Yi Yang took the envelope and felt its thickness. Just one thin sheet of paper-there clearly wasn't much inside.
He opened it. The message on the paper was brief.
"Over the past three months, thirty-seven members of our Shallow Water Gang have disappeared in the southern region near White Dragon Marsh, all of them deep within that region. We have always lost men when venturing into somewhere as dangerous as White Dragon Marsh, but this pattern differs from previous years."
"According to my investigation, the Mo Family, Green Snake Gang, and Three Lakes Gang have also had men disappear without explanation. Although the numbers remain unclear, the disappearances are certainly connected to White Dragon Marsh's southern region. Yet the Wei Family alone has sent few parties into the marsh recently."
"Additionally, I hear that Chen Tao, leader of the Three Lakes Gang, has frequently sent men deep into the southern region to gather information over the past month. His behavior is highly unusual. I suspect he may know something."
There was no signature at the bottom. That was where the letter ended.
Yi Yang turned the sheet over. The back was clean, with no additional writing.
Had Xu Pei not told him that Song Liangcheng had delivered it, he really might not have been able to determine its source.
Yi Yang folded the letter, set it at the corner of the table, and took a sip of water from his teacup before considering it.
Thirty-seven dead.
Over the past three months.
And every one of them disappeared in Southern White Dragon Marsh.
In a dangerous place crawling with mutant beasts like White Dragon Marsh, that figure didn't sound too outrageous at first.
But Yi Yang noticed the letter's mention that it "differed from previous years."
Song Liangcheng had spent years