Protecting

"No need."

Hearing Xie Jun's words, Jiang Yan gently shook his head, swept his gaze around, and said calmly:

"I already know who these people are."

Xie Jun gave a quiet "Mm," waiting for Jiang Yan to continue.

"Wang Qi is a fifth-grade alchemist at our Pill Workshop."

Without hesitation, Jiang Yan raised his arm and pointed to the cell nearest them. Looking at his subordinate, whose mind was still clouded, he spoke without a trace of warmth:

"He once received a favor from Jiang Yunfeng. During this period, he took Jiang Yunfeng in and hid him in the Pill Workshop, causing trouble for the Merchant Association's investigators and preventing them from finding any trace of Jiang Yunfeng."

So that was it. No wonder the White Crane Merchant Association had gone to such lengths lately and still hadn't found Jiang Yunfeng... Xie Jun looked at Wang Qi, who remained unconscious, her expression thoughtful.

She knew Jiang Yunfeng had exploited the idea that people often overlooked what was right under their noses, keeping the Merchant Association's higher-ups from considering that he might be hiding in one of their own strongholds.

Unlike Xie Jun, Yin Zhong's expression darkened as soon as he heard Jiang Yan's words.

After Jiang Yunfeng's betrayal, the Merchant Association's higher-ups had long ago ordered that those who were close to him be transferred elsewhere, in order to guard against any unforeseen circumstances.

But they hadn't expected that there would still be a "Wang Qi" slipping through the net and causing trouble for the Merchant Association.

As one of the people in charge of carrying out the transfers back then, Yin Zhong bore some responsibility for this.

Fortunately, Jiang Yan had eventually captured Jiang Yunfeng and brought him back. He hadn't actually managed to escape.

The thought flashed through