After leaving Ren Yue's house, Long Chen entered 'The Deserted Swallow Tavern' and handed over Ren Yue's letter to the bartender named Old Su.
He left the tavern quickly and headed towards the prison.
There was no commotion in prison. It seemed as though Lian Ming had yet to reveal what had occurred to her subordinates.
No one had any idea that Ren Yue was already out of her cell.
In fact, Lian Ming didn't appear in her office today. She was home, looking after her husband and her son.
The officers gossiped that their friends in the Law Enforcement Department mentioned she showed up there and requested protection for her family.
The Law Enforcement Department naturally heeded her request and assigned three guards to her family. The leader of these guards was a 3 Star Warrior and a trusted officer who had worked for Lian Ming.
Lian Ming was satisfied upon seeing that her family was protected.
Now that she had resolved her family's safety issues, Lian Ming was planning to get back at that masked man.
She had to find Ren Yue and then find out that masked man's true identity.
However, Lian Ming couldn't utilize the Law Enforcement Department's assistance in this matter.
Lian Ming's prestige had already dropped significantly as she failed to destroy the JRA's base even after such meticulous planning. She also couldn't disclose the JRA's connection with the Mayor out of concern that what the masked man had said might actually occur.
Amid this, if it were revealed that Ren Yue had escaped from the prison, Lian Ming's prestige would take another hit.
In fact, Lian Ming was expecting that masked man to reveal this information to destroy her reputation further. It would be a fatal hit as Lian Ming would probably be demoted after this and transferred to another town or city.
However, this didn't occur.
"Is he planning to release this information after taking Ren Yue outside Suqui Town?" Lian Ming wondered.
This made sense.
But when he talked to me that day, he seemed somewhat worried about the strength of the private organizations. Amid this, he wouldn't weaken the Law Enforcement Department.
Around this time, Long Chen finished his work in the prison and returned to his house.
He changed his outfit and wore something casual before heading towards Ren Yue's house.
As soon as he entered the street of Ren Yue's house, Long Chen noticed multiple individuals secretly keeping an eye on him.
They were all hidden on rooftops while observing this area.
Long Chen soon walked towards Ren Yue's house and knocked on the door.
He heard some voices from inside the house, and the door opened. An old man with many wrinkles opened the door. His hair had turned white, suggesting his great wisdom due to his comprehensive experiences.
Meanwhile, the old man appeared startled upon gazing at Long Chen's face. He asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Long Chen. I am the one who rescued Miss Ren," Long Chen spoke calmly.
The old man seemed startled as he heard this information and stepped aside, "Please come inside. The young lady has been waiting for you to return."
Long Chen didn't doubt those words. He stepped inside, and the door slowly closed.
Long Chen noticed three extra pairs of sandals and shoes, which indicated that there were three more individuals in the house apart from him and Ren Yue.
These were most likely Ren Yue's subordinates belonging to her organization.
He entered the living room, where Ren Yue sat on a chair, her subordinates standing before her with solemn expressions.
Ren Yue's other two subordinates were middle-aged men with toned bodies. They had standard brown hair and dark black eyes. They gave off a relatively disciplined aura.
The old man who opened the door suddenly spoke respectfully, "Young lady, this man claims to be Long Chen, who saved you."
"I was waiting for you!" Ren Yue's eyes twinkled with excitement upon seeing Long Chen arrive.
All her subordinates instantly turned to gaze at Long Chen. They were slightly displeased when they noticed a calm look on his face. He hadn't even bowed to Ren Yue.
Long Chen smiled, "I apologize for making Miss Ren wait. So, have you bought those metals?"
Ren Yue showed a troubled expression upon hearing that question.
At that moment, the middle-aged man standing before Ren Yue could no longer hold back from saying, "You boor. How dare you talk so informally to the young lady?!"
Long Chen was a bit taken aback upon seeing this middle-aged man's outrage. He realized that talking informally to Ren Yue might truly have been a bit inappropriate. Their status was completely different.
"…There is no need to be so formal with me," Ren Yue suddenly stood up and approached Long Chen.
She then stared at the man who reprimanded Long Chen, "Uncle Hu, he is my friend. Please don't intimidate him like that ever again."
The man named Hu Jie seemed dissatisfied upon hearing this command but nodded thoughtfully.
"As you say, young miss."
Ren Yue turned her head in Long Chen's direction and said, "The financial condition of my faction is a bit delicate since I was in prison for the last three months. I can only buy thirty kilograms of those metals. Can you still repair my meridians?"
Long Chen contemplated for a few seconds and spoke, "It will depend on you, Miss Ren. You need to endure tremendous pain and remain conscious throughout the entire procedure. If you fall unconscious, nearly half of the energy from the power stones will be lost. It will be impossible to reconstruct your meridians perfectly. If the quantity of these power stones were fifty kilograms, you wouldn't need to stay conscious during this process and suffer such tremendous pain."
"…How can we be sure that this technique will work? I have never heard of this Revolving Yin Merit Law," The other middle-aged man named Peng Gen spoke with a sneer.
"That's right. How can an ordinary man like you possess such a cultivation technique?! How can we be sure that you aren't planning to harm young lady," Hu Jie spoke with a snort. He stared at Long Chen with a disdainful look.
Ren Yue was really furious upon hearing her subordinates admonish Long Chen. She shouted, "Uncle Hu! Uncle Feng! I would really like it if you didn't disrespect my friend like that!"
The two seemed to be somewhat distressed upon hearing Ren Yue's order. But they quickly focused their resentments on Long Chen and glared at him hatefully.
"That's enough from the two of you. This man is the young lady's savior. You are truly embarrassing young lady by targeting him like that," The old man next to Ren Yue suddenly spoke.
This old man held great prestige in Ren Yue's faction. His words had a lot of authority, and the two middle-aged men could only lower their heads in dissatisfaction.
"Please don't rebuke them like that. It's only natural for them to be suspicious of a stranger and be doubtful of this cultivation technique. I can only request you trust me and give me a chance. I promise I will not fail your trust," Long Chen spoke.
"Sir Hu, Sir Feng, I won't harm Miss Ren. If I wanted to harm her, I could have done so in the prison when I came to meet her," Long Chen spoke.
Hu Jie and Peng Gen seemed delighted to hear these words. They had thought Long Chen would use this opportunity to insult them, but instead, he was taking their side. He even talked to them so respectfully.
Hu Jie spoke, "…Hmph. Looking at the young lady's face, I am willing to give you a chance. However, if you dare to harm young lady, I swear I will cut you apart!"
"I would expect nothing less," Long Chen spoke.
"Grandpa Mo, please go out and buy thirty kilograms of the power stones on this list," Ren Yue ordered the old man.
"As you command, young lady. I will return as soon as possible," He spoke before heading out of the house.
After the old man was gone, Long Chen turned to Ren Yue's direction and spoke, "Lian Ming has hidden the news of your freedom from her subordinates. She can hide this news only for a week."
Ren Yue spoke, "That's good. Grandpa Mo also told me that because of their recent battle with the JRA, the Law Enforcement Department is weak now. Even if they find the truth after this week, they can't assign any officers to capture me."
"That's correct," Long Chen agreed with her analysis.