Chapter 246: Chapter 245: Searching for Traces

Listening to Master Liu’s hurried footsteps and shouts from outside, Sun Yuting sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair over her forehead, hiding the faint red mark.

Wu Chen walked over to the entrance and opened the door.

WHOOSH!—

The fresh air, clean after a night of rain, rushed in and dispelled much of the room’s stuffy atmosphere.

Wu Chen looked up, his gaze following the sound, and saw a portly figure jogging toward him from the distance.

By the time he reached them, Master Liu had to lean against the doorframe, panting for a long while before he could speak.

"Sir! Something terrible happened last night!"

"Nine households in town, nearly forty people, have all disappeared!"

Master Liu’s fleshy frame trembled, the panic on his face impossible to hide.

Early this morning, after his breakfast and tea, he had gone out for his usual stroll. He hadn’t gone far when he heard the townsfolk in a frenzy over rumors of disappearances. When he inquired further, he learned it was nine whole households!

Coincidentally, Wu Chen had asked about this very matter upon arriving yesterday. That, combined with the power and presence he projected, led Master Liu to instinctively see him as his pillar of support, even without knowing his identity.

Leaning on the doorframe, Master Liu watched the young man, awaiting his instructions, while his peripheral vision swept over the bed inside.

He saw the young woman’s clothes were disheveled and her expression was undeniably haggard—she looked like a completely different person from the vibrant woman of yesterday.

The young man at the door, however, remained expressionless.

’This was... all in one night...?’

Master Liu felt an even deeper sense of the young man’s formidable power.

Wu Chen frowned. Master Liu’s words sparked a flurry of questions in his mind. After pondering for a few moments, he asked:

"Have you reported it to the authorities?"

Master Liu collected himself and nodded hurriedly.

"Of course. Qinghe Town, sixty li away, is a major town with a county office and constables. But even at a full sprint, a round trip takes nearly an hour."

"I knew I couldn’t just count on them, so I’ve already arranged for the best Hunters from my own estate to search the outskirts of town. Hopefully, they can find some trace of them and bring the missing people back."

Wu Chen nodded, his gaze lowered.

’As expected of a prominent family,’ he thought with admiration. ’Reporting it to the authorities, dispatching Hunters, searching for the missing people... everything has been arranged in an orderly and methodical fashion.’

"In that case, we will join the Hunters and search outside the town as well, to see if we can find any clues."

"Just one thing, Master Liu—please don’t draw attention to who we are."

Wu Chen said, having decided to join the search for clues.

Last night, he had only searched within the town itself, not venturing into the areas further out.

’But after such a heavy rain all night,’ Wu Chen thought, ’it’s unlikely there’s much to find by now.’

"We will, of course, act entirely on your command!"

Hearing that these two Rangers, wanderers of unfathomable power and identity, were willing to help, Master Liu let out a genuine sigh of relief.

Besides, with people vanishing into thin air, he, the wealthiest man in town, would be the one with the most to fear if the culprit wasn’t found.

"I’ve already assembled the Hunters in the manor. Please come to the main gate when you are ready."

Master Liu glanced at the still-shivering young woman, his heart filled with nothing but admiration for the young man. He offered Wu Chen a polite cupped-fist salute.

"I will take my leave for now!"

Wu Chen nodded. He watched Master Liu hurry off to gather his men, then turned to Sun Yuting, gauging whether she had the strength to walk.

Fortunately, Sun Yuting had taken a Nourishing Essence Pill, and a good deal of her Qi Power had returned. Though her delicate face was still pale, her once-unsteady steps were now much more stable.

"Something’s not right."

Holding her sword, she walked to the doorframe and watched Master Liu’s retreating back, saying faintly:

"The stall that was painting the marks... I remember he said he would do it for twenty people."

"Logically, there should be twenty households missing. So why were only ten people, including me, affected?"

She had been "summoned" by the mysterious mark, spending half the night in a delirious state. But after Wu Chen helped lower her fever last night, her thoughts had cleared, and she had pieced together the general sequence of events.

In all likelihood, the disappearances in and around Cold Rain City were connected to the person who was painting those marks yesterday.

The two of them headed toward the main gate of the Liu family’s estate. Hearing Sun Yuting’s question, Wu Chen thought for a moment before replying:

"Perhaps the others were from the villages surrounding the town? Maybe the news just hasn’t reached Water Town yet."

Even as Wu Chen gave this answer, he wasn’t sure himself. In fact, he felt it was unlikely.

Twenty copper plates was not a small sum for common folk; it was unlikely anyone would spend that kind of money for a bowl of talisman water and a few empty words about being impervious to ghosts and evil.

Of course, the stall owner had said he would also paint the mark on those he "felt a connection with," so it wasn’t impossible that people from other villages were among the chosen.

He shook his head. "Let’s head out first and see what we can find."

Sun Yuting nodded, her heart heavy as her fingertips traced the mark on her forehead.

The two of them walked toward the gate of the Liu family’s estate.

「The main gate of the Liu family estate.」

Over thirty Hunters, armed with steel blades, were already assembled. Ten hounds with glossy coats stood with them, poised and ready.

"I presume you all know what has happened."

Standing on the stone steps of the gate, Master Liu addressed the crowd in a clear voice.

In front of his own men, he suppressed his panic, his face showing no trace of fear.

He scanned the crowd below the steps, took a deep breath, and his voice boomed:

"In case anyone is still unclear, I’ll say it again!"

"Last night, under the cover of the storm, some criminal element wreaked havoc in Water Town, abducting ten households—more than forty people, young and old."

"If any of you can find a single clue with the hounds, the reward is fifty taels of silver!"

"If you capture the culprit, the reward is two hundred taels of silver!"

Master Liu didn’t waste words. What happened, what he needed them to do, and how much they’d be paid for it—he had made it all crystal clear in just a few sentences.

The handsome reward visibly excited the group of Hunters, their enthusiasm plain to see:

"Never mind the reward! We eat from your table, Master Liu. Of course we’re willing to help ease your burdens!"

"Exactly! You’re doing a good thing here, Master Liu!"

"..."

"Alright, alright! Enough with the flattery! Get a move on and start searching! Don’t let the culprit get away!"

Master Liu was in no mood to listen to his underlings’ sycophantic praise. He waved his hand impatiently, signaling for them to cut the chatter and get to work.

If they couldn’t find any clues or the culprit, he, the wealthiest man in town, wouldn’t be sleeping soundly for the foreseeable future.

The thirty-odd Hunters split into teams of three, leading their hounds as they immediately fanned out into the marketplace.

The Hunters first went to the homes of the families that had vanished.

They led the hounds through the houses, letting the dogs commit every scent in the homes to memory.

Only then did they begin to slowly search for any lingering trail, both inside and outside the town.

"My esteemed guests, will you wait here for news from the Hunters, or will you join the search outside of town?"

Watching the Hunters spring into action, Master Liu turned to ask Wu Chen and Sun Yuting at his side.

"We’ll go search together. Waiting here is nerve-wracking."

Rather than endure the agonizing wait, Wu Chen preferred to take action himself.

With that, he strode into town, searching for any clues that might have been missed the night before.

After all, with the torrential downpour that had lasted all night, even with his strength at the First Layer of the Armor Forging Realm and his ability to trace aura patterns, Wu Chen couldn’t guarantee that he hadn’t missed something in the face of such bizarre methods.

Furthermore, the torrential rain last night had greatly hindered his search.

So, he decided to keep searching within the town for any clues he might have overlooked.

Wu Chen wasn’t worried about whether his own aura might have been left behind in the courtyards he’d visited last night.

At the Armor Forging Realm, one could already seal one’s own aura. Besides, he hadn’t gone inside any of the houses, and after a full night of being washed clean by the storm, no hound would be able to detect his scent.

Wu Chen moved quickly, searching for anything he might have missed last night. As time ticked by, he found nothing unusual. On the contrary, with the morning progressing, people were already starting to set up their market stalls for business.

The ground, now covered in muddy footprints, made it even harder to distinguish the culprit’s tracks from last night.

After a full sweep of the town yielded nothing, Wu Chen decided to search the surrounding outskirts.

However, just as he was about to head out of town to look for clues, he looked up and froze.

’Huh? It’s her?’

Sun Yuting, searching for clues by his side, noticed his sudden reaction. She followed his gaze, and her own eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey! It’s that rich young lady who also got the mark!"

"She’s completely unharmed?!"

Not far away, two figures were strolling down the street, one behind the other.

It was none other than the rich young lady from yesterday, the one with the maid who had also received the patterned mark.

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