After a short while, Zhou Jia returned, dragging a man whose legs were severed at the knees and who was wailing miserably.

This man was Ruan Ahfei.

Zhou Jia threw Ruan Ahfei onto the grass, then glanced at the corpse cut in half nearby and silently withdrew to the side.

Upon landing, Ruan Ahfei, knowing death was inevitable, still clung to a sliver of hope, gritting his teeth against the pain and pleading for mercy.

"Young Master Li, it was Chang Kui who was blinded by greed. He dragged me along, saying he wanted to get the secret recipe for brewing wine, and after we found out, we'd leave Shanbao County..."

"It's all Chang Kui's fault, damn him..."

"Spare me, spare me."

"I have a secret, a secret. Can you let me treat my wound first? I... I might still be saved..."

Ruan Ahfei sobbed and sniffled.

Li Yuan stared at him for a while and suddenly said, "Search him!"

Ruan Ahfei's body suddenly stiffened, and he wailed, "Young Master Li, spare me, and I'll tell you the secret."

Li Yuan said, "You were ready to leave Shanbao County; you must have brought everything important with you, right?"

Immediately, Qian Da stepped forward, approaching to tear open Ruan Ahfei's clothes.

The Flower Thief suddenly opened his mouth as if to spit something out.

But Zhou Jia was well-prepared; seeing his throat move, he quickly drew his sword, which flashed as he fiercely slapped Ruan Ahfei's face, causing him to choke back whatever he was about to spit out.

Qian Da quickly stepped back, seeing a puff of smoke emerge from Ruan Ahfei's mouth, clearly either knockout smoke or poison smoke.

Chang Kui might not have been cunning, but the slippery Flower Thief Ruan Ahfei was full of traps.

As the smoke choked back down, Ruan Ahfei started to sway and then collapsed to the ground, his once lively eyes now dull as if shrouded in mist.

Qian Da returned, probing Ruan Ahfei's chest, pulling out a torn piece of leather, which, when unfolded, turned out to be a map. He continued searching and found some golden coins and a medicine bottle.

Pop~

Qian Da unplugged the bottle, took a distant look, and said, "It's knockout drugs."

He then corked it back up and, standing up, approached Li Yuan, respectfully offering the items.

"Young Master Li."

Li Yuan took the map, glanced at the golden coins and the bottle, and said, "Dispose of the bottle, and divide the golden coins among yourselves."

Qian Da's eyes lit up. Knowing that one tael of gold could be exchanged for ten taels of silver, the golden coins were quite substantial here, and even if divided, it was still unexpected wealth.

Who doesn't love unexpected wealth?

"Young Master Li is generous." Qian Da respectfully remarked, then quickly went to distribute the golden coins.

Li Yuan then spread out the leather map and looked at it for a while. He saw mountains, rivers, and lakes marked on it, along with a date and seven red dots.

The date was marked for the mid-month, six months from now, and the seven red dots were all different.

He tucked it into his chest, planning to study it further upon returning.

At that moment, Ruan Ahfei's entire body began to twitch, his chest heaving violently, and soon he was dead.

"Bury him."

...

...

In just three days, news of the kidnapping incident involving Lin the Fourth at Hengwu Restaurant spread.

This kind of thing couldn't be kept secret, and the more it was hidden, the more problems arose.

On the streets of the city, everyone was talking, while both the Wild Honored Guests and the Blood Saber Sect disciples already knew the details.

"Two Eighth Grade Tributors, Young Master Li kills them on a whim... and did so without a scratch. Impressive, truly impressive!" Many people marveled.

"I've long found those Wild Honored Guests an eyesore; Young Master Li did well to kill them!" commented a disciple in admiration.

Another disciple sarcastically remarked, "Wasn't it just because they captured a servant from his restaurant? The servant isn't even dead, yet he killed two of our Blood Saber Sect's recruits. Does he not see our sect, or is Silver Creek his territory?"

Apart from the disciples, the Wild Honored Guests were also murmuring among themselves.

In a spacious loft, a robust man sat listening with his legs crossed, a playful yet sinister smile on his face. His eyes glinted with bloodlust, while his oddly flat arms resembled half of a pair of scissors, with ten sharp, beast-like fingers emanating danger and strength.

This man was nicknamed "Blood Scissors" outside, a Seventh Grade expert recruited by the Blood Saber Sect.

Many Wild Honored Guests, renowned for a long time, hung around him.

At this moment, these Guests each offered their opinions.

"Brother Blood, that Li from Hengwu Restaurant is too arrogant. He kills our Tributors as he pleases, not even considering us."

"Wasn't it just because they captured a servant from his Hengwu Restaurant?

Not only did they not kill him, but even if they did, what of it? We kill someone every so often anyway.

That Li dared to kill Chang Kui and Ruan Ahfei today, and tomorrow he could do the same to us!"

"Brother Blood, why not spread the word?

The Blood Saber Sect must severely punish that Li, or else... we'll turn to the Sun Family!

Then we'll get a share of their benefits, haha..."

"Right, right, we should let the local forces know of our might. Right now, they're the ones begging us for help.

If we support one side and not the other, they'll live in fear.

Does that Li really have no sense to dare offend us?"

"Brother Blood, perhaps the Blood Saber Sect should ruin that Li...

If not, we have every reason to defect to the Sun Family, reaping their benefits."

Listening to this, Blood Scissors suddenly felt irritated, and shouted, "Shut up!"

His bloodthirsty gaze swept over them, slowly saying, "Are you all deaf?

Or are you pretending to be deaf to scam me?

People outside say it was Chang Kui and Ruan Ahfei who took benefits from the Blood Saber Sect but didn't go to Datong Square to fight. Instead, they captured people and used private punishment to try and extract the secret recipe from Hengwu Restaurant.

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