Chapter 221: The South Island Lord is Gone

Yun Huizhou flipped directly onto his horse and said, “Mhm, I’ll head over there with you.”

By the time the two reached the nearest city, dawn had just broken, and the city gates had just opened.

The soldiers guarding the city were lounging about lazily. Seeing people approach, they straightened up slightly, preparing to collect the entry fee. However, after clearly seeing that the two were dressed as martial artists, they pretended to have seen nothing and allowed them to ride straight in.

After they turned in the mission, the people from the Wulin Alliance would record the matter. Later, they would spread the news of Poison Scorpion Woman’s death, along with the identity of the person who had killed her.

With the matter temporarily concluded, Lian Li felt much more relaxed.

“Hurry and find a good inn. I need a bath.” Leaving the Wulin Alliance branch, Lian Li could not wait to head toward the city center.

Yun Huizhou led the horses, following behind him.

After bathing, Lian Li finally felt that the foul stench on his body had vanished. He stepped out from the bathing stall and saw Yun Huizhou sitting by the table.

Drying his hair, Lian Li walked over and sat down beside Yun Huizhou. “The matter with Poison Scorpion Woman is finally settled, but it took much more time than I imagined.”

Yun Huizhou leaned back against the chair. “It’s fine. It took twenty days in total; that’s not considered slow.”

“That was luck. We happened to run into her committing a crime just a few days after coming out.” Lian Li leaned on the table and said in a low voice, “If we hadn’t encountered her, who knows how long it would have taken to find a target.”

“Anyway, we’re heading north. Whoever we run into is who we’ll deal with,” Yun Huizhou said.

“You have a point,” Lian Li replied.

After eating, Lian Li climbed onto the bed and rolled to the innermost side, then beckoned to Yun Huizhou. “Come sleep. My body smelled like death because of Poison Scorpion Woman during the nights, but I’m clean now. Come up, I’ll let you hold me while we sleep.”

Yun Huizhou walked to the bedside and leaned over him, supporting himself with his arms. “What do you mean, you’ll ‘let’ me hold you?”

Lian Li pulled back the covers and patted the empty space beside him. “Just get up here.”

Yun Huizhou leaned down to give him a kiss, then took off his shoes and outer robe to lie down next to Lian Li.

He wasn’t actually sleepy. During the days Lian Li was staking out Poison Scorpion Woman, he and the South Island Lord had stayed at the inn, eating and sleeping, occasionally going out to gather information.

Lian Li, however, had spent several nights on a grueling stakeout. Even if he caught up on sleep during the day, he would only sleep for two hours at noon before waking up to continue his watch.

After Yun Huizhou lay down, he felt Lian Li move closer and wrap an arm around his waist.

He turned his head and saw that Lian Li had already closed his eyes after finding a comfortable position.

Before long, Lian Li’s breathing became long and steady as he fell into a deep sleep.

The two only rested in the city for a day before rushing back to Shuize Town, only to find that the South Island Lord was actually gone.

Lian Li was surprised for a moment, but he wasn’t particularly worried.

With the South Island Lord’s level of martial arts, it was essentially impossible for him to have been kidnapped; he had most likely left of his own accord.

However, what exactly could have happened to make the South Island Lord so hurried that he couldn’t even wait a single day before leaving?

He called over the waiter, gave him fifty copper coins, and asked, “The guest who stayed in Heaven Room No. 3 these past few days—when did he leave? Did he leave any message for us?”

Because Lian Li had been staking out Poison Scorpion Woman, he had come and gone in a hurry every time he visited the inn.

But they had taken the three best rooms, so the waiter responsible for the Heaven-grade rooms naturally had an impression of him.

Especially since Yun Huizhou had also been staying here for the past few days; the waiter knew the three of them were traveling together.

Accepting the money, the waiter spoke up smartly, “That guest went out once last night and returned in a hurry about half an hour later. He asked me to tell you two heroes that he was heading northeast. If you return, look for him there; he said he would leave markers.”

Knowing the direction the South Island Lord had gone, Lian Li nodded. Just as he was about to let the waiter leave, Yun Huizhou spoke.

“Has anything happened in town these past two days?”

Lian Li glanced at Yun Huizhou, then looked back at the waiter, waiting for an answer.

Sure enough, the waiter thought for a moment, looked left and right, and then whispered, “If you’re asking about what happened in town, there are probably two things.”

“One is that Escort He’s wife said someone broke into her home the night before last while she was sleeping with her daughter. The woman in black who broke in seemed to want to kidnap her and her daughter. But she was stopped by another young hero in green.”

“After the woman and the young hero fought in her courtyard, the woman seemed to be no match and fled. The young hero chased after her, and I don’t know if he caught her.”

“Escort He’s wife is very afraid that the woman wasn’t caught and might return to harm her. She found someone to write a letter to the escort agency in the city, wanting to call Escort He back to take them to the city.”

As the waiter spoke, his gaze suddenly fell on Lian Li, abruptly remembering that this young hero had been wearing green clothes a few days ago.

He looked at Lian Li, a hint of uncertainty flashing in his eyes.

Lian Li picked up a cup and took a sip of water, then said calmly, “Poison Scorpion Woman is dead. Escort He’s wife doesn’t need to worry about that villain coming back for her. As for why Poison Scorpion Woman targeted her…”

Lian Li gave the waiter a slight smile. “In the next few days, news should spread. There will likely be many martial artists in the inn talking about it; you can listen then.”

Hearing Lian Li say this, the waiter was instantly certain. It was indeed the young hero before him who had intercepted the person trying to kidnap Escort He’s wife and daughter that night and killed them.

He smiled and complimented Lian Li, but Lian Li waved him off. “And the other matter?”

Mentioning the other matter, the waiter’s expression became much more serious. “The other matter happened yesterday. Five children went missing from our town. All of them were under six years old.”

“Five at once?” Lian Li was shocked and quickly said, “Tell me more in detail.”

The waiter heard Lian Li’s response and remembered how he had saved Escort He’s family from Poison Scorpion Woman, realizing that this young hero intended to get involved.

“It happened yesterday afternoon. The parents of those children are all street vendors in town. They saw the children playing nearby before closing their stalls in the afternoon, but by the time they finished packing up, the children were gone. It all happened within half an hour.”

“When they went around asking if anyone had seen their children, they learned that others had lost their children at the same time. Moreover, the stalls of those families were quite scattered. To lose five in such a short time, it’s likely a group of kidnappers.”