Chapter 58: Isn’t This a Bit Too Considerate!

Soon, Zhao Chengyun arrived before them. His expression was somewhat somber, and his steps were hurried, as if something urgent had happened.

"Two Immortal Masters."

"Third Prince, coming in such a hurry, have you completed your investigation?"

"Hmm... there are some leads..."

Luo Xing's brow furrowed imperceptibly. 'Some leads already? It's only been a few days. Is the Kingdom of Tianyan really this small? Or do you have 5G internet here?' He strongly suspected that the royal family had a hand in this and were fabricating false leads to appease him.

As if sensing Luo Xing's doubt, Zhao Chengyun quickly added, "But it's not the entire Kingdom of Tianyan—only the Imperial Capital..."

"The Imperial Capital?" Dai Zifu asked. "You mean... the Imperial Capital also..."

"Exactly," Zhao Chengyun said in a low voice. "Since my Imperial Father ordered a full investigation, officials from every prefecture have been looking into missing persons cases from recent years. The Imperial Capital has also been conducting such an investigation."

They hadn't known until now, but upon investigation, they discovered that over the past few years, there had been numerous missing persons cases in the Imperial Capital as well. All the missing were young men and women between seventeen and twenty years of age. However, most of the missing came from ordinary families. After searching for a while with no results, the authorities simply marked the cases as trafficking and hastily closed them.

Luo Xing felt a bitter pang in his heart upon hearing this. But he said nothing, only silently took a sip of tea to swallow the bitterness. 'Just because these people are from ordinary families, they just brush it off like this...'

"Two Immortal Masters," Zhao Chengyun said earnestly and seriously, "What should we do now?"

He was asking for help. After all, they had already failed to find the missing people, and there might be evil cultivators behind it—not a problem ordinary mortals could solve. As for the Stellar Sect... his Imperial Father had said that if nothing was conclusive yet, it would be unwise to have the Stellar Sect come all this way for nothing.

"First of all, don't make a big fuss, especially not investigating this matter openly," Dai Zifu said seriously. "If we alert the enemy, other accidents may occur."

Zhao Chengyun nodded slightly. "Understood."

"Then investigate in secret—see if any strangers have secretly entered the Imperial Capital in recent years," Luo Xing added. "If I'm not mistaken, your royal family should have a secret organization that answers only to you."

"Uh..." Zhao Chengyun looked surprised. "Immortal Master Luo, how do you know?"

'Heh...' Luo Xing chuckled inwardly. 'Isn't this standard procedure? Embroidered Uniform Guards, Black Ice Terrace—ancient imperial traditions!'

After receiving some instructions from Luo Xing and Dai Zifu, Zhao Chengyun rose and took his leave to report back to his Imperial Father.

"Junior brother," Dai Zifu looked at Luo Xing, "Any ideas?"

Luo Xing frowned and shook his head. "For now... no."

No clues, no traces—as if the culprit just suddenly snatched people away.

"And what about the royal family?"

"Can't trust them yet."

Dai Zifu asked, "Why? Aren't they cooperating very well now?"

Luo Xing said gravely, "Same as before—you can trust one person, but you can't fully trust a group of people." Who knows if there are one or two special individuals in the royal family? And it's possible that one of them has allied with the evil cultivator behind this. If that were the case, everything would make sense.

Dai Zifu: "What's your plan then?"

Luo Xing: "Find time to go to the Imperial Palace again and see all the royal family members."

Then, based on the hundreds of episodes of Detective Conan and mystery novels he'd watched and read, he'd see who had that villainous aura only he could detect.

...

Night fell. Luo Xing slipped out of Cheng Mansion when no one was around and headed to Zhenyue Tower from memory.

Don't misunderstand—he wasn't going for pleasure or to listen to music. He was going to find that girl Er Ya. First, to see the poor little girl; second, to confirm something.

The skill [Scent Detection] had gained a skill point from the fragrance on Er Ya's body. Luo Xing still didn't know why. Hong An hadn't returned yet, and his own cultivation was insufficient to directly confirm whether Er Ya had a talent for cultivation.

But today, the clues Zhao Chengyun provided gave him an idea. People were disappearing in the Imperial Capital too, which meant the culprit was brazen enough to snatch people right under the Heavenly Swallow Monarch's nose without being caught. Either this person wasn't afraid of the Tianyan royal family, or they themselves were part of it. If Er Ya really had cultivation talent, she was probably in danger now.

After all, no one knew what these abducted people were taken for. Luo Xing certainly didn't believe the culprit was just inviting them for tea.

Soon, Luo Xing arrived at Zhenyue Tower. When the madam saw him, she immediately beamed.

"Yo~ young master..."

"Stop!" Luo Xing stepped back, overwhelmed by the pungent scent of cosmetics on her. He frowned and said gravely, "One private room, some food, no alcohol—just a pot of good tea."

'Tch... If it weren't for Er Ya, I wouldn't want to come to this damned place.'

"Alright~" The madam's fat cheeks squished her eyes into slits, her smile suggestive. "I understand. Young master, this way please~"

Luo Xing: "..."

'For some reason, that woman's smile is giving me a bad feeling...'

...

Perhaps because Luo Xing was a "VIP," the moment he stepped into the private room, the dishes and tea he ordered were brought in right after. And the madam was very considerate—knowing Luo Xing had come for Er Ya, she called Er Ya over without him having to ask. However...

"What does this mean?" Luo Xing stared at the row of beautiful, slender young girls before him, his face dark. "When did I ask you to call them?"

'Isn't this a bit too considerate?!'

A flash of confusion crossed the madam's beaming face. "Eh? Young master doesn't want them?"

Luo Xing pinched his aching brow. "When did I say that?"

"But..." The madam clearly hadn't caught on. "The Third Prince gave such instructions."

He had specially sent someone to tell her that in the future, if Hong An or Luo Xing came to Zhenyue Tower, all expenses would be on his account, and to prepare plenty of young and beautiful girls because Luo Xing had a taste for such things.

After hearing the madam's explanation, Luo Xing was so angry he wanted to grab his sword and rush to the Imperial City to chop Zhao Chengyun down. 'What do you mean I have a taste for such things?! Explain yourself! Do I look like some creepy uncle with weird fetishes?!'

"Out! Out! Out!" Luo Xing couldn't be bothered to explain. He waved his hand dismissively, signaling the madam to take the girls away. "Just leave Er Ya. Everyone else out!"

The madam didn't understand why Luo Xing was so irritated, nor why he didn't want the other girls. Wouldn't more be better? But she didn't dare say anything to defy Luo Xing. After all, in this place, money was king, status was king, and someone like Luo Xing who had both was even more of a king. Not only did she have no problem sending these girls out, she'd even stay herself if asked—no issue at all!