Fan Shanyue

"My Lord is truly a divine being! So you had already suspected something, and had us start by investigating Zheng Hailong's guards, which led us to this clue!"

He Zhi's eyes were filled with adoration.

However, Ye Kang himself was also completely clueless. He had originally just intended to punish those guards, but had unexpectedly stumbled upon the truth.

Guards who dared to spy on the City Lord's concubine, and who also entered the City Lord's mansion right after the flower-picking case broke out, were naturally highly suspicious.

Ye Kang immediately said, "Recall all the brothers. Set up a secret surveillance within three streets around the City Lord's mansion. Don't attract attention, and absolutely no rash actions. Only observe quietly."

"Yes!"

He Zhi immediately went out to mobilize his subordinates.

Of course, Ye Kang knew that his brothers could only monitor at best. If it came to a real fight, they would be useless.

According to Dai Huanhuan, her martial uncle's Qinggong was on par with hers. If the flower-picking culprit was indeed that little traitor, then he must be someone with top-tier Qinggong.

Catching him wouldn't be easy at all.

But Ye Kang currently lacked any formidable Qinggong. With an opportunity before him, he couldn't let it pass.

A moment later, he looked at Jin Baobei and said, "We'll split up. You go investigate those victims."

"My Lord is finally starting to investigate the case properly."

Jin Baobei muttered sarcastically before heading off towards the address of one of the victims.

As for Ye Kang himself, he changed into a black casual outfit and picked up the confession delivered by He Zhi.

According to Ding Wu's confession, the guard's name was Fan Shanyue. He lived in the City Lord's mansion and only practiced martial arts with other thugs daily, showing no peculiarities.

However, he had a habit: every first and fifteenth of the month, he would go fishing by the river.

Occasionally, when he caught a lot, he would bring it back to gift to others. He seemed like an unremarkable fisherman.

Today was the fifteenth, and Ye Kang decided to go and test him.

He quickly left the city on horseback, heading straight for the Jiayang River.

He unleashed his five senses. The people fishing by the river were all within his sight, and they were all ordinary mortals with no True Qi flowing through them.

He rode forward for a while, and finally, in a patch of reeds, Ye Kang spotted a man dressed in coarse linen.

He wasn't hiding anything. His entire being exuded the aura of a martial artist, his True Qi so dense it was almost at the level of an Innate master.

Hearing the sound of hooves, he turned his head to look, but he didn't evade. Instead, he continued fishing while drinking from his gourd.

Ye Kang dismounted and walked into the reeds with his hands behind his back. In the tall reeds, there was a small path trampled by footsteps. The man was at the end of the path.

As Ye Kang walked, he said, "You have excellent taste, sir. Fishing in the vast river, hidden amongst the reeds. How delightful!"

The man didn't turn around, merely replying casually, "Lord Ye is no different. You leave the pirates on the water alone to come trouble a minor thief. Isn't that also a great display of taste?"

Ye Kang immediately stopped, his right hand already half-unsheathing the Demonic Saber.

"You recognize me?"

"How could I not? Wasn't my yet-unmet junior sister captured by Lord Ye?"

"You mean Dai Huanhuan? I thought I would have some trouble finding you, but you've admitted it yourself."

"Ever since Lord Ye captured Ding Wu, I knew I couldn't hide anymore. There's no point in continuing the charade."

The man reeled in his fishing rod, stretched lazily, then turned and cupped his hands in greeting, "I am Fan Shanyue. Greetings, Deputy Commander Ye."

Ye Kang didn't rush to attack. Instead, he asked with some surprise, "You seem to know a lot about me?"

Fan Shanyue shook his head.

"I didn't investigate intentionally. I merely knocked out one of Lord Ye's spies and used some methods to make him talk. Rest assured, your subordinate will wake up soon and won't remember anything."

"Sleeping powder, or a mind-controlling martial arts technique?"

"That's my secret, Lord. Why do you need to ask?"

"Very well. I'll capture you and find out through interrogation."

Fan Shanyue heard this and shook his head again.

"You can't catch me. Not only that, but tonight I will fulfill that flower-picking order."

"You are very confident."

Ye Kang's eyes narrowed, a surge of anger rising within him.

This Fan Shanyue seemed polite, but he was extremely arrogant, which was quite irritating.

He stopped wasting words, drew his Demonic Saber, and instantly executed Flying Swallow Ascending Cloud.

Almost the moment he moved, Fan Shanyue's body flickered slightly. He vanished from his spot like black smoke, reappearing on the distant riverbank in an instant.

Ye Kang was stunned. Was this Qinggong or dark magic?

He could see Fan Shanyue's True Qi flow for a moment, but his speed was too fast, almost disappearing in the blink of an eye. Such Qinggong was simply unheard of.

At this moment, Fan Shanyue on the opposite bank cupped his hands slightly towards Ye Kang and vanished from his spot once more.

Ye Kang was almost infuriated. This Qinggong was simply unreasonable.

He finally understood what Dai Huanhuan meant when she said the two movement techniques had different focuses.

Dai Huanhuan's movement technique was for long-distance travel, allowing her to run continuously through the night.

Fan Shanyue's movement technique, on the other hand, should be purely short-distance footwork, making him more troublesome.

Ye Kang sighed. Since he couldn't catch up, he wouldn't dwell on it. He'd think about it later.

Just then, a system prompt sounded.

[Ding]

[Quest Issued: Kill the Flower Thief Fan Shanyue]

[Quest Reward: 8000 Comprehension]

Ye Kang couldn't help but shake his head.

If I can't even catch him, how can I kill him?

He walked out of the reed marsh and saw two people, one big and one small, looking at him.

It was the two from the Azure Scale Guard.

"Lord Ye, enjoying the river view all by yourself?"

The young woman said with a smile, though her eyes showed more genuine warmth than mockery.

Ye Kang frowned and turned to leave, not wanting to deal with them.

The big man coldly threw a bottle at him. Ye Kang caught it reflexively, a look of confusion on his face.

The young woman chuckled, "Lord Ye is very persistent. That Flower Thief specializes in sleep-inducing incense, which is colorless and odorless. This bottle contains the antidote. Just keep it in your mouth."

"Aren't you two Lords afraid I'll steal your credit?"

"If Lord Ye insists on competing with us, then we won't. Tonight, water bandits will attack the city. We'll earn the same credit by dealing with them. As for Lord Ye, even with the antidote, your chances of catching that thief are still less than twenty percent."

Ye Kang understood now.

These two weren't foolish. Instead of a life-or-death struggle with Ye Kang, it was better to swap quests. They would eliminate the water bandits, which offered greater credit than capturing a Flower Thief.

More importantly, although the water bandits were numerous, they were easier to handle.

Fan Shanyue, on the other hand, was a lone wolf with elusive movement techniques, making him harder to deal with.

He suspected these two also lacked confidence in succeeding, which was why they so readily agreed to the task swap.

Ye Kang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

They're all playing mind games!

He already missed his days working in the north.

Fighters in the north were mostly unskilled but arrogant and easy to bully.

The high-level matches in the south were indeed different.

Wait!

"Water bandits will attack the city tonight? Doesn't that mean Zheng Hailong will have to lead his troops out to meet the enemy!"

Ye Kang suddenly realized something was wrong. He saw the young woman and the big man smiling as they left, their silence a clear confirmation.

No wonder, no wonder Fan Shanyue dared to issue his Flower Thief Order.

It seemed he already knew about the water bandit attack.

The Azure Scale Guard knew too.

Are these water bandits really that useless?

Ye Kang grumbled inwardly, then hurried back into the city.