Searching for Yue Bing

About twenty minutes later, the skinny man returned.

He was not alone. Five young men in equally tattered clothes followed behind him.

One of them was a refined-looking man wearing a monocle. He held a painting in his hand, and a few spots of ink still stained the washed-out sleeves of his robe. Without saying a word, he handed the painting to Yue Yang. Yue Yang took it and saw that the person in it was indeed Yue Bing in black. Though she was veiled and dressed in black, her spirit and bearing were perfectly captured, making her instantly recognizable. If the ink had not still been wet, Yue Yang would have suspected that such a detailed and vivid painting had taken ten days or half a month to complete.

"This painting may not be very accurate. Ye Kong only gave me five minutes just now, and I've never seen the Yue Bing you're looking for. I only had He Ziyun and Qin Yang's descriptions, so it was difficult to make it absolutely precise," the refined man with the monocle explained uneasily.

"No, you drew her very well." Yue Yang was astonished. This guy had never seen Yue Bing, yet he could produce such a lifelike portrait based solely on descriptions?

And it had taken only five minutes.

Whatever else he could do, this man was undoubtedly a genius at painting!

Yue Yang had no time to praise him. Turning to the other four, he urgently asked, "Which of you saw Yue Bing? You two? When did you see her?"

The slightly shorter, fair-skinned man introduced himself as He Ziyun. He answered, "Half a month ago, Qin Yang and I were recording battle merits for someone by the Upper Luo River. At first, we didn't pay attention when the Rose Squad passed by. But then we heard Po Jun, the eldest young master of the Yan Family who had hired us to write down the battle merits, greet Young Master Shentu, captain of the Rose Squad. Yue Yan, the fourth young master of the Yue Family, was there as well. While we were bent over writing, we accidentally heard them mention the third young master of the Yue Family... Ahem, they said some unpleasant things. Then that Miss Yue Bing in black became furious and started arguing with them..."

When He Ziyun mentioned the third young master of the Yue Family, all six of them looked at Yue Yang with some concern.

They were clearly all intelligent people and had somewhat guessed Yue Yang's identity.

Although they did not know Yue Yang and could not see his face beneath the black cloth, they could still make a guess... Who else would be so anxious to find Yue Bing?

Even if this man was not Yue Bing's brother, he had to be a descendant of the Yue Family... Who among the Yue Family descendants was unknown? The eldest, Yue Tian, and the fourth young master, Yue Yan, were famous throughout the Upper Capital and were leaders among the younger generation in the Heaven-Piercing Tower. The fifth young master, Yue Ting, was captain of Princess Lan's royal guard and could not possibly leave the princess to come here. The sixth young master, Yue Bao, was still young, only a sixteen-year-old boy. As for the ninth young master, Yue Feng, he was merely a child.

Other than the third young master of the Yue Family, who lived secluded at home, which Yue Family descendant was not known to everyone?

Therefore, He Ziyun did not repeat in full the things Yan Po Jun, Shentu, and Yue Yan had said to mock Yue Yang, instead skipping over them entirely.

Even so, they still looked at Yue Yang with concern, afraid that he would lose his temper.

"What happened next?" Yue Yang did not care if others spoke ill of him behind his back. He treated those people's words as nothing but farts! He was not trash at all, but a fortunate genius. Why should he fear what others said? For now, he would endure it. One day, he would settle this score for that unfortunate fellow. When that time came, he would make that trash swallow their knocked-out teeth and blood! Right now, the most important thing was finding Yue Bing. As long as she was safe, nothing else mattered! As for cultivation, he already possessed a certain level of strength and could absolutely help Yue Bing pass the first-floor trial.

If Yue Yang had still held some reservations toward Yue Bing and the beautiful woman's family when he had first crossed over, he had now completely become part of their family.

In his heart, he had long regarded Yue Bing as his own little sister.

Once he found Yue Bing, Yue Yang would naturally guide her and help her improve rapidly.

"Miss Yue Bing couldn't out-argue them, so she initiated a warrior's duel. She summoned two War Treants and nearly killed Shentu's manticore-lion. But then Yan Po Jun joined the fight. He was very powerful, and the two of them defeated Miss Yue Bing together. Afterward, Shentu expelled her from the squad..." Qin Yang, whose skin was bronze-colored, briefly described the conflict.

"What was Yue Yan doing at the time?" Yue Yang knew that although Qin Yang had described it simply, the battle must have been fierce. Two grown men bullying a little girl like Yue Bing was enough to make anyone furious.

Yue Yang showed no reaction on the surface, but killing intent rose within him.

He shifted the subject to another key figure—Yue Yan. This guy was also a descendant of the Yue Family. Had he simply stood by and watched while his cousin was bullied? Yue Bing's earlier letter had vaguely mentioned that Yue Yan had been the one stirring up trouble, fanning the flames, and kicking her while she was down. If Yue Yan had not committed so many vile acts and hurt Yue Bing so deeply, how could she have so easily brought it up to her mother?

"..." He Ziyun hesitated slightly before finally telling him what had really happened.

"Is that so? What a fine brother he is!" Yue Yang sneered.

He wished he could immediately stomp Yue Yan beneath his feet and beat him senseless ten thousand times.

But there was no need to rush this vengeance. Since they were all "family" now, sooner or later he would repay everything to that shameless scoundrel Yue Yan. Especially during the Yue Family's annual martial contest for the younger generation, he could cripple Yue Yan and the others, grind them beneath his feet, and vent this anger for Yue Bing!

Seeing that Yue Yang had not lost his temper, the six of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They exchanged glances, each confirming the guess in their hearts.

This man who had come so anxiously to find Yue Bing really was the legendary third young master of the Yue Family... If that was true, then things would be simple from here on. As long as they found Yue Bing quickly, he was her brother and certainly would not go back on the payment. More importantly, this young master was generous and knew how to respect others. He was a rare good employer.

"Your name is Ye Kong?" Yue Yang was certain of the skinny man's abilities. This guy was truly talented, with exceptional responsiveness and efficiency. Yue Yang had given him only half an hour, yet he had found exactly the people Yue Yang needed. Yue Yang reached out and lightly patted the skinny man's shoulder. "You did very well. We need to find Yue Bing as soon as possible. If she is safe, I can give you double the reward! By the way, who are they?"

Yue Yang noticed that the two young men standing at the back, who had remained silent all this time, were a pair of nearly indistinguishable twin brothers.

Their clothes were just as tattered, but each had two curved blades stuck across his back, one on the left and one on the right. They were also the only two among the six who carried weapons. Yue Yang found it strange. What were these two here for?

If the skinny Ye Kong was a guide, the refined man was an artist, and He Ziyun and Qin Yang were eyewitnesses, then what were these twin brothers?

"My name is Li Qie, and he is my younger brother, Li Ge. We are both high-level Level Two Warriors, and our summoned beasts are Gale Sickle-Weasels! Ye Kong guessed that Yue Bing was undergoing the clearance trial in the Star Domain. We can protect you through Dragon Valley. Unless we die in battle, your life will not be in danger!" Li Qie, standing on the left, nearly made Yue Yang collapse when he spoke.

This Ye Kong had thought far too much into it, hadn't he?

Had he heard that Yue Yang was useless and assumed he had no combat power at all, so he had proactively found him two bodyguards?

Seeing Yue Yang's strange expression, the skinny Ye Kong explained uneasily, "You don't need to worry about the hiring fee. The six of us will only charge one share, with no additional payment required. We merely hope that you can hire all six of us! I can't safely take you through Dragon Valley alone. Although you have an Iron-Spine Demon Wolf, in the Heaven-Piercing Tower, contracted beasts can easily flee during battle! I dare guarantee that the Li Qie and Li Ge brothers possess combat strength beyond their current ranks. They simply have no money to obtain rank certificates from the Warrior Guild... If there are six of us, Wen Yumo can go to the Mercenary Guild and post a missing-person task; He Ziyun can travel farther out to Heavenly Treasure, Heavenly Splendor, and Heavenly Zenith to gather information; Qin Yang can watch over Upper Luo, Upper Marsh, and Upper Vastness. By the time we reach the Star Domain, if they discover anything, they will definitely send word through the Mercenary Guild. At the same time, they can also investigate Shentu and Yan Po Jun's latest movements, so we can avoid running into them again!"

After hearing this, Yue Yang nodded slightly.

However, he realized one problem. Aside from that busty beauty, neither the fat man nor Ye Kong and the others could see Grey Wolf's true strength. Besides, Yue Yang felt that Grey Wolf, which constantly needed his true energy to speed up its evolution, would never betray him.

Even if he beat Grey Wolf senseless, it would not leave. There was absolutely no need to worry about it running away!

"We really need a job!" All six of them looked at Yue Yang with longing that came from the depths of their hearts.

"To you, this is a job. To me, it is Yue Bing's life. Please, give it everything you have!" Yue Yang naturally did not care how many people Ye Kong had brought. On the contrary, the more people there were searching for Yue Bing, the better. Right now, he only wanted to find that stubborn little girl as quickly as possible.

"Please rest assured. To us, this job is also our life, because we are all about to starve to death!" Ye Kong looked at Yue Yang and nodded heavily.