"Young Master," a figure appeared beside Wen Ting, their presence completely undetectable. Even standing right there, no one could sense them.
"Did you find out what I asked you to investigate?"
"Replying to Young Master, no, we did not find the person you mentioned. Is this person very important?" the hidden guard asked curiously. After all, their young master acted strangely, bloodthirsty and murderous, disliked by the other three great sects. Of course, he had no weaknesses, which was why he had roamed freely for years and remained alive.
Wen Ting was silent for a long time, then sighed, "Forget it. That I managed to salvage my life is already great luck. How could I expect him to still be alive? I just thought if he were still alive, perhaps..."
The attendants were puzzled. Their young master was always overbearing and fearless. When had he ever cared about others? Ever since he was ambushed and narrowly escaped death, the young master had changed considerably.
"Young Master, shall we continue searching?"
"No need to search. Send two people to protect her." Wen Ting looked in the direction Xiao Man had disappeared. "Have Cheng Ze and Cheng Le go themselves. Ensure her safety."
"Young Master, Cheng Ze is your..."
"Tell Cheng Ze that this person is extremely important to me. If there is any mishap, bring me their head."
"Yes." The attendant immediately went to relay the order, their heart growing more curious. Could it be that their young master was indeed homosexual, as rumored?
Cheng Ze was one of the top experts among the younger generation of the Beast Taming Sect, known for his steady demeanor, and was Wen Ting's most formidable guard. When Cheng Ze learned he was assigned to protect such a handsome young man, he was greatly puzzled. However, due to his taciturn nature, he did not show it. Cheng Le, with his usual lively disposition, looked at Xiao Man, who was drinking tea opposite them, with great curiosity.
"Cheng Ze, why did Young Master send us to protect this person?" Cheng Le nudged Cheng Ze with his elbow, asking curiously.
"I don't know."
"She looks young, and her appearance is exquisite, with rosy lips, white teeth, and a face like powder. If she were a girl, she'd be very beautiful. But she's a boy, like a pretty boy." Cheng Le turned his head, smiling meaningfully, "Cheng Ze, do you think Young Master has taken a liking to this pretty boy?"
Cheng Ze choked on his wine, his face turning red from holding it in. He glared at Cheng Le, "Don't talk nonsense. If these words reach Young Master's ears, be careful he doesn't skin you alive."
Cheng Le chuckled, "Cheng Ze, you don't need to scare me. I know a thing or two about Young Master's nature. He acts as he pleases, following his whims. But after all these years, have you ever seen him take anyone seriously? He even sent us two to protect this person, showing great care, cherishing them like their own eyeballs."
"Knowing that Young Master cherishes them like his own eyeballs is good." Cheng Ze glanced at Xiao Man sitting downstairs opposite them. "Then you must keep a close watch on them. Don't forget what Young Master said. If this person has any mishap, we will lose our heads."
Cheng Le chuckled, "With the two of us guarding her alone, what kind of mishap could there be..."
Cheng Le inadvertently glanced downstairs opposite them and his expression turned to shock. He quickly got up and ran to the railing, "She's gone, she's gone!"
Cheng Ze's expression changed slightly. He immediately leaped onto the rooftop and looked around, but Xiao Man was nowhere to be seen. "Search quickly. If anything happens, it will be bad."
"Okay!" The two leaped downstairs and went to the opposite side, searching room by room. However, they could not find Xiao Man after searching the entire teahouse opposite. They then searched outside, but still, Xiao Man was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Xiao Man, having changed her disguise, walked past Cheng Le, who did not recognize her. He hurried past, grabbing someone of similar build to Xiao Man, only to find that it wasn't the person he was looking for!
"Damn it, how could this little ancestor disappear in the blink of an eye!" Cheng Le was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. If they lost this little ancestor, their young master would surely skin them alive!
After searching everywhere and not finding Xiao Man, Cheng Le slumped his shoulders, "Cheng Ze, what do we do? That little ancestor is gone."
"If you hadn't kept staring at her, she wouldn't have noticed and deliberately hidden from us." Cheng Ze, having searched everywhere and not found Xiao Man, immediately understood. Xiao Man must have realized they were following her and thus hid.
Originally, with their skills, Xiao Man would not have noticed them. But Cheng Le was too curious about Xiao Man and had peeked at her multiple times. It was likely that this had given away their presence.
"What are we going to do? If we can't find her, how can we explain it to Young Master?" Cheng Le was anxious. He thought protecting a young man would be easy, but unexpectedly, this person had slipped away from under their noses in the blink of an eye and could no longer be found.
"What else can we do? If she's determined to hide, it will be harder than reaching heaven to find her." Cheng Ze also felt disgraced. He hadn't taken it seriously, thinking what trouble such a young gentleman could cause. Who knew he had quite some skill, managing to escape from under their noses.
"Then shall we go back and report to Young Master now?"
"You go back and report to Young Master. I'll stay here and continue searching." Cheng Ze calmly instructed. Regardless of this person's identity, since they were valued by the Young Master, it could not end like this. They needed to find the person.
"Alright, I'll go and send a message to Young Master." Cheng Le immediately went to relay the message, while Cheng Ze continued searching the city. Xiao Man, having disguised herself, had already left the city and was heading towards Fengling City.
Cheng Ze searched the city meticulously but could not find any trace of Xiao Man. He immediately guessed that Xiao Man must have left the city and hurriedly chased after her. However, outside the city, there were many roads leading to different places. If he took the wrong one, he would be going in the opposite direction. He had no idea which road to take!
"Cheng Ze, have you found her?"
"No, I haven't."
"Young Master sent a message back, saying we should go to Fengling City and keep an eye on Jin Yao." Cheng Le handed the paper slip to Cheng Ze.
After reading it, Cheng Ze's confusion deepened. "This young master, could he have some connection with the Jin family's young master?"
"Whether they have a connection or not is irrelevant. Since Young Master has instructed us to go to Fengling City and wait, it means this young master will definitely go to Fengling City!" Cheng Le led a horse over. "Let's go. We've already lost her for a day and a night. If she was traveling by horse, she would have entered Fengling City by now. We should hurry and chase after her."
"Very well." Cheng Ze immediately mounted his horse and headed towards Fengling City with Cheng Le.
However, Xiao Man did not go directly to Fengling City but instead went to Lingyao City, which was adjacent to Fengling City. Lingyao City was famous for its production of spiritual herbs, and they could be bought there. Originally, Lingyao City was not called Lingyao City. Later, because it produced a large quantity of spiritual herbs, and herbs that could not be bought elsewhere could be found here, it was renamed Lingyao City.