It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Soon, a conversation was heard from the next room. Irene agreed to act with Bai Huang, because she felt safer with Bai Huang. However, she also made a small request, that is, if she acted with Bai Huang this time, she hoped that Bai Huang would help her find something if there was a chance.

Bai Huang asked her what it was, but Irene didn't say anything. She just smiled silly and said:

"I'll tell big sister later."

When Bai Huang told Lid about this request, Lid suddenly felt that Irene was quite easy to understand.

She has an extraordinary temperament, likes bread and hot milk that are only available in the countryside, calls herself a traveler, and her goal is to find something, which means that she is most likely a young lady who sneaked out from a big family. But now Lid still doesn't know which territory she is from, nor does he know why she is running around.

34. One less person to climb the mountain

When leaving the city that never sleeps, Reed felt that more people were staring at him.

He did not sense any murderous intent from them, which meant that there were not many people in Yunhai who really wanted him dead, and those who planned to kill him had not yet appeared. However, Lid did not let his guard down. He was still aware of the situation around him at all times, making sure that he could find and solve any trouble as soon as it occurred.

It was a bit crowded for five people to squeeze into a carriage, so Irene sat on Bai Huang's lap and read the picture album.

The picture book was given as a gift when I bought snacks from Yunhai. It was printed very crudely. It was printed with woodblock printing and not very fine painting. There was no text on it. It was basically for children of three or five years old to play with. However, Irene was completely fascinated by it. She flipped through the small picture book of less than 20 pages four or five times, biting her fingers and immersed in the aftertaste.

Lid couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he told Irene a few stories he had read in his previous life. For example, "The Scam of an Unscrupulous Couple", "The Happy Daily Life of Hinamizawa", "My School Life", etc. Irene immediately came up with shining eyes and jumped on Lid's lap. Unfortunately, the journey was not long. It didn't take long for the carriage to arrive near Zhiluo Mountain. Although Irene pestered Lid to tell another story, Lid finally carried her down the carriage unwillingly.

Zhiluo Mountain was indeed as desolate as Bai Huang described.

It is hard to imagine that there is such a desolate mountain in Yunhai, but according to Bai Huang, a sorcerer once told the Lord of Yunhai that this mountain stretches from east to west and is the location of Yunhai's qi vein, so it cannot be mined easily. Otherwise, if you are not careful, you may cut off Yunhai's luck for the next few hundred years.

I don't know whether it was because the Cloud Sea Lord believed what the sorcerer said, or because the mountain really had no mining value, Zhiluo Mountain has remained like this. The mountain has not been developed, which means there are no main roads to walk on, only some dirt roads, and sometimes you have to climb branches and dead vines to move forward. When he walked to the foot of the mountain, Lid found a newly carved knife mark on the trunk of a tree, with a white arrow pointing up.

He looked around and saw that there should be many arrows like this, ensuring that he could see the guide no matter which direction he went up the mountain. Zhiluo Mountain was very large, so the other party must have started preparing for it a long time ago, but it was unclear why the other party chose to meet in such a place.

"I'm really impressed... If there is a next time, I will call hundreds of people to cut down the tree. It's really in the way."

Bai Huang kicked a thick tree, which hurt his foot so much that he hopped back and forth on one leg, covering his foot.

Irene was staring at the fruits on the tree in a daze, wiping her saliva from time to time.

Lid stretched out his hand and pulled Bai Huang up a slope, and said with a smile:

"A few hundred people can't clear this mountain. If you want to dig a road here, it will be difficult without tens of thousands of people."

Bai Huang propped himself up on his knees, took a deep breath, and said angrily:

"People who write to us had better wait on the top of the mountain. If they make a wasted trip, I will be in big trouble. When will the royal family send dragon chariots to each territory? I can't wait to fly up in a dragon chariot."

Lid sensed the surroundings and found that there were no ferocious beasts in the forest. Perhaps the mountain was too desolate and there was not enough space for large beasts to live. There were quite a few birds and mountain apes, but probably because they had no shortage of food, they did not show any aggression towards humans.

After climbing up for a while, Lid couldn't find the mark for the time being. It is certain that not many people participated in marking. It is possible that one person worked all night, so it is impossible to consider all the routes. Because the mountain road is not fixed, Lid and Bai Huang and others can only ensure that they keep climbing higher. It is very likely that they will deviate from the direction of the mark while climbing. So if there is no mark on the road for more than half an hour, Lid will stop to rest and look around.

Bai Huang found a relatively flat stone to sit on and said to Lid:

"Go ahead. I'll take a rest here for a while... This is too tiring."

Lid went out to look for a new mark, and Alaya followed him out of concern. During this time, Alaya helped Lid pick two fruits, but because they were overripe, they were already rotten, and Alaya had to throw them away with great pain. This time, Lid found the mark from a very far distance, and the mark did not point to the top of the mountain, but to a slanted direction. Lid silently memorized it, and then went to find Bai Huang to meet up.

However, when Reed returned to Bai Huang's resting place, he found that only Bai Huang and Heji were left there.

"Where's Irene?"

Reed asked and also found a stone to sit on.

Bai Huang replied:

"He said he went to the bathroom. He will probably be back soon."

Lid nodded, and at first he didn't think much about it. After all, it was natural for people to have three urgent needs. However, after a while, he still didn't see Irene, and Lid couldn't help but start to worry. He sensed the situation around him. The woods were very quiet, as if there was nothing here from the beginning. The birds in the woods were peacefully perched on the branches and taking a nap, and the wild cranes were pecking at the small fish in the stream.

"Which direction did she leave?"

Reed asked.

Bai Huang also realized that something was wrong and stood up and pointed in a direction. Lid said:

"You stay here and wait. Alaiya, come with me to check."

Alayya nodded, and the two quickly ran in the direction Bai Huang pointed. Lid had a good observation ability and could easily tell which places had been stepped on. After chasing for a while, Lid saw a series of scattered footprints on the ground, followed by traces of going down the mountain.

That silly loli courtesan was kidnapped!

Lid took a deep breath and rubbed his sore forehead.

He knew that Bai Huang was not to blame for this. If Irene wanted to run away by herself, Heji would definitely not follow her. If Bai Huang followed her, Heji would be worried, and Irene would definitely leave alone. If they were close, it would be fine, because Heji would be able to hear if something happened. But Irene staggered to a far place by herself, and was attacked and kidnapped.

"Master."

Alaiya called Lid, handed over a token, and said:

"Found this on the ground. Looks like it was placed there on purpose."

Reed took the token from Alayya and frowned involuntarily.

Cloud Sea Order.

Unlike the low-end version in Irene's hand that could only be exchanged for bread and milk, this was a genuine Yunhai token. Only the top leaders of Yunhai were qualified to hold this token. According to Bai Huang, this token could mobilize many resources in Yunhai that even she didn't have.

Reed turned the token over and over in his hand, squinting his eyes and falling into deep thought.

35. Game between various parties

Li De gave the Yunhai Order to Bai Huang, who identified it as a genuine product.

She said that she had seen countless fakes since she was a child, and she could tell the real from the fake at a glance. There are no more than five of these tokens in Yunhai, and they are a symbol of identity and status.

Reed breathed a sigh of relief.

If one of the five most powerful people in Yunhai could kidnap Irene because of her beauty, then Yunhai would be completely hopeless. The person who kidnapped Irene obviously had other purposes, and he didn't want Lid and Baihuang to worry too much, so he deliberately left the token as a reminder.

Although there is no evidence, Lid feels that this style of behavior is similar to that of the Lord of Yunhai or Bai Feng. Although what they did was not very glorious, their methods were still fair and aboveboard, and there was a hint of gentlemanly demeanor. Of course, upon closer inspection, this so-called gentlemanly demeanor was also for ulterior motives. If they did not leave any clues, Lid would search for Irene at all costs because he was worried about her safety, and the people they sent might not be able to escape from Lid's hands.

Lid looked at the mark on the tree, and a new conclusion slowly emerged in his mind.

The people who invited him to Zhiluo Mountain and the ones who kidnapped Irene were not the same group of people.

It was very simple. The person who invited him to Zhiluo Mountain was the one who introduced him and Bai Huang to Irene. This person knew Irene's secret a long time ago, but it was inconvenient for him to show up. If this person was the Lord of Yunhai or Bai Feng, there would be no need to go through such a big circle. He could just take Irene away from the inn by himself.

Lid guessed that maybe because he and Bai Huang had contacted Irene, the people who had been secretly following them reported this information to the Lord of Yunhai or Bai Feng, which attracted their attention. Later, they found some information about Irene's life experience or other information, but they didn't know Lid's attitude towards Irene, so they arranged according to the worst possibility: if Lid was very tough in his attitude towards Irene, rash negotiations would only alert the enemy, and the only way was to secretly take Irene away. So they followed Lid to Zhiluo Mountain and successfully seized the opportunity to implement the kidnapping plan.

Reed twirled his fingers through his hair, lost in thought.

He didn't have much information, for example, he still didn't know why Irene had become a key figure in the current Yunhai. But this didn't stop him from thinking about it and trying to restore the truth of the matter.

Of course, after sorting out the current clues, Reed also had to face a more direct problem: the person who asked him to meet at Zhiluo Mountain explicitly asked him to bring Irene with him. Now that Irene was robbed halfway, would the other party still be willing to meet him?

If I don't meet anyone, this trip will be in vain, and I don't know when I will get new clues next time.

"Are you going to find out who did it?"

Bai Huang held the Yunhai Order and asked Lid.

Reed shook his head:

"Let's keep it for now. Since the other party has taken the initiative to give us a hint, it means they won't do anything to Irene. Let's act according to the plan first. The person who asked us to meet here may not know that Irene has been kidnapped. Let's go over and take a look at the situation and then decide what to do next."

Bai Huang said helplessly:

"These guys are so idle that they followed me all the way here just to do this kind of thing... I was careless. I should have gone with Irene earlier. But I still have confidence in my own people. Apart from me, there is no pervert in our Yunhai family who is greedy for young girls' bodies. I can guarantee this."

Lid asked Bai Huang to put away the Yunhai Order, and then reorganized the team and continued to move up the mountain.

I don’t know if it was because he felt guilty, but Bai Huang didn’t ask for a rest. Instead, he gritted his teeth and kept moving forward, not crying out in pain even when he was scratched by tree branches.

After walking for nearly two more hours, a person appeared within Reed's perception range.

That person was at the eighth level of perfection and was sitting quietly on a stone. Reed could probably simulate her body shape in his mind through the aura flowing around her. Then Reed frowned and stopped.

"Master, what happened?"

Alaiya leaned calmly beside Lid, her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

"……fine."

Reed replied, but he had already roughly determined the other party's identity in his mind.

A woman of the eighth level of perfection, with an exquisite figure and a calm and steady aura. Lide had seen her once in Lingwu, when she was standing next to Bai Ye; Lide and Pingzi also mentioned her in their conversation last night. The fact that this person appeared here meant that the chaos in Yunhai was indeed closely related to her.

——Lily of the valley!

Lid thought silently in his heart. No wonder he felt that the suspicious person in the crowd was not looking at him but at Alaiya beside him before he disappeared in Jiangcheng Inn. It was the same in Lingwu. The moment Linglan saw Alaiya, she showed an extremely shocked expression. It was obvious that she knew Alaiya.

The four people continued to move towards the target location. At this moment, Lily of the Valley seemed to have noticed something, stood up from the stone, and turned away.

Lid wanted to chase her for a moment. After all, if he held her down, he would not only have a chance to find out the truth of the matter, but also track down Bai Ye's whereabouts. But after taking a deep breath, Lid stopped. Linglan chose to leave, which meant that she noticed that Irene was not there and gave up this round of negotiations. After all, Linglan was Bai Ye's maid, and Lid could not torture Linglan to extract a confession, otherwise it would be equivalent to breaking up with Bai Ye.

The group followed the mark to the end, where a letter was placed on the empty bluestone slab.

Bai Huang rushed over to open the letter first. The content of the letter was still very brief:

"Five people, as quickly as possible. I don't have much time."

Bai Huang threw the letter to the ground angrily and said:

"Just a little bit..."

Lid looked at the direction where Linglan disappeared, but he didn't feel angry or regretful like Bai Huang. He just had a vague feeling that Yunhai's affairs involved more and more people and things, and no one force was sure to control the situation. From the previous situation, Linglan obviously arranged a lot of plans in secret, but she still didn't expect that she was not the only one targeting Irene.

The storm is about to come, and everyone is planning their own things and trying their best for different goals.

In this vortex, the power of an individual seems really insignificant. It's like Irene is innocent, but her fate seems to be completely out of her control. She was led to meet Lid and Bai Huang, led to Zhiluo Mountain, and then kidnapped to another place.

People without power are not even qualified to play chess; they are just chess pieces on the board.

Lid took a deep breath and said to Bai Huang:

"Let's go... back to the lord's mansion and ask your father for the person."

36. Princess of the Ocean Tribe

What Lid had not expected was that when they appeared in the Yunhai Lord's Mansion again, the atmosphere here had become tense. Unlike the first time they met, the Yunhai Lord's Mansion was now full of masters. Although there were no masters of the tenth level, there were dozens of people above the middle level of the ninth level, almost all the top people in the entire Yunhai gathered here.

This can almost be said to be an admission of guilt.

At present, in terms of military strength, there are only two people in Yunhai who can threaten the Lord of Yunhai. Bai Ye will definitely not come here to assassinate his own father, so these masters can only be on guard against Lid. If Irene was not here, the Lord of Yunhai would have no need to mobilize so many troops.

Bai Huang was also very anxious. After Lid told him that the person who sent her the letter was "very likely" related to Bai Ye, Bai Huang couldn't wait to meet him, but without Irene, the other party obviously didn't intend to see him, so when Bai Huang saw the Lord of Yunhai, he started to complain:

"Dad, Irene has been in the Never-Sleeping City for so long. If you wanted to find her, you could have done so earlier. Why did you have to snatch her away at this critical moment? Do you know how important she is to us?"

Lord Yunhai looked at his daughter, and this time there was no smile on his face.

He said to Bai Huang:

"I don't know. But I know that no matter how important she is to you, she is not as important as she is to Yun Hai now."

Bai Huang snorted and replied:

"I don't believe you. Even I can see that Irene doesn't have any realm cultivation at all. Why is she important to Yun Hai? It can't be that one of my brothers has a crush on her."

Lord Yunhai did not get angry, but asked calmly:

"Do you know who she is?"

Bai Huang replied:

"The latest Oiran of Yunhai?"

Lord Yunhai sighed and replied:

"The title of Yunhai Oiran is impressive to the outside world, enough to attract many people. But in Yunhai, when have we ever cared about them? Over the years, except for the Lingwu Lord, no matter how beautiful a person is, can they become an Oiran without our consent? The reason why I took Irene away from you is because the Ocean Clan came to me to ask for her."

Bai Huang looked confused:

"The Ocean Tribe has taken a fancy to Irene?"

Lord Yunhai glanced at Lid standing against the wall at the door and said in a serious tone:

"You really don't know? Then why are you contacting her? She is the mermaid princess of the South China Sea Ocean Clan, and the only princess of the entire Ocean Clan, Irene! Do you know that because of her appearance in the Sea of ​​Clouds, the Ocean Clan is gearing up to launch the second attack this year? Ah Huang, this is not a joke!"

Although Lord Yunhai looked old due to his illness, he still showed the aura of a superior when he was serious, which made Bai Huang not know what to say for a while. Perhaps she was also shocked by this news. Although they had not been together for a long time, she obviously had a good impression of Irene. Suddenly knowing that Irene was not a human, Bai Huang found it difficult to accept this fact for a while.

Only Reed nodded silently, and that made sense.

In the eyes of the Lord of Yunhai, Lid must have some purpose in approaching Irene, so he went to investigate. When he found out that Irene was actually the princess of the Ocean Tribe, the Lord of Yunhai was shocked and angry, because if Lid kidnapped Irene or executed her, the Yunhai Territory would be held responsible. The Ocean Tribe would launch an attack at all costs, and Yunhai, which happened to be in a period of civil unrest, would suffer huge losses, and Yunyang might also take the opportunity to move south. So the Lord of Yunhai did not negotiate with Lid at all, and directly sent people to kidnap Irene.

The aggressive feeling from Bai Huang dissipated a lot in an instant.