Chapter 227: Chapter 135: Ruthless Flower Destroyer
The Chen Family’s front courtyard.
As far as he could remember, Chen Cheng had never seen Shen Qingshuang lose her composure like this. Her handmaiden, Xiaoxing, also wore a grave expression. ’Did something happen to Yan Jian last night?’
With this thought in mind, Chen Cheng answered honestly, "After we inspected the Zhou Family’s trade caravan last night and found nothing out of the ordinary, Chief Yan and I parted ways.
I asked if he wanted to return to Lishui District with me, but he said he had to go back to the Inner City to be with his new bride, so he left first.
Chief Constable Liu Yunfeng and the other constables from Ruyi District were all there at the time. I chatted with Mr. Liu and the others for a bit, then hurried back to Lishui District."
Shen Qingshuang asked, "Did he mention anyone or anything?"
"No." Chen Cheng shook his head. Seeing Shen Qingshuang’s brow furrowed, he couldn’t help but ask, "Senior Sister Shen, what happened to Chief Yan?"
Shen Qingshuang’s voice was grim. "It’s still unclear. I just received the news myself. Yan Jian never returned to the Inner City last night, nor did he go back to the Yan Family home in Lishui District.
I’ve had people searching for news of him all over the South City District and the Inner City, but they haven’t turned up any useful leads."
"Senior Sister Shen, are you saying Chief Yan has gone missing?" Chen Cheng was alarmed.
Yan Jian was a Small Success Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm. Even without having mastered Sword Momentum, his combat prowess was not to be underestimated. Even if he encountered a Great Success Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, he wouldn’t have been completely helpless.
Besides, as a Chief Constable of the City Guard Department, he would naturally be cautious when walking alone at night and would choose streets patrolled by City Guard constables.
It would be one thing if Yan Jian had been assassinated en route; that would be plausible. As long as his movements were tracked and an ambush was set, any Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, or a Great Success Martial Artist who had mastered Sword Momentum, could have easily killed him.
But to make Yan Jian vanish without a sound would be much more difficult. I doubt even a typical Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm could accomplish that.
"That’s very likely," Shen Qingshuang nodded and sighed softly. "This is also my fault for not making better arrangements. When I saw the Zhou Family was on alert last night, I withdrew our people.
My second uncle, Shen Zhiheng, was originally keeping an eye on the Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Hongjun. Once I knew we wouldn’t find any dirt on the Zhou Family, I told him to return."
As she spoke, her gaze turned cold, revealing a faint killing intent. "I still underestimated the Zhou Family, and I underestimated Zhou Xu.
Not only did they feed Yan Jian false information to lure him in, but they were also brazen enough to have another plan in place to deal with him!"
Chen Cheng understood her meaning. Yan Jian went missing because he investigated the Zhou Family’s caravan, which naturally made the Zhou Family the prime suspect. Even if they weren’t the ones who did it, they were undeniably connected.
After all, the Zhou Family knew Yan Jian’s exact movements last night, so ambushing him would have been perfectly feasible.
There was just one question, though. The Zhou Family was, after all, just a family from the Outer City District. Even with the Wang Family backing them, how would they dare to make a move on Yan Jian at a time like this? Perhaps the real culprits were someone else entirely.
’Of course, I’m not in a position to point this out to Shen Qingshuang,’ Chen Cheng thought. ’My own situation is difficult enough. For all I know, the enemy lurking in the shadows last night was targeting me, too.’
’It’s only because I was cautious and took an unconventional route that their ambush must have failed.’
Suddenly, a thought struck Chen Cheng. Some time ago, Shen Qingshuang had mentioned that the forces of the Black Lotus Sect were still hiding in the shadows, stirring restlessly.
Abducting accomplished Martial Artists was consistent with the Black Lotus Sect’s methods. ’Perhaps Yan Jian was kidnapped by the Black Lotus Sect to cultivate their Black Lotuses,’ he mused.
’The waters of the Linji City Martial Arts Realm run far deeper than I imagined.’
At this thought, Chen Cheng’s eyelid twitched involuntarily.
’This is too dangerous!’
Shen Qingshuang noticed Chen Cheng’s reaction and asked, "Junior Brother Chen, did you think of something?"
After a moment’s consideration, Chen Cheng said, "Senior Sister Shen, you mentioned before that the Black Lotus Sect is still active. Could this incident be..."
"The Black Lotus Sect?" Shen Qingshuang’s eyes lit with understanding. She pondered for a moment before saying, "Abducting powerful martial artists to cultivate Black Lotuses is indeed the typical method of those Black Lotus Sect scoundrels. However, their leaders value their own lives far too much. After the last crackdown by the Demon Suppression Department, they wouldn’t dare show their faces in Linji City so easily.
Besides, only the Zhou Family knew Yan Jian’s whereabouts last night, so they remain the most likely suspects.
However, your guess does have some merit. I will not only report this to my family and launch a further investigation into the Zhou Family, but I’ll also report it to the City Guard Department and the Demon Suppression Department to track the movements of the Black Lotus Sect scoundrels.
Whether it’s the Zhou Family or the Black Lotus Sect, if they laid a hand on one of my Shen Family’s people, they will pay the price.
Oh, and you should be careful for the next few days. It’s best not to go out at night. If it’s not urgent, try to stay close to Bailu Avenue."
"Understood." Chen Cheng replied. Even without Shen Qingshuang’s warning, he had no intention of going anywhere dangerous.
...
In the days that followed, Chen Cheng remained focused on Cultivating his Martial Dao.
The Shen Family took Yan Jian’s disappearance very seriously. Yan Jian’s father-in-law, Shen Zhiheng, personally led men to investigate everywhere, but they couldn’t find any clues.
It was as if Yan Jian had dropped off the face of the earth, leaving no news of his whereabouts.
Perhaps because of the Shen Family’s fury, the Zhou Family became very low-key, and the Wang Family also seemed to pull back. Chen Cheng no longer noticed anyone monitoring his movements.
As for matters within his jurisdiction at Qingshui Pier, Chen Cheng took on the role of a hands-off manager, leaving all affairs to be handled by the constables under him.
Perhaps because the lingering awe from when Chen Cheng led the City Guard constables to wipe out the Tiger and Leopard Gang still held sway, no figures from the Jianghu dared to cause trouble in the Qingshui Pier area.
After the Qingcheng Gang and the Celestial Dog Gang carved up the Tiger and Leopard Gang’s territory, they each sent men to deliver silver taels to Chen Cheng as a tribute.
The Qingcheng Gang offered a tribute of one hundred taels of silver a month, while the Celestial Dog Gang offered eighty. Chen Cheng refused no one, accepting everything that was offered.
