Chaos and monsters begin with the red dragon's clone.

In the woods atop the mountain, four corpses lay twisted and not far apart, blood splattered everywhere. Scattered white lime on the ground still bore some messy footprints. The man and woman with the black and white graffiti arrived here, glanced at the scene, and their solemn expressions softened considerably.

"Judging from the traces left at the scene, it doesn't seem to be the work of other forces, especially those in the inner city."

"Um."

Both men were highly skilled with keen eyesight. From the deceased's position, injuries, footprints, bloodstains, and expressions of surprise and shock, they roughly deduced the circumstances of the conflict: a third party intervened during the conflict between the two sides. This third party was extremely adept at disguising himself, feigning weakness despite having the upper hand. He used quicklime before suddenly and ruthlessly slashing the throats of the bearded strongman and his companion, killing them instantly.

The woman with black marks held an old compass, turned it halfway around, and said in a deep voice, "This is the last place where the sacred image's influence disappeared; it can't be found anywhere else."

The man with the white paint marks pondered for a moment, then said, "Craftsmen vary in skill, and flawed pieces are inevitable. If it's smashed or burned, the power of the statue might dissipate and become undetectable. What do you think?"

The woman with the black smear marks remained silent for a moment before saying, "That is indeed possible. Apart from the evidence of a private transaction involving the sacred image, there's nothing suspicious at the scene. Arrange for someone to search again carefully. It would be best if we could find the sacred image. We also can't let anyone connected to these four corpses get away with it; we must investigate thoroughly!"

"That's only natural."

*

*

"The Rebirth Sect's unique method of tracking down the sacred image should be related to that pure black mist. Now that it has been absorbed by the red dragon's body, it shouldn't be able to track me down, right?"

Zhang Xun had already returned to the edge of the town. He glanced at the Gongjia Mountain in the distance, feeling mostly reassured but still somewhat uneasy. He let out a soft breath and then turned to walk into Gouli Town.

Geng Ping's matter concerned the Rebirth Sect, and he had neither the opportunity nor the courage to get involved again.

They continued to visit teahouses and taverns to see if they could find out any information about their father and elder brother's disappearance.

But after wandering around, they still found nothing.

"We can only wait and see if Uncle Jia has any news," Zhang Xun said helplessly.

In the evening, I quietly returned to Jia's storehouse.

Inside the courtyard, the caravan members were loading more goods onto the ten horse-drawn carts. They were almost finished, and everyone looked relaxed.

When Zhang Xun went out, many people noticed him, but knowing that he had some connection with Jia Jinshui and was a "connected person," they didn't pay much attention. These days, minding your own business is the only way to survive.

It wasn't until almost nightfall that Jia Jinshui returned to the warehouse.

Seeing that some of the caravan's deputy managers were leaving Jia Jinshui's room one after another, Zhang Xun had some free time, so he went over and knocked on the door.

Boom, boom.

"Enter."

"Uncle Jia."

Pushing open the door, the orange flame of the oil lamp on the desk flickered. Jia Jinshui was writing and revising in the account book. Seeing him, he didn't seem surprised. He put down his pen, gestured for him to sit down, and asked, "Did you find out anything when you went out during the day?"

Zhang Xun sat down opposite Jia Jinshui and sighed softly, "I don't have any connections, just some rumors that are hard to verify. That's why I came here to ask you about the situation."

"Most rumors in the marketplace are just hearsay and shouldn't be taken seriously," Jia Jinshui agreed, then paused and said, "The sudden disappearance of a group of people has also drawn the attention of the wealthy families in Gouli Town, who have been investigating. I asked them and got some information."

"Uncle Jia, please speak."

Zhang Xun's expression brightened at first, but when he noticed that Jia Jinshui's tone was not relaxed, his eyes darkened slightly.

"Besides your father and brothers' group of carpenters, another group of people went missing in Gouli Town before. It was a small caravan from Fuyu Town that traveled to and from the outskirts of the town." Jia Jinshui said solemnly, "The last place that caravan was seen before it disappeared was Liulan Fort. After investigation, the wealthy families in Gouli Town found two children who said they had seen a group of carpenters on a small road from Gouli Town to Liulan Fort."

"Liulan Fortress!?"

Zhang Xun narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had never heard of this place, but a fort is generally called a post station, which is a stop for travelers between towns, and also serves as a post station, a patrol station for local militia, and a place to maintain security around the road.

The Jia family caravan transported goods from Dongluo Town to Gouli Town, stopping briefly at two post stations along the way.

These post stations were usually small and could not hide too many people.

"Hmm, Liulan Fort is..."

Jia Jinshui paused in his speech, then took out a folded piece of yellow paper from the stack of account books beside him, unfolded it and spread it on the table. Under the light of the oil lamp, it could be seen that it was a rough map of the outer city of Feilian.

A solid circle was drawn in the center of the yellow paper, and an even larger dotted circle was drawn outwards. Between the two circles were marked various towns, post stations, villages, roads, mountains, forests, and rivers. Clearly, the solid circle represented the inner city, and the area outside the dotted circle was the fog zone.

Zhang Xun immediately spotted Liulan Fort, a small black dot in the northeast corner of the map, located outwards from Gouli Town and Fuyu Town, near the edge of the fog zone.

"Uncle Jia, you mean...?"

The map was very intuitive, and Zhang Xun immediately guessed what it meant.

Jia Jinshui sighed, "They went towards Liulan Fort but haven't seen them again. The most likely, if not the only, possibility is that they entered the fog zone."

"Fog area..."

Zhang Xun remained silent.

Even martial artists dare not easily set foot here, let alone ordinary people, especially with his red dragon body.

"You don't need to worry too much. Compared to other places, being lost in the foggy area is probably a stroke of luck amidst misfortune," Jia Jinshui comforted him.

"First of all, the fact that they were able to remove a group of people without anyone noticing means that the forces behind them are not simple, and they might even be involved with the thirteen major powers in the inner city... Secondly, why go to all the trouble of sending them to the Fog Zone? There must be a plan behind it, and they won't let those people be lost for nothing... Furthermore, why craftsmen? They must have a specific purpose for being chosen."

"Based on this analysis," Jia Jinshui pondered, his expression growing increasingly certain, "the chances of those who went missing being safe are much higher!"

"Uncle Jia, can those thirteen major powers in the inner city protect a group of people to survive in the fog zone?" Zhang Xun asked.

"The inner city," Jia Jinshui sighed. "Don't think that your Uncle Jia is knowledgeable. In fact, I don't know much more about the inner city than you do. As for whether I have the ability, I really can't say. Maybe I can, maybe I can't."

"Even you don't know much about it? Is the inner city so mysterious?" Zhang Xun was slightly taken aback.

The Jia family is a large and influential family. To be able to independently manage a merchant caravan indicates that one's status within the Jia family is not low. Furthermore, given their frequent interactions with other forces, one should be well-informed.

"It's not easy for people from the outer city to enter the inner city. Some things can only be heard about, and they're all superficial." Jia Jinshui shook his head. "My Jia family is nothing in Dongluo Town, let alone the entire outer city, and even more so the inner city with its thirteen major powers: the One Palace, the Three Sects, and the Nine Families."

"What about the foggy area? Uncle Jia, do you know much about it?" Zhang Xun asked again.