Chapter 14 - Ten Thousand Taels of Silver
Qin Yun and Tian Bo left on horseback before eventually parting ways.
As for the restaurant boat that they had encountered on Flower Solarium river, it finally slowly approached the sh.o.r.e.
"Brother Yu Bai, farewell."
"Brother w.a.n.g, it"s already getting late. Take care."
The great scholar, Yu Bai bade his friend farewell.
Yu Bai was rather handsome and had an elegant bearing. However, there was something decadent about him. Just as he was about to leave with his servants and guards, an old procuress disembarked the boat and hurriedly said, "Young Master Yu."
"Oh, what"s the matter?" Yu Bai said nonchalantly.
The old procuress hurriedly said obsequiously, "Our Dreamlike Pavilion Lady has been your ardent admirer and has always loved your poems. She wonders if she has a chance of meeting you."
"I am here in Grand Dominance for important matters. I"m sorry that I"m unable to meet her." Yu Bai responded nonchalantly.
"Our Pavilion Lady really admires you. Why don"t you meet her to alleviate her pining for you?" said the old procuress hurriedly.
"There"s no need." Noticing how she was about to continue, Yu Bai immediately turned around and left.
As the old procuress watched his back, all she could do was stamp her feet before returning to the boat dejectedly.
Yu Bai carefreely led his servants and guards on their journey.
"Master, that Dreamlike Pavilion Lady sure has her means. She has already invited you several times. Even though you were invited to that restaurant boat by your friend, the old procuress on it is also a subordinate of hers. She really does not give up the chance of sending you an invitation." The guard said with a smile. "Up to this day, she has yet to make an appearance."
"Dreamlike Pavilion Lady." Yu Bai laughed as he said, "She was once a renowned courtesan in the capital but even there, she was lacking in fame! However, in the capital, there are even more high officials and n.o.bles. She has indeed managed to acc.u.mulate some wealth and connections with these officials. As she grew older, she returned to her hometown, Grand Dominance County and established Dreamlike Pavilion! She even made herself Pavilion Lady. I heard that at the Courtesan Belle selection two years ago, she had used all her connections to forcefully win the t.i.tle of Courtesan Belle."
"If she were young, that would have been fine. It would have been duly deserved. However, she"s no longer young. She isn"t comparable to her younger self. She doesn"t have many admirers either. Two years ago, she won the t.i.tle of Courtesan Belle, which many people in Grand Dominance County resented. They found it unfair!"
"She wants me to help her but why should I?" Yu Bai immediately smiled. "Women have to know themselves. At an old age, one shouldn"t contend with the young ladies."
"Master, how old is Dreamlike Pavilion Lady this year?" asked the guard.
"Although Qi Refinement can extend one"s youthfulness, she"s already thirty-five." Yu Bai shook his head. "For a renowned courtesan, that"s just too old."
"She"s that old?"
"She"s already more than ten years older than me. She"s nearly my mother"s age." Another servant by the side exclaimed in astonishment.
Yu Bai laughed.
As he leisurely strolled, Yu Bai arrived at the inn with his servants and guards where he was temporarily lodging in.
"Master! Master!" Another servant that had been waiting at the inn ran over hurriedly.
"What matter is it for you to get so excited about?" Yu Bai asked.
"Master, I received news of an immortal cultivator," said the servant agitatedly.
"Immortal cultivator?" Yu Bai"s eyes lit up. "Quickly tell me. Who is this immortal cultivator? What"s his name and where is he from?"
"I heard the news from Swallow Phoenix Brothel. He"s an immortal cultivator named Qin Yun." The servant hurriedly said. "I heard that he is a local of Grand Dominance County. At the age of thirteen, he had reached one with the sword and cultivated to the ninth level of the Qi Refinement realm. Six years ago, he left home to roam the world. He recently returned as an immortal, having knocked open the gate of immortality! Just this night at Swallow Phoenix Brothel, this immortal cultivator, Qin Yun had thrown the Liu family"s young master, Liu Qi down the building, turning his face into a b.l.o.o.d.y mess! This immortal cultivator even said "Lady Chen Shuang is my younger sister. Offending her is equivalent to offending me, Qin Yun"."
The servant even tried emulating Qin Yun.
"Swallow Phoenix Brothel, Lady Chen Shuang?" Yu Bai"s heart stirred as he hurriedly asked, "Where does this immortal, Qin Yun live?"
"He is a local of Grand Dominance City. He lives in Qin Manor." The servant said hastily, "In all of Grand Dominance County, there is only one place that is called Qin Manor. It"s the silver-badge constable, Lord Qin Liehu"s residence. That Qin Yun is the Qin Manor"s second young master."
Yu Bai nodded. "Ah Fu, send a letter of mine to the Qin Manor tomorrow."
"Yes." The servant Ah Fu said politely.
Yu Bai"s eyes turned deep and serene as he thought to himself, "I wonder how deep the relations.h.i.+p between this immortal cultivator, Qin Yun, and that renowned courtesan, Lady Chen Shuang goes. I wonder if he has the ability to help me!"
"Also, go and find out for me what sort of relations.h.i.+p that immortal cultivator Qin Yun has with that Lady Chen Shuang." Yu Bai instructed.
"Master, rest a.s.sured." Ah Fu hurriedly replied.
At the second day at dawn.
Qin Manor, practice grounds.
Qin Yun was leisurely practicing his swordplay. It was still slow but the sword beams were a blur like a dream or illusion. If Lady Chen Shuang"s sword dance was the combination of sword techniques and dancing that aesthetically pleased people, then Qin Yun"s pure swordplay could make anyone who watched it fall into a dreamlike world. They would not be able to help themselves from their intoxication. It far exceeded the boundaries of artistry.
"Phew." After sheathing his sword, Qin Yun headed for breakfast.
As he drank thick rice porridge, he heard conversations coming from outside. Soon, he saw Qin Liehu and Qin An walk in together.
"Father, you haven"t been back for two nights." Qin Yun said with a smile. "Quickly come and drink a bowl of porridge."
Qin Liehu sat down and immediately drank a few mouthfuls. He finished slightly half a big bowl of porridge before giving the order, "Everyone else is dismissed."
"Yes, Master." The maidservants that were tending to them quickly retreated.
There were only Qin Liehu and his two sons left in the hall.
"Brother, you brought your wife and children here?" Qin Yun said with a smile. He had come home late last night and didn"t notice it until the morning.
"Demons were targeting me. Although you told me that you have resolved it, how can I feel at ease? It"s fine if I die myself but if anything untoward happens to my wife and children…" Qin An hurriedly said, "It"s best I come back. There"s Father and you here! I will feel more at ease here."
"Yea." Qin Yun nodded slightly. Yes, his brother was after all an ordinary person. How could he not fear demons?
However, Qin Liehu looked at Qin Yun and said, "Yun"er, I heard from your brother that on the night you came back, you had done some secret investigations and resolved the trouble plaguing him? Is it that old demon, Chu Yong?"
"The one hiding in Brother"s residence was a cat demoness. She had been hiding there for half a year." Qin Yun drank two mouthfuls of porridge before continuing with a smile, "She was also under orders. The one behind this is that old demon leader, Chu Yong. That night, after capturing the cat demoness, I followed the clues and went to the old demon, Chu Yong"s underground palace. He also admitted that he wanted to make Brother a demonic slave so as to threaten you. After knowing this, I wiped out all the demons, including Chu Yong!"
"So, it was really done by you."
Qin Liehu sighed. "Back when I went to the underground palace and learned that it was old demon Chu Yong, the thought that it could have been you crossed my mind! However, I thought that you were too young and had only recently knocked open the gate of immortality, so it was unlikely you were the old demon"s match."
"Father, you have underestimated Brother," Qin An said.
"It"s been six years. Yun"er"s strength is a lot greater than I expected," said Qin Liehu with a laugh.
"Chu Yong"s hide was indeed rather thick. Even with thousands of arrows shooting at him or a powerful shot from a crossbow would not be able to penetrate his skin." Qin Yun said with a sigh.
"Yun"er, you have eliminated a great problem for our Grand Dominance City. With the old demon entrenched in the city, he has caused a great deal of harm. In that underground palace of his, there was a pit of white bones. They were the remains of the humans he ate." Qin Liehu shook his head. "These demons deserve to be killed."
"He ate humans? Pit of white bones?" Qin An was alarmed.
"Humans eat beasts while demons eat humans. It"s very commonplace." Qin Yun said, "Demons can be both good and bad. There are many good demons as well. However, demons like Chu Yong deserve death."
"An"er, do not spread the news of your brother killing the demon Chu Yong." Qin Liehu exhorted him.
"I understand." Qin An immediately nodded.
And at the moment in the county governor"s residence. The county governor"s residence was naturally large, considering how there were six hundred personal guards stationed there.
A colorful-robed man was nervously standing in a tiny yard waiting.
"I wonder why the county governor suddenly summoned me." The colorful-robed man was feeling anxious. He had no other option. Although he was the patriarch of the wealthy Liu family, one of the top three family clans in all of Grand Dominance county, he knew very well that the Liu family had come this far because of the county governor! In front of the county governor, his Liu family was just a dog!
A dog had to loyally watch the house.
If the master threw a bone, the dog had to c.o.c.k its head and wag its tail and enjoy the bone.
One day, the master might even kill the dog! And the dog could only die in silence!
"I don"t think I did anything wrong. Whatever he ordered me to do have been done perfectly." The colorful-robed man had various thoughts surfacing his mind.
"Patriarch Liu, please follow me," said an old servant with a smile.
"Steward w.a.n.g, do you know why the county governor suddenly summoned me?" Patriarch Liu came to Steward w.a.n.g in a fawning manner as he stuffed a banknote into his hands. Noticing that it was a note for a hundred taels of silver, Steward w.a.n.g revealed a smile and whispered, "Don"t worry. Master seems to be in a good mood. I doubt it"s anything serious."
Patriarch Liu heaved a sigh of relief.
Soon, he was led into a garden.
An elder dressed in a simple gray robe was sitting across a blue-robed man.
"Greetings Lord County Governor and Commander Fang!" The moment Patriarch Liu arrived, he immediately bowed politely.
There was no need to mention the county governor. He was an existence that had absolute power over both military and political powers in Grand Dominance County. No one dared defy his orders. He had the authority to persecute any official under the seventh grade without permission from his superiors. Above the seventh grade, he could directly remand them. In order to deal with demons, it had to be ensured that the county governor"s words had to carry weight! Wealthy family clans of certain regions could be vanquished with any reason given by the county governor.
As for the blue-robed man, he was on the surface the strongest person in Grand Dominance County. He was a Congenital False Core realm who was commander of the county governor"s personal guards!
"Do not leave the money that your Liu family needs to hand over to the end of the year." The gray-robed elder said casually, "I need it within half a month. Will you be able to do it?"
Patriarch Liu felt a knot in his heart.
The Liu family had earned large amounts of money with the county governor backing it. Naturally, it had to offer large amounts of money as a tribute. However, it was typically done at the end of the year. It was presently only March.
"By the way, I need a hundred thousand taels." The gray-robed elder added.
Patriarch Liu p.r.i.c.ked up his brows. Wasn"t it usually eighty thousand taels of silver a year? Why did it increase?
"Lord County Governor, rest a.s.sured. I will definitely raise the hundred thousand taels in half a month." However, Patriarch Liu did not grumble at all.
"Alright." The gray-robed elder nodded slightly. "I heard that Liu Qi had clashed with Qin Manor"s second young master at Swallow Phoenix Brothel last night?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Patriarch Liu hurriedly said. "I have already thought him a terrible lesson."
"Your luck isn"t bad. That second master of the Qin Manor showed mercy." The gray-robed elder casually waved his hand. "Alright, you are dismissed."
"Yes, yes!"
Patriarch Liu immediately retreated obediently. However, his mind was spinning with questions. "Why would the Lord County Governor suddenly mention the Qin Manor"s second young master? Even if he has knocked open the gate of immortality, he has yet to enter the Congenital realm. He shouldn"t matter. Commander Fang himself is already an immortal at the Congenital False Core realm!"