When Li Yuan and Wen Xiaoqiao arrived at Central City, sixty knife-wielding miscellaneous task workers had already lined up in an empty area at the entrance of Central City waiting.

Central City is rather special. If the entire Black Market Island is compared to a castle, then Central City would be the city within a city.

All around are labyrinth-like warehouses and high stacked walls, presenting an overall gray tone.

The only place to reach the entrance is a narrow alley, which is where Li Yuan had just heard the woman's cries, the place where live cargo is sold.

From the alley to the entrance, the terrain suddenly becomes clear.

This open space is where the knife-wielding miscellaneous task workers are located at the moment.

Beside the open space are some rows of houses. These houses are for miscellaneous workers to stay overnight, and for some sellers to temporarily reside.

Li Yuan quickly scanned the surroundings, and then looked at the sixty knife-wielding miscellaneous task workers.

The workers were strong and healthy, standing tall and upright, almost all had "4~5" on top of their heads.

"Young Master Li! Sister Wen!" The workers shouted in unison.

After shouting, they all turned their attention to the two of them.

Many people in the black market were also looking over to this place.

Li Yuan glanced sideways at Wen Xiaoqiao, there was a bit of excitement in the girl's eyes.

Wen Xiaoqiao sweetly said, "Young Master Li, how about we split these people half for you, and half for me?"

Li Yuan said softly, "Miss Wen, have you ever thought about why the position in Central City is vacant?"

Wen Xiaoqiao was startled, and it was like she had been pulled back, her face became serious and sullen.

Li Yuan said in a deep voice, "Let's not split yet, we need to unite and figure out the situation first."

Wen Xiaoqiao laughed, "Young Master Li sure knows what to do, I'll listen to you..."

Li Yuan said speechlessly, "If you keep calling me Young Master Li, I'll call you Master Wen."

Wen Xiaoqiao said, "That can't be, your name was personally appointed by Master Li, and besides... you are an Entry Grade Martial..."

"Master Wen."

"You are an Entry Grade Martial Artist."

"Master Wen."

"You..."

"Master Wen."

"Alright... Li Yuan." Wen Xiaoqiao had never seen a man like this, calling him "Young Master Li" was very impressive, especially since he was an Entry Grade Martial Artist, making him unique.

"That's better." Li Yuan smiled gently. It's important to maintain good relationships with colleagues, otherwise inexplicable things can happen.

The two dismissed the workers, letting them patrol separately, and then the two of them entered the nearby guard house.

Once inside, Wen Xiaoqiao asked in a normal voice, "Do you think the two disciples who were guarding here before are already dead? So, the vacancy fell to us?"

"We can call someone in to ask, maybe they passed an assessment and got promoted to Outer Disciple." Li Yuan listened to this voice that matched her physique, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, that damned sense of incongruity finally disappeared.

"Hmm..." Wen Xiaoqiao bounced out like a meatball, pushed the door open, looked at the workers outside, and sweetly said, "Send two people familiar with the situation."

This voice, combined with this physique, sent chills down people's spines.

Quickly, two knife-wielding workers ran over, respectfully shouted "Sister Wen," and entered the house.

Wen Xiaoqiao sat on a large chair, propped her "elephant leg" on the table with a thump, and sweetly said, "Tell me, where did the people who were here before go?"

Li Yuan sat silently on the side, trying to remain inconspicuous.

In fact, he was quite satisfied with his partner's high-profile style.

The workers showed a somewhat cryptic expression, and after a long while, one of them finally spoke reluctantly, "Disappeared..."

"Disappeared?" Wen Xiaoqiao raised her voice, "Are they dead or alive?"

The worker said, "They disappeared over ten days ago, alive or dead, there's no trace..."

Wen Xiaoqiao asked again, "Where was the last place they appeared?"

The worker said, "It was in this house... that day at dusk, the two masters were still here, then at night, one stayed to watch overnight, and then was gone.

The other master was skeptical, so he brought people to guard the house, and nothing happened in the end.

But after a few days, the second master also disappeared..."

Wen Xiaoqiao asked, "Did the sect send anyone to investigate?"

The worker said, "They investigated... nothing happened, so it was treated as a disappearance."

"Could they have left on their own?" Wen Xiaoqiao thought for a while and continued to ask.

The worker said, "Their families are all here... it's unlikely they left on their own."

Wen Xiaoqiao's small eyes showed a thoughtful look as she asked again, "Has anything strange happened in Central City recently?"

The worker thought for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "No strange events... there are many live goods in Central City, people crying during the day, and at night too, usually we just shout and it stops."

Wen Xiaoqiao frowned, showing a thoughtful look on her chubby face, then suddenly turned to look at Li Yuan and said, "Do you want to go take a look?"

Li Yuan smiled wryly, "I suddenly feel a bit unwell... Miss Wen can go..."

He was also speechless.

What a mess...

Encountering such a missing case just as he started his job.

All he wanted was to slack off...

Even using his toes to think he could know: people couldn't just disappear for no reason, it must be some conspiracy or...

His mind suddenly conjured up the eerie manor in the deep mountain forest, causing his scalp to tingle, goosebumps rising one after another.

"Feeling unwell?" Wen Xiaoqiao was taken aback, then chuckled, and followed the workers away.

Li Yuan sat alone in the house, feeling colder as he sat.

He scanned the room warily.

A screen blocked the middle of the room, separating the front and back parts.

The back part was for the disciples on duty here to rest.

The front part was for external monitoring.

The duty area was quite simple, with just a table by the window, a stack of registration books, and a weapon rack against the wall, along with some easily preserved food like sunflower seeds and walnuts.

He got up and circled around the screen to look at the back hall.

The back hall had a bed and a bookshelf, with some files on the shelf.

He went over and flipped through them, the files recorded the recent flow of goods in Central City.

It seemed they would be stored for a while and then transferred to a larger archive.

He just briefly flipped through them and stopped looking.

Then he looked at the bed.

The bedding on the bed was neatly folded, obviously prepared for new disciples on duty.

The air was oddly quiet, the sounds outside the house seemed lighter and fuzzier, with a rustling that was hard to hear clearly.

Li Yuan approached the bed, wanting to bend down to take a look underneath, but for some reason... he didn't do it, instead, he turned and quickly went around the screen, leaving the house.

Outside the house, snow was falling, and Li Yuan felt an inexplicable chill in his body, as if a rotten dead hand was crawling gently on his back.

This feeling was somewhat similar to when he was fleeing through the forest.

Whether it was the reawakened terrifying memory, or a premonition after previously experiencing similar events, he couldn't tell.

Li Yuan's pupils slightly contracted, with a bow on his back, and a saber in his arms, as he paced back and forth, observing the people coming and going.

The registration of these comings and goings was handled by the workers.

It wasn't long before Li Yuan saw a bullock cart dragging a large iron cage approaching from afar.

The iron cage was covered with a thick black cloth.

The black cloth, covered with white snow, looked like a clean canvas soiled with filthy earth.

The workers went forward and pulled it open, revealing women and children inside, obviously more of the so-called live goods.

Li Yuan slightly turned his head, avoiding the sight...

The workers circled the cage, seemingly checking something, and after finishing the check, they quickly returned to the guard house, bowed respectfully to Li Yuan with a "Young Master Li" as they passed the gate, and then went inside to register.

These miscellaneous tasks were handled by the workers. Outer disciples of the Blood Saber Sect were there mainly as a presence; if a fight broke out, they could command the workers to engage.

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