Chapter 306: The True and False City Lord and the Unsolved Mystery

On the way back to Tiebi City, Qin Feng and his team were still troubled by the clues they found in the ruins. The words on the stone slab, the key, and the secrets behind the "Dragon Soul" all made them feel that things were not that simple.

"I say, do those ancient texts really mention creating more 'Dragon Souls'?" Chu Tian frowned as he walked, "This doesn't sound like good news."

"Yes, if this information is true, then the threat we face is much more serious than we imagined." Ye Li responded, "We can't let this power fall into the hands of the Dark Cult."

"But that's just speculation." Lin Xiao yawned, "Maybe they just want to scare us."

"We can't take it lightly." Qin Feng interrupted her, "No matter what, we have to go back to Tiebi City first and tell the deputy city lord the news."

"Yes." Zhang Meng agreed, "After all, this is a matter related to the safety of the entire continent."

The old man was silent for a moment, then suddenly interrupted, "Hey, what I want to know is, if the 'Dragon Soul' can really control the dragon race, shouldn't we study it thoroughly so that we can better deal with possible dangers?"

"Study it thoroughly? It sounds like you want to use it for experiments?" Ye Li glanced at the old man.

"Well, I'm just curious." The old man laughed dryly and touched his head. "But you are right. It is always better to be cautious."

Finally, after a whole day of traveling, the team returned to the Iron Wall City at dusk. The city gate was still closed, but the guards opened it immediately after seeing them.

"You're back! The deputy city lord has been waiting for you!" a guard said excitedly.

Qin Feng and his party were quickly led into the City Lord's Mansion. The deputy city lord stood in the middle of the hall and showed a relieved expression when he saw them.

"You are finally back! Have you found the key?" the deputy city lord asked impatiently.

"Found it." Qin Feng nodded, took out the ancient key from his arms and handed it to the deputy city lord, "But we have other discoveries."

The deputy city lord took the key and smiled even more deeply: "Oh? What did you find?"

Qin Feng briefly told the deputy city lord about the ancient texts they found in the ruins and the old man's guess. After listening, the deputy city lord's face changed slightly, but soon returned to calm.

"It seems that things are much more complicated than we thought." The deputy city lord said in a deep voice, "We must find the 'Dragon Soul' as soon as possible to prevent the Dark Cult from succeeding."

"So what should we do next?" Ye Li asked.

"Take a rest first." The deputy city lord said with a smile, "I will arrange for you to go to the ancient tower tomorrow. Now, enjoy a quiet night. You have worked hard."

Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, they did need a rest. However, Qin Feng noticed a flash of uneasiness in the deputy city lord's eyes when he spoke. He decided to discuss this detail with his teammates later.

After dinner, Qin Feng called everyone to meet at their residence. He felt it necessary to talk about their findings and the situation after returning to the city.

"I have a strange feeling." Qin Feng said straight to the point, "The deputy city lord seemed a little uneasy when we mentioned those ancient characters."

"You noticed it too?" Ye Li asked, "I thought I was just being overly suspicious."

"I also think something is wrong." Chu Tian interrupted, "He looks more nervous than us."

"Maybe he knows something," Zhang Meng speculated, "or he's hiding something."

"I think this is normal." Lin Xiao waved his hand. "If I heard this kind of news, I would also be very uneasy."

The old man suddenly said seriously: "Maybe we should check the relationship between the city lord and the deputy city lord. I always feel that something is wrong."

Qin Feng nodded: "You are right. We need to find out what the deputy city lord is hiding."

The next morning, everyone decided to split up. Qin Feng and Ye Li went to the guards to inquire about the news, while Chu Tian and Zhang Meng were responsible for finding out around the city.

"Remember to keep a low profile." Qin Feng reminded everyone, "We can't alert the enemy."

Ye Li and Qin Feng came to the city gate and found a familiar guard. They pretended to chat and gradually brought up the topic of the relationship between the city lord and the deputy city lord.

"The city lord has always been very wise," the guard said, "but he has been in poor health recently, so the deputy city lord has basically been handling city affairs on his behalf."

"I see." Ye Li pretended to ask casually, "Then the deputy city lord should be a very capable person, right?"

"Well, the deputy city lord is indeed very capable." The guard nodded, "However, he is sometimes too serious, which is different from the city lord."

"So what's his relationship with the City Lord?" Qin Feng continued to ask.

"The relationship was very good in the past, but recently... it's a little bit subtle." The guard hesitated, "We don't know the specific reason, maybe it's because the city lord is not in good health."

"Thank you for your message." Qin Feng nodded and left with Ye Li.

Meanwhile, Chu Tian and Zhang Meng were asking around in the city. When they passed a tavern, they heard several residents whispering about something.

"Have you heard? The city lord seems to be missing." An old man wearing a hat whispered.

"Missing?" another person asked in surprise, "How is this possible?"

"It's true! I have a friend who is a servant in the City Lord's Mansion. He said that the City Lord hasn't shown up for several days." The old man continued in a low voice.

Chu Tian and Zhang Meng looked at each other, then immediately moved closer and pretended to casually join their conversation.

"What are you talking about? The city lord is missing?" Zhang Meng asked, deliberately showing curiosity.

"Shh, don't be so loud!" the old man said hurriedly, "It's just a rumor, we can't be sure."

"But if it's true, then it's troublesome." Chu Tian frowned, "Why didn't the deputy city lord make this public?"

"Who knows? Anyway, we ordinary people can't understand the affairs of these big shots." The old man sighed helplessly.

Chu Tian and Zhang Meng quickly thanked them, then left the tavern and hurried to meet up with Qin Feng and Ye Li.

After everyone met in a hidden corner outside the castle, Chu Tian and Zhang Meng immediately told Qin Feng and Ye Li the news they had heard.

"The city lord is missing?" Ye Li asked in surprise, "Is this true?"

"It sounds very likely." Chu Tian nodded, "And the deputy city lord didn't make this news public, so there's obviously something wrong."

"It seems that the deputy city lord has been hiding something." Qin Feng pondered, "We have to find out what happened to the city lord."

"Then what should we do?" Zhang Meng asked.

"We have to go to the City Lord's Mansion to check." Qin Feng decided, "See if we can find any clues."

As night fell, Qin Feng and his team sneaked into the city lord's mansion. They walked quietly through the corridor, avoiding the guards' sight, and came to the door of the city lord's bedroom.

"The door is locked." Lin Xiao said in a low voice.

"Let me do it." The old man took out a strange little tool from his bag and pried open the door lock in no time.

They quickly entered the bedroom and found it dark. The bed was clean and there was no sign that anyone had lived there.

"This place looks empty." Chu Tian said in a low voice.

"But there is a secret door here." Ye Li called out softly. She found that a tile on the wall was a little loose.

"Good eyesight!" Lin Xiao exclaimed.

They pushed open the secret door together and found a secret passage leading to the underground. The secret passage was dark and damp, and the air was filled with a musty smell.

"There must be something in here." Qin Feng whispered, "Be careful."

They walked along the secret passage for a few minutes and suddenly heard muffled conversation coming from the front.

"Are you sure no one has discovered this secret passage?" asked a familiar voice.

"Yes, Deputy City Lord, everything is as you wish." Another voice replied.

"Deputy City Lord!" Ye Li exclaimed in a low voice.

Qin Feng signaled everyone to keep quiet and slowly approached the source of the sound. Through the cracks in the secret passage, they saw the deputy city lord standing in front of a cell where the city lord was imprisoned.