"Living in the cracks, eking out a living under the sticks... Captain Chen is a brilliant man, summing up their plight in one sentence..." Yue Shan laughed heartily, becoming even more interested in Chen Yuan.

"And?"

Chen Yuan and Yue Shan exchanged a glance.

Yue Shan gently shook his head:

"It's a pity that Yue has little interest in women, and the cultivation technique I practice forbids breaking the body before reaching the Ning Gang realm."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow, somewhat skeptical.

Not interested in women, yet frequenting brothels?

As if seeing through Chen Yuan's thoughts, Yue Shan continued:

"Yue is here at the instruction of Lord Zhang, to cultivate my focus in this brothel."

"Cultivating focus in a brothel..."

Seemingly absurd, but upon closer reflection, it wasn't entirely unreasonable.

"However, since you wish to speak with me, why not today? I'd like to see what your purpose is in approaching me with such care."

Yue Shan didn't hide anything, then stood up and walked towards the door.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes at Yue Shan's departing figure and followed.

On the second floor, Su Xiaoyue, draped in a red纱 shawl, watched their departing figures, her eyes flickering, pondering something.

......

South of the city,

Inside a certain restaurant.

Yue Shan was ushered into the best private room. Without needing to say much, Chen Yuan revealed his identity, and the restaurant owner, with a discerning eye, prepared everything.

They ate and drank to their fill.

Chen Yuan smiled at the mess on the table. Yue Shan truly lived up to his tall and sturdy physique, having consumed at least twenty pounds of meat.

And he still seemed to be hungry.

"Wang Ping, you can leave for now." Chen Yuan waved his hand.

Wang Ping understood, nodded, picked up the regulation long saber placed to the side, walked out of the private room, and stood guard at the door without looking sideways.

Yue Shan gulped down a large bowl of wine, exhaled a long breath, placed his chopsticks in the bowl, and wiped his mouth:

"Captain Chen, if you want to talk about something, just say it. If it's within my power, I'll help, but if I can't, don't blame me for not trying."

In Yue Shan's view, Chen Yuan had gone to the trouble of befriending him because he wanted something from him.

It was only because Chen Yuan was quite to his liking, otherwise, Yue Shan wouldn't have given him the time of day in the Misty Rain Pavilion.

A county town constable, a ninth-rank official, was a significant figure to ordinary people, but to those within the Sky Patrol Department, he wasn't much.

Not to mention him, even the county sheriff and magistrate wouldn't receive much respect if they didn't want to give it.

The Sky Patrol Department always acted arrogantly.

"Brother Yue misunderstands. I'm not asking for your help, but rather offering you a reward." Chen Yuan tapped the table with his fingers, maintaining a calm demeanor.

"A reward?"

Yue Shan frowned, not quite understanding what Chen Yuan was up to.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He remembered Chen Yuan mentioning the heretics of the Wusheng Sect earlier, and he stared at Chen Yuan, saying:

"You're not talking about something related to the Wusheng Sect heretics, are you?"

Chen Yuan nodded:

"Brother Yue is right, it's about the Wusheng Sect heretics."

"You know their whereabouts?"

Yue Shan was instinctively a bit skeptical.

"I wouldn't say I'm one hundred percent certain, but I'm about seventy percent sure..." Chen Yuan said with a calm expression.

"You're not trying to fool me, old Yue, are you? Matters concerning the Wusheng Sect are not to be taken lightly, otherwise..." Yue Shan's expression was very serious.

Chen Yuan smiled and asked:

"Does Brother Yue think I'm the kind of person who likes to joke?"

"You really know?"

Yue Shan stared directly at Chen Yuan.

"Absolutely!"

Chen Yuan didn't back down.

"With such news, why not report it? Why come to me?"

Although Yue Shan was large, he wasn't dim-witted, at most a little slow. He easily picked up on some of the oddities in Chen Yuan's words.

"Report it, heh..."

A trace of coldness flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes, and he mocked himself:

"Is reporting it useful? The last time the Sky Patrol Department investigated the whereabouts of the Wusheng Sect heretics, they let them escape. What does that mean? It means that there are definitely Wusheng Sect heretics hiding in Ping An County.

"And what did the yamen do? They pushed me, a mere Blood Refining realm martial artist, to the position of constable to investigate the whereabouts of those heretics, while they remained indifferent!

"Every single one of them is occupying a position without doing any work, treating human lives like grass.

"Haven't I reported it? No, I have. But they told me not to continue investigating, that the constable's responsibility is to arrest criminals and maintain public order."

"Bang!"

Chen Yuan slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and said righteously:

"How many decisions can a small constable like me make? Their goal is stability, to remain safe and sound until their term ends, not to uncover the Wusheng Sect's secrets!"

"Brother Yue, I'm afraid there are many such officials within the Sky Patrol Department's files as well."

Yue Shan's face was gloomy and cold, and he snorted:

"These guys are simply scum, actually letting the Wusheng Sect heretics run rampant!"

"Yes, these are all scum, but I am not. I am determined to eliminate the Wusheng Sect heretics. You may not believe that I'm selfless, and in fact, I'm not, but I have a blood feud with them!"

"My elders died at the hands of the Wusheng Sect heretics. From that moment on, I, Chen Yuan, vowed to never coexist with them!"

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes, and his face was full of determination.

His gaze slowly swept over Yue Shan, and a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He was playing the sympathy card, and the purpose, in addition to strengthening the relationship, was to make that Lord Zhang lower his guard against him.

There are no fools in the world. Chen Yuan was eagerly revealing the whereabouts of the Wusheng Sect heretics, and anyone would suspect the hidden purpose behind it.

And Chen Yuan didn't want to be noticed too much.

Yue Shan was silent for a long time:

"To be honest, my entire family died at the hands of the Wusheng Sect, which is why I joined the Sky Patrol Department, to seek revenge!"

"Since you've said so, after I return, I'll report to Lord Zhang, and mobilize the Sky Patrol Department's experts to encircle and suppress the Wusheng Sect!"

"Brother Yue, thank you. I came to you because I had no other choice." Chen Yuan sighed.

"You're quite to my liking, rest assured, this matter will definitely succeed."

Chen Yuan nodded solemnly:

"Good."

This time, Chen Yuan was indeed taking advantage of Yue Shan, but whether for him or for Chen Yuan, it was a good choice, and it saved Chen Yuan from having to go to the Prefecture City to try every means to persuade that Lord Zhang.

"Captain Chen, before, I, old Yue, was being petty, thinking that you approached me because you wanted something from me. I didn't expect..." Yue Shan's face was somewhat ashamed.

"Brother Yue, Yuan does this not only for our blood feud, but also to save the hundreds of thousands of people in Ping An County from the ravages of the Wusheng Sect heretics!"

"Enough said, it's all in the wine."

Yue Shan picked up a bowl of wine and drank it all in one gulp.