Perfect Operation

Next, they went to the study on the second floor of the house.

Here, Ye Wei'an's harvest was no less than that in the cellar.

As soon as Ye Wei'an entered the room, he saw several blood-stained velvet jewelry boxes on the table.

"It's the mark of the 'Golden Dragon Trading Company.'" Kane picked up the jewelry box, his fingers tracing the edge of a jade necklace, where dark red bloodstains still lingered. "This trading company reported disappearing in the Eastern Territory half a month ago... so they were all here."

Besides gold and silver jewelry, they also found a pile of official documents, passes, and valley farmers' identification tags looted from the murdered travelers in the drawer.

These poor people not only lost their lives and wealth, but their identities also became a disguise that evil people could use at any time.

Ye Wei'an didn't linger on the stolen goods for long; he went straight to the bookshelf.

Based on the information from the Gray Raven's memories, he easily found the mechanism.

With a crisp "click," the wooden planks of the bookcase popped open, revealing a hidden compartment behind them.

The hidden compartment contained neatly stacked ledgers and letters.

Ye Wei'an casually flipped open a book, which was filled with detailed records of the amount the Gray Ravens paid to Lady Serena each year, every single income from smuggling and selling stolen goods, and the "service fees" paid to the bandit leader Grumman...

The good stuff is here.

"Young master, look at this." Ellen handed over a stack of parchment sealed with wax.

That was a blank official document from the Xia Xing family, stamped with the family crest of three gold stars on a blue background.

This means that the bandits who kill and rob can run rampant around Firefall Valley as long as they have these few pieces of paper. Even if they are stopped by the Purple Dragon Legion, they can disguise themselves as the lord's private soldiers and leave in a swagger.

"Lady Serena...is this how you protect the Xia Xing family's reputation?" Kane was somewhat angry.

"That's not all," Ye Wei'an said, opening several letters bearing the "Scales" seal of the Amareske family.

In the letter, the lady requested that the Grey Raven cooperate with the Amareske family's smuggling fleet to help them move their contraband.

She wasn't the only one involved in extramarital affairs.

"These things..." Kane's hand gripping the sword trembled with rage. "She's not only emptying out the territory, but also betraying the Baron."

"Isn't this normal?" Ye Wei'an sneered. "The Amareske are the guardian family of the Eastern Territory. Without their permission, who would dare to smuggle so brazenly?"

At the same time, a sense of urgency rose in his heart.

The veil I uncovered was larger and more dangerous than I had anticipated.

Once a behemoth like Amarisk realizes what's happening, it will not let him off easily.

It seems that after dealing with the troubles at Firefall Fortress, he should leave the Eastern Territory as soon as possible to avoid being targeted.

Ye Wei'an flipped through the stack of letters for a long time, and finally found at the very bottom direct evidence that Lady Serena had murdered him:

Lady Serena's neat handwriting is quite eye-catching above:

"...That bastard will be leaving Susar soon. Make sure he's dealt with completely before he returns to Firefall Valley, and don't let the lord discover any trace of him..."

Besides these deadly ledgers and secret letters, a heavy brown paper bag was tucked deep inside the hidden compartment of the bookcase.

Ye Weian pulled it out, and a large pile of thick parchment scrolls slid out.

Those are the asset certificates left behind by the Grey Crows through years of plunder and extortion in and around Firefall:

The three-tenths profit share of the local timber guild, the perpetual lease of the wharf warehouses, the ownership of several large warehouses, the land deeds of three mills in the south of the city... and even the ownership certificate of the mansion under Ye Weian's feet.

The true value behind these industrial certificates far exceeds the smuggled goods in the cellar.

But unlike goods, converting these property rights into money requires certain methods.

Ye Wei'an put the letter, along with all the other letters and ledgers, into his system inventory.

Besides the hidden compartment, Ye Wei'an also found an iron box in the study. Inside, he found a seal ring and a pair of boots.

At first, he wondered why Gray Raven would so carefully hide a pair of boots in an iron box.

When he held the boots in his hand, the system provided the following information:

The Tracker's Boots

Item Description: A pair of long boots made of soft black deerskin, with extremely fine dark green oak leaf patterns embroidered on the boot shaft.

Magical effect: The wearer leaves no footprints when walking, making it easier to hide in the shadows.

Ye Wei'an had no idea that Gray Raven had secretly kept magical items.

To my surprise, my system has the function of identifying magical items.

This saves you a spell slot from learning "Appraisal".

And the other seal ring is also unusual:

[Emareske's Seal of Falsehood]

Item description: An unremarkable silver seal ring with a blurred scale engraved on its face.

Magical effect: Three times a day, the user can press their stamp on a blank piece of paper, and the ring will conjure any official mark of the Cormier organization on the paper according to the wearer's wishes.

Ye Wei'an guessed that the former was used by Grey Crow to escape, and the latter was used to forge permits for smuggling goods.

In short, it all benefited Ye Wei'an.

-----------------

At four o'clock in the morning, the fog was at its thickest in Huopu Town.

A cart covered with thick, tanned leather silently drove out of the leather shop's back door.

No one would have guessed that beneath those layers of leather were three large men bound together.

Ye Wei'an maintained his Gray Raven appearance, wrapped tightly in a gray cloak, and sat calmly on the carriage shaft.

The militiamen at the town's exit yawned repeatedly, only glancing briefly at the pickup truck and then at "Grey Raven's" face. They showed no interest in questioning him and muttered as they pulled the crossbar aside.

In Huopu Town, the undisputed rule of survival is to never mess with this powerful leather merchant.

They left Firefall Town with the witnesses and evidence of the assassination.

The entire operation was carried out cleanly and efficiently, without alerting any official forces.

To the residents of Firefall, what happened last night was nothing more than a routine shady deal: the bandit Grumman delivered the "goods," and after the transaction was completed, the local bully Gray Raven escorted the goods out of town overnight to sell them.

Ye Wei'an remembered that Grumman had left a small treasury near the town.

Before leaving, he found the abandoned mill and earned an extra thousand gold coins.

The carriage continued onward until it was several miles away from Firefall Town and could no longer be seen from the town, at which point they stopped.

Ye Wei'an deactivated the transformation spell. After a busy night, the group rested briefly in the carriage for an hour until sunrise before continuing their journey, speeding back along the main road.

-----------------

On the other side, a group consisting of several carriages and more than a dozen soldiers was moving forward with heavy steps.

Having suffered a previous ambush and with their commander gone, the morale of the entire force was low, and their marching speed was extremely slow.

As evening fell, the setting sun cast its golden rays across the road, and the two teams finally met in an open area of ​​Firefall Valley.

When Ye Wei'an appeared at the end of the road, pushing a cart covered with a leather blanket, the sentry ahead shouted in a distorted voice, "It's the young master! The young master is back!"

The previously lifeless ranks instantly erupted into chaos, with soldiers abandoning all regard for formation and surging towards the center of the road.

"It really is the young master!"

"Captain Kane is back! They're all safe!"

The soldiers immediately surrounded them, eagerly asking about the details of the operation.

Ye Weian didn't get off the car; he stood directly on the high pile of flatbed carts.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, his young face was shrouded in a sacred luster.

"Brothers!"

With the added charm of 18 points, Ye Wei'an's voice is not only loud and clear, but also has a captivating power that touches people's hearts.

The boisterous crowd instantly fell silent, with more than twenty pairs of eyes fixed on him.

"I know that we have just experienced a bloody attack, and everyone is feeling terrible. Many of us were injured, and some of our comrades were left behind in that mud forever."

He looked around and saw all those tired faces.

"And yet, when you were in your most difficult time and needed support the most, I left alone with your Knights Kane. I imagine there's been a lot of talk about it these past two days—some people are guessing I took the treasure and abandoned you, aren't they?"

Upon hearing this, many soldiers lowered their heads in shame, and some moved their feet uneasily.

"But let me tell you, I, Ye Wei'an, will never abandon my comrades who are loyal to me! As I said before, I left to expose that beast who stabbed us in the back!"

He suddenly waved his hand, his voice rising abruptly:

"Now, I declare the operation a resounding success! The mastermind who bribed the robbers to attack us—has been caught!"

With his gesture, Kane and Ryan abruptly ripped off the leather.

With a loud thud, three men, stripped of their armor and bound like rice dumplings, were kicked heavily to the ground.

The gray crow, its face covered in mud, had long lost its local tyrant's imposing manner.

"This is the culprit who bribed the bandits and ambushed us on the way—the Gray Raven of Firefall Town."

A burst of angry curses erupted from the crowd. If it weren't for discipline, Gray Raven would probably have been torn to shreds by the enraged soldiers by now.

"I'm so sorry." Ye Wei'an jumped down from the cart and walked among the exhausted soldiers. His tone was sincere. "This conspiracy was aimed at me. All of you were dragged down by me. Since you all sacrificed yourselves for me, I will bring you back in glory!"

He opened the wooden box on the carriage, and a dazzling light immediately appeared.

It's full of gold coins!

The soldiers stared in disbelief.

"This operation was a resounding success; we seized the enemy's black gold." Ye Wei'an's voice was firm and resolute. "Now, I'm fulfilling my promise: every survivor who participated in this escort will receive a bonus of 50 gold lion coins! Registration and distribution will begin tonight!"

A brief silence fell over the crowd, followed by a burst of cheers that nearly shook the leaves off the trees.

Fifty gold lion coins were almost equivalent to their entire year's salary.

"As for those brothers who sacrificed their lives," Ye Wei'an's eyes reddened slightly as he spoke, "their compensation has been increased to 200 gold lion coins. When we return to the territory, I will personally deliver this money to their families, one by one. I will tell their parents, wives, and children that they died protecting the lord's son, and that they are heroes of Firefall Valley!"

"You are so generous, Lord Ye Wei'an!"

A soldier with a broken arm choked up.

Others cheered and showered the crowd with praise.