The next day.
The sky was just beginning to lighten.
Xu Yi and the other three were led to the City Lord's Hall by beautiful maids. Lei Bao had been waiting there for a long time.
"My young friends, did you gain anything yesterday?"
Lei Bao's eyes were deep, seemingly brewing a storm within them.
Xu Yi could sense that Lei Bao was even more dangerous today than he had been yesterday.
"City Lord Lei, we did not find many valuable clues yesterday. Today, we wish to explore the City Lord's Mansion," Xu Yi said slowly, carefully choosing her words.
A faint glint flashed in Lei Bao's eyes. "Are you suggesting that the person who abducted my son is within the City Lord's Mansion?"
Xu Yi shook her head. "City Lord Lei, that is not what I meant. I simply wish to search for more clues."
Lei Bao gave Xu Yi a profound look, neither confirming nor denying her words.
After a moment of contemplation, he summoned Cang Ying and instructed him to continue guiding Xu Yi and the other three.
In truth, he wished to guide them himself. However, due to the lockdown, many troublemakers had appeared in the city, and he had to personally handle them to maintain order.
When Xu Yi and the others saw Cang Ying, their eyelids twitched, and their gazes fell upon the empty sleeve on the right side of his body.
Cang Ying's face was pale. He humbly invited the four to follow him out of the City Lord's Hall.
"Please follow me."
Chen Tao hesitated for a moment before asking, "What happened to your right hand?"
Cang Ying paused, a look of fear flashing in his eyes. He said in a low voice, "This is the punishment for my disrespect towards you esteemed guests. The person who sounded the alarm yesterday has also been dealt with. These are tokens of the City Lord's sincerity."
Xu Yi sighed in her heart.
It was just as she had suspected.
Lei Bao had promised them compensation yesterday but had made no move since. She had thought he would wait until their task was complete to react, but his response was surprisingly swift.
Moreover, Cang Ying was known to be Lei Bao's trusted confidant, highly valued.
Lei Bao had severed Cang Ying's arm. With his physical impairment, Cang Ying would have to exert a thousand times more effort to advance further.
This punishment was indeed severe.
Even Long Haotian and the other two, who had nearly lost their lives at Cang Ying's hands, felt a complex mixture of emotions and sighed in disbelief.
They once again felt the brutality of cultivation.
Without sufficient strength, one could only become prey, to be slaughtered at will.
While a powerful sect might smooth their cultivation path, ultimately, it was oneself that mattered. Only by becoming powerful enough could one stand firm in this world.
Just like Xu Yi.
Recalling Xu Yi's slender yet reassuring back as she shielded them yesterday, Long Haotian clenched his fist, his desire to become stronger intensifying.
Cang Ying kept his head lowered, silently leading the way. Unless Xu Yi and the others asked questions, he remained silent.
After a moment of reflection, Xu Yi and the other three focused their attention on the layout of the City Lord's Mansion.
The City Lord's Mansion had been rebuilt on a new site after Lei Bao seized the position of City Lord. He disliked delicate and intricate objects, so every brick and tile in the mansion carried a strong, distinctive style, and the layout was extremely simple.
In just half an hour, Xu Yi and the others had a fairly good understanding of the mansion's structure.
As they were walking back, Xu Yi suddenly stopped and pointed to an inconspicuous courtyard on the right. "What is that place?"
Cang Ying glanced up, his brows furrowing slightly. He hesitated, "This place seemed to be where the miscellaneous laborers used to live. Later, it fell into disuse and has not been occupied since."
"Let's go take a look."
Xu Yi turned and walked towards the old, dark courtyard.
As she approached, a chill swept over her, making her hair stand on end.
Xu Yi's heart tightened. She stopped and turned to Cang Ying, asking, "Have you searched this place before?"
Cang Ying also sensed something amiss, his expression becoming serious. "We have searched it. We've searched every corner of the City Lord's Mansion, even lifting the floorboards. But this was clearly just an ordinary courtyard before."
Cang Ying couldn't understand the source of the sudden chill.
"Go and invite the City Lord over. We will stand guard here," Xu Yi said to Cang Ying.
"Alright, I'll go now."
Cang Ying did not object and left in haste.
After he left, Chen Tao walked up to Xu Yi, eager. "Senior Sister Xu, aren't we going in to take a look?"
Xu Yi shot Chen Tao an exasperated look.
Knowing that something was wrong here, yet foolishly wanting to investigate—wasn't that just asking for trouble?
It was better to let Lei Bao handle such dangerous matters. Their current task was to stand guard.
Long Haotian held back the restless Chen Tao. "There is a heavy yin energy here."
After a few moments, receiving no response from Xu Yi, Long Haotian looked at her curiously and saw that she was looking down, her lips moving as if she were speaking.
"Senior Sister Xu..."
"Found it!" Xu Yi's eyes lit up, and she took out seven small black flags from her storage ring.
Xu Yi tossed the flags into the air and formed hand seals, channeling energy into them. The flags transformed into streaks of light and, following the layout of a seven-star formation, landed steadily around the small courtyard.
The moment the flagpoles pierced the ground, a faint glow flickered on the black flags, and seven black pillars of light shot up into the sky, enclosing the courtyard.
At that very moment, a sharp whistling sound abruptly rang out.
Xu Yi and the others' vision blurred. A blue spiritual entity with a vague form was rampaging within the courtyard, attempting to break through the encirclement of the flags.
As it collided, it emitted a mournful scream.
Its cry was extremely piercing.
Xu Yi felt as if a noisy bird or beast was chirping incessantly in her sea of consciousness, causing her head to pound and phantoms to appear before her eyes.
Long Haotian and the other two were even more severely affected. Blood began to seep from their seven orifices, and their bodies staggered, seeming on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
"What fiend dares to be so audacious in my City Lord's Mansion?"
Lei Bao's roar drowned out the spiritual entity's cry, bringing a sense of relief to Xu Yi and the others.
Lei Bao descended like a god of war, appearing in the courtyard, and punched towards the blue spiritual entity.
As the fist was about to touch it, the blue spiritual entity dissipated with a bang, transforming into spiritual energy. It then reformed behind Lei Bao and shot a blue point of light that struck him.
A thin layer of ice crystals quickly formed around Lei Bao's body, significantly slowing his movements.
Lei Bao roared and unleashed his aura, causing the ice crystals on his body to shatter.
He threw another punch fiercely at the blue spiritual entity.
A piercing sound of air being torn through the sky erupted, and space itself seemed to distort.
As Lei Bao and the blue spiritual entity clashed, Xu Yi and the other three quickly retreated to a relatively safe position.
Each of them consumed a pill and watched without blinking as Lei Bao and the blue spiritual entity continued their battle.
When Xu Yi saw Lei Bao's fist graze the blue spiritual entity once again, her brows furrowed inward, and her gaze gradually turned cold.
Half an hour later, Lei Bao finally seized an opportunity and shattered the blue spiritual entity with a single punch.
The blue spiritual entity let out a wail and dissipated in the air. Several illusory figures drifted out from it, with one female figure being the most striking.
Lei Bao stared blankly at the woman's phantom, his eyes gradually filling with tears.