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"The Flying Eagle Caravan has united all the forces, big and small, in the county. In just a few days, they have grown so powerful that they no longer respect the county government. Moreover, I suspect that they are colluding with Meng Ping, the county magistrate, and Wang Xiong."

Hu Bufan considered for a moment, then continued, "I want you to deal with the Flying Eagle Caravan! It would be best if you could wipe them out!"

Lu Chen remained silent.

Hu Bufan frowned: "What, you're afraid?"

"There's nothing I wouldn't dare to do, but what about the reward?"

"What do you want? Money or something else?" Hu Bufan asked.

Lu Chen scoffed, "What would I do with money? Give me something useful."

"Then, medicinal herbs? I can provide you with some precious medicines to help you accelerate your cultivation."

"A precious medicine? What kind of precious medicine? What are its effects?" Lu Chen was somewhat interested.

Although he may not be able to use it, his younger siblings might.

"I have a 20-year-old Blood Spirit Ginseng. After taking it, it can enhance blood and qi, and has a strong boosting effect on martial artists at or below the Blood Exchange Realm. During the medicinal effect, it can speed up cultivation by about 50%, and there is basically no damage. It is very suitable for people who are building a foundation. I originally prepared it for my son."

Lu Chen's heart stirred slightly.

nice one!

It's useless to him, but it's absolutely great for his younger siblings!

We must take it!

"I've already undergone marrow cleansing, what use do I have for this thing?"

He shook his head in dissatisfaction. "You're a county magistrate, after all. You must have a lot of good stuff. This is to deal with the Flying Eagle Caravan. There are so many of them, they're too powerful. And you're offering this as a trade? Show some sincerity!"

Hu Bufan could only manage a wry smile.

He found being a county magistrate completely unpleasant.

Although he was one of the strongest in Shahu County, one cannot succeed in officialdom solely through ability. Was he really going to carry out assassinations every day?

This is breaking the rules!

If he breaks the rules, then others will naturally not need to act according to the rules either, and sooner or later he will be killed in the same way.

He killed Li Ziren because Li Ziren went too far, even harming children, and he couldn't stand it, so he chose to take action.

"I also have a cultivation manual, but it can only be practiced up to the Refining stage. It's a lightness skill called 'Treading Snow Without a Trace,' and I only recently acquired it."

Lu Chen was now genuinely interested.

If you don't push him, he really won't give you anything good!

"Lightness skill? You've only reached the Dirty Realm, it's useless to me. You're too stingy. You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. How can I do business with you in the future if you're so stingy?" Lu Chen shook his head speechlessly.

Hu Bufan felt somewhat embarrassed.

Although he was a member of the Hu family of Mingde Prefecture, he was not a direct descendant and did not receive much support in terms of resources. His own talent and aptitude were also average, so it was already quite an achievement for him to have accumulated so much.

Seeing that Hu Bufan remained silent, Lu Chen guessed that he had truly drained him dry, so he no longer hesitated: "Sigh, what can I do? I'm too soft-hearted! How about this, with this lightness skill and that ginseng, I'll help you take care of the Flying Eagle Caravan!"

Hu Bufan's eyes widened.

You want to take both of them?

"Look at you, in such a hurry! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Lu Chen pointed at Hu Bufan, "I heard that the Black Kill Pavilion was wiped out by some mysterious person a while ago. I imagine the Black Kill Pavilion's headquarters won't let this go easily and will definitely come here to cause trouble! And I've also heard that the Black Stick Gang seems to be making a comeback. How about I take care of it for you too? Not a bad deal, right?"

Hu Bufan's eyes darted around, and he pondered for a moment before making a plan.

"I've heard a bit about the Black Kill Pavilion's rebuilding, but I haven't heard anything about the Black Stick Gang's resurgence."

"Your information is way behind schedule! You're not doing a good job as a county magistrate at all!" Lu Chen complained.

He himself didn't know if the Black Gang had made a comeback; he was just making things up on the spot.

But the fact remains that several children in the village have gone missing.

Even if it's not a black gang, it could be some other red, yellow, white, or blue gang; in any case, none of them are good people.

"How do you plan to solve this?" Hu Bufan asked.

"You don't need to worry about that, but you need to provide me with some information, otherwise relying solely on my own information channels will be too slow!"

"Sure!" Hu Bufan did not refuse.

"Also, I need your assistance in dealing with the Flying Eagle Gang. I don't need you to kill anyone, just help me hold off some people and prevent them from escaping. Is that alright?" Lu Chen asked again.

"The Flying Eagle Caravan has made life unbearable for the people of Shahu County. They brought this upon themselves, and I've long wanted to wipe them out. However, the county's constables and army are not under my control. Wang Xiong and Meng Ping are in cahoots and won't let me do this!"

Hu Bufan still harbored some resentment towards these two people.

"I don't need you to mobilize the army. You're here as an official; you can't be all alone, can you? Even having a friend or subordinate isn't enough, right? I just need you to surround them and prevent them from escaping. You don't need to lift a finger. If you kill someone, I'll fight you!"

"Okay, but I need some time!" Hu Bufan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Very good! Okay then, first gather information on the Black Killing Pavilion, the Black Rod Gang, and the Flying Eagle Horse Gang for me, and preferably also information on the surrounding counties. Also, I heard that the Flying Eagle Horse Gang has been going down to the villages to collect money these past few days, and several children have gone missing. Collect that information as well; it might come in handy! Give me the intelligence here tonight, okay?"

Lu Chen stated his requirements.

"Evening? That's a bit rushed, gathering information won't be quick, but... okay, I'll speed things up! You wait here for a bit, I'll go right away!"

After Hu Bufan and Lu Chen reached a deal, Hu Bufan acted swiftly, instructing the shopkeeper to treat Lu Chen well before hurriedly leaving.

Lu Chen himself wasn't idle either. After quietly leaving, he changed his clothes and wandered around the city, gathering information.

They went to the Flying Eagle Caravan, hoping to find any trace of the child.

However, when he sneaked in to investigate, he found nothing.

There was absolutely no indication of the presence of a child.

"Could it have been moved, placed somewhere else, or perhaps they didn't even take it in the first place?"

Lu Chen then went to the Cao Gang, Qingzhu Gang, and Dajing Gang, searching around and almost being discovered several times. He even went to the Black Rod Gang's headquarters, but still found nothing.

"That's strange! Could it be that it's no longer in Shahu County?"

Lu Chen looked at the sky; it was already late.

When the agreed time arrived, Hu Bufan returned to the previous room, carrying two packages in his hands.

"This box contains the Blood Spirit Ginseng, this book is 'Treading Snow Without a Trace,' and these other books contain the information you requested. Also, you were right, the Black Stick Gang seems to have really made a comeback. We've recently received reports from several villages about missing children..."

Hu Bufan thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, his eyes hiding anger, "I suspect this might be related to Wang Xiong!"

"Wang Xiong?" Lu Chen's heart stirred slightly.

I really haven't checked with Wang Xiong!

He remembered what Wang Hu had said before.

Wang Xiong is related to Zhao Defu of the Black Gang; their martial arts techniques are the same.

The disappearance of the children in that village could indeed be related to Wang Xiong!

At first, he thought it was the Flying Eagles Caravan's doing, because it was too coincidental that the child disappeared right after they left, so he didn't immediately think of the Black Sticks Gang.

He killed everyone, so it's impossible that he's a ghost who's still thinking about kidnapping children, right?

How do you know anything about Wang Xiong?

Lu Chen asked.

"Li Ziren is dead. People from above came to investigate. I left the welcome banquet early that day, and Wang Xiong also left in a hurry halfway there, obviously because he had something to do. Then the child went missing. Through my channels, I learned that Wang Xiong sent people to Yuncheng County that day to look for someone. I don't know who exactly, but when Wang Xiong's men returned, they brought back several people, one of whom closely resembled the person described in one of the child missing cases!"

Lu Chen suddenly realized.

"Wang Xiong's men went to Yuncheng County and brought back a few people. One of them was seen near a certain village? Is that what you mean?"

"right!"

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, already sentencing Wang Xiong to death in his heart.

Based on what Wang Hu said before, he believes that Wang Xiong is definitely involved in child trafficking.

As an ordinary person, he might not know whether the officials in the county were good or bad, but Wang Hu, a gang leader, knew perfectly well who was loyal and who was treacherous!

"Is there any other information that isn't in these booklets?"

Lu Chen asked calmly.

"Yes, I was just about to tell you. Two people from the Black Kill Pavilion in Shanyang Prefecture have arrived. They might be Bai Sha and Hei Po. They're inseparable and both very strong. They're said to be five-star assassins from the Black Kill Pavilion. People have seen them heading towards Yuncheng County these past few days."

"They went to Yuncheng County too?" Lu Chen thought for a moment. "What do you think they went to Yuncheng County for?"

Hu Bufan stroked his chin, speculating, "Could they be going to borrow people? There are only two of them. Whether they want to rebuild the Black Kill Pavilion or find the person who destroyed it, two people aren't enough. Most importantly, they lack intelligence. They came down from Shanyang Prefecture, so their intelligence is definitely not as timely as that from the county. These organizations should all share information. The Black Kill Pavilion in Yuncheng County might have some information sent out by the Black Kill Pavilion in Shahu County."

Lu Chen was startled.

Is this okay?

Regardless of whether they actually shared information, it's better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!

"Is there anything else to add? If not, I'll get back to work. When will your people arrive? If it takes a few days to prepare, I'll go take care of my own things first and come back when you're ready."

"Wait two, no, three days. I need to make some preparations."

"good!"

Lu Chen immediately grabbed the things and left, quickly disappearing into the night.

Hu Bufan wasn't worried that Lu Chen would run away with the things.

He's willing to take the gamble.