Daily News: You promised yourself to be a fisherman, but you've become a martial arts god?

Li Nian, carrying a package, boarded the ship bound for Crescent Moon Island.

Zheng Changgong was injured and did not go to his post with them.

In mid-spring, the lake ice has completely melted, and the lakeside vegetation has gained a touch of green as the ferry passes by.

An hour and a half later, the ferry arrived at the Crescent Moon Island pier.

Before the ship even docked, Li Nian spotted Cao An, Huang Gang, and Sun Tao, who were under his command.

As the boat docked, the three men stepped forward, clasped their hands in greeting, and offered their welcome.

"Your Majesty the Inspector!"

"During my absence, did anything happen to Team C?"

Li Nian nodded and asked a question.

Cao An spoke first:

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Team C has been patrolling as usual these past few days, and nothing has happened."

"but..."

"Team A is in big trouble!"

"Team A?"

Li Nian lowered her eyebrows in confusion.

Cao An pointed towards the shipyard and said:

"Look, Your Excellency."

Li Nian looked in the direction Cao An was pointing.

Twenty feet outside the dock stood a tall cross, over ten feet high, with a human-shaped straw puppet bound to its wooden frame. The puppet swayed slightly in the wind, exuding a sinister and eerie aura.

Flocks of crows circled and rose all around, their dark plumes covering the frame and surrounding branches, their cries hoarse and piercing.

Countless venomous flying insects surged in swarms, spreading out in a dark, murky mass, their buzzing echoing through the air. A faint miasma permeated the desolate landscape, filling the air with a chilling atmosphere.

Upon closer inspection, the scarecrow turned out to be a person!

At this point, the body was completely unrecognizable, with internal organs spilling out, and both lower legs were gone—a truly horrific sight!

The disgusting scene made Li Nian frown and ask:

"Who is that?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, that is the inspector of Team A—Shi Kui!"

Huang Gang snorted coldly, his tone full of disgust.

Cao An, who was standing nearby, chimed in:

"Your Excellency, you are unaware of the following."

"The other day, the yamen sent a fast message saying that a spy from Shenyuan Village had been discovered on the island, and that the person was none other than Shi Kui."

"Lord Zhendao specifically revealed the news that Liu Tanqi had been arrested and killed by the yamen, and secretly kept an eye on Shi Kui. That very night, this fellow rowed a boat to deliver the message, but was caught red-handed by Lord Zhendao. The evidence against him is irrefutable!"

"That fellow, seeing that Lord Zhendao was young, even tried to kill him and escape, but Lord Zhendao severed both his legs with a single sword stroke, leaving him completely crippled and unable to flee!"

Upon hearing this, Li Nian's heart stirred.

He sighed at the efficiency of the Yi family; they had told Yi Niang about Shi Kui that day, and the message arrived that very day.

At the same time, the Yi family did not reveal to the people on the island that he had killed Liu Tanqi, saying that it was the government's way of arresting and killing him.

Moreover, judging from the extent to which the Yi family treated Shi Kui, the Yi family truly shows no mercy to those who persecute them.

Enough!

Yi Huan, who handled this matter, was not as harmless as she appeared!

Composing himself, Li Nian asked:

"After Shi Kui was arrested, did he reveal whose mole he was?"

Sun Tao replied:

"Your Excellency, Shi Kui was personally approved by Lord Zhendao, and this has not been made public."

"However, everyone suspects that Shi Kuido is a spy sent by Shenyuan Village."

Li Nian nodded knowingly, but didn't respond.

Just as they were about to leave, the three of them looked somewhat embarrassed. After exchanging glances, Cao An finally spoke up and asked:

"Your Excellency, yesterday the island lord told us that you and Old Zheng were robbed by bandits on your way to escort the young lady back to her home. He was seriously injured. We don't know his condition."

Huang Gang and Sun Gang looked at Li Nian with serious expressions, also wanting to know about Zheng Changgong's situation.

These four people had spent more than a year together in Team C and were like brothers. Li Nian knew that this was not just a pretense.

Taking a deep breath, Li Nian began:

"His bones and muscles were severely injured, and it will be difficult for him to fully recover after recuperation. It is unlikely that he will be able to return to the island and perform such a dangerous job."

These words caused the three of them great sorrow.

Li Nian comforted her:

"You don't need to worry too much. The family has said they will arrange for the best doctors to treat him free of charge and ensure his future life."

Upon hearing this, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

These days, just surviving is good enough!

As they chatted, Cao An suddenly remembered something and said:

"Your Excellency, the island lord requests that you visit him after you arrive on the island."

"We'll help you take your luggage back to your accommodation first."

Li Nian nodded and handed the package to Cao An.

The baggage contained mostly clothing and food; the valuables were kept in storage rings, so it was fine to entrust them to Cao An and the others for safekeeping.

Without exchanging many words, Li Nian went alone to the pavilion where Yi Huan was sitting.

Li Nian stood outside Yi Huan's room and knocked on the door.

dong dong dong-

"Lord Town Guardian, Li Nian from Team C requests an audience."

"Come in."

Yi Huan's voice came from inside the room.

Li Nian pushed open the door and went in.

"Don't be shy, have a seat."

Yi Huan closed the book in her hand and pointed to the chair in front of her.

Li Nian didn't stand on ceremony and walked over to the chair to sit down.

Yi Huan poured him a cup of tea, her eyes filled with admiration, and said:

"Your client told me that they never expected you to break through to the Bone Refinement stage in just half a month after you opened the Blood Gate."

"What I didn't expect was that you were able to kill Liu Tanqi, who had been licking blood off the edge of a knife for many years."

"His return unscathed truly surprises me!"

Li Nian picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said modestly:

"It's all thanks to Master's excellent teaching."

"You're too modest."

Yi Huan shook her head and said:

"It's one thing if the master teaches well, but it's useless if you can't learn it yourself."

After saying that, Yi Huan didn't mention the matter again.

The path of martial arts is full of opportunities, and the depth of one's destiny is determined by fate. The encounters of others are private matters that should not be discussed, and prying into the opportunities of others is a major taboo in the martial arts world!

"When you landed on the island just now, you must have seen what happened to that bastard Squier."

"That scoundrel leaked the information I had given him, but I caught him red-handed. Under torture, he confessed that he was Zhang Tianqi from the Zhang family, a spy sent to my Yi family!"

"I tied him to the lakeside and let him suffer a gruesome death at the hands of birds, just to make an example of him and let everyone on the island know the consequences of betraying my Yi family and the government!"

Yi Huan's eyes flashed with a murderous intent as cold as a sword.

really!

Li Nian thought to himself, "As expected," but feigned surprise on the surface.

The methods used to deal with Shi Kui were indeed devised by Yi Huan.

Although Yi Huan's words contained an element of intimidation, it is likely that Yi Niang did not tell him that it was he himself who leaked the information that Shi Kui was a spy to the Yi family, so Yi Huan's actions are reasonable.

With a decisive and ruthless leader, his safety on the island would be more guaranteed.

Good thing!

Yi Huan glanced at Li Nian without showing any emotion, picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said calmly:

"The government has already arranged for a martial artist who has practiced blood cultivation to come to the island in the next few days to replace Shi Kui."

"There are currently only three patrol officers on the island, including yourself. I'll trouble you to patrol the waters around Team A during this time."

"If anything seems unusual, please let me know immediately."

"By the way, since you just came from the county, your leave of absence will be postponed by a month, but you will still receive your salary as usual."

Li Nian clasped her hands in greeting and said:

"clear!"