Zhang Manor.
At this moment, led by the girl named Yin Hong, they arrived at the Zhang Manor. Upon seeing this, Li Changfeng smiled slightly, "I heard this fat man call you Yin Hong before, and this is the Zhang Manor, so the girl's name must be Zhang Yinhong?"
Zhang Yinhong nodded upon hearing this and smiled, "Young master is exceptionally intelligent! You guessed my name right away! This way, please! I haven't thanked you for saving me yet!"
Zhang Yinhong led Li Changfeng into the hall. At this time, a bloated old man, over fifty years old, paced anxiously back and forth in the hall. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of Zhang Yinhong, and he was overjoyed. He quickly walked over and took her hand.
"Yin Hong! I'm so glad you're alright! I thought you'd been kidnapped by that Zhu Gongcai!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yinhong sighed, "Father! I was almost kidnapped by him! Fortunately, this young master saved me! That's why I came back safe and sound!"
Upon hearing this, the old man gripped Li Changfeng's hands tightly, "I am truly grateful to this hero for saving us! Otherwise, Yin Hong would probably have been kidnapped by this damned bastard!"
Li Changfeng nodded upon hearing this, "Old man, there's no need for that! I was just doing it on the spur of the moment!"
Upon hearing this, the old man waved his hand, saying, "How can that be! You saved my daughter, so you are my savior! Oh! May I ask your name, my benefactor?"
Upon hearing this, Li Changfeng cupped his hands in greeting, "My name is Li Feng!"
"So it's you, Mr. Li! My name is Zhang Xiuwen, the head of the Zhang family. I have a bit of money, and people outside call me Patriarch Zhang. You saved my daughter, so please feel free to ask for anything. I will do whatever I can to help you!" Patriarch Zhang cupped his hands and said with a smile.
Li Changfeng smiled slightly upon hearing this, "So it's Patriarch Zhang! I have no requests! I just wanted to ask you about Cloud City, is that alright?"
Patriarch Zhang nodded upon hearing this. "Of course! I'm a local merchant, and my family knows almost everything that's going on in Cloud City. My benefactor! What would you like to ask?"
Li Changfeng pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "Patriarch Zhang! Do you know anything about the underworld in Cloud City, or about those people who specialize in human trafficking?"
Patriarch Zhang was slightly surprised upon hearing this. "My benefactor! Why are you inquiring about these underground forces! They are ruthless killers! Asking about them could easily lead to your own death! I advise you not to inquire!"
Upon hearing this, Li Changfeng's eyes gleamed with a sharp light. "You can rest assured! Those people weren't my doing at all. Just tell me!"
When Patriarch Zhang heard Li Changfeng's determination to investigate these matters, he slowly said, "As far as I know, there are three underground forces involved in human trafficking: the Poison Serpent Gang, the Black Heart Inn, Azure Brothel."
"They were child traffickers, strong young men, and beautiful women. The children were sold to wealthy merchants who needed children, the strong young men were sold into slavery, and the beautiful women were forced into prostitution. Each of them was extremely cruel! The power behind them was also extremely strong!"
Upon hearing this, Li Changfeng frowned. "Don't the government care about these people?"
Upon hearing Patriarch Zhang sneered, "Manage? They're just colluding with corrupt officials! They've all taken the profits, what's the point of managing them! Besides, the owners of these three underground forces are very powerful, so the government might not even benefit from it. In the end, we'll just let them run wild!"
Li Changfeng was still puzzled and asked, "Even if the government can't do anything about it, the Imperial Court will send the Brocade-Clad Guard to eliminate these people, right?"
Upon hearing Patriarch Zhang shook his head. "The mountains here are high and the emperor is far away, so the Imperial Court can't really do much. Besides, the Imperial Court is currently in need of manpower, and there are still many rebellious Jianghu forces that need to be suppressed, so this matter will just be left unresolved!"
Li Changfeng nodded upon hearing this, "I see!"
Suddenly, the burlap sack behind him stirred. Li Changfeng's face turned cold, and he threw the sack to the ground. A fat man slowly crawled out, his bones almost shattered from the fall, tears streaming down his face as he howled.
Upon Patriarch Zhang was utterly shocked. "This... this is the young leader of the Poison Serpent Gang!! My benefactor! You've committed a grave offense, daring to kidnap him!!"
Upon hearing this, Li Changfeng waved his hand dismissively. "Patriarch Zhang! Don't worry! Since I dared to kidnap him, I'm confident I can get away unscathed!"
Li Changfeng pulled the gag out of his mouth and said grimly, "Speak quickly! If you don't agree, I'll kill you!!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Gongcai trembled with fear and hurriedly said, "Hero Li! I know you're looking for someone! I can help you; my father is in this business. I only beg you to spare my life!"
Li Changfeng narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "That's true! You are, after all, a young gang leader! It would be much easier to use you as a bargaining chip, at least I wouldn't have to expend any effort to find you!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Gongcai was overjoyed, as if he had found a way to survive. He quickly said, "Yes! Hero Li! I am my father's only son. He will definitely come looking for you for what you did today. As long as you trade me with him, you can get the information you want!"
Li Changfeng's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he sneered inwardly, "Fine! Then this great hero will be waiting for him to come looking for you tonight!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Gongcai was overjoyed. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed deeply, saying gratefully, "Thank you so much for sparing my life, hero! I will definitely help you find the person you are looking for!"
At the same time, he sneered inwardly, "Hmph! This kid is really arrogant and presumptuous! He really thinks he's invincible. When my father arrives, he's doomed! A true man can bend and stretch! This little humiliation is nothing. When the time comes, I will repay him a thousandfold for the humiliation he caused me!"
Afterwards, Li Changfeng had Patriarch Zhang's men take him into the woodshed and wait for the arrival of the Poison Serpent Gang.
Patriarch Zhang looked worried and advised, "My benefactor Li! I urge you to release this man! Otherwise, when his father arrives, we'll have nothing to say! We could be in grave danger at any moment!"
Li Changfeng smiled slightly upon hearing this, "Patriarch Zhang! Don't worry! I'm confident I can do this, so just relax and watch the show! Besides, now that you've decided to release him, do you think he'll forgive what I've done?"
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Li Changfeng, Patriarch Zhang sighed, "Alright! What my benefactor said makes sense. Please do as you please! I'll go out and have someone prepare some simple food!" After saying that, Patriarch Zhang slowly walked out.
A burly guard stood beside Patriarch Zhang and whispered, "Master! Isn't this kid too arrogant? That Viper Gang Leader is no saint! Doing this could easily plunge the Zhang Manor into utter ruin! Should we inform him of this information so that we can have a chance to survive?"
Upon hearing this, Patriarch Zhang hissed, "Zhang Niu! Don't talk nonsense! Be careful, walls have ears! This matter is beyond reconciliation; we can only do as he asks! Go and prepare all the property; take Miss to her uncle's place in the capital tonight!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Niu's face turned solemn, and he cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "I accept the order!"