Chapter 363: Mist

Zhao Mu lived near the Escort Agency.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu moved with the speed of ghosts.

However, the moment the two turned into an alley, Duan Rong's brows instantly knit together.

They had just left the Escort Agency when four or five figures, moving with swift and stealthy movements, darted out from the Back Courtyard of the Escort Agency and followed him and Xiao Yu from a distance from different directions.

"They are Ruan Fengshan's secret agents!"

Duan Rong's thoughts churned.

It seemed that although Ruan Fengshan was not in the Back Courtyard of the Escort Agency just now, he likely knew the moment they entered the Escort Agency. Moreover, he might have deliberately hidden himself away. After all, given his and Xiao Yu's identities as Outer Sect Disciples of the Sect, it was highly probable they would break into the Back Courtyard under such circumstances.

Whether Ruan Fengshan hid away or sent secret agents to track him and Xiao Yu, it vaguely pointed to one thing: Xiao Zongting had indeed met with misfortune, and it was related to Ruan Fengshan.

While moving through the alleyway with Xiao Yu, Duan Rong pondered with flickering eyes.

Three years ago, he had learned of Ruan Fengshan's hidden identity. On the surface, he was the Head Manager of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, but in reality, he was the Helmsman of the Xiangu Branch of the Filthy Blood Sect.

It was just that Duan Rong could not be certain at this moment whether Xiao Zongting's misfortune had anything to do with Ruan Fengshan's identity in the Filthy Blood Sect. Furthermore, was Xiao Zongting dead or alive at this time?

All of this was like a thick fog.

Duan Rong glanced at Xiao Yu beside him. He could imagine how worried and anxious Xiao Yu felt right now, returning home only to find her father and Zhu Xiaoqi missing, their lives uncertain.

It was not just because he and Xiao Yu had already consummated their marriage; even based on his past relationship with the Xiaojia, Duan Rong could not sit idly by and watch as Xiao Zongting and Zhu Xiaoqi met with disaster.

However, if the matter truly involved Ruan Fengshan, or even the Filthy Blood Sect behind Ruan Fengshan, it would likely be quite thorny.

"The Filthy Blood Sect?" For some reason, Duan Rong always found himself entangled with this evil sect time and time again.

As for the secret agents following him and Xiao Yu from different directions, although Duan Rong had locked onto them one by one using his Divine Sense Envelopment, he had no intention of eliminating these tails for now.

Ruan Fengshan had hidden away and sent these secret agents to follow, clearly out of wariness toward him and Xiao Yu.

Unless necessary, there was no need to attract more of Ruan Fengshan's attention. If these secret agents were wiped out by him and Xiao Yu not long after leaving the Escort Agency, Ruan Fengshan would likely be even more wary of them, and it would be harder to predict what he might do then.

Moreover, there was no need for secrecy in his and Xiao Yu's actions now; they were going to find Zhao Mu to ask about the situation.

The two soon stopped in front of the gate to Zhao Mu's courtyard.

Xiao Yu was anxious and began pounding on the door. "Zhao Mu! Zhao Mu!"

Duan Rong's Divine Sense passed through the walls and into the courtyard, only to find it completely empty. Zhao Mu was not there!

"Did he go out on an escort mission?"

Just then, the gate of the neighboring courtyard creaked, and a head poked out, looking at Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, saying: "What are you shouting for!? The people in that courtyard have been dead for half a month!"

"What?! Dead?" Xiao Yu and Duan Rong were both greatly shocked.

Zhao Mu's sturdy and rough appearance flashed through Duan Rong's mind, and he immediately asked the person next door: "Old brother, how did Escort Zhao Mu die? What happened?"

The man said: "How would I know about their Escort Agency's business? In any case, stop shouting here; it's making my head buzz."

After saying this, the man slammed his gate shut and locked it.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu looked at each other, and Duan Rong clearly saw a trace of deep fear in Xiao Yu's sorrowful eyes.

Zhao Mu was dead, and he had died half a month ago. When Duan Rong had checked the dust on the table in the main room of the Xiaojia courtyard earlier, it had also indicated that no one had cleaned for half a month.

This was definitely not a coincidence!

Xiao Yu suddenly channeled her True Qi and kicked Zhao Mu's gate to pieces, and the two flashed inside.

After some searching, they found no clues.

Zhao Mu's home was not in disarray, clearly not having been ransacked. But it was empty, with dust on the tables and chairs.

As Duan Rong was deep in thought, Xiao Yu suddenly said: "Let's go, let's go check Li Gu's house; Li Gu's house isn't far from here."

Duan Rong's eyes flickered.

Li Gu was an Escort Head of the Fifth Escort Team, and he had also been personally trained by Xiao Zongting.

"Let's go!"

The two immediately vaulted out of Zhao Mu's courtyard and moved with speed, with Xiao Yu leading the way, their figures flickering through the alleys like ghosts.

About half an incense stick later, the two stopped in front of another courtyard.

As soon as they stood before the gate, they heard the sound of splashing water from inside the courtyard.

Xiao Yu's heart leaped with joy, and she immediately knocked on the gate.

As the knocking sound rang out, a thick, feminine voice responded from the courtyard: "Who is it?"

Xiao Yu stood at the gate and replied: "It's me. Sister-in-law, it's me, Xiao Yu."

Li Gu had been personally trained by Xiao Zongting, and the two families often visited each other during holidays; Xiao Yu had met Li Gu's wife, Madam Wang, many times.

A rustle of footsteps sounded in the courtyard, followed by the latch being lifted and the wooden door opening, revealing a woman with a round face and a plump figure standing there.

Although they had not met for three years, Madam Wang recognized Xiao Yu at a glance, and a trace of tears flashed in her eyes as she said: "Little Yu, you've returned."

Xiao Yu gave a miserable smile and said: "Sister-in-law, Li..."

Xiao Yu wanted to ask if Li Gu was there, but she suddenly froze, her words stuck in her throat.

Because she saw that Madam Wang was wearing a black armband on her arm and a white silk ribbon tied around her head. This was the attire of mourning!

Xiao Yu asked in astonishment: "Sister-in-law, who are you in mourning for? Escort Li, what happened to him? What went wrong?"

The woman, who had been shedding tears, suddenly hardened her expression and said coldly: "What could have happened? It's all business from the Escort Agency, how would I know? You should leave! Don't come here to disturb me."

As Madam Wang spoke, she moved to close the door, but Duan Rong grabbed the edge of the door.

Duan Rong's Divine Sense had already swept inside; on the altar table in the center of the main room sat Li Gu's spirit tablet.

Without a word, Duan Rong squeezed his body through and moved as fast as a ghost to stand at the entrance of the main room.

Duan Rong glanced into the main room, then turned to Xiao Yu at the gate and said: "Escort Li Gu's spirit tablet is here!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yu immediately pushed Madam Wang aside, flashed to Duan Rong's side, and stared intently. She saw a spirit tablet on the altar table in the main room: The Spirit Tablet of My Late Husband, Li Gu. In front of the tablet was an incense burner with three sticks of incense burning, emitting wisps of smoke. Furthermore, looking at the date beside the spirit tablet, it had been set up exactly half a month ago.

This timing was basically consistent with the time of Zhao Mu's death and the time the Xiaojia met with misfortune.

At this moment, Madam Wang also rushed over, and Xiao Yu immediately looked at her and said: "Sister-in-law, what happened to Escort Li? How did he die? And my father, what happened to him? Where is he now? Is he dead or alive?"

Xiao Yu was anxious, and every question she asked was like a nail.

That Mrs. Wang was already anxious and angry; she shoved Xiao Yu and Duan Rong, saying, "Go, you two go! I don't know anything! You go!"

From Mrs. Wang's anxious anger, Duan Rong could see the fear deep in her heart. What exactly was the matter that made her so panicked, not daring to tell them?

At this moment, having seen a tiny clue, how could Xiao Yu be willing to leave?

But that Mrs. Wang suddenly ran into the inner room, took out her husband's weapon from when he was alive, drew the blade with a *shing* sound, and began to slash and stab wildly at the two of them.

Duan Rong tugged at Xiao Yu, signaling her to leave.

Xiao Yu also saw by now that Mrs. Wang's face was covered in tear tracks and her eyes were bloodshot; if she provoked her any further, there was no telling what she might do.

They could only wait for her to calm down before making other plans.

Xiao Yu looked at Mrs. Wang and said, "Sister-in-law, I will come again!"

After saying this, she and Duan Rong left the courtyard!

Seeing the two leave, Mrs. Wang was suddenly overcome with grief; she sat at the entrance of the main room and began to wail.

Walking in the alley, Xiao Yu heard Mrs. Wang's sorrowful and indignant crying and couldn't help but let two tears roll down.

The feeling in her heart was getting worse and worse.

Li Gu and Zhao Mu had both died half a month ago. Both of them had been personally trained by her father.

And it was also half a month ago that something happened to her Xiaojia.

"Could it be... that my father and Xiao Qi are also..." Xiao Yu thought to herself, then suddenly her heart tightened, and she dared not think further.

When Xiao Baijiao died, she had been able to face it strongly; firstly, she had been mentally prepared, and secondly, after all, Xiao Zongting and Zhu Xiaoqi were still by her side.

This time, having returned after three years in the Sect, she was suddenly about to become a lone person; how could she bear it?

Seeing Xiao Yu's body tremble, Duan Rong immediately wrapped his arms around Xiao Yu's shoulders.

Xiao Yu was burning with anxiety inside and had almost fallen just now. She raised her head and looked at Duan Rong with gratitude in her eyes; she had never realized she needed Duan Rong so much. If Duan Rong were not by her side at this moment, soothing her heart, she would have almost gone mad! Forget about Mrs. Wang or Ruan Fengshan; she had to find out her father's whereabouts.

"Duan Rong, I suspect that my father, he..."

Before Xiao Yu could finish her sentence, Duan Rong said, "It hasn't been investigated clearly yet, don't jump to conclusions easily. There are tails following us nearby; let's shake off those tails and think carefully about our next strategy."

In fact, Duan Rong had already thought of a plan. Next, he was going to find someone to interrogate. Earlier, at the Martial Arts Arena, he had seen the Escort from the Fifth Escort Team, Zhang Xinping; his evasive eyes clearly showed he knew the inside story.

Since he couldn't get answers by asking nicely, he didn't mind using some methods. However, before doing such things, he had to deal with the tails behind them first.

Hearing Duan Rong say there were tails following nearby, Xiao Yu was slightly stunned.

Because she hadn't noticed them. Although those spies' martial arts realms were not very high, they wore specially made boots that made almost no sound when stepping on the ground, and they had specialized in Lightness Skill and concealment techniques, plus they were very familiar with the terrain here. Xiao Yu was also burning with impatience, so they had followed them the whole way without Xiao Yu noticing.

Just at this moment, Duan Rong's eyes narrowed; under his Divine Sense Envelopment, another figure was actually approaching this way. And this person was wearing a masked tight-fitting suit, but it was not the group that had followed from the Escort Agency.

It was just that the more Duan Rong looked at that figure and build, the more familiar it seemed.

And the next moment, a black shadow was already standing at the mouth of the alley.

That alley entrance was only about three zhang away from Xiao Yu and Duan Rong.

As soon as Xiao Yu saw the black shadow flash out, she wanted to make a move, but was stopped by Duan Rong.

The black shadow glanced at Duan Rong, suddenly flicked his hand, stuck a throwing dart into the ground half a zhang in front of Duan Rong, and then darted away.

Xiao Yu wanted to chase after him, because that person's movement technique was not very fast, and she reckoned she could easily catch up.

Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu and said, "No need to chase. I know this person."

Duan Rong walked to the throwing dart and pulled it out of the ground. A cloth strip was tied to the tail of the dart. The cloth strip was covered in dense, small characters.

The handwriting was still as sloppy as ever.

As soon as Duan Rong saw the writing, he smiled slightly. "How many years has it been, and you still don't know how to practice your handwriting?"

Xiao Yu asked, "Who is that person?" Since Duan Rong said he knew him, Xiao Yu was naturally curious.

Under his Divine Sense Envelopment, Duan Rong saw no one within three zhang, so he said softly, "Yang Zhen, my childhood friend."

That person was indeed Yang Zhen; as soon as he approached, Duan Rong had used his Divine Sense to penetrate the black cloth covering his face.

However, Duan Rong really wanted to know what news Yang Zhen had brought him by risking a meeting at this time.

But he only saw the cloth strip read: You have tails following you. Shake off the tails, meet at Xie Lei's old house at the Hour of the Rat tonight.

After reading it, Duan Rong handed the cloth strip to Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu took it. "Xie Lei?..."

She felt the name was somewhat familiar, but for a moment she couldn't remember who it was.

Duan Rong saw the confusion in Xiao Yu's eyes. It seemed Xiao Yu didn't have a deep impression of the Xie Lei case.

Duan Rong said, "Xie Lei is Xie Daohan's nephew."

Hearing Duan Rong say this, Xiao Yu finally remembered, and she frowned and asked, "Why did Yang Zhen ask you to meet at Xie Lei's old house?"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered. He hadn't killed Yang Zhen that night; he had hidden him in the cave in Xie Lei's old house.

But Duan Rong didn't want to tell Xiao Yu about this past event right now, so he said, "I don't know. Perhaps it's more secluded there."

"However, him looking for me should be related to your father's matter," Duan Rong said with a certain tone.

Xiao Yu's eyes flickered, True Qi surged in her palm, turning the cloth strip in her hand into powder, and she said, "Is Yang Zhen trustworthy?"

Duan Rong was silent for a moment, then said, "Trustworthy!"

Xiao Yu's beautiful eyes showed a look of deep thought. What they needed most right now was a trustworthy person to tell them what exactly had happened. Since Yang Zhen had taken the initiative to come, he must have very important information to tell them.

Duan Rong said, "Wait for me here. I'll go nearby to clear out those tails first."

Xiao Yu gave a soft 'en', still trapped in deep thought.

Those spies who had come out of the Escort Agency were some lying on trees, some on rooftops. They didn't dare to get too close; this was what Ruan Fengshan had instructed beforehand.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu should both already be in the True Qi Realm, so they must not get too close, just follow from afar and determine their general direction.

They were all spies who had been personally trained by Ruan Fengshan for many years and were well-versed in concealment techniques; they believed that at such a distance, no one could have discovered them.

One spy wore a grass ring on his head, hiding in the gap of a tree branch.

He was staring from afar at the alley where Duan Rong and Xiao Yu were located.

Just at this moment, a black shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes, and he thought it was just a stray cat darting past.

But the next instant, his vision went black, and he collapsed.

Duan Rong looked at the person. It was a short-statured youth, no more than twelve or thirteen years old.

Duan Rong had only knocked him unconscious and had not killed him.

He simply did not want Ruan Fengshan to know his subsequent whereabouts; knocking these fellows out was enough, there was no need to kill anyone!

(End of this chapter)