Chapter 130: Tactical Bluffing
Dusk was dim and gloomy.
Zhao Guanghui’s face was ashen, and he spurred his horse all the way back to the mansion.
Upon reaching the mansion gate, he abruptly reined in the reins, dismounted, and casually tossed the reins to the servant who came forward to greet him, his movements carrying an irrepressible murderous aura.
Zhao Guanghui said coldly, “This horse ran too fast. Kill it.”
The servant was puzzled deep down—wasn’t it usually for running too slow that one killed a horse? Why kill it for running fast?
But as a mere servant, how could he dare question the master’s orders? He quickly led the bewildered, snorting fine jade-topped horse to the backyard.
“Master.”
“Welcome back to the mansion, Master.”
Along the way, maidservants and servants knelt to the ground one after another, touching their foreheads to the ground, their voices humble, not daring to look up.
At that moment, a shrill, despairing neigh came faintly from the direction of the backyard, sharply tearing through the heavy night curtain before abruptly stopping.
The bodies of the people prostrated on the ground all trembled imperceptibly, their heads buried even lower.
Zhao Guanghui didn’t even glance at these people and went straight back to the study room.
Not long after, a beautiful woman came gracefully with a teacup, her voice soft and gentle: “Master…”
Zhao Guanghui glanced faintly at her and said, “Madam, please fetch my strings. I want to play a couple of tunes.”
Upon hearing the word “strings,” the beautiful young woman seemed to think of something, her face paling slightly as her delicate body trembled.
“Yes, Master.”
The entire Zhao Mansion knew that as a local from the Capital Region, Zhao Guanghui was extremely skilled at all sorts of young masters’ pastimes, both literary and martial; he could pick up anything from drums and clappers to strings and play it proficiently.
Playing the qin was one of them.
However, the nails he used for playing the qin were not made of wood or jade.
They were made from the forearms of young girls, preferably from those who practiced martial arts—the higher the cultivation, the better; a Jade Tree Realm one was ideal.
Whenever he played, the qin sounded and the bones resonated, indescribably wonderful.
These strings could not be stored in a lightless box; instead, a group of carefully selected young maidservants kept them warm against their bodies with their own body heat, requiring constant nurturing to maintain their luster.
The reason for a group of young maidservants was that there were quite a few strings.
From eight to eighteen years old, selecting the best among the best, hand bones were taken after repeated choices to make up these eleven strings.
Whenever Zhao Guanghui was in a bad mood, he would play a few tunes.
In the study room, the qin music lingered gracefully, each note melodious and ever-changing, sufficient to show Zhao Guanghui’s extraordinary qin skills.
The entire Zhao Mansion fell silent, with many people turning pale, their legs trembling, not daring to approach the study room.
“Hoo…”
After a long time, the qin music suddenly stopped.
Zhao Guanghui let out a long breath, smoothed the strings, and the icy chill on his face seemed to dissipate somewhat.
However, as soon as he closed his eyes, Zhao Guangxi’s smug villainous face and the meaningful gazes of the other landlords appeared before him.
A heavy shadow passed through his heart again.
His good younger brother had not only gained a tiger general with a Three Refinements Martial Body but also earned a reputation for repaying evil with kindness for free.
Everyone in Wuqing County with any status knew more or less about the feud between the brothers.
If it had been a fight to the death with mutual sabotage, that would have been fine—people would just shake their heads and sigh; blood brothers turning on each other was nothing remarkable.
But Chen Shun’an had actually saved Zhao Guanghui’s man, Hong Junxian, from the sea of fire.
This drew even more attention than directly killing Hong Junxian and cutting off Zhao Guanghui’s left and right arms.
Reputation was the direction of people’s hearts—not to mention them as county landlords, even His Majesty the Emperor dared not take it lightly.
It involved fortune and fortune telling in the darkness!
Moreover, that was just it…
Nie Zheng had actually died?
Even now, Zhao Guanghui still found it somewhat hard to believe.
When Nie Zheng first came to Wuqing County, his foundation was unstable, lacking money and men, urgently needing a local force to back him, so he hit it off with Zhao Guanghui.
Nie Zheng used his position to steal out unclaimed corpses, death row prisoners, and bandit corpses to sell to Zhao Guanghui.
Allowing him to secretly sacrificial refine Dingjia Warriors.
Especially that Xin Character Hall Master’s corpse—bones quenched like jade, joints gleaming, incorruptible after death, and recently deceased with some residual intent remaining; it was simply the perfect material for refining a Dingjia Warrior!
But now, it was gone!
The corpse was gone.
Nie Zheng was gone too!
Zhao Guanghui’s future channels for obtaining fine martial artist corpses were slashed drastically!
“Summon Hong Junxian to see me!”
Zhao Guanghui suppressed his churning emotions, called over his trusted aide, and gave a few low instructions.
About the time of burning one incense stick later, Hong Junxian hurried over.
The plaster on his temple at the corner of his forehead had not yet been removed, clearly having just struggled up from his sickbed.
As soon as they met, before Zhao Guanghui could speak, Hong Junxian dropped to his knees with a ‘thud,’ tears streaming down his face as he sobbed,
“This old man is incompetent! I’ve lost all face for the Landlord! I beg the Landlord to allow this old man to retire and remove me from the position of guest official at the money house…”
Zhao Guanghui was stunned for a moment; he hadn’t expected Hong Junxian to seize the initiative, making it hard for him to reproach him.
Zhao Guanghui quickly stood up, put on a concerned expression, pulled Hong Junxian by the hand, and sat him down at the desk.
“What are you saying, Elder Hong? The Guo Lu Society’s rebels—even Lu Jing and the others were powerless, only able to watch them escape. For you to achieve this much is already remarkably valuable. It’s giving me, Zhao Guanghui, face—how could it be losing face?”
“Thank you, Landlord, for not abandoning me, for not minding this old man’s age and uselessness…”
Hong Junxian wiped his tears, appearing deeply grateful.
The two exchanged some heartfelt words about a benevolent lord and loyal minister.
Zhao Guanghui then said,
“What does Elder Hong think of Chen Shun’an?”
Hong Junxian pondered slightly, a gleam flashing quickly in his eyes, and slowly said,
“He saved this old man’s life today, seemingly out of righteousness, but actually harboring other intentions—nothing more than seeking reputation and greed for interests… In my view, this man comes from humble origins, with a narrow outlook;
even if by fluke of heaven he undergoes Houtian Transformation, he can hardly become a great talent! Breaking through to First-rate Realm and killing one or two thieves would already be his limit!”
“Oh? This man saved Elder Hong’s life, yet Elder Hong rates him so low?”
Zhao Guanghui narrowed his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping the desk.
He had naturally investigated Chen Shun’an’s background, which indeed matched Hong Junxian’s evaluation.
Zhao Guanghui hesitated and said, “Fine, consider it as giving you face, Elder Hong—no more King of Hell’s Account for him; the previous borrowed silver is written off… Lest others say I’m stingy, Zhao Guanghui!”
“No! Absolutely not, Landlord!”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Hong Junxian firmly opposed it.
“The Landlord is mistaken! Chen Shun’an is precisely short of money right now; instead, we should increase the pressure, let the interest compound, and make him take on more debt… That is a Chong He Martial Tendon Body—if it grows, breaking through to First-rate Realm, we take his martial tendons, even use them to complete the Landlord’s great undertaking; it would be his, Chen Shun’an’s, fortune!”
Zhao Guanghui, upon hearing this, drew in a cold breath and looked incredulously at Hong Junxian,
“Elder Hong, that is your savior!”
Hong Junxian vaguely knew that Zhao Guanghui was massively collecting martial artist corpses, seemingly engaged in some corpse-refining business.
But Zhao Guanghui was always cautious about it; when Hong Junxian joined the Guanghui Money House not long ago, he had not yet fully earned Zhao Guanghui’s trust, so Zhao Guanghui had not involved him in the matter on ordinary days.
Hong Junxian said loudly: “Savior or not, how can it compare to the Landlord’s grace of promotion—not minding this old man’s age, thrice visiting my thatched hut, allowing me to contribute my remaining usefulness; this grace is heavier than Mount Tai! For the Landlord’s great undertaking, a mere personal favor is not worth mentioning!”
Zhao Guanghui never guessed that Hong Junxian had already become Chen Shun’an’s man, his life and death not his own.
At this moment, Hong Junxian was relentlessly tactically misleading Zhao Guanghui.
“With Elder Hong, it’s like adding wings to a tiger—truly my, Zhao’s, fortune in three lifetimes!”
“With the Landlord, it’s meeting a discerning patron—my, Hong’s, fortune!”
The two clasped hands and gazed at each other, a picture of harmony between a sagely lord and worthy minister.
……
The next day, feeding fish and teasing birds, sacrificing looks, heading out to duty.
“Master Chen, good morning!”
“Brother Chen, you’re here?”
Just arriving at Weihang Street, the water carriers he met greeted him enthusiastically one after another, their attitudes carrying even more awe and intimacy than the past few days.
Clearly, this group of old slickers also knew about yesterday’s events and had silently raised their inner evaluation of this Quasi True Intent expert, Chen Shun’an.
San Dezi quickly came close, his eyes scanning up and down; seeing Chen Shun’an’s steady gait and normal expression, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, lightly punched his shoulder, and laughed and scolded,
“You sly Old Chen, you must have already transformed into a Chong He Martial Tendon Body long ago, yet hiding it from the brothers?”
Nearby, Scarred Liu had a swarthy complexion, his qi and blood surging throughout his body, almost overflowing.
Clearly, heaven rewards the diligent; his cultivation had made considerable progress in this period.
Scarred Liu was silent for a moment, then asked gravely:
“I heard you were injured, Old Chen—how is the injury?”
Chen Shun’an’s expression was normal as he joked with the two,
“A mere minor injury, spit some saliva and it’s fine; as for this whatever martial body, Chen truly doesn’t know about it—it’s also my first time encountering it, like a young bride entering the sedan…
I kept saying my body felt off, like I’d opened the apertures, getting lighter day by day, but you lot wouldn’t believe it…”
Chen Shun’an’s tone was somewhat helpless.
The two exchanged glances upon hearing this, momentarily speechless.
It seemed Old Chen had indeed said that?
Time passed like water.
During the day, Chen Shun’an pushed the cart delivering water, often slacking off with naps; at night, he diligently practiced 《Flying Immortal Strength》 and 《Golden Snake Coiling Silk Hand》.
In the blink of an eye, three days later.
The Wuqing Stick Bureau had completely suppressed the impact of the Guo Lu Society corpse theft that day, providing solatium to the wounded, sorting internal martial artist strengths, and smoothing over various connections.
The Guo Lu Society corpse theft also made the Inner Department First-rate Martial Artists realize the huge vulnerability in this grassroots outfit.
That was the extremely typical nepotism in the Wuqing Stick Bureau, divided into countless “little gangs,” making it hard to achieve unity from top to bottom.
This was unavoidable; the Wuqing Stick Bureau had improper origins, entirely established forcibly by the Liangjiang Military Academy.
This drawback could only be gradually reformed.
In these three days, there was also good news.
For example, “He Qiang is going into seclusion to break through to First-rate Realm!”
This news caused quite a stir among the water carriers, not inferior to the matter of Chen Shun’an possessing a Chong He Martial Tendon Body.
