Lian Li’s pupils constricted slightly. Children were not inanimate objects; if they were snatched by a stranger, they would cry and struggle. Even if someone used snacks to lure a child away, they couldn’t simply entice them right out of the city.
Therefore, the person who abducted the children must have been capable of instantly rendering them unable to move or make a sound.
This could be achieved through drugs or by a martial artist directly striking their pressure points.
After the waiter finished sharing the news and left, Lian Li turned to look at Yun Huizhou. “Could Master have gone to chase after that group of kidnappers?”
Yun Huizhou simply replied, “Yes.”
He then looked at Lian Li, his eyes signaling for the youth to continue his own deductions and analysis.
Lian Li also knew that he couldn’t ask Yun Huizhou everything or rely on him for analysis. After all, Yun Huizhou was only accompanying him for experience. Logically, Yun Huizhou should be like the South Island Lord—not interfering in anything.
Lian Li lowered his eyes in thought for a moment before speaking. “The ones who abducted the children shouldn’t be an ordinary group of kidnappers, but people possessing martial arts. There might be several of them, and their martial arts aren’t weak. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Master to have been chasing them since last night without resolving it yet.”
Yun Huizhou nodded in agreement.
Lian Li could no longer sit still. He stood up and said, “Come, let’s go after Master. It should be easy for Master to deal with those people, but since he hasn’t returned yet, he might have encountered some trouble.”
After the two went downstairs and settled the bill, they set off without pause in the direction the South Island Lord had indicated.
Not long after leaving the small town, they saw a marker left by the South Island Lord: three common blades of grass embedded horizontally into a tree trunk. One end of the three blades had been knotted, pointing in a specific direction.
Upon seeing this, the two decisively pursued the direction indicated by the marker.
***
Three strangely dressed men, each carrying a particularly large sack, were sprinting through the forest.
A black figure followed behind the three like a ghost.
The expressions on the three men’s faces were solemn, yet they did not seem overly afraid. When they grew tired, they stopped to rest as usual.
However, they were unwilling to put down those sacks no matter what. Even when nature called, they kept them close, not daring to let go.
When they stopped to rest again, one of the men—fat and with a face full of coarse flesh—clutched his sack tightly, using it as a shield between himself and the ghostly black figure.
Seeing them stop, the ghostly figure also stopped on a nearby tree, simply watching them.
A gaunt man with a face like a pointed-muzzle monkey looked at the ghostly figure behind them and gave a treacherous laugh. “To think the three of us brothers would see the day where we are pursued relentlessly by the South Island Lord of Drunken Dream Island. If others found out, our reputation would surely soar.”
The last man, who had only a few hairs left on his head, also laughed in agreement. “For the South Island Lord to chase us so closely, could it be that you want to join us three brothers in tasting the most tender meat in the human world?”
He reached out to pat the large sack on his person and continued, “If the South Island Lord wants a taste, just say the word, and I’ll slaughter one right now to cook for you. Don’t think it won’t taste good without spices; this most tender meat is a supreme delicacy even if you just boil it in water without adding a thing.”
“Boiling won’t do. If you ask me, it’s better to cut it into small pieces, sprinkle some ginger and garlic, and put it in a pot to steam,” the fat man said. Seeing that the South Island Lord had no reaction to his companions’ words, his courage grew, and he joined the conversation.
As long as these five pieces of “meat” were in their hands, even if this man was a Transcendent master, he wouldn’t dare to strike recklessly.
They couldn’t withstand a single move from a Transcendent master, but they were capable of killing these five pieces of meat in the instant before they died.
“What you two said is no good. If you ask me, they should be marinated properly and then stir-fried in a wok,” the gaunt, monkey-faced man added.
Though they spoke this way, each of them clutched their sacks deathly tight, not daring to let go or actually take action.
After all, once the people in their hands died, the opponent would no longer have any reservations. At that point, their deaths would be imminent.
Speaking of which, it was truly bad luck. They only wanted to satisfy a craving and specifically chose such a small town, yet they still ran into a Transcendent master.
Now, not only could they not satisfy their craving, but they might even lose their lives here. They only hoped these five little brats in their hands would hold on a bit longer and not die, giving them enough time to think of a way to escape the South Island Lord’s grasp.
Otherwise, the moment the last of these five brats stopped breathing would be the moment of their deaths.
Sensing that the breathing of one of the brats in his sack had weakened, the gaunt man reluctantly funneled a trace of internal energy inside, fearing the child might suddenly die.
The South Island Lord stood upon the tree, his entire form shrouded in black robes, quietly watching the three men below.
Even if his expression could not be seen, one could feel his current indifference.
About an hour later, the three men below seemed to have rested enough and prepared to flee again.
Beneath the black robes, the South Island Lord opened his eyes. This time, he did not immediately follow.
His fingers, hidden under the robes, moved slightly. Three unremarkable weeds suddenly became rod-straight, and the air around the edges of the grass distorted slightly.
Several blades of grass surrounding these three were instantly severed as if by an invisible sharp blade.
The three weeds remained hidden in the brush, their tips aimed at the three men.
Taking their lives was a matter of an instant for the South Island Lord; there was no such thing as “hesitating to strike out of concern for the hostages.”
It was simply that the South Island Lord had sensed the five children were not in mortal danger, so he temporarily chose not to act.
But now, he was not prepared to wait any longer.
One of the children was already quite weak and could no longer remain in the hands of these people.
The South Island Lord’s fingers moved again. The three unremarkable weeds were poised to strike, yet the three men below noticed nothing.
They had no idea that the South Island Lord could take their lives with a flick of his finger.
Just as the South Island Lord was about to strike, his gaze shifted slightly beneath the black robes. The weeds that were originally intended to take their lives turned slightly, then hurtled toward the three men’s hands like lightning.
In an instant, each of the three weeds pierced through two hands, leaving bloody holes in their wrists.
Simultaneously, he raised his hand, opened his palm toward the three, and then slightly curled his fingers. The three sacks were snatched as if by an invisible giant hand, pulled directly out of the trio’s control and flying toward the South Island Lord’s position.
Seeing their life-saving chips flying away, the three men all showed looks of panic.
The fat man even reached out and ran a few steps after the three large sacks. However, in the next second, a fierce whip lashed down hard against his outstretched arm.
The man screamed and retreated repeatedly, his arm bent at a bizarre angle.
