Douluo V: Daily Intelligence - I Want All of Tang San's Opportunities

Xu Mingyuan paused for a moment while holding the wine glass:

"Xiao Huaiyuan? He's the city lord, and I'm his deputy. We each manage our own affairs, and we don't usually have much in-depth conversation. Why are you suddenly asking about his personal matters?"

Su Yuntao put down the wine pot and calmly recounted his experience of being ambushed in the Soul Hunter Forest.

After listening, Xu Mingyuan frowned more and more, and the wine glass in his hand hovered in mid-air for a while before he put it down:

"You mean, you suspect that Lord Xiao was involved in Liu Yingda's ambush of you?"

Su Yuntao nodded:

"Those three Soul Masters are wanted criminals by our Spirit Hall for many years. The outer perimeter of the Soul Hunting Forest is guarded by the City Lord's Mansion all year round. Even caravans entering the forest have to register and report. How could these three wanted criminals swagger into the forest? I specifically sent someone to check the entry records for that day, and there are no names of those people in the register. There are only a handful of people in the entire Notting City who can do that."

Xu Mingyuan was silent for a moment, then tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

He is the deputy city lord, and is usually in charge of city defense and security. The guard team on the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest is under his jurisdiction. As Su Yuntao said, everyone who enters the Soul Hunting Forest must go through registration and verification.

However, there are always exceptions; the city lord's mansion has special permits for passage.

If someone wants to bypass the registration and verification process to get someone in, the only way is to go through the procedures inside the City Lord's Mansion.

Xu Mingyuan raised his head, his gaze serious.

"Yun Tao, what you said does address some of the suspicious points, but obtaining permission from the City Lord's Mansion doesn't necessarily require Xiao Huaiyuan himself. Besides... why would Xiao Huaiyuan want to target you? It seems there's no major conflict between your Su family and him, is there?"

Su Yuntao poured himself a cup of tea and explained in a calm tone:

"When I went to Holy Soul Village to awaken my martial soul, I discovered a genius boy with twin martial souls and innate full soul power. I reported this to the Spirit Hall and also sent a copy to the City Lord's Mansion. City Lord Xiao was very happy at the time, thinking that Notting City had finally produced a good talent that could bring him honor. But later, the Spirit Hall verified that Tang San's father was the Clear Sky Douluo and directly included him in the wanted list. City Lord Xiao failed to recruit Tang San, and he probably held a grudge against me for that."

Su Yunfeng's face darkened upon hearing this, and he slammed his hand on the table:

"How could this person do this? As a member of the Spirit Hall, isn't it your duty to report such a genius to the Spirit Hall? You've already done more than enough by telling him! He can't compete with the Spirit Hall, so what kind of skill is it to take it out on you?"

Xu Mingyuan waved his hand, signaling Su Yunfeng to calm down, then pondered for a moment and said:

"I did hear Xiao Huaiyuan mention it before, saying that a true genius had emerged in Notting City. He was in a good mood for a few days, talking about it to everyone he met. Later, some important figures from the Spirit Hall came and said that the young man was the son of Haotian Douluo, and they immediately added him to the wanted list. After that, Xiao Huaiyuan was furious for several days, and even the servants in the mansion were scolded several times."

He looked at Su Yuntao, his tone carrying a clear hint of apology:

"Yun Tao, what you said is very likely true, but he is, after all, the true city lord of Notting City. I am just a deputy governor, and I can't do much against him based solely on the confessions of a few wanted criminals. But don't worry, I will write a secret report to the higher-ups of the empire regarding what you said. If it is true, the Imperial Inspectorate will definitely send someone to verify it."

Su Yuntao waved his hand and said in a calm and unhurried tone:

"Uncle Xu, we Spirit Hall people aren't so easily bullied. If it's just because of this, I'll report it directly to..."

"The Martial Soul Hall will suffice; they will naturally give me justice. I didn't need to invite you here specifically. The reason I sought out Uncle Xu this time is because I discovered something far more serious while interrogating the Liu family members."

Xu Mingyuan paused, his hand holding the wine glass still. "What is it?"

Su Yuntao put down his chopsticks and looked at Xu Mingyuan earnestly: "Uncle Xu, do you remember who Xiao Huaiyuan's wife is?"

Xu Mingyuan was stunned for a moment:

"I remember, Zhou Mulan, the daughter of the late Duke Zhou. Xiao Huaiyuan became the city lord of Notting City only because he married into the Zhou family. Otherwise, how could he possibly be the city lord? What's wrong?"

"Uncle Xu, when was the last time you saw her?"

Xu Mingyuan thought about it carefully, and his brows slowly furrowed:

"It was probably more than a year ago, right? I remember she made a brief appearance at the City Lord's Mansion's Autumn Banquet, and I haven't seen her since. Xiao Huaiyuan said she was in poor health and had been recuperating in the backyard."

He suddenly stopped, as if realizing something, and hurriedly said:

Why are you asking this?

Su Yuntao lies without batting an eye:

"According to the information provided by the Liu family, Zhou Mulan is not recuperating, but has been placed under house arrest by Xiao Huaiyuan."

The main hall fell silent instantly.

Xu Mingyuan slammed his wine glass down on the table with a "clatter," his amiable smile vanishing completely, replaced by absolute seriousness.

"What did you say? Zhou Mulan has been placed under house arrest by Xiao Huaiyuan?"

"Yes, she has been imprisoned by Xiao Huaiyuan in a dark room in the backyard of the city lord's mansion for more than a year."

Su Yuntao spoke with certainty, after all, although it wasn't said by the Liu family, it was still the truth, wasn't it?

Xu Mingyuan's expression changed completely.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back. After a long silence, he asked in a low voice:

"Is your information...reliable?"

reliable?

The system alerted me to anything unreliable!

But what he said was:

"This information was personally provided by Liu Yingda's son, Liu Yuanlang. It was mentioned unintentionally during a conversation between Liu Yingda and him. Given that things have come to this point, he wouldn't lie about something like this."

Xu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.

He held his wine glass, his gaze fixed on the flickering oil lamp on the table. After a long silence, he finally murmured:

"If this is true, the whole of Nottingham will be transformed."

Su Yuntao nodded, taking over the conversation earnestly:

"I only asked my brother to invite Uncle Xu here because I thought this matter was too big, so I planned to discuss it with you properly. After all, I am also a member of the noble family of Notting City. If I report this matter directly to the Spirit Hall, and then the Spirit Hall forwards the information to the Empire, the nature of this matter will be completely different. I think you, Uncle Xu, should understand the difference better than I do."