# 1560
Chapter 1556: The Missing Patient
"The remains of Jiang Er will be placed in the Spirit Spring of the Heavenly Court. The spiritual energy there can maintain her brain activity, so even if you sink into the Spirit Abyss, she will survive." Lingbao Tianzun said slowly.
"However... she cannot seal her consciousness like you can, nor can she stray too far from the Spirit Spring."
An Qingyu's brow furrowed slightly. "You mean she'll be trapped in the Heavenly Court from now on?"
He could deal with being sealed into the Spirit Abyss himself, but if Jiang Er remained in the Heavenly Court, she would only be waiting for his return as time passed. That wouldn't just be a few years... for her, it would be a tormenting wait of a hundred or even a thousand years, no different from imprisonment.
"Not necessarily. We could have someone carry her down to the mortal realm regularly. In the short term, it should be fine..."
"I won't!" Before Lingbao Tianzun could finish, Jiang Er spoke resolutely. "I'll stay right here by the Spirit Abyss in the Heavenly Court. I'm not going anywhere until you come back."
An Qingyu looked at her helplessly, as if wanting to persuade her otherwise. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to Lingbao Tianzun.
"In any case, this is the optimal solution we arrived at after discussion... An Qingyu, what do you think?"
An Qingyu nodded. "It's very reasonable. Mobilizing all the power of the Great Xia gods to set up the seal makes me feel almost overwhelmed... Actually, if killing me could solve the Great Xia's problem with one of the Cthulhu Faction's Three Pillars, I wouldn't object."
Lingbao Tianzun looked at him deeply, guilt flickering in his eyes, but he still said:
"Since you agree, I'll have the gods begin preparing the seal... The preparation will take three or four days. My true form is still in the Mist, so the Jade Emperor will preside over the sealing ritual. If you have any other requests, you can go directly to him."
"Understood."
"Oh, and there's one more thing." Lingbao Tianzun seemed to remember something. "As the Migo descend and are killed by Great Xia gods, the power from their life sacrifice will continuously strengthen your connection to the Gate of Truth. This may cause some temporal disturbances around you, but they shouldn't be too severe.
Also, if you feel the call of the Gate of Truth in the next few days, absolutely do not approach it. Otherwise, the suppressing force that Yuanshi Tianzun placed in your soul will be difficult to maintain.
If the suppression breaks through, the Gate of Truth's recovery will accelerate, and things will become very troublesome."
"明白。"
With that, Lingbao Tianzun nodded, his form gradually fading from the air. Soon, only An Qingyu and Jiang Er remained in the ancient pavilion.
An Qingyu stared at the empty spot before him and let out a long sigh:
"The seal, then..."
...
Outside the Night Watch headquarters.
Two figures walked silently along the broad tree-lined avenue. Falling leaves drifted to the ground, making soft rustling sounds under their feet.
"Qiye, what do we do next?" After an unknown amount of time, Cao Yuan finally spoke, his voice somewhat low.
Lin Qiye lowered his head, brow furrowed, as if deep in thought...
Finally, he stopped walking.
"We go to the Heavenly Court as planned." His tone was firmer than before.
"Commander Zuo doesn't want us going to the Heavenly Court because he's worried we'll clash with the Gods of Great Xia over Qingyu... I understand his concerns, but Qingyu is a member of [Nightfall] nonetheless. Whatever he has to face, we have a responsibility to stand by his side."
Cao Yuan nodded vigorously. "I'm with you."
After a pause, he still asked: "However... the Heavenly Court has entered the Mist. How are we supposed to get there?"
"Finding the Heavenly Court won't be difficult."
As Lin Qiye spoke, he bent down and casually picked up a twig, his eyes narrowing slightly...
"It'll just take some time."
...
A Somersault Cloud shot across the border of Great Xia and vanished into the Mist.
Lin Qiye picked a random direction and pushed the Somersault Cloud to its maximum speed. While the "miracle" didn't work every time, as long as he tried enough, he could eventually locate the Heavenly Court.
Since returning from Asgard, Lin Qiye hadn't entered the Mist again. The difference this time was that there were only two people on the Somersault Cloud.
While Splitting his attention to control the Somersault Cloud, Lin Qiye dove his consciousness into the Asylum of the Gods in his mind.
"Respected King of Heroes, it's time for your medicine."
"..."
"What's going on? How is there still such a big stain on these sun-dried sheets? The logistics department! What is the logistics department even doing?!"
"..."
"Oh, isn't this the respected Holy Sovereign? Come, I've prepared the chess board and chairs. Let me play a few games with you?"
"..."
"I've told you people countless times, you cannot horseplay in public areas! I've only been gone for a few days, and you people are trying to tear the hospital apart aren't you?!"
"..."
As Lin Qiye entered the asylum, a cacophony of chaotic noise came from the courtyard. Hearing that familiar voice, he suddenly froze and hurried forward.
"Li Yifei?!" He saw that familiar face and spoke in shock.
"Good afternoon, Qiye." Li Yifei, who had been standing with his hands on his hips directing operations, grinned when he saw Lin Qiye. "Look at this place. I've only been gone for a few days and they've become completely slack... Sooner or later, I'm going to teach them a lesson."
Lin Qiye stared at Li Yifei for a long time, puzzled. "Shouldn't you be at Shangjing University? Why did you come back?"
"To be honest, university life is just so-so. After thinking about it carefully, I actually missed this place, so I came back on my own." Li Yifei sighed. "Indeed, I'm still not comfortable letting someone else run this hospital for me..."
Lin Qiye looked at him with complex emotions in his eyes, touched in his heart, and for a moment didn't know what to say.
"Don't make that face. We're brothers, aren't we...? I chose to come back myself, didn't I?" Li Yifei slapped his shoulder. "By the way, there's something I want to show you."
"What?"
Lin Qiye followed Li Yifei to the center of the courtyard, where a chess board lay quietly on the stone table.
"You've been playing chess with Ye Lander again?"
"Yeah, I was just thinking it's been so long since we last met, so I wanted to catch up with him." Li Yifei paused. "However... this game of chess is a bit strange."
Lin Qiye's gaze fell on the chess board, his eyes narrowing slightly...
He saw that every corner of the board was filled with pieces, and they were all black pieces. Only near the side where Li Yifei sat was there a single white piece, standing out conspicuously among the sea of black.
"How did you manage to fill the entire board?" Lin Qiye asked, puzzled.
"We didn't play. The old man grabbed a handful of pieces and scattered them, and it ended up like this. Then he smiled at me... I don't know how to put it, but I feel like something isn't right." Li Yifei scratched his head.
Lin Qiye stared at the chess board for a long time. "Where is Ye Lander?"
"No idea. I didn't pay attention after the game ended. Want me to help you look?"
"Sure."
Li Yifei turned and left. Lin Qiye sat alone in front of the chess board, staring at the full board of black pieces, deep in thought.
What was he trying to express...
After some time had passed, Li Yifei rushed over from the side.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Lin Qiye asked, confused.
"Something's wrong, Qiye..." Li Yifei's eyes widened. "Ye Lander is gone!"