Chapter 21

Meanwhile, at the government office of Gourian CIty.

In a rectangular-shaped yard, the ground was marble-tiled, off which the glaring sunlight was reflected. A grand hall with over a dozen vermilion red pillars was open directly toward the yard.

The City Chief, Soan Danqy, was sitting in front of a lengthy table at the head of the hall. Behind him was a sprawling picture that depicted an exotic, majestic crane soaring while spreading its wings amid an azure sky featuring a blazing sun.

Across the table from Soan Danqy were four people, the heads of the Zaner, Ney, Le, and Zein families.

The four of them were largely in control of all sectors of the Gourian City.

Le Finn was among them, unsurprisingly.

He wore a golden-thread-stitched vest with a crimson-jade-jewelled cap on his head. He was stroking his beard unhurriedly, seemingly pondering.

The five of them, including the City Chief, kept silent.

The Zaner family's head was a muscular, bald old man. The Zaners were in control of all the restaurants, brothels, theaters, and casinos throughout the city and could be counted as the most powerful family of the four.

As the silence dragged on, the Zaner family's head spoke first.

"City Chief Soan, you ordered us to search for the person and the item, so we summoned our subordinates to do it. At first, we thought that it was just a trivial matter.

But until now, over a dozen of our men have gone missing, life and death unknown. Now, the situation was too grave, with so many human lives hinged on it.

If you still keep from telling us the truth, then we might not go on acting on your order."

Le Finn stood by and watched and was in no mood to speak.

The heads of the Neys and Zeins appeared to share the same plan.

The City Chief, Song Danqy, knitted his brows tightly before releasing a long sigh.

"This order was given from on high. I am acting on the order as well.

These few days, so many eerie things took place one after another. I asked the monks from the Redlotus Temple to hold several sessions of exorcism rituals, yet they produced little effect.

Those bounty hunters on their missions do not return till now, with their life and death unknown... The case in the Wein village outside the city has not been solved until now.

I summon all four of you here to work out a proper approach to handling the two cases.

Gourian City is the common city of ours, after all."

Le Finn and the other two family heads remained speechless.

However, the Zaner family head said while sniggering,

"The search will be put aside and stopped first.

As for the Xavir family's case, if you have no solutions, I can assign a good hand to look into it. However, should our Zaner family bear the cost of his services alone?"

"If he can indeed solve the case, I promise him a handsome sum of bounty. " Soan Danqy made his attitude clear straight away.

"I will add one thousand silver coins to the bounty."

"Me too."

Le Xaan chimed in the next second.

"And I." The last family head echoed, generously contributing one thousand silver coins as well.

"Alright, the Xavir family's case is now taken over. But what about the Wein village's case?" The City Chief now had another tough nut to crack.

"The case in Wein village... Is it about the concubine who drowned herself in a well? In that case,why not directly render a legal judgement?"

The Ney family's head remarked in a casual tone.

"I also wish to do as you say. But the current problem is that we can't find her body down in the well. It was gone without a trace.

Several people assured us that they saw the concubine throw herself into the well with their own eyes. And we did find a trail of footsteps around the well..."

The City Chief shook his head while saying.

"It's a period of turmoil..." Le Finn, upon hearing all this, sighed inwardly.

And then, the terrified expression of the Xavir family's head crossed his mind and made his heart skip a beat.

Back in the Le Mansion, Le Xaan was sitting cross-legged on the bed in his bedroom. With his intense focus, he was visualizing a crane vigorously flapping its wings, poised for flight. Nonetheless, as it kept trying with all it had, it remained aground.

Le Xaan went on for a while before slowly opening his eyes. He took the manual out from his bosom and opened it.

On the first page was depicted an ethereal crane spreading its wings. Its poised stance, ready to soar into the sky, with its front facing toward Le Xaan, made him feel a little oppressed.

Le Xaan gazed at the picture for a while before closing his eyes and continuing training once again.

After he tried a total of four times, the sunlight shining in from the windows gradually dimmed.

Qiki had called him to eat several times, but Le Xaan brushed her aside. The door was closed all the time while he went on practicing.

The crane appeared more and more vivid and vibrant in his mind.

As nightfall descended, Le Xaan, still seated on his bed, opened his eyes immediately.

Puff...

He let out a long breath.

Then, he drew a deep breath, clearly feeling a thread of air shaped like an oval within his chest, rotating on and on slowly.

Le Xaan relaxed himself and felt a little tired, then called in his mind:

"Deep Blue."

Immediately, the window of the cheat tool popped up before him.

In one of the boxes, beneath the Black Tiger Blade Style, another line of text appeared.

"Jade Crane Skill: Inexperienced."

"Let me give it a try."

Le Xaan focused his mind on the button right away in fear that the thread of air would vanish.

The window flashed a little as the button was pressed.

Le Xaan then shifted his focus onto the 'Jade Crane Skill'.

"Up by one level!" he murmured to himself.

The description of the 'Jade Crane Skill' flashed.

It changed from 'Inexperienced' to 'Novice'.

Le Xaan immediately sensed a thread of air flowing toward his abdomen.

An oval-shaped stream of air kept swirling between his chest and abdomen.