# 416
Chapter 416 – The Missing File
“Tsk… nothing but trouble.”
The man in the white-fox mask narrowed his eyes, fixing them on the figures riding wind and flame as they chased after Baili Pangpang.
He raised his right hand slowly. On his index and middle fingers glinted two rings—one silver-white, one pitch-black.
Snap—!!
A crisp finger-snap echoed through the night.
The four Forbidden Artifact Envoys who had been racing on the wind suddenly froze mid-air!
In an instant, every wisp of air was sucked away; the surrounding wind and flames vanished. A suffocation they had never felt before clamped their hearts.
Deprived of the wind’s lift, the four plummeted toward the forest below, eyes wide as they scanned the darkness for something—anything.
The three riders on the imitation 【Yaoguang】 also ground to a halt. Veins bulged across their bodies while they clawed at their throats, pain twisting their faces.
In seconds, every pursuer was pinned in place.
The white-fox-masked youth watched calmly. Once he was sure Baili Pangpang had escaped, he slid his hands into his pockets and melted back into the dark woods.
Twenty minutes later, another figure appeared among the trees.
“Shen Qingzhu, I heard noise your way. Did you pick up Baili Tuming’s trail?” the newcomer asked, stepping closer.
Shen Qingzhu shook his head. “No trace of Baili Tuming, Ninth Seat. Only other Baili clansmen searching—no idea where he’s run off to.”
The Ninth Seat frowned thoughtfully. “Baili’s own people are out hunting him… Are they protecting him, or after him like we are?”
Shen Qingzhu hesitated. “We’re chasing the bounty, but they’re family. Why would the Baili clan want him dead?”
“Who knows? Big clans are messy—every kind of monster inside.” The Ninth Seat sighed. “Let’s re-map his possible escape routes. If the next ambush fails, we’ll have to stake out Guangshen City.”
Shen Qingzhu nodded. “Understood.”
…
Gusu City.
Ding-dong—!
The doorbell rang. Lin Qiye, on the sofa, lifted a brow, strode to the door, peered through the peephole, and opened up.
“Captain Lin Qiye,” greeted the casual-clothed courier, offering a long black case. “Your repaired bow is finished, along with your new medal and team paperwork. Please sign.”
Lin Qiye accepted the case, scribbled on the Night Watch data-pad, and carried it inside.
The safe-house—an abandoned-looking villa on Gusu’s outskirts—was secretly maintained for Night Watch use. No one else knew it existed.
Jialan hurried over, pointing at the black case and then at herself, eyes bright.
“M-mine?”
“Yours.” Lin Qiye handed it over with a smile. “Open it.”
She set the case on the coffee table, pressed the latch, and the lid popped. Nestled in shaped foam lay a pale-yellow hardwood bow.
Jialan’s eyes lit up. She lifted it gently, fingers gliding along the flawless limbs—no crack remained; it looked untouched.
A soft smile curved her lips, pure delight in her gaze.
“Looks exactly the same,” Cao Yuan remarked from the sofa, puzzled.
Lin Qiye plucked a card from the foam. “Headquarters said remolding the limbs with Straight Blade alloy would kill the elasticity, so they only restored the original wood and nano-coated it with a similar alloy. Looks identical, but the surface is now harder than most steel.”
Cao Yuan nodded appreciatively. “Headquarters really put thought into it.”
Lin Qiye turned to Jialan, still hugging her bow. “Like it?”
She bobbed her head like a pecking chick.
“Good.” Lin Qiye peeled away the foam. Beneath lay two sealed confidential files.
He opened the first: high command’s feedback on the Bell Cranel incident. Overall, command was very pleased with Fifth Reserve Team’s performance and awarded them a collective “Stellar” medal—delivered alongside the “Star-Glint” medal earned in the primeval forest.
The memo asked which presentation style he preferred: courier delivery, or a formal ceremony at Shangjing City HQ.
Lin Qiye chose delivery. Special teams were forever crossing Great Xia; courier was simplest. Besides, tomorrow they left for Baili’s birthday banquet in Guangshen—no time for Shangjing.
He set the memo aside and glanced at the second file, lips twitching upward.
Jialan’s official enlistment papers—and her personal Night Watch Coat of Arms. She hadn’t been a member before, so the insignia had to be issued now.
From this moment, Jialan was formally Fifth Reserve.
Then Lin Qiye frowned.
Jialan’s papers were here—so why were Baili Pangpang’s still missing?