Chapter 67: Search
Xiang Shaoyun had been kidnapped! This incident created waves within the Martial Hall Palace. Elder Zhen Peng was enraged when he heard that. He had just become Xiang Shaoyun"s follower not long ago, yet someone dared to kidnap Xiang Shaoyun? The nerve of the kidnapper!
"Investigate! Find out who did it! If I find out who"s the culprit, I"ll exterminate his entire clan!" Elder Zhen Peng howled with fury.
Yang Gaochuan was similarly furious. "Where are the enforcers? How have you been guarding our Martial Hall Palace? Something like this happened under broad daylight? Do you not want your position anymore?"
The enforcer elder wiped his sweat and said, "Palace master, it was my mistake. There were too many visitors, and we were all focused on the security here. Because of that, the security of other areas have slackened. I"ll immediately start searching for him!"
"The kidnapper is definitely Xiang Shaoyun"s enemy. Who has he offended?" Elder Zhen Peng frowned.
"I am sure it"s the Wu Clan!" Zi Changhe said.
"Why so?" Elder Zhen Peng asked.
"Xiang Shaoyun had defeated a member of Wu Clan, and they have been holding a grudge against him for that. Prior to this, they had tried kidnapping him but had failed. A few days ago when Xiang Shaoyun had returned from the Hundred Beast Mountain Range, they had tried kidnapping him again. I had arrived in time and killed them off. Apart from them, I can"t think of anyone who’s gutsy enough to do something like this," Zi Changhe explained.
"Wu Clan? Town Head Wu f.u.xiang was here visiting me earlier. Is it really them?" Elder Zhen Peng muttered angrily. He paused before adding, "Come, let"s pay Wu Clan a visit. If it"s really them, there is no need for the Wu Clan to continue existing anymore."
After saying that, Elder Zhen Peng grabbed Zi Changhe and flew straight toward the Wu Estate. Wu Town wasn"t very big. A King Realm expert only needed the span of a few breaths to arrive at the Wu Estate.
"Wu f.u.xiang, come out!" Elder Zhen Peng yelled when he arrived.
When the Wu Clan members saw the people in the sky, they were all alarmed. Fear covered their faces as they understood that those capable of flight were all extremely powerful.
The higher ups of the Wu Clan were all alarmed as well. Shortly after, Wu f.u.xiang led the higher ups and came out. "So it"s Elder Zhen Peng. I have just returned from your place, yet you"re already here. I am overwhelmed by the favor you are showing me. Why don"t you come in and take a seat? The Wu Clan will be honored to have you as our guest."
Elder Zhen Peng did not bother saying anything else and landed with Zi Changhe.
"Are you the ones who had kidnapped my young master, Xiang Shaoyun?" Elder Zhen Peng asked frankly.
"May I ask who this Xiang Shaoyun is? I have never heard of him," Wu f.u.xiang asked, his face looking confused.
"Old town head, Xiang Shaoyun is my junior brother. Before this, your Wu Clan had tried multiple times to harm him. Now that he has gone missing, I suspect your Wu Clan is the culprit. Old town head, if you"re unsure, you can ask the present town head if he knows anything!" Zi Changhe said.
"Elder Zi, you can"t accuse others without proof. Why would the Wu Clan harm your junior brother?" Wu Hongxi stepped forward and spoke.
"You dare say the previous two waves of kidnappers were not from your Wu Clan?" Zi Changhe questioned.
"I"m curious, why are you so sure those people were from the Wu Clan?" Wu Hongxi countered with a question.
That instantly rendered Zi Changhe speechless. Of the two waves of kidnappers, one had gone completely missing while the second had been quickly killed by him. The dead couldn"t testify.
"No answer?" Wu Clan sneered before saying, "I"m only showing restraint out of respect for your position as an elder of the Martial Hall Palace. n.o.body is allowed to blindly accuse the Wu Clan like this."
"Hold your tongue, Hongxi," Wu f.u.xiang berated. Then, he spoke politely to Elder Zhen Peng, "Elder Zhen Peng, you heard them. I don"t think this has anything to do with the Wu Clan. How about this, we will send some people to help with the search and will find out the truth and prove our innocence. After all, the Wu Town is the turf of the Wu Clan."
Zi Changhe still wanted to say something, but Elder Zhen Peng spoke before him, "Thank you for your help. Xiang Shaoyun is my young master. I will exterminate the entire family of anyone daring to harm him."
Then, Elder Zhen Peng left with Zi Changhe. After they left, Wu Hongxi said with a sinister expression, "Father, what should we do now?"
"Stand down, everyone. This is nothing." Wu f.u.xiang waved his hand. He added, "Send some people to search for him."
Wu Hongxi left and arranged a search party.
A nervous atmosphere enveloped the Wu Town as numerous people were stopped during their travels and questioned. Most of the people in town had no idea what was going on. Because of that, they were all confused and anxious. At a certain location, Zi Changhe said to Elder Zhen Peng, "Elder Zhen Peng, are we going to let them off just like this?"
"Think about it. Apart from Wu Clan, are there any other suspects?" Elder Zhen Peng asked. He added, "I believe the Wu Clan wouldn’t be so audacious as to come kidnap someone from our Martial Hall Palace. I think this is probably an inside job."
"Inside job?" Zi Changhe was stupefied. He had not considered that possibility as his attention had been focused solely on the Wu Clan.
"How would an outsider be able to so easily leave the Martial Hall Palace? Even if they wanted to sneak over the wall, it wouldn’t be an easy feat," Elder Zhen Peng reasoned.
"Perhaps its thirteenth elder Li Xuemeng?" Zi Changhe pointed almost immediately.
"How are you sure it"s him?" Elder Zhen Peng asked. Zi Changhe then gave him a simple explanation of everything he knew.
"I see. Let"s go," Elder Zhen Peng brought Zi Changhe back to the Martial Hall Palace after listening to the explanation. They headed straight to Li Xuemeng"s residence. Unfortunately, Li Xuemeng was nowhere to be found. However, his children were there.
"Greetings, Elder Zhen Peng," Li Tianba and Li Hong"er greeted Elder Zhen Peng deferentially.
"Where is your father?" Elder Zhen Peng asked.
"I think he"s outside the palace. We"re not too sure," Li Tianba answered.
"Is that so? What a coincidence." Elder Zhen Peng frowned.
"Elder Zhen Peng, we have to locate him immediately! He is definitely the culprit!" Zi Changhe said.
Right this moment, a carriage could be seen heading toward them. When the carriage stopped, Li Xuemeng got off. Seeing Elder Zhen Peng, he immediately offered his greetings, "Elder Zhen Peng, is there anything I can help you with?"
Right as Elder Zhen Peng was about to speak, a white figure darted out from underneath the carriage.
"Meow!"
Little White landed beside Zi Changhe, bit the leg of his trousers, and pulled, seemingly trying to say something.
"This is Shaoyun"s striped tiger cub! Sure enough, Li Xuemeng is the kidnapper!" Zi Changhe immediately howled when he recognized Little White.