The rain had not stopped.
Rumble~ Lightning flickered.
Ding Fengmian's mud-caked face was plastered with leaves, his hair a disheveled mess. Hired hands gathered the ropes beneath the drizzle, chattering among themselves in inexplicable awe.
He descended atop a dragon.
Unbelievable!
Yin Yingbo drew a deep breath and raised his hands in salute.
"Our three families were not capable enough. Ding Fengmian was right under our noses, yet after half a month of arrangements, we gained nothing and still had to trouble Earl Xingyi to act. Rest assured, my lord—we will never let him escape so easily again!"
"That is not so." Liang Qu shook his head. "Without your three families running about before and after, I would not have caught him so easily either."
Even after the rain curtain had lifted, it would still have taken several days, perhaps even ten, to find him.
Gold Medal Tiqi rose through the ranks solely by their case-solving abilities; not one of them was drawing a useless salary. If they chose a place to search the mountains, they had their reasons.
On the way here, Liang Qu had heard that the three families had repeatedly searched one particular area. He had deliberately taken a dragon around for a look, only for Ding Fengmian to poke his head out near the mountain where his camp was located. He had been even easier to find than expected, and Liang Qu had taken him down with a single arrow.
Three great bandits who had roamed about causing endless harm—he had captured them all by himself within a month. That ought to count as Great Merit, no? Liang Qu pondered in secret.
Yin Yingbo's thoughts were likewise whirling.
Though it was hard to believe, the facts lay before him.
The man whom their three families had