Chapter 76 Yuzhou City is turned upside down

Chapter 76: Yu Prefecture City Turned Upside Down

The afternoon sun was gentle and pleasant at Ji Shi Clinic.

Inside the clinic, a wooden sign hung, reading: “Doctor out, closed today.”

A medical book lay on the medicine cabinet, and Tan Yun’s round face was pressed against it, sound asleep, drool constantly flowing from the corner of her mouth.

“Woof.”

Xiao Heizi yawned beside her, shook his body, then found a comfortable spot and lay down to sleep again.

“I’m going to give Big Brother a surprise when he comes back today.”

In the back kitchen, Zhao Qingmei held a freshly prepared soft-shelled turtle. She then looked at the other fresh ingredients on the table, a slight smile gracing her lips.

After all, Big Brother’s four favorite things were his three meals a day.

“Sect Master!”

Li Fuzhou’s brows were tightly furrowed as he rushed in.

His greatest fear had come true.

“What happened?”

Zhao Qingmei’s smile vanished as she asked.

She knew Li Fuzhou; if it wasn’t an urgent matter, he would never be so hasty.

“The Young Master is missing.”

Li Fuzhou said in a deep voice.

“Missing?” Zhao Qingmei’s brows furrowed, and in an instant, the entire room was filled with a chilling cold, as if it had transitioned from a scorching summer to a severe winter.

Li Fuzhou took a deep breath and said, “Huo Zhongyun has been secretly protecting the Young Master. When the Young Master was diagnosing patients in Mazi Alley, he suddenly disappeared. Huo Zhongyun searched the area for a long time but couldn’t find any trace of him.”

“Thump!”

“What!?”

Zhao Qingmei’s face changed, and the soft-shelled turtle in her hand dropped directly to the ground.

Huo Zhongyun was a Second-Grade cultivator; it was impossible for an accident to occur while secretly following a doctor who was powerless. There was only one possibility: An Jing had been captured by a master, who intended to use him to threaten the Demonic Cult.

Li Fuzhou took a deep breath and sighed, “Sect Master, what should we do now?”

“Search.”

Zhao Qingmei took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly, “At all costs.”

Li Fuzhou’s lips parted, but he eventually nodded, “I understand.”

The Demonic Cult Human Sect had just laid out its lines, and some of these new lines had not yet fully taken root. If they acted rashly now, there would be a risk of exposure. Moreover, a large-scale search also carried the danger of alerting the enemy.

These were all Li Fuzhou’s concerns, but he knew that expressing them would be useless.

“Have Tan Yun wait at home. I’ll go with you.”

Tianxiang Street was bustling with traffic and noise.

“Detective Qin, we’ll go ahead and wait for you.”

“You must come tonight. We won’t stop drinking until we’re drunk.”

After clocking out, a group of constables planned to go out for drinks.

“Old Qin, hurry up.” Han Wenxin said impatiently, “Chunhua said she wants me to perform the ‘Golden Dragon Exploring the Hidden Valley’ tonight. Don’t delay my auspicious time.”

“Damn it, you brat, that’s just a loach swimming in the East Lake. I’m just going back to change my clothes. Why are you so impatient?”

Detective Qin cursed, then walked towards his home.

After passing through two streets, he finally arrived home.

“Hmm!?”

He pushed the door open and then, upon seeing the vase in the courtyard, his brows suddenly furrowed.

The vase had been moved.

He quickly walked to the vase, reached his hand inside, and pulled out a white note with only eight words written in blood-red ink.

“Find Dr. An Jing of Yu Prefecture City.”

“Grade A!?”

Detective Qin’s brows raised slightly, and then, without even changing his clothes, he quickly walked out of his house.

In Lulinfang, at a stall.

“A-Yin, give me a baked bun.” Song Lin walked over, smiling.

“Alright! Please wait a moment. I just sold out, so I’ll make a fresh one.”

The man named A-Yin smiled and kneaded the dough, “Brother Song, it’s been a while.”

“I’ve been a bit busy lately. Didn’t Dongyuan Dao suffer a locust plague? Food is very scarce. My uncle is the shopkeeper of a rice store, so I went to help out.”

Song Lin’s tone carried a hint of schadenfreude. He then took out four copper coins and threw them into the money basket nearby. “Here are five copper coins. I threw them in for you.”

Dongyuan Dao suffered a locust plague, but he was not affected. On the contrary, he made a fortune from this locust plague.

“Alas, natural and man-made disasters are unstoppable.” A-Yin glanced at the money basket, seemingly not paying attention at all.

“A-Yin, I find you quite agreeable, young man. How about this, you work with me from now on. Don’t sell baked buns anymore; it’s unlucky.” Shopkeeper Chen leaned back in a nearby chair, picking his ear and saying, “I won’t say wealth and honor, but at least you’ll have food and drink without worry, and you won’t have to work hard for a few copper coins, living at the mercy of others.”

“Brother Song, you really are saying…”

Just then, A-Yin saw eight strings of red lanterns rising from the two-story restaurant in the distance, and his heart trembled.

“Brother Song, forget about this baked bun today. I’ll make up for it with two next time.”

A hint of doubt appeared in Song Lin’s eyes.

What does ‘make up for it with two next time’ mean!?

What exactly does this mean!?

Before he could react, A-Yin packed up his stall, quickly pushed his cooking cart, and rushed off into the distance.

“Damn it! Where’s my baked bun!? You want to cheat me, kid!?”

Song Lin was stunned for a moment before reacting. He immediately roared and desperately chased after A-Yin.

Yu Prefecture City, Li Manor.

The Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce was formed by several merchants, with the Cao family being the most powerful. Naturally, Cao Hongkuo, the head of the Cao family, became the president of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce.

However, there were also other merchants within the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce. Although the power of these merchants was far inferior to that of aristocratic families like the Cao family, they were still wealthy individuals, and Li Xiaocun was one of them.

Li Xiaocun stood in front of the courtyard, with dozens of people before him, all loyal assassins trained by his Li Manor.

“Now I have a task for you. You all know Dr. An Jing of Ji Shi Clinic, right? Those who don’t, take a portrait.”

Li Xiaocun scanned the crowd and said, “I won’t say much more. You are to set off immediately and find this person. But remember, you must not reveal any information. Whoever finds him first will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold, a mansion, and ten beautiful maidservants.”

Whoosh!

Upon hearing Li Xiaocun’s words, a commotion erupted in the courtyard.

All the assassins were astonished by the reward Li Xiaocun mentioned. As long as they found this doctor, they would be rich, live a life of comfort, become wealthy gentlemen, and no longer have to live at the mercy of others. Most importantly, there were also ten beautiful maidservants.

“Did you hear clearly?”

Li Xiaocun said in a deep voice.

“Yes, we heard clearly.”

Everyone shouted in unison.

“Then go now.”

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Without needing Li Xiaocun’s command, the assassins rushed out like madmen.

Li Xiaocun watched their retreating figures, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

“What does the Sect Master want with this doctor? Is his injury really so hard to control?”

All the hidden lines of the Demonic Cult, lurking in Yu Prefecture and even the surrounding towns, were dispatched. In the dark corners unseen by ordinary people, an invisible, lurking hand stretched out, as if to envelop the entire Yu Prefecture City and then turn it upside down.