Chapter 52 – Tang Yuan’s Confidential Report
“Even if Qin Hu was not involved, wouldn’t this prove that you are trying your best to help solve this matter? Considering how much you are trying to repent and help out, I believe your grandfather would not be so harsh on you. Besides, all you need to do is insist that Qin Hu is a major suspect. With your grandfather’s current state, he will certainly spare no effort in determining the truth of this matter. When that happens, it no longer mattered if Qin Hu is involved or not. At the same time, you would have helped the common people by exterminating a source of calamity. Think about it, why should you not do it?”
Reel him in...
“You are right, my grandfather placed a great value on that item. As long as he gets hold of a clue, he would immediately mobilize everything!” Tang Yuan thought out loud. “However, this matter needs to be done properly; otherwise my future days would be extremely miserable. Very well! I will follow your plan!”
The more he considered it, the more he believed that this was a wonderful plan. Tang Yuan eventually became impatient and said. “Third Young Master, how about if I let my men send you over to Red Joy Establishment so that you can enjoy the “quietness” there. I need to go back quickly to report to my grandfather. Otherwise, if grandfather finds out that I went to visit a brothel after finding out about this instead of reporting to him first, my situation will become even worse.”
“It is indeed not a suitable thing to do. Since you have something going on, how could I have the mood to go to the brothel? I will just play around,” Jun Xie laughed. “Fatty Tang, congratulations! You are about to obtain freedom.”
Tang Yuan smiled wide, akin to the Buddha Maitreya. “This is all thanks to brother’s advice.”
After declining Tang Yuan’s offer to escort him back, Jun Xie descended from the carriage and the both of them parted ways. Observing Tang Yuan’s carriage moving away, Jun Xie’s face revealed a smile.
If the Tang Family were to take action, what should his next step be? The Xuan Core was resting within his hands and yet he had no clue on how to utilize it. How should he solve this problem?
Should I spread the news of this item out to attract some high ranked experts into Tianxiang City? In this vast world, there are many capable people. Surely some among them would know what I need. However, this matter needs to be concealed from Grandpa and Third Uncle. With Grandpa’s upright and honest nature, Third Uncle’s straightforward character, they would probably want to return it to the Tang Family. In addition, if any slip of the tongue were to occur, then the resulting trouble would be huge. It would be better from me to tell them after using the Xuan Core on Third Uncle or Grandpa. That is right, I will hand them a done deal... that way, we can silently prosper!
The divine powers that Jun Xie has was the result of practicing the Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune and was fundamentally different from the cultivation of Xuan Qi. Jun Xie believed correctly that this highly coveted Xuan Core was of no use to him.
However, even though the Xuan Core was of no use to his practice of the Art of Unlocking Heaven’s Fortune, it could still help him in other areas. Unfortunately, this newbie still had no idea...
Furthermore, should he attend the Gifted Scholar’s Autumn Festival Feast tomorrow?
He thought about it while walking onwards. After walking for who knew how far, he finally decided. Feeling around for his flying knives, he sighed. After the confrontation that occurred last time, he had understood that the self-made flying knives were not very effective against the Xuan Qi experts of this world. Even though the opponent was merely a Silver Xuan expert, the flying daggers ended up being broken and bent! What would happen if the opponent was at the Gold Xuan or Jade Xuan level? When thinking about such a possibility, Jun Xie broke out in cold sweat. The one thing he could be certain of was that with the current quality of iron, the flying knives produced were insufficient against a highly capable master! At least, it did not have the ability to inflict fatal wounds.
Since Jun Xie’s strength has yet to be improved to a great level, he must first create several weapons for him to defend himself. At the very least, the projectile weapons he has must be able to penetrate the defensive strength of a Jade Xuan expert’s body. This was also Jun Xie’s minimum requirement! However, normal iron would not be sufficient in this regard.
Jun Xie continued forward with his head lowered as he made his way to the “Divine Weapons Store”. In order to acquire high quality materials for his self-made flying knives, the “Divine Weapons Store” may be the only place within Tianxiang Kingdom where he could find it. By Jun Xie’s calculations, the best material available here would be mysterious iron; cold iron would be an acceptable replacement if need be. If all else fails, then he would need to resort to fine steel.
After parting ways with Jun Xie, Eldest Young Master Tang, Tang Yuan excitedly rushed back home. Once he arrived, he immediately requested an audience with his grandfather.
For the past few days, Grandfather Tang had been feeling extremely irritable. In addition to having his one pride and joy, the Xuan Core stolen, there was also no news or leads regarding the case. This made him even more furious. His mind kept thinking back towards Tang Yuan. If not for this debauchee brat’s mess with the gambling incident, this would never have happened. The more he thought about it, the more furious he became. He eventually decided to order the servants to summon Tang Yuan here so that he can vent out his fury.
Just as he was calling out, a servant suddenly came in to report that the Eldest Young Master was seeking an audience. He became surprised. Disregarding the current situation, meeting this brat was hard even on normal days. These days, Tang Yuan would hide as much as he could, and yet he suddenly had the guts to come forward himself? Could it be that he has gone mad from the scolding? “Bring him in!” After thinking for a bit, he added. “Bring in the iron abacus!”
Right after he entered, the first thing Tang Yuan saw was the iron abacus, causing his face to turn bitter.
“What kind of vile problem is it this time?” Grandfather Tang was very angry! As he asked, his chin indicated the iron abacus, signalling for Tang Yuan to kneel on it before saying anything. How could he not understand his own grandson? The only reason Tang Yuan would request to meet him would be if he had caused an insoluble problem! If not for this, Tang Yuan would never ever come to him!
Tang Yuan’s face were filled with bitterness as he sadly knelt down, his belly falling all the way to the ground, causing a clear sound to be heard.
“What happened?” Looking at the belly of his grandson reaching the ground, he found himself unable to become angry. “Would it hurt you to lose some weight? Or have you resigned yourself to becoming a pig?”
Tang Yuan was originally excited as he thought of making a huge contribution. But after receiving such a kind of treatment, he became dejected. Looking at his own belly, he solemnly replied. “It is not like I wanted to be this fat... having received your scolding for the past few days, I could not even eat properly. But, even if I only drink water...”
“Enough! Just tell me why you came here!” Grandfather Tang felt angry and yet felt like laughing. “Don’t talk nonsense, just what kind of trouble did you cause this time?”
“Grandpa, I...” Tang Yuan suddenly became excited as he thought of what Jun Moxie said about him being free from this miserable circumstance. Unable to help himself, he stood up, ignoring the furious expression on his grandfather’s face. “Grandpa, I think I may have found a lead on the stolen Xuan Core.”
“Oh?” Grandfather Tang who was originally about to become enraged and planned to have Tang Yuan kneel down again became surprised. His eyes bulged widely as he ignored what happened earlier. “Quick, spit out what you know.”
“Ever since the day the Xuan Core was stolen, grandchild has been plagued with worry day and night. For the past few days, I devoted all my concern, my mind and skill into this matter; I threw both my heart and soul into it as I racked my brains to think and analyse what happened, I drained myself of mind and body to pore through all possibilities carefully, ensuring that I squeeze every last effort I could muster...” Tang Yuan showed a sincere expression on his face, as though he had decided to turn over a new leaf and become a better person.
“Stop! Stop stop stop!” Grandfather Tang shouted angrily. “Would you prefer to kneel down on that before telling me what happened?” He pointed at the iron abacus.
Tang Yuan became startled. “Today, I went out looking for clues. Then, in the Drunken Immortal Establishment, I met the Northern City Clan Leader, Qin Hu... Qin Hu’s son, Qin Xiaobao. That Qin Xiaobao was being arrogant and overbearing as he bullied the innocent commoners. Seeing this, grandchild could not help but become angry. Due to Grandpa’s teachings, grandchild was unable to put up with his despicable ways. The anger in my heart rose to the Heavens, and the winds accompanied me as I stepped forward to fight in the name of righteousness and to save the weak! When chancing upon injustice, one must take up arms to offer assistance, fighting for the sake of righteousness with a heroic heart, for the people and for the country... uhh, after that, Qin Hu brought a number of men to make a fuss! But when he found out it was me, he panicked.” Tang Yuan’s ability to flaunt his own actions were truly extraordinary, every word he uttered painted him in good light.
“Nonsense! Who is Qin Hu? Does he have the ability to provoke us? How can he not panic? Is this your so-called lead?” Grandfather Tang scoffed out: What kind of nonsensical lead is this? And here I was actually putting hope into the words of this useless grandson of mine... Hearing Tang Yuan’s words of self-praise, Grandfather Tang’s face had turned black and swollen from anger.
“Grandpa, if Qin Hu had panicked right from the start, then I would understand. But, he actually did not show any such reaction at the beginning. It was only after I mentioned that a theft had happened in our house that Qin Hu’s expression changed, as though he had met a ghost.”
Tang Yuan put on the air of a master detective as he slowly deduced. “Externally, everyone believes that only money and jewellery were stolen from our house. This was the reason we gave to seek out the thieves. Under such circumstances, this matter would have no relations with Qin Hu at all. So, why then would he show such a shocked expression? Grandchild believes that there is something odd within all this! It might even be possible that Qin Hu was the one who committed this crime!”