"Welcome to our Le Mansion."
A careworn, pale-faced middle-aged man was currently seated in the room.
He was portly in stature, attired in a snowy white robe trimmed with silver and adorned with patterns of copper coins. On his chin, he sported a neatly combed goatee.
This portly man was right Le Finn, who had just come from Le Xaan's room.
"Are you here for the bounty?" Le Finn asked while sizing up the duo.
Youny Geey had lustrous skin, rosy cheeks, and a broad forehead. His gaze was piercing, and his back was ramrod-straight. Had he changed into a long robe, Youny Geey would have looked more like a refined scholar.
Ronri had a pretty visage, her aura laced with innocence, and her eyes constantly darting from one place to another. She seemed more like a runaway young lady disguised as a female monk.
"Yes. My name is Youny Geey. My cleric name is Returning Sun."
Youny Geey first introduced himself and then added,
"This is my disciple, Dquan Ronri. We're here to assist you with the recovery of missing people."
"Please take a seat, both of you."
Le Finn stretched out his hand, gesturing for them to sit down.
After the two of them took seats, a servant girl soon served cups of tea and dishes of tea snacks on the table.
"The details of these occurrences are already written clearly on the notice. However, if you want to accept this assignment, you will need to meet my son, Le Xaan.
He was in charge of evaluating the completion of this bounty mission." Le Finn then added, "Of course, as long as you can help to some extent, regardless of the outcome, our Le family will gift you a hundred silver coins at least."
Youny Geey and Dquan Ronri had no objections to these words.
Le Finn then asked about their ages, their homelands, and the location of their monastery.
Youny answered these questions all patiently.
Before long, another few people were ushered into the drawing room, including two monks from Redlostus Temple, a wandering monk, and a vagabond hero.
The rogue hero had a dagger hung at either side of her hip. Her attractive countenance gave away her gender.
A while later, Le Finn led all of them toward Le Xaan's room.
The Le Mansion sprawled over a large stretch of land, occupying one-third of Gourian City's busiest district, with one end of the Mansion extending to the city wall, proclaiming the Les' affluence without a word.
Among the local powers, the Le family was considered the wealthiest.
Following Le Finn, they trod unhurriedly along and spotted many guards armed with swords or blades on their way to Le Xaan's room.
All of these guards were tall and brawny, standing in an upright stance. They could tell that these guards were well-trained.
When he saw these guards, Youny Geey's expression turned solemn.
"The Le family seems quite powerful..."
Dquan Ronri wondered,
"What's the big deal? The Le family looked nothing different than the wealthy families we have encountered before. "
Youny Geey shook his head.
"That's not what I mean. Look at these guards. Their bearing and conduct suggest that they must have been disciplined in the military for a long time. The Le family must have a military background. They looked like veterans or even soldiers on active service."
"A military background? How could such a powerful family have to put up a notice seeking help? It looks like they are in deep trouble."
Dquan Ronri was greatly surprised by Youny Geey's deduction.
The group walked over a hundred meters before coming to a yard before a house.
Neighboring the house was the drill ground, from which the incessant noises of guards in training could be heard.
The Eldest Young Master of the Le family, Le Xaan, was now lying on a recliner with a pallid face, his body swathed in a thick fur blanket. He looked somewhat frail or ill. The scent of herbal medicine permeated the air all around.
Youny Geey carefully studied Le Xaan. At first glance, he could tell Le Xaan's body was drained of vitality, a sign of his unrecovered injuries.
"Greetings, esteemed heroes and valiant souls."
Le said while coughing hard, then clasping his hands as a sign of respect.
"As you see, my body is not in the best condition due to some injuries, so please forgive me for not being able to stand up to welcome you properly."
"Young Master Xaan, you are too polite."
One of the monks from Redlotus Temple, clerically named Master Genuine Lake, stepped forward while remarking,
"The Le family has many devotees to our Redlotus Temple. Our Abbot, upon learning of your troubles, immediately dispatched us here to give your family a helping hand."
"Thank you, Master. And please convey my gratitude to your Abbot."
Le Xaan replied with a smile.
Then, the wandering monk, who came here alone, started querying about the details of the bizarre events.
Le Xaan responded to his questions seriously.
While listening to Le Xaan's answers on the side, Youny Geey went on observing Le Xaan.
"He must have been injured not long ago, and his body is now plagued with ghostly Qi."
After examining him meticulously for a while, Youny Geey could roughly determine Le Xaan's physical condition.
"You mean, the Le Mansion is the source of the thing we have been looking for?" Dquan Ronri asked in a low voice.
"I'm not sure... the concentration of ghostly Qi here does not seem particularly high." Youny Geey shook his head.
At this moment, Le Xaan proposed that all of these people demonstrate what abilities they possessed.
The wandering monk in solitude grinned at Le Xaan.
"Okay. Let me do it first."
The monk retrieved a stone out of nowhere and then crushed it with great force.
"Swish..."
Fine stone powder slipped through the gaps between his fingers and got blown about by a breeze.
The surrounding people stared at him, awestruck.
Apparently, this feat posed a significant challenge to them, perhaps even to the most accomplished cluster of martial arts experts in Gourian City.
The rouge hero showed a serious expression on her face, her eyes fixated firmly on the solitary monk.
Now, even Youny Geey held the solitary monk in high regard.
To bare-handed turn a stone into dust, one must have deep cultivation in an inner body Qi cultivation method. He had never expected he would stumble upon such an expert here.
The guards and servants who stood around also could not help but make surprised noises.
Le Xaan gazed at the monk yet did not say anything, knitting his brows tightly.
The monk smirked while asking,
"What's your opinion, Young Master Xaan? Are you impressed with my trick?"
Le Xaan slowly expelled a breath of air before his gaze became menacing.
"Isn't this the smell of limestone powder? You actually dare to fool me, you charlatan! Hold him down!"
The surrounding people were stunned.
Before they could react, two burly guards walked up and grabbed the wandering monk by the shoulders, pressing him to the ground.
The monk struggled and screamed, but he was still held firmly in place. His strength, which was sufficient to crush a piece of stone into powder, seemed to be of no use now.
He was simply an ordinary man!
"Young Master Xaan, how should we deal with him? Should we alert the authorities?"
One of the guards asked in a coarse voice. This guard had witnessed Le Xaan's prowess last night when he executed that female ghost. Now, he had already become a loyal supporter of Le Xaan.
Le Xaan looked at the monk disgustingly.
"No, there is no need to do that. Just execute him here and now."