"Nothing like that, sister! We have some urgent matters to discuss with deputy chief Wang or the bureau chief."
Shen Yue calmly denied Xia Lan's enthusiastic desire to join the sect. Even though Shen Yue got slightly irritated when she mentioned Xia Lan with Nangong Xu, she didn't have any great hatred for her.
"Oh! I thought you came for me..."
Xia Lan became a bit discouraged. The two young police officers politely nodded their heads toward both of them as they approached.
Shen Yue nodded her head casually while Kang Xuan smiled warmly as though meeting old buddies, which instantly confused them a bit.
"It's alright Miss Lan! Next time recruitment happens in the sect, I will suggest you as the disciple to the sect master."
Kang Xuan spoke after thinking for a moment. He knows there is an opening in the sect right now, but he doesn't want to recruit disciples like 'this' without prior consent from the sect master.
He decided to mention this once he was done with the mission. Shen Yue remained silent as well, believing that this sister is a bit of a peppermint, just like she used to be.
"Alright, thank you so much, uncle! The chief is not here at the moment. But the deputy chief is on his way here. Let's go inside first and wait for him, alright?"
Xia Lan said, making Kang Xuan smile wryly. He was starting to feel a bit bad about starting cultivation at such an old age.
"This is the mission handed to us by the sect master, Mr. Wang! We need your help on this mission, as this involves the families of Guilin citizens."
Kang Xuan explained everything regarding the mission to them, and he even told them that it was the 'sect masters' idea to get help from the Guilin bureau.
If Ning Qi were to listen to Kang Xuan, he would have blinked his eyes many times in confusion, before pointing to himself and asking, 'are you talking about me? old man?'
"You don't have to be nervous, Mr. Wang. Just send one or two officers with us to deal with legal stuff there. We will do the remaining mission by ourselves."
Shen Yue also said this as she saw Deputy Wang sitting on his chair as though there were pins on it with a lot of discomfort.
"Ahem! I'm okay, Miss Shen! I am just confused as to how you got such information."
Deputy Wang felt a bit embarrassed by Shen Yue's pointing it out. He looked at the other two young police officers, who pretend that they haven't noticed anything, and then at Xia Lan, who is looking at him as though he is a 'disappointment'.
Nerves popped up on his forehead at seeing this girl's gall looking at him like that. He decided to deal with her later and calmed himself a bit before asking.
"Hm! We don't know how and who gave these details. However, the sect master may have connections that we are unaware of."
Kang Xuan responded simply and shortly and told the truth.
"That doesn't matter! I was just curious about that, as even the Nanning bureau doesn't know anything about this yet. If the people of Guilin are kept captives, it is our responsibility to help them with whatever we can."
Even though he was disappointed with Kang Xuan's response, Deputy Chief Wang spoke righteously.
"Xia Lan and Gong Chou will accompany you right away. I have some other important matters that I need to attend to here, so I will try to get there tomorrow if possible."
Wang Xuan pondered for a moment before replying to Kang Xuan. He does have some matters that he needs to tend to here, as the chief isn't here right now.
"It's alright, Mr. Wang! You don't need to rush there. We just need a bit of help there, nothing else. If we move a lot of armed forces, that will alert them and may lead to a disastrous situation, which we don't want."
Shen Yue replied as she stood up. They finally got what they came here for. She wants to go to Nanning as soon as possible to check on the situation there.
"Yes, Chief! Simply obtain permission to operate on a non-territorial basis. You have a lot to deal with here, so I think it's enough for me and Lan to just provide support."
As he took a step forward, Gong Chou, the calm young police officer, said. Nanning City is a completely different city, and they have very limited powers to deal with anything there in normal conditions.
But if they can get permission from the bureau chief with proper reasons stated, they can act there just like they do on their own turf and can even get the help of officers there.
"Yeah! I, too, agree with Brother Gong! I don't think it will change much even if you come there, chief."
Xia Lan said a bit innocently, instantly making the deputy's face turn livid. Gong Chou felt a bit embarrassed, while Shen Yue and Kang Xuan looked at each other a bit dumbfoundedly at this girl's audacity.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Xia Lan suspected she may have said something wrong.
"It's not what I meant. You may have misunderstood me..." Xia Lan tried to explain herself in an innocuous tone. But she was cut off in the middle by Deputy Wang.
"We will talk about this when you come back from the mission." Deputy Wang said it a bit helplessly.
"I need thirty minutes to arrange the necessary documents, and I also need to talk with the bureau chief of Nanning City about this. So, please wait for a bit here, or you can do something else you want in the meantime."
Deputy Chief Wang spoke politely to both of them before walking out of the room hurriedly to deal with this. They simply nodded and waited for around thirty to forty minutes.
"It's already 10 a.m. Let's start quickly now. We have to travel for around five hours to reach Nanning."
Shen Yue hurried as they finally came out of the bureau.
Just as she and Kang Xuan were about to get into their car, they were stopped by Xia Lan.
"Sister, and this uncle. Let's go in our car, we can reach there in just four hours. If we take your car, we may need more than six hours..."
Xia Lan said as she eyed the taxi a bit bewildered. She didn't understand why these people are so poor, even though they are said to be very powerful.
'Do I have to be like them if I join their sect someday?' She thought about it in her mind and felt a bit sad about that.
Kang Xuan stiffened a bit and caressed his baby, who had helped him and his family for a long time. But he also felt that it was time for him to change cars.
"Yeah! I also think it's a good suggestion, sister Lan." Shen Yue said as she moved quickly and got into the back seat of the police car.
Both Gong Chou and Xia Lan were surprised by such an abnormal speed. They looked at each other and understood why their deputy was behaving in such a manner.
The speed with which Shen Yue moved let them understand that she may even be able to dodge bullets. What kind of concept is dodging bullets? No one wants to mess with this kind of person.
Especially their police force, which already has a lot on its plate. They don't want a 'supervillain' out of nowhere like in those superhero movies.
Kang Xuan also looked at his car one final time before flashing from his spot and getting on the other side of the back seat.
Gong Chou and Xia Lan looked at each other one final time before getting in the car too. While Gong Chou started driving, Xia Lan sat on the co-pilot seat.
As soon as they started their journey, Shen Yue unhurriedly took her mobile out before plugging herself with wireless earphones and closing her eyes as though resting.
Xia Lan, who just opened her mouth to ask something, felt exasperated by how this 'little' sister is acting. But she didn't say anything, as Shen Yue has never looked down on her nor tried to go against her.
Kang Xuan smiled at her a bit apologetically and opened his mouth as though wanting to chat with her.
"It's alright, Uncle! I will have a chat with that sister later. You don't have to comfort me. You also take rest."
Xia Lan spoke, as she doesn't have any topics to 'discuss' with Kang Xuan, instantly making him close his mouth that just opened.
He looked at the young man, who was seriously driving without uttering a word. He shook his head, thinking this young man was a little too serious for his age, before closing his eyes as "requested" by Xia Lan.
Nanning City is around three hundred and fifty kilometres away from the Gulin. And most importantly, it is the largest city and the capital city of the Guangxi autonomous region.
It is almost twice as large as Guilin and also has a population that is more than three times that of Guilin, with around six million people residing in the city.
Nanning City is further known as "Green City," as it is surrounded by abundant trees and hilly areas, just like Guilin.
At around 2:30 p.m., they entered Nanning city. The entire atmosphere is chill, as dark clouds completely surround the city, ready to pour down at any moment.
There was little traffic on their route, either because it was about to rain or because many people were not outside because it was late afternoon.
Shen Yue also took off her earphones to see the city as the raindrops started falling one by one.
Everyone's faces lit up with happy smiles, even the serious Gong Chou, who was smiling pleasantly as he felt calm.
Shen Yue and Xia Lan lowered their windows almost at the same time, making them instantly surprised at each other. They looked at each other for a moment before smiling at each other again.
Then they placed their hands outside a bit to feel the raindrops and breathed in the fresh air, which was cleansed from all the pollution.