Chapter 45: The Trace of Air

Jane clearly didn't understand her current situation, and with an angry expression, she shouted, "What's the use of catching me!"

Mieying said coldly, "Let me tell you! The owner of the purple-gold thread has been found!"

Jane shouted furiously, "Then why don't you hand over the thief!"

Hua Sheng finally recovered his composure, climbed to his feet, and said, "The owner of the thread is me!"

This sentence was like adding fuel to the fire. A thief not only returned to the scene of the crime, but actually wanted to get himself tied up?

Jane widened her eyes: "Then you still dare to deliver yourself to our door!"

"Nonsense! I never stole anything from you lot!"

"If you've never been to the treasury, how did the thread from your clothes end up left behind here?"

Faced with this question, Hua Sheng became somewhat exasperated and roared, "How would I know! Doesn't your treasury have surveillance equipment? Wouldn't you know if it was me by checking that?"

Jane replied, "Who uses outdated equipment like surveillance!"

"How is surveillance equipment outdated?!"

Jane retorted, "Those electronic devices can have their footage altered with even the most basic magic. What use are they!"

Hearing this, Hua Sheng immediately remembered that when he went to the subway with Supreme Lord Xiaojun earlier, they had indeed cast a small spell to avoid being caught on camera. If someone could break into the heavily guarded treasury of the Klin Magic School, then it truly made no difference whether cameras were installed or not. Furthermore, altered surveillance footage would only serve to mislead investigators.

Yet Hua Sheng was unwilling to give up. He said, "I have never been here, and the Taoist robe I'm wearing has never left my body. So there must be a problem here. With all the magic professors in your Klin Magic School, do you not have a single solution?"

"Other traces..." Jane seemed to have thought of something and suddenly fell silent.

Hua Sheng and Mieying waited for a moment. Just as they were about to ask again, they heard Jane say, "It is certain that the purple-gold thread was brought by the thief. And it is certainly no coincidence that this thread traveled to the mortal world and ended up on the other side of the Earth! But since the thief came to the treasury, aside from leaving behind the thread, they might have left another clue..."

Hua Sheng quickly asked, "Which one? Why wasn't it discovered before?"

Jane said, "This is just my hypothesis. That clue can neither be seen nor touched."

"Could the clue be invisible? Even fingerprints should be visible at least."

"How could we possibly overlook something as superficial as fingerprints? But there really were no fingerprints left at the scene."

"Then what is this invisible clue?"

"Air."

Jane frowned and said, "It's the air exhaled by the thief."

Hearing this, Hua Sheng was greatly startled and hurriedly asked, "Is the air exhaled by everyone different?"

Jane replied, "Everyone's face has distinct features, and their fingerprints are all unique. Not only that, but no two people's voices are completely identical—that is vocal print."

"Then air is..."

"A breath print."

The white-haired Mieying frowned. Both she and Hua Sheng were hearing the term "breath print" for the very first time.

"Then do you mean that this treasury still retains the air from back then?"

"No one stays in this treasury for long periods of time, so for security reasons, no ventilation machine system was installed. It's just that whenever the doors are opened and closed, a small amount of air circulates. Therefore, it's entirely plausible that some air from within the past few months has been preserved. Moreover, air has its ages—old and new. All this information is contained within the breath print and can be identified."

Mieying said, "This is wonderful news. Not only can it prove that Hua Sheng was wronged, but having the thief's breath print characteristics will also make it much easier to track them down."

Hua Sheng asked, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's take action!"

Jane shook her head and said, "Although that is true, the information contained in the air is extremely rich, and breath prints cannot be identified here at the magic school. But I know where they can be identified."

Mieying asked, "Where is the equipment that can identify breath prints?"

"It's not equipment; it relies on magic."

Hua Sheng sighed and said, "I figured running off to Europe would require magic after all. Speak, who are we supposed to look for?"

Jane thought for a moment and uttered two words that caught him completely off guard.

"Angels."

Hearing this word, Hua Sheng was practically dumbfounded.

"Did you say... angels?"

Hua Sheng asked again to confirm what he had heard.

Jane said, "Yes."

Hua Sheng said, "This is ridiculous. Do we need an introduction from God to meet an angel?"

With a completely serious expression, Jane said, "No."

"Where should we go?"

"Angel Bay in the city of Nice."

"Where is the city of Nice?"

"In southern France."

"How far is it from Paris?"

"About a thousand kilometers."

"Alright then, that's close enough. No more nonsense, we're leaving right now!" With that, the white-haired Mieying picked Jane up, preparing to move.

"Wait! You can't capture me!"

Hua Sheng asked, "Why can't we capture you? Clearing my name as a thief depends entirely on you."

Jane replied, "Since you didn't steal it, I can introduce you to the professors. We can all go to Nice together."

The white-haired Mieying immediately stopped her, saying, "No! Don't think you can trick us. We broke into the magic school without permission, and the purple-gold thread is on Hua Sheng. The moment you let anyone else from your magic school come over, they will definitely capture us and interrogate us severely!"

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Hua Sheng said, "Fourth Sister is indeed thorough. I almost fell for this foreign girl's trick. Let's drag her to Nice right now!"

Jane shouted, "No! If the magic school finds me missing, they will comb the place with all their might! You won't be able to escape then!"

"Oh? It seems you're a model student in this magic school after all! Everyone cares about you so much!" Hua Sheng nodded and said, "That actually reminds me. How about this, I'll leave a leave request note for the school professors. Once they see it, they'll think you asked for time off."

He conjured a blank piece of paper and opened his phone. First, he typed some text into the phone, then translated it into French using a translation software, and began copying it onto the white paper while looking at the screen.

The white-haired Mieying asked, "What are you writing? Be careful not to let people spot any flaws!"

Writing as he spoke, Hua Sheng replied, "I'm writing that there is an urgent matter at home."

"When asking for leave, you have to write what the matter is to make it look real!"

"Since I said it's a family matter, naturally I'll just write 'family matters'!"

"You can't keep it that simple, you have to make up an excuse."

Hua Sheng thought for a moment and said, "Shall I write that my mother passed away and I'm returning home for the funeral? And therefore observing a three-year mourning period?"

The white-haired Mieying scolded him, "If you write that, someone will definitely come to offer condolences, and your cover will be blown the moment they ask!"

With a resigned sigh, Hua Sheng crumpled the paper into a ball, conjured a new one, and wrote as he said, "Then how about I write that it's that time of the month and I have severe stomach cramps, so I need seven days of leave."

Hearing this, Jane cried out anxiously, "You jerk! How dare you write such nonsense!"

Hua Sheng spread his hands and said, "Isn't this reason very sufficient? Besides, this kind of reason is quite private, so no one will come to verify it!"

Jane shrieked desperately, "I just had it last week!"

Hua Sheng sighed, "What does that matter? Just have it again this week! Is there a problem with a sequel?"

Jane and Mieying stared at Hua Sheng simultaneously and shouted, "Of course there's a problem!"

Startled by the fierce expressions of the two girls opposite him, Hua Sheng had no choice but to think again. Writing as he spoke, he said, "Fine! Since both of you object to a sequel, I'll just write that I'm experiencing morning sickness from pregnancy, and therefore requesting leave."

"Don't!" Jane was so angry she was nearly moved to tears. "Just write what you said earlier..."

Hua Sheng clicked his tongue in annoyance and muttered irritably, "You French girls are such a hassle, tossing and turning back and forth like this. If you had just said so earlier, you would have saved me from having to write it all over again."