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It’s a message from Faceless. Did something happen? Ye Qing thought worriedly as he untied the letter tied to the sparrowhawk’s leg and took a peek. The next second, his eyes turned bloodshot, and a terrible pressure gushed out of his person.

“Brother Frog and Wawa went missing?!” Ye Qing burst out uncontrollably before he forced himself to calm down.

According to Faceless, Kung Fu Frog and Wawa never returned after leaving the Pacification Bureau to explore the city [1] about two days ago. He had dispatched every Pacification Sentinel at his disposal and searched every location they might have visited to no avail. It was almost as if they had vanished into thin air.

“Who in the world would capture Brother Frog and Wawa?” Ye Qing crushed the letter between his fingers as he racked his brain for an answer.

Kung Fu Frog and Wawa couldn’t have gone missing on their own. Wawa was one thing, but Brother Frog was neither stupid nor inattentive. The chances of them somehow getting lost in the city for two whole days without informing Faceless was non-existent.

Moreover, Faceless claimed that he couldn’t find the trace of a battle anywhere. As Kung Fu Frog was a powerful Malice-class Stranger, this could only mean that the kidnapping was premeditated, and their kidnappers were quite powerful. Otherwise, there was no way they would be able to pull off the kidnapping without leaving a trace behind.

So, the culprit was both powerful and a somebody. They should be well aware that Kung Fu Frog and Wawa were his Strangers as well. He had never tried to conceal their existence. In fact, he often took them to the streets so that people would know Kung Fu Frog and Wawa were his Strangers. It was also one of the main reasons Faceless wasn’t scared of leaving Kung Fu Frog and Wawa to explore the city on their own.

Despite this, the culprit still dared to kidnap the duo. There were two possibilities. One, an outsider who just recently entered Luo Shui noticed Kung Fu Frog and Wawa and decided to kidnap them. He couldn’t rule out the possibility, but at the same time, he didn’t think it was very likely.

The second possibility was that one of his enemies had kidnapped them for one reason or another. This was by far the likelier possibility between the two.

His impulse said that it was Wang Luori, but Ye Qing discarded the thought almost as soon as it entered his head. The Hill Lord had just lost his son, and he should be busy plotting bloody vengeance against White Horse Academy right now. He shouldn’t be able to spare him any attention at the moment.

Who else besides Wang Luori had beef with him?

“Could it be the Luo Clan? No, it can’t be.”

“Wait. What about the Strangers lurking within the city?”

Suddenly, Ye Qing recalled the Bronze Toad of Cornucopia. Perhaps one of its friends or family had decided to take revenge?

Silver Toad itself was one such example. It had gathered a bunch of friends and ambushed Ye Qing during the zombie outbreak incident because it wanted to take revenge for Bronze Toad. But realizing that the direct approach wouldn’t work, they decided to kidnap Kung Fu Frog and Wawa to use as hostages instead.

“Yes… I think I’m on the right track!” Ye Qing muttered to himself.

Assuming his theory was true, Kung Fu Frog and Wawa should be safe for now. After all, if the enemy could kidnap them without a trace, they could have killed them just as easily. And if the plan was to kill them, then there would be no need to vanish the bodies. It would just be a waste of time and energy. So, it had to be a kidnapping, and the reason was to use them as hostages.

His eyes shone a cold, murderous glint as he muttered, “It doesn’t matter who it is. Whoever kidnapped Brother Frog and Wawa must pay the price!”

……

“Excuse me!”

Ye Qing made haste for Luo Shui as soon as his mind was made up, but he had just barely taken a few steps when a Taoist wearing a bagua robe and wielding a horsetail-whisk abruptly stepped—or rather, glided out of the nearby forest. That’s right, the man’s feet were floating about half a meter above the ground almost as if he was riding the wind.

Also, the Taoist was moving quite fast despite his seemingly slow speed. He had blocked in front of Ye Qing in just the blink of an eye.

“Stranger?”

The man didn’t look like a Stranger, but then he got close, and Ye Qing caught a whiff of something unnatural. He didn’t hesitate to lash out and punch the guy into oblivion.

“Paper?”

Ye Qing narrowed his eyes as the Taoist burned into ashes. It was clearly a paper doll of some sort. He paid it no heed though. He was in a hurry to get back to Luo Shui and could not afford to waste his time on the pesky little things as usual. Killing it was the fastest and simplest solution.

Unfortunately, he had just taken two steps when another Taoist floated down from a nearby tree. He looked exactly the same as the Taoist from before.

“Wait, friend! Please allow me to s—”

This time, the Taoist spoke as soon as he revealed himself—Ye Qing had proven too impatient for pleasantries after all—but once again, invisible fire suddenly gushed out of its body and turned it to ash.

“Wait… was he trying to say something?”

It wasn’t until after the fact that Ye Qing realized that the Stranger was trying to hold a conversation with him. But then he recalled Kung Fu Frog and Wawa and decided that this outcome was for the best.

While he was passing by a giant rock, a voice suddenly came from above, “Your pets are in our hands, so you best—”

This time, the paper Taoist didn’t even bother approaching Ye Qing. He stood far, far away from the Patrolman and voiced his intention as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t finish his sentence before an invisible wind blew over him and turned him to ash yet again.

“What did he just say? ‘Your pets are in our hands, so you best’... Is he talking about Brother Frog and Wawa?!”

Ye Qing stiffened when he finally connected the dots. Did I just annihilate… a free source of intel?

But what could he do? The months he spent in this world had instilled the need to respond to Stranger threats as quickly as possible, and frankly, it was the paper Taoist’s fault for dying so easily!

“Well, he already showed himself three times. He should have a fourth paper doll in stock… I hope!” Ye Qing consoled himself while rubbing his nose.

There was a chance the paper Taoist would say fuck it and just leave, but since they had purposely come all the way to this place to convey a message, they probably wouldn’t give up so easily.

As expected, a fourth paper Taoist soon floated out of the forest, and he wasted no time in threatening Ye Qing, “Do you want your pets to die this badly, Lord Ye? Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but attack me again, and you will suffer the consequences!”

Ye Qing pretended not to get his meaning, “I’m sorry? What are you talking about?”

The paper Taoist sneered, “You know exactly what I’m talking about. That sparrowhawk just now is your messenger, and I’m willing to bet it told you exactly what happened to your pets!”

Ye Qing furrowed his brow and asked, “I don’t remember offending you. Why would you capture my pets?”

“Is that so?” The paper Taoist replied in a scornful tone, “were you not murder my brothers and sisters in Luo Shui? Or are you so busy that you’ve forgotten all about them already?”

“Plus, I am Stranger, and you are human. We are destined to fight each other to the death since we are born, aren’t we?”

This confirms that a Stranger group affiliated with Bronze Toad or Silver Toad is behind this, Ye Qing thought to himself as he crossed his arms.

“That makes sense. What do you want?”

The paper Taoist replied coldly, “You will learn. Now, follow me!”

The paper Taoist glided forward for a bit when he suddenly noticed that Ye Qing wasn’t following him. He taunted, “You’re not afraid, are you Lord Ye? Or are you planning to abandon your two pets to their deaths?”

Still crossing his arms, Ye Qing smirked. “You said it yourself. Why would I risk my life for mere pets?”

“Is that so?” The paper Taoist sneered and waited patiently. It was as if he wasn’t worried that Ye Qing would choose not to follow him.

His group had done their homework, of course. He knew that Ye Qing shared a deep bond with Kung Fu Frog and Wawa, and that they were close enough to be called family. That was why they went through the trouble of kidnapping them in the first place, and why he knew that Ye Qing would cave in in the end.

As expected, Ye Qing shrugged after stalling him out for a moment longer. “You win this time. Lead the way!”

He just wanted to confirm that the Strangers had definitely done their homework. He was also certain that the Strangers wouldn’t kill him—for now. If they really wanted him dead, they would’ve just ambushed him while he was traveling back to Luo Shui. After all, they knew exactly where he was, so it would’ve been trivial to set up. They probably wouldn’t go through the trouble of kidnapping Kung Fu Frog and Wawa either.

Assuming he wasn’t mistaken, these Strangers wanted something from him, and they were using Kung Fu Frog and Wawa as their bargaining chip.

Finally, the reason he dared to follow the paper doll Stranger was because he was confident in his own strength. It didn’t matter how devious their scheme was, he was certain he was now strong enough to crush it all.

“Hahaha! You’re a courageous man, Lord Ye,” the paper doll Stranger said sarcastically before continuing on its way.

About half a teatime later, the paper doll Stranger led him to a Taoist temple. Almost as soon as they reached the entrance, the Stranger abruptly turned limp and transformed into a palm-sized paper doll. The wind easily blew it away without resistance.

I see. There’s a limit to how long he can maintain these paper dolls. No wonder he needed to bring me to his hideout.

If the paper doll Stranger could maintain the paper dolls indefinitely, there would be no need for him to risk himself like this. He absolutely could’ve held a remote conversation to ensure his own safety.

Of course, it could also be because the paper doll Stranger was that confident in his abilities. Although Ye Qing was now a late-stage Astral Refiner, he still appeared to be an early-stage Astral Refiner on the outside. His blood’s ability to conceal his cultivation was very handy in times like this.

Ye Qing examined the Taoist temple closely. On the surface, it was a lofty and exquisite-looking structure. However, he quickly realized that the entire thing was really made of paper. Even the board hanging above the entrance stated, “Paper Taoist Temple”.

Paper Taoist Temple, huh? An apt name, it is. Ye Qing rubbed his nose to cover up a smirk. I wonder what will happen when I hit it with my Cloud Vaporization Style? Oh, the wolf can’t wait to blow down the piglet’s paper house…

The entrance to the temple swung open, and a bunch of white-skinned and red-lipped paper doll children filed out into the open and split into two lines. Then, they greeted Ye Qing, “This way, Lord Ye.”

This guy is such a show-off, Ye Qing thought disdainfully but obeyed the unspoken command.

At first, Ye Qing was worried that the paper temple wouldn’t be able to withstand his weight. After all, it was made of paper. Thankfully, the structure looked tougher than it seemed, and it was even bouncy to a certain extent. It might be a good playground for children—without the obviously hostile Strangers, of course.

Ye Qing was greeted by the sight of a gigantic tree as soon as he entered the courtyard. It was covered in fruits that were shaped like babies, but their expressions were savage and full of resentment.

1. I usually try to avoid using the word city because I wanna avoid the conundrum of “Is this a town or a city or a metropolis?”, but I just realized if I just say commandery it can be mistaken as the entire territory, so. ☜