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墨書 Inktalez
Putting down the tray, the maid excitedly approached Liu Qingxi's bedside, saying, "Miss, you’re awake!"
The girl had a round face and big, adorable eyes, looking to be in her teens with a youthful innocence.
Liu Qingxi's mind went blank; she completely did not understand what was happening. Hadn't she been kidnapped? Why was her treatment not as she had imagined for a hostage? Wasn't she supposed to be in a shabby room, tied up and thrown on the floor?
Looking around at the room's decor, it exuded understated luxury, far from a place where an ordinary person would reside.
And the maid's attitude? So enthusiastic? Was this really how a hostage was treated?
As she rubbed her sore neck, struggling to recall what had happened before she fainted, the maid chattered on.
"Miss, you finally woke up! You've been asleep for quite a while. Does your head still hurt? The doctor said to rest well; once the swelling goes down, you'll be fine."
"Oh, by the way, are you hungry? I brought you some food. Would you like to eat? Oh dear, I almost forgot! You've been sleeping for so long; let me go get some water for you to wash up."
She turned to leave when Liu Qingxi hurriedly called out, "Wait."
"Miss, do you have any instructions?"
"Don't go yet. Where is this place?" She urgently wanted to figure out where she was, what had happened to Yang Yichen, whether he knew she had been kidnapped, and what their intentions were.
The maid immediately smiled and replied, "Miss, you were brought back by my master. You fainted when you arrived; he asked me to take care of you. As for anything else, I don't know."
"But if you want to know more, you can ask my master when he comes."
Well then, she hadn't received any valuable information, but she could be certain of one thing: she must have been rescued midway and had not become a hostage of those kidnappers.
So who was the master of this place?
No matter how hard she thought about it, Liu Qingxi decided to set it aside and quietly observe the room while waiting.
Soon, the maid returned to assist her with a simple wash and then prepare a meal.
"Miss, you have slept too long. It's best to eat something light now to nourish your stomach."
Liu Qingxi did not respond, instead analyzing her situation while eating, considering the purpose of her being kept here.
Looking outside, the sun had just risen, indicating it was morning. The maid had mentioned she had slept for a while, and when she returned from the suburbs, it was still noon. Therefore, it must be around two o'clock now.
This meant she had been missing for almost an entire night.
Maple Lane and the Yang Family had been in chaos since noon yesterday, with maids, servants, and guards coming and going.
Liu Yi and Liu Qi lay half-conscious on the bed, trying to recall what had happened at that time.
After hearing the final account of events, Yang Yichen immediately left and arranged for his family members to search for Liu Qingxi throughout the capital.
Instead of going elsewhere, he headed to one of his strongholds, currently the largest weapon shop in the capital. This shop was originally the first blacksmith shop opened by Yang Yichen in the city.
At this time, after several years of development, the shop had expanded more than twice its original size, with a spacious backyard covering a large area.
Yang Yichen's arrival prompted everyone in the shop to gather urgently. "You all go investigate what happened around noon yesterday in the dense forest five miles from the suburbs. Look into the whereabouts of the Young Lady."
"You few, conduct a sweep of the capital!"
"And you all, check our recent business dealings for any enemies we may have made."
One command after another was issued as those below quickly sprang into action.
Yang Yichen felt his heart tightly clenched. If anything happened to Liu Qingxi, he could never forgive himself.
Why didn’t he send more people? Why didn’t he follow her to ensure her safety?
What good was all his power? The moment he learned that Liu Qingxi was missing, he realized how weak his strength truly was and understood that he was not in control.
His heart felt as if it had been lost at that moment, empty and helpless like floating duckweed.
But he could not give up. He set aside everything, arranged for all available personnel, and personally initiated a thorough search in the capital.
Even the Inorganic Gate's entire force in the capital was dispatched to find Liu Qingxi's whereabouts.
However, Liu Qingxi seemed to have vanished from this world without a trace. Even the place where she had been abducted the day before left no clues behind.
It was evident that the other party had come prepared, erasing any possible traces and leaving him with no direction to search.
Now, nearly twelve hours had passed, and Yang Yichen hadn’t blinked, feeling anxious and searching through the capital like a puppet over and over again.
He had never known that without her, his world would be dull and lifeless.
The people he sent out returned one after another, bringing no useful information. Yang Yichen had never felt so powerless.
In nearby cities, he had also drawn upon the Inorganic Gate’s influence to closely monitor any news around the capital, checking if anyone had left the city with an eighteen-year-old girl.
However, the results were negative.
At this moment, the Wen Family was completely collapsed at home, crying: “How could this happen? She was perfectly fine when she left in the morning; how could she just disappear in the blink of an eye?”
Her sorrow was no less than Yang Yichen’s because in her heart, Liu Qingxi was already like a daughter to her—perhaps even closer than her own.
"Mother, I will keep searching and definitely bring her back."
He strode out with determination.
Now he vaguely suspected that the other party did not intend to take Liu Qingxi's life at that time, but must have had some ulterior motive. However, after all this time, no one had come looking for them. Why was that?
After arriving at the dense forest for what felt like the umpteenth time, Yang Yichen crouched down to carefully examine the few footprints left on the ground, as well as the direction of fallen leaves and the underbrush in the forest.
Suddenly, his gaze stopped at one of the footprints.
In an instant, a realization dawned on him. No wonder there had been no clues before; these traces left behind were not original. Gently peeling back the fallen leaves, he discovered that beneath these footprints, there were other faint marks visible.
The other party had deliberately left these to confuse them, preventing them from finding the true trail.
Now he could be certain that the person had headed toward the capital. Since there was no record of Liu Qingxi entering or exiting through any of the capital's entrances, it was clear that the other party had hidden her inside without coming out.
The search area was suddenly reduced by more than half. He immediately ordered to withdraw most of the people outside the city, leaving only a few to guard the exits of the capital.
At that moment, more good news arrived. A Dong came to report: "Master, I have investigated. Recently, we only have two competitors in business, both local residents of the capital. I have checked their homes and found nothing unusual; they can basically be ruled out."
So, there were no results? Yang Yichen's heart sank immediately.
However, A Dong continued: "Master, there seems to be an issue with Inorganic Gate."
"What is it?"
"Master, previously some people from Neighboring Country contacted us quietly to purchase weapon blueprints from Inorganic Gate. Our people knew about our recent collaboration with Western Moon and directly rejected them. So, I was wondering if they couldn't make their business deal and found out your information, which led to Young Lady being kidnapped."
Although this was just A Dong's speculation, Yang Yichen could almost confirm that this was indeed the case.
"Go to all the inns in the capital and check for any recent guests from other countries. Don't overlook the inns."
Hmph! Just because he refused to cooperate with them, they resorted to harming the people he cared about the most. It seems these people are tired of living.
Do they really think that he, the Master of the Inorganic Sect, is easy to deal with?
Two quarters of an hour later, the results came in—indeed, there were people who had entered the capital in the past few days.
Moreover, these individuals were completely unreserved, boldly staying at the most luxurious inn in the capital.
They were truly asking for trouble!
Yang Yichen gathered his internal energy and instantly vanished like a shooting star, quickly appearing in the room of those individuals.
A few men were gathered together, seething with anger, gritting their teeth as they cursed that unexpected Cheng Yaojin.
This time they came to the Western Moon; their mission was difficult. The Inorganic Gate had rejected their request, and without access to the latest weapon designs, their country would inevitably suffer greatly in future conflicts.
The rapid strengthening of the Western Moon Kingdom's military within such a short time filled them with fear.
Only then did the emperor resolve to reform their weapons so as not to be crushed by the Western Moon Kingdom.
Naturally, the best place for weapons was the Inorganic Gate; unfortunately, those people looked down on their orders.
After months of investigation, they finally uncovered Yang Yichen's secret identity. They decided to take a risky move by attempting to kidnap Liu Qingxi to threaten Yang Yichen.
Who would have thought that just when they were about to take Liu Qingxi away, a man in black suddenly emerged from the shadows and snatched Liu Qingxi from their grasp.
"We can't fail this mission; if we go back empty-handed, it's certain death."
"Boss, can we just go after Yang Yichen directly?" a younger member whispered.
With a thud, the one called Boss punched him: "Are you stupid? The Young Master of Inorganic Gate is not an easy target. Although he is skilled in weapon crafting, there are rumors in the martial world that his martial arts are as unfathomable as the weapons he creates."
"What should we do then? We can't attack him directly, and if we fail to deal with his associates, he'll definitely be on high alert next."
"Let's wait a bit longer. After the storm passes." Right now, the capital was filled with people searching for them; they were hiding in an inn and didn't dare to go out.
At this moment, they felt fortunate that they had chosen a local to book the room and had disguised themselves before entering.
The most dangerous place is often the safest; no one would suspect they were staying in the most luxurious inn.
But is that really the case? They were truly underestimating Yang Yichen's strength.
Outside the door, the conversation of these individuals clearly reached Yang Yichen's ears.
He exchanged glances with his subordinates nearby, and they suddenly burst through the door.
Before their opponents could react, they subdued them.
After an initial panic, the one who looked like the boss asked nonchalantly yet fearfully, "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Right, on what grounds are you arresting us? We are just staying at the inn and haven't broken any laws."
A Dong and Anan remained silent! Hadn't broken any laws? Just based on what they did to Young Lady, they deserved no mercy.
The group’s minds raced as they quickly thought of ways to escape.
At that moment, Yang Yichen appeared in black clothing, his expression stern, with bloodthirsty cold black eyes. The stubble on his face did not detract from his handsomeness; instead, it added a hint of ruthlessness and defiance.
"Ha! Why should I catch you? Aren't you the ones looking for me?" Yang Yichen smiled, but the cold aura surrounding him seemed capable of freezing anyone in place.
"Uh..." The leader's words got stuck in his throat, unable to rise or fall.
"How is it you!" The flesh on his face trembled slightly, his gaze evasive, heart racing.
Just a moment ago, they had been feeling pleased with themselves, but now they found themselves in a bottomless abyss.
They never expected that Yang Yichen would find this place so quickly.
"Where have you taken the person?" His icy black eyes seemed to look upon them like corpses, devoid of any light. The darkness in his gaze resembled a massive whirlpool, ready to swallow them whole.
"I... I don't know." The burly man wished he could bite off his own tongue as he stammered.
Why did this man seem more terrifying than an adult?
They had been ordered to lie in wait and capture Yang Yichen's family as leverage.
If they failed, they would face inhumane torment.
And that adult was the most cold-blooded and untouchable person in the Northern Wu Kingdom.
Sometimes, they would rather lose their lives than be brought before that individual.
But now, the fear deep within their souls was growing stronger.
"Don't know? Take them away!" Yang Yichen didn't waste any time with them and directly ordered their capture.
Exiting through the back door of the inn, the group drew no attention as they made their way to a weapons shop. They entered a room in the back courtyard, and with a rotation of a mural on the wall, a hidden passage appeared.
Upon entering, they discovered a hidden chamber, but when the members of the Northern Wu Kingdom saw the scene below, they swallowed hard, their legs trembling, wishing they could faint.
This was a private torture chamber, filled with eighty-one different instruments of torture that appeared ordinary but were anything but.
Yang Yichen did not give them a chance to speak; his subordinates were quickly assigned their respective positions from all directions.
Without any words exchanged, the beating began immediately, with barbed iron whips, terrifying branding irons, and more.
The whips tore into flesh, leaving bloody chunks behind, the smell of charred skin filled the air, and the sound of bones breaking and being reset echoed sharply.
"Ah!!!" Cries of agony escaped their lips, pleas for mercy unable to leave their mouths as various instruments were used on them.
Yang Yichen did not allow them a moment to think because he could not wait!
Liu Qingxi had been missing for an entire night; he did not know where she was or if she was in danger at that moment. He dared not think further. He told himself she would be fine and was waiting for him to rescue her.
Thus, every minute and second was precious. For these individuals, severe torture was the quickest way to pry open their mouths.
"Don't stop!" Yang Yichen's voice was cold and piercing as A Dong and the others were ordered to carry on.
"Ah ah ah!" Each time they lost consciousness, a bucket of concentrated saltwater would splash down on them, causing excruciating pain as their skin split open and their bones ached. Finally, one of them spoke up.
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