Fan Liu clapped his hands and praised:
"Xu Shenquan's reputation is indeed well-deserved. If this case is concluded, it will definitely cause a stir in the government and the public. By then, Xu Shenquan's reputation will probably surpass that of your senior brother."
Upon hearing this, Xu Gongming suddenly darkened his face and said:
"Commander Fan is ridiculously complimentary. I'm ashamed to say that Senior Brother Yang disappeared without any reason, and Xu has no clues so far. He deserves to be called the God of Hunting."
"Master Xu, is his whereabouts unknown because of the investigation into the disappearance of villagers outside Lin'an City?"
Wang Qian asked.
He remembered that Sima Chang had mentioned that Xu Gongming's senior brother was Yang Xingling, who was known as the best hunter in East Vietnam.
"Young Master Wang also knows about this case?" Xu Gongming asked in surprise.
"Master Xu, have you ever heard of Meng Ke? It was from him that I learned the details of the case." Wang Qi'an said.
Xu Gongming suddenly understood, nodded and said:
"It turns out that Prince Wang is a friend of nephew Meng Xian. Meng Xian's father and my senior brother have been close friends for many years. How could I not know him."
"It's strange to say that Senior Brother Yang was ordered to thoroughly investigate the case more than half a year ago. After more than ten days of tracking, there was no progress. In the end, even he himself disappeared inexplicably and his whereabouts were unknown." Xu Gongming shook his head and sighed.
Wang Qi'an walked to Xu Gongming's side and asked in a deep voice:
"Does Mr. Xu have the intention to continue investigating this case?"
Xu Gongming's eyes suddenly lit up, he turned to stare at Wang Qi'an, and said firmly:
"This case has been like a needle in my heart and a lump in my throat for half a year. If you can help me, Mr. Xu, I will be grateful and willing to help you in the future."
"Master Xu's words are serious, but this matter has indeed turned around!" Wang Qi'an said.
The three cities of Hangzhou, Lin'an and Qiantang are close to each other and form an integrated whole.
Hangzhou City is located east of Lin'an and south of Qiantang. Although it is not an imperial capital, it is more prosperous than the other three cities.
When Wang Qi'an and others saw that there were famous prisoners such as Xu Gongming in Quzhou, and Fan Liu's Shenjie army was assisting them, they did not stop any longer.
Everyone disguised themselves and sneaked away, and now the city of Hangzhou is in sight.
"Do you think the Mosasaurus Gang didn't discover us, or do you think they have an ulterior motive?" Sima Chang asked doubtfully.
Everyone was also surprised. Except for encountering Ma Xiyun at the Chu-Wu border, they had never encountered any enemies along the way.
I originally thought that the closer to Hangzhou, the more dangerous it would be, but I didn't expect it to be so calm.
"Perhaps the Mosasaurus Gang has encountered some other troubles that are too much for him to take care of?" Ji Wurui guessed.
Wang Qian's eyes were fixed on the direction of the city gate, and he could see only pedestrians and cars and horses in the tunnel, nothing unusual.
"The Mosasaurus Gang has spent so much effort, there is no reason to give up halfway. There is only one explanation for giving up Brother Sima. They have other plans." He thought carefully.
"What should we do? We have to tell daddy quickly!" Sima Jing said worriedly.
"Yes, since we can't guess it, we have to rush to Sima Mansion as soon as possible!" Wang Qi'an said.
Everyone entered the city without any danger. Sima brother and sister were so anxious that they took the lead and headed straight for Sima's mansion.
Sima Mansion is located in the prosperous area in the north of the city. It has high walls, thick doors, continuous eaves, and two pairs of towering stone lions in front of the door. It is magnificent. It is worthy of being the most famous family in Hangzhou.
Before reaching the gate of the mansion, Sima Chang had already dismounted from his horse. At this time, the guards in front of the gate had already seen who was coming back and hurriedly stepped forward to lead their horses to greet him.
Everyone entered the house and found nothing unusual.
"Is the palace master here?" Sima Chang asked the palace servant beside him.
"The master of the palace has gone out on business!" said the palace servant.
"Where's Manager Qi?" he asked again.
"The steward should be in the counting room." the servant replied.
Sima Chang led everyone to the main hall of the middle courtyard to sit down and drink tea, and then asked people to call the steward Qi Long.
Sima Jing went to the inner courtyard to find her mother.
"The young master is back!" An old man who looked like a private school teacher in his fifties walked through the door and said with a smile.
"Qi has met all the gentlemen!" He saluted Wang Qi'an and others.
"Guanshi Qi, do you know what my father is doing out of town?" Sima Chang asked.
"The master of the palace is going to the Xiaoshan sect for an appointment with Master Xu. He went out with the second master before noon." Qi Long responded.
Everyone was shocked, and Ji Wurui even made a "pop" sound and spurted out the hot tea that had just been in his mouth.
"What? My second uncle is back?" Sima Chang exclaimed.
"The second master came back the day before yesterday. He said that the young master and the young lady were having fun on the road. It may be a few days late..."
Before Qi Long finished speaking, Sima Chang hurriedly asked: "Manager Qi, please tell me where they will go for their appointment."
"Brother, it's not good, dad and uncle are out!"
At this moment, Sima Jing also ran in from the door in a panic and shouted.
"Wangjiang Tower on Jiangxin Island in the east of the city. Master, what happened?" Qi Long asked in surprise when he saw everyone's expressions were abnormal.
"The situation is urgent and I don't have time to explain to you. You call the Xuanwu Guards immediately and follow me to Jiangxin Island." Sima Chang suddenly ordered.
Qi Long knew that the situation must be serious, so he didn't dare to say anything and left quickly.
"Is there anything in the house that your second uncle doesn't know about?" Wang Qian suddenly asked.
"There is a secret room in father's study!" Sima Chang said.
"Jing'er, please take your daughter to the secret room to take shelter first, just in case." Wang Qi'an said.
Sima Jing originally wanted to go together, but when she thought of her mother, she had no choice but to nod:
"Then you must be careful!"
A group of Xuanwu guards gathered outside the gate, and under the leadership of Sima Chang, headed towards the east gate in a mighty manner.
Jiangxin Island is located about 20 kilometers east of Hangzhou. It is a beautiful island in the middle of the open area of the lower reaches of the Qiantang River.
There is a covered bridge on the island connecting the south shore of the mainland. The Wangjiang Tower on the island has three floors. It is the most famous restaurant in Hangzhou. Many good people like to cook wine, tea and discuss business here.
At this time, Sima Shouren and Sima Shouyi were waiting for the guests to arrive in the box on the top floor of Wangjiang Tower.
"Shouyi, didn't you say that Xu Tianheng asked us to be here at noon to discuss important matters. It's already three quarters past noon, why haven't we seen anyone yet?"
Sima Shouren said with dissatisfaction.
"Yes, the leader of the Xiaoshan Sect is too arrogant and rude. He made an appointment with someone, but he is still late. But I wonder if he was delayed on the road?"
Sima Shouyi responded doubtfully.
"Who comes to the door and doesn't come in?"
Sima Shouren said suddenly.
"Master Sima's reputation is indeed well-deserved. Ling just relaxed a little and you noticed it."
A gentle and pleasant man's voice sounded outside the door.
"Ling Dingtian?" Sima Shouren said in surprise.
A man in his forties pushed the door open and saw that he was a strong man with a handsome appearance. He was Ling Dingtian, the leader of the Mosasaurus Gang.
Following closely behind were Ren Ren with a horse face and an old man in black attire with a cross pattern of two axes embroidered on his arms.
"Ling has met Master Sima!" Ling Dingtian said with a smile and cupped his hands.
"Now that Gang Leader Ling is here, I'm afraid all my men left on the second floor are in danger."
Ling Dingtian appeared inexplicably, but Sima Shouren was not panicked and said without changing his expression.
"Don't worry, Palace Master, Ling is not someone easy to kill. They are all lying down."
