As soon as he entered the city, Ye Kang found Jin Baobei and told her to keep a close eye on Jiayang River. Then he hurried straight to the City Lord's Mansion.
This time, he didn't go inside. Instead, he went to an inn outside the City Lord's Mansion. Zheng Hailong was arrogant and difficult to deal with, and Ye Kang preferred to work in secret rather than negotiate with him.
If the intelligence from those two Azure Scale Guards was accurate, Zheng Hailong wouldn't be staying home much longer.
He quietly concealed his presence and sat sipping tea.
The sun rose and set, and night fell.
The bustling streets were festooned with lanterns and decorations, as if some sort of celebration were underway.
After a while, the festivities continued deep into the night, when a sudden, urgent peal of bells rang out across the city.
Faintly, it was accompanied by someone's anguished screams.
"River bandits! The river bandits are here!"
Ye Kang's eyes snapped open. He set down his teacup.
At that moment, Jin Baobei rushed up as well.
"My lord! The river bandits have indeed attacked. There are at least four or five Innate Masters leading them, and the river is covered with their little boats. Who knows how many underlings they have!"
"That'll be a tough fight. The City Lord must be unable to sit still now."
Ye Kang continued to conceal his presence and peered outside through a crack in the window.
Sure enough, troops were hurrying about inside the City Lord's Mansion. A squad of soldiers charged out, followed by Zheng Hailong, clad in light armor and gripping a great halberd, his face dark.
But not one of the martial artists he kept as hired muscle moved. They all stayed inside the mansion.
Ye Kang saw Zheng Hailong give a few instructions to his trusted subordinates, then turn his gaze toward a pavilion in the mansion's southwestern corner, his expression stern.
Clearly, he knew that once he left, he would be giving the Flower Thief an opportunity to strike.
But as City Lord, he couldn't stay behind instead of protecting the city and fighting the enemy. He had to go in full armor, making no secret of his departure.
He knew how to tell which matters were more urgent.
Then he led a contingent of troops toward the city gate. The doors of the City Lord's Mansion were shut tight, while more than twenty martial arts experts leaped onto the courtyard walls to stand guard.
Every one of them carried a weapon and wore a vicious expression. They were clearly hardened killers, the sort who wouldn't think twice about taking a life. Only men like these could intimidate that ignorant Flower Thief.
But to Ye Kang, their defenses looked like an empty show.
"Stay here. If you see anyone coming out or going in, notify He Zhi immediately so he can lead the capture."
"Understood."
Jin Baobei took his place.
Then Ye Kang climbed out the window. His black robe melted into the night as he quietly made his way to the edge of the City Lord's Mansion.
He activated his Five Senses, and the footsteps inside the courtyard came through clearly.
While one guard was off his guard, Ye Kang flicked a finger. A pebble flew out and knocked the man unconscious.
Then he used Flying Swallow Ascending Cloud to leap onto the courtyard wall and, in a flash, entered the mansion's southeastern corner.
The guards here were much sparser than in the southwest, and Ye Kang slipped in with ease.
A pavilion stood ahead, with no one guarding it. The beautiful young concubine presumably didn't live inside. Ye Kang entered, and a strange sound reached his ears.
He pushed the door open and found a scene too indecent to look at.
Young Master Zheng, dressed in white as pristine as snow, was in the middle of a wild orgy with four or five maids.
Everyone stared at Ye Kang in terror. Young Master Zheng, caught in the act, seethed with anger and desperately wanted to shout for someone to come and butcher the Imperial City Department Deputy Commander who had suddenly barged in.
But he didn't dare.
A stream of Pink Sword Qi was pressed against his throat.
The maids were also threatened by Hundred Flowers Sword Qi, and they trembled uncontrollably.
Ye Kang walked in and sat down without ceremony. "Get dressed and don't make a sound. I'm here to catch a criminal. Cooperate with me."
Young Master Zheng gritted his teeth and whispered, "You've got a lot of nerve. When my father gets back, he'll kill you!"
"Don't threaten me, Young Master. If your father really means to kill me, I'll be sure to cut you down first. You can accompany me on the road to the underworld."
Ye Kang smiled, completely unfazed.
Young Master Zheng valued his life too much to anger this man. He immediately told everyone to get dressed, then sat helplessly on the bed.
With this tall pavilion, Ye Kang didn't need to hide. He stood right by the window, watching the pavilion across from them.
That pavilion contained only a small room, clearly a side chamber for the concubine.
Two white-robed old men sat squarely in front of its door, radiating a formidable presence.
Ye Kang was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the City Lord to have such deep reserves. He had two Innate Masters hidden in his household.
Both were Innate First Rank experts. In Mengzhou, each could have been a Big Figure capable of supporting a whole sect.
But in Jiayang City, they could only guard a door.
Meanwhile, dozens of experts paced the courtyard below the pavilion. Half of them were First-class experts, and several were Super-class experts.
"City Lord Zheng certainly cherishes this woman. He's spent a fortune hiring all these guards."
Ye Kang sighed.
Young Master Zheng snorted behind him.
"What do you know? If something happened to Second Mother, it would bring shame on my father. And with those two Instructors stationed here, who would dare come looking for trouble? You should leave, my lord. You're not needed here."
As soon as he finished speaking, something strange happened in the courtyard.
Several second-rate guards suddenly collapsed as they walked. The guards atop the courtyard wall fell one after another as well.
Then it was the First-class experts' turn. They soon succumbed, too.
The remaining guards panicked and shouted, "Cover your mouths and noses! Hold your breath!"
Ye Kang silently took out a small Jade Bottle, removed a pill, and held it in his mouth.
Young Master Zheng and his maids behind him had already collapsed.
The two Innate First Rank experts immediately stood up.
One of them shouted, "The intruder is here! Everyone, up here to defend the pavilion!"
The remaining martial artists leaped onto the pavilion, drew their weapons, and tightly surrounded the room.
Just then, a masked man in black slowly emerged from a corner.
The two Innate Masters were startled.
"Who goes there? Anyone who trespasses in the City Lord's Mansion will die!"
The man in black ignored them and simply kept walking, his pace unhurried.
As he advanced, the Super-class experts began to succumb one by one, collapsing in turn.
Only the two elderly men of the Xiantian Realm remained. Their innate qi allowed them to resist the Stupefying Incense for a while. Seeing that things were going badly, one of them acted at once, flying forward to strike the man in black with his palm.
"Die, you bastard!"
"Too slow."
The man in black spat out the words in an utterly brazen tone. Then his body dissolved into black smoke, and he dodged the palm in an instant, reappearing behind the old man.
The old man had only just heard someone shout, "Watch out!" when he was sent flying by a kick.
The blow wasn't enough to kill him, but it cost him the initiative. There was no way he could catch up with the man in black now.
The other old man snorted and threw a punch. Fist Shadows filled the sky and bore down from every direction, sealing off the man in black's position.
But this time, the man didn't dodge at all. He formed a shield of qi and forcibly blocked the Fist Shadows, while the other old man struck again from behind with his palm. Their fists and palms converged, trapping the man in black between them.
"You still won't die this time?"
The two old men seemed certain of victory as they attacked with all their strength. Their fists and palms struck the man again and again, spraying blood everywhere.
"Hahahaha! I wondered what the fuss was about. You're utterly pathetic! Take another palm strike!"
The old man's laughter rang out.
He had clearly seized the upper hand.
Only Ye Kang, watching from the sidelines, frowned deeply.
"Those two... are they fighting empty air?"
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