Blood Sun’s next move was not an attack.

It was a disappearance.

Three minor ruin researchers connected to Heavenly Gate Academy vanished near the eastern border. They were not core personnel. Not Qin family members. Not close to Qin Yuheng.

But one of them had been studying Shattered Sun pattern summaries.

The message reached Yu Qingmei first.

Then Qin Wanshan.

Then Qin Yuheng.

The report was brief.

Missing:

Researcher Lu Han

Assistant Mei Zhu

Archive Scout Deng Rui

Last known assignment:

Surveying low-risk ruin fragment east of Grey Reed Valley.

Relevant research:

False solar authority pattern comparison.

Qin Mo read the file and immediately said, "Bait."

Qin Yuheng nodded.

Yu Qingmei agreed. "Almost certainly."

Han Shuren asked, "Do we act?"

Yu Qingmei’s expression was cold.

"We investigate through academy channels. Qin Yuheng does not rush alone."

That was the correct response.

But the disappearance created pressure.

Not family pressure.

Not guilt pressure.

Institutional pressure.

Researchers connected to their pattern work were missing. If Qin Yuheng ignored it completely, innocent people might die. If he rushed, Blood Sun controlled timing.

Mo Cangyan’s strategy was clear.

Pressure time.

Qin Wanshan’s message arrived quickly.

Do not enter Grey Reed Valley without layered support.

If academy organizes official search, participate only under conditions.

Bring no original family records.

Use Fifth Gate patience.

Fifth Gate patience.

Qin Yuheng repeated the phrase inwardly.

Yu Qingmei organized an official search team within one day.

Members:

Han Shuren as combat instructor lead.

Qin Yuheng’s team.

Wei Chen.

Two academy seal experts.

Four senior scouts.

Silent support from Qin family hidden nearby, unofficial but known to Yu Qingmei.

Zhao Tianyu requested participation.

Yu Qingmei refused.

He did not argue as violently as before, but his frustration was obvious.

"Still too unstable?"

"Yes," Yu Qingmei said.

He clenched his jaw.

"Then give me something useful to do."

That answer surprised her.

She assigned him to academy internal security during the search. If Blood Sun created a diversion inside the city, Zhao Tianyu would assist defense under supervision.

He accepted.

Progress.

The search team departed toward Grey Reed Valley.

The valley was misty, filled with reeds and low stone ruins. At first glance, nothing seemed dangerous.

That made it worse.

Qin Lian found the first clue: a broken observation bead.

Qin Mo inspected it.

"No blood. No struggle. The bead recorded something, then erased itself."

One seal expert reconstructed a partial image.

A red-gold light.

A shadow kneeling.

Then a voice:

"Time turns keys."

Qin Yuheng’s eyes chilled.

They moved deeper.

The second clue was a false campsite. It contained belongings of the missing researchers, arranged too neatly. A note lay on the table.

If the key waits too long, others open the door badly.

Qin Mo looked at it and cursed.

"They are attacking patience."

Qin Yuheng did not touch the note.

The search continued.

At the center of the valley stood a minor ruin fragment: a broken stone arch half-buried in reeds. The seal experts confirmed Shattered Sun pattern traces, but weak.

Too weak to be the external center.

A lure node.

Qin Yuheng used the True Destination Law Compass.

The needle spun.

Then pointed away from the arch.

"False destination," Qin Yuheng said.

Han Shuren’s eyes narrowed. "Then where?"

The compass pointed toward a reed pond.

Qin Lian scouted.

Beneath the water lay a hidden cellar.

Inside were the missing researchers.

Alive.

Bound in sleep formation.

No Blood Sun agents.

No enemy.

Only a formation set to collapse if opened incorrectly.

Qin Mo and the seal experts worked carefully. The formation was not meant to kill quickly. It was meant to force a choice: open fast and risk collapse, or slow down and watch the victims weaken.

Time pressure again.

Qin Yuheng placed the Sleeping Seal Patience Crystal nearby.

The formation’s urgency field weakened.

Qin Mo grinned.

"Patience tool beats hurry trap."

They opened the formation safely.

The researchers survived.

But each had a dream phrase implanted.

Researcher Lu Han whispered upon waking:

"The false sun is not the first light."

Assistant Mei Zhu whispered:

"The first shadow was once loyal."

Scout Deng Rui whispered:

"The sleeping seal remembers a gate beneath the mountain."

Then they collapsed into exhausted sleep.

Three phrases.

All probably true.

All incomplete.

All hooks.

The search mission ended successfully, but no enemy was captured.

Mo Cangyan had not expected Qin Yuheng to rush.

He expected him to rescue, record, and carry more unfinished truths.

And he succeeded.