“So… is this the place where the child finally disappeared?”
In the messy room, Li Meng stood by the bed where Tommy had last been seen.
She could feel it; this spot was the area in the room where the concentration of Nether Breath was the thickest.
Qiu Qiqian was also in the room, her eyes scanning every corner of the cluttered, chaotic space.
“Yes. Judging by the residual Nether Breath at the scene, the Guiyi that took the child was… Chimay-class,” the female Youxun who had been pinned against the wall earlier explained to Li Meng.
She seemed mostly unhurt, though there were several cracks on the surface of her armor.
“Chimay-class again? It feels like we’ve been dealing with this level of Guiyi constantly lately… Is their appearance frequency usually this high?”
Qiu Qiqian frowned as she analyzed the situation.
She wasn’t a local of this world, after all.
If Chimay-class Guiyi were truly this common… then she would have nothing more to say.
Li Meng didn’t listen closely to Qiu Qiqian’s muttering.
She simply crouched down, placing her hand on the bed where the child had vanished.
She absorbed a sliver of the residual Nether Breath into her body to make it easier to track the creature’s trail later.
“So… if it was Chimay-class, why weren’t we notified from the start?”
Li Meng closed her eyes, beginning to gather that portion of Nether Breath into her eyes to act as a catalyst for tracking its flow.
As she did, she questioned the Youxun Sentry.
“My apologies. It was because the Guiyi the first victim encountered was only at the Violent Beast level. According to the Response Regulations, that falls within our standard scope of handling.”
“It started as a Violent Beast level… You mean… a new one arrived?”
Qiu Qiqian interjected from the side.
“To be precise, one with an identical appearance arrived, but its actual rank was Chimay-class.”
Hearing this, Li Meng’s brow furrowed.
She had seen Guiyi with identical appearances before—quite many, in fact—but they were usually of the same rank.
Moreover… cases of them providing reinforcements were rare.
Her intuition told her that this Guiyi was likely not that simple.
“Is there any other information?”
“Yes. That Guiyi… it kept using a blurred, indistinct voice to convey something to us. Things like… ‘It can see us,’ and ‘It can see all of us.'”
“That sort of thing… should just be junk information transmitted by a Guiyi to spread fear,” Qiu Qiqian interrupted again.
As a Guiyi herself, she didn’t sense any other supernatural presence in the room.
“And… is there anything else?”
Li Meng continued to press, opening her eyes to observe the flow of the Nether Breath.
“The boy’s parents said he heard the Guiyi constantly saying… ‘Become me,’ ‘Merge with me,’ and things like that…”
‘Become me… merge with me…’
‘This Guiyi couldn’t be one of those with transformation abilities, could it? That would be trouble…’
Qiu Qiqian nibbled slightly on her finger, a habit she had whenever she felt things were getting difficult.
“I understand. You may head out first. I… have some things to discuss with my partner.”
“Understood.”
The leading female Youxun glanced at Qiu Qiqian before leaving.
Although she had never heard of Miss Li Meng—a Youxun of the Nether Body—having a… partner, she had no right to question it if Li Meng said so.
After one last look, she left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
“Xiao Qian~ what should we do~”
As soon as the Sentry left, Li Meng turned to Qiu Qiqian for help, her voice carrying a hint of a sob.
“Your personality shift is a bit too drastic…”
Qiu Qiqian said with a helpless tone.
She walked over to Li Meng’s side and gently patted her back.
“A child was kidnapped, so of course I had to be serious. Besides, I heard that the local Youxun Sentry Post has received many reports that are almost identical to this one…”
“Can’t you see the flow of the Nether Breath? You can find the Guiyi’s location based on that.”
“Well… that’s what I thought, too, but… I just realized that the only place where I can see the Nether Breath flowing is this room.”
“You mean… that Guiyi appeared in this room out of nowhere?”
“It likely used the Inner World to move. Many Guiyi use that method.”
“Moving through the Inner World? That really is a hassle…”
“Exactly… This guy doesn’t have a summoning ritual or a fixed entrance… That makes it hard to catch him in the Inner World. We can’t exactly… have you pretend to be a child to lure him out, right?”
As she reached this point, Li Meng actually took a moment to imagine Qiu Qiqian wearing children’s pajamas, lying on a bed and shivering.
Her previously sorrowful expression vanished instantly as she let out a pfft and giggled.
“Hey… I’m saying, don’t make fun of me at a time like this.”
Qiu Qiqian flicked her forehead, feeling a bit speechless, even though it didn’t actually hurt Li Meng.
The girl cooperatively rubbed her forehead anyway.
“Ahem. Seriously though, I’ve had a question for a while… Why can Guiyi travel through the Inner World almost without any obstruction?”
Qiu Qiqian raised this critical point.
Hearing it, Li Meng pursed her lips in thought.
“Hmm… Honestly, even the Association hasn’t fully figured out the reason. But generally speaking, it’s likely because the physical constitutions of various Guiyi highly overlap. If we compare the Inner World to a layer of invisible ‘water,’ then… all Guiyi possess a water-soluble constitution.”
“…”
Qiu Qiqian remained silent.
She rubbed her chin in thought for a moment before crouching down and touching the messy bed with her hand.
For the first second, Li Meng’s eyes held a trace of confusion.
However, perhaps because they had spent so much time together lately and developed a certain rapport, she clapped her hands together in realization a second later.
“Could it be… Xiao Qian, are you going to use your own Guiyi constitution to try and enter that Guiyi’s Inner World?”
“Hey, don’t say it so loud!”
Qiu Qiqian hurriedly reached out to cover Li Meng’s mouth.
The soft, warm sensation of the girl’s lips naturally transferred to Qiu Qiqian’s hand, while the strange, exotic fragrance on Qiu Qiqian’s body filled Li Meng’s nose.
Qiu Qiqian didn’t care about such small details right now.
She focused on listening to the movement outside the door.
After confirming there was none, she whispered her instructions to Li Meng.
“There are other people outside. Don’t let them hear about my true identity…”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Li Meng nodded obediently, like a little girl admitting she was wrong.
Seeing this, Qiu Qiqian immediately let go to prevent her low body temperature from freezing Li Meng’s lips.
Well, even though such a thing was practically impossible.
“But… even if you can get in, Xiao Qian, I don’t know if I can.”
Li Meng’s words reminded Qiu Qiqian of a problem.
She and Li Meng were in a sort of bonded relationship; they couldn’t be too far apart.
Based on previous experience, she might be forcibly pulled back to Li Meng the moment she entered because of the “bond,” since Li Meng was the primary host.
But… what if she were in a state of… Possession?
“Li Meng,” Qiu Qiqian said, suddenly turning her head.
She looked at Li Meng with a very serious gaze, making the other girl feel slightly flustered.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Are you willing to give me your body… temporarily?”
“Huh? Oh… okay~”
Li Meng nodded.
After spending several days with Qiu Qiqian, she trusted this girl with light brown hair almost completely.
***
A moment later, the Youxun waiting outside grew worried when she heard no movement inside.
Fearing an accident had occurred, she opened the door and poked her head in to check the situation.
In the bedroom, there was now only one person—Li Meng, who was crouching by the bed.
The other elegant girl with light brown hair was nowhere to be found.
‘Did she leave? But I didn’t see her come through the door.’
The Youxun looked at the open window and naturally assumed Qiu Qiqian had jumped out to leave, even though they were on the thirteenth floor.
But then again… they were Nether Bodies.
It was understandable that they acted differently from ordinary people.
“Um, Miss Li Meng, did your partner leave for the time being?”
Out of professional duty, the Youxun asked anyway.
“Yes. She just left to investigate some other things.”
Li Meng’s voice was as sweet and pure as before, but her tone… seemed to have become slightly cold and aloof.
The Youxun didn’t find this strange; she simply thought the youngest Youxun had become serious, which caused the change.
After confirming the situation, the Youxun gave a simple acknowledgment and continued to stand guard at the door.
She failed to notice that “Li Meng’s” grey pupils had now been tinged with gold, becoming significantly sharper.
“Now then… next…”
Qiu Qiqian, now in control of Li Meng’s body, took a long breath and placed her hand on the bed.
She didn’t absorb all the Nether Breath into the body.
Instead, after taking in a small amount, she released her own Nether Breath, mixing it with the residue.
Also using it as a “catalyst,” Qiu Qiqian wasn’t using it to peer at the flow.
She was using it to see something… deeper.
Something… akin to a “door.”
And now, she was going to use her own power, mixed with the inhaled Nether Breath, to forge a “key” and force this door open.