Jiang Ran was baffled by the man’s huff.

Watching the man’s retreating back, he couldn’t help but mutter under his breath:

"That guy’s probably got a screw loose!"

He had no grudge against the man, and had never even met him before.

So why did he act like he looked down on him for no reason...?

’But seeing him take down a wanted poster, he’s probably in the same line of work as me.’

Jiang Ran naturally didn’t have a good impression of someone who was poaching his business.

So he decided to ignore him.

He didn’t know when he would hear back from Steward Liu.

After finishing his look at the notice board, Jiang Ran decided to head to another place first.

This was also a grand estate with a plaque hanging high above the entrance, but this one read: Tong Mansion!

That Master Tang was well-known, reputed to be a wealthy man.

But the Tong Mansion was different.

The master of the Tong family was named Tong Wanli, and he had a nickname... Palm of Heaven Net.

The reason for this was his family’s ancestral palm technique, the Myriad Transformations Heaven Net Palm, which he had cultivated to a state of perfection.

This palm technique was infinitely profound. It was said that once he used it, his opponent would feel as if they had stepped into a net from which there was no escape.

Unable to escape, whether to the heavens above or the earth below.

While this might have been an exaggeration, the fact that he could earn such a reputation showed he was no ordinary person.

Jiang Ran had come here for one reason and one reason only: the Tong family were old friends of the Ye family.

After parting ways with Ye Jingshuang earlier, Jiang Ran had asked Steward Liu to make some inquiries.

It wasn’t a secret, so he found out as soon as he asked.

Today, he decided to pay a visit to see how Ye Jingshuang was doing.

What Jiang Ran didn’t expect was that after he knocked at the gate, an old butler came out.

When he explained the situation, the old butler’s face filled with difficulty:

"You’ve come at an inconvenient time, young brother. My master just left yesterday, and the young miss of the Ye family went with him."

Jiang Ran blinked.

"Did they say where they were going?"

"Well... I think they were heading to Red Maple Mountain."

’Red Maple Mountain?’

’The Ye family of Red Maple.’

Jiang Ran nodded thoughtfully, then bid the old butler farewell and left.

’Tong Wanli took Ye Jingshuang to Red Maple Mountain; it must be about the matter of the entire Ye family.’

’I just didn’t expect them to move so quickly.’

"What a pity... Even if I had come earlier, it would have been useless. I can’t leave until I get news of that old drunkard."

"Otherwise, I might have been able to get some Life-extending Pills..."

"That old coot is so infuriating. He should have just left a note in his letter saying where he was going."

"It would have put my mind at ease."

He sighed. Since things hadn’t worked out, he wouldn’t force it.

He turned and went back to the Government Office to look at the case files.

He had spent the previous afternoon there and it had been fruitful. Besides memorizing the names and descriptions of many wanted criminals, he had also gathered a lot of information about the martial arts world.

This was all knowledge Jiang Ran desperately needed.

The more he read, the more he could fill the gaps in his knowledge and stop being so ignorant.

Jiang Ran spent the entire day immersed in the Government Office.

He only left when night fell.

Unfortunately, Steward Liu still hadn’t found any news about the old drunkard.

This made Jiang Ran wonder if the old drunkard had ever even come to Cangzhou Prefecture.

Otherwise, with the Government Office’s network, how could there be no news at all after a day and a half?

That evening, Jiang Ran sat cross-legged in his room at the inn.

He began circulating the Creation and Rectification Sutra.

This Inner Energy technique was truly extraordinary. Every time he circulated it, his internal breath would naturally grow a little stronger.

It cleansed his body and mind, expelling the impure and retaining the essential.

Not only that, but the technique could also ’clear the spirit and rectify the heart’. According to the manual, this meant he would be ’unswayed by external evils’.

This, in particular, made Jiang Ran think of the Tang family.

’If the Creation and Rectification Sutra has the ability to make one "unswayed by external evils," does that mean there are martial arts in this world that can influence a person’s mind?’

But Jiang Ran was still too ignorant of the world. He had his suspicions but no proof, so he could only put the thought aside for now.

As he was cultivating, Jiang Ran’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

A THUD was heard, and a dart was now embedded in the side of his bed.

Attached to the dart was a letter.

’A message by dart?’

A thought flashed through Jiang Ran’s mind. With a wave of his sleeve, WHOOSH, the window flew open.

He reached out, his internal breath circulating.

The saber resting by his bed flew into his palm with a SWOOSH. He immediately activated the Celestial Nine Steps and soared out of the window.

As for the dart and its message, he didn’t even glance at it.

’Since the person is right outside, wouldn’t it be faster to catch them than to read some letter?’

Under the cover of night, a figure was seen sprinting out of the city at an incredible speed.

Jiang Ran, using his Celestial Nine Steps, followed close behind.

Hearing the commotion behind him, the person glanced back and seemed startled to find Jiang Ran catching up.

He immediately picked up his pace.

Jiang Ran smiled faintly. His internal breath flowed endlessly, and his feet seemed to tread on air.

His use of the Celestial Nine Steps was on a completely different level now. Although the person in front of him had an impressive Lightweight Technique, trying to shake him was a fool’s dream.

He might not be able to catch up immediately, but with his profound Inner Energy, he didn’t believe the person ahead could possess such deep Inner Strength as well.

One chasing the other, they left the walls of Cangzhou Prefecture in the blink of an eye. Once outside, the person broke into an even faster sprint.

But Jiang Ran followed behind at a steady, unhurried pace.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the person in front finally couldn’t take it anymore.

He leaped to the ground and turned to face Jiang Ran.

"Why... why are you chasing me? Go read the letter!!"

"I prefer to talk face-to-face."

Jiang Ran gave a wry smile and walked up to him.

"Who are you?"

The person was silent for a moment before pulling down his mask.

Even in the dark of night, his face was visible. But one look and Jiang Ran was taken aback.

"Qingyi?"

Jiang Ran was stunned, not expecting him to seek him out.

A smirk that wasn’t quite a smile appeared on his face.

"A message by dart? Only you would come up with that..."

"Couldn’t you have just spoken to me directly?"

"...It’s not that I didn’t want to."

Qingyi said:

"It’s just that the city isn’t as safe as you might think right now."

"Li Feiyun has already planted his men in the city?"

Jiang Ran chuckled before he could finish.

Qingyi froze.

"You knew, sir?"

"I didn’t before, but what you just said made it clear."

Jiang Ran shook his head.

"If I were Li Feiyun, and I knew Shopkeeper Wan was sending out hero’s invitations, willing to spend his entire fortune just to cause me trouble..."

"Would I just stay in Feiyun Stronghold and wait for you all to come knocking?"

"I’ve thought about it. I wouldn’t."

"Not only would I not do that, I’d see it as an opportunity..."

"Shopkeeper Wan might be inviting heroes to Cangzhou Prefecture to discuss this important matter, but the problem is, such a gathering is bound to attract all sorts of people."

"If I were Li Feiyun, I would act. I’d ambush a few people and take their hero’s invitations."

"Then I’d send out two teams. One team, holding the invitations, would infiltrate the assembly."

"The other team would lie in ambush outside."

"When the day of the assembly arrives, the infiltrators would start causing chaos—either by killing people or by using poison—to create panic and disarray."

"Then the people outside would coordinate with them from the inside."

"With a plan like that, the outcome would be anyone’s guess."

Qingyi blinked, realizing all the explanations he had prepared were now completely useless.

Based on a single sentence from him, this man had already figured out Li Feiyun’s entire plan!

’And he’s even more vicious than Li Feiyun... At least Li Feiyun hadn’t thought of using poison.’

In the end, he could only say lamely:

"You are brilliant, sir."

...

...

PS: One more Chapter tonight... I’ll release two Chapters together at 9 PM~