Fire

You can leave now!

Xiao Qi returned and instructed Fang Yu to continue investigating the whereabouts of the people in the other two portraits before letting him leave.

After leaving the stronghold, Fang Yu walked home without noticing anyone following him until he reached his doorstep.

"It seems I'm free for the time being!"

Fang Yu murmured something, pushed open the courtyard gate, and returned home.

"You're back!" Jiang Yue was sweeping the courtyard when she saw Fang Yu return. She simply greeted him without asking why he hadn't come home last night.

"Okay!" Fang Yu responded, taking out the gold ingot and handing it to Jiang Yue, "Keep this gold ingot!"

"A gold ingot!" Jiang Yue took it, picked it up, and bit into it. "It's so big, I'll put it away right now!"

As she spoke, she put down the broom and went into the room to hide the gold coins.

Fang Yu picked up a broom and swept the courtyard clean before beginning his daily training.

By the time he finished his daily training, the sun was high in the sky, and the aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen.

"Go wash up quickly, dinner's ready!"

Jiang Yue carried a bucket of hot water from the kitchen toward the bamboo shed.

Fang Yu took a quick shower, changed into clothes without the smell of rouge, and came into the room to find a table full of fine wine and food.

"Try the big carp I made today!"

"Hmm, not bad!"

Since receiving the gold ingot, Jiang Yue's face has been beaming with smiles. There were several more dishes than usual at lunchtime, and even with Fang Yu's current appetite, he was still quite full after eating.

I'm going out for a walk!

He said something, then, with his swollen belly protruding, he swayed out the door and walked all the way to North Peace Avenue.

Soon, the street thugs gathered, quickly forming a gang. Once they reached a shady spot against a wall, Fang Yu sat down, pulled out his notebook, and said, "Tell me, what have you found?"

"Yesterday, someone said they saw this barbarian in Red Fish Lane!"

"Brother Fang, did you go to the Golden Branch Pavilion last night? I saw you coming out of the building this morning. Why didn't you call the brothers?"

"You have such sharp eyes!"

"These barbarians all look so similar, it's really hard to find them! My legs are so tired!"

"Being exhausted is better than being interrupted, right? Get lost!"

"..."

Fang Yu quickly filled a page in his notebook, licked his finger, turned to the next page, and was about to continue writing when he heard a booming sound coming from afar.

Immediately afterwards, several figures flashed across the rooftops in the distance, followed by another group of figures appearing on the rooftops, and the faint sound of metal clanging could be heard.

"Martial artists have started fighting in the street!"

"Let's go, let's go take a look!"

"He seems to be a master!"

"Look, those people look like barbarians!"

"..."

As they talked, the group of hooligans ran over there. These people loved watching a good show, and they certainly couldn't miss the opportunity to witness a martial arts master's duel in broad daylight.

'They've started fighting!'

Fang Yu calmly got up, dusted himself off, and slowly walked over there.

That direction was precisely where the Hui Barbarian were hiding, and it now seemed that the Embroidered Robe Bureau had begun their encirclement and suppression.

Yes, the Li Household also received this news, but it seems they haven't notified these Hui Barbarian.

He turned through several alleys and arrived at the vicinity. Near the alley entrance, there were many government officials and constables blocking the scene, preventing him from getting any closer. However, he could see from afar that the ground was covered with corpses.

Fang Yu mingled in the crowd, listening to the discussions around him. Basically, it was said that government officials suddenly mobilized, surrounded the courtyard, and then many people died. There were also many highly skilled martial artists who fought their way onto the roof and then disappeared.

In summary, the main thing is that the weaklings died, the experts escaped, and someone went after them.

By the afternoon, notices were posted around the area saying that bandits had infiltrated the city and the government had launched a crackdown, and the bandits had now been apprehended.

After reading the notice, Fang Yu figured that the search for the missing person should be coming to an end.

Sure enough, just five days later, he ran into Xiao Qi on the street.

"From now on, you don't need to look for anyone anymore. Tell your gang of thugs to stop!"

"Yes!"

"This is a reward from above!"

As Xiao Qi spoke, he tossed a gold ingot to Fang Yu.

"Thank you, sir!"

Fang Yu happily put the gold cake into his pocket.

Not long after Xiao Qi informed him that the search mission had been canceled, Fang Yu ran into Sun Dongrong at the alley entrance outside his house.

"This is a reward from Sixth Master!"

As he spoke, Sun Dongrong tossed a gold ingot to Fang Yu.

Fang Yu grabbed it, "Thank you for the reward, Sixth Master!"

Sun Dongrong glanced at Fang Yu from head to toe, "Sixth Master said that as long as you handle the tasks assigned to you well in the future, you will certainly not be treated unfairly!"

"Please convey to Sixth Master Rong that I will do my utmost!" Fang Yu, bowing towards the direction of the Sun Residence.

"Very good!" Sun Dongrong nodded and continued, "Has the Embroidered Robe Bureau had anything to say?"

Fang Yu shook his head and said, "There's no new mission, they just told me to stop investigating!"

Sun Dongrong instructed, "Remember, if there's any movement from the Embroidered Robe Bureau, you must inform me immediately."

"I've got it!" Fang Yu nodded.

After giving his instructions, Sun Dongrong left. Fang Yu returned home as usual and tossed the gold ingot to Jiang Yue.

"Go to the grain sack and buy me some more venison later!"

"Understood!" Jiang Yue happily accepted the gold ingot, took a few steps into the room, then seemed to remember something and turned back to look at Fang Yu, saying:

"While you were away, Mom came over and said that your sister hasn't had anyone send money home for over a month, so something might have happened to her. She wants you to help her find out."

"What could possibly happen to her?" Fang Yu frowned slightly and looked at Jiang Yue: "Have you sent your mother the money she needs every month?"

Jiang Yue immediately became angry upon hearing this, glaring at him and saying, "What are you talking about? Would I possibly withhold it? Of course I'll deliver it on time. If you don't believe me, go home and ask."

"I was just asking casually!" Fang Yu waved his hand and said, "I'll go ask at the Four Seas Hall!"

"Just asking, is that how you ask a question? When have I, Jiang Yue, ever done such a thing? You..."

As they got further away from home, Jiang Yue's shouts grew weaker and weaker. Fang Yu was speechless; he had only asked casually, but Jiang Yue was still making a fuss.

We arrived at the Four Seas Hall.

Fang Yu glanced inside and saw many unfamiliar faces. He approached the gatekeeper and slapped three copper coins in front of him.

"I need to ask you something. Has something happened to my sister, Xu Ying?"

The gatekeeper swept the coins into his palm, glanced at Fang Yu, and said, "Something's happened!"

"What's wrong?" Fang Yu continued to ask.

Upon seeing this, the doorman immediately rubbed his hands together.

Seeing this, Fang Yu took out three more copper coins from his pocket and threw them over, "Hurry up!"

The gatekeeper took the document and looked around before saying, "A few days ago, the warehouse your sister was guarding caught fire, burning down the grain that had just been delivered. The head of the hall was furious and sent your sister to the Loyalty and Righteousness Hall."

"Why would matters from your own hall be sent to the Loyalty and Righteousness Hall?" Fang Yu continued to ask.

"How would I, a mere gatekeeper, know!" the gatekeeper said, then closed his eyes and dozed off, ignoring Fang Yu.