12: Pursuit of the murderer

In the end, Qin Feng couldn't bring himself to be heartless. He found paper and a brush, then used his left hand to write crookedly:

[To Doctor Chu: The Flower Picking Bandit has set his sights on Miss Xiao Chun. Do not let her go out alone these days under any circumstances. This is a matter of life and death, please take heed!]

He folded the letter, spent a few copper coins to hire a child playing on the street, and instructed him to deliver it to Doctor Chu himself at Huichun Medical Hall.

"This is all I can do... The warning has been delivered. If they take extra precautions, they should be fine, right?" Qin Feng felt a bit more at ease, believing he had done his best.

However, at dusk, a rapid knocking at the door shattered his sense of security.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Who is it?" Qin Feng approached the door warily.

"It's me, Chu Yunhe!" Doctor Chu's voice came from outside, suppressed with immense anxiety and anger.

Qin Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly opened the door. He saw Doctor Chu standing outside, his usual ethereal and refined air completely gone. Dust clung to the hem of his robe, and his eyes were as sharp as knives, staring fixedly at him.

"Doctor Chu, how did you find..."

"You wrote that letter today, didn't you!" Doctor Chu interrupted him, his tone resolute. "It still carries the scent of a 'certain unique medicinal ingredient' I prepared for you last time! I followed that scent and the child's directions, asking around until I found you here!"

Qin Feng was speechless; he hadn't expected the old doctor's sense of smell to be so keen, let alone his mind to be so meticulous.

"Xiao Chun... something happened to her!" Doctor Chu's voice trembled slightly. "This afternoon, a patient in the south of the city needed medicine delivered urgently. I intended for her to go with two assistants... but, but they had barely left the city when they were attacked in a secluded spot! The two assistants were killed with a single palm strike, and Xiao Chun... is missing! The scent of the medicine on her was even intentionally erased by the scoundrel."

Qin Feng felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his whole body turning cold. It happened after all!

"I saw the letter... but I... I didn't dare to fully believe it! I thought, how could a wanted criminal like him dare to act inside the city in broad daylight..." Doctor Chu's face was filled with regret and self-reproach, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Did you report it to the authorities?" Qin Feng asked hurriedly.

"Hmph!" A flash of ferocity crossed Doctor Chu's eyes. "The Six Fan School? All their men are currently busy suppressing the conflict between the Fierce Tiger Gang and the White Tiger Gang. For 'minor matters' like a few dead commoners or a missing apprentice, they only give a perfunctory record. No one is investigating immediately!"

He suddenly took a step forward, his powerful aura instantly locking onto Qin Feng, his usual gentleness gone. "Speak! How exactly did you get information on the Flower Picking Bandit? What else do you know? Speak quickly! Otherwise, don't blame this old man for disregarding our past relationship!" The pressure of the Martial Master Realm (or perhaps even higher) emanated faintly, making Qin Feng's breath hitch.

Qin Feng's mind raced. He knew he couldn't hide anything now, but he absolutely could not expose the System. Meeting Doctor Chu's overbearing gaze, he said urgently, "Senior, do not worry! This Junior also happened upon it by chance, accidentally discovering the Flower Picking Bandit's tracks and some of his habits! He shouldn't have gone far yet. I know he has a temporary hideout outside the city, and he likely took Miss Xiao Chun there!"

"Where is it?!" Doctor Chu grabbed Qin Feng's arm with such force that it felt like his bones might break. "You're coming with me! Right now! Immediately! If it's true, this old man will owe you a life! If it's false..." He didn't finish the sentence, but the cold glint in his eyes said everything.

"Alright!" Qin Feng agreed without hesitation.

Xiao Chun had helped him at a critical moment. Thinking of such a lively young girl falling into the hands of a flower-picking thief, he wouldn't be able to live with his conscience if he couldn't save her.

An inconspicuous green-canopied carriage was swaying as it drove out of the North Gate of Star South City.

Inside the carriage, Xiao Chun's hands were tied behind her back, her mouth stuffed with a cloth. Her large eyes were filled with tears of terror, and she let out helpless muffled sounds.

Opposite her sat a man wearing a silver half-face mask and a brocade robe, with a feminine and sinister aura—it was indeed the Flower Picking Bandit. He leisurely admired Xiao Chun's fear, reaching out a finger adorned with a jade thumb ring to flirtatiously stroke her smooth cheek.

"Hehe, little beauty, don't struggle. It's your fortune to be noticed by this Young Master. Once we reach our destination, I'll make sure you experience the ultimate pleasure of being a woman..." His voice carried a hair-raising gentleness.

The carriage reached the city gate, where the guards were performing routine inspections.

"Who's in the carriage? What's your business leaving the city?" a soldier asked, lifting a corner of the curtain.

The Flower Picking Bandit remained calm, casually flicking two silver coins that landed precisely in the soldier's arms. His voice was flat. "A female family member has fallen ill, and we are in a hurry to seek medical attention outside the city."

The soldier weighed the silver coins in his hand and glanced at the bound, tearful Xiao Chun inside. Assuming it was an internal matter of a wealthy family and not wanting to meddle, he waved them through. "Pass!"

The carriage passed through the city gate without hindrance, leaving the bustle of Star South City behind as it headed straight toward the desolate mountain wilderness to the north.