Start your cultivation journey by allocating points to your Destiny.

Lu Chen took the things back to his room and then went to Wang Xiong's house.

This place is smaller than Li Ziren's house, and it looks rather simple.

It was already past midnight, and even the moon had hidden itself away.

Lu Chen secretly searched Wang Xiong's house, but found something very strange.

No!

Still no!

If he weren't afraid of disturbing Wang Xiong, he would have even dug three feet into the ground.

Because Wang Xiong's house wasn't very big, he searched it quickly and found no place where people could hide.

"Where are they going? Could they really be heading to Yuncheng County?"

After thinking it over, he didn't give up. After leaving Wang Xiong's house, he went to Meng Ping's place again.

This guy doesn't seem like a good person either; he might be colluding with Wang Xiong.

However, he was disappointed.

After searching around, Lu Chen suspected that the child was most likely no longer in Shahu County!

I glanced at the horizon; there was already a faint light.

Its daybreak.

He decisively gave up, went back to tidy up, briefly looked through the "Treading Snow Without a Trace" technique, practiced it initially, and then returned to the village as quickly as possible. He first went to Lu Xiande to briefly explain the situation, and then went to find his second grandfather.

Next, he planned to go to Yuncheng County to look for Lu Ming and Lu Tang, whom he still needed to entrust to him.

After it was all over, he returned home, called Lu Ming and Lu Tang, and took out the Blood Spirit Ginseng.

He tasted some of the roots himself and found they were not poisonous. The medicinal effect was indeed good, and it could be given to children.

"Xiao Ming, Xiao Tang, I'll be going out for the next couple of days. This is Blood Spirit Ginseng. You each take half, cut a slice and place it under your tongue each day while practicing your martial arts!"

He briefly explained the medicinal effects of the Blood Spirit Ginseng.

"Brother, where are you going? Is it because of Yaozu and the others?"

Xiao Tang blinked and came to Lu Chen's side, grabbing his sleeve and asking with some worry in her voice.

"Don't worry, we're just going to find someone, there won't be any danger."

Lu Chen smiled and ruffled Xiao Tang's hair, then looked at Lu Ming, "You two stay at your second grandfather's house for the next couple of days. I've already spoken to him. Don't run around, and it's best not to leave your parents' sight, understand?"

"Um!"

After explaining everything, Lu Chen ate his meal hastily, glanced at the sun that was almost overhead, and without lingering, fully armed himself and headed straight for Yuncheng County.

He had carefully reviewed that intelligence and memorized it thoroughly.

Even the snow-treading technique left no trace, and it remembered all the key points.

This time, we practiced as we traveled.

Sharpening knives does not miss woodcutters.

"With the experience of the Eight Directions Footwork, I feel like I'm progressing much faster in the Snow-Treading Without a Trace technique. Maybe when we get to Yuncheng County, I can directly enter the basics!"

Lu Chen was dressed in very ordinary clothes, with a little dust on his face to make him look a bit different from usual. He wore a hat to cover his face, making him very inconspicuous when he walked on the street.

He deliberately chose to take small paths, avoiding people along the way, and by the time he reached the outskirts of Yuncheng County, it was already evening.

The city gates were closed, and the soldiers on the city walls were asleep, leaning against the wall.

Lu Chen did not choose to climb over the wall into the city at this time. Instead, he found an open space outside the city and focused on practicing the "Treading Snow Without Leaving a Trace" technique.

As dawn broke, Lu Chen finally heard the system notification.

[Host's "Treading Snow Without Leaving a Trace" skill detected; entry generated]

【Leaving No Trace in the Snow (Beginner)】

"Not bad, you've mastered the basics of lightness skill, so at least you have some assurance now."

Lu Chen glanced at his life points, which were already 3803.

"These points are enough for me to raise my strength to the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. A normal Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator has a strength of five thousand jin, but I have the Primordial Body, and my brute strength is more than ten thousand jin. It's more than enough for me to deal with three or five Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivators at the same time."

He mentally calculated his strength and then patted the iron plate that was tightly wrapped around his body.

This is a "heart-protecting mirror" that he had a blacksmith make a long time ago, which can basically completely protect the upper body from the shoulders down.

Two curved arm guards were also tied to each arm, which could ignore ordinary sword and knife slashes.

That's considered protection for the teeth.

"Let's pick up some more suitable stones, so we don't run out of weapons like last time."

Lu Chen took advantage of the early hour and found some hard pebbles by the city wall. Once the city gate opened, he leisurely walked in carrying a bag.

Yuncheng County is larger than Shahu County, with more people and a more lively atmosphere.

Lu Chen found a place to have breakfast, and then wandered around the city.

Before committing a crime, one must scout the location and plan an escape route.

The same applies to doing good deeds.

Based on the information Hu Bufan gave him, he found the Black Killing Pavilion's headquarters, took a look from afar, and then strolled around the area.

Afterwards, he went to the Hanako Gang's headquarters.

This place is indeed secluded, just like the stronghold of the Black Gang in Shahu County; it's very shady.

The Shahu County Black Gang was operating in the shadows, right next to the county government office, underground.

The Huazi Gang, on the other hand, disguised themselves as a clothing workshop called Huansha Workshop next to the busiest and largest cloth shop in Yuncheng County.

He stood on the street corner, watching the people coming and going in the washing room, which was no different from a real shop.

Lu Chen also went to check the back door of the washing room. Although it was closed at the moment, the threshold and the ground were very smooth, indicating that people often came and went.

"According to the information Hu Bufan gave me, the number of members in the Black Killing Pavilion in Yuncheng County is most likely between seven and nine, but there may be an error. The number of members in the Flower Gang is uncertain, but the leader of the Flower Gang, Hao Cheng, should be at the Marrow Cleansing Realm. He just broke through not long ago and is also skilled in using a staff. The strength of the others is unknown."

Lu Chen secretly praised, "It's really great to have someone backing you up. I don't know when I would be able to gather this kind of information on my own."

He was very anxious about finding his child, but it was daytime, and attacking a gang in broad daylight was too arrogant and might attract the attention of the authorities.

Since the Black Gang in Shahu County colluded with Wang Xiong, he reasonably suspected that the Flower Gang in Yuncheng County would also collude with one or even several officials in that county.

Let's wait until tonight.

He traveled around the county and became familiar with the routes.

Night falls.

Lu Chen watched as pedestrians headed home in the sunset.

There are fewer and fewer people on the road.

He calculated the distance from the county government office to the Black Kill Pavilion and to the Flower Gang's headquarters.

"It seems the Hanako Gang is farther away. After going to the Hanako Gang, we can also visit the Black Kill Pavilion on the way, making the route planning more time-efficient!"

He found a secluded spot, changed his clothes, covered his face with a cloth, and then crumpled his original clothes into a ball, stuffing it with rosin, sulfur, and charcoal powder before heading to the washing workshop.

I walked around the entire store; it was very quiet.

Lu Chen knew that they were probably also hiding underground, like rats in the sewers, unable to see the light of day.

He went to the wall, jumped over it, and secretly stuffed his clothes into a shop along the street, where he put them with a pile of other clothes. Then he went to the backyard.

There wasn't a single person guarding the entire courtyard. Lu Chen frowned and specifically looked for places suitable for hiding doors and places that could allow one or two people to pass through.

Before long, he saw a pavilion.

The floor of the gazebo is very smooth.

It's the same as the back door threshold.

It reflects light even under moonlight.

Lu Chen stepped forward and carefully examined the object, discovering an iron cable.

Just as he was about to pull it open, his ears suddenly twitched.

Someone's here?

Lu Chen quickly dodged and looked around, but there was nowhere to hide.

He simply jumped and landed on top of the pavilion.

Because of the black clothing, and the slightly uneven roof of the octagonal pavilion, it was barely enough to hide someone.

If you don't look up and look carefully...

Lu Chen lay down quietly, listening to the footsteps outside getting closer and closer.

"Hahaha, those two heiresses had a blast today! So much water, and so careful, tsk tsk!"

"Third Brother, that felt so good, so hot! So good and so smooth! I'll definitely go back for her next time!"

Three or five people walked in from outside, laughing and joking, and they smelled of alcohol.

"Next time? This time we helped him do a big deal, and the boss was happy, so he invited us to this Yihonglou brothel to have some fun. Next time we can only go to the brothels we usually go to."

The burly man at the head of the group slapped a slightly thinner, shorter man on the back.

Upon hearing these words in the pavilion, Lu Chen felt a sense of unease, sensing something was amiss.

Did you make a big deal?

Could these children have already been sold?

He remained motionless, only hearing the sound of iron chains being pulled, and the sound of stone slabs moving beneath the pavilion.

Then the footsteps gradually faded away.

Lu Chen peeked out and took a quick look.

The last person disappeared right in the middle of the pavilion.

There is an entrance leading underground, with a narrow, sloping staircase.

Lu Chen glanced around and, seeing no one else, simply jumped down, landing without making a sound.

The stone slab was slowly shrinking back.

"It's an automatic piece of equipment!"

Lu Chen found a throwing knife, used it to wed the stone slab, and followed the group down the path.

The underground space was also dark and damp, and the air smelled somewhat unpleasant.

Lu Chen kept a straight face, his feet firmly on the ground, and looked around.

Every few steps along the wall, there was a burning torch, casting a flickering light.

Iron cages were placed in the corner.

There was no one in the cage.

They are all empty.

Lu Chen frowned and continued walking forward.

empty!

empty!

It's still empty!

After walking through three large rooms, he finally found several cages with people inside.

However, the children's clothes were tattered, and they were covered in wounds, some of which were festering. In the dim firelight, you could vaguely see that the children were still alive, their small bodies rising and falling slightly, and some of them were trembling.

"They weren't recently captured!"

Lu Chen's eyes were icy cold as he clenched his fist and slowly drew the knife.

He carried the gleaming goose-feather saber at an angle as he walked step by step toward the source of the sound.

The sounds inside paused for a moment, then resumed.

After a while, Lu Chen came out carrying two people who were seriously injured and covered in wounds.

"Now, I'll ask questions, and you'll answer. If anyone gets it wrong, you know the consequences!"

He stood in front of the two people who were paralyzed on the ground, his tone as cold as the dead of winter.

"Yes, yes, we will definitely, we will tell you everything we know... tsk tsk tsk..." The two of them were chattering, making tsk tsk sounds.

……

After interrogating the two men, Lu Chen slashed their necks with a knife. He found a key on one of them, opened a cabinet, and discovered fireworks inside.

This is a signal flare unique to the Hanako Gang. Once lit, it indicates that the gang has encountered trouble and summons all Hanako Gang members in the city.

He first released all the children from the iron cage, wrapped them in the clothes of the dead, and led them out one by one. He arrived at a clinic, put down a few silver notes, weighed them down with a stone, and then smashed the clinic door with a slap, waking up the people inside. Only then did he return to the washing room and set off the fireworks.

"Whoosh... Bang!"

Suddenly, colorful fireworks lit up the pitch-black sky, dazzlingly bright.

Lu Chen lay quietly on the roof of the pavilion in the backyard of the Washing Silk Workshop.

"We're still too late. I heard they sent him away yesterday morning, probably to Shanyang Prefecture..."

He hadn't even left yesterday morning!

Lu Chen sighed, having given up hope of saving the person.

Once the person is sent to Shanyang Prefecture, who knows what will happen next, or whether they will be sent to some other prefecture?

Even on Earth, where surveillance is ubiquitous, it's difficult to recover a child who has been abducted; how much more difficult would it be in an ancient place like this?

"Killed five people, gained 375 life points and 5 luck points."

He counted his spoils while waiting for others.

At that moment, all he wanted to do was kill!