Chapter 334 - 257: Finding People or Annihilating the City?

Chapter 334: Chapter 257: Finding People or Annihilating the City?

Late at night, the north wind howled.

The Tang Mansion was brightly lit.

"Young Master, the people from the inn have arrived!"

"Bring them in."

The inn where Bai You Ruo’s group was staying after entering the city was on the Black Water Gang’s territory.

For Tang Wen to see the inn’s Shopkeeper and stewards, all it took was a single word.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

Seven or eight people bowed in greeting.

Tang Wen’s gaze swept over them. He looked at the short, elderly man in the lead and casually picked up three portraits from the table, handing them over.

"Have you seen these people?"

The Shopkeeper and attendants from the inn passed the three portraits around.

One of the young attendants saw the portraits and immediately raised his hand, saying, "Young Master, I attended to two of these three people."

He then picked up the portraits of Bai Xue and Bai Shuo. Pointing to Bai Xue, he said:

"This young lady is very beautiful, and she stayed in our best courtyard suite. So, I remember her very clearly.

At the time, three of them checked in. The third person was also a woman, but her face was covered with a white veil, so I couldn’t see her clearly.

Because of that, I can’t be sure if she’s the young lady in the other portrait!"

Tang Wen pondered for a moment. "Three people checked in? Are you certain?"

The young man thought for a moment, then bowed and replied, "I’m almost certain. While we don’t stare at guests coming and going, we prepare three sets of toiletries and clean three beds every day when we go to tidy the rooms."

"Not bad. Very observant." Tang Wen said with praise, then looked at his female steward, Shu Mei. "Promote him."

The young man was overjoyed to hear this and quickly bowed in thanks.

Tang Wen gestured for him to rise and said to the group, "If anyone else comes asking you for information, be sure to conceal what you know. Also, do your best to find out who they are."

The Shopkeeper and the others agreed before bowing and taking their leave.

The investigation now had a direction.

"CHIRP, CHIRP."

Two Mutated Hummingbirds, more than a size larger than normal, were summoned.

After being calmed for a moment, they were fed a bit of Blood Marrow.

The two Hummingbirds instantly grew excited and flew back to the Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall’s Hummingbird Garden under the cover of night.

Before long, Hummingbirds began to fly out of the garden one after another.

The Hummingbirds were free-roaming and often sent on missions, so them entering and exiting the garden was a normal sight.

But this batch of departing Hummingbirds were all mutated.

At this moment, the effects of the Purple Pearl Honey theft incident had not yet faded.

Both the Hummingbird Garden and the Black Bee Department had a Fifth Grade expert secretly standing guard.

Nearly a hundred Mutated Hummingbirds flying out immediately drew attention.

The Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall reacted swiftly. Fifth Grade masters, including Shi Lei, gathered in the courtyard, while numerous Sixth Grade experts went out to track the Hummingbirds.

They wanted to find out where they were going and who was controlling them from behind the scenes.

Half an hour passed, then an hour.

Just as Shi Lei was starting to lose his patience,

a Sixth Grade expert who cultivated the Wind Department Technique returned.

He saw that all the Fifth-Grade Lords of the Martial Arts Hall were present. Before he could even catch his breath, the moment his feet touched the ground, he blurted out, "The Hummingbirds are conducting a search!"

"A search?"

"Yes, and it’s a house-to-house search."

"Searching for what?"

The Sixth Grade from the Wind Division spread his hands, indicating he didn’t know either.

"Keep tracking them. Send more people. Ensure the safety of these Mutated Hummingbirds. And find out who is controlling them!"

The Sixth Grade from the Wind Division departed, and a large number of Extraordinary individuals immediately gathered within the Martial Arts Hall.

The Hall Master added another instruction: "If anyone asks, tell them we received a tip that Huang the Seventeenth Lang might have snuck back into the city, and we’re conducting a sweep!"

Shi Lei also suggested, "Send out more Hummingbirds to search for suspicious people."

"Right! Do as Old Stone says. We need to make it look convincing."

The Hall Master stood up and looked at the Fifth Grade masters. "Let’s not stand around, everyone. Take the Red King with you and each take charge of a sector!"

Everyone roared in agreement.

But Shi Lei waved his hand. "I just remembered something. Don’t count me in."

"What could be more important than this?" The Hall Master wanted to grumble, but when he turned, he saw Shi Lei’s grave and thoughtful expression.

Shi Lei said, "I’ll tell you the details when I get back."

The Hall Master frowned as Shi Lei turned and walked out the gate of the Hummingbird Garden.

He hurried all the way to the Tang Mansion.

"Young Master, Vice Hall Master Shi has arrived. He wishes to see you, and he doesn’t look too happy."

A glint flashed in Tang Wen’s eyes. ’He’s quite sharp.’ "Prepare tea and show him in."

Shi Lei strode into the Tang Mansion, observing carefully the whole way, but he didn’t see a single Hummingbird.

When he saw Tang Wen, he didn’t stand on ceremony. After a brief greeting, he stated his purpose directly:

"I recall that Young Master Tang seems to be very interested in Hummingbirds, and is also a Beastmaster?"

Tang Wen smiled and gestured to the tea table. "Uncle Lei, please have a seat."

Shi Lei sat down, looking conflicted. "Your master is younger than me, so by rights, you should call me ’Grand-uncle’. But ’Grand-uncle’ sounds a bit awkward."

Tang Wen just smiled. "Uncle Lei, you’re one of us. I won’t waste words. Has something unusual happened at the Hummingbird Garden?"

"You really know!" Shi Lei’s thick brows furrowed. "Don’t tell me you’re behind this, you brat."

He stared intently at Tang Wen, trying to read some clue from his expression.

The latter didn’t answer directly, instead bringing up the matter of the Bai Family:

"Uncle Lei should know that the Boat Gang, the Huang Family, and the Bai Family have formed an alliance. A few nights ago, a brief battle took place on the Boat Gang’s territory. You’ve probably heard about it. I suspect it was a trap set for a few of my friends."

’What’s this kid beating around the bush for?’

If he were facing an ordinary junior, he would have slapped some sense into them and forced them to answer the question by now.

Unfortunately, the young man before him was no ordinary junior.

He wasn’t sure he could even defeat the tiger at his side.

No matter how anxious he was, he had to endure it.

Shi Lei replied, "Our Martial Arts Hall seems to have detailed intelligence on that. As you know, we’ve been investigating Huang the Seventeenth Lang day and night recently, so we have people watching in many places."