Raizel sat in front of the memorial tablet. The rays of the sun had started to slowly move out from its blankets.
The memorial tablet was beautiful even though it was made entirely of stone. On the stone were words in the Dharma Epistle. Each stroke was round and flowed smoothly, swerving freely.
The prayer beads in Raizel's hands were translucent, with a clear, silver shine.
The beads, each of even size and shape, slid past between his fingertips, their shine becoming clearer.
"Only through persistence can attachment be broken; then you will find your true self and attain nirvana."
His voice was peaceful and neutral as he chanted the Sutra.
He did not seek Buddha although his attainment in the Buddha Dao was at the Tribulation realm. For all his persistence, all he wished for the dead was a return to peace and happiness. This was all he could do for them….and himself.
As the rays of the sun came out fully and shined harshly on Raizel, he felt that the time was just right, he opened his eyes and wrapped the prayer bead around his wrist.
He looked around the slightly large garden; apart from the memorial tablet at the innermost edge, there were no plants or herbs that adorned the place.
He frowned. How much would he pay Peter to plant herbs in his garden? Licorice, Herding grass, Chamomile, Four Moongreen, Sealwort, were very essential in improving and reducing the intensity of some talismans ink.
In addition, he had not had tea in a while and he always loved the scent of some specific herbs at home.
Home. A little smile tugged on his lips, the town was too rowdy, the spiritual energy was low. It did not have many essential materials he needed and the house was too small. But maybe, just maybe for a while, he could consider here his home, a place he could return to.
He picked some strawberries and threw them into his mouth, closing his eyes at the sweet taste. He was not sure he would ever get enough of the fruit.
Ding!
The bell in front of the store rang.
Raizel walked to the door, sighing as he felt a familiar presence outside the store. He took another deep breath before he opened the door.
Lin Mengmeng stood outside the door with two other mundane people, a male and a female. They were dressed in uniform, all wearing a light blue shirt tucked into dark blue trousers.
Raizel recognised the uniform. The people that patrolled the streets wore them. They are like the city guards and this time they are called the police.
In that case, this is an official visit, not another case of Lin Mengmeng coming to check up on him and subtly inquire about his non-existent son.
"Good morning, Mr Colin. We are from the Police Bureau. Can we come in?" The man said, pulling out his ID and showing it to Raizel.
Raizel looked at the ID that had the photograph of the man, before he looked at Lin Mengmeng, his gaze inquiring.
"We just want to ask a few questions. Is that all right?" Lin Mengmeng asked him.
She had not seen Raizel for a while and she was glad the gloomy air around him had reduced somewhat. Something must have happened these few days, however, she was here for official reasons. She would ask him later.
Raizel opened the door to let them in. He was a little upset that the first people to visit his new store were not customers. They even came before he had time to eat breakfast.
They entered the store, "Sir, are you the one that issued this tracking talisman to Mrs Tonia Camp." Kingsley asked.
Raizel saw the blue paper with red marking and nodded. It was his talisman, he could recognise his calligraphy anywhere.
"Can we see the permission documents?" Lin Mengmeng asked.
Raizel prodded his storage ring and gave them the document.
Joyce watched the handsome man before them. She had been dazed when she first saw him and had even needed Kingsley to lightly bump her in order to recollect herself.
But right now, it was not his beauty that was keeping her eyes glue or rather it was not only his beauty but his extreme calmness. He neither fidgeted nor had any hint of curiosity in his eyes. Just like a rippless pond, he stood and quietly watched them.
That was not normal.
At the very least, he should have asked like why they were here or if anything happened.
A thought entered Joyce's head. What if this man is behind the case? He could easily track the girl and as a cultivator kidnapping her while avoiding the cameras is not a big deal.
She shook her head. What an absurd thought? The lack of sleep seemed to be catching up with her. She then turned to her Captain who was still fondling the talisman.
"Your tracing talisman's distance is how long?" Lin Mengmeng asked.
"Depends. The girl is missing?"
"Yes." She answered in a solemn tone.
Even though she was a cultivator, she still felt tired after yesterday's intense searching. They had used the tri-snout police dogs to comb the entire Tempest town but the two girls scent had already faded.
The central camera footage had been gone through over and over again with no results. No suspicious car or person had been spared. It was such an intense search that the Bureau Chief had caught wind of it even without her mentioning it.
He had screamed her head off before telling her to close the case or risk a penalty. Lin Mengmeng still shuddered thinking of the scolding she received in the Chief's office.
She had no choice but to spilt her team into two groups, instructing the first group to use the missing children information platform to gather information from all parts of Tempest Town while paying special attention to the children's gender, age, physical characteristics at the time of missing, and the summary of the cases within the last three years.
She gathered the second group and came here. She had a crazy idea in her head and it concerned the man before her.
Said man just nodded when he heard that the girl was missing before saying, "Two thousand kilometres."
The three police officers were stumped and Lin Mengmeng had to ask again.
"What did you say?"
"The long tracing talisman, tier-3 covers a distance of two thousand kilometres."
Raizel did not revel in their surprise, the long tracing talisman still had a lot of shortcomings. The shelf life was too short, it could only be used three times before burning out.
The distance was still too short, it constantly needed the energy to function and the longer the distance, the more energy it requires. That is to say that Mundanes cannot effectively use the talisman.
He sighed. He had pushed the further experimentation of the talisman at a later date but this case had brought a sense of urgency in him. He wanted to perfect the talisman as soon as possible.
He looked at the three of them with discontent in his eyes. When would they leave, he had work to do?
Lin Mengmemg recovered faster than her team members, her eyes sparkled. She thought as much, She knew every person that came to have dinner at her grandfather's place was not to be trifled with.
She wanted to speak but she hesitated. She also knew that every member of this alley had little interest in other people.
She breathed deeply then started, "Mr Colin, I am afraid the talisman you sold to Mrs Tonia Camp malfunctioned."
Raizel's eyes narrowed, "That isn't possible."
She placed the talisman in front of the table and took out a map.
"Young Nina Camp got missing yesterday morning, that same morning, her parents activated the talisman but it could also trace up to 40Okm before stopping. But you said that its distance is up to 2000km."
Raizel thought over it, his manner slow and unhurried.
Seeing his unfazed and bothered manner, Joyce's expression turned grim.
Raizel was too focused on the question to pay attention to the little thoughts of those around him. "It was because the connection was too weak. I did tell her that blood essence would have been more stable for the connection. The fact that she did not have any essence to fuel the talisman is also a key factor."
Lin Mengmeng nodded, "If we bring you the blood essence and you sign a document not to use for any other purpose, Could you refresh the connection? It is extremely urgent."
She seemed to think of something then added, "You would be paid handsomely for your services."
Raizel nodded. It would not be a problem. "Alright. First, bring the blood essence."
Lin Mengmeng brought out two tubes of blood and a finely printed document.
Kingsley's phone rang breaking the sudden silence in the store. He excused himself with a sheepish expression to answer the call.
Raizel did not ask, he took a brush from the table and signed his name.
No sooner had he signed did Kingsley run back with an anxious expression. He walked over to Lin Mengmeng and whispered into her ears, "Captain, Not good. Something just happened."
Raizel who could hear everything clearly looked at the brush in his hands, and the signature in the paper. He suddenly wanted to clean it.