Ye Wen wiped the long sword clean with a strip of cloth, then searched the house thoroughly. In the farthest corner of the room he found a gaunt figure bound to a chair.

The sight made his mind race - Could this be YaYa's father?

He had no chance to confirm it before reaching closer. At a glance, Ye Wen knew the man was already dead. Feeling the jaw confirmed his suspicion - this was self-suffocation by tongue-cutting. A putrid mess filled the man's mouth, oozing blood and bits of tissue when Ye Wen pried it open.

Liu Qingfeng entered just as Ye Wen stood up after examining the body."Who is this?" she asked curiously.

Ye Wren wiped his hands on the corpse's clothing before replying. "He's been dead some time - likely suicide while Wang Maizi and his cronies were carousing outside. If my guess serves, he must be Zhou family man forced to sign those sale contracts."

Liu Qingfeng nodded, understanding this was a case of shame-induced suicide after being forced into servitude.

They turned the house upside down but found only silver coins - not what Ye Wen truly sought."I should have asked first before killing them all," he muttered, thoroughly searching each body yet failing to locate that crucial document.

He wanted the contract itself. Though he'd never acknowledge its existence, if anyone dared present it later, he might just split them in two.

But destroying evidence always reduced future trouble. Liu Qingfeng finally spoke up."It's probably already at a brothel by now - otherwise we would have found more than these few taels."

Wang Maizi and his gang were known spendthrifts, rarely holding onto money long enough to save it. These few tael of refined silver must be fresh from selling YaYa.

Indeed Wang had likely taken the contract directly to a brothel for quick cash - he was no stranger to such transactions. The brothels trusted him well enough to pay upfront without seeing the child first, expecting just to collect her tomorrow morning at Zhou family's home. But their plan had backfired spectacularly; YaYa had been sent north to Shushan and her mother already buried outside the city.

Ye Wen knew this but could do nothing - he needed to join his caravan south in the morning and couldn't wait for these villains to come knocking again."Let those vermin live a few more days," he scoffed. After all, he'd accepted the job from Yueshan Courier Company. He'd just investigate the brothel later when returning.

The four taels of silver felt especially cheap as it represented YaYa's worth in this world. The word "cheap goods" echoed in his mind like a curse.

"Liu sister," Ye Wen suddenly said, "we should leave soon."

Liu Qingfeng glanced at the moon before nodding."If patrolling officials see us..."

Though martial artists didn't fear common guardsmen, killing people still carried risks. Better to vanish quietly while there were bodies to distract authorities in that courtyard.

They left the corpse as is - if found by officials, proper investigation would follow regardless of identity. It wasn't his place to give this man a burial based on speculation alone.

Back at their inn, both men had already cleaned bloodstains before returning unnoticed through rooftops. The next morning they joined their caravan normally, no one suspecting last night's violence since the crime scene remained undiscovered in its remote location.

"Did you go doing justice last night?" Xu Xian suddenly asked from within the carriage.

Ye Wen paused then answered honestly."Private matters."

Though he'd technically done good by killing corrupt men, his heart knew this was purely for family. If Zhou family had no connection to him, would he even bother? That admission made him reject any "righteous" label.

Xu Xian took it as modesty."You're too humble," he said warmly before inviting Ye into the carriage for warmth.

With cold winds and a restless night, Ye accepted gratefully. He noticed Xu's lackey wasn't present - perhaps why Xu felt comfortable discussing personal matters openly.

"I was thinking about leaving when we reached Eastern State..." Xu began hesitantly.

Ye saw through his hesitation immediately."You miss home."

At first Xu denied it, but eventually admitted the truth - he wanted to make his father listen, not just obey like a puppet. Their conversation grew quiet until Ye asked bluntly,"Have you actually talked to your father?"

A long silence followed before Xu finally replied weakly that wasn't how things worked.

"Then stop being so damn certain," Ye muttered, ending the discussion.

No sooner had this exchange begun than Xu suddenly called out,"Captain of Yueshan Courier please step in."