Wangjiang Tower

A few days later, they came upon a great river surging along.

The Jiayang River rose in the mountains at the far western edge of the Great Jin Dynasty, then cut across the entire dynasty from west to east. But when people spoke of the Jiayang River, they usually meant the stretch right in the middle.

Jiayang City stood on its banks. With roads open to carriages and horses, it was a major crossroads of the Nine Provinces and a thriving center of commerce.

The water stronghold described in the case files lay less than a hundred li from Jiayang City, making it a serious threat.

The moment they displayed their Imperial City Department documents, the soldiers patrolling the riverbank led them into Jiayang City.

As soon as they entered the city, Ye Kang gave his orders.

"Split up and find inns to stay at. Change out of your Imperial City Department uniforms and gather information throughout the city."

"Yes, sir!"

All one hundred subordinates answered at once. But a moment later, they were all staring at Ye Kang in confusion.

"My lord, what information are we supposed to gather?"

Ye Kang's lips curled. "The Flower Thief."

They had no idea what the Flower Thief had to do with wiping out the water stronghold, but they were all just doing their jobs. Naturally, they wouldn't go against their superior's orders, and they scattered to find inns.

A moment later, only eight subordinates remained, staying behind as Ye Kang's personal attendants.

He Zhi was among them. He knew Ye Kang fairly well, so he dared to ask.

"My lord, the Flower Thief isn't part of our mission. Did we get something wrong?"

Ye Kang shook his head. "Lord He, you're thinking too small. Since we're here, we should help the people of Jiayang City solve their problems. Isn't the Flower Thief a problem?"

"Well... I suppose so."

He Zhi scratched his head. This was the first time he'd seen a superior volunteer to take on extra work.

Jin Baobei knew what was going on and rolled her eyes from the side.

A short while later, the group arrived at the biggest inn in the city, Wangjiang Tower.

The place was lavishly decorated, and the guards at the entrance looked formidable. It seemed perfectly safe.

Since the group wore Imperial City Department uniforms, the waiter greeted them warmly and arranged several first-class rooms.

They had just started up the stairs when a commotion broke out on the second floor.

"Waiter, my young master wants today's featured dish. Hurry up and bring it out!"

Ye Kang looked up. A man dressed as a guard leaned against the railing, looking extremely impatient.

The waiter hurriedly called out, "Please wait, sir! The shopkeeper said today's featured dish was prepared especially for Young Master Zheng. It's coming right up!"

With that, he waved behind him. Two cooks came up carrying an enormous white porcelain platter. On it lay a whole Jiayang sea bass, already steamed.

The fish was a full meter long, steamed whole. No wonder it took two men to carry it.

"Pardon us, gentlemen. Please make way!"

One of the cooks shouted. Ye Kang and the others immediately stepped aside to let the platter through.

Just then, one of the cooks slipped on the stairs. He pitched forward.

The enormous platter was about to tip over when Ye Kang reacted in a flash. He reached out, caught one corner of it, and steadied it securely.

The two cooks were drenched in sweat. They hurriedly bowed to Ye Kang.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you!"

There was only one of these featured sea bass dishes each day. If it had been knocked over, even ten cooks working together couldn't have paid for it.

Ye Kang said nothing. He simply smiled and handed it over.

At that moment, the guard from the second floor hurried over and snatched the platter away with one hand. Then, furious, he kicked the cook who had slipped, sending him flying down from the second floor.

He kept cursing as he shouted, "You blind fool! You nearly spilled my fish! Where's the shopkeeper? Get this bastard fired!"

The cook had already been kicked hard enough to spit blood. When he heard he was going to be fired, he scrambled up, crying and kowtowing.

"Please don't fire me! I won't do it again!"

The guard paid no heed to the cook's pleas. He shot Ye Kang a cold glance, then turned to enter the private room overlooking the river.

Ye Kang's gaze turned icy. He looked at He Zhi.

"Lord He, beat him up."

He Zhi was sweating buckets.

"My lord... he's a First-class expert. I can't beat him..."

It turned out that despite being only a guard, the man was a First-class expert. No wonder he was so arrogant.

The guard had heard Ye Kang's words, and his expression changed at once.

"Damn, what's with all these blind dogs today?"

He turned around with his face twisted in fury, just as a dark figure shot toward him.

Thump!

A fist slammed into his eye socket and sent him crashing into a roof pillar. Fish broth drenched him from head to toe.

With a single punch, the First-class expert's eye was blackened.

He was about to speak when a foot drove into his stomach. His insides lurched, and a stabbing pain sent him rolling on the floor. Fish scattered all over him.

Jin Baobei drew back her right foot and looked down at the scene with contempt.

"Useless."

She spat out the word and turned to leave.

As for Ye Kang, he had already headed for his room and paid the whole affair no mind.

Everyone in Wangjiang Tower stared, mouths agape.

The waiter stood frozen, listening to the guard's agonized howls as sweat poured down his face.

"This is bad, this is bad! Young Master Zheng's guard got beaten!"

Meanwhile,

in a private room overlooking the river on the second floor, an elegant young master dressed in white, with a white jade ornament at his waist and his hair bound beneath a tall crown, sat facing a young woman.

Elegant Young Master's face was dark as thunder.

He naturally knew what had just happened, but with the young woman sitting across from him, he had held back. Inside, however, he was already burning with rage.

This was the first time anyone in all of Jiayang City had dared lay a hand on one of his people!

Just then, the young woman propped her chin in both hands and blinked her bright, watery eyes. The bell on her wrist jingled softly.

"Young Master Zheng, someone just slapped you in the face. Aren't you going to do anything about it?"

Elegant Young Master took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Miss Ning, I would never throw my weight around to bully others. My guard was in the wrong first. He deserved it, he deserved it..."

The young woman gave a little "Oh" and casually turned her gaze toward the broad river.

"Such a pity. That fish smelled delicious..."

"If you'd like some, Miss Ning, I'll have someone catch another one."

"That's not necessary. There are only so many big fish. It wouldn't be good if too many people caught them."

The young woman smiled sweetly, her expression innocent.

Yet a keen glint clearly flashed in her eyes.

Looks like quite an extraordinary fellow has arrived.