Li Yan rode the wind beneath his feet and soon returned to Treasure Official's Manor.
At this moment, the manor was deathly quiet, and even the servants on night patrol were dozing off.
He swiftly made his way to the study. After slipping inside without a sound, Li Yan began searching.
According to First Madam, Treasure Official seemed to have learned some information and had decided to hide himself until this matter had passed.
Before long, Li Yan found a jade ornament on the bookshelf.
He gently twisted the ornament, and a passage leading underground opened in the floor.
After waiting a moment and confirming that no strange sounds came from the passage, Li Yan entered.
There was a whole new world below, clearly refined and decorated by skilled craftsmen. Every kind of daily necessity was available.
Not long after heading farther inside, Li Yan heard movement. Following the sound, he found a man sprawled on a cushioned couch, snoring away.
Well, it was already late at night. Sleeping was hardly unusual.
"Official, the guest has already arrived. Stop pretending, will you? The tip of your blade is sticking out of your sleeve~"
Li Yan looked at the blade tip peeking from the Official's cuff and nearly burst out laughing~
No sooner had he finished speaking than the blade tip slowly slipped back into the sleeve, and the scene fell into silence.
After a long while, the man on the couch sighed and slowly sat up.
"You are quite impressive, sir. It was only the edge of my blade showing, yet you still noticed."
When the man turned around, Li Yan finally saw his appearance clearly in the dim candlelight.
The man looked around fifty. Several strands of white were mixed into his black hair. Beneath his hawk-like sword brows, his gaze was unexpectedly gentle, while his round cheeks gave him a prosperous, well-fed look.
"Since you found me, speak. Whose man are you? What will it take for you to let me go?"
Hearing that, Li Yan felt that the other man might have misunderstood something. After thinking for a moment, he took out a letter from his robes. Shangguan Liuyun had given it to him before he departed.
The Official gave Li Yan a suspicious glance, accepted the letter, and muttered, "Bandits write letters these days? They have become so cultured?"
He opened the letter, and after reading its contents, the Official's expression became exceedingly strange.
Only after a long while did he look at Li Yan and ask, "You were not sent by Black Cloud Stronghold?"
"Black Cloud Stronghold?"
Seeing that Li Yan did not seem to be faking it, he spoke again. "Then you were not sent by Three Fiends Ridge either?"
Li Yan's mouth twitched. This Official had truly offended quite a few people!
Seeing the change in Li Yan's expression, the Official suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! You scared me to death, scared me to death! Brother, you really scared Li Fucai half to death!"
Li Fucai—quite fitting for the title Treasure Official.
Li Fucai did not stand on ceremony. He pulled Li Yan down onto the cushioned couch and asked about the situation in Dongjiang City.
When he learned that the Shangguan Family was now besieged on all sides, he frowned again.
"Alas, the Shangguan Family and I have worked together for many years, and they have repeatedly pulled me from fire and water. By sentiment or reason, public duty or private feeling, I ought to lend them a hand. Besides, what they need is merely a lift of the hand, but..."
It was obvious that this old fellow had something up his sleeve. Yet recalling Shangguan Liuyun's instructions, Li Yan sighed softly. "If Official Li has some unspeakable difficulty, you may as well say it plainly."
"Hahahahahaha! His unspeakable difficulty is naturally my Black Cloud Stronghold!"
A wild laugh rang out as several men carrying heavy-backed sabers strode in.
When he saw the newcomers, Li Fucai's expression turned extremely ugly. He turned to Li Yan. "You are with Black Cloud Stronghold?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I do not even know what Black Cloud Stronghold is."
"Then how did they get down here?"
"How would I know?"
The two looked toward the men from Black Cloud Stronghold, whereupon the leader laughed. "The moment we entered the study, we saw such a huge tunnel entrance. So we came in~"
Li Fucai looked at Li Yan again. "You came in without closing the door?"
Li Yan shrugged. "How was I supposed to know? Aren't mechanisms supposed to close automatically after a set time?"
The two stared wide-eyed at each other, facing one another without a word.
"Enough. Kid, get lost. We are here for Li Fucai!"
The leader fixed Li Fucai with a vicious glare. "Official Li, you are quite something. Our Stronghold Chief told you to provide provisions and supplies for thirty thousand men. With your wealth, that little bit should be nothing, right?"
"Yet you actually dared to disappear, making nearly a thousand men of Black Cloud Stronghold search everywhere for you."
"This..."
Official Li furrowed his brows, his head aching terribly.
Li Yan was also puzzled by the scene before him. According to Shangguan Liuyun, Official Li should have considerable influence and be able to help him stabilize the situation in Dongjiang City. No matter what, he should not have been someone a gang of mountain bandits could push around. Why was Official Li so wary of these men?
As if he had seen the question in Li Yan's heart, Li Fucai leaned close and whispered, "These people are nothing to fear, but they are actually the fangs and claws of the current Grand Commandant."
The current Grand Commandant, Wu Zongren?
At those words, Li Yan's pupils constricted sharply.
Well now, were these not the enemies of his entire family?
They had delivered themselves right to his doorstep!
Wait, what had these men just said?
Nearly a thousand bandits in Black Cloud Stronghold?
Excellent. Now this was right in his line of work!
"Hmph. Since you know that we serve the Grand Commandant, how dare you, Official Li, defy his orders?"
"If the Grand Commandant is dissatisfied, Official Li, I fear you will not be able to keep this enormous estate of yours."
"How about this? As long as Official Li provides double the supplies, I will certainly speak with the Stronghold Chief on your behalf and let this matter pass with one stroke of the pen. What do you say?"
"This..."
Just as Official Li was considering what else to say, Li Yan had already walked toward them.
"Hey, kid, I already told you this has nothing to do with you. Stay obediently to the side. Since you led us here, in a moment..."
Crack!
Before he could finish, Li Yan's Tearing Wind Claws had already seized his throat. As his five fingers suddenly tightened, he crushed the man's throat.
"What?"
"You dare attack my Elder Brother? Do you know who we are?"
"Official Li, could it be that you want to become enemies with the Grand Commandant?!"
"Enough nonsense, take him down first—"
Li Yan did not give them time to babble. He picked up a heavy-backed saber from the ground, and with a flicker of his body, freezing saber light bloomed again and again in the space.
In less than two breaths, the throats of all five or six men who had come were split open, and they had lost all signs of life.
"Th-this-this... Kid, what are you doing? You killed them. They will surely report this to Wu Zongren. You... you have truly dragged me into misery!"
Li Fucai truly had not expected Li Yan to make a move here.
The men had died in Treasure Official's Manor. He could not escape blame for this matter, and even if he handed Li Yan over, he still would not escape punishment.
"Hahahahaha, Official Li, why be like this? Besides, was what I did not exactly what you wanted in your heart?"
"You!"
Looking at Li Yan, Li Fucai hated him so much that his teeth itched.
Earlier, he had indeed considered using this kid to draw the attention of Black Cloud Stronghold and Three Fiends Ridge, while he slipped away amid the chaos and avoided this storm of blood and wind.
But now that Black Cloud Stronghold's men had died in the Official's Manor, once word got out, Black Cloud Stronghold would certainly not let the matter rest. It was likely only a matter of time before they found him.
More importantly, if this matter reached Wu Zongren's ears, then his end would truly be miserable!
"Hahahahaha, Official Li is a smart man. Things have come to this, so you should understand that you and I are already people in the same boat, and there is no road of retreat left!"
Seeing Li Fucai's murderous expression, Li Yan smiled so broadly that he could not close his mouth.
At last, Li Fucai dropped onto the bed with a thump, let out a long sigh, and said, "Kid, what exactly do you want?"
Before you continue