Tempering breath soil is a very exhausting task, because it requires an enormous amount of Spiritual Power. Xiang Beifei needed to expend most of his Spiritual Power just to make the soil barely grow a bit.
He called this activity: "Soil Straining."
Xiang Beifei tempered the breath soil for an entire day before he could get it to grow to one meter in length.
This was already the limit he could reach with his current cultivation level. To make it grow further would require even more Spiritual Power, a higher realm was needed.
However, after the breath soil grew to the limit of his current realm, he was already very satisfied.
Since breath soil could change shape, he could turn it into a sword, a rope, or even a large hammer.
It could transform into whatever was most handy.
On Sunday noon, when Xiang Beifei was preparing to cook himself a meal, he heard a knock at the door.
Opening the door, he found Lu Zhiwei outside.
"Ha, I'm on holiday now!" Lu Zhiwei snapped her fingers.
"Oh."
Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders.
"I thought you would be more enthusiastic!"
Lu Zhiwei pouted her lips.
"Is there something you need?" Xiang Beifei inquired.
"Don't you want to know who Xu Yang is?"
Lu Zhiwei revealed a mysteriously cheeky smile.
When she smiled, a sharp canine tooth showed.
It was quite cute.
"Did you guys find out?" Xiang Beifei inquired.
"Not really, there are over ten thousand people named Xu Yang in the Jiuzhou Alliance. The information you provided was too general; it's simply impossible to check one by one." Lu Zhiwei shook her head.
That was true. Apart from providing a name, Xiang Beifei hadn't given any other details.
Of course, even if he had, it wouldn't have been much use. No one would reveal their own system, and it was unlikely they could be found based on their profile alone.
Most importantly, the person's real name was Xu Yang, but what if the name he was registered under was something else entirely?
"Didn't Uncle Lu bring the strange dog back that day to find someone awakened with a similar 'Tracking System' ability?" Xiang Beifei asked.
"That's the issue here. That guy is very cunning. He knows how to hide his tracks, and we even have a detective with a super sensitive nose who can't do anything about him."
Lu Zhiwei rarely showed such seriousness.
"So why did you come to me? If he can't find him, I'm even less likely to be able to." Xiang Beifei said, perplexed.
With a face full of anticipation, Lu Zhiwei asked, "Did you see that person's face that day?"
Xiang Beife said after a moment of thought, "It was too dark at the time, and I couldn't see clearly, but I should be able to recognize him if I saw him again."
He truly did not know what the person looked like, but he knew the other's system.
A person can disguise themselves with various abilities, change their name and appearance, but the one thing they can't change is their system.
For Xiang Beifei, it was about taking an extra glance in a sea of people.
"That's good then, could you come with me? Perhaps the thief we are currently tracking is the same person who attacked you that day!" Lu Zhiwei said excitedly.
Xiang Beifei looked at Lu Zhiwei with a puzzled expression, "A thief?"
"He's the one ranked sixty-seventh on the Liangzhou wanted list. This person is too elusive; he's the only one on the list whose true face we don't know. He's even moved to our jurisdiction recently. The last time our department was chasing him, I deduced his route and found out that he passed right by the place where you were attacked that day. Then it hit me, maybe the person who attacked you that day is him!"
Xiang Beifei thought for a moment and asked, "You deduced this?"
"Yes! With my meticulous analysis, exquisite discernment skills, and exceptional data integration ability, through a series of clever applications of logic, I have connected all these fragmented pieces of information together." Lu Zhiwei went on and on excitedly.
"Is that so?"
Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully and then said, "Then I won't go."
Lu Zhiwei was somewhat taken aback, "Why?"
"Because the likelihood is that whatever you deduce is wrong, I thought you knew that."
Xiang Beifei earnestly looked at this girl who had become an apprentice to Detective Kogoro Mori.
Lu Zhiwei: "..."
"You really have a way of speaking that doesn't endear you to others, talking like that is how you end up not finding a girlfriend."
Lu Zhiwei rolled her eyes.
Xiang Beifei didn't care, his own ability to control Qi was only at an early stage, and though perhaps it was stronger than that of his peers, there was no need for him to jump into the fray and track down wanted criminals.
Lu Zhiwei sighed and said,
"Forget it, if you won't go, I can't force you. Actually, this matter is quite risky. I originally told my dad that I wanted your help, but he didn't agree, saying you don't have any self-protection capabilities. Every suspect on the Liangzhou wanted list is dangerous, otherwise, the reward wouldn't be so high. They have all sorts of weird abilities and often completely outmaneuver us..."
"Wait, did you just say reward?"
"Yes, but the reward is not the point! What matters are the criminals themselves, we still don't know about them..."
"Okay, let's set off then."
Xiang Beifei quickly grabbed the keys, walked out the door, and swiftly locked it.
The whole process was done in one fluid motion.
Lu Zhiwei: "..."
Isn't that change of heart a bit too fast?
"Why did you change your mind?"
Lu Zhiwei stared at Xiang Beifei.
"Eliminating violence, promoting justice, is the duty of us as citizens of Jiuzhou," Xiang Beifei said seriously.
"Since when is your sense of justice so strong?"
Lu Zhiwei looked at Xiang Beifei suspiciously.
"My sense of justice has always been strong," Xiang Beifei said.
As long as there was money for his tuition fee, he'd carry justice through to the end!
Even if the reward was a mere five hundred, it was still money to him, and he wasn't picky.
Lu Zhiwei found it strange, but she was quite happy that Xiang Beifei had agreed to help.
The two of them went downstairs together, with Lu Zhiwei even humming a tune, seeming in a good mood.
Halfway there, Xiang Beifei asked, "How much is the reward for the sixty-seventh name on the Liangzhou wanted list?"
"If you provide clues, the reward is between two thousand and five thousand depending on the situation, with assistance in the capture, the reward is twenty thousand. If someone captures them alone, the reward is a hundred and fifty thousand!"
Xiang Beifei's eyes lit up.
"If I help you catch him, can I have half?" Xiang Beifei asked.
"I am a city guardian, catching wanted criminals is part of my duty, the reward amount isn't important. If you really help me catch them, the reward is all yours," Lu Zhiwei said generously.
Decisive.
Xiang Beifei recalled the matter from the day before yesterday when Lu Hong came to see him; Lu Hong was preoccupied with worry, linking Xu Yang and a suspect he was trying to capture, and also equipped him with the Azure Light Armor for protection.
He asked, "Does Uncle Lu think the thief is that Xu Yang who attacked me that day?"
"Yes, my dad has been working tirelessly to catch this thief for the past few days," Lu Zhiwei nodded.
Xiang Beifei had brightened a constellation using the Azure Light Armor from Lu Hong yesterday. If possible, he wanted to help Lu Hong identify the criminal, as a way to repay the favor.
After all, he was capable of seeing other people's systems.
"Tell me the details about the wanted criminal you're trying to catch, so I have an idea of what we're dealing with."
Xiang Beifei said, then added,
"It's better if the information comes from what others have gathered, I don't want any of your own imaginative deductions. Remember! None of your—own—deductions!"