"Ah Yuan, my boy, your father and I were friends for many years."
A portly man of about fifty, who looked like a wealthy patriarch, smiled warmly at Bai Yuan.
This was none other than Liu Laohua, the Town Master of Baisha Town.
As for his relationship with Bai Yuan's father, it was all just empty pleasantries, of course.
In truth, Liu Laohua had never even spoken to Bai Yuan's parents. As the de facto emperor of Baisha Town, why would he deign to associate with a minor, well-to-do family?
Liu Laohua looked at Bai Yuan with an appreciative gaze.
He knew all about Bai Yuan's performance at the Huwei Arts Hall. For a talent who was a shoo-in to become an Inner Courtyard Martial Master, it was only natural that he'd want to pull him into the Liu Family's fold.
"Worthy nephew, I hear you've yet to marry. My fourth daughter is about your age. You're both young—you should spend more time together."
Liu Laohua grinned like an old fox.
The best way to win a man over was, of course, through marriage. Once he became Bai Yuan's father-in-law, would he still have to worry about him not lending his full support?
Bai Yuan was utterly exasperated.
'Does your daughter know you're selling her out like this?'
He refused to believe Liu Laohua was unaware of his relationship with Xiao Qiaoniang. It was just that, in Liu Laohua's view, as long as nothing was official, it didn't matter.
Even if a man already had a principal wife, he could just replace her. Such things were hardly uncommon among the great families.
Seeing this, Liu Qingshan quickly cut his father off.
"Father, let's talk about the bandit problem first."
Liu Laohua shot Liu Qingshan a glare. 'This son of mine really has no sense of priority.'
'How could dealing with bandits be more important than winning over Bai Yuan?'
"Uncle Liu, what exactly is going on with this bandit problem?"
Hearing Bai Yuan's address change from "Town Master" to "Uncle Liu," Liu Laohua knew his objective for the day was met. His expression turned serious, and he sighed softly.
"Worthy nephew, you may not be aware, but a new group of mountain bandits has appeared out of nowhere these past few days. They don't just rob; they kill. Several people in town have already fallen victim to them."
Liu Laohua was the Town Master; he was naturally responsible for protecting Baisha Town.
He viewed all the people and property in Baisha Town as his own. Those bandits killing the townspeople was tantamount to stealing his family's workforce. How could he possibly stand for that?
"Where are those bandits now?"
"I've already sent men to search the mountains. They're likely hiding out in Master Ridge."
At the mention of Master Ridge, Bai Yuan frowned slightly. A monster was known to live there.
Those bandits must be from out of town; otherwise, they would never hide in Master Ridge.
"There's even a Martial Artist among them. They killed one of my Liu Family's household guards who went up the mountain to investigate."
At the mention of this, Liu Laohua ground his teeth, wishing he could flay those bandits alive.
Bai Yuan suddenly understood. No wonder Liu Laohua had asked for his help.
Ordinary household guards were indeed no match for a Martial Artist.
Bandits with a Martial Artist in their ranks were a huge menace and had to be eliminated as soon as possible.
"Uncle Liu, I'll go and assess the situation."
His tracking skill was at the Proficient level. It worked on people, not just beasts. Even the constables from the Qinghe County Magistrate's Office would be hard-pressed to outperform him.
"Worthy nephew, should I send a couple of experienced old hunters with you?"
"That won't be necessary."
Bai Yuan refused flatly. In the mountains, a larger group wasn't necessarily an advantage.
He rested for a day.
The next day, he and Liu Qingshan, along with three of the Liu Family's best men, headed up the mountain first thing in the morning.
To reach Master Ridge, they first had to cross Mentougou.
The beasts of Mentougou had either been killed by Bai Yuan or had fled deeper into the mountains. The group quickly crossed the pass and saw a stretch of eerie, dark forest. That was Master Ridge.
Arriving at Master Ridge once more, Bai Yuan squinted at the ominous-looking woods before him.
The sun was high in the sky, yet its scorching rays could not penetrate the dense, layered canopy of Master Ridge.
"Let's search the surrounding area first."
The moment Bai Yuan entered the forest, he was like a fish in water, completely at ease.
He led Liu Qingshan and the other three men swiftly through the mountain forest.
Relying on the sharp eyesight from his Proficient-level tracking, he quickly found traces of the bandits.
"Footprints?"
Liu Qingshan stared at the messy prints on the ground.
Bai Yuan crouched down to observe them carefully, occasionally extending his fingers to measure the width of a print.
Liu Qingshan looked at Bai Yuan, his face full of curiosity.
"Junior Brother Bai, were you a constable in the past?"
Bai Yuan's professional technique was quite similar to that of the constables he'd seen investigating cases.
"I used to be a hunter. Tracked wild boars. The technique is more or less the same."
The corner of Liu Qingshan's mouth twitched again. Only now did he recall that Bai Yuan had indeed hunted frequently in the mountains before joining the Martial Arts Hall.
"Find anything?"
Seeing Bai Yuan remain silent for a long time, Liu Qingshan couldn't help but press him.
"Five men. Three are armed. They went west."
Hearing Bai Yuan's confident and detailed reply, Liu Qingshan grew even more astonished.
He had always known Bai Yuan was talented in the Martial Dao, but he never expected him to have the makings of a Divine Catcher.
Bai Yuan shot to his feet and led the group westward.
Before long, they saw the remains of an extinguished campfire in the distance.
"Junior Brother Bai, impressive."
Liu Qingshan praised. To find such a small campfire in these vast mountains was a feat even old hunters with decades of experience couldn't manage.
Bai Yuan bent down to inspect it. The embers were still warm; the bandits hadn't been gone long.
Clearly, the bandits hadn't hidden deep inside Master Ridge as Liu Laohua had claimed, but were instead lingering on its outskirts.
Since they were still in the Mentougou area, Bai Yuan had no intention of letting these freely delivered enhancement points get away.
...
「Midnight. The dead of night.」
A passing cloud obscured the moon.
"Boss, how much longer do we have to stay in this damn place?"
A fairly well-built young man grumbled in discontent.
He was just an ordinary peasant from a neighboring county. Oppressed by his landlord to the point he couldn't afford to eat, he'd had no choice but to become a bandit and join Black Wind Stronghold.
But only days after he joined, a man in a ghoul mask had stormed their mountain fortress and cut down the Chief in a single blow.
That was why they had to flee into the nearby mountains with the Second-in-Command.
"Shut your damn mouth."
A furious roar erupted.
The one who'd shouted was a burly, bearded man, easily eight feet tall—the Second-in-Command of Black Wind Stronghold.
He cursed his rotten luck. Just a few days ago, an expert in a ghoul mask had destroyed his stronghold. Then yesterday, in that bizarre dark forest, he'd run into an actual ghost.
Just thinking about what happened that night made his scalp crawl.
Their group originally had ten men, but after last night, only five were left.
If the Town Master of Baisha Town hadn't sent so many men to block the paths down the mountain, he would have fled this place long ago.
Just as the Second-in-Command of Black Wind Stronghold was lost in his frustration—
He suddenly caught sight of several figures emerging in the forest not far away!
"Who's there?!"
He hastily grabbed the broadsword beside him, leaping to his feet and staring intently at the arrivals.
In the flickering firelight, a young man with refined, handsome features stepped out of the darkness.
"The one who's come to take your life."