Task Analysis and Arrangements

Hui Ping Town, Xia Family Martial Hall.

Mutton simmered over a low flame in the pot. The family of three stared eagerly at it, swallowing again and again, but ultimately forced themselves to endure.

Meat was precious in these times.

It was meant to entertain the senior brother from the sect who had arrived today. They could not sneak a bite now.

Otherwise, when the senior brother arrived and discovered that the meal prepared for him consisted of leftovers, it would be an ugly scene.

"Master, a distinguished disciple from Hundred Flowers Valley has arrived."

A young man in his twenties entered excitedly.

He was Xia Da's personal disciple, responsible for keeping watch on the street and waiting for the disciples of Hundred Flowers Valley to arrive.

Upon hearing this, Xia Da hurried outside to greet him.

He saw a young man in Sky Blue Clothing riding up to the entrance of his martial hall.

"Are you the senior brother from Hundred Flowers Valley?"

Xia Da stepped forward several paces and asked excitedly.

He had once been an Outer Sect Disciple of Hundred Flowers Valley. After reaching adulthood, he had made no further significant progress in martial arts, so he graduated, left the Mountain Gate, and returned to his hometown of Hui Ping Town, where he opened a martial hall and taught boxing for a living.

More than ten years had passed since then. His life was going well, and he had married and had children.

It was Xia Da who had reported the recent disappearances of people in the surrounding areas.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Xia. I am Lin Lin, an Official Disciple of Hundred Flowers Valley. I have been tasked with investigating the clues behind the disappearances here."

"Matters delayed me on the road. I made Senior Brother wait for a long time and disturbed your family's rest. Please forgive me."

Lin Lin handed over his identity token and smiled as he cupped his fists in greeting, calling Xia Da "senior brother" with every other sentence.

Strictly speaking, although Xia Da was much older than him, he did not need to address Xia Da as senior brother.

As an Official Disciple of a renowned Martial Arts Holy Land like Hundred Flowers Valley, it would have been perfectly normal for him to speak condescendingly and boss around someone like Xia Da, who had graduated as an Outer Sect Disciple.

But Lin Lin had come to handle a matter, not to flaunt his authority.

Naturally, he would not act arrogant and overbearing at a time like this, making his own task more difficult.

Xia Da briefly inspected the identity token and recognized several coded markings upon it, confirming that it was genuine.

Hearing Lin Lin's introduction, Xia Da, who had spent many years in Hundred Flowers Valley, knew that the other man was here to complete his promotion task from Official Disciple to Elite Disciple.

The other party would certainly do everything possible to resolve this incident.

If it could be resolved, not only would Hundred Flowers Valley's reputation rise,

but Xia Da's prestige as the one who had taken the lead would also increase greatly in the local area.

Moreover, seeing Lin Lin address him as senior brother and give him such respect, Xia Da immediately developed a strong favorable impression of him.

Even the slight dissatisfaction and resentment from waiting half the night vanished because of it.

"Senior Brother Lin, there is no need to be so polite. Come, come. My humble home is simple, but I have prepared some modest wine. Allow me to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey."

Xia Da pulled Lin Lin toward the martial hall.

The two exchanged pleasantries along the way, each calling the other senior brother, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

After seating Lin Lin, Xia Da introduced his family. "Senior Brother Lin, this is my wife, Xia Tu Shi. This is my daughter, Xia Mingyue. Her natural talent and comprehension are far greater than mine. Once she is a little older, I plan to send her to the sect to study martial arts."

Xia Tu Shi was a delicate-looking woman in her twenties. The adorable little girl at her side, who looked only five or six and wore a timid expression, was her daughter.

Lin Lin gave a slight nod, which counted as a greeting.

Then Xia Da took the initiative to pour wine, prepare dipping sauces for Lin Lin, and offer him a toast.

Only after seeing Xia Da drink did Lin Lin take a sip himself.

The mutton in the pot was the same. Only after Xia Da picked up a piece and ate it did he reach for his chopsticks.

Even then, Lin Lin merely sampled it at first and did not swallow.

Only after carefully analyzing the food in his mouth with his sense of taste and Inner Breath, confirming that there was nothing unusual about it, did he dare eat it at ease.

When traveling the martial world, these were basic precautions. One could never be too wary of others.

That was precisely why Hundred Flowers Valley had made Geography and Culture Class and Herb and Poison Identification Class Required Courses.

Without guidance from their elders, these young people with excellent talent and aptitude but little experience would be far too likely to pay bloody lessons while traveling the martial world.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes,

they dismissed the irrelevant people and began discussing business.

"Senior Brother Lin, this is some intelligence I have collected recently."

As he spoke, Xia Da handed over a stack of papers.

Lin Lin flipped through them briefly.

When he had first accepted the task, Lin Lin had already learned the basic details of the disappearance case. What Xia Da brought him now was more detailed information.

After noticing that people were disappearing on a large scale, the surrounding villages had gone into lockdown.

Yet even under such strict guard, people continued to vanish.

However, compared with the earlier large-scale disappearances, far fewer people were disappearing now.

"Give me a rough terrain map of the surrounding villages and towns."

After reading the intelligence, Lin Lin spoke.

Xia Da had long been prepared and quickly brought one over.

Using the intelligence he had just read to compare against the terrain map, Lin Lin began sketching out the outlines and soon marked out a general area.

"According to the intelligence Senior Brother Xia mentioned, the first people to disappear were villagers near the Lianyun Mountain Range. After that, the disappearances spread outward from Lianyun Mountain, from near to far. It is not difficult to conclude that the group is likely hiding in Lianyun Mountain."

"Even after the surrounding villages went into lockdown, they could still seize people without a sound. Their martial arts must have reached a certain level. They have surely condensed Inner Breath, making them far stronger than ordinary people. They should possess strength in the upper-middle range of Third-Rate martial artists."

"However, judging by how furtively they act, as well as their audacity in causing trouble so close to Hundred Flowers Valley, their martial arts must not have reached the Second-Rate, and their knowledge and experience are limited."

"I once heard the elders in my family speak of how Roving Bandits develop."

"At first, a small group of refugees takes to the wilderness and becomes bandits. They then roam about, plundering and growing stronger. Once they have accumulated some strength, they find a territory to settle in, seize people from the surrounding area for labor or to expand their forces, establish a mountain stronghold, and become Mountain Bandits who plague one region."

"This group's actions are quite similar to the pattern of roving bandits becoming mountain bandits."

"Since Senior Brother Xia is a local, you should know the local gentry. Please contact them and gather several thousand local militia to search Lianyun Mountain. Also invite the many local experts. I will hold the line and prevent the enemy from making a desperate counterattack that harms ordinary people."

"We must eliminate this group of roving bandits before they fully take shape. Otherwise, they will surely bring endless disaster."

Lin Lin spoke calmly and unhurriedly, laying out the conclusions he had drawn from the intelligence and his arrangements for what came next.