Back when child-snatching cases were rampant in the Outer City, countless citizens who had lost their children knelt before the county magistrate's office, weeping and wailing, begging for the culprits to be captured.
The runners of the county magistrate's office paid lip service, shouting about nationwide manhunts and pursuing the culprits, but it was all bark and no bite, without a single shred of actual action.
To say the Luo family was completely oblivious would be self-deception.
Even if they hadn't stained their own hands with blood, they had surely turned a blind eye and tacitly approved of this dirty business!
“Never mind... no matter what role the Luo family is playing, I will find out once I investigate.”
At this thought, Shen Xiuhan's heart stirred slightly. He was about to summon the Daily Intelligence System to see what was going on.
Seeing him remain silent for so long, Tang Jin panicked. Fearing that Shen Xiuhan intended to pull up the grass by its roots and eliminate him completely, his face turned fierce as he gritted his teeth and said,
“Young Master Shen, I also know of a colossal secret!”
Shen Xiuhan pulled back his thoughts slightly, his eyelids half-lifting as he glanced at him.
Tang Jin's chest heaved violently, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He seemed extremely hesitant.
Shen Xiuhan did not urge him, merely looking at him calmly.
In this hair-raising, dead silence, Tang Jin's lips quivered a few times before closing again. Finally, steeling his heart, he threw caution to the wind and blurted out,
“The death of Young Master Shen's father... was done by Bai Fufeng!”
Boom!
Shen Xiuhan's expression changed abruptly.
A nearly tangible killing intent erupted from his body, like a passing cold wave, sweeping over Tang Jin and blotting out the sky.
The surrounding wind seemed to be completely frozen at this very instant!
“Tell me everything, word for word, with absolute truth!”
Shen Xiuhan's voice was not loud, but it was so cold that it seemed to drift up from the depths of the Nine Underworlds.
Tang Jin shuddered all over, feeling as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, cold sweat drenching his back.
He did not dare to hide a single thing. Gulping hard, he recounted everything Bai Fufeng had said after arriving on the island that day, detail by detail.
Shen Xiuhan listened in silence. His five fingers resting on Hanlin suddenly tightened, his voice sounding like cold iron:
“In other words... Bai Fufeng was passing through the Outer City when he saw an old fisherman's daughter. He killed the father and snatched the girl to take back for refining pills, which happened to be witnessed by my father. Fearing that the secret would be leaked, Bai Fufeng beat him to death?”
Tang Jin stole a glance at him, lowered his eyes, and nodded in a low voice. “That is indeed what Bai Fufeng said...”
Bai Fufeng...
The Bai family!
Shen Xiuhan took a deep breath. The river wind rushed into his lungs, carrying a salty, fishy moisture.
He suppressed his churning killing intent inch by inch back into the depths of his heart. His gaze shifted, landing on Tang Jin's face, and his voice returned to a calm tone.
“Give me an identity token. One that will allow me to board Dongyi Island without raising suspicion or being investigated.”
“Uh...”
Tang Jin was stunned. Clearly, he had not expected him to make such a request. He couldn't help but hesitate, saying,
“A token is a minor matter, but... the island's defenses are tight, and patrols are very strict. Moreover, your portrait, Young Master, along with Ji Ning's, has already been posted on the island's bounty board. Every guard on the island knows what you look like. If you go there rashly, you will definitely be recognized.”
“I have my own ways.”
Shen Xiuhan's tone was flat, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.
“That... very well!”
Tang Jin bit his lip, his eyes darting around as he probed,
“I don't have that identity token on me. I have to return to the island to retrieve it. When the time comes... how about I deliver it to you in Changyun, Young Master?”
Shen Xiuhan glanced at him. His gaze was as calm as water, yet it seemed capable of piercing through flesh and bone, straight to the depths of his soul.
He understood that this fellow had reservations.
He was nothing more than afraid that once Shen Xiuhan obtained the token, he would turn on him and kill him.
Leaving a pretext of returning to the island to retrieve the token was merely a way to secure a path of retreat for himself.
To tell the truth, Shen Xiuhan naturally wanted to kill this man with a single strike of his sword.
By killing Tang Jin, he could then use the Turtle-Breathing Face-Altering Formula to assume his appearance, swagger onto Dongyi Island, and look for an opportunity to seize the inheritance of the Diaohai Pavilion core disciple.
This method would be the most hassle-free and direct.
Unfortunately...
While his face could be changed, Tang Jin's severed right arm could not be restored.
Therefore, he could only settle for the next best thing: secure a usable identity first, and then plot his way onto the island.
Shen Xiuhan withdrew his gaze and said indifferently,
“Bring it to me within three days.”
Tang Jin felt as if he had received a grand pardon. He hurriedly cupped his hands repeatedly. “I will definitely not delay your business, Young Master!”
Shen Xiuhan nodded and stopped looking at him. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he paused in his tracks and beckoned,
“Come here!”
Tang Jin was taken aback, a look of confusion on his face, but he still obediently stepped forward.
Shen Xiuhan raised his finger, a wisp of Anjin circling upon it, and slapped it onto Tang Jin's body.
“Do your job well, and don't even think about running!”
The sound of footsteps gradually faded into the distance as the green robes vanished into the twilight.
Tang Jin stood in place, staring at the empty alleyway entrance, the expression on his face shifting constantly.
He took a deep breath and surged his own Anjin, searching back and forth throughout his body, from his dantian to his meridians, from his limbs to his internal organs, scanning every inch, but found absolutely nothing.
The force that had slipped into his body was like a clay ox entering the sea, completely vanishing without a trace.
Yet, the more this was the case, the colder his heart grew.
After a long while.
Tang Jin spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and let out a long sigh.
“Forget it, forget it...”
...
On the street.
As Shen Xiuhan walked home, he silently thought:
‘Intelligence!’
【Today's intelligence has been refreshed!】
【Intelligence 1: Luo Changming, head of the Luo family, was secretly instructed by Pei Zu, an Elder of the Raging Sea Sect, to deliberately ignore the Bai family's evil deeds of rampantly abducting children. In exchange, when the Luo family plots to annex the industries, firms, and river fleets of the Ji and Han families in Changyun County, the Raging Sea Sect will provide support.】
As expected!
Shen Xiuhan sneered inwardly. This Luo family was indeed dirty.
Although they hadn't personally kidnapped anyone like the Bai family, Luo Changming, as the County Magistrate of Changyun County, was in charge of the county's criminal justice and public security. He should have maintained peace and protected the local populace.
Yet, in order to annex the foundations of the Ji and Han families, this man was willing to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye, ignoring the Bai family's atrocities, using the children of the Outer City's commoners as bargaining chips.
Such acts of abetting evil were not a single bit better!
And the person behind him... was actually an Elder of the Raging Sea Sect.
Shen Xiuhan's brow furrowed slightly, a strong aversion to this sect rising in his heart.
‘As the descendants of the Mystic Dark Peak of Diaohai Pavilion, inheriting an ancient orthodox path, they didn't hold onto their righteous path and guard their hearts. Instead, they actually turned a deaf ear to demonic deeds and even secretly instructed and supported them... They are truly nothing good either!’
Shen Xiuhan considered himself one of the successors of Diaohai Pavilion.
He had previously maintained a friendly attitude toward sects established by the descendants of Diaohai Pavilion, like the Raging Sea Sect.
But from the look of things now, he had purely wasted his sentiments!
Shen Xiuhan snorted in his heart, his thoughts shifting once more:
‘And this Luo family also has quite an appetite, plotting to swallow not only the Ji family but the Han family as well.’
Although the Han family had no Huajin Rank expert presiding over them, and their overt strength was not considered top-tier in Changyun County, the Han clan of Xinyi Prefecture stood behind them.
That was an illustrious and powerful clan!
To touch the Han family was to slap the Han clan of Xinyi Prefecture in the face. How could they let the matter rest?
‘Wait...’
Shen Xiuhan suddenly thought of something, and his mind gradually cleared.
‘So that's how it is. The Luo family is worried about retaliation from Xinyi Prefecture, which is why they hitched themselves to the backer that is the Raging Sea Sect.’
One link connected to another, each getting what they wanted.
The Bai family was responsible for kidnapping, the Luo family covered it up, and the Raging Sea Sect backed them from behind. The three families joined hands, treating Changyun County as their own back garden.
Picking whichever flower they wanted, pulling up whichever root they pleased.
And those innocent children...
...were merely the least valuable bargaining chips.
Rate on N.U.
