Duobao Town, The Magistrate Is Gone!

Li Yan flipped over, stepping on the Wave-Treading Steps twice to evade the pincer attack from the two men.

"Gentlemen, what is the meaning of this?"

Li Yan looked at them with a half-smile, but they paid him no mind.

"Nothing much. Although you don't use a saber, we suspect you're that Wan Sanhuo."

"Rather than let you leave, it's better to take your head first and search around later."

"Don't worry, if you really aren't Wan Sanhuo, we'll at least bury your corpse."

The two acted like they were performing a skit, each speaking one line after another, almost making Li Yan laugh.

Heavens, open your eyes and see! What kind of world is this? They want to kill someone just because they suspect him?

Compared to these two, no one I've killed was innocent.

And they still call me a butcher?

What a reversal!

Lost in thought, he unleashed the Minor Accomplishment stage Tearing Wind Claws. The sound of raging winds howled through the forest, startling the two men before him.

Seizing an opening, Li Yan skillfully used the Wave-Treading Steps to pass between them, his claws simultaneously gripping both their necks.

"Spare... spare our lives!"

"Brother, we were wrong, please..."

Crack!

The sound of bones shattering rang out. The backs of their necks were crushed without exception, and their bodies collapsed to the ground.

[Strength +3] [Speed +2] [Physique +4] [True Qi +2] [Experience Points +37]

The attributes dropped by the two men entered his body. Li Yan felt that these meager attributes were far from enough to improve himself.

Looking at the two corpses before him, Li Yan fell into a dilemma. Killing people indiscriminately at this juncture was not a good idea; it would be troublesome if he attracted more attention.

After some thought, Li Yan made a decision that went against his principles. He dragged the two corpses to a mountain hollow and tossed them down, then threw some rocks on top, pretending to bury them.

Lu Cheng, Lian Yunhao: You call this burying them?

The rest of his journey became smooth. Since he wasn't carrying a saber, he didn't attract anyone else's attention, and he soon arrived at Duobao Town.

Duobao Town, Duobao Town, treasures piled high, Duobao Town, Duobao Town, caution the traveler nigh.

Although it was just a town, its prosperity was no less than the central area of Dongjiang City.

From the moment he entered the town, he saw endless streams of carriages coming and going. The streets were packed with vendors on both sides, displaying a dazzling array of novelties.

In addition, there were many martial artists here, but they were mostly guards hired by traveling merchants, all appearing unapproachable.

Thinking of completing Shangguan Liuyun's task as soon as possible, Li Yan began searching for the mansion of the Duobao Magistrate.

"Little brother, looking for a meal or a room?"

Outside an inn, a waiter was soliciting business. After a moment's thought, Li Yan walked in. "Bring me something to fill my stomach, whatever you think is best. No alcohol."

"Coming right up~"

Soon, the waiter brought a plate of soft, fragrant meat buns, a roasted chicken, and a portion of braised beef.

"Enjoy your meal, sir."

As the waiter was about to leave, Li Yan called out to him, "Waiter, do you know how to get to the Duobao Magistrate's residence?"

Hearing this, the waiter paused, then his smile widened.

"You're looking for the Duobao Magistrate too, sir?"

"Too? Many people are looking for the Duobao Magistrate recently?"

Exchanging a glance, Li Yan thought of something. He took out a piece of broken silver and tossed it to the waiter. "Tell me the specifics of the situation."

The waiter looked around before speaking. "Sir, you might not know, but just a few days ago, the Magistrate... disappeared!"

"Disappeared?"

"That's right. A living person, suddenly vanished."

"No one knows exactly what happened, but I heard he suddenly disappeared the day before yesterday. The people at the Magistrate's mansion are still searching everywhere."

"Oh? The day before yesterday?"

Li Yan pondered. Calculating the time, the day before yesterday was precisely when the incident in Dongjiang City of his had spread.

Just after the incident in Dongjiang City, the Duobao Magistrate disappeared. Could there be a connection between these two events?

After asking the waiter for the location of the Duobao Magistrate's home, the waiter was called away by someone else.

After eating, Li Yan left the inn and headed straight for the Magistrate's mansion.

The Duobao Magistrate's mansion was located on Wuyou Lane in the eastern part of the city. Wuyou Lane contained four large estates. The other three belonged to well-known local wealthy merchants, but the Duobao Magistrate was different; he was a truly rich merchant.

Looking in from outside the lane, one could still see many people coming and going. Among them were quite a few figures from the martial arts world. It seemed the Magistrate's disappearance had already attracted significant attention.

Just as he was about to step forward and investigate, he heard two burly men approaching him.

As they walked, they grumbled, "This is ridiculous. It's been two days, and there's not a single clue."

"Tell me about it. Anyone who could abduct the Magistrate so silently must be at least a Gathering Qi expert. What are we still doing here?"

"Let's go, let's go. If we stay any longer, we'll end up dead here."

As the two men left, an old man rushed out, "Wait, wait, gentlemen!"

The old man blocked their path and said with a sincere expression, "You two gentlemen, everyone says you are the most skilled trackers in Great Wu. If even you give up on my Magistrate, then..."

"Old man, get lost, get lost. It's not that we don't want to help, but this is a problem our brothers can't handle."

"Keep investigating, and you'll either be wasting your time, or you'll actually find something and then have your neck snapped by the person behind it all. We don't want to die over such a trivial matter."

"You'd better find a more effective Taoist temple or Buddhist monastery and pray to the gods."

As they spoke, the two men walked out of the lane and happened to run into Li Yan.

Li Yan stepped forward and approached the old man, who was sighing dejectedly. "Old sir, has the mansion encountered trouble?"

The old man looked up and saw Li Yan's young face. His eyes lit up slightly. "Indeed, we've encountered trouble. Would the young hero be willing to lend a hand?"

"Hahahaha, speak no further. I, Li, love meddling in other people's affairs the most. Hurry, hurry, tell me what happened."

Li Yan didn't give the old man a chance to say more, grabbing him and heading into the Duobao Magistrate's mansion.

Along the way, the old man gave a general account of the situation in the mansion.

It was basically the same as what the innkeeper had said: the Magistrate had mysteriously disappeared, and despite a thorough search of the mansion, inside and out, there were no clues.

Currently, the preliminary suspicion was that their master had been abducted by people from the martial arts world. There were also yamen runners from the town and martial artists assisting in the search, but so far, nothing had been found.

"Young Master Li, that's about the situation. Do you have any more questions?"

"No more. Steward Li, may I look around the mansion?"

"This... of course."

With the master of the house's consent, Li Yan immediately began to explore the mansion. As expected of a Magistrate's residence, it had four courtyards and two separate side courtyards.

However, after a tour, he did notice some issues and found Steward Li.

"Steward Li, I see traces of women living in the mansion, yet besides the maids, I haven't seen anyone else?"

Steward Li nodded. "That's right. With the master's sudden disappearance, the mistresses became very anxious, and the First Mistress arranged for the family to temporarily move elsewhere."

"I see. The First Mistress is indeed the Magistrate's capable assistant."

"Yes, the Magistrate has had smooth sailing these past few years, largely due to the First Mistress's help. It's just that the Master... alas..."

Glancing at Steward Li, who seemed to hesitate to speak further, Li Yan subtly inquired about the residences of the other mistresses.

Just then, the sound of meal preparation came from the kitchen. Steward Li immediately invited Li Yan to dine in the mansion.