"I see."
At that moment, Mu Yi understood. The bunch of women of Tingyu Building had plotted against him to stir up the public. Actually, it was a troublesome situation. Of course, Mu Yi didn"t intend to act childishly and cause trouble to them.
Initially, he didn"t understand the situation, who was to blame?
Of course, some people were getting ready to come and cause trouble to Mu Yi but he didn"t care at all. He felt extremely relaxed. A few proud and arrogant local princes, nothing more. He didn"t need to be worried.
But even though it was that way, it was still unpleasant to have a pack of dogs barking around oneself.
"What is the name of the Prince of the Xu Clan?" asked Mu Yi straightforwardly.
Xu w.a.n.g knew he had no choice but to speak now even if he wished otherwise.
"Xu Zi Heng, he"s the third Young Master of the Xu Clan." replied Xu w.a.n.g straightforwardly.
"Tell me more about the Xu Clan"s past." asked Mu Yi. Xu Zi Heng wanted to cause trouble to him but he didn"t seem that strong. He probably relied on his clan.
"The Xu Clan was a clan of merchants at the beginning. Then, their ancestors managed to become government officials. The old man of the Xu Clan was a former Commanding Officer for the Board of Punishments (translator"s note: the Board of Punishments was the Ministry of Justice in Imperial China). But then because of disputes within the government, he retired. But most of the members of the Xu Clan still hold positions within the government. Therefore, even though the old man has retired already, one shall not underestimate them."
"And Xu Zi Heng"s father is a government official in the inspector general"s cabinet. Therefore, the Xu Clan is quite a famous family in Cangzhou and n.o.body wants to offend them."
explained Xu w.a.n.g. Working in the inspector general"s office or working as a senior official in the Board of Punishments was something absolutely astonis.h.i.+ng for ordinary people. Such people were like G.o.ds for ordinary people. Even the members of the government of Cangzhou respect the old man of the Xu Clan.
No wonder Xu Zi Heng had dared taken the risk to come. He didn"t fear Mu Yi because he had a powerful family.
"I see. Anything else?" asked Mu Yi nodding.
"Apart from the Xu Clan"s Young Master, some other princes are ready to make trouble, it"s just that Little Third started first. Of course, when I go back, I"ll warn him not to come and bring about his own destruction." said Xu w.a.n.g. It was a promise. When he said that if the third young master came and caused trouble, he"d bring about his own destruction, it was because he didn"t think the third young master stood any chance against Mu Yi but also because he wanted to flatter Mu Yi. Of course, he did that because he thought of his own insignificant life first.
Even though he had sold out the Xu Clan, the Xu Clan couldn"t know about that. Otherwise, they"d kill him. Therefore, he had no choice but to kill the owner of the inn who pretended to have fainted and the waiter. In that world, only dead people could keep secrets. And he would also be able to take credits for those dead people"s achievements.
Of course, the biggest problem in the room at that moment was Mu Yi. And he didn"t want to offend Mu Yi. Someday, Mu Yi would reach the top and then, Xu w.a.n.g would be willing to submit to him and follow him. He would even become his servant.
"Why warn him?" asked Mu Yi smiling icily. Xu w.a.n.g s.h.i.+vered from head to foot and suddenly looked terrified.
"What do you want me to do then, Master?" asked Xu w.a.n.g kneeling down.
"Don"t worry. I won"t slaughter people in Cangzhou. But I"ll just pick a few ones who stand out." said Mu Yi indifferently. Even though he wanted to inspire awe, he hadn"t reached the point where he was able to resist against the whole imperial court alone. If he dared get rid of the Xu Clan, even if it was only for the sake of face, the imperial government would also send some people to attack him.
Mu Yi didn"t mind fighting against dozens or even hundreds of soldiers. He could easily defeat them. But not thousands or even dozens of thousands. He would just get crushed in the blink of an eye.
"Don"t worry, Master. I will help you and take appropriate measures." said Xu w.a.n.g. He didn"t understand what Mu Yi meant. Even if he said that though, there was only one option. The Xu Clan was going to go through happy and peaceful times. Everything he did represented the Xu Clan after all, besides, amongst the few people he was going to choose, the third young master had to be one of them, after sorting that out, n.o.body would dare cause trouble to him again.
"Alright, I hope you won"t disappoint me." said Mu Yi staring at Xu w.a.n.g in a deep and meaningful way before leaving. Xu w.a.n.g felt as if Mu Yi could read him like an open book which made him s.h.i.+ver from head to foot.
"Stay safe, Master." said Xu w.a.n.g looking at Mu Yi disappear. He finally felt relaxed and relieved. He sat down. He was pale. His clothes were soaked in cold sweat. His heart was pounding.
He took a deep breath and looked at Mister Fan who was still lying on the ground. Suddenly, he lifted a chair and threw it at Mister Fan violently.
Actually, after Mu Yi left, Mister Fan had already thought of something to tell Xu w.a.n.g but as soon as he opened his eyes, Xu w.a.n.g threw a chair at him. Suddenly, he was scared and panic-stricken. He tried to dodge as fast as he could.
But he was too slow. The chair didn"t crash on his head but on his legs. Xu w.a.n.g still seemed furious though and Mister Fan shouted in panic.
But Xu w.a.n.g was still furious. Besides, when facing Mister Fan, he felt as if he had b.a.l.l.s again, as opposed to when he was with Mu Yi. Therefore, he lifted the chair again and threw it at Mister Fan one more time.
Mister Fan"s legs hurt. He shouted and crawled on the floor to dodge the chair.
This time, the chair crashed on the ground. But he still glanced around to see if he could throw anything else at Mister Fan. He gradually started rejoicing. He was getting his revenge. Because as he saw it, Mister Fan was to blame for everything that was happening. If he had brought him to an even more mysterious place or if he had waited until he left and then sent someone to chase Mu Yi, he wouldn"t have needed to go through all this with Mu Yi.
Therefore, Mister Fan was his enemy.
And when Mister Fan had told the waiter to expel Mu Yi, he hadn"t done anything because he didn"t care.
Finally, after he threw everything he could find around him, Xu w.a.n.g took a deep breath. He stared at Mister Fan. Mister Fan was covered in blood, he looked wretched and miserable, he emitted some sad and plaintive cries, and he was curled up.
"Mister Fan, don"t pretend to be dead. Otherwise, I will ask someone to go and dig a grave for you at the graveyard for unmarked common graves. Believe it or not." said Xu w.a.n.g staring at Mister Fan cruelly. So Mister Fan had no choice, he had to get back up.
"Do you know what to do?" asked Xu w.a.n.g straightforwardly.
"I know." said Mister Fan nodding.
"Good. If you tell anyone about what happened today, I will kill you and your whole clan. Of course, you can also try to escape. See if I find you or not." said Xu w.a.n.g.
"I wouldn"t dare." said Mister Fan shaking his head and paling. At that moment, he was terrified. He would never dare do anything which could infuriate Xu w.a.n.g. And if Xu w.a.n.g killed him, n.o.body may ever even know about it.
"Alright. And greet the Master from me. If the Master is unhappy with anything, I will blame you and I will not forgive you." said Xu w.a.n.g.
"Don"t worry. I will tell the Master everything." said Mister Fan immediately. Even though he had just been beaten up and his entire body was sore, he had managed to protect his life, and when there was life, there was hope.
"Hmph!" When Xu w.a.n.g heard Mister Fan, he groaned icily. Then he left without turning around. He knew that keeping Mister Fan could be a problem. He wanted to kill him. But it wasn"t the right time. He had to do what Mu Yi had told him first. Therefore, he couldn"t let new problems crop up unexpectedly. He had to let Mister Fan live a few more days. And in any case, Mister Fan would die sooner or later.
Mister Fan stared at Xu w.a.n.g while he left. When Xu w.a.n.g disappeared, Mister Fan finally dared wipe the blood off his face. He looked at his fellow who was lying there motionlessly. Mister Fan was furious. Xu w.a.n.g had blamed him so he hated Xu w.a.n.g. And apart from Xu w.a.n.g, he also hated Mu Yi"s partner.
Therefore, he lifted the chair and threw it at his partner who pretended to be dead. Then the waiter shouted stridently and loudly.
That was the law of the jungle. Big fish ate small ones. Small fish ate shrimps. That was the food chain. And the best was to be at its top.
Mister Fan, Xu w.a.n.g, Mister Fan, the partner, all those people were part of an elaborated food chain.
Mu Yi knew Xu w.a.n.g wasn"t stupid. If he didn"t want to die, he would do his best to help him. And now, who was going to be unlucky? Who knows?
When Mu Yi arrived in the courtyard, Nian Nuer was still training Big Slave. Even though Big Slave wasn"t very smart, with Nian Nuer"s help, he progressed. Even though it was just a beginning, Mu Yi was happy. It proved Big Slave could also become a cultivator.
What Leng Yu had said may really happen someday. Big Slave may become a normal person again. His mental abilities may even become normal too. And then, with his strength, he would be an incredible partner for Mu Yi. Mu Yi didn"t regret he had brought him from Fu Niu Mountain to Cangzhou.
After watching Big Slave practice cultivation for a little while, Mu Yi continued practicing the Yu"s Steps. Even though it was an easy agility techniques, Mu Yi kept practicing it. He wanted to reach an extraordinary level. So what he needed to do was to make his breathing pace and his Yu"s Steps harmonized together.
Time pa.s.sed slowly. Three days pa.s.sed. Nothing happened. Mu Yi just practiced cultivation. But even if he hid in his courtyard, he could feel that the Qi in the atmosphere around him was changing. It felt as if storm clouds had been approaching. Actually, it was the case. After Xu w.a.n.g went back, he handled everything to perfection! Much better than expected!
That evening, someone sneaked into Mu Yi"s courtyard.