Chapter 85

It was around six in the morning.

Isabel arrived early at Xu Jianxing's house with a few bodyguards. Without hesitation, she rang the doorbell, but after a long wait, there was no response. She huffed angrily, "This bastard must know I'm here and is hiding from me."

She very much wanted to send her bodyguards to check the yard, but she also understood that if Xu Jianxing was really hiding, she would never find him. Annoyed, she returned to the car and thought to herself, "I'll wait here. I don't believe he won't come back."

When Aina and the others saw that she wasn't speaking, they knew what Isabel was thinking and exchanged helpless glances. Aina had no choice but to get in the car to keep her company.

It was nearly ten in the morning.

At Baoshan City People's Hospital.

In front of the special care room number nine, two police officers stood guard. Inside, a man and a woman were seated, and on the three beds in front of them lay three motionless patients. If it weren't for the brainwave activity on the machines beside them, they would have been mistaken for dead. These three were the kidnappers who had abducted Isabel.

The woman sitting not far away was Liu Min, and the man was a middle-aged person, about forty-five or forty-six years old, tall and imposing. His name was Su Hongyuan, a member of the Baoshan City Municipal Committee and the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. He had once served under Liu Min's father, Liu Weiguo, who was now the commander of the Huyue Province Military Region, enjoying the rank of a major general. Therefore, Liu Min usually called Su Hongyuan "Uncle Su" in private, which made their relationship much closer.

Liu Min said, "Uncle Su, when will the expert from above arrive?"

"Ten o'clock, he should be here soon. Let's go out and see," Su Hongyuan stood up and said.

As soon as the two of them stepped out of the room, they saw a man in his forties walking down the corridor. This man had an ordinary appearance, rarely smiled, and his steps were light and graceful. Each step he took seemed slow, but in no time he was in front of Su Hongyuan and the others.

"Are you Director Zhang?" Su Hongyuan asked cautiously.

"Yes, I am Zhang Qing," the man replied, then took out a document and handed it to Su Hongyuan.

Although Su Hongyuan was sure this man was not an imposter, he still opened the document to check. It read "Special Service Bureau 8, Director Zhang Qing."

The position might not seem high, but Su Hongyuan knew very well that Zhang Qing's authority far exceeded his own, and even Liu Min's father, in some aspects, could not match this man. After all, the Special Service Bureau 8 was composed of some of the most formidable non-humans, let alone its director.

The document did not show his age, which Su Hongyuan found unsurprising. Some cultivators looked young but were actually much older. If the age were written, it might be mistaken for a fake. Su Hongyuan guessed that Zhang Qing was around fifty, or even older.

After a quick look, Su Hongyuan returned the document to Zhang Qing and smiled, gesturing for him to enter. "Director Zhang, please come in."

"Thank you," Zhang Qing replied calmly and entered the room without hesitation. Based on the reports, he knew that the person who injured the three kidnappers was definitely not an ordinary expert. Just by the time the acupoints were sealed to stop the bleeding, he could imagine the level of the expert.

Under normal circumstances, a martial artist who had just entered the Later Heaven stage could not perform such a feat. Only those who had reached the second level of the Later Heaven stage, with a stable foundation, could seal wounds without bleeding, and the time would not exceed fifteen minutes. If it exceeded that, it could cause significant harm to the injured person, mainly due to insufficient control of true qi.

Even at the seventh level of the Later Heaven stage, he could only seal wounds for about an hour. However, the wounds of the three kidnappers had been sealed for nearly three hours. The longer the time, the greater the difficulty, so by the length of time the acupoints were sealed, he could imagine how high the expert's cultivation was.

Upon entering the room, Zhang Qing went directly to one of the kidnappers and carefully examined his head. After a moment, Zhang Qing found nothing and realized his judgment was correct.

The expert who injured the kidnappers was a Pre-Heaven stage master. Otherwise, it would not have been so effortless to infuse true qi into the kidnappers' heads without causing fatal damage. This level of control was something a Later Heaven stage expert could not achieve.

Zhang Qing knew very well the difference between the Pre-Heaven and Later Heaven stages. With his current cultivation, he could not even approach a Pre-Heaven master without being knocked out.

If he could get guidance from a Pre-Heaven master, he might break through the bottleneck at the seventh level of the Later Heaven stage in a short time. However, he also knew that such experts were rare and hard to find. Even in powerful families, where Pre-Heaven masters existed, it was not easy for outsiders to seek guidance, let alone even see them.

Even if he did see them, they would likely just go through the motions. After all, no family's strong master would give guidance to a disciple not of their lineage.

This time, Zhang Qing came not only to confirm whether the expert who had turned the three kidnappers into idiots was at the Pre-Heaven stage but also to seek any possible opportunity, no matter how slim.

After a brief examination of the other two kidnappers, Zhang Qing asked Su Hongyuan, "Have you brought the case files and statements?"

"Yes, yes," Su Hongyuan nodded and said to Liu Min, "Director Liu, the files."

"Of course," Liu Min stepped forward and handed the case file to Zhang Qing, "Director Zhang, all the statements are here."

"Good job," Zhang Qing glanced at Liu Min and then said to Su Hongyuan, "I'll be going now. If there are any new developments in the case, Secretary Su can contact me directly."

Saying this, he took out a business card and handed it to Su Hongyuan, who was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you, thank you."

Zhang Qing nodded and was about to leave when Liu Min asked, "Director Zhang, can I ask you how high the expert's cultivation is?"

Although she knew the expert who rescued Isabel was powerful, she did not know the exact level. It was like looking at a different field; outsiders only saw the surface, while insiders could deduce much more from a few clues.

"Hmm," Zhang Qing frowned and looked at Liu Min coldly, "Don't you understand the internal rules?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Su Hongyuan, who broke out in a cold sweat and quickly stepped forward, whispering a few words in Zhang Qing's ear.

As the words fell, Zhang Qing's expression softened, and he looked at Liu Min calmly, "For the sake of Old Liu, this is the only time. It won't happen again."

Without waiting for Liu Min's reaction, he continued with a hint of enthusiasm, "If I were to say how high the expert's cultivation is, even a hundred of me would not be a match."

"Ah!" Su Hongyuan and Liu Min were completely stunned, staring at Zhang Qing in disbelief, thinking, "Is he even human?"

Seeing their expressions, Zhang Qing shook his head with a slight smile and then left the room without another word.

Only after he left did the two of them come to their senses, exchanging glances. Liu Min was particularly shocked and had completely dismissed the idea that Xu Jianxing could be the expert. She did not believe that Director Zhang would joke about such a matter, so how could Xu Jianxing, given his age, be that powerful?

Su Hongyuan said, "By the way, Xiao Min, keep an eye on Miss Isabel, but don't send anyone to follow her. We don't want her to feel uncomfortable. Report any developments to me."

"Sure, Uncle Su," Liu Min nodded. In fact, even if Su Hongyuan hadn't said anything, she would have kept an eye on Isabel. After all, Isabel's identity was not simple, and it was important to be cautious. Besides, what if the mysterious expert appeared by Isabel's side again?

...

After leaving the hospital, Zhang Qing found a quiet spot and began to review the case files. After finishing, he left the hospital, hailed a taxi, and headed for Shunhe Town...

In Zhang Qing's mind, even the slightest possibility of finding the powerful expert was worth pursuing. If he encountered the expert, it might change his current situation.

In less than thirty minutes,

Zhang Qing arrived on the road outside Xu Jianxing's house. Getting out of the car, he saw two luxury cars parked on the side and four strong black men standing nearby. He frowned slightly. As he approached, he noticed the four black men gradually surrounding one of the cars, maintaining a defensive stance and occasionally glancing at him.

This made Zhang Qing realize that the person in the car was likely wealthy. However, he did not give it much thought, smiled dismissively, and ignored them, heading straight down the path into the forest. As he entered, he glanced curiously at the surrounded car but was blocked by a tall black man and saw nothing. He then lost interest.

After Zhang Qing left,

Aina asked cautiously, "Miss, should we come back tomorrow? Waiting here isn't a good idea, and it might be dangerous. It's too quiet here, and the forest is perfect for an ambush."

"No, I'll wait for him to come back. I don't believe he won't return to pack his things if he goes back to his hometown tomorrow," Isabel said, frustrated.

Seeing her expression, Aina shook her head with a bitter smile and then said, "Miss, if he is as powerful as you say and doesn't want to show himself, even if he comes back, he can easily avoid us. I think we should go back to the hotel for a meal and then, based on Mr. Xu's travel route, wait for him at the airport tomorrow."

"That's a good idea," Isabel's eyes lit up. "You're smart, Aina. If he doesn't take the plane, I'll fly directly to his home. I don't believe he won't show up then."

With that, Isabel waved her hand, "Let's go back."

... [bookid=2871415, bookname=《相师为官》]

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