Chapter 182: The Wind Thunder Pavilion Has Been Exterminated?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After a long time, the hair on the back of Lin Yan’s neck stood on end. Ling Shuangxue picked up the stack of snow-white rice paper in her hand and flipped through it as she said calmly, “Lin Yan, from Ding’an City. His father’s name is Lin Mo, who participated in the Dingdeng Battle four years ago. Logically speaking, he should have died on the battlefield of the Dingdeng Battle.
“But coincidentally, half a year ago, you had a younger sister, Lin Xiaozhi…”
Lin Yan’s entire body suddenly tensed up, but he did not reveal any special flaws. He only looked up at Ling Shuangxue in surprise.
Ling Shuangxue’s eyes were calm as an ancient well as she continued, “I’m very curious. How could a person who has been dead for four years have a three-year-old daughter?
“Therefore, I followed the clues and asked your former colleagues and neighbors, but 1 realized that none of them could tell how your sister appeared.
“It’s as if you had a sister out of thin air overnight.
“This… Can you explain it to me?”
Lin Yan’s heart skipped a beat. At that time, the group of people who called themselves escorts had indeed appeared in the house silently. Then, they left something behind and went away silently.
Indeed, no one saw them.
His face turned cold as he replied, “May I ask Miss Ling, I originally belong to the Demon Suppression Division. This is my family and private matter. What do you mean by investigating my background like this?”
Ling Shuangxue was slightly stunned, as if she couldn’t believe that Lin Yan actually dared to speak to her like this. She smiled and said, “This courage doesn’t seem to come from the lower city. However, I’m your superior now. You should call me Lord Ling!”
She stood up from the chair and walked towards Lin Yan elegantly. An oppressive cold aura attacked, and Lin Yan had no choice but to circulate all his strength to resist it.
Ling Shuangxue said indifferently, “It’s good for you to know. You came from a lower city. You don’t have any resources or background, but after practicing martial arts, your strength improved by leaps and bounds. You can actually suppress top geniuses in the prefecture capital like Xiao Ye and Qin Xiang!
“Tell me, is it suspicious?”
Lin Yan was silent.
“Of course, having high talent is not a problem. Instead, it’s a good thing.
“However, Ding’an City’s lord was replaced not long ago. A large number of people quietly invaded and actually controlled the entire Ding’an City?
“If you knew how difficult it was for large numbers of people to travel between the prefecture capital and Ding’an City, you would know how serious this problem was.
“And you just happened to appear during this period of time. Tell me, should we investigate?”
Lin Yan was silent for a moment before saying, “Yes!
However, he immediately straightened his back and looked at Ling Shuangxue coldly. “Lord Ling, I’m upright and not afraid of investigation! Since I can still stand here and talk to you, I believe you haven’t found anything, right?”
Ling Shuangxue said indifferently, “I only casually investigated. After confirming that you weren’t involved in the previous matter, I stopped. Or do you want me to investigate seriously?”
Lin Yan’s heart tightened. If she investigated seriously, there would really be something difficult to explain about the poems he gave Old Master Li Muqing.
However, his expression did not change. “Lord Ling, just go and investigate! An upright person is not afraid of a crooked shadow!”
Ling Shuangxue’s expression did not change. “Do you know why I insisted on transferring you over from Ah Qing?”
“Venerable Issuer Bai said that you deliberately made things difficult for Issuer
Liu.”
“I’m not that petty. Lin Yan, have you heard of… the Wind Thunder Pavilion?”
Lin Yan’s scalp suddenly went numb. Wind Thunder Pavilion?
Thunder Token?!
Could it be that she was related to the group of people who wanted to capture Xiaozhi?
His expression did not change at all. “I don’t know.”
“Lean against the wind and listen to the thunder. More than ten years ago, this was the most important saying in the prefecture capital.
“Unfortunately, ten years ago, for some strange reason, the dignified Wind Thunder Pavilion fell into an illusion and went crazy overnight. They killed everyone they saw. They even called the strangers demons and demons!
“It’s a pity that all the factions in the prefecture capital worked together to destroy it. Now that 1 think about it, it’s been ten years.”
The Wind Thunder Pavilion… had actually been destroyed ten years ago?
Then where did the Thunder Token he found in the Black Tiger Gang come?
His expression did not change at all. “Lord Ling, since this Wind Thunder Pavilion has been destroyed for ten years, what does it have to do with us?”
Ling Shuangxue took out two pieces of snow-white rice paper from the stack in her hand. “These are things that the various inspectors accidentally discovered when they were patrolling the lower cities.”
The two pieces of rice paper were exquisitely gilded and had two words written on them—Thunder Token!
In the past, the Wind Thunder Pavilion had the Wind Token and the Thunder Token. The Wind Token was the Killing Token, and the Thunder Token was the Bounty Token.
“These two Thunder Tokens were discovered by the same inspector. First, in a lower city, he accidentally discovered a small local gang specializing in human trafficking, which had this Thunder Token in their hands.
“Then, when he went to the next city, he suddenly had an idea and found a small local human trafficking gang to investigate. He actually found the same Thunder Token.”
Lin Yan immediately understood. So that was the case!
At that time, he already found it strange that a large faction like the Wind Thunder Pavilion would find an unknown small gang to do something?
It turned out that the Wind Thunder Pavilion had long been destroyed!
Now, it was either a remnant of the Wind Thunder Pavilion or someone had used the Wind Thunder Pavilion’s name to take advantage of the lack of information between the prefecture capital and lower city. That was why they did not look for the local major factions!
Ling Shuangxue continued, “There’s reason to believe that it’s not just these two lower cities. Many lower cities and many small gangs specializing in human trafficking might have received such a Thunder Token and a similar, vague search reward.
It’s just that yesterday, I sent someone to investigate the local gangs that trafficked children, but I didn’t find anything like the Thunder Token. It’s hard for me to judge.”
At this moment, Lin Yan suddenly looked up and said, “There is!”
“What’s there?”
Lin Yan took out the crumpled Thunder Token from his chest pocket. “I once found the same Thunder Token as yours in the Black Tiger Gang!”
A glint flashed across Ling Shuangxue’s eyes. She took the folded Thunder Token and spread it out to take a closer look. “Such exquisite paper craftsmanship is definitely not something Ding’an City has… Lin Yan, you’re shrewd enough. From the moment I mentioned the Wind Thunder Pavilion, you knew why I was looking for you, right?”
Lin Yan cupped his hands and said, “Yes. You’re just as I thought. The person behind this Thunder Token is very likely to be looking for my sister, Xiaozhi!”
It was obvious that Ling Shuangxue had only wanted to investigate him previously. She did not expect to be lucky enough to find something related to Xiaozhi. Coupled with the fact that she knew about the Thunder Token, she immediately felt that it was too much of a coincidence.
“Why did you hide it before?”
“I can’t tell why you mentioned the Wind Thunder Pavilion and what it has to do with the Thunder Token.”
“Why aren’t you hiding it now?”
“Because Lord Ling has nothing to do with this Thunder Token. Otherwise, with Lord Ling’s strength, you could easily capture my Xiaozhi. Moreover… I really want to know what happened to Xiaozhi!”
Ling Shuangxue sat back on the chair with her usual indifferent expression. “Tell me. Tell me the entire process of you obtaining this Thunder Token and how your sister suddenly appeared.”
Lin Yan wanted to find out more information, so he immediately explained how he obtained the Thunder Token from the black tiger helper and how Xiaozhi appeared in his house.
Of course, Lin Yan naturally wouldn’t reveal the secret that Xiaozhi’s body had turned into jade and needed to absorb the remains of the Spirit Marrow.
By the time Lin Yan finished speaking, Ling Shuangxue’s face was already covered in a thin layer of frost. “They came and went silently and even called themselves escorts… Do you think the person this Thunder Token is looking for is your sister?”
Lin Yan said in a low voice, “I can only say that all the conditions match.”
Ling Shuangxue revealed a rational gaze. “Let’s just assume that they’re looking for your sister.
“Simple deduction. For some special reason, your sister ended up in one of the lower cities under the jurisdiction of the Qianyuan Prefecture, but the other party doesn’t know which lower city it is.
“Therefore, they can only use threats and bribes to find small gangs in the lower cities to work for them within a limited range.”
Lin Yan was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “But this can’t explain a suspicious point.”
“What’s suspicious?”
Lin Yan recalled what the leader of the Black Tiger Gang had said before he died. “Since the other party was deliberately looking for someone, they should have used a clearer and more detailed description. The other party clearly knew the person they were looking for very well, but they kept it a secret. All the information was oral, and there wasn’t even a specific portrait.
“This means that they’re very careful. They’re not worried that someone will catch them, but they’re worried that… someone else will find Xiaozhi first!”
Ling Shuangxue revealed a hint of admiration. “So, if the other party is really so resourceful and can come and go to various cities silently, why would they target a little girl? Lin Yan, bring me to see your sister.”
Lin Yan tightened his grip and nodded. “Lord Ling, please follow me.”
Fifteen minutes later, Lin Yan bade farewell to Xiaozhi and walked out with Ling Shuangxue.
Ling Shuangxue frowned slightly. “No matter how I look, your sister is just an ordinary little girl.”
At the same time that Lin Yan relaxed, his heart became even heavier. Even someone as knowledgeable as Ling Shuangxue couldn’t tell what Xiaozhi’s problem was?
Perhaps she could tell when Xiaozhi was acting up, but Lin Yan didn’t dare to let Xiaozhi’s secret be exposed.
“Lord Ling, please keep Xiaozhi’s identity a secret. Since more than one party is looking for her, once it’s exposed, I’m afraid Xiaozhi…”
Lin Yan was worried that Ling Shuangxue would use Xiaozhi as bait to lure the snake out of its nest.
“Don’t worry. To be able to come to the lower city at will, either he has a strong background and someone to protect him, or he’s incomparably strong. Such a person is not to be trifled with.”
Lin Yan’s heart tightened. If Ling Shuangxue could discover it, someone else would!
Could Ling Shuangxue keep his secret for the rest of her life?
Therefore, strength!
He had to grow faster!
As she watched Lin Yan leave, Ling Shuangxue revealed a thoughtful expression.
“The brother’s talent is terrifying. In just half a year, he could suppress people like Qin Xiang.
“The sister has a strange secret…
“All Qing, Ah Qing, you didn’t even investigate such a person properly and casually recruited him into your team.
“Your personality is exactly the same as when you were young. It hasn’t changed at all…
“You still have to rely on me to help you…”