The Kidnapping?

It was just that Zhao Ping'an, who had only recently improved the Four Symbols Gathering Essence Art, didn't have enough Deduction Points to improve these three martial arts.

He wasn't in a hurry. In a little over a month at most, he would have enough Deduction Points to deduce all of them to the Profound Rank.

As Zhao Ping'an cultivated in peace on Wu'an Mountain, a group of riders galloped toward South Ridge City at full speed.

Every horse was powerfully built, with smooth, glossy coats and no mottled patches. Five were chestnut, while the rest were entirely black.

Anyone who looked closely would notice how fast the horses were, and how their strides moved in perfect coordination. Clearly, they had lived and trained together for years, building a rapport.

Horses of such quality, worth a fortune, could only be bred by the Great Noble Families with centuries of history—or by the military.

"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!"

Shouts rang out from the riders, mixed with the sharp crack of whips.

Most of them wore matching black clothes and broad-brimmed hats.

A curved saber hung at each person's left hip, and a compact crossbow at the right. Its intricate mechanical parts made it clear that it was no ordinary weapon.

Anyone familiar with such weapons would recognize it at once as an Armor Piercing Crossbow from the Shan'an Dynasty, east of the Profound Water Dynasty. Paired with specially made Qi Breaking Arrows, a volley from several of them could kill even a newly advanced Great Grandmaster caught off guard.

There were twenty black-clad crossbowmen in the group, all at the early stage of the Innate Realm, ranging from the first to the third level.

On the five red horses at the front sat five figures of differing builds.

Anyone familiar with the experts of the Profound Water Dynasty would recognize four of them at a glance.

Zhongzhou Prefecture's Surging Waves Palm, Shangguan Xing, at Grandmaster Peak!

Zhongzhou Prefecture's Thunderclap Hall Master, Jia Chengzhi, at Grandmaster Peak!

Zhongzhou Prefecture's Mountain Breaking Fist, Guan Liang, at Grandmaster Peak!

Zhongzhou Prefecture's Scorpion Woman, Qian Yingying, at Grandmaster Peak!

At the head of the four rode an old man in brocade robes. His face was aged, but his eyes gleamed. Across the entire Profound Water Dynasty, few had ever seen him.

His cultivation had already reached the Great Grandmaster Realm.

"Everyone, pick up the pace! We must reach Thousand Guts Valley, ten li outside South Ridge City, before dark!"

"Yes!"

"Hyah!..."

"Crack!..."

At the brocade-robed elder's shout, everyone began whipping their horses faster.

Thousand Guts Valley was the most treacherous terrain around South Ridge City. It was like a vast maze, threaded through with winding paths. Its unusual landscape kept it shrouded in dense fog throughout the year.

Without someone familiar with the valley to guide them, ordinary people would need at least three days to find their way out.

Many who wandered in had starved to death without ever escaping. The local mountain folk called it Heartbreak Valley and gave it a wide berth whenever they went into the mountains.

In the dead of night, a group burst out of Thousand Guts Valley and sped toward South Ridge City.

They were part of the riders from earlier. Only six of them had come out: Surging Waves Palm Shangguan Xing and Scorpion Woman Qian Yingying led the way, with four black-clad Innate Realm warriors behind them.

"Madam Qian, what do you think that lord wants with us this time? In the middle of the night, he's sent two Grandmasters sneaking into the city to abduct a Houtian Martial Artist—and brought twenty Black Underworld Guards along!"

The eight of them hurried onward using Lightness Skill. At the front, Shangguan Xing turned to Qian Yingying and asked, curiosity plain in his voice.

"Brother Shangguan, there are things you and I are better off not knowing. Don't blame me for not warning you: curiosity killed the cat. You don't want to die without even knowing how it happened."

"You... Forget it."

Qian Yingying's warning left Shangguan Xing fuming. He stopped trying to make conversation and trudged on in silence.

He knew she was just as unaware of their mission's purpose. The four of them had once owed that lord's family a favor, and now they had come to repay it.

A debt of gratitude was the hardest kind to repay—especially a great favor, one that had saved a life in a moment of desperation. Paying it back meant risking your life.

Their target was the mistress of Zhao Residence in South Ridge City, a woman in her thirties or forties whose cultivation was only that of a Houtian Martial Artist.

The lord's instructions were simple: take her, but don't hurt her.

They didn't know why that lord wanted them to abduct someone in this remote little city. It was enough to obey his orders.

The next morning, shortly after breakfast, Zhao Ping'an received an urgent letter from his steward.

"What? Mistress went missing last night? Master was badly wounded! Butler Fu is dead?"

Zhao Ping'an shot to his feet as he read the letter, his face changing dramatically as he blurted out the questions.

The Senior Disciple Brother had sent the letter. He and the other senior disciples were searching the whole city for clues.

Zhao Ping'an couldn't imagine who would dare stir up trouble in South Ridge City right under his nose. He couldn't recall offending anyone in the city.

"Could it be outsiders?"

Without another thought, he vanished from Wu'an Mountain and raced toward South Ridge City.

He used Flying Dragon Crossing. After cultivating it for so long, he had reached the proficient level, and his speed was like a gale.

He covered the distance of more than forty li in just five or six minutes.

South Ridge City was under lockdown. Anyone entering or leaving had to pass through three checkpoints before being allowed through.

Clearly, Zhao Xiuyun's disappearance had alerted City Lord Zhou Ruiming. Out of consideration for Zhao Ping'an, he had sent people out early that morning to help find useful clues.

But their efforts were bound to be futile. Whoever had easily beaten Zhao Ping'an's master, Zheng Hetong—a late-stage Innate martial artist—into unconsciousness had to be at least at Xiantian Peak, and was most likely a Grandmaster.

Still, since the culprit had gone to such lengths to abduct Zhao Xiuyun, they must want something from Zhao Ping'an.

If they wanted revenge, they could have simply killed her. Why abduct her—and only his Mistress, Zhao Xiuyun—while leaving his badly wounded, unconscious Master, Zheng Hetong, behind at Zhao Residence?

With his face dark as thunder, Zhao Ping'an soon found the Senior Disciple Brother who had sent the letter at Zhao Residence.

The Second Senior Disciple Brother, Third Senior Sister, and the Fourth Senior Disciple Brother, who had hurried over after hearing the news, were all searching the city for clues.

Zhao Ping'an first went to examine his Master's injuries. With True Essence probing every inch of him, he quickly identified the cause.

A palm strike to the chest. Four broken ribs. His lungs and liver had ruptured and bled, and several meridians were damaged.

Fortunately, the attacker hadn't intended to kill Zheng Hetong. The strike had missed his heart; otherwise...