In the Ying Clan's palatial manor, a group of old-aged individuals with profound cultivation bases and steady auras gathered. At their head was Ying Fenmian, his expression was incredibly unpleasant. Ying Sumian was kneeling on the floor right beside him, her expression filled with fear and marks that indicated her previous status as a torture victim.
Earlier, they had found out that the Ying Clan's skyship was taken yet again, and both of their secure vaults had been robbed. Although not everything was taken, everything that was rare and valuable was taken. Immediately, everyone was rounded up to account for their whereabouts. It was revealed that the boy named Han Zaiji and Ying Yimian were missing.
They didn't account for those who weren't even in the clan yet, and thus Ying Zhihao's plan would truly have worked if not for his miscalculation. Alas, fate has already determined his end.
Further investigation left them bewildered by the direction the skyship had taken. Considering that Ying Fenmian was the one that provided Yan Zaizen with the method, he was bearing a tremendous responsibility and pressure in regards to this matter.
There were many theories at hand, but the most realistic was premeditated theft. This is why Ying Sumian was immediately captured and tortured. She brought Yan Zaizen into this and even had suggested offering him the method to pilot the skyship as assurance. However, there's no way that Ying Sumian could've robbed the vault or grand vault. This meant there were others in on it.
Unfortunately, the people who Ying Yimian promised to give a portion of the gains to at a rendezvous were tricked all the same. The same goes for those who were fooled into thinking she merely wanted to fly around in the skyship, unbeknownst to the theft plan. That being said, it's unlikely they'll confess to their part in it because their end wouldn't be any better than Ying Yimian if they did so.
That's just courting death.
The investigation went on for a while, but nothing else came up. There were no sighting reports that were accurate or could be trusted. Ying Yimian and Ying Zhihao truly left no clues that could be followed. They set up false reports from all the gates with various levels of truths and witnesses. This was fairly easy considering the Ying Clan didn't possess massive clout in the city and many were willing to offend them for a fee.
The situation turned dire from this. Even if they searched in all eight directions, the chances of finding them were nearly impossible. Especially if one considers that they can change directions, hide out at a location, or leave the skyship somewhere and pave their journey with their feet.
It was ingenious; if Yan Zaizen had heard of the circumstances, he would have applauded them for their craftiness.
What more, they had even refueled the skyship for future use.
Ying Fenmian inwardly groaned at this. He couldn't believe there was such a high level of corruption in the clan. There was no way this could've been pulled off with just two juniors. It's even likely that a few of these old men here were in on it, but no one said a single word.
Frustrating!
If he could, he would slap each one of these despicable cowards to death.
"Clan Lord, I thi-" One of the older males in the group spoke, wanting to point out that it was pointless. However, an old woman interrupted with viciousness in her voice.
"We put a tracker on the ship, just in case something like this were to happen again. Let's find the ones responsible, and show them how the Ying Clan deals with thieves!" She looked raring to go, her eyes filled with malicious fire. If Ying Fenmian knew that she was one of the few who got tricked into thinking she'd receive some profits from the vault theft, but unbeknownst to the skyship theft, one could imagine how much blood he would lose from anger.
"We can't. The tracker was destroyed." Ying Fenmian calmly said. How could that not have been his first action? Unfortunately, he only knew of the incident in the morning, while the tracker was destroyed in the night. It was essentially impossible, even to locate where it originally was.
Calculating the time, the skyship had been gone for nearly 12 hours. This mess just keeps getting worse by the minute. While skyships were valuable, their grand vault contained enough wealth for a dozen of them. Over half of it was taken!
Each person revealed a desolate expression. The truth pill was placed before them, and they couldn't help but swallow it. For the ones who were implicit in the plot, they didn't say anything else. Either because they were hoping to still get resources, to capture the skyship back or simply didn't want to court death.
Ying Femian looked towards his brother, his eyes filled with fierce intent. "Your daughter was likely the one most complicit in this endeavor. Your response, brother?" He asked, but anyone who heard him knew he wanted to torture this brother of his as he believed he was also involved.
Ying Sumian's father's expression changed, but he was decisive. "The Clan's resources are our first and foremost priority. Torture her for more information. If she doesn't confess, kill her. If she does, cripple her." With that, Ying Sumian's expression dropped. She felt horrible.
However, she was indeed knowledgeable about the event, but she didn't know Ying Yimian was going to steal anything but the skyship. After they left, she would then offer herself to be the replacement apology to He Shijing as his wife, rising in her status, despite her mediocre talent. This was her intentions, but Ying Yimian screwed her. A simple thieving of the skyship would've led to very little issues but a search, but how could the Ying Clan find her? Now, she was in this situation because of Ying Yimian's machinations.
That bitch.
She was carried off by a few men. Her end, no matter what it would be, wouldn't be good.
"Clan Lord!" A young man walked in, his brow filled with sweat from his earlier rush. He captured the attention of all the elders. "Ying Yimian's emergency crystal has been shattered!" He urgently conveyed. When they heard this, their eyes widened in surprise.
It seems that Ying Yimian did have a way to convey her situation to the clan. Everyone's expression changed, asking where, and when they received the information, all of the elders used their maximum cultivation base and took to the skies.
Nearly half a day later, they arrived next at a grassy plain. There was a barrier erected, keeping the local disaster beasts away. In that barrier Ying Zhihao's corpse and Ying Yimian's crippled form. She looked truly helpless, like a mortal, and when one saw her they couldn't help but want to help. If one looked at Ying Zhihao's corpse, he had scratches all over his face, likely caused by Ying Yimian.
As the elders approached, they dispersed the barrier set up. Ying Yimian looked like she saw the miracle. However, none of the elders had good expressions on their faces, but she didn't seem to mind, as if ignorant of the entire matter. A few of the elders who were in on a part of the plot couldn't help but be worried. Some was even considering killing her before she could speak, but doing so in front of Ying Fenmian was still the same as courting death.
They could only hope nothing incriminating would pop up.
They were thankful after hearing what she had to say.
So it seems that Ying Zhihao used her desire to pilot the skyship as a lure. After hearing that Han Zaiji had the method, Ying Zhihao convinced him to come and pilot his skyship since he owned it according to the Clan Lord. He planned everything and they encountered no obstructions. She thought there was something wrong with Ying Zhihao's actions, but she nonetheless trusted him. After they had landed, he immediately attacked and crippled her with the intention of ravaging her and ending her life.
However, Han Zaiji used a trump card and killed Ying Zhihao. He threw both of them away, not caring about her life and death, looted their possessions and took off towards a certain direction.
After explaining what 'her' side of the story was, she also told them she didn't know the clan was robbed. The elders who knew didn't say anything, for obvious reasons. Ying Fenmian felt what she said had some truth, but it still meant the clan had internal corruption. However, now that a majority of the wealth in the clan was taken by some unknown, they couldn't really have an internal conflict because of this at the moment.
After learning the direction Yan Zaizen went, they searched but found nothing. With the skyship hidden, the territory being far too vast, and him being able to shift directions after taking one, they were once again at an impasse.
They made a depressing discovery.
Their shit was gone, and it wasn't coming back.