missing person was a ten-year-old girl named Zhou Liu. She was the cherished only child of a family of three, born to her parents late in life.
Ever since her disappearance, her parents had spent their days in tears. When they heard that Yu An was the Hall Master of the Beast God Hall, the elderly couple rushed to tell her the story all over again.
"I was sick that day," the mother began. "I mentioned that I was craving some fish soup, and I never imagined my daughter would overhear. She went to the nearby lake to catch some fish for me."
Wiping away tears, Mrs. Zhou continued, "But she hadn’t come back by nightfall. The villagers went out to search, but... we couldn’t find a trace of her, dead or alive..."
She choked back her sobs, but finally broke down completely. "Why did I have to be so greedy?" she wailed. "If I hadn’t said I wanted fish soup, my little girl would still be safe!"
Yu An consoled her. "Aunt Zhou, please don’t worry. I promise you, the Beast God Hall will find your daughter. You must take care of yourself. I’m going to take my people to the lake now to investigate."
Mrs. Zhou nodded tearfully. Ever since Zhou Liu disappeared, she had been so ill she could barely get out of bed. She clung to the hope that her child was still alive, forcing herself to go on living for that reason alone.
Mr. Zhou rose to see Yu An and her party out. As they passed through the main hall, the corner of Yu An’s eye caught a memorial tablet on an altar.
She hadn’t noticed it on her way in. Now, a casual glance revealed the name carved on the tablet: Zhou Yang.
’Zhou Yang... Zhou Liu,’ she thought. ’The names sound like they belong to siblings.’
"Uncle Zhou, that is..."
Mr. Zhou glanced at it and explained, "Hall Master, that is the memorial tablet for my son, Zhou Yang. Before our Liu’er, we had another child, a son named Zhou Yang."
"Our son, Yang’er, passed away in an accident when he was twenty-two. His mother and I nearly gave up on life then. It was only when we discovered she was pregnant that we found the strength to carry on."
Yu An hadn’t meant to stir up such painful memories. "My condolences," she said quickly.
After leaving the house, the party headed straight for the spot where Zhou Liu had disappeared.
The scene had been completely trampled, as many villagers had come searching on the night Zhou Liu went missing.
Yu An immediately ordered another search of the area. She also had several dozen Water Clan Beastmen dive into the lake to search it again.
Seeing this, Master Zhu quickly interjected, "Hall Master, the lake isn’t very deep. My men have already searched it many times, but unfortunately, they found nothing."
"What about a scrap of Zhou Liu’s clothing? Not even the slightest clue?"
Master Zhu gave a wry smile. "Nothing. It’s as if the child vanished into thin air. When I brought my men here, we checked. Her footprints stopped right at the water’s edge."
This meant she couldn’t have gone somewhere else. And with no signs of a struggle or of her falling in, plus the lack of a body, it proved that Zhou Liu hadn’t drowned in the lake.
Yu An’s brow furrowed. "’No trace of her, dead or alive...’ If that’s the case..."
’Who could possibly be powerful enough to make someone vanish into thin air?’
’And with over a hundred people missing... if they’re still alive, keeping them fed and watered would be a massive undertaking.’
’Unless they’re already...’
Yu An forced herself to stop that line of thought. It was the worst-case scenario.
"Hall Master," Ao Yi said, just as Yu An was pushing the dark possibility from her mind. "I once suspected that people were being taken by wild beasts from the mountains. The lack of tracks on the ground suggested it might be a flying beast."
"But when the Beast God created the Endless Land, He populated it with only small animals. Large, ferocious flying beasts are exceedingly rare here."
"Combined with the fact that some people vanished in plain sight, that theory doesn’t hold up."
Just then, the Beastmen who had dived into the lake returned, reporting that they had found nothing.
As night was falling, Yu An gave the order to head back for the day. Tomorrow, they would visit the homes of the other missing people to see if they could find any clues.
Master Zhu, who was rather stout, was already panting from the excursion. Wiping sweat from his face, he said, "Hall Master, I’ve prepared a residence for you and the East Hall Master to rest. It’s a humble abode, I hope the Hall Master will not be offended by its simplicity."
Yu An expected an ordinary residence. She had given clear instructions beforehand that since she was only staying for a few days, there was no need for extravagance.
But when they arrived back in Qi Yuan City and she saw this so-called "humble abode," her expression darkened instantly.
It was a sprawling mansion with three main halls and three courtyards. Everything inside was exquisitely and lavishly decorated. Even the paving stones on the ground were not common pebbles, but fine, high-quality jade.
The look on Yu An’s face was fleeting; she quickly schooled her features back to normal. "This residence is quite nice," she remarked casually.
Master Zhu chuckled. "You may not know this, Hall Master, but I keep this residence specifically for entertaining distinguished guests from Beast God City."
"Oh?"
Yu An glanced at Ao Yi. "And who, exactly, has stayed here?"
