24 Missing Children and a river of bood

Simon walked home. His expression was cold as he mulled over what happened in the morning. He stepped over the threshold of his home. The environment changed altogether.

An indefinite sea of blood.

Blood seeped across the dark ground, slowly gathering into the surging crimson river. Piles of bones and mounds of skulls, the red of the blood and the white of the bones seemed to form a chateau of death.

This was a domain.

To be able to manifest such a domain that appeared in reality, one could imagine how powerful the cultivator was.

In the centre of it all, right in the middle of the surging waters was a coffin radiating immense pressure. It was made of redwood and had gold markings on it.

Simon did not try to over further into the blood sea. He had tried countless times since he was young but he had always been obstructed by some force.

He faced the coffin and cupped his fist.

"Master, I am back." He whispered. He had never seen the coffin open since he was born, he still did not know if the coffin housed a treasure or a person. All he knew was that he was a disciple to this domain and however owns it.

He moved to the only habitable place in this domain.

It was a small hut. It was depilated and the walls looked like they were peeling. Simon entered inside which was vastly different from the outside.

The stone bed had fluffy pillows and a large, soft quilt. Modern equipment littered the room. A boom box was laying soft, classic music.

Simon winced. He had forgotten to turn it off again. He cupped his fist towards the direction of the coffin again.

He sat on the bed as he removed the ring from his left hand. White hair turned to raven black, the black eyes turned to two heterochronic orbs of red and grey. The old skin tightened and turned porcelain and fair.

"Gold." A much younger voice called out. "What happened today? You did not react at all. I could have died."

The air shimmered and a figure in golden armour knelt before Raizel. Its whole body was trembling but Simon was already used to it. He was after all the only one he knew who could stand the pressure off the sea. 

Others will die once they stepped in here and while Gold and Blue were terrified of the coffin. Simon could do nothing about it after all it was a terror that stemmed from the large difference between them.

"This Servant deserves death..no more than death. Master, Mr Raizel had an array that suppressed me."

Simon chuckled as his fingers tapped his jaw. "An array that can suppress you. Describe the suppression to me?"

Gold thought for a while before it replied, "Master, it was more of an obstruction array targeted at my kind. It was at the former house and it followed as he moved."

Simon's eyes were full of interest, "A moving array. What is such a high-level array master doing here? Well, it does not matter anymore." Recalling those men he found in front of Raizel's hoe.

"Blue is not yet back? Gold, you need to pay the Salvatore family a little visit for me."

Gold bowed and left the house with a low " Master."

Simon did not reply, his mind was very busy. An array that can obstruct a Dao tribulation puppet. He was very curious.

He thought to the words Raizel had told him, "there were many kinds of death."

Gold was a prime example. A puppet that has achieved the Dao Tribulation Realm and was capable of conscious thought. It was a living being, right? But he had no soul, heart or blood.

He stared up and let out a sigh. He would meditate on it more when he goes to the Dead Forest.

Deep within him, his sea of consciousness seemed to bubble, and within it, the little Dao flower moved slightly, filling his body with the spiritual energy of death.

The little red flower beside the grey one seemed to be stimulated. It shook and waved its petals.

Simon's eyes turned red and he clenched his fist trying to calm the spontaneous bloodlust.

*****

Kingsley rubbed his panda eyes as he yawned. He was sleep-deprived from closing a big case last night.

Cyril cursed lowly as he entered the lobby. He handed Kingsley a bag of steamed buns he bought downstairs.

He leaned against the back of his chair and kept kneading the centre of his eyebrows. "Tell me why again I chose this job. Low pay and overtime. Just was going through my mind then."

Kingsley chuckled, "For justice. To fight evil."

Cyril raised his head, "Yeah, I was really foolish."

"At least, it is peaceful now."

Joyce glared at them from her seat, "Crow mouth, You better don't jinx today for us."

A minute later, a loud cry could be heard coming from outside. It was heart-wrenching and gave the people standing outside a big scare, causing them to retreat away from the door. 

A couple walked into the door. The woman was beautiful. Her eyes were redrimmed and swollen but it still did nothing to her features.

"My child! My child.." She hiccuped trying to force words through. Her voice was hoarse and strained.

The man beside her was calmer but the rims of his eyes were also red. It was clear he was trying to hold it together.

"My daughter, Nina disappeared from her bedroom this morning."

Joyce glared at Kingsley, the symbol of all things bad luck. 

It was not the first time that Kingsley's Crow's mouth had jinxed the day so he avoided eye contact with Joyce.

"Missing from the bedroom? Does Nina sleepwalk?" He asked.

"No, she doesn't. We have checked the camera in front of the house and she did not leave through the front gate."

Kingsley and Cyril looked at each other. 

"How old is Nina? What happened yesterday? How was her behaviour? Did you scold her?" Kingsley continued to ask.

Joyce directed the couple to a seat as she sat opposite them with a notepad.

"What...What are you saying? Do you think she ran away?"

"Of course not, ma'am." Joyce's voice was calm and soothing. "We just need to cover all grounds."

The woman, Tonia burst into tears, "I can't do this. I can't go through this again." She mumbled.

Joyce's ears caught the relevant information, "What do you mean again?"

With trembling hands, he held his wife's own, took a deep breath and said, "A few months ago, my daughter was kidnapped on her way back from school and found at the dead forest. Sir, is this...Is it possible it is a revenge kidnapping?" 

Tommy voice started off forcibly calm but trembled towards the end. It was clear to him, it was the worst possible scenario. If his daughter was kidnapped because she had been the reason the members of the gang was arrested, the suffering she might go through was unimaginable.

"Mister…"

"Camp."

"Mr Camp let's not jump to a conclusion. The possibility of that is incredibly low. We need you to be honest and answer our questions. Please don't hold anything back, the smallest details would be of great aid to us."

Inside her office, Lin Memgmeng was going through some documents. Joyce knocked politely before entering inside, "Captain Lin, two missing children's reports came in today."

Lin Mengmeng raised an eyebrow, "That is under the PD jurisdiction, why would you bring this to me."

"Captain, two of the three girls, Nina Camp and Prisca Lond that was kidnapped last month are both missing. Nina's parents came to report just now that the girl disappeared from her bedroom. We called the orphanage and a similar thing happened to Prisca Lond."

"The third girl?" Lin Mengmeng asked as she meticulously went through the report.

"Her family moved to Ferten last two months." Joyce reported.

Lin Mengmeng was impressed, they had already begun the investigation before being told to. Her team was growing.

"Contact them and remind them to keep their child within sight for now."

"Yes Ma, Our team is small, should I ask for a search team from the PD and send the case file to the Bureau Chief."

Lin Mengmeng's brows furrowed, she remembered the terrible feeling and the slow response of the PD during the search last time.

"No, wait a while. Let's investigate on our own for a day or two. Call everyone over. We will discuss it in the meeting room." Lin Mengmeng ordered.

"Yes Ma!" She turned and made to leave before she suddenly paused, her face a little red. "Captain, I forgot but the Camp family bought a tracking talisman for their daughter. It measures a distance of 400km and the girl is no longer in its sphere."

"What did you just say?"

"400km Ma." She had been short when she heard it but she had calmed down. A talisman that could measure that distance was really amazing.