The Fourth Calamity: My Sect Has Countless Prodigies

Chapter 60 Investigating the Thatched Cottage

Three days ago, in Lianyungang Market.

Li Fan took out a bag of spirit stones and cheerfully dealt with Inspector Liu, who was collecting fees for the cave dwelling.

This was his rent for the first month in Lianyun Market, a full 10 spirit stones. For him now, this was a huge sum of money.

If this drags on any longer, Li Fan will likely find himself unable to make ends meet and will be unable to continue his investigation in Lianyunfang City.

"No, we need to hurry."

With this thought in mind, Li Fan quickly got up, intending to go to Baicaotang again.

For the past week, in order to avoid being exposed, he has been secretly gathering all sorts of information.

However, due to the current intense situation, Li Fan dared not be too flamboyant, so the information he obtained was not of much value.

As his thoughts raced, Li Fan unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Baicaotang.

He casually stepped across the threshold and walked to the front desk of Baicaotang:

"Shopkeeper, give me a low-grade first-level healing pill."

"Alright, fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. You can go to the rest area and sit down. I'll have the waiter bring it to you in a bit."

Li Fan nodded, then walked to the rest area next to him and found a seat.

Before long, a waiter came over with a package of healing pills.

Li Fan took the pill, glanced at it casually, and handed 5 spirit stones to the shopkeeper.

The waiter was taken aback, and subconsciously spoke:

"Young master, our Baicaotang healing pills only cost 4 spirit stones."

Li Fan smiled and replied:

"It's alright, consider this extra spirit stone as your tip."

Upon hearing this, the waiter's face quickly lit up with joy.

For a servant like him, a single spirit stone was enough to earn him several days' wages.

Li Fan handed over the spirit stones and casually started chatting with the shopkeeper.

As they chatted, he consciously steered the conversation toward the recent incident involving counterfeit medicine from Baicaotang.

"By the way, didn't a woman cause trouble at Baicaotang a few days ago? She even said that Baicaotang sells fake medicine, which was really creepy."

"Young master is referring to the fake medicine. Our manager has already dealt with it. However, we heard that the woman was instructed by someone else, but we don't know what the situation is."

"Um……"

As Li Fan had expected, the Lin family had already sent people to investigate, but it was unknown whether they had found any results yet.

Thinking of this, Li Fan had a sudden thought and casually said:

"Hey buddy, do you know if anything strange has happened at Baicaotang lately?"

The young man carefully recalled the events of the past few days and shook his head.

Seeing this scene, Li Fan was somewhat disappointed, but it was also expected. What could a mere waiter possibly know?

But just as he was about to leave, the young waiter seemed to remember something and suddenly spoke:

"By the way, young master, it seems that someone else asked me some similar questions these past few days."

"But I'm not as generous as you, young master."

The young waiter gave an awkward smile, his expression somewhat subtle.

Li Fan was slightly taken aback, and immediately asked about the person's features.

The waiter gave a brief description: a man dressed in gray, thin, who loved to drink tea at the teahouse opposite Baicaotang.

Time flew by, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Fan sat in a teahouse, calmly sipping his tea, his gaze fixed on the doorway.

A thin man in a gray robe walked in.

According to Li Fan, this was already his third day at the teahouse.

Moreover, every day, his eyes were fixed on Baicaotang across from the teahouse.

"If there's no problem, who would believe that?"

Li Fan sneered inwardly.

As the sun sets, evening arrives before we know it.

The man in the gray robe stood up and left the teahouse.

Seeing this, Li Fan did not hesitate and immediately followed.

The man in the gray robe was also cautious, seemingly to avoid being followed. He wandered through the complex streets of Lianyun Market, making many turns, before finally entering an alley on the east side of the market.

If it weren't for the Soul Banner in Li Fan's storage bag enhancing his perception, he would have been lost by this gray-robed man long ago.

The man in the gray robe stepped into the alley, and even cautiously glanced back a few times before entering a secluded little house after confirming that no one was following him.

Li Fan didn't rush to alert the enemy, but instead quietly noted down the location from a distance.

He had some knowledge of this area from his previous intelligence gathering.

It was a gathering place for some independent cultivators.

These independent cultivators are different from those in the shantytowns outside. They generally have higher cultivation levels and fixed methods for earning spirit stones, so they can live permanently inside the market.

"How dare a rogue cultivator provoke the businesses of three major families?"

Li Fan had some doubts.

But he quickly realized that, as the saying goes, all the world's hustle and bustle is for profit. If one had to guess the culprit of something, the first person to look for would be the beneficiary.

The biggest beneficiaries of defaming Baicaotang's reputation will undoubtedly be other shops that also deal in medicinal herbs.

However, the barriers to entry for those who specialize in selling medicinal herbs are extremely high, and there are only a handful of such businesses in the entire Lianyungang market.

Therefore, for Li Fan, it was only a matter of time before he could find out the identity of the gray-robed man and the possible mastermind behind him.

Sure enough, he found out the man's identity in just one night.

It was Jishitang, a well-known pharmacy in Lianyungang that sold medicinal herbs.

"Now we have the basic information, but what should we do next?"

Li Fan scratched the back of his head, somewhat troubled. He had basically grasped the information, but he still couldn't figure out the method.

It was already evening, so he simply logged off and logged into the game forum.

A few taels of silver: "Brother Crouching Tiger, are you there? It's urgent."

A fan of cilantro: "Missing persons return."

Running Knife Rat: "It's rare to see the Silver Broken Boss finally showing up."

Seeing their sentiments, Li Fan bit his lower lip, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart.

For the past week, he has been struggling in Lianyungang City, and he hasn't even had the time or the mood to post on forums.

Crouching Tiger Hidden in the Forest: "Suiyin, what's going on over here? Tell me quickly."

Li Fan quickly recounted the whole story, instantly causing an uproar among the players.

Running Knife Rat: "Big Boss Broken Silver, it seems being a spy really isn't easy."

Cangfeng Mingyue: "After seeing the Silver Broken Boss, I realized that farming can be pretty good too."

I'm Not a Sword Immortal: "We both accepted hidden quests, so why is there such a big difference between us?"

……

The players were initially moved, but soon offered their own thoughts.

Big Sword: "I have a plan."

I'm Not a Sword Immortal: "No, you have a plan too?"

Big Sword: "I think Silver Broken Boss can just tie that guy up and torture him to extract a confession, right?"

"I'm just a worthless life anyway, so I'll keep going. At worst, I'll be a hero again in a day."

I'm Not a Sword Immortal: "@Yi Tian, ​​Yi Tian, ​​I think this guy is going to get banned again."

Li Fan's expression faltered as he read the message about the "Great Sword." After all, what normal person would come up with such a bizarre method?

Loves cilantro: "I think the big spender can lie low for a while longer and keep gathering information."

I'm Not a Sword Immortal: "Actually, it's difficult. Opportunity knocks but once. What if that gray-robed man moves to a different spot? Wouldn't we be finished?"

When the stars of humanity shine brightly: "Brother Crouching Tiger, stop lurking! The organization needs you!"

Crouching Tiger Hidden in the Forest: "The Sword Immortal is right, this matter really cannot be delayed."

"I think we can try this first..."

The next morning.

Zhao Liu woke up in the mansion, washed up, changed into a gray robe, and planned to go to the teahouse to continue gathering information for his master.

To his surprise, a stranger suddenly appeared in front of his door.

"Fellow Daoist, we don't seem to know each other. What brings you to my doorstep?"

Zhao Liu frowned.

But the young man in white in front of him did not rush to respond, but instead gave him a faint smile.

It was this smile that threw Zhao Liu into a panic.

"What...what do you do?"

Zhao Liu took a step back and swallowed hard. He felt that the young man in white in front of him was somewhat strange.

"I was sent by the master. You've done a poor job, so you're done for now."

Li Fan sneered.

The streets were deserted in the early morning, with only a few gusts of cold wind brushing against Zhao Liu's cheeks, making him feel a chill down his spine.