Wang Chengde straightened up, the respectful look on his face slowly faded.
He returned to the desk and sat down. He looked at the three people below who were still out of breath and pondered for a moment before ordering, "You three, listen to me."
Upon hearing this, the three nursing home leaders looked at him.
"Pass my order. All the nursing homes in the mansion are divided into four teams, with twenty people in each team. They rotate day and night. The interval between patrols should not exceed half a cup of tea."
He continued in a solemn tone, "Two additional secret whistles were placed at the entrance to the dungeon in the backyard, one on the ridge of the wing on both sides and on the mezzanine of the rockery in the garden. If there is any disturbance, the whistle will be sounded immediately to warn."
"In addition,"
He paused, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. "Inform the dungeon guards that from tonight onwards, all those on duty will not be allowed to leave their posts for even a step. All food, drink and toiletries will be delivered by special personnel. Without my personal order, no one is allowed to enter or exit the dungeon without permission, including you."
The three of them were shocked. "Yes, the head of the family."
Chengdong, Yongning Ward.
As soon as the sky dawned, there was a burst of rapid and chaotic footsteps in the alleys.
The people living in Yongning Ward have long been accustomed to the noise of the past few days. The doors and windows of every house are closed, and they hold their breath to listen to the noise outside.
A group of men in black poured in from the entrance of the square, led by a tall and thin man in gray robes.
He has a cowhide short knife slung around his waist, and his aura is gloomy and restrained. He is one of the peripheral members of the Heavenly Demon Sect branch. This person's surname is He, and his name is He Kui, Peak An Jin.
The six men in black following him were all carefully selected by the Wang Family.
"The fourth team, Yongning Ward Dongsanxiang to Dongqixiang, conduct house-to-house inspections, focusing on young and middle-aged men. Anyone with cultivation skills will be taken away."
He Kui gave the order with a cold expression.
"Yes!"
The six men in black shouted in unison, and then dispersed into the alley like wolves and tigers.
Yongning Ward is mostly populated by poor people.
A man in black kicked open the door of the first courtyard at the entrance of the alley. Inside, an old couple lived, huddled behind the stove and shivering.
The man in black glanced at them and saw two old men over sixty years old. He snorted, turned around and left.
The second house, the third house, the fourth house, and seven or eight households were searched in succession. They were all old, weak, women and children. There were a few young and strong people who were just ordinary laborers. The men in black waved their hands impatiently and ordered them to go back to the house.
"What kind of warrior can there be in this poor place?"
The man in black walking at the front spat, his face full of impatience.
"Don't be careless."
Another man in black lowered his voice. "I told you from above that I would rather arrest by mistake than let go. The previous teams found several An Jin warriors in other cities, and they were all hiding in the homes of these poor people. They almost missed them."
"Okay, okay, let's search a few more."
The fifth house.
The courtyard door was ajar, a few pieces of coarse cloth were hanging out in the courtyard, and smoke was rising from the stove roof. It looked like an ordinary house.
But when the man in black opened the door to the main room, his brows furrowed.
There was no one in the room. The porridge on the stove was still steaming. There were two pairs of bowls and chopsticks on the table, and there was still unfinished porridge in one of the bowls.
The bedding was messy, as if someone had just climbed out of bed.
"Someone ran away!"
The leader of the men in black suddenly blew the brass whistle.
The sharp whistle cut through the morning fog.
He Kui's figure flashed from the alley to the courtyard.
He squatted down, pressed his fingers lightly on the soil on the ground, and then raised his head, his eyes scanning the courtyard wall like a hawk.
"Footprints."
There were a few shallow footprints on the soil on the inside of the courtyard wall, with the toes pointing towards the root of the wall. It was clear that someone had climbed over the wall and ran away.
"Chase."
He Kui snorted coldly.
The two men in black were the first to climb over the courtyard wall, followed closely by He Kui, who had already passed the top of the wall with a single movement.
Outside the wall is a narrower alley, the end of which is connected to the rocky hill behind Yongning Ward.
The footprints extended all the way down the alley, and finally disappeared in front of an overgrown pile of rocks.
He Kui squatted down and pushed aside the grass.
There are a few strands of clothing fibers left in the cracks between the stones. The texture is rough and it is the fabric for short coats commonly worn by ordinary people.
"You can't run far, search for me."
He Kui Just after giving the order, there was suddenly a rush of footsteps deep in the rubble.
"Over there!"
Two men in black shot out suddenly, their figures leaping among the rocks as if they were flying.
He Kui followed leisurely.
Deep in the rubble, a man in his thirties was running away desperately.
This man was wearing a coarse cloth jacket and had bare feet. The soles of his feet had been cut with blood by the gravel, but he ignored the pain and gritted his teeth and ran forward as hard as he could.
The footsteps of the man in black behind him were getting closer and closer, and he could feel those breaths approaching quickly.
"Stop!"
A man in black shouted violently.
Instead of stopping, the man ran faster.
Although he was of Early An Jin cultivation, the past few days of hiding in Tibet had exhausted his energy. There was not much Internal Force left in his body, and his feet were getting heavier and heavier.
Just when he was about to run into the depths of the rubble, a gray shadow leaped forward and suddenly appeared in front of him.
He Kui landed three feet in front of him, with a sneer on his face.
"Run, why don't you run?"
The man suddenly stopped and turned around to escape to the side, but the two guards behind him had already surrounded him, one on the left and one on the right, blocking his escape route.
"You... you lackeys of the Wang Family!" The man's voice was hoarse, and his face was full of despair and hatred.
"A running dog?" He Kui sneered, "It's better than a dead dog."
He was too lazy to talk nonsense, and stretched out his right hand, with his five fingers forming claws, and clawed at the man's throat.
The man gritted his teeth and punched out, hitting He Chuan straight in the face.
He Kui didn't even raise his eyelids. With a flick of his left hand, he deflected the man's fist. His right hand grabbed his throat and slammed him to the ground.
Bang!
The man's back hit the gravel, and blood surged from his mouth. After struggling twice, he couldn't move.
"Tie them up and take them back."
He Kui took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands.
"Sir!" A man in black suddenly pointed deeper into the rocks. "There seems to be someone over there!"
He Kui's eyes narrowed.
He listened for a moment, and sure enough, there was a very subtle rustling sound coming from the other side of the pile of rocks.
"Interesting, it seems we have good luck today."
He Kui The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, and his body moved towards the direction of the sound.
As soon as he rounded a huge boulder, he saw a figure running down the slope.
The man was thin, wearing a patched short coat, his hair was messy, and he looked like a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old.
The young man's speed was astonishing, and he was able to shuttle between the rocks like a fish in water. Every step he took was precisely placed between the cracks in the rocks, avoiding all gravel that might make noise.
"Early Ming Jin."
He Kui squinted his eyes.
A Early Ming Jin boy is better than nothing.
He straightened up and swooped towards the young man like a big bird.