"How are Miaoqiu and Mei Ruyan doing now?" Lin Tian asked anxiously.

"They are currently temporarily restricted. The people from the Wang Family and the Yue Family are just under house arrest in a building. As for the Xu Family, it seems they are being specially detained in a particular location. I’m not too clear on the specifics," Chen Moxiang said.

Indeed, whatever one fears will happen. Lin Tian truly hadn’t expected things to escalate to this point.

"And how are you doing now?" Lin Tian asked.

"I’m doing quite well. If something had happened to me, do you think I’d be able to call you? But as for you, you’ve stolen a truckload of medicine and seriously injured Wang Shi. The people of the Family Alliance won’t let you off for either of these. So you’d better be cautious for a while."

After thinking for two seconds, Chen Moxiang added, "Why don’t you go hide somewhere else for a while? I can arrange for you to go to Nanhai. I have friends there, and you could even take a vacation."

Lin Tian smirked bitterly and said, "I’m afraid I can’t take a vacation, and hiding is not an option either."

"What do you mean?"

"The Xu Family is in trouble, do you think I can just stand by and do nothing? Although I’m not very familiar with the Xu Family, seeing Mei in trouble, I definitely have to rescue her!"

Mei Ruyan’s elegant eyebrows furrowed together tightly, "How do you plan to rescue her?"

"I don’t know, let’s go back to Luoyan Dock and talk about it there."

Chen Moxiang’s heart was in turmoil, and he urgently said, "Are you crazy? Going back to Luoyan Dock? Don’t you realize that once you show your face here, escaping will be impossible! Do you really think you’re that powerful? You severely underestimate the people here! Not only won’t you be able to save anyone, but you’ll also get yourself caught!"

Lin Tian smiled and said, "I know, that’s why I don’t plan on fighting them head-on, just like I told you last time, it’s a battle of wits!"

"What do you mean? Explain clearly!"

"I have some masks here that can alter appearances. Once inside Luoyan House, I’ll figure out a way to rescue people. Don’t worry, no one will recognize me."

Chen Moxiang was speechless, his head full of black lines. You haven’t even figured out a plan and you dare to talk about wits?

"Is that mask reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable!"

"Alright then, when will you come to Luoyan Dock? I’ll pick you up. You stay by my side first, to avoid raising suspicions!" Chen Moxiang said.

Lin Tian replied with a smile, "Okay, I’m coming right away. I knew you wouldn’t leave me behind."

"Cut the crap! Honestly, sometimes I really admire you, but I also think you’re very foolish!" Chen Moxiang said with a trace of bitterness. A question suddenly popped into his mind. If he himself got into trouble, would this amorous guy risk everything to save him too?

"What’s the matter?"

"Nothing, if you’re really coming over, then you’d better start right away. From your location, it will take at least two hours to get here, and anything could happen in those two hours."

Lin Tian nodded thoughtfully, "I understand, I’m heading over now."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Tian hadn’t even warmed his seat before getting ready, changing into another mask, and heading out again.

Mei Ruyan was a very important person to him. Like a sister, like a friend, even like a lover, if something were to happen to her, Lin Tian wouldn’t know how to face the hurdle in his heart, let alone how to face Bai Shishi.

...

Luoyan Dock, inside the Assembly Hall of the Family Alliance.

Martial artists are very particular about their diet and routines. Rise with the sun, rest with the sunset. When it’s time, they must eat.

But today, their habits were disrupted even before dawn. Everyone rushed here, and they didn’t even get a chance to have breakfast.

Some even had a bit of morning grumpiness.

But what could they do? This situation couldn’t be helped.

Inside the Assembly Hall, there were a total of twenty people seated. Each one’s attire was the same—a clean white robe, looking both smart and energetic, very stylish.

However, there were still slight differences in each person’s attire.

On their left chest were intricate characters embroidered in gold thread. There were numbers from one to eight, along with characters such as Tang, Wang, Yue, etc.

Those seated were all high-ranking members within the Alliance. Eight elders, and the family elders of the twelve aristocratic families.

Inside the Assembly Hall, there were also four people standing. They were Yue Yongnan, Xu Miaoqiu, Wang Yi, and Tang Ming of the Tang Family. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Inside the Assembly Hall, no one spoke, and the atmosphere was solemn.

"Yue Yongnan! Repeat what happened last night, from start to finish!" The speaker was the third elder of the Alliance, with a face as dark as Bao Qingtian’s, in charge of punishments within the Alliance.

"Yes!" Yue Yongnan shivered and then repeated the course of events once more.

This was his fourth time recounting it; he had no choice, as he was representing not the Patriarch of the Yue Family, but a culprit of the Yue Family!

Yue Yongnan stopped recounting the events as soon as he reached the point of their exposure, as everyone knew what happened after that.

The third elder then shifted his dark gaze towards the fourth elder sitting beside him, "And the truck’s medicine, didn’t you send people to seize it?"

The fourth elder kept his face grim and said dejectedly, "Don’t mention it! You all said there was only one person named Lin Tian driving the truck out. So, I only sent one team! Who knew he had help, over eighty people, who injured all the people I sent! It doesn’t matter they got hurt, it’s just... embarrassing!"

"So, the medicine wasn’t recovered?"

"Be glad they came back alive!" the fourth elder replied irritably.

Upon this confirmation, everyone’s complexion in the room turned ugly.

If the medicine could be recovered, everything would be easier to negotiate. Without it, things become much more serious!

"Old Six, what medicines were lost from the warehouse?" the third elder asked again.

"I’ve sent people to inventory. Over three hundred herbs are missing! Fortunately, the medicines were close to the door, so they’re not the best ones in the warehouse. According to the existing formulas, they could be used to make Qi Increasing Elixir, Divine Soul Elixir, and the like," the sixth elder said honestly, with a look as heartbroken as if Lin Tian had taken not medicines, but his stunningly beautiful daughter.

These two elixirs are greatly beneficial for cultivators. However, the formulas are known to few, and even if they’re known, there are not enough herbs to concoct them.

Formulas are a scarce resource for all families and the Family Alliance. Although there were many in ancient times, after so many generations, few remain.

Without a formula, no one can produce a finished product.

To research new formulas, no one has the capital. It should be known that concocting an elixir requires rare herbs, and using one means there’s one less, so who’d be willing to use them for research?

This is why the warehouse holds so many rare herbs. If they could be used, there probably wouldn’t be much left in stock.