Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Found Ning Xuan
"If you want to eat here, then shut your mouth. If you don’t, then get lost." Hua Shangnan was thick-skinned. No matter how many times Ning Xuan rejected and shooed him away, he kept worming his way back to her side. Out of options, Ning Xuan had stopped being polite with him.
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop talking." Normally, Hua Shangnan was someone who cared deeply about his pride, but in front of Ning Xuan, he was inwardly gleeful even when she scolded him.
’He was sure of it,’ he thought. ’As long as I can get Ning Zhi used to my presence, maybe one day she’ll accept me.’
「Central Star, Cyan Simurgh Mountain, Villa 17」
Yu Mingche was on a holographic video call with Ying Yaoshi. "I think I’ve found Ning Xuan. She’s using the alias Ning Zhi and is currently on S12 Resource Star in the Southeast Edge Star Domain. The annual attrition rate for new recruits there is extremely high. According to the official data uploaded by the base, she’s already recovered her SS-level strength. In just four short months, she’s gone from a common private to the rank of Senior Colonel. Her combat record is brilliant."
"How did you find her? Did she use her Companion Spirit in battle?" Ying Yaoshi asked with a frown.
"No. From the looks of her file, she’s cultivating a Thunder Element Technique and has a peculiar ability that counters their biggest threat there, the Thunder Beasts. That’s why she’s been able to rack up so many achievements. The squad she leads has the lowest casualty rate." Yu Mingche flipped through the files in his hand, all of which were about Ning Zhi.
The file contained no photo of her. Yu Mingche had already sent someone to acquire one.
"Without the Companion Spirit, how are you so sure it’s Ning Xuan? Ning Xuan awakened a Fire Companion Spirit, and she normally uses Fire Element Energy. Thunder Element... that’s a pretty big difference," Ying Yaoshi said, shaking his head.
"Haven’t you already established a spiritual connection with Ning Xuan? Didn’t you notice a second type of Bloodline Energy inside her?" Yu Mingche had only noticed it because back on the New Star Body, he had possessed the Companion Spirit Nine-tailed Fox and sensed it unintentionally.
"A second Bloodline Energy? Ning Xuan’s primary bloodline is so strong, even if she had a second type of Bloodline Energy, it would be impossible for her to awaken a second Companion Spirit. So how could she use its bloodline ability?" Ying Yaoshi looked completely baffled.
"This person you found might not be Ning Xuan. It could just be a similar name," Ying Yaoshi said, shaking his head as he looked through the files Yu Mingche had sent over.
Other than her suspiciously rapid increase in strength, the information about this person was vastly different from Ning Xuan’s.
"It’s fine if you don’t believe me. I’ve already sent someone to get a photo of her. We should have it back soon." Yu Mingche was very confident about Ning Zhi’s identity.
Just then, DING! A file arrived in Yu Mingche’s inbox.
Yu Mingche opened the file, glanced at it, and immediately forwarded it to Ying Yaoshi.
The person in the photo was wearing a sharp, black military uniform. She had a narrow waist, long legs, and a ramrod-straight posture. Although a long, black scar ran across her face and her hair was cut in a messy, haphazard way, her facial structure and eyes were unmistakably Ning Xuan’s.
"It really is her. Dammit, Ning Xuan is a woman! Who’s the commanding officer over there? How dare they send her onto the battlefield!" The background of Ning Xuan’s photo was a battlefield filled with crackling lightning and savage demon beasts. Just a single glance made Ying Yaoshi’s heart clench; he could tell the environment there was incredibly dangerous.
"Leng Yue, connect me to the commander-in-chief of the S12 Resource Star Base immediately. I want to see just how he dares to send a precious woman onto the battlefield!" Ying Yaoshi stared at the photo without blinking, unable to look away.
"If you don’t want to infuriate Ning Xuan, don’t be rash. Calm down first. We can recognize her only because we know her so well. If you didn’t know her, could you tell she’s a woman? Ning Xuan must have used some method to disguise herself as a man. This has nothing to do with the base over there," Yu Mingche advised.
"We still have to notify them and have them adjust her work assignment. It’s best if she’s taken off field duty," Ying Yaoshi said, still feeling uneasy as he looked at the environment in Ning Xuan’s photo.
"Have you forgotten those scheduled messages Ning Xuan sent us? One of them said we could investigate her whereabouts, but once we found her, we were forbidden from interfering with her work arrangements and forbidden from going to find her. If anyone dares to go look for her, she’ll sever all ties immediately," Yu Mingche reminded Ying Yaoshi.
"So we’re just supposed to stand by and watch? Watch her take risks in that kind of dangerous environment?" In the military, Ying Yaoshi had always been decisive and acted with swift resolution, but faced with Ning Xuan’s threat, he couldn’t help but hesitate and reconsider.
"She forbade us from interfering with her work and from going to find her. So, we can secretly send some people who aren’t directly connected to us to go help her. If we communicate with the commander over there privately, she probably won’t find out." Yu Mingche was pulling Ying Yaoshi into this discussion partly to share the risk. That way, if Ning Xuan discovered the people they sent, there would be someone else to face her wrath with him when she inevitably flew into a rage.
While Yu Mingche was on the call with Ying Yaoshi, Yan Fuzhen knocked on the door. After receiving permission, he entered with a somewhat panicked expression. "Young Master Yun is back."
Yu Mingche didn’t pay it much mind. "Doesn’t he come back once a month? What’s there to be so panicked about?"
Except for Ying Yaoshi and Lan Xin, the others had all been back before.
"He wants to see the Family Head. He’s already searching everywhere for the Family Head." Yan Fuzhen knew Ning Xuan wasn’t there, which made him nervous.
"Searching everywhere? Where has he looked?" Yu Mingche was taken aback. Yun Han knew that Ning Xuan held a position at the Second Corps Headquarters Base. He had tried to request a meeting with Ning Xuan several times, but Yu Mingche had always blocked him, using the excuse that Ning Xuan didn’t agree to it. ’What’s different this time? Why would he start searching for her the moment he returned?’
"The Family Head’s residence, the Family Head’s study, the Alchemy Room, the Practice Room—he’s searched them all. He’s about to storm his way over here!" Just as Yan Fuzhen’s voice fell, they heard the panicked voice of an Attendant outside.
"Young Master Yun, this is Lord Yu Zongzhi’s residence! You cannot force your way in without being announced!"
Yan Fuzhen gave a bow to Ying Yaoshi through the projection. The two exchanged a look, and Ying Yaoshi nodded slightly. He said a quick goodbye to Yu Mingche and cut the connection.
Since Ning Xuan had entrusted her family’s affairs to Yu Mingche, Ying Yaoshi would not get involved, regardless of how he handled them.
"Yu Mingche, Ning Xuan isn’t at the Second Corps Headquarters at all! The person Chen Nan is guarding isn’t Ning Xuan! Did something happen to her? Are you all working together to hide it from me?" Yun Han accused him, his voice full of grief and indignation.
"Close the door. All of you, get out." Yu Mingche glanced at Yan Fuzhen. Yan Fuzhen nodded, led the others out, and closed the courtyard gate.
"What are you yelling about? And what’s with that look? Do you actually think we conspired to harm Ning Xuan?" Yu Mingche snorted coldly.
