"Who killed Shao Yifan and the others then?" Elder Wu was extremely vexed. Their Canglang Sect had truly suffered heavy losses this time!
"That, you'll have to ask the Wudu Sect." Elder Lai privately believed that Liu Xun was the one who killed Shao Yifan and the others. Liu Han and Liu Xun were brothers, and Liu Xun had always protected his younger brother. Now that his brother was dead, he acted as if nothing had happened. Anything out of the ordinary indicated trouble, and they needed a culprit. Whether it was Liu Xun or not, he would have to take the blame!
Xiao Man returned to the City Lord's manor and asked Fan Ting to arrange a room for Xiang Jian, then went to find Ze Fang. However, Ze Fang's room was empty. A faint smell of blood lingered in the room, so faint that it had escaped no one but Xiao Man.
"Someone, who has been in Ze Fang's room?"
"Reporting to the Immortal Master, no one has entered."
Xiao Man frowned. Whose blood was it? Could it be Ze Fang's? Was Ze Fang injured? Or had Ze Fang been abducted?
Xiao Man turned and left immediately. She had placed a mark on Ze Fang, but she found that the mark was gone. This meant that someone had erased the mark she had placed on Ze Fang.
Xiao Man moved swiftly through Wuji City, searching for Ze Fang's trace. To leave the city, one would inevitably have to use the teleportation array, which was heavily guarded, and its activation method was quite strict. One couldn't just leave as they pleased.
Xiao Man stood at a high vantage point, her gaze quickly sweeping across the area within her sight. However, she searched everywhere and found no sign of Ze Fang. In the end, she could only guard the vicinity of the teleportation array, waiting for the person who abducted Ze Fang to fall into her trap.
Suddenly, a warm little hand grasped Xiao Man's finger. Xiao Man lowered her gaze and saw a finely carved, jade-like little boy holding her finger, his eyes, as wide and dewy as a startled deer's, looking up at her and smiling.
Xiao Man looked around, not seeing the child's parents. The child showed no spiritual energy fluctuations, indicating he was an ordinary person. "Child, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
The little boy held onto Xiao Man's hand and wouldn't let go. Just as Xiao Man was about to tell him to go find his parents, she saw a scorched mark on the boy's wrist. The wound was gaping, with flesh and blood exposed, and his sleeve was dyed red with blood. It was clear he had been injured not long ago.
Xiao Man grabbed the little boy's hand and examined the wound on his wrist carefully. The wound had a burnt appearance, yet it didn't seem like a burn. "Who injured you?"
The little boy shook his head blankly, clutching Xiao Man's sleeve.
Xiao Man's brows furrowed tightly. She picked up the child and sat down at the side, tending to his wound. "Are you from this city?"
The little boy shook his head.
"Where are you from?"
Her question was met with another shake of the head.
As Xiao Man treated his wound, the child gritted his teeth, trembling violently from the pain, his eyes red. Yet, he uttered not a sound. The tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to fall, but he held them back. Seeing this, Xiao Man's heart ached, and her already anxious heart, unable to find Ze Fang, became even more so.
"Where do you live? I'll take you home."
The little boy looked at Xiao Man blankly, not speaking, not crying, just staring at her with his pitiful large eyes, making Xiao Man feel quite guilty. She ended up carrying the child and asking around if anyone had seen his family.
This little boy was none other than Ze Fang, injured from the backlash. Ze Fang hugged Xiao Man's neck, resting his head on her shoulder, inhaling the pleasant scent emanating from Xiao Man, and drifting into drowsiness.
Why was her scent always so pleasant and fragrant, while other men reeked of obnoxious sweat?
Also, who was she, and why had she attracted the attention of that madman?
Xiao Man failed to find Ze Fang and brought home a child instead.
Yan Yan looked at the child clinging to Xiao Man's neck and then at Xiao Man. She then nudged Poison Lady with her elbow.
"Shi Lan, do you think this child resembles Xiao Qin?"
Poison Lady stared at the child in Xiao Man's arms for a long time, then at Xiao Man for a long time, her gaze shifting to Shan Yun, as if asking, 'This isn't the boss's illegitimate child, is it?'
Shan Yun also looked as if he had been struck by lightning. The two of them truly looked alike. If they were told they had no relation, they would never believe it.
"Boss, is this your son?" Yu Da asked curiously.
"Do I look like someone who has a son this old?" Xiao Man retorted.
The others nodded in unison. Yes, they did. They looked very much alike. The child was practically a miniature version of her, carved from the same mold.
Xiao Man looked puzzled and carefully examined the face of the child in her arms. Come to think of it, he did look somewhat familiar. She always had a good memory, yet she just couldn't recall where she had seen this child before.
"By the way, where did Ze Fang go? I just went to Ze Fang's room and didn't see him," Xiang Jian asked, arriving late. As soon as he entered, he saw Xiao Man holding a child, and his expression froze for a moment. Then, he strode forward, took the child from Xiao Man's arms, looked at the child, then at Xiao Man. "Your son?"
"No..."
"Xiao Qin, I understand, men... But when was this child born? He looks only four or five years old. Did you have him before you went to the Land of No Return?"
Xiao Man was innocent. She did have a son, but her son was only two years old. It was impossible for him to be here, not to mention that the age didn't match.
"Little fellow, are you Xiao Qin's son?"
Ze Fang looked at Xiao Man and reached out his hand towards her. Tears streamed down like pearls, and he looked as if he had suffered great injustice. Xiang Jian, startled, quickly handed him back to Xiao Man.
As soon as Ze Fang was back in Xiao Man's embrace, he immediately hugged her neck and refused to let go, acting so affectionately that if they were told he wasn't Xiao Man's son, they wouldn't believe it even if they were beaten to death!
Xiao Man was too lazy to explain. She gently patted Ze Fang's back and looked at the City Lord Yan Yu. "City Lord, Ze Fang is missing. I searched the entire city and found no trace of him. He might be injured. Please ask the City Lord to send people to continue searching the city, and also send a few more people to guard the teleportation array. I suspect someone wants to abduct Ze Fang. Once Ze Fang's trace is found, please notify me immediately."
"Alright, Fan Ting, attend to it at once."
"Yes, City Lord."
"Boss, didn't you place a mark on Ze Fang? Didn't you find it?"
"It was erased," Xiao Man said, filled with worry. "I don't know how he is now, how severely injured he is, whether he is suffering. It's all my fault. Why didn't I keep him by my side? I knew someone had malicious intentions towards him, yet I left him alone in the City Lord's manor."
The City Lord rubbed his nose, his face feeling a little flushed. When had his City Lord's manor become like a marketplace? First, the immortal cranes and koi were lost, and they still hadn't been found. Now, a living person was missing. His City Lord's manor had lost all face!