Flying Swallow Ascending Cloud

"My lord is truly a man of divine insight! You must have suspected this from the start, which is why you had us investigate Zheng Hailong's guards. That's how we uncovered this clue!"

He Zhi's eyes shone with admiration.

Ye Kang, however, was just as baffled as anyone. He'd only meant to punish those guards, never expecting to stumble onto the truth by accident.

A guard who'd dared to ogle the City Lord's concubine, and who'd entered the City Lord's Mansion right after the Flower Thief case began—how could that not arouse suspicion?

Ye Kang immediately ordered, "Recall all our men. Quietly set up surveillance within three streets of the City Lord's Mansion. Don't attract attention, and don't make a move without orders. Just keep watch."

"Yes, sir!"

He Zhi hurried out to mobilize his subordinates.

Of course, Ye Kang knew that all his men could do was keep watch. If a fight broke out, they'd be of no use.

According to Dai Huanhuan, her uncle-master's Lightness Skill was on par with hers. If the Flower Thief really was that little traitor, then he had to be an unparalleled master of Lightness Skill.

Catching him wouldn't be easy.

But right now, Ye Kang was missing one thing above all: a powerful Lightness Skill. With an opportunity right in front of him, he couldn't let it slip by.

A moment later, he turned to Jin Baobei. "We'll split up. You investigate the victims."

"So my lord's finally investigating the case properly."

After that bit of snark, Jin Baobei headed for one of the victims' addresses.

Ye Kang changed into plain black clothes and picked up the statements He Zhi had brought him.

According to Ding Wu's testimony, the guard was named Fan Shanyue and lived in the City Lord's Mansion. Every day, he practiced martial arts with the other enforcers, and there was nothing unusual about him.

But he did have a quirk: every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, he went fishing by the river.

Sometimes he caught so many fish that he brought them back to give away. He seemed like nothing more than an ordinary fishing enthusiast.

Today happened to be the fifteenth, so Ye Kang decided to sound him out.

He quickly set off, rode out of the city, and headed straight for the Jiayang River.

He spread his Five Senses. Everyone fishing along the river came into view, all Mortals with no true qi flowing through them.

He galloped onward, and at last spotted a man in coarse hemp clothes among a patch of reeds.

The man wasn't hiding anything. A martial artist's aura radiated from him, and the density of his true qi nearly rivaled that of an Innate Master.

Hearing the clatter of hooves, the man glanced back. He didn't try to hide, but kept fishing as he lifted a gourd to drink.

Ye Kang dismounted and walked into the reeds with his hands behind his back. A narrow path, trampled by passersby, wound through the towering reeds. The man stood at its far end.

As Ye Kang walked, he said, "What a fine way to spend the day. Beneath the low clouds, you fish the river and sea, hidden in the thick reeds—how carefree!"

The man didn't turn around. He simply replied, "Lord Ye is no less carefree. You've left the water bandits alone and come after a petty thief instead. Isn't that a fine way to spend your time?"

Ye Kang stopped at once, his right hand already drawing the Demonic Saber a few inches from its sheath.

"You know who I am?"

"How could I not? Wasn't my never-before-seen Junior Sister captured by Lord Ye?"

"You mean Dai Huanhuan? I thought finding you would take some effort. I didn't expect you to admit it yourself."

"Ever since Lord Ye captured Ding Wu, I knew I couldn't stay hidden. There's no point in keeping up the disguise."

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

Ye Kang didn't rush to attack. Instead, he asked in surprise, "You seem to know a great deal about me."

Fan Shanyue shook his head.

"I didn't investigate you on purpose. I just knocked out one of your scouts and used a few methods to make him talk. Don't worry, your subordinate will wake up soon and won't remember a thing."

"Stupefying Incense, or a mind-control martial art?"

"That's my secret. Why press me on it?"

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

Fan Shanyue shook his head again.

"You won't catch me. What's more, I'll fulfill that Flower Thief's decree tonight."

"You're confident."

Ye Kang's gaze sharpened, and anger stirred in his heart.

Fan Shanyue seemed polite, but he was arrogant as hell. It was infuriating.

Ye Kang said no more. He drew the Demonic Saber and instantly launched Flying Swallow Ascending Cloud.

Almost the instant he moved, Fan Shanyue's body wavered. He vanished like a plume of black smoke, reappearing on the distant riverbank in the blink of an eye.

Ye Kang stared in disbelief. Was that Lightness Skill or some kind of sorcery?

He'd seen Fan Shanyue's true qi circulate, but the man had moved so fast that he disappeared almost instantly. Ye Kang had never heard of such a Lightness Skill.

Across the river, Fan Shanyue cupped his hands toward Ye Kang, then vanished again.

Ye Kang was nearly choking with frustration. That Lightness Skill was downright unreasonable.

At the same time, he finally understood what Dai Huanhuan meant when she said the two Lightness Skills had different strengths.

Dai Huanhuan's Lightness Skill was built for long-distance travel; she could keep going all night.

Fan Shanyue's, by contrast, seemed to be a pure short-range footwork technique—far more troublesome to deal with.

Ye Kang sighed. Since he couldn't catch up, there was no point dwelling on it. He'd head back and figure things out later.

Just then, the System Sound rang out.

[Ping]

[Mission: Kill the Flower Thief, Fan Shanyue]

[Mission Reward: 8,000 Comprehension]

Ye Kang couldn't help shaking his head.

He couldn't even catch the man. How could he kill him?

He walked out of the Reed Marsh and saw two people, one tall and one short, watching him.

They were the two Azure Scale Guards.

"Lord Ye, enjoying the view all by yourself?" the young woman asked with a smile. There was no trace of mockery in her eyes, only genuine amusement.

Ye Kang frowned and turned to leave, unwilling to deal with the two of them.

The Big Man tossed him a bottle with a cold expression. Ye Kang caught it with his backhand, looking puzzled.

The young woman smiled. "Lord Ye, you're certainly persistent. That Flower Thief uses Stupefying Incense, odorless and colorless. The bottle contains the antidote. Just keep it in your mouth."

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

"If Lord Ye insists on competing with us, we'll let you have it. We can go wipe out the water bandits tonight instead; that'll earn us just as much credit. As for you, even with the antidote, your chances of catching that thief are still less than twenty percent."

Now Ye Kang understood.

These two weren't fools. Rather than fight him tooth and nail, they could trade missions. They'd go wipe out the water bandits, which would earn them more credit than catching a Flower Thief.

More importantly, the water bandits might have numbers on their side, but they'd be easier to deal with.

Fan Shanyue was alone, but his Lightness Skill was uncanny. He was much harder to handle.

The two of them probably weren't confident they could catch Fan Shanyue either, which was why they'd agreed to trade so readily.

Ye Kang couldn't help reflecting to himself:

Everyone's playing mind games!

He was already starting to miss his days working in the north.

The martial artists up north were all about being weak, having a taste for trouble, and being easy to bully.

The high-level game down south really was different.

Wait!

"Water bandits are attacking the city tonight? Then Zheng Hailong will have to leave the city to meet them!"

Ye Kang realized something was wrong, but the young woman and the Big Man simply smiled as they walked away, making it clear they agreed.

No wonder. No wonder Fan Shanyue had dared to issue a Flower Thief's decree.

It seemed he'd known about the water bandits' attack all along.

The Azure Scale Guards knew, too.

Were these water bandits really that useless?

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