The Unexpected Truth

Early in the morning, the sound of cursing rang out from the Qiao Family home.

Qiao Shanhe's face was livid. As soon as he got up, he discovered that the family's big black dog was gone.

This sent a chill through him.

He had carefully raised that big black dog as a hunting hound. It was exceptionally alert and could detect the slightest stir of wind or grass.

Yet someone had quietly taken such an alert dog away last night without making a sound.

The thought made the back of his neck turn cold.

If they had come for a person instead, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"Could it have been that old bastard Qin Zhengyang?"

Qiao Shansheng said, his face dark.

"No! If that old bastard had the strength to do it, he wouldn't have argued with us yesterday."

Qiao Shanhe's expression grew even uglier. "Go bring Third Brother back."

"All right!"

Qiao Shansheng nodded firmly. This was definitely no simple matter; they had better bring Third Brother back to hold the fort.

"Brother Yan, this dog meat has a real chew to it."

Qin An and Chen Ergou were grinning from ear to ear. Life was good following Brother Yan—they had never gone short of meat.

"Don't forget the real business after you two finish eating!"

Qin Yan chuckled.

"Don't worry, Brother Yan, we'll keep an eye on the Qiao Family. Oh, right! The Qiao Family's second brother went into town early this morning."

Qin An had happened to run into Second Brother Qiao before coming over that day, so he immediately told Qin Yan about it.

"Is that so?"

Qin Yan's gaze sharpened. "You two eat first. I'm going out for a bit!"

Qin An and Chen Ergou exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Don't worry, Brother Yan! We know what to do!"

Qiao Shansheng headed toward Qinghe Town with two underlings at his side.

Qin Yan quietly followed him the whole way.

By the time they reached the town gate, a long queue had already formed.

The sight made Qin Yan frown.

From the people complaining around him, he learned what had happened.

Three days ago, the authorities had begun forcibly collecting a passage tax, supposedly to repair the official road.

They had forced the common people to shoulder the cost.

This gave Qin Yan a deeper understanding of the dynasty's corruption.

How was this any different from highway robbery?

Qinghe Town had a well-developed water system. It might not have been particularly wealthy, but it certainly wasn't poor.

If even a place like this had begun imposing exorbitant taxes and levies, it could only mean things were rotten to the bone.

Qin Yan watched the Qiao Family's second brother enter the town.

Only then did he join the long queue. But a short man in front of him gave off the smell of dirt and a very faint stench.

It made him frown. He gave the man a few careful looks; his hemp clothes were reasonably clean.

Only his shoes were covered in mud.

He carried a shoulder pole with baskets full of ordinary vegetables.

Most importantly, there was that faint stench, like the smell of a rotting corpse.

The short man in front seemed to sense something and turned, meeting Qin Yan's gaze.

Qin Yan acted as though he hadn't noticed, then seemed to notice the man looking at him. He immediately gave him an honest smile and a nod.

The short man nodded back and looked around in puzzlement.

Once the man looked away, Qin Yan felt a stir within him.

The short man's eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles beneath them, and his face had a grayish pallor.

He looked as though he were gravely ill and didn't have long to live.

What was more, something about the man gave Qin Yan an intensely uncomfortable feeling, and even he found it somewhat baffling.

The uncomfortable feeling had arisen out of nowhere, reminding him of something people in his previous life used to say.

If someone made you feel uncomfortable,

it was very likely that your magnetic fields were incompatible, and you should stay as far away from that person as possible.

There was some sense to that saying. Besides, as Qin Yan's spirit attribute had risen, his perception had grown far stronger than an ordinary person's.

Having this feeling meant there really was something wrong with the short man in front of him.

Considering everything he had seen, Qin Yan thought of a profession: a tomb robber.

They specialized in digging up graves and robbing tombs. This fellow had very likely picked up some germs.

After a while, Qin Yan paid a copper coin and passed through the town gate without being stopped.

Qin Yan knew where the Azure Blade Gang was based. The Qiao Family's second brother had most likely come to town to find the third brother, Qiao Shanwei.

The Fuqing Gambling House!

Qin Yan saw Second Brother Qiao enter the place.

It was also a property owned by the leader of the Azure Blade Gang and the headquarters of the entire gang.

Just as Qin Yan was thinking, a hand landed on his shoulder.

Almost instinctively, Qin Yan caught the person's wrist with a backhanded grab and pinned him to the ground with one hand.

"Ow! Big brother, easy! I don't mean any harm."

The young man, who was seventeen or eighteen, had a pained expression. Qin Yan's strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person, so the force behind his instinctive move was easy to imagine.

"Who are you?" Ignoring the man's pleas, Qin Yan dragged him into an alley to the side and questioned him coldly.

"Big brother, my name is Di Feng. I just wanted to say hello."

"Do you think I believe you?"

Qin Yan tightened his grip on the man's wrist. He had no doubt that with just a little more force, he could snap the hand.

"Ow! Big brother, I'll tell you. I'm from the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School. I was assigned to watch Li Wenqing, the leader of the Azure Blade Gang.

"I thought you were in the same line of work as me, so I came over to say hello."

Di Feng hurriedly explained, cold sweat already streaming down his face from the pain.

After the explanation, Qin Yan finally understood. The leader of the Azure Blade Gang was suspected to have recently made a breakthrough in his cultivation, making the people in the other gangs and martial arts schools somewhat nervous.

After all, Li Wenqing's strength was on the same level as the other gang leaders'. If he made a breakthrough, it could very well upset the current balance.

That was why they had sent someone to find out what was happening.

Qin Yan released him and sized him up. His eyes held an innocent stupidity. Why would the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School send someone like this to keep watch?

"Big brother, is this your first time doing this?"

Di Feng asked with a flattering smile. "I saw you staring at the Qiao Family's second brother the whole time. Do you have a grudge against him?"

Qin Yan narrowed his eyes and thought, I underestimated this kid. Although I didn't deliberately extend my mental perception, an ordinary person still wouldn't have been able to get close to me.

This kid definitely isn't as simple as he looks.

Qin Yan reflected on his mistake.

"Hehe! To be honest, big brother, I'm a real know-it-all in Qinghe Town. Whatever you want to know, I can get it for you. It's just..."

Di Feng rubbed his fingers together, making his meaning plain.

"Oh?" Qin Yan wore a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

The smile froze on Di Feng's face. "Big brother, we're both scraping by at the bottom. There's no need for fighting and killing.

"I know a secret about the Qiao Family. It might help you."

Feeling Qin Yan's icy gaze, Di Feng broke out in a cold sweat and gave an awkward chuckle.

"Is that so? Let's hear it!"

Qin Yan clamped a hand onto his shoulder. Di Feng tried to resist, but his face instantly turned deathly pale.

The tremendous force on his shoulder left him unable to move.

"Some time ago, Qiao Shanwei of the Qiao Family met with the manager of the Qingfu Leather Goods Shop.

"Not long after that, I heard that a traveling merchant who collected goods, a man surnamed Qin, died. Later, the Qiao Family's eldest brother took over his position."

At those words, Qin Yan's pupils contracted slightly.

"Is that true?"

"Absolutely true. I got the news from a clerk at the leather goods shop. He saw Qiao Shanwei arrive with a box that day, and later he went and eavesdropped.

"They said they'd give the man surnamed Qin's position to the Qiao Family's eldest brother. Not long afterward, the man died!"

Di Feng said in a trembling voice, his face crumpled as though he were about to cry. "Big brother, I thought you had something to do with the Qin Family, so that's why I came over to greet you. I don't want anything. Can you let me go?"

"The Qiao Family!"

A faint ripple stirred in Qin Yan's heart. When he had first transmigrated, he had suspected that his convenient father had been killed by the Qiao brothers.

But without evidence, it had remained no more than a suspicion.