Li Xi stood up and first looked at Buendi and the others. In less than ten seconds, Buendi, who had been well-maintained like a forty-something uncle, and the few young priests, had their faces covered in wrinkles, as if piled up with the bark of ancient trees, after performing the descent of the gods. A pug would have recognized them as ancestors. If someone told Li Xi that Buendi and the others were two hundred years old, Li Xi would believe it.
Not only that, but Buendi and the others couldn't even speak. They just hunched over, panting, and waved their hands with difficulty, allowing several people to quickly carry them away. Watching Buendi's retreating back, Li Xi couldn't help but guess that if the people carrying Buendi were a little too rough, he might have followed the dissipated light god to the afterlife with a gasp.
"To see the God of Light in my lifetime, I am fortunate for three lives."
"With Lord Buendi here, our Kadu City is as solid as a rock."
The people behind them couldn't stop flattering. Even after Buendi left, their flattery continued unabated. This wasn't their fault. If Li Xi hadn't transmigrated and was a native of this world, he would have been even more exaggerated after seeing the divine spectacle just now, wishing he could lick the spot where the God of Light Apollo had just stood.
"Since the teleportation gate has closed, I also have my own matters to attend to."
Li Xi stopped the crowd from trying to keep him, and quickly flapped his dragon wings and left. He still had things to do and no time to engage in mutual praise with them.
Leaving behind the crowd, who were all filled with relief, they thought that if it weren't for Lord Mourinho blocking the teleportation gate first, Kadu City would have suffered heavy casualties today.
Even if Lord Buendi summoned the phantom of the God of Light with the descent of the gods, he couldn't save everyone.
Li Xi's hasty departure was to establish his persona and to pursue the members of the Assassin's Alliance.
Even Li Xi himself knew that the chance of finding them directly was very slim.
Li Xi kicked open the door of the tavern at Number Three Maple Leaf Street. The inside was empty, with no one in sight.
Li Xi formed hand seals,
"Shadow Clone Jutsu"
"Bang"
More than a dozen shadow clones appeared.
"Go and search for me. Dig three feet into the ground to find any trace of them."
Li Xi would not let the deaths of Meng Lan De and Andy go unpunished. It would only deepen with time. If he didn't pull out everyone behind this from the sewers and drown them in the toilets, Li Xi felt he wouldn't be worthy of Meng Lan De's protection of Mi Duo for so many years.
"No discovery."
"No discovery here either."
"A basement was found here."
Li Xi immediately followed the sound. Behind the tavern, he indeed found a very hidden basement.
He took out a magic glowstone to illuminate the entire basement. In the airtight environment, there were no items left behind. Even the wheat wine that the tavern should have stored in the basement was gone. He sniffed lightly, but there was no smell related to the tavern. Instead, there was an unpleasant medicinal smell, not like any potion, but like the smell of traditional Chinese medicine boiled on Earth.
Several shadow clones turned the basement upside down, even smashing through the walls for half a foot, but found nothing unusual.
Li Xi smiled, "Your methods are quite clean. Let's see, if I don't kill all of you, I'm not Li Xi."
Because the known clues were very few, Li Xi couldn't directly lock onto the target. However, with the conditions he had, as long as these people were still in Kadu City, Li Xi was confident he could find them.
"Release"
He released the shadow clones and, in a hidden location, dispelled his dragon transformation and returned to his original appearance. Li Xi went home first. The subsequent plan could only be executed tomorrow.
When Li Xi returned home, Ai Si had not yet returned. This great battle was not long, but its impact was profoundly negative. The death toll was at least several thousand people, not to mention some nobles among them. These were not minor matters.
The city lord's mansion and the major temples would have to step forward to appease, handle, and rescue.
Li Xi couldn't intervene in so many complicated matters. He might as well organize his experiences from the night.
First, when he went out, he sent a shadow clone to protect Madam Ai Wei'er. What he saw was beyond Li Xi's expectations but also within reason.
At that time, Madam Ai Wei'er was wearing a light silk nightgown, sleeping peacefully like a sleeping beauty. Since the weather wasn't very cold yet, she was only covered with a thin veil. It was less about covering and more about creating a hazy beauty. Her perfect figure was no less than Ai Si's, and in some aspects, even more magnificent.
Li Xi, adhering to the gentleman's demeanor, took a few more glances. Because of Li Xi's profound movement techniques, Madam Ai Wei'er did not discover the rogue who had broken in late at night.
The ubiquitous red mist, upon spreading to Madam Ai Wei'er's bedside, made Li Xi very nervous. What if, what if the holy water didn't work, and Madam Ai Wei'er couldn't resist? In this room, he was the only man. Would he have to sacrifice himself to save her?
As a result, the red mist couldn't get any closer. It retreated as if it had seen its natural enemy when it reached within three feet of Madam Ai Wei'er.
Li Xi, using his dragon eye's vertical pupils and his single-ringed Sharingan, examined her closely. He didn't see anything unusual on Madam Ai Wei'er. She was just like an ordinary person.
But this lack of abnormality was the most abnormal thing. Li Xi, who had the strength to defeat the Flame Demon, was affected by the red mist for a moment. What about this ordinary Madam Ai Wei'er? Normally, such an ordinary person would fall seriously ill or even die from exhaustion in the red mist.
"It's too strange, Madam Ai Wei'er should still be worshipped."
The previously set tone was re-emphasized. He promised not to offend her, but he felt a little disappointed that he hadn't seen what he expected.
The second thing was the bones left after Lilith's clone was killed. Those were good things containing divine power. Li Xi, who had previously obtained a hand bone like a duck claw, treated it with extreme caution and hid it like a treasure.
Now it was a complete body, even if it was only half left after being shattered by the God of Light Apollo, it was enough to be breathtaking. At first, Li Xi really wanted to snatch a few pieces before others arrived, certain that no one could match his speed, and no one could stop him if he wanted to grab something.
He thought about it and decided against it. One was the God of Light, the other was a clone of a deep abyss lord, and then there was the divine power that Lilith had obtained from somewhere. It was better not to touch such unclear things.
Moreover, taking it would make him a target in the eyes of many temples. It didn't matter that Li Xi had just saved Kadu City; regarding divine power, no god would show mercy. Therefore, it was better to handle this quietly and slowly by himself.
By noon the next day, Ai Si finally returned, dragging her exhausted body. The moment she returned, she fell into Li Xi's arms. Li Xi affectionately held Ai Si and gently massaged her entire body.
Ai Si closed her eyes and enjoyed Li Xi's massage. "Where did you go last night?"
"Me? Lord Mourinho discovered that the abyssal teleportation gate incident last night was the work of the Assassin's Alliance, so he sent me to track down their whereabouts."
"Oh, we know about that too. Did you have any results?"
"Not much, but if we keep digging, we'll definitely find them."
Ai Si, exhausted, hugged Li Xi, her expression low. "More than two thousand people died last night, not to mention some unrecorded beggars and wanderers. The death toll is estimated to be over five thousand. Kadu City has never seen so many deaths in a year of chaos."
"We will be very busy these few days. I may not be able to make it to the gathering with my master today. Please apologize on my behalf."
Li Xi wanted to say something, but seeing the tired look on Ai Si's face, he softly said, "It's okay, I'll explain to my master. Don't get too tired. Speak up if you need my help."
"No need, it's all trivial matters. Just cook for me at home."
Ai Si only ate a bite of food at home at noon before going out to continue her busy work. If she hadn't been worried about Li Xi, Ai Si wouldn't have had time to come back at noon.
With Ai Si alright, Li Xi also began his plan. The first step was to go to the mercenary hall. Due to the major event that had occurred, the mercenary hall was crowded with merchants and nobles who wanted to post travel missions. It was understandable that after such a major incident yesterday, anyone capable of leaving would do so immediately. No one wanted to have their life taken away without realizing it.
Li Xi went to the familiar office staff. "Lina, I have a mission to post."
"Li Xi, you're still so amazing. If Sister Ai Si hadn't told us not to publicize you, you would have long been a rising star in our mercenary guild."
Li Xi smiled. It was good to have acquaintances. He took out three identity tokens of the Assassin's Alliance. "These are three identity tokens of the Assassin's Alliance. I'm posting a mission to capture heretics."
Lina was stunned as she looked at the three tokens on the table. The mission to capture and kill heretics was the most difficult and least liked task among all missions, as heretics were mostly lunatics, and provoking one could lead to endless pursuit.
Now, someone had actually completed it, and not just one, but three! This meant that the rising star Li Xi in front of them had killed three members of the Assassin's Alliance.
Who were the members of the Assassin's Alliance? Their actions last night showed that they were a group of scoundrels who treated life as grass and deserved to die ten thousand times.
Yet, who could find such a sinful group? It was unexpected that three of them were killed silently.
Lina excitedly looked at the tokens and said to Li Xi, "Li Xi, would you like me to notify the bishop? The bishop is on duty today, just upstairs. You've done such a great deed, you've greatly vented the anger of the people of Kadu City, and you can also use this opportunity to encourage the post-war populace."
"No need. It's not too late to notify him after I've found and killed all of them." Li Xi's words were casual, but anyone who heard them could discern the bone-chilling hatred within.
"Alright, then according to the usual practice, we'll keep it anonymous for you."
"The bounty on the Assassin's Alliance members was increased this morning. Five thousand gold coins per person. That's fifteen thousand gold coins for you. These gold coins are jointly funded by the major temples, some merchants, and the city lord's mansion."
Lina registered Li Xi's information quickly and efficiently and was about to go get the money for him, but Li Xi stopped her.
"Don't give me the bounty. I want to use these bounty funds to post missions, offering rewards for any clues about the Assassin's Alliance. Two hundred gold coins for each correct clue, regardless of its size or importance. As long as it's correct, it's two hundred gold coins. If the clue is very important, you can directly discuss it with me, and the reward is unlimited."
Lina was a little confused. Unlimited reward? How much money would that be? No matter how rich one was, one couldn't spend money like this. She explained to Li Xi, "Li Xi, you don't have to do this. We've already posted a bounty mission. If you want clues, you can buy them from us directly."
Li Xi immediately refused. Li Xi knew about the missions posted by the mercenary guild; the bounty started at only one gold coin, which was incomparable to his two hundred gold coins. To quickly find these maggots who hid in the darkness every day, he had to use gold coins to stun all the mercenaries and let the resourceful mercenaries search every corner and mouse hole of Kadu City.
"No need, just do as I say."