I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 243 - 241: Huajin Academy

Zhao Yi said, "I mobilized everyone to search every possible place Adviser Yang might have gone. In the end, the person who last saw Adviser Yang said he might have gone to Liyang."

Zheng Qi sighed, "Round and round, the clues lead back to Liyang City. We sent out the personnel and combed through the entire city like a sieve. In the end, aside from that locator, we didn’t find any evidence that Adviser Yang appeared in Liyang."

Li Xing frowned, "If Principal Yang wanted to conduct a covert investigation, he wouldn’t leave traces for anyone to find, not even you. Besides the locator, does he have any other electronic devices on him?"

Zheng Qi nodded, "Yes. Every member of the Freedom Army carries a Life Display System linked to the headquarters’ mainframe."

"Can you track his location through it?"

Zheng Qi shook his head, "The Freedom Army’s life system only has one purpose, to tell us whether our comrades have fallen."

After a pause, Zheng Qi added in a sorrowful tone, "Since this morning, Adviser Yang’s life indicators have started to decline. He’s probably in trouble now."

Zheng Qi opened his visor, displaying a set of data in front of Li Xing. The red dot representing a heartbeat was beating only fifty-six times per minute, and the number was still dropping.

Li Xing’s eyes reddened by the bright spot: "This matter is too serious. What did your commander say?"

Zheng Qi and Zhao Yi exchanged a glance and simultaneously lowered their heads.

"Our commander is injured. We... didn’t dare to tell him." The young master’s Spirit Sea showed signs of collapse again. If he found out, it would definitely worsen his condition.

Zheng Qi looked up with hope, speaking earnestly, "Miss Li, Adviser Yang once said you were his most prized student and that you knew about his affiliation with the Freedom Army, so we’ve come to ask for your help."

Li Xing remained expressionless and silent.

Zhao Yi punched the coffee table angrily, "I should have asked what exactly Adviser Yang was investigating when he left! Then we wouldn’t be stumbling around like headless flies, begging for help everywhere now!"

Li Xing’s eyes shifted, and she spoke, "I know what he was investigating."

Zhao Yi and Zheng Qi widened their eyes simultaneously and asked, "What was he investigating?"

"The source of Jiang Junnan’s Holy Pill."

Zheng Qi was taken aback, then slapped his thigh, "That’s right! Jiang Junnan’s family lived in Liyang City before they moved to Tianyi City after the Element Testing Instrument incident."

Zhao Yi: "Then why was he investigating the Black Rubber Factory?"

Li Xing: "Because the illegal masks and the Holy Pill were likely provided by the same person."

Zhao Yi: "So does this mean Adviser Yang is still in Liyang?"

Li Xing shook her head, "Not necessarily. Although the locator was removed, it can still send signals, which is very suspicious. I even suspect Principal Yang himself removed it."

"He might have done it to gain someone’s trust, lowering their guard. Or perhaps the situation was urgent, and instead of letting someone find it, he chose to remove it himself as a clue to tell you he had been to Liyang."

Zheng Qi and Zhao Yi exchanged glances, reluctantly admitting that Li Xing’s analysis made sense. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"What did you find in the three illegal factories? Can you trace the origin of the illegal masks?"

"Checking the shipment records of the illegal factories can indeed trace the traveling merchants who purchased disguise masks. But unlike Wan Tong Department Store, traveling merchants don’t keep client records, and they know they are selling forbidden goods. Admitting it would lead to a sentence, so getting them to talk is time-consuming."

Time was running short before Yang Zhou’s return, and the road through the illegal factories was a dead end.

"Do you know where Jiang Junnan’s twin sister is studying now?"

Zheng Qi and Zhao Yi didn’t speak, but Zhou Wu’s voice came from Zheng Qi’s visor: //Jiang Xiuhui transferred to Huajin Academy in Liyang City after withdrawing from Harssas Academy.//

Zhou Wu was a top-level hacker and didn’t need to be physically present to know about Li Xing’s conversation with Zheng Qi and Zhao Yi.

"Great! Let’s go to Huajin Academy to find Jiang Xiuhui!"

Jiang Xiuhui was close to Jiang Junnan. If Jiang Junnan had any secrets, others might not know, but his sister surely would.

Soon, a detailed course schedule from the Martial Arts Department was sent to Li Xing’s visor. Li Xing, Zheng Qi, and Zhao Yi headed to Huajin Academy at top speed.

Since the incident with Jiang Junnan, Jiang Xiuhui had become like a different person. The once outgoing girl now kept to herself, rarely interacting with others. Aside from attending classes, she would stay cooped up in her dormitory and wouldn’t even return home.

The bell for the Martial Arts History class had just rung when Jiang Xiuhui was the first to leave the classroom, heading toward her dormitory with her head down. The usual pathway was particularly noisy and chaotic today—it seemed as if people were rushing to pick up money from the ground!

Jiang Xiuhui followed the crowd to a pavilion not far from the dormitory, finding it surrounded by layers of classmates, each excited, with their visors flashing as they took photos non-stop.

Curious, Jiang Xiuhui peeked into the pavilion and accidentally made eye contact with Li Xing, who smiled broadly at her and stepped forward.

"Senior Jiang, long time no see!"

Seeing Li Xing actively greet Jiang Xiuhui, the surrounding students broke into envious squeals.

But Jiang Xiuhui remained unmoved, staring at Li Xing and replying harshly, "It’s you! What are you doing here!"

"Of course, I’m here to see Senior Jiang. It’s been so long since we last met—did you miss me?"

"I wouldn’t—!"

Jiang Xiuhui’s retort was cut short when Li Xing pressed an acupuncture point, causing her to go limp like she’d been electrocuted, rendered powerless.

Li Xing wrapped an arm around Jiang Xiuhui’s shoulder and waved to the students around, speaking boldly, "Clear out, everyone, I’m taking the senior out for a meal."

Unable to speak, Jiang Xiuhui desperately signaled to her classmates for help with her eyes, but everyone was too dazed by envy to notice.

"Zhou Wu, delete those photos they took earlier, don’t let our whereabouts leak."

//Don’t worry, Miss Li, they’ve already been deleted.//

With Jiang Xiuhui in tow, the security guard, being a Star Fan, accompanied them all the way to the corridor before reluctantly returning.

Once Jiang Xiuhui was inside Zheng Qi’s flying device, Li Xing finally released her acupuncture point.

After regaining movement, the first thing Jiang Xiuhui did was attempt to escape. Unfortunately, she didn’t even make Li Xing raise a hand before being escorted back with her arms pinned behind her.

"Jiang Xiuhui, don’t be afraid. I just want to ask you a few questions."

"Pah! In your dreams! I’ll never talk!"

Li Xing sighed, signaling Zhao Yi to let go. Jiang Xiuhui finally sat up straight to face Li Xing, no longer resisting, though the hatred in her eyes was practically overflowing.

"Don’t you want to know who’s responsible for your brother’s death?" Jiang Junnan had died in prison of multiple organ failure three days before he was due for release.

Li Xing’s words hit Jiang Xiuhui’s sore spot, and her eyes reddened slightly, but she stubbornly retorted.

"I know! The person who killed him was you! If it weren’t for you, why would my brother have been caught?"

Zhao Yi despised people who made mistakes but shifted the blame onto others. He raised his hand to slap Jiang Xiuhui but retracted sheepishly under Li Xing’s glare, stepping back to the rear.

Li Xing smiled at Jiang Xiuhui, "Fine, blame me! But was his rapid aging and organ failure at such a young age also my fault?"

"This..."

Jiang Xiuhui was at a loss for words. Deep down, she knew the truth: Jiang Junnan’s death couldn’t be blamed on Li Xing. But if she didn’t find someone to unleash her hatred upon, she feared her own emotions would collapse.