The Path to Sainthood from Fairy Tail

"Wait a minute, why are the mayor's hands so smooth?"

Li Xuan: "Why don't you turn around and take a look? When did taverns start having a rule against looking back?"

Upon hearing Li Xuan's voice, the man suddenly turned around and looked at Li Xuan.

"Sir, are you back?"

Li Xuan looked at his hand, which was being held tightly by that person, his gaze deep.

The man realized something was wrong and, as if he had touched a hot piece of iron, immediately released his hands.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know it was you. I thought it was the mayor..."

Li Xuan waved his hand to indicate that it was alright, "Let's not talk about that for now. Why are you the only one in this tavern? Where did the owner go?"

Li Xuan vaguely recognized the person in front of him; he was one of the people who had obtained the counter before.

The count on his wristwatch has now exceeded the standard set by Li Xuan.

Since this was the only person present, Li Xuan decided to ask directly.

As for this person's name, Li Xuan only distributed the counters and did not ask the person who distributed them for the first time, so he did not know what this person's name was.

Just as Li Xuan was thinking of finding an opportunity to ask for his name, the person's eyes were already filled with tears, as if he had endless grievances to express.

He choked back tears and said, "My lord, my lord! I'm so sorry, we were too weak. The tavern was robbed, and even the owner..."

Li Xuan frowned slightly. "What's wrong, boss?"

This person speaks only halfway through a sentence, without showing any nervousness.

However, Li Xuan really didn't expect that a tavern in a small town could be robbed.

This town isn't a famous place, and there aren't many young working people.

Moreover, Baihua Village is right next to the town, yet the village is much more prosperous than the town.

Then Li Xuan realized that the village seemed to have only moved to the outside world yesterday, so it was understandable that the robbers hadn't been seen.

After all, who would go into the forest for no reason?

The man sniffled hard before he could continue, "The boss has been kidnapped by those thugs. Apparently, they want to get the secret recipe for brewing wine from him!"

Li Xuan felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this, as it seemed that he was the culprit behind the accident.

If he hadn't left the wine behind, the boss most likely wouldn't have been targeted and wouldn't have encountered this undeserved disaster.

Suddenly, Li Xuan seemed to realize something and questioned, "Wait! You don't even have wine here?"

The man was taken aback, then explained, "We definitely don't have any in our town. That kind of wine is a rare delicacy enjoyed only by the noble lords. And only the most powerful nobles!"

This is indeed something Li Xuan didn't consider thoroughly.

If he had known that productivity here was so low, he should have told Xinuo to pay more attention to the situation.

Now look what's happened; the intelligence gathering site I reserved has been taken over.

Just as Li Xuan was feeling frustrated, the man spoke up again to remind him, "Sir, those thugs aren't locals. They look like military officers, but not quite..."

Li Xuan thought for a moment and said, "That should be a group of defeated soldiers. The Golden Rooster Kingdom was defeated, and the allied forces have probably already reached the capital. These defeated soldiers probably know that going back would be a dead end, so they formed bandits on the spot, planning to rob as they flee, and once they have enough money, they will find a place to start a new life."

Li Xuan looked at the man and said with pity, "It's a pity that the small town seems to have become their target. And wine, which is particularly profitable, is clearly something they need."

"By the way, do you know where they're staying now?"

The man shook his head. "I don't know. Those people robbed the drinks and the owner, and then injured the mayor and others who tried to stop them before leaving the town."

“Escaped…”

In other words, the location of that group of people is a mystery.

Although the information was limited, Li Xuan was able to roughly pinpoint the direction these people were moving in.

First of all, the direction of the capital is full of allied forces. If these people were really defeated soldiers from the Golden Rooster Kingdom, they certainly wouldn't be raiding the capital.

After all, the people over there are stronger and more skilled at plundering than they are.

Following behind the Allied forces was tantamount to lambs to the slaughter, akin to suicide.

The allied forces, now pressing their advantage, are striking directly at the heart of the Golden Rooster Kingdom. Along the way, they leave no one alive, not even a needle, whenever they encounter resistance.

Moreover, the main force of the Golden Rooster Kingdom has been defeated, and now there is nothing left to stop the allied forces.

Even if the coalition forces were not united, it was not something that a few defeated soldiers could easily cause trouble for.

Therefore, if these people were to flee, the most likely destinations would be west or north.

Both directions have land suitable for growing grapes, so these thieves could go in either direction.

These two directions lead to places that are very far apart, practically worlds apart.

Generally speaking, if a thief has been on the run for some time, finding him in this chaotic era is like finding a needle in a haystack.

However, this only applies to ordinary people.

Li Xuan happens to be outside the category of ordinary people.

He only needed to recall for a moment to find a map in his mind and a way to break the deadlock on it.

The man looked at Li Xuan with expectant eyes, "Sir, it's fortunate you came. If you had been here, those thieves certainly wouldn't have been so arrogant..."

Li Xuan calmly said, "I already know the situation. I will deal with those thieves later. Now, your task is to tell me how the mayor is doing."

"Judging from your reaction just now, the mayor doesn't seem to be seriously injured. Wasn't he at the tavern at the time?"

The person paused for a moment, then nodded blankly, seemingly unable to process what was happening.

"Yes, it happened to be the time when the mayor was doing a good deed. When the thieves came in, he was patrolling on the other side of the town and just missed them."

"When the mayor returned, the tavern was in a mess, and the thieves had packed up and taken the owner and all the wine in the store."

Li Xuan nodded.

Actually, he felt that the mayor was quite capable, and if the mayor were there, those thieves probably wouldn't take the risk.

It can only be said that the owner at the time was unlucky; not only was his shop smashed, but he was also kidnapped.

“I am fully aware of the details, and the suffering you have endured will not be left unresolved!”

The man's face was full of surprise, as if he hadn't expected Li Xuan to say such a thing.

He exclaimed excitedly, "My...my lord, you're actually going to personally take action?!"

Li Xuan nodded slightly, "That's right, this matter cannot be left like this. The impact of war does not mean they can do bad things with impunity!"

"Besides, the boss is still in their hands, and I'm partly to blame for that. So, I will handle this personally."

The man stood up instantly and said firmly, "Sir, I will go with you!"

"Do not."

Li Xuan's words instantly made him realize that he was just an ordinary person who couldn't help when things happened, and that was the case afterward.

"I see……"