Socially anxious people transmigrate to another world; living in seclusion is too difficult.

Su Yang and his companion hid in the inn for two or three days before using disguise to conceal their true appearances and venturing out to gather information. Upon arriving at the market, they overheard people discussing the recent tax collection incident. Judging from their anger, public discontent was growing and seemed imminent.

"This is outrageous! In the past, when we collected taxes, we were quite polite and tried to reason with you. Even though you knew the reasons were ridiculous, everyone was willing to contribute for the good of the city. But this time, it's just blatant robbery. If you don't pay, you get beaten up. Who can stand this?" A middle-aged man with a thick beard said angrily.

"Oh dear, you're right. I heard that yesterday, the old lady next door was slapped twice for underpaying by 2 silver coins. Don't you think these soldiers are going too far?"

Su Yang learned of many similar atrocities. Thinking back to the search for demon spies a few days ago, when the soldiers charged self-identification fees, and now that he learned they were collecting taxes and engaging in such violent acts, Su Yang couldn't help but feel disappointed in this city and even the entire Principality of Paisen. If those in power are like this, how can the city-state develop well?

The two continued to gather information along the streets. Based on all the rumors, Su Yang drew several conclusions. First, whether it was searching for spies or collecting taxes, it would only last about six days before stopping. Second, the people had heard that the search for spies was being handled by Baron Enoch, and that the self-incrimination fee was his idea. Therefore, they were preparing to go to the city lord's mansion to question the city lord about who had given Baron Enoch the right to create such pretexts, determined to get justice. Third, the tax collectors were a team composed of Viscount White's private soldiers and garrison troops, without even any soldiers from the city lord's mansion participating.

Furthermore, they learned that the soldiers collecting taxes had just finished collecting taxes in the north of the city yesterday, which was the area where Su Yang had commissioned John to make the bracelet. Su Yang was worried that something might have happened to John and the materials, so he and Lin Anlan moved towards the north of the city. Meanwhile, the people had already gathered in formation and assembled at the city lord's mansion, shouting for an explanation from the city lord, Gupa.

As Su Yang and his companion were heading north of the city, they suddenly bumped into a man stumbling along. The man seemed lost and didn't apologize, continuing to walk forward. Lin Anlan noticed something was wrong, and upon closer inspection, realized it was John. The two quickly stepped forward to stop John, but he didn't recognize them. Su Yang then canceled his disguise and asked John, "What's wrong, John? What happened? Where's your master? Where are the bracelet materials?"

John looked at the two people in front of him after the disguise was removed, and only then did he recognize them as Su Yang and Lin Anlan. Tears welled up in his eyes and flowed like a burst dam. Seeing that John was only crying and not speaking, Lin Anlan said to Su Yang, "It's possible that something happened to the old blacksmith and the bracelet material."

Once John had calmed down, Lin Anlan asked, "John, where is your master?"

"do not know."

"What about the material of the bracelet?"

"do not know"

Knowing nothing about the matter, Lin Anlan was clearly getting anxious and asked urgently, "Then you must know what happened, right?"

John stared blankly at Lin Anlan, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out two sentences: "I only remember that soldiers came to the shop to collect taxes. They took a liking to the materials and tried to steal them. I went up to stop them and got kicked. When I woke up, the materials were gone, the soldiers were gone, and my master was gone. I don't know anything else. I ran out to look for my master, but I couldn't find him."

Lin Anlan was frantic. Such important materials, gone in just a few days! But she quickly calmed down and analyzed the situation for Su Yang: "Su Yang, there are several possibilities. One is that the old blacksmith was murdered and the materials were taken by the confiscation team. The second is that the old blacksmith is still alive but handed over the materials to the authorities for money. The third is that the old blacksmith took the materials and went into hiding. However, the third possibility is unlikely. Since the soldiers have already discovered the materials, the old blacksmith doesn't have the power to steal them. So, only the first and second possibilities remain. Regardless of which possibility it is, it's related to the garrison and Viscount White's mansion. We'll have Long'er investigate to find out what's going on."

"Hmm, what you said is very likely." Su Yang stroked the Lost Ring and gently called out, "Long'er, thank you for your help."

Linglong responded and came out. Su Yang told her about the two key figures, and then took Linglong to explore the vivial White's mansion and the location of the garrison. Linglong then set off.

Su Yang and Lin Anlan took John back to the inn and told him to rest well. They waited for Linglong's news at the inn. In the afternoon, they heard a lot of laughter and chatter downstairs. Lin Anlan went downstairs to find out what was going on and learned that the meeting at the city lord's mansion that morning had been effective. Baron Enoch had been brought to the city lord's mansion by the city lord's troops that afternoon and had just been beheaded. He was charged with disturbing the city-state under the guise of official business, extortion, and falsely conveying the city lord's orders. He was punished for multiple crimes, and not only was his property confiscated, but he was also beheaded.

Lin Anlan brought the information back to share with Su Yang. It seems that the two of them will no longer need to use the disguise technique for the time being, which can be considered as getting rid of a big problem.

That night, Linglong brought back news that she had not seen any trace of the materials at the garrison, but she saw an old man coming out of Viscount White’s mansion. Although she did not see any trace of the materials, she could tell from the conversation between a bald man in blue and a richly dressed man that they had just obtained a treasure.

"What did that old man look like?" Lin Anlan pressed.

"Hmm... I can't quite put my finger on it. He was unshaven, counting money as he walked." Linglong thought for a moment and then recounted what she remembered.

"It's probably that old blacksmith who got greedy and didn't know how he managed to fool the tax collectors and even took the money to exchange for cash himself," Lin Anlan said through gritted teeth.

“Master wouldn’t do such a thing,” John, who had been listening for a long time, immediately denied. He firmly believed that his master, who had always taught him, would not do such a shameful and disgraceful thing.

"We'll find out tonight whether he'll do it or not. Take us to your master's house now, and we'll catch him red-handed," Lin Anlan said fiercely. Su Yang couldn't even interrupt and could only obey Lin Anlan's instructions.

After tidying up, the three of them, led by John, headed to the old blacksmith's house. From afar, they could see the lights on in the old blacksmith's house. When Su Yang and the others came to the window, they could hear the old blacksmith's voice inside. Sometimes he sighed, sometimes he laughed, sometimes he was sad, and sometimes he regretted. Each change in emotion was accompanied by the clattering sound of coins, which was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Lin Anlan channeled his fire elemental power and kicked the dilapidated door, sending it flying. He stormed into the room, pointed at the old blacksmith, and demanded, "Old dog, where are my materials? Tell me the truth!"

Hearing the commotion, the old blacksmith was startled, and the gold coins he was counting fell to the ground. Seeing Lin Anlan, Su Yang, and John enter the house, the old blacksmith sighed and said as if accepting his fate, "I gave the materials to Viscount White."

Hearing his master admit it with his own ears, John couldn't believe it. His respected master, who had taught him to be an upright person, could do such a despicable thing. Was he still a craftsman? Did he still have any craftsmanship? John couldn't accept this fact and ran straight out the door.

Lin Anlan ignored John, drew his sword, pointed it at the old blacksmith, and said, "Are the materials still with White? Take us to get them."

"If you spare my life, I'll take you there." The old blacksmith calmly made his demand, asking Lin Anlan to spare his life. Lin Anlan, the former captain of the Blood Squad, wouldn't fall for that. She immediately stabbed the old blacksmith's arm with her sword and said viciously, "You dare to negotiate with me? If you don't take me there, I'll kill you right now!"

The old blacksmith was frightened by the fierce aura emanating from Lin Anlan, or perhaps the pain from the pierced arm forced him to submit. He grimaced and agreed to lead the way. Seeing him nod, Lin Anlan disregarded his injuries, stepped forward, grabbed the old blacksmith, and forced him to lead the way. He and Su Yang followed closely behind him, heading towards Viscount White's mansion.