This Fellow, Your Little Lady Is Quite Pretty!

Four days later, the three arrived outside Golden Horse City in a carriage.

Golden Horse City was one of the most prosperous ancient cities among the Thirteen Cities of the Western Continent under the Tianxuan Dynasty.

It lay in the central region of the Western Continent, broad from north to south and narrow from east to west.

To the south, it connected directly to the Three Prefectures of Kaiyang in the Northern Continent.

To the north, it linked to Polar Ink Valley.

Upon entering, six Sky-Supporting Pillars stood on either side of the city gate, while pavilions and towers stretched away along the broad streets.

Hundred-foot-tall buildings rose on both sides, carrying an air as though they could pluck the stars from the heavens with one hand.

If Lin Heng had to describe it himself, he only had one sentence:

At a glance, it was fucking huge!

For the next phase of their operation, Ye Tian was responsible for investigating the City Lord's Mansion, while Lin Heng was to negotiate with the Punishment Bureau.

As for Yun Yao...

She planned to loaf around for a few days first. It was not often that she got to leave, so naturally she had to wander around and have some fun.

Little did she know that she would pay the price for her carelessness.

Lin Heng shrugged and quickly found the Justice Bureau office after asking passersby for directions.

He directly displayed an Identity Token, declaring both his identity and purpose.

Every disciple participating in a sect mission possessed a token as proof of identity, and it could also be used as a communication signal.

If the token was activated in danger, the other disciples traveling with them could determine their location within a radius of ten li.

That way, they could provide support in time.

"Ah! Immortal, please have a seat! What are you standing around for? Bring the tea over!"

A middle-aged man wearing a black robe with a brown cloth pouch tied around his waist gave the order.

He was the Bureau Chief of the Justice Bureau, the highest-ranking official here.

The Justice Bureau could be understood as a yamen, responsible for maintaining order in the city and apprehending vicious criminals.

Lin Heng did not stand on ceremony. "Since Bureau Chief already knows why I am here, why not tell me the situation directly? The sooner we catch the culprit, the sooner you can all rest easy."

"Good, good, good!"

The Bureau Chief stopped being polite. "Then, Immortal, please follow me to the Morgue. Some things simply cannot be described in words."

The Morgue was inside the Justice Bureau. It could be reached by passing through two corridors.

Though it was called a morgue, it was actually just a storeroom for miscellaneous items.

The weather was growing warmer. Logically speaking, corpses left there for so long should have begun to stink.

"Immortal, please look. Those are the three."

Standing at the door, the Bureau Chief pointed at the corpses covered with white cloths, clearly having no intention of approaching.

Lin Heng had no choice but to step forward alone and inspect them.

The moment he pulled back the white cloth, he nearly retched.

It was not because of any pungent stench, but because of the corpses' horrifying appearance.

Their skin was shriveled and dull, their hair like dead wood, their cheeks sunken and their eyes swollen. They looked as though they had been sucked dry alive.

He pulled back the other two white cloths as well. The three corpses had died in practically identical ways.

Seeing that Lin Heng had not even blinked, the Bureau Chief and his two subordinates could not help but feel reverence. "As expected of an Immortal. When we first saw these corpses, we were so frightened our souls nearly fled our bodies. Yet Immortal can remain so calm."

Lin Heng knew the plot of the original novel and had prepared himself in advance, so he naturally knew roughly what the corpses would look like.

"Does Immortal know what caused the three deaths? The coroner's examination concluded that all three died from their blood and qi being drained dry... but there is not a single wound on their bodies."

Lin Heng turned around and shook his head slightly. "Someone sucked them dry of Yang Essence. Yang Essence can also be understood as vital essence. Losing it damages one's lifespan, and having it completely drained means there is no life force left at all."

"I am curious, though. Why would someone like to seek prey in a Flower Pavilion?"

There was no need to explain what clients of brothels were like. They spent every day buying springtime pleasures and making merry—how much vigor could they possibly have?

If the killer cultivated by extracting Yang Essence, why not target strong men in the prime of their lives?

The three men lying on those wooden boards were all around fifty. By an ordinary person's average lifespan, they already had one foot in the grave.

How much could be gained from squeezing them dry?

"Fine, let's leave it at that for now. I have a rough idea. I suggest Bureau Chief compile a list," Lin Heng said.

"What list?"

"A list of everyone who has visited the Flower Pavilion in the past two months, especially those between forty and fifty-five."

The Bureau Chief looked somewhat awkward upon hearing this, but he still nodded in agreement.

"Immortal, please wait. I will send someone at once."

The Bureau Chief waited for about half an hour before the attendant returned with the register of names. The Flower Pavilion itself kept records, so compiling it had been quick.

Holding the register, Lin Heng scanned through it. There were seventeen people between the ages of forty and fifty-five, including the three deceased.

It was not difficult to notice that besides their shared age range, the deceased also had another thing in common.

That was, all three were wealthy merchants of Golden Horse City with considerable funds.

Suddenly, Lin Heng frowned when he saw the Bureau Chief's name.

The Bureau Chief's old face reddened, and he hurriedly tried to explain.

"I went there to investigate the culprit... absolutely not for..."

"Fine, fine." Lin Heng waved his hand. "I understand, I understand. Bureau Chief, do not be so nervous. We are all men—what is there to be embarrassed about?"

"I do have an idea. I hope Bureau Chief can do me a favor."

"Please speak, Immortal. Everyone in the Justice Bureau will do their utmost."

"It is not that troublesome. Tonight, you and I..." Lin Heng stepped closer and whispered in his ear.

"This..." The Bureau Chief's eyes widened. "Would that not be too risky?"

"What are you afraid of? With me here, just do as you please."

After explaining the arrangements, Lin Heng left the Justice Bureau directly.

It was noon.

The small stalls lining the streets of Golden Horse City had almost all been packed away, leaving the roads clear for the buildings behind them.

That was how business worked here. Small vendors could only come to the streets to hawk their wares in the morning and evening.

Lin Heng strolled leisurely westward along the ancient street, while the fragrance of wine in the air grew increasingly rich.

Before long, he found Yun Yao in a restaurant.

"Yo, finished with your business?"

Lin Heng pulled out a long bench and sat at the table, pouring himself a bowl of wine. Only after wetting his throat did he reply, "I figured it out. An Evil Cultivator is draining people's Yang Essence, which is a little troublesome... Tonight, I plan to bring the Bureau Chief of the Justice Bureau to the Flower Pavilion and lure the snake from its hole."

Lin Heng briefly explained his plan.

The Evil Cultivator targeted wealthy middle-aged men. He intended to use the Bureau Chief as bait to draw the culprit out, then suppress them himself.

His only concern was that if he could not defeat the other party, the Bureau Chief would die for nothing.

"Mm... It is indeed inappropriate for you to guarantee someone's safety like this. You are only at the Qi Refining Second Layer; that really is not enough."

"But! I do not think there is any need to rush. It is only a B-Class Mission, so stay a few more days. Besides, there is still no news from your Senior Brother Ye."

Yun Yao tore off a duck leg and began gnawing on it in large bites.

She clearly had not taken the mission to heart at all.

Good grief! You turned a sect mission into an all-expenses-paid vacation. You are not willing to put in even the slightest effort!

When something happens to you and the D-Class Mission is delayed again, in the end, even this simple mission will be impossible to complete.

Judging by the timing, the Young Master from the City Lord's Mansion should be coming to deliver his head soon.

That dog of an author arranged the plot like this.

Every time they arrived somewhere, there would inevitably be some lecherous young master lusting after the heroine's beauty.

Either the original protagonist killed him, or the original heroine killed him.

Then the young master's dad would fly into a useless rage and come deliver another batch of heads.

Throw in a little hero-saves-the-beauty plot, and the original protagonist would get to show off, wouldn't he?

Though this transition was hardly original, it was very effective at helping Ye Tian farm favorability.

"The Young Master from the City Lord's Mansion?"

Yun Yao froze slightly.

Just as she was wondering about it, three finely dressed men suddenly surged in through the door.

"Young Master, Young Master, we came to the wrong place!"

"This is a restaurant. Lady Yu's Dyeing Workshop is next door... Let us go next door now, and have Lady Yu sober you up."

Two men dressed as servants supported the young man in the middle from either side.

The young man reeked of alcohol and seemed thoroughly drunk.

"Wait!" The young man shoved one of them away, braced his right hand against the wall, and staggered toward the window-side seats.

A smile curled across Lin Heng's lips. Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives!

"This fellow, your little lady is quite pretty!"