Where Did the People Go?

The fact that the Blood Wolf Gang stood behind Xinglong Gambling House was, without a doubt, bad news.

In Nanli City, the reputation of the Blood Wolf Gang was utterly notorious; they were infamous for bullying the weak, oppressing women, and committing all manner of evil deeds.

If Peach Blossom had fallen into their hands, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Miss Li Ruxue, thank you. I shall repay this favor another time."

Knowing the location of Xinglong Gambling House, Lin Fei prepared to rush over immediately.

Li Ruxue asked with a hint of worry, "You are going alone? Would you like me to send some men with you?"

"I will go first to scout the situation. If I need help, I will come back to trouble you."

Lin Fei left the Thousand Gold Pavilion, hired a carriage on the road, and headed toward Yulan Street in the South City.

Lin Fei had his own reasons for not bringing people from the Li Family.

Although the Li Family was one of the three great families of Nanli City and held a prestigious name, the Blood Wolf Gang was one of the five major powers, and the two sides had always kept to their own lanes.

If he brought Li Family members along, he risked alerting the enemy; if the gang simply refused to admit anything, it would only hinder his search for Peach Blossom.

Peach Blossom, please, you must be alright...

Over an hour later, Lin Fei arrived at Yulan Street.

He donned the Wish-Fulfilling Mask to alter his appearance and located Xinglong Gambling House.

The interior of the gambling house was deafening, with gamblers in a state of high agitation; some had eyes bloodshot from desperation, others were shouting in excitement, and some were sighing repeatedly, cursing without end.

Here, one could see the greedy and ugly side of human nature.

"You brat, you dare to cheat? I don't think you want your hands anymore!"

"I didn't..."

"Still trying to argue? Chop off his hand and see if he dares to cheat again!"

Two men with black wolf head tattoos on their arms dragged a gambler toward the back, and shortly after, a scream rang out.

The gambling house fell silent for a moment, but it was immediately drowned out again by the shouts of the gamblers.

The cheating gambler was dragged out; one of his hands had been severed, blood dripping everywhere, and he was tossed out of the gambling house.

Passersby dodged out of the way, but no one stepped forward to help, as if they were long accustomed to such sights.

"Ah... my hand..."

"It hurts so much!"

The gambler rolled on the ground in agony. After a long while, he finally calmed down enough to crawl up and prepare to leave.

Seeing this, Lin Fei immediately followed him.

The gambler did not head for a clinic; instead, he stumbled into an alleyway and collapsed onto the ground.

"Your wound is severe. If you don't stop the bleeding, you might die from blood loss."

Lin Fei walked up to him, looking down with a gaze that was both pitying and contemptuous.

"Who are you? None of your damn business... get lost..."

The gambler gasped in pain. Despite the sweltering heat, his face was pale and covered in cold sweat.

"Scram!"

Lin Fei produced a gold coin, which immediately caught the gambler's attention.

"I am going to ask you one thing. Whether you know the answer or not, this gold coin is yours."

The gambler's eyes were locked onto the gold coin, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Fine, ask."

"Five days ago, were you at this gambling house?"

"No."

Hearing the reply, Lin Fei frowned, unsure if the man was just trying to brush him off.

"Think carefully."

"I really wasn't. Five days ago, I was still hauling cargo. I just got my wages, so I came to try my luck, but I ended up losing it all again."

Lin Fei felt a surge of disappointment. He tossed the gold coin onto the ground and turned to leave.

The gambler snatched up the gold coin, his face full of excitement.

"Money, thank goodness, I have capital again."

He looked at Lin Fei's retreating back and suddenly shouted, "I wasn't at the gambling house five days ago, but I have some friends who might have been."

"Whatever you want to ask, I can help you find out."

Lin Fei stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

"Five days ago, a lady from a manor brought people to the gambling house, likely to redeem someone. She has gone missing. If you can find out the truth about this, I will give you another ten gold coins."

The gambler's eyes flickered with greed as he said, "I want one hundred gold coins!"

"Very well, but you had best keep this quiet. If someone else provides me with the information first, you won't earn a single copper."

Lin Fei was worried the gambler might go around blabbing, so he warned him to keep it under wraps.

"If I find out the details, where should I find you?"

"We shall meet right here."

Having said that, Lin Fei turned and left.

The gambler scrambled up from the ground, clutched the gold coins tightly, and headed back in the direction of the gambling house.

Halfway there, he seemed to decide that his life was more important, so he turned and went to a medical clinic first.

Lin Fei used the Wish-Fulfilling Mask to alter his appearance and followed the gambler from the shadows.

After having his wounds bandaged, the gambler went straight back to Xinglong Gambling House.

Lin Fei waited outside the gambling house for a long time; by the time the sky began to darken, the gambler finally emerged from within.

The gambler was cursing under his breath, seemingly having lost all his money again.

He headed toward the alley from before and sat down on the ground.

Lin Fei observed for a while, and seeing that no one was tailing him, he stepped forward to strike up a conversation.

"How did the matter I asked you to look into go?"

The moment the gambler saw Lin Fei, he broke into a grin, as if he were looking at a god of wealth.

"Eh? Why has your face changed..."

"Enough nonsense, answer me!"

Using the Wish-Fulfilling Mask to change one's appearance was not always consistent; it was somewhat random.

The gambler did not answer immediately, instead asking in return, "What about the one hundred gold coins? Are you ready?"

Lin Fei produced a gold note from his person, with a denomination of one hundred.

The gambler reached out to grab it, but Lin Fei pulled it back.

"Speak clearly first, then I will give it to you."

"I've asked around. Five days ago, a rather beautiful lady did indeed come to the gambling house with some people to redeem an old gambler."

The gambler said with a smile, "I've seen that old gambler before; everyone calls him Old Sun. I heard that this old man gambled away his entire fortune in the past, and his wife and daughter were almost sold off."

"A kind-hearted wealthy person took his family in, ensuring they had food and clothing, and even paid him a monthly wage. But the old man couldn't break his gambling addiction; he lost all his money and even took out high-interest loans, so he had to have his daughter come to redeem him."

Lin Fei couldn't help but press, "Get to the point. Where did the lady who came to redeem him go? Did the gambling house give them any trouble?"

The gambler reached out with his severed arm, only to remember his hand was gone.

He extended his other hand, his face full of greed.

"Give me the gold note first!"

Lin Fei tossed the gold note to him and urged, "Speak quickly!"

Confirming the gold note was genuine, the gambler's face flushed with excitement.

"I heard that the lady came to redeem the man, but she didn't bring enough money, and her husband wasn't home. So, she made an agreement with the gambling house to return in a few days to pay the rest and take Old Sun away first."

"Before leaving, she even left some of her gold and silver jewelry as collateral at the gambling house, so they let them go."

Lin Fei's expression turned puzzled. If that was the case, Peach Blossom and the others had left the gambling house safely, so why hadn't they returned?

"Are you lying to me?"

"Everything I said is the truth. If you don't believe me, you can go to the gambling house and ask yourself; many people saw it happen."

The gambler, seemingly afraid that Lin Fei would snatch the gold note back, scrambled to his feet and ran off.

Lin Fei couldn't be bothered to chase him; he only wanted to figure out Peach Blossom's whereabouts as soon as possible.

"Where did they go?"