Chapter Seventy-Six: What Nonsense
Not that it mattered how flustered the woman who had suddenly revealed herself was.
While soothing her, Hu Shaomeng explained to Jiang Chen: "Emissary, this is my junior sister Zhu Biqiong. She must have come looking for me. She meant you no offense."
The woman named Zhu Biqiong said somewhat nervously, "Yes... I came to find Senior Brother Hu."
Her cultivation was not particularly impressive. The reason she had been able to conceal herself from Jiang Chen and lurk nearby was mainly the Fishing Sea Tower's secret treasure, the Mirage Pearl.
She had hidden her presence and followed Hu Shaomeng here. Her mind had been shaken when she heard about Zhu Suyao, and that was why she had let her whereabouts slip and been discovered by Jiang Chen.
At this moment, Jiang Chen's next offensive was still hidden and unreleased, but that sudden blossom of flame earlier had been searing and precise. It was more than enough to reveal his strength.
To say nothing of the terrifying aura produced by Jiang Chen's surging battle intent and countless battles. She did not dare be careless.
Judging from this response alone, she was clearly a girl who had seen little of the world.
Up against someone as shameless and calculating as Hu Shaomeng, she would be thoroughly used sooner or later.
Jiang Chen pretended not to notice any of it, his eyes sinking as he asked, "If your junior sister came to find her senior brother, why were you sneaking around?"
"This..." Zhu Biqiong hesitated.
Hu Shaomeng cut in, "My junior sister has some misunderstandings about me."
He gave a bitter smile. "She is Suyao's younger sister. Suyao and I separated because of some misunderstandings, and then that happened. So..."
"That's right. I've always thought that you were the one who caused my sister's death. Her personality changed completely because you betrayed her. When you returned to the State of Yang this time, I secretly followed you here too, so I could find the relevant evidence and report it to the sect."
Zhu Biqiong was probably the sort of girl who could not keep her thoughts to herself. She spilled everything in her heart like beans from a tipped-over bamboo tube.
She lowered her head. "Senior Brother Hu... I blamed you unfairly."
Wait. How exactly had she blamed him unfairly?
Because of those inexplicable words just now?
Was she really that easy to fool?
Hu Shaomeng had obviously discovered you and deliberately put on that act for you.
Jiang Chen was inwardly a thousand times shocked, but he showed nothing on his face.
With a mind this simple, not being deceived was impossible, especially when facing someone as complicated as Hu Shaomeng.
Judging from this younger sister, her elder sister Zhu Suyao was probably not much smarter.
Jiang Chen curled his lips and said nothing.
"Junior Sister, what are you saying? Of course I can understand that you care about your sister. Suyao once told me that, apart from you, I was the person she kept in her heart. Now that your sister is gone, I should take responsibility and look after you. All these days, I have suffered the same pain as you. I couldn't eat or sleep, and I stared blankly into space night after night. I even neglected my cultivation. I returned to the State of Yang because I could no longer bear missing Suyao. Every time I saw something that reminded me of her in the tower, my heart felt as though it were being cut by a knife... Sigh."
As Hu Shaomeng spoke, he let out a long sigh.
When he reached the sorrowful part, Zhu Biqiong's tears fell in strings. She looked rather pitiful and endearing.
The senior brother and junior sister were putting on a reconciliation scene over there, but Jiang Chen had no interest in it whatsoever.
He did not care about the tangled story between Hu Shaomeng and his senior and junior sisters. Who had betrayed whom, who had used whom—those were their own affairs.
He only wanted to know what secrets were hidden in the Hu family's mine. Yet ever since he had revealed his identity, Hu Shaomeng had behaved impeccably, seeming entirely innocent.
Zhu Suyao, Zhu Biqiong, the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, the Fishing Sea Tower, Hu Shaomeng...
The clues were all tangled together in Jiang Chen's mind.
Just then, an old-fashioned voice came from outside the door: "Where is the Emissary?"
The man had not even appeared, yet he already sounded imperious.
Jiang Chen knew that the main act had arrived.
He did not move, simply waiting to see how that fellow who had begun putting on airs from far away would continue.
He was young, after all, and had clearly underestimated the depth of shamelessness.
"Hmph. Young people these days truly have no manners. I came from so far away, yet no one even knows to greet me."
Talking to himself, the man walked into the courtyard.
He was a slightly plump, ruddy-faced old man. Beside him, the accompanying Chief Hu You of Green Ox Town made a rather fitting pair.
With Hu You accompanying him, the man's identity was obvious.
Jiang Chen glanced at Hu Shaomeng.
A simple little girl like Zhu Biqiong was not difficult to deal with at all.
The act was secondary. He was probably here mainly to watch the show.
Jiang Chen remained impassive, while the slightly plump old man walked straight into the main hall.
He did not even spare the junior Hu Shaomeng a glance. Instead, he looked Jiang Chen up and down with a scrutinizing gaze. "Are you the emissary sent by the family to handle the affairs of this mine? The new retainer of Young Master Chongxuan Sheng?"
One mention of the family, then another of Young Master Chongxuan. Anyone who did not know better might have thought he was Chongxuan Chuliang himself.
Jiang Chen smiled. "Old sir, what advice do you have?"
"Let me ask you this." The old man lifted his chin arrogantly. "The ore vein here is clearly exhausted and offers no profit. Why do you stubbornly refuse to shut it down, wasting the resources of the Chongxuan family for nothing?"
So this was Hu Shaomeng's backup plan. Jiang Chen was not afraid of him taking action. He was afraid of him taking no action at all.
Sitting where he was, Jiang Chen lazily tapped the armrest. "I do not know who you are, what office you hold, or in what capacity you are speaking to me."
"My surname is Chongxuan. I am a genuine member of the Chongxuan family, with Chongxuan blood flowing through my veins. Within the entire territory of Jia City, all of the Chongxuan family's extraordinary resources are allocated by me! Naturally, my status is different from that of outsiders like you, who feel no pain at wasting clan property."
The ruddy-faced old man spat as he spoke. "You are merely a retainer, nothing but an outsider. Do you even have the right to question me?"
He deliberately did not give his full name: Chongxuan Laifu.
After all, once that name was spoken, anyone could tell where he had come from.
He had merely been a servant. After serving several generations of the Chongxuan family, he had been granted the surname Chongxuan.
Jiang Chen distilled his words down to the key point. "So you are just a flunky responsible for transporting Dao Essence Stones for the Chongxuan family."
Chongxuan Laifu flew into a rage. "What is your identity? What is your rank? How dare you speak to me like that?"
"I have no particular identity or rank..."
As Jiang Chen spoke, he suddenly rose, took one step to the old man's side, and backhanded him across the face.
Smack!
Chongxuan Laifu was sent flying. He shot from the main hall across the entire courtyard and landed outside the gate.
Five finger marks stood out against his enormously swollen, pudgy face.
After hitting the ground, his head lolled to one side, and he passed out on the spot.
As an aged and weakened Roaming Meridian realm cultivator, he had no power to resist Jiang Chen whatsoever.
Neither Hu You nor Hu Shaomeng had time to react.
They truly had not expected an outsider with a different surname, a mere retainer, to show no mercy even to a member of the Chongxuan family.
Even if he was only a servant who had been granted the surname, he still bore the name Chongxuan. That meant he was naturally more trusted by the people in power within the Chongxuan family. Otherwise, how could he have obtained such a lucrative assignment?
"Just a little strength, that's all." Jiang Chen finished blandly and sat back down.
Then he turned to Hu Shaomeng. "Young Master Hu, what do you think?"
Only then did Hu Shaomeng realize that Jiang Chen's position within the Chongxuan family was probably much higher than he had imagined. He was not someone who could be easily driven away by borrowing the family's influence. The lavish gift he had given Chongxuan Laifu had probably gone to waste.
But he was no ordinary man, and naturally did not let his displeasure show.
With an expression of gentle obedience, he said honestly, "This is a family matter of the Chongxuan family. We would not presume to have an opinion."
"Then take this senile old fool away. Do not let him keep ruining my mood."
Jiang Chen's usual courtesy came only from politeness. It did not mean he was weak or easy to bully. Not every two-bit nobody was entitled to his respect.
The Chongxuan family had businesses everywhere. It was impossible to station family cultivators at every one of them, so they hired many extraordinary cultivators from the local areas. The cultivation resources they spent each month amounted to an astronomical figure.
These resources were allocated together every month. The old man who had been slapped away was responsible for delivering the Dao Essence Stones belonging to the cultivators of the Hu family mine, as well as supervising and verifying the situation there.
Because he held this authority, Chief Hu You of Green Ox Town had always pampered him to his heart's content.
But with that tiny bit of petty authority, he had dared to come before Jiang Chen and shout arrogantly. He had simply become too carried away and lost his mind.
Jiang Chen naturally would not indulge him.
From beginning to end, Jiang Chen did not say a single word to Chief Hu You of Green Ox Town. He did not even look at him.
So Hu Shaomeng had no idea whether the "senile old fool" Jiang Chen referred to was the unconscious member of the Chongxuan family or his father.
But after enduring this long, he was not about to lose control now.
He even forced a smile. "The Emissary is right. We have disturbed you. We shall take our leave."
Even at a time like this, he did not forget to change his tone. Turning around, he spoke gently to Zhu Biqiong: "Junior Sister Zhu, since you have finally come all the way to the State of Yang, why not return to Green Ox Town with your senior brother and rest for a while? I can show you around, let you see the local sights, and help you clear your mind. The fish from the Front Creek are especially delicious."
Zhu Biqiong had been well protected by her sister since childhood and had not seen much of the world. She had come out this time only because of a surge of hatred. Now that her hatred had nowhere to go, she did not know what to do for a moment. She was just about to agree.
"The others may leave. You stay."
Jiang Chen suddenly spoke.
Everyone froze.
Hu Shaomeng could not help saying, "Emissary..."
"You came here to lie low for half a day, and now you think you can leave just like that? You say it was a misunderstanding, and that is all it takes? Do you still have the Chongxuan family in your eyes? Do you still have me, Jiang, in your eyes?"
Jiang Chen raised his voice, imitating the tone of a spoiled young scion like Chongxuan Sheng. "You can leave if you want, but only after I have investigated the whole story!"
Before the Endless Sea, the continuous islands near the coast had been humanity's final foothold.
Since the coastal archipelago could maintain basic autonomy beneath the nose of the State of Qi, its strength was naturally not to be underestimated.
As the strongest sect in the coastal archipelago, the Fishing Sea Tower could not possibly have earned its reputation for nothing. Jiang Chen had never wanted to interfere in the sect's internal affairs. He did not know the girl surnamed Zhu, and whether she was deceived or not had nothing to do with him.
But after Chongxuan Laifu had disgusted him, Jiang Chen was no longer in a pleasant mood.
The secrets of the mine were the larger matter at hand. Giving Hu Shaomeng a little disgust in return, however, would do no harm.
"I didn't do anything to you!" Zhu Biqiong immediately grew anxious.
Jiang Chen ignored her. He simply stared at Hu Shaomeng, his manner arrogant and aggressive. "Will you oppose me for the sake of this woman, or will you behave yourself and respect the rules of the Chongxuan family? Hu Shaomeng, what do you say?"
Le Wen