Chapter 014: Take Care

Upon hearing these words, everyone’s faces turned ashen. If this wasn’t a coincidence, then it must have been premeditated. It was obvious at a glance who the main suspect was.
Gabriel felt extremely troubled. He quickly stood up, bowed, and said, “Lady Carol… I really didn’t do this. You must believe me…”
Carol snorted. Just as she was about to say something, a cavalryman rushed over and whispered a few words in her ear. Carol couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “What? Is that true? Did these words come from Master Du Fan’s… those servants?”
“Yes…” the cavalryman replied solemnly.
Carol frowned and thought for a moment before saying, “If that’s the case… let’s temporarily…”
Before she could finish, someone else rushed in and whispered a few words in Carol’s ear. This time, Carol stood up abruptly and said, “What? Someone has spotted Master Du Fan’s whereabouts? Who is it? Bring him in right away!”
Soon, a knight wrapped in bandages was brought in. Carol looked at him with a slight frown.
But as soon as Gabriel saw this man, he frowned and said, “Colin, what are you doing here, acting crazy?”
With a smile, Gabriel bowed to Carol and said, “Lady Carol, this Colin is my cousin. What could he possibly know? Hehe… hehe…”
Carol snorted and said, “What could he know? Just tell us what he knows.”
She glanced at Colin and added, “Speak up. With me here, no one will dare do anything to you…”
Colin coughed, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. He said in a low voice, “I just saw a man in a robe being captured by a barbarian shaman priest and flying through the sky. But I don’t know if that man is Master Du Fan.”
Carol grew anxious. She stepped forward and asked several detailed questions. After hearing these details, she realized that the person who had been taken away might indeed be the third young master of the Green family. But being captured by the barbarians… well, that was troublesome…

Carol frowned for a moment, then quickly issued a series of orders: “Starting today, a state of martial law will be imposed across the entire city of Ruihe until Young Master Du Fan is found. At the same time, a ten-mile radius around Ruihe will be declared a military no-go zone. Let those useless members of the Imperial Defense Forces step in to help search—no clue should be overlooked. Also, send someone to the Holy Vatican to request assistance in the search. Finally, convey these orders to the Imperial Capital, Duke Green, and the nearby Northern Legion, asking them all to come and help search… As for Colin…”

As he spoke, Carol glanced at the young man before him. “I’ve heard of you. I appreciate that you could provide this information at such a critical moment… But you’re the only one here who has seen that shaman priest, so you must participate in the subsequent search… Can you handle it?”

Colin bowed in a knightly manner, trying to stand straight despite his injuries. The movement made him break into a cold sweat, but he still declared loudly, “Of course! I’ll even crawl if I have to to participate in the next actions.”

Carol nodded. “Good. Whether or not we find Young Master Du Fan later, I’ll risk my life to ensure you join the Northern Legion. So work hard.”

Colin’s face lit up with joy. He had been in dire straits in Ruihe, and getting a chance to join the Northern Legion was a rare opportunity.

Someone immediately led him away, and all of Carol’s orders were carried out.

Looking back at the people present with a gloomy expression, Carol felt a strange sensation. He smiled faintly and said, “Gentlemen, we now have some information. But I need to know more. I don’t have time to question you, so explain everything clearly to my subordinates. I have some other matters to attend to, but I’ll be back soon. I hope by then you’ve told me everything you know.”

With that, he raised his hand, and several personal cavalry followed him out of the hall. Halfway there, Carol sighed inwardly: This Young Master Du Fan… This time, he’s really gotten into big trouble!

On the surface, it seemed like just a noble youth captured by barbarians. Based on past experience, those barbarians would likely send someone to propose terms and a price, and once both sides were satisfied, the captured noble would be released.

But this situation was extremely complicated—simply because Du Fan was from the Green family…

About six years ago, the barbarians launched a massive invasion of the Gavin Empire, but they were halted by the then-Duke Green, who was a master strategist. Coupled with the bravery of the Northern Legion, they forced the invading barbarians to retreat within less than half a month. However, this led to a deep enmity between the Northern Legion and the barbarians. It is said that in that battle, several important leaders from the barbarian tribes were killed by the Northern Legion. If those barbarians learned that it was the third young master of the Green family who had been captured, the consequences would likely be far worse than mere torture. All we can do now is pray that these barbarians don’t know the identity of our young master, or that Du Fan still has some use to them. Otherwise, even if I, Carol, die, I won’t be able to escape blame! A guard knight beside him, seeing Carol’s worried expression, couldn’t help but say, “Lord Carol, even if Young Master Du Fan has fallen into the hands of the barbarians, I don’t think anything will happen right away. So, Lord Carol, please don’t worry so much… Besides, the saint who is with the young master says he is safe for now… So… you don’t need to worry so much…” Carol smiled bitterly. “Yes… not to worry… it’s just…” With a sigh, he added, “I hope Young Master Du Fan is blessed with good fortune…” After saying this, Knight Carol quickly headed toward the entrance of the city lord’s residence. At the door, he took the reins handed to him, mounted his horse, waved his whip, and rode in the direction of the inn… Soon, Carol arrived at the inn’s entrance. He waved at the guards standing there and went in, only to see Ferei sitting with a man in a robe, drinking tea together. Carol was furious. With a grumble, he said, “Lord Ferei… Young Master Du Fan is missing right now, and you still have the leisure to drink tea here?” Ferei looked at him and smiled. “It’s Lord Carol… Come, come… Worrying now won’t help… But the message I sent you earlier is absolutely true. Let me introduce this person—this is His Holiness Nicholas from our Holy Church.” A look of surprise flashed across Carol’s face. “Is it Saint Nicholas from the capital? I’ve indeed long heard of him. But, Your Holiness, what exactly happened to our young master…?”

Nicholas shook his head slightly and said, “You don’t need to worry too much. I can faintly sense that he’s not in immediate danger right now, but you still need to send someone to look for him. However, from what I feel, he might already be a hundred miles away… Searching for him will be troublesome…”

Carol was stunned, her facial muscles stiffening. After a long while, she asked, “How… how do you know that?”

Nicholas smiled but remained silent. He exchanged a glance with Ferre, both their eyes flashing with bitterness. They wanted to ask too, but asking such a question right in front of that little fox—were they trying to seek death?

“Miss Chenchen…” Tasia stood by the window, looking at Chenchen. “Lord Du Fan is missing. Aren’t you worried at all?”

Chenchen lay on the bed, closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled and said, “Didn’t I tell you? I’m the servant of your Lord Du Fan… There’s a rather interesting contract between us… So, I can sense his current situation. Although he’s not in good condition now, he definitely won’t die. And given that guy’s personality, such a minor incident won’t take his life. If things really get bad, just give me another ten days or half a month to rest, and then we can go rescue him.”

Tasia had seen Chenchen in action and naturally knew that with her strength, she would never lie to herself about such things. Tasia felt frustrated. This Du Fan was quite impressive—she wondered where he had managed to persuade such a beautiful and capable woman to be his subordinate, and what plans he had in mind.

Was he planning to go to bed with her?

At the thought, Tasia couldn’t help but blush. If the guys in the capital saw her expression right now, several of them would probably faint from happiness.

Tasia took a few deep breaths, finally calming her emotions. Looking northward, she asked herself, “In that situation just now, why didn’t Miss Chenchen use her powers?”

Chenchen pulled the cup on the bed to cover her graceful figure. A smile appeared on her lips at some point: “North… it’s fine for my master to go… But master… you must take good care of yourself…”