"Yes, the Jiangsu Prefecture has almost been turned upside down by our people, but thereâs no news at all, as if theyâve just vanished into thin air."
Ye Yi found it strange too; how could that old man disappear when he hadnât left their sight?
"Keep looking," Ye Ziâan said coldly, "donât just search for an old man and a young boy, they might have disguised themselves as an old woman and a young girl."
"Yes, Iâll send out the orders right away."
Hearing that there was still no sign of Yangyang, Yang Chuxia was heartbroken and worried, yet still relatively calm. After all, she had considered that with two months already passed since the lead was found, they might have long since left.
At that moment, Yangyang, whom they were desperately searching for, was tied up hand and foot inside a carriage.
The old man who had been with him all along was also tied up, huddled in the corner.
"Damn it, where are they taking me?" After wandering outside for days, Yangyangâs previously chubby little face had thinned, revealing a sharp, pretty little chin.
"Help! Help...!"
After a few shouts, the old man, who had been keeping his eyes closed, opened them, "Pfft, stop yelling, thereâs no one on this road, otherwise they wouldâve stuffed your mouth with a smelly sock long ago."
"Damn old man, itâs definitely you whoâs offended someone again," Yangyang glared at him, "Being with you brings nothing but trouble. Youâan old manâare even more short-tempered than me, offending so many people along the way. I had to wipe your ass for you."
Yangyang jabbered on, "My mother gave me so much silver, and itâs all gone to clean up your mess. Iâm telling you, when we get out of this, you have to give me at least twenty of those strength-enhancing pills for free, or Iâll cut your little thing off."
"Bah!" The old manâs eyes widened, "You shameless brat, twenty pills? Thatâs daylight robbery! I only spent three thousand taels of your silver, and youâre asking for twenty pills?"
"Whoâs the shameless one here?" Yangyang rolled his eyes, disdainfully, "In Ning Family Town, Shandong, you stole a thousand-year-old ginseng, and I left a thousand taels for them. In Shandong Prefecture City, you stole Muâs Clinicâs precious flower, and I left three thousand taels. In Zhejiang, you burned down a pleasure boat; damn it, you left without me, causing me to pay five hundred taels to get out of it. In Jiangsu, are you out of your mind? Instead of burning the prefectâs house, you burned the neighborâs? Do you know how much that mansion was worth? That three-section courtyard was at least worth eight thousand taels."
"I was afraid of getting struck by lightning, so I left them five thousand taels. You old fool, Iâve repaid so many of your debts, and you have the nerve to say itâs just three thousand taels?"
As Yangyang complained, the old manâs face darkened a bit more.
When it came to burning the house, he grinned and said, "How was I supposed to know that house looked so much like the prefectâs? I didnât mean to burn the wrong one. And besides, why do you have to give them money? You could just not pay."
"Do you think Iâm like you? I canât do such wicked things. If you damage someoneâs property, you have to compensate them. Also, taking things without asking is theft. Taking someone elseâs things is wrong, and to not leave them any silver is even worse."
"Bah, donât make it sound like Iâm the one taking advantage of you. The martial arts youâre learning couldnât be bought for even a hundred thousand taels."
The two argued so loudly that the carriage driver couldnât help but scold them, "What are you arguing about, donât you have any sense of being kidnapped?"