166: Chapter 166 Investigation, Take Away

World Martial Arts Tournament venue.

The duels on the arena stages had entered a white-hot phase.

Prodigies from various Sects, as well as famous Martial Artists from the Jianghu, took to the stage one after another, unleashing their trump card techniques.

"Boom!"

A loud crash echoed.

The Young Lord of the Crazy Blade School held a large silver-ringed saber, its blade wreathed in crimson Protective Aura. With a single downward slash, he forced the opposing swordsman back a dozen steps, blade and all.

The blade light shattered the stone pillar at the edge of the arena, sending stone fragments flying.

"What an overbearing blade technique!"

"The Young Lord of this generation of the Crazy Blade School, his strength is likely already approaching the Meridian Opening Realm!"

The spectators below the stage were fired up, their cheers rising in waves.

On another arena stage, the Chief Disciple of the Heavenly Sword School moved with flickering, elusive agility.

With a wave of his large sleeves, several sharp beams of Sword Qi shot out, forcing his opponent into a frantic scramble until they had no choice but to concede in defeat.

The pace of the main tournament was extremely fast.

Within a single day, the top ten spots were decided.

Among these top ten, aside from the true Disciples of the four great Sects, there were top-tier second-rate Schools like the Heavenly Sword School and the Crazy Blade School, and finally, the Loose Cultivators of the Jianghu.

By this count, Loose Cultivators only accounted for half of them; the remaining spots were monopolized by the martial arts Sects.

The ten advancing Martial Artists would now compete for the final championship spots.

Chen Ran sat in the corner, yawning.

He watched the life-and-death struggle on the arena with utter boredom.

"Boring."

Chen Ran stood up.

Rather than wasting time here watching noobs peck at each other, he might as well go back to the Celestial Prison and grind some participation points from the prisoners.

He brushed the dust off his clothes and turned to walk out of the venue.

Just as he reached the perimeter of the venue.

Chen Ran paused his steps.

His gaze swept over his surroundings, noticing that the atmosphere was a bit off.

Many Martial Artists wearing uniform attire were weaving through the crowd, scanning their surroundings with sharp eyes.

They were clearly looking for someone.

Chen Ran glanced at the emblem on their clothes.

A goshawk with wings spread as if to fly.

The Lu Family.

"They move quite fast."

Chen Ran raised an eyebrow.

The Lu Family had clearly realized that Lu Yuzhou had gone missing.

After all, it was a direct-line Young Lord of the Lu Family who had been out of contact for a long time; the Family would surely have sensed it.

But what did that have to do with him?

Chen Ran tucked his hands into his sleeves, pretending not to see them, and continued walking forward.

"This brother, please stay your steps."

A gentle voice came from the side.

Several Lu Family Martial Artists stepped forward quickly, blocking Chen Ran's path.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a kindly face and a very polite demeanor.

"Something up?"

Chen Ran stopped and glanced at him.

The middle-aged man cupped his hands, a smile of apology on his face.

"I am the Lu Family Deacon, Deacon Lu Ming."

"Apologies for the intrusion, please forgive me."

"May I ask, Your Excellency, are you the Celestial Prison Prison Officer, Lord Chen, Chen Ran?"

Chen Ran nodded.

"It is I."

The smile on Deacon Lu Ming's face deepened.

"Lord Chen, it is like this."

"My Young Lord, Lu Yuzhou, has lost contact since last night."

"We found that some say the Young Lord's last appearance was with you, Lord Chen, and Lord Lin of the Six Doors."

"I wonder if you, Lord Chen, might know the whereabouts of my Young Lord?"

Deacon Lu Ming's tone was very polite, even carrying a hint of respect; this was likely because he knew of his close relationship with Lord Lin.

After all, the conversation between him and Lord Lin yesterday must have spread among certain people.

Even if it wasn't obvious now, it wouldn't take many days before the entire capital knew of the relationship between the two.

Chen Ran spread his hands, looking innocent.

"Where the Young Lord of the Lu Family went, how would I know?"

"We did indeed meet last night, but we parted ways after chatting for a few sentences."

"As for where he went afterward, I have no idea."

Deacon Lu Ming stared into Chen Ran's eyes, trying to find any flaws.

But Chen Ran's eyes were clear, without a hint of panic.

"Lord Chen."

Deacon Lu Ming sighed, his tone still gentle.

"My Young Lord's disappearance is a serious matter."

"The Family Head has ordered that we must find the Young Lord's whereabouts as soon as possible."

"Since you, Lord Chen, are the last person to have seen the Young Lord, could you please accompany us to a teahouse to rest for a while and assist with the investigation?"

"Rest assured, we are just conducting a routine inquiry and will absolutely not make things difficult for you, Lord Chen."

As Deacon Lu Ming spoke, he turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation.

The few Lu Family Martial Artists behind him also spread out slightly, sealing off Chen Ran's retreat.

Seeing this formation, Chen Ran couldn't help but want to laugh.

Assist with the investigation?

However.

Chen Ran did not refuse.

He was currently just a small Prison Officer; if he resisted arrest in public, it would only bring unnecessary trouble.

One shouldn't strike a smiling person.

"Fine."

Chen Ran nodded, his tone casual.

"But I'll say this upfront: I don't know anything, so asking me will be a waste of time."

A flash of joy crossed Deacon Lu Ming's eyes.

"Lord Chen is truly reasonable; I am deeply grateful."

"Please."

Under the curious gazes of those around, Chen Ran tucked his hands into his sleeves and sauntered off with the Lu Family members.

...

Lin Manor,

Sunlight filtered through the window screen, casting dappled light and shadows onto a woman with skin like congealed fat.

"Xiao Qian, is what you said all true?"

Lin Wan sat before the vanity, looking at herself in the mirror, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Xiao Qian stood behind her, combing her long hair while nodding with conviction.

Having switched from a single ponytail to long hair, the heroic aura on Lin Wan had weakened a bit, replaced instead by a touch of gentleness.

"Absolutely true!"

"Young Miss, this is a secret trick I learned from a storybook."

"If you want to confirm whether you are truly moved by someone, the simplest way is to go see them."

"If you see him and your heart races, your palms sweat, and you can't even speak properly."

"Then that means you really have fallen for him!"

Xiao Qian spoke with great logic.

Lin Wan listened, stunned.

"Heart racing... palms sweating..."

She muttered to herself, and Chen Ran's punchable face appeared in her mind once again.

When she was held in his arms last night, her heart had indeed been beating quite fast.

"But..."

Lin Wan bit her lip, hesitating.

"What if I see him and don't have these reactions?"

Xiao Qian rolled her eyes.

"Then that just means it was an illusion and you don't like him at all."

"What's there to struggle with?"

"Young Miss, you are a famous investigator of the capital, always swift and decisive in your actions."

"Why do you become so wishy-washy when it comes to matters of the heart?"

Xiao Qian's words struck a chord with Lin Wan.

That's right.

When did she become so indecisive?

Like is like, dislike is dislike.

Go confirm it and you'll know!

"You're right."

Lin Wan slowly stood up, her gaze becoming firm.

"I'm going to find him right now."

She grabbed the sword on the table and strode out of the room.

Xiao Qian watched Lin Wan's hurried back and couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.

"Young Miss acting like this, and she still says she's not moved?"

"It seems the Lin Manor will soon be hosting a wedding."

...

World Martial Arts Tournament venue.

By the time Lin Wan arrived, the main tournament had already ended.

The crowd was gradually dispersing.

She looked around, trying to find that familiar figure in the crowd.

However, after looking around, she didn't see Chen Ran.

"Strange, isn't he responsible for guarding the venue? Why did he leave so early today?"

Lin Wan frowned slightly, a trace of doubt rising in her heart.

She had no choice but to check the few places Chen Ran often frequented to see if she could bump into him.

But there was no sign of Chen Ran at the first few places.

It wasn't until she went to a teahouse he often visited that she received news about Chen Ran.

Lin Wan walked up to a waiter who was clearing tea sets:

"Young man, may I ask if you have seen a young man wearing the attire of a Prison Officer, who looks roughly like this..."

Lin Wan described Chen Ran's appearance to the person opposite her.

The waiter was stunned for a moment, then reacted.

"You must be talking about Prison Officer Chen; he often comes here to drink tea."

"I remember he was just sitting here drinking tea a moment ago."

The waiter pointed to an empty seat in the corner.

"However, he left with a few people about an incense stick's time ago."

Lin Wan's heart tightened.

"Who did he leave with?"

The waiter scratched his head, finally recalling:

"It seems it was people from the Lu Family."