936 Small Matter
“Well, they are brothers after all.”
The relations.h.i.+p between w.a.n.g Yao and his two uncles was quite average. In his youth, w.a.n.g Yao had spent more time with his grandfather from his mother’s side. The grandparents from his father’s side seldom visited, so he had little contact with his father’s brothers. As such, there was little feeling of kins.h.i.+p to be had. Those brothers rarely visited his father in the village. When they did, it was usually just to borrow money. The blood connection was the only keep keeping the family together.
“Just let him work here. I’ll get someone to knock some sense into him,” Tian Yuantu said.
“Alright, thanks a lot,” w.a.n.g Yao replied.
“It is nothing,” Tian Yuantu said with a smile. This was not much of a trouble for him, but w.a.n.g Yao still felt bad about it.
“Are you free tonight?” w.a.n.g Yao asked. “How about we go to dinner?”
“Sure,” Tian Yuantu said.
w.a.n.g Yao stayed in the town center all afternoon. He visited other friends in town and had dinner with them all in the evening. By the time he was home, it was already well past 8 p.m.
He greeted his family after he returned home.
“Well?” w.a.n.g Fenghua asked. That matter had been bothering him all day.
w.a.n.g Yao stayed silent for a bit before honestly saying, “Right. Smoking, drinking, and gambling,”
“Gambling?”
“Yes, and he has messy relations.h.i.+ps with several female colleagues.”
Wham! w.a.n.g Fenghua threw the gla.s.s he was holding onto the table. He was very angry.
w.a.n.g Yao’s mother couldn’t help but mumble, “He just can’t be decent, can he? Does he even remember his surname at all? We shouldn’t have lent that $10,000 to him!”
w.a.n.g Fenghua did not say anything. He just quietly sat and smoked. Honestly, he was very disappointed in his little brother. His brother considered to be in his prime. He should have been working to build a career. Instead, the man had gotten himself mixed up in all those vices.
Sigh! w.a.n.g Fenghua exasperatingly sighed.
“Don’t worry too much, Dad,” w.a.n.g Yao said. “I talked with Brother Tian. He said he would have someone knock some sense into Third Uncle.”
Regardless of how much of a disappointment w.a.n.g Fenghua was and how frustrated he was at his brother, he was still a family member. It was fine to be angry, but w.a.n.g Fenghua was unable to live with himself letting his brother be.
“Alright.” That was all w.a.n.g Fenghua had to say about it, even after being mum for quite a while.
w.a.n.g Yao stayed home for a bit before heading out to Nanshan Hill alone.
It was a winter night, but there was no wind. Everything was quiet.
It was just cold, very cold.
w.a.n.g Yao took quick strides and arrived at the top of the hill in mere moments. The lamp was lit. Mantra chants were heard until midnight.
w.a.n.g Yao was up early the next morning.
When the early morning sun shone on the herbal field, he picked a spot in and planted the Kang wood. The tree was about 2 feet tall and as thick as a thumb. The trunk looked bluish-purple, and the leaves were purple. Both sides of the leaves had tiny silver hairs.
A dog was seen wagging its tail by the side. After watching the tree for a while, the dog went up to smell it.
w.a.n.g Yao pointed at the Kang wood and said to the dog, “San Xian, this is Kang wood. It’s an upper-level magic herb,”
At the moment, that was the most precious herb found throughout the entire field. It needed a very long time to grow before it would bear fruit. After 10 years, it would have only grown another foot in height.
“Keep a close eye on it.”
The dog barked for a bit, signifying that it had the job covered.
In southern Yunnan, thousands of miles away…
“This guy looks somewhat like one from our place. Here’s his photo,” Miao Qingfeng found Yang Guanfeng and showed him a picture.
“Where is this guy now?” Lu Xiufeng immediately asked after looking at the picture.
“No idea.”
“No idea?”
“He left the place 16 years ago,” Miao Qingfeng said.
He had found them after receiving Miao Xihe’s instructions. He showed them the picture and gave them the news.
“What is his name?”
“Miao Tianchuan.”
“Why did he leave 16 years ago? Did he have some altercation with your chief?” Lu Xiufeng asked.
“Indeed, he and the chief were not on good terms,” Miao Qingfeng said. “He harbored great enmity toward the chief.”
“What were the reasons?”
“I’m not all that certain about the reasons,” Miao Qingfeng replied. “I was still a kid 16 years ago, so there was no way I would have known any of that. If you want to know more, you’d need to ask the chief.”
“Well, ask him when you’ve got the time,” Yang Guanfeng said. “We’d like to know more about the reasons.”
“Sure, I’ll ask,” Miao Qingfeng said.
“Is this Miao Tianchuan guy good with poisons?”
“The chief said that he was very talented using them,” Miao Qingfeng replied.
“Right. Got it. Thank you.”
“You’re too polite. This is just part of my job.”
They gave Miao Qingfeng an update on the case before leaving.
“So, are you onto this Miao Tianchuan guy?” Lu Xiufeng asked with a smile.
“The first time we went there, they got Miao Qingshan to serve as a scapegoat, and that guy ran when we were about to apprehend him,” Yang Guanfeng said. “Worse yet, both of us were poisoned and spent some days lying in bed. This time, there is someone else like this popping up. Also, he left the place 16 years ago and is nowhere to be found at the moment. We don’t even know if he’s dead or alive. It’s another seemingly dead end. Where do you think we should start looking, eh?”
“Are you saying that they just made someone up?”
“That is not definitely the case, but it is a possibility,” Yang Guanfeng said. “That guy could really be from their place, and he might actually have something against Miao Xihe.”
“Isn’t it simple then?” Lu Xiufeng asked. “It’s a setup. Wasn’t that what they were up to?”
“Yeah, but why now of all times? And, this guy… Is it really a coincidence?”
“What should we do?”
“We ask.”
“Ask who?”
“Who do you think?”
“I forgot about that. There is still another guy.” Lu Xiufeng sent a message to the person they have never met or even spoken to. There was only the name in that message—Miao Tianchuan.
“Alright, now we wait for news.”
“Well, who do you think this person is?”
“How many people from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine do you know?”
“Umm, Miao Xihe, Miao Qingfeng, Miao Changhong, and umm…” Lu Xiufeng stopped to think.
“Err, what’s the name of that pretty girl who was a good cook again?”
“Man, screw you.” Yang Guanfeng smiled and waved his hands.
“Oh, a reply.” The reply from the mystery person came quickly.
“Someone who left the village 16 years ago and was on bad terms with Miao Xihe. It seems like Miao Xihe had a lot to do with the deaths of the man’s parents.”
“If that’s the case, that means it has something to do with murder,” Yang Guanfeng said. “What the h.e.l.l is going on with that valley?”
“From the looks of it, we might just get ourselves into a dead end,” Lu Xiufeng said. “So much for a lead, I guess. It seems like that lead won’t be working for long.”
Meanwhile, in the Valley of Thousands of Medicines miles away…
“Chief.”
“Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
“Let’s begin.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Lights glittered in a wooden building during the night.
Inside it was a young man in his 20s.
“Have you thought it through, Xiao He?”
“Indeed. I owe my life to you, Chief. I’m willing,” that young man said.
“OK, let’s begin.”
Outside of the Valley of Thousands of Medicine, in the dark of night…
A man was zipping about in the woods. When he came to the foot of the mountain, he found that the cave he usually pa.s.sed through had been completely blocked off.
“Why is it suddenly blocked off?” He looked around for a bit, but he was unable to find a suitable entrance.
“Miao Xihe is quick!” He slightly sighed.
“Of course. You’d probably find something if he wasn’t quick enough.” A voice was heard coming from the corner of the foot of the mountain.
“Miao Chengfeng?”
“Miao Tianchuan, I can’t believe you’re still alive.” A man walked out of a tree’s shadow.
“I’m not dying until I’ve taken my revenge,” Miao Tianchuan said.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Since you were able to escape back then, you should have just stayed put somewhere else,” Miao Chengfeng said. “Why have you dared to return?”
“Why the h.e.l.l not?”
“Does what is happening out there have something to do with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll talk after we see the chief.”
Suddenly, the two men clashed in the dark of night.
“Well, it seems like you’ve kept your skills up all these years.”
Pfft, pfftt. Two flashes of light were seen in the dark.