Chapter 25: Yan Jin Makes a Move

On the second floor of Yunjiang Restaurant, Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue found a window seat and sat down. The restaurant attendants were already serving them with enthusiasm; they naturally recognized their young master.

“A-Chuan, look over there,” Liu Qiyue whispered.

Meng Chuan turned his head to look.

Elsewhere on the lively second floor of the restaurant, an expressionless boy in white was seated, accompanied by an old servant.

“Is that him?” Meng Chuan recognized the boy as Yan Jin from Yuyang Palace. Yan Jin was very mysterious; ordinary people in Dongning Prefecture had barely heard of him. However, top figures from the five great divine-demon families, the imperial court, and other factions throughout Dongning Prefecture were all paying close attention to this peerless genius whose talent was no less than Meng Chuan's. With the Palace Master of Yuyang Palace as his backer, his status was naturally even more exceptional.

Yan Jin also noticed someone watching him and looked towards Meng Chuan.

Meng Chuan smiled, raised his wine cup, and gestured from afar. Yan Jin, however, turned his head away, not bothering to look again.

“How rude,” Liu Qiyue murmured, seeing this. “A-Chuan, don't mind him.”

“That's just his nature,” Meng Chuan chuckled. “At the Monster Slaying Grand Assembly last year, from the moment Yan Jin appeared on stage until he left, he only spoke one sentence to me – and that was to avoid taking advantage of me! I understood his temperament then.”

“You're just too good-natured,” Liu Qiyue said, then picked up a large piece of braised bone and began to eat. “Mmm, the braised bones at your family's restaurant are definitely better than anywhere else. My mouth waters every time I smell them. This whole plate is mine.”

“Don't worry, no one's going to fight you for it!” Meng Chuan teased. “You eat so much, how come you never get fat?”

Liu Qiyue raised an eyebrow, looking quite pleased, and continued to eat happily.

Just as they were eating and bickering, a voice suddenly rang out.

“Young Master Meng Chuan, Young Master Meng Chuan, please save my sister!” A child's voice suddenly came from downstairs, filled with anxiety and determination.

It truly took immense courage for a child from an ordinary, poor family to shout loudly outside Dongning Prefecture's premier restaurant, a place where wealthy merchants and influential figures gathered.

Upon hearing this from the second floor, especially the distinctly childish voice, Meng Chuan immediately ordered an attendant nearby: “Go, bring that child up.”

“Yes, Young Master.” The attendant quickly went downstairs.

Soon after—

The child, dressed in ordinary, somewhat dirty clothes, arrived on the second floor and stood by Meng Chuan's table. Entering such a luxurious restaurant, the child was still a little flustered.

“Little one, are you looking for me?” Meng Chuan asked, smiling at the child.

The child, Tiesheng, saw the young master from a prominent family smiling and speaking to him, which helped calm his initial nervousness and panic. He immediately knelt and kowtowed, saying, “Tiesheng greets Young Master Meng. Please, Young Master, save my sister.”

“What exactly happened? Get up and tell me,” Meng Chuan said.

Only then did the child stand up.

“My sister's name is Hongyu, and she works as a maid in a prominent family,” the child Tiesheng explained. “She's very good; she always brings me delicious food when she comes back. But today, when she returned, Boss Wei took her away with his men.”

At another table, the boy in white, Yan Jin, being a Refinement Realm master, naturally heard everything the child said clearly. He listened silently while drinking his wine, his eyes growing a little colder.

“Why did they take your sister?” Meng Chuan asked.

“They said they took her to settle a debt,” the child Tiesheng replied. “They claim my father owes them 300 taels of silver. But my father said he only borrowed 10 taels. He was half-drunk and it was late at night, so they tricked him into pressing his fingerprint on a blank paper that was meant to be for a 100-tael debt. With the debt and interest snowballing, it reached 300 taels.”

Meng Chuan nodded upon hearing this; such incidents were common among ordinary people.

Indeed, there were countless instances of swindling and deceit perpetrated by ruffians and scoundrels. It was impossible to control them all because those who hadn't reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm weren't even qualified for military service. Without military service... they were destined to never make a name for themselves. And these scoundrels were also lazy and gluttonous; they would even be happy to be thrown into prison, as they'd get free food there.

“Did your father sign a bond of indenture for your sister?” Meng Chuan pressed.

“No, he didn't sign it. My father refused to sign it, even if it meant death,” the child replied repeatedly.

“Oh? Ruffians dare to abduct a civilian girl?” Meng Chuan was surprised. Ruffians usually only committed petty crimes; they wouldn't dare commit serious offenses! Because for serious offenses... the imperial court's punishments were too severe. Abducting a civilian girl could lead to limb amputation and forced labor. If it was too egregious, even the death penalty was normal.

If they dared to abduct a civilian girl, there must be a reason behind it.

“What's this Boss Wei called, and where does he live?” Meng Chuan asked again. “What's his background?”

“I only heard he's called Wei Sandao, and he lives by Dongliu River,” the child quickly said. “My father says that Boss Wei is a small-time thug from the Black Wolf Gang.”

Meng Chuan nodded. “The Black Wolf Gang? No wonder.”

As he spoke, Meng Chuan slightly waved to someone in the distance.

“Young Master,” a young man ran over.

“A small-time thug from the Black Wolf Gang, named Wei Sandao. That should be a nickname. He lives around Dongliu River! Go bring the person here,” Meng Chuan instructed. “Order a manager from the Black Wolf Gang to come here and answer for him.”

“Yes, sir,” the young man replied respectfully.

The boy in white, Yan Jin, suddenly appeared before the child.

“Little one, lead the way. We'll go save your sister now,” the boy in white, Yan Jin, said calmly.

The child Tiesheng was stunned.

“Saving someone is like putting out a fire; if we're late, your sister might lose her life,” the boy in white, Yan Jin, said coldly. “Quickly, lead the way.”

“Alright, alright, alright,” Tiesheng said, hearing this and growing even more worried about his sister.

“A-Chuan, let's go take a look too,” Liu Qiyue said, eager to go. Meng Chuan was somewhat surprised that this mysterious boy, Yan Jin, was so vehemently righteous. He nodded and said, “Alright, we'll go as well.”

“I'll lead the way,” the child exclaimed, becoming even more excited when he saw that this mysterious young master in white and Young Master Meng were also coming along.

The old servant came to Yan Jin's side and whispered, “Young Master, there's no need for us to get involved in this sort of thing...”

“Listen to me,” Yan Jin's voice was quite cold.

The old servant was startled, then immediately obediently followed.

Yan Jin was the most proactive, instructing the old servant to pick up the child and have the child point the way.

They dashed off, moving at an incredibly fast pace.

“It seems we don't even need to intervene in this matter,” Meng Chuan said as he and Liu Qiyue followed behind.

“A-Chuan, I always feel that Yan Jin has a strange temperament,” Liu Qiyue whispered. “You could say he's indifferent, but he's willing to help someone he doesn't even know. Yet, if you say he's so righteous, he's been in Dongning Prefecture for over a year, and we haven't heard of him performing any acts of chivalry.”

“He has a strange temperament, but he's still a good person,” Meng Chuan chuckled.

Soon, they arrived in the vicinity of Dongliu River.

“Boss Wei's house is right there!” the child Tiesheng exclaimed, excitedly pointing. “That one!”

Bang.

The courtyard gate was directly kicked open. Yan Jin and his servant went in first, followed by Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue.

Just then, three drunken men emerged from the main house in the courtyard. The leader, a burly man bare-chested and holding a chicken leg in one hand, walked out muttering curses: “Who dares to cause trouble at my house? What audacity! Do you have a death wish—Young Master Meng?”

As soon as Boss Wei stepped out, he saw three young people, an old man, and a child.

Boss Wei immediately recognized Meng Chuan!

Renowned throughout Dongning Prefecture, a potential Divine-Demon, the Meng family's young master... Meng Chuan's reputation was simply immense! And these street ruffians had a basic understanding of some of Dongning Prefecture's well-known figures. They knew who they couldn't afford to offend.

Clearly!

Meng Chuan was someone a small-time gang member like him had to look up to! Even their gang leader had to humble himself and wouldn't dare show the slightest disrespect. If the Meng family wished, the Black Wolf Gang could be wiped out overnight.

“You seized his sister?” Yan Jin took the initiative to ask.

Boss Wei glanced at the child and immediately recognized him as Tiesheng.

“I was just following orders, following orders,” Boss Wei said ingratiatingly, repeating himself. “It's just that his sister isn't with me anymore.”

The old servant, however, took out a token from his pocket, holding it up: “This is a Yuyang Palace token. Find this child's sister and bring her back now. If you can't, you'll be executed!”

“A Yuyang Palace token?” Boss Wei's legs went weak when he saw the words 'Yuyang' on it.

In Dongning Prefecture, the five great divine-demon families were not to be provoked.

But there was an even more terrifying place – Yuyang Palace!

“People from the Meng family, and from Yuyang Palace?” Boss Wei's legs turned to jelly and his heart pounded. His mind went blank; he was completely terrified.