Even though it had only been a few days since leaving Shenchuan City, returning here made Ye Qing feel a bit emotional. After leaving the army, he spent most of his time in Shenchuan City, and everything here was built by his own hands. He originally thought he would stay here for the rest of his life, but unexpectedly, he had to leave this place that had become his own in order to protect his friends.

"Ye Zi, you don't need to worry, Miss Huangfu definitely isn't that kind of person!" Zhao Chengshuang sat next to Ye Qing, comforting him, "Don't you know the temperament of the Netherworld Scholar by now? Previously, he tried to harass Miss Huangfu several times, but Miss Huangfu beat him up, so he's holding a grudge and is out there spreading rumors and causing trouble by badmouthing Miss Huangfu. Also, you have quite a bit of a vendetta with him, so how could the Netherworld Scholar tell you the truth? He's clearly trying to deceive you on purpose. You mustn't fall for it."

"I know!" Ye Qing nodded calmly. Actually, the first time he heard those words, he was indeed somewhat startled. However, the surprise didn't last long. Between Huangfu Ziyu and the Netherworld Scholar, he would naturally trust Huangfu Ziyu more. Moreover, knowing Huangfu Ziyu's character, she would never do such things.

Still, even though he trusted Huangfu Ziyu, Ye Qing couldn't help but worry. After all, it was a fact that Huangfu Ziyu hadn't contacted him for quite some time. If she hadn't encountered any trouble, she certainly wouldn't have failed to contact him. And this was Ye Qing's main concern—could Huangfu Ziyu really be in some kind of trouble?

Ye Qing originally wanted to get information about Huangfu Ziyu's whereabouts from the Netherworld Scholar, but judging by the scholar's attitude, it was nearly impossible to get anything from him. And also, because that's the territory of the Sha Men, despite Ye Qing having a decent relationship with the Sha Men members, the Bloody Monk was now in charge, not the original leaders of the Killing Gate Seven Hidden. So he couldn't force the Netherworld Scholar to reveal Huangfu Ziyu's whereabouts. After all, Ye Qing still had many friends in Shenchuan City, and offending the Bloody Monk over the Netherworld Scholar's issue would be of no benefit to his friends here.

"I knew you would definitely trust Miss Huangfu!" Zhao Chengshuang patted Ye Qing's shoulder, "Alright, let's not think too much about it. So, what about this time? Are you staying? I'll tell you, you don't need to worry about Ao Wuchang. I've heard that recently Ao Wuchang has been quite busy and hasn't paid attention to our side, so you needn't worry about him dealing with us."

Ye Qing asked curiously, "What's Ao Wuchang busy with lately?"

Li Lianshan turned his head and said, "It's said that Ao Wuchang has been visiting some Martial Arts Families recently, looking to find some allies to help him deal with the Twelve Green Halls. Anyway, he hasn't been to Shenchuan City for quite some time. Besides, with the Bloody Monk presiding here, Ao Wuchang wouldn't dare to go too far. Ye Zi, why not just come back? As long as the Sha Men is here, Ao Wuchang won't dare to do anything!"

Ye Qing was silent for a while, then slowly shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I can't come back yet; I still have some matters to attend to. We'll talk again once I'm done."

"What is it that's so urgent?" Zhao Chengshuang asked curiously.

Ye Qing didn't explain. His unwillingness to stay in Shenchuan City was primarily to search for Huangfu Ziyu. Besides, he had offended quite a few people at the Shen Family Manor last time, and now he had many enemies. Moreover, he had done quite a bit up in the Northern Desert. Both the Northern Martial Zen of the North and Prince Wan Yan of the Northern Desert hated him to the core and might even come after him. If Ye Qing stayed in Shenchuan City now, wouldn't that bring trouble to his friends here?

Seeing Ye Qing was unwilling to say more, Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan didn't press him further. The two directly took Ye Qing to the orphanage because they knew that what concerned Ye Qing most about returning to Shenchuan City was definitely the welfare of the orphanage kids.

At the orphanage, all funding had been secured, and the construction was in full swing. Designers from the Capital had come to plan the entire orphanage, ensuring that the facilities were more comprehensive than ordinary schools. Furthermore, with the support of Ye Qing, Li Lianshan, the Lin Corporation, and many wealthy locals from Shenchuan City, finances were not an issue for the orphanage.

The staff at Ye Qing Orphanage were also carefully selected, attending to the children with great care, allowing Ye Qing to rest assured about the orphanage's operation.

Seeing the situation at the orphanage, Ye Qing finally sighed in relief. He indeed missed the orphanage and was most concerned about its progress during his absence.

Principal Wu Yian was overjoyed to see Ye Qing and insisted on showing him around the orphanage, explaining the current situation.

"About half of the staff are on leave for the New Year, but because we hired a batch of new staff earlier, we aren't short-handed at the orphanage," Wu Yian said. "Moreover, we've sent out information about the children nationwide, publishing our school's address and phone number. This allows parents of missing children to visit us, and maybe they can find their lost children this way. And indeed, it has been effective; five children have reunited with their families just in the past few days. I predict more and more children will return to their families in the future, which is certainly a good thing."

Ye Qing nodded. Helping these children find their parents was his initial goal, but conditions weren't optimal back then. Now, with funds and facilities in place, it was indeed time to make this effort. Although the children are well cared for in the orphanage, being with their parents is always better. Finding all these children's parents would truly be a good outcome.

"Principal Wu, if all these children find their parents, there won't be a need for the orphanage anymore, and you might have to retire!" Zhao Chengshuang joked from the side.

Wu Yian clapped his hands, saying, "Ah, if the children could all find their homes, I would gladly retire—or even die!"

"Why talk about dying, knock on wood!" Li Lianshan quickly interjected, spitting twice for good measure, "Principal Wu, someone as kind as you should live to be at least a hundred years old!"

Wu Yian laughed heartily, "What's the use of living that long? The key is to see these kids having good lives—that's enough for me."

"Then I guess you'll have to live quite a while longer," Li Lianshan said. "Our orphanage is open nationwide. Orphans from anywhere can come here for help. With so many unfortunate circumstances happening across the nations, we'll probably see more and more children here, keeping you busy, Principal Wu!"

"Sigh!" Wu Yian sighed, knowing that Li Lianshan spoke the truth. Even though five children were retrieved by their families, the orphanage had received more than ten new children in the same time frame; those entering always outnumber those leaving.

"Principal Wu, Principal Wu!" Suddenly, a young man came running over, shouting from a distance, "Principal Wu, something's wrong!"

"What happened?" Wu Yian immediately turned his head, and Ye Qing and the others hurriedly looked over. What could possibly have happened now?

"One of the children is missing." The young man ran over and reported, "We saw him in the morning, but during the evening roll call, he wasn't there!"

"What?" Wu Yian's eyes widened instantly, and Ye Qing became anxious as well, stepping closer and asking, "How could he be missing? When did it happen?"

"I'm not sure," the young man replied. "According to one of the substitute caretakers, it seems like he wasn't seen even at lunchtime!"

"What?" Wu Yian became more anxious and quickly replied, "Then... quick, go and find him!"

"We've searched the entire premises, but could not find him," the young man said softly, "Principal Wu, I'm sorry. It's our failure to look after the children properly."

"Ah, it's useless saying that now; quickly assemble people to keep searching!" Wu Yian said urgently, "Who's the missing child? Have we identified him?"

The young man replied quietly, "It's... it's that child named Broom Star..."

"What?!" Ye Qing's eyes widened immediately—what a coincidence that it was Broom Star who was missing?

This child, Broom Star, was the most special among the children at Ye Qing Orphanage. Every word he spoke was full of wisdom and profound meaning, akin to pearls. But the key issue was that he was very young, and every word he spoke didn't match his age at all. Therefore, Ye Qing paid special attention to him.

Additionally, strange things often happened with Broom Star. Like the last time when he developed a persistent high fever, and despite every effort, none could pinpoint the cause, with his temperature far surpassing normal human levels. This shocked many people at the time. Fortunately, the fever subsided later, but he also said something that Ye Qing couldn't understand.

Unexpectedly, just as Ye Qing returned, he faced such a situation again. Broom Star had gone missing, giving Ye Qing a strange feeling once more—was something odd going to happen again this time?

Wu Yian was worried and rushed upstairs to his office with the young man to rally the personnel to start searching for Broom Star. Ye Qing and the others also helped, making several rounds through the school, yet they couldn't find Broom Star at all; it was as if he had truly vanished.