Jiangnan City Lord!

As the City Lord of the prosperous Jiangnan City, Uncle Yan was very busy with his daily work.

However, even under such circumstances, he still decided to summon his son, Yan Xiangma, to have a talk with him.

He glanced at his son, who was standing in the corner admiring the "Tiger Roaring Mountains Painting" by the Empire's renowned master, Qin Kuaiyu. Uncle Yan picked up his teacup, took a sip of the hot tea, and said, "The ancients valued the spirit of the dragon and tiger. The dragons have all been slaughtered, but the fierce tigers still roar in the mountains—Qin Kuaiyu is indeed a renowned master of the Empire. With just a few strokes, he has vividly rendered the majesty of the tiger king. Every time I look at this painting, it broadens my mind and fills me with boundless spirit."

Yan Xiangma knew that his father had temporarily finished with his documents. He turned and walked towards his father, smiling, and said, "Father is the Tiger King of this Jiangnan City. With one roar, the heroes of Jiangnan City fall silent, and the wicked bow their heads."

"Flatterer." Uncle Yan said with a calm and indifferent demeanor. He had heard far more shameless flattery than this, and countless flattering words had come from his own son's mouth. "Did you kill the Crow?"

"Yes, Father." Yan Xiangma replied with a smile. "That Crow brought death upon himself by daring to attack my sister, Xiao Xin. Recently, all the city lord's mansion's guards have been dispatched to track down the Crow. I also wanted to share your burden and avenge my sister—so I sent some of my trusted subordinates to search for the Crow's whereabouts. To my surprise, they actually found some traces. We followed the clues, then set a trap, and killed him in one fell swoop—"

"Where did you kill him?"

"At Li Mu Yang's house."

"Xiao Xin's classmate?"

"Yes, Father."

Uncle Yan tilted his head back, lost in thought, his gaze unfocused. His voice was low as he said, "Both attacks are related to that Li Mu Yang. Is Li Mu Yang's background—clean?"

"Father, I had people investigate. He's absolutely clean. He's definitely not a pawn planted in Jiangnan City by the Song Family or the Lu Family—"

Uncle Yan's eyes turned stern, and he said in a low voice, "Who told you that this assassination was orchestrated by the Song Family or the Lu Family?"

"Father, do I need anyone to tell me such things? Besides the Song and Lu families—"

"Silence. If there's no evidence, do not speak such words again in the future."

"I'm not speaking carelessly. I only said it casually in front of you. Right now, it's just the two of us, father and son, in this room—"

"Even in front of me, you are not allowed to make wild guesses or falsely accuse others. Remember, this is a grave taboo."

"Yes." Yan Xiangma bowed slightly, accepting his father's instruction.

Uncle Yan's expression softened slightly. He looked at his son and said, "The Crow is ranked in the top twenty on the Empire's assassin list. His strength is quite considerable. You are only at the Mid-grade of the High Mountain Realm—how did you manage to kill the Crow by yourself?"

"It wasn't just me. Li Da Lu and the others helped. You know, Li Da Lu and the others are also quite strong—they're just a bit slow-witted."

"Since your men found the assassin Crow's whereabouts, why didn't you report it to the city lord's mansion in time? And why did you claim the bounty without discussing it with me?" Uncle Yan looked thoughtfully at Yan Xiangma and said, "What exactly are you hiding?"

Yan Xiangma's expression stiffened for a moment, then quickly returned to natural. He chuckled and said, "What do I have to hide? What is there for me to hide? The reason I didn't have people report to the city lord's mansion in time was because there wasn't enough time. You know how skilled the Crow is; he's elusive and kills incredibly fast. After I encountered him, I didn't even have a moment to catch my breath, let alone spare a thought to send someone for reinforcements. Besides, the bounty for the Crow was a notice posted by the city lord's mansion, personally sealed by you, Father. After I killed the Crow, it was natural for me to claim the reward. Otherwise, with your usual noble and upright character, you definitely wouldn't have allowed me to take those three thousand gold coins—"

"Do you know that by taking this credit, the mastermind behind the scenes will now be targeting you, and you will also have to endure their endless retaliations—"

"Father, who am I?"

"—"

"I am Yan Xiangma, the son of Uncle Yan, the City Lord of Jiangnan City. My father's reputation is immense, guarding one side. Naturally, I must also stand tall and be fearless. Those scumbags who only dare to strike from the shadows, do you think I would take them seriously? If they have the guts, let them come out and fight me head-on. I'll crush their balls—"

"Nonsense." Uncle Yan slammed his hand on the table. "Do you think this is a child's game?"

Yan Xiangma looked at his father with a serious expression and said, "I don't think this is a child's game, but it is a responsibility I should bear."

Uncle Yan stared at his son for a long time, then waved his hand and said, "You may go."

"Yes, Father."

Yan Xiangma opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing. He turned and walked towards the exit.

Click—

The sound of a mechanism operating echoed in the room.

The large "Tiger Roaring Mountains Painting" split in half from the middle, revealing a huge opening in the center of the wall. A man in a gray robe emerged from the dark hole.

He walked up to Uncle Yan and said, "City Lord, the young master is too deeply involved in this matter. I fear there may be future repercussions."

Uncle Yan pushed his chair away and stood up, pacing the study with some annoyance. "The Cui Family hasn't even reached a conclusion on this matter, yet he's stirring up trouble in the middle of it, which is truly infuriating. It seems I've been too lenient in disciplining him."

"What should we do next?"

Uncle Yan looked at the moonlight outside the window and pondered for a long time. He said, "First, we must ensure someone protects Xiangma's safety. He has some self-preservation abilities, but it's far from enough."

"Understood."

"Second, we must protect Xiao Xin's safety. It's good that Xiao Xin hasn't gone out these past few days. The Literary Examination is over, and in a few days, when the Cui Family arrives, Xiao Xin will also be taken back to Tiandu—The imperial capital is in turmoil, and the situation is unpredictable. We will wait and see."

"Understood."

"Third, investigate Li Mu Yang again. If necessary, don't hesitate to test him personally—"

"Does the City Lord suspect Li Mu Yang is a pawn for another family?" the man in the black robe asked in a deep voice. "The young master investigated, and I also had people investigate. All his information is normal; no flaws can be found."

"The absence of any flaws might be the biggest flaw," Uncle Yan said with a stern expression. "A master who can kill the Crow, do you think he's just a useless youth that you and I know?"

"Understood," the man in the black robe said in a deep voice.

Uncle Yan sighed softly and said, "It's not a proper path for Xiangma to be idle all day. This time, when Xiao Xin returns to the capital, let him also go to Tiandu to find a position."