Lu Yan was desperate to get the treasure himself, but he knew that was impractical, so he had to swallow his impatience and turned away, lest he attract Fang Xiong's suspicion.
Wang Lin took the big box at Meng Qi's behest while Meng Qi took the small box and looked at the contents. Satisfied, he nodded and pulled out the silver tickets inside. He passed one to Lu Yan and two to Wang Lin, pocketing the rest.
Lu Yan took a look at his and found that it was a silver ticket with a face value of a hundred taels. Without any change in his expression, he put it away into his pocket.
"Let's go."
Meng Qi got up and walked out, with Fang Xiong escorting him all the way to the door.
Once back at the Red-clad Mansion, Lu Yan couldn't help but think about Fang Xiong's 'treasure'.
"Usually, to become the head of a gang, at least they would need to have had their Fourth Breakthrough. I wonder what Fang Xiong's cultivation level is?"
Lu Yan pondered.
Before he had a clear understanding of Fang Xiong, making a move would be unwise.
As night fell, Lu Yan donned his disguise and headed towards the headquarters of the Green Bamboo Gang.
Lu Yan didn't plan to forcefully rob, but to investigate and, if there were an opportunity to 'casually walk out with it', that would be ideal.
At night, there were still people patrolling around the exterior of the Green Bamboo Gang's headquarters, and gang members stood guard at the gate.
However, these were mostly ordinary people who were strong at best. There were perhaps one or two who had achieved their First Breakthrough, but they posed no threat to Lu Yan.
Avoiding the patrol members of the gang, he used his strength and easily leapt over the wall onto the roof, quietly entering the depths of the Green Bamboo Gang's headquarters.
The Liuhe Kick came in handy on this occasion; he wouldn't have been able to pull this off before.
After jumping over several buildings, the faint sound of conversations reached his ears.
Lu Yan, hidden on a rooftop, looked down and his face turned grim.
Fang Xiong, escorted by a group of elite gang members, had surrounded several horse carriages.
One of the carriages opened, and a gang member yanked a child out from the inside.
She was a girl, about five or six years old, wearing ragged clothes patched up here and there. Her mouth was gagged to hinder her cries for help.
The little girl looked at all the Green Bamboo Gang members in fright, her frail body shaking slightly, and her tears flowed unceasingly down her cheeks.
"Hmm, decent condition. Bring the next one."
Fang Xiong pinched the little girl's face, inspecting her closely, then handed her over to his men to be taken into one of the buildings.
Next, a gang member pulled another child out from inside the horse carriage.
It was a boy, around six or seven years old, dressed in worn-out clothes; at a glance, one could tell he came from a very poor rural family.
Fang Xiong gave him a look, and the boy was taken away as well.
One after the other, more children were dragged out from the carriage.
They ranged from boys to girls, the youngest being three or four and the oldest seven or eight. Altogether, there were more than ten children.
"Child trafficking."
Lu Yan clenched his fists, a strong killing intent swelling within him.
He wasn't a saint who can sympathize with all living things, but he had an intense loathing for child traffickers. They were downright scum who deserved to be hacked into a thousand pieces.
However, in the end, Lu Yan still restrained himself and didn't make a move.
A hasty move could not only prevent him from rescuing the children, but he could also be dragged down in the process.
What if Fang Xiong was in his Fifth Breakthrough?
Lu Yan wasn't confident in his chances against a Fourth Breakthrough, let alone a Fifth. Besides, the Green Bamboo Gang wasn't devoid of other formidable people.
"It seems like I have no choice but to manipulate others into doing the killing for me."
After contemplating for a while, Lu Yan formed a plan in mind and quietly withdrew.
Upon returning home, Lu Yan penned a letter detailing the Green Bamboo Gang's child trafficking activities starkly.
The next day, Lu Yan found Meng Qi and handed over the letter.
After reading through it, Meng Qi's face became as dark as water.
"Lu Yan, is what you've written true?"
Meng Qi asked.
"Absolutely," said Lu Yan.
"How did you discover the Green Bamboo Gang's child trafficking operation?"
Meng Qi questioned.
"A while back, some villagers from Xiaotang Village came to me, saying that children from their village had gone missing. So, I conducted a secret investigation and found that the Green Bamboo Gang was the culprit."
Lu Yan relayed the excuse he had prepared beforehand; he certainly didn't mention that it was the Dao Book that had led him to investigate.
"Why didn't you mention this yesterday?"
"I wasn't entirely certain yesterday. But last night, while I was hiding near the Green Bamboo Gang's headquarters, I observed them transporting several carriages inside, which I suspect contained the missing children," Lu Yan explained.
Meng Qi pondered for a moment and said, "If what you are saying is true, this operation of theirs is colossal. To transport children freely in and out of the city's gates..."
"Who else knows about this?"
"Only I."
Lu Yan said.
"You've done well, I will now send someone with you to the Green Bamboo Gang's headquarters to keep an eye on them and prevent them from sending the child away. I will immediately request the captain to dispatch our top fighters to take down the Green Bamboo Gang in one swoop."
After Meng Qi finished speaking, he called in three people, all of them were from the Seventh Squad of the Red-clad Guard, Zuo Yi, Gan Bu, and Song Jiacheng.
Among them, Zuo Yi had achieved the Third Breakthrough, while Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng had each achieved the Second Breakthrough.
After recounting the situation, the four men immediately left the Red-clad Guard and headed for the Green Bamboo Gang's headquarters.
"The Green Bamboo Gang has a large number of members. If we take the main road, we'll easily be discovered and alert them. It would be better to take a side road, hide around their headquarters, and wait for our captain and the rest to arrive unnoticed."
On the way there, Zuo Yi suggested.
"That makes sense."
"I agree."
Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng nodded one after another.
Since the other three agreed, Lu Yan had no reason not to.
"I know a secluded path, follow me."
Zuo Yi took the lead, with the others following behind.
Shortly afterwards, they arrived at a remote alley, surrounded by dilapidated and seldom inhabited houses.
Whew!
Suddenly, from behind Lu Yan, came a whooshing sound, and a blade light slashed towards Lu Yan's neck.
However, as if expecting this, Lu Yan quickly turned around, drew his sword and blocked it in front of him.
"So, you guys really are up to something."
Lu Yan's face darkened as he looked at Zuo Yi's trio.
The one who attacked was Gan Bu.
Just a moment ago, Zuo Yi was leading the way, with Lu Yan directly behind him, while Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng were at the back.
Now, the three had Lu Yan surrounded.
"It seems you were on guard, but where did we give ourselves away?"
Having failed to kill Lu Yan with his surprise attack, Gan Bu asked leisurely, acting as if everything was under control.
In their eyes, that was indeed the case.
Among them, one had achieved the Third Breakthrough and two had achieved the Second Breakthrough, while Lu Yan had only made the First Breakthrough. Wasn't that a sure win?
Even if Lu Yan had concealed his Cultivation Level and was on the Second Breakthrough, there was only one outcome - death.
They always covered their tracks impeccably.
"Wang Lin and I are primarily responsible for monitoring the streets where the Green Bamboo Gang's headquarters is located. Given such a major incident, calling you three instead of Wang Lin is very strange."
Lu Yan said.
"Just because of that? You think we have a problem?"
Zuo Yi said.
"That alone is enough. You must always be cautious. Life in this world is cheap, and I can't be too careful."
Lu Yan replied.
"Being careful? What good does that do you? If you were truly careful, you wouldn't have taken the back road with us."
Gan Bu sneered, his Qi-blood surging, ready to kill Lu Yan.
But Lu Yan moved first. Dropping his sword, he punched at Zuo Yi.
The old strategy always worked - kill the strongest first.
Zuo Yi was no fool. Seeing Lu Yan's calm demeanor, he had already raised his guard. When Lu Yan's punch came, he slapped out in return.
However, no matter how smart he was, he could not have imagined that a fifteen-year-old boy would have cultivated a martial art discipline to the stage of Unity of Man and Martial Arts.
Crack!
The moment their fists met, Zuo Yi's arm bone snapped, piercing through his muscle, and protruding out.
Lu Yan followed up with a punch to Zuo Yi's chest. His chest caved in, and the sternum pierced his heart. His body was thrown eight meters away. His eyes bulged out, seemingly incredulous, but he was already dead.
After sending Zuo Yi flying with a punch, Lu Yan did not pause for a moment and turned to attack Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng.
Neither of them had expected Lu Yan to kill Zuo Yi with two punches. They didn't even react in time.
By the time Lu Yan was upon them, they were just recovering. Their reactions, however, were completely different.
Gan Bu instinctively swung his blade in defense, while Song Jiacheng turned to run.
Lu Yan sidestepped the blade and punched Gan Bu in the neck.
Gan Bu's neck bone shattered and his head hung limply behind him. He fell to the ground with a thud.
With a few quick steps, Lu Yan caught up to Song Jiacheng.
Hearing the wind from behind, Song Jiacheng knew he couldn't escape and suddenly turned around...