"Household Head, Young Master Lin, our men have thoroughly investigated both inside and outside Qingyang Town." A He Family scout leader bowed as he reported. "Most of the unfamiliar faces that have appeared in town these past few days have already had their identities verified. They are mostly small fry who heard that Black Wind Stronghold had been destroyed and came to fish in troubled waters, nothing worth worrying about. But... several groups have indeed been moving mysteriously, and they seem to be deliberately avoiding our eyes."
"Focus on those groups." Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them.
The scout leader's heart tightened, and he hurriedly said, "Yes! One group has around five or six people. They frequently appear near the black market in the west of town and seem to be gathering information about certain special materials. They spend lavishly, but their origins are unknown. Another group has only two people, one tall and one short. Their cultivation seems fairly strong. Someone saw them secretly observing Su Mansion and our He Family residence, making them highly suspicious. Also... near the abandoned temple in the north of town, we found some... bloodstains, as well as traces of a fight. They seem to have been left last night, but no corpses were found at the scene."
"The abandoned temple in the north? Bloodstains and signs of combat?" He Yuanshan perked up. "Do we know who was involved?"
The scout leader shook his head. "Not yet. The traces there were deliberately cleaned up, but the methods were rather crude. Our people are still investigating further."
At this, the tapping of Lin Chen's fingers stopped. He recalled what Su Changfeng had said: the cultivation arts used by those who attacked Su Mansion had been a hodgepodge. If they