The Yun family were waiting for us back at the Lan Manor. Lan Tian Kong was seated in his chair at the back of the hall, dignified and patient, watching the Yun clan people pace up and down impatiently as they waited for Lan Bei Er and me to return.
"We want you to account for this murder!" The Yun family patriarch, Yun Hai, was yelling as he stopped pacing about to glare at Lan Tian Kong.
"Murder?" Lan Tian Kong snorted and returned his glower evenly. "Your son tried to murder my son-in-law. And prior to that, he was going around threatening, extorting and blackmailing villagers under my rule. What's with this tribute that he demanded? Where did all this extra money go to? We have all the evidence we need. If I find the tributes in the coffers of the Yun family…"
Yun Hai turned pale and he backed off, but he clenched his fists.
"Be that as it may, how can your son-in-law take justice into his own hands?! He should at least offer my son a fair trial!"
Lan Tian Kong thrummed his fingers along the embroider armrest of his seat, trying not to display annoyance. They knew as well as he did that if this went into a fair trial, the Yun family would cover up everything and use the chance to smuggle Yun Jian Ren away from Azure Cloud City so that he didn't have to face judgement. Exile wasn't ideal, but it was still better than the death sentence. Furthermore, it meant that he could return in future to make a comeback and take revenge.
"So my son-in-law should just let your son kill him without defending himself? What kind of logic is that?"
"Your son-in-law is famous for being trash! A thousand of his lives aren't worth even one of Jian Ren's! He should just accept his fate and die!"
"Don't go overboard!" Lan Tian Kong stormed. "And are you stupid? If my son-in-law really is trash, then what does that make your son, who lost to him without even being able to withstand a single blow? Cow dung?"
"You dare?!"
"You started it!"
Whoa…I never thought they would descend to such childish squabbling. Clearing my throat, I stopped at the door, cupped my hands and bowed my head.
"Hei Ye reporting back to the castellan!"
"At ease." Father-in-law gestured for me to drop the formalities and step inside. He did the same to Lan Bei Er.
"You…!"
Yun Hai reacted immediately, spinning around. In a single flash, he drew his sword and thrust it at my chest, intending to kill me with a single blow.
"How dare you, Yun Hai?!" Father-in-law roared, surging out of his seat to dash across the long hallway. "Do you not put me in your eyes?!"
"Too late! I'll kill this bastard for taking my son away from me!" Yun Hai crowed, his blade a blurring lance. And then…
I caught the blade with my fingers, halting his momentum entirely. Yun Hai's eyes widened and he froze, cold perspiration dripping down his face. I moved my other hand, as if to attack, but father-in-law shouted a warning.
"No! Hei Ye, don't kill him!"
"Even though it would be legitimate self-defense?" I let go of the blade, but didn't retaliate. Yun Hai sprang back in panic, bringing his sword up in a defensive stance and watching me warily.
"Even so…you can't kill him in front of everyone. Not in broad daylight like this."
I suddenly understood what father-in-law was hinting. If I wanted to kill this bastard, I had to do it discretely, and not in the public eye. I caught his wink and nodded. He looked relieved and offered me a slight grin before resuming his serious demeanor.
In other words, he would arrange everything for me.
"Like father, like son," I said, turning to Yun Hai. "Seems like the Yun family is full of murderers. Do you really think you can just go around killing everybody you like just because you're from the Yun family?"
"For attempting murder right in the castellan's household, Yun Hai, you'll be stripped of your title and arrested," father-in-law declared.
"You dare!?" Yun Hai's eyes flashed.
"I should be asking you that," father-in-law retorted. "Weren't you the one who blatantly committed attempted murder right in front of everybody? Under my nose, even? You think you can do whatever you want in my place and get away with it? You have to suffer the consequences for your actions."
"Hmph." Yun Hai snorted. "You won't be castellan for much longer. You shouldn't continue acting so arrogantly."
"What's that supposed to mean?" father-in-law growled. "Are you planning a coup d'état? Guards!"
"No, of course not." Yun Hai immediately raised both of his hands in a placating manner. "The Yun family will challenge for the position of castellan fair and squarely. We may have lost Jian Ren now, but he's not the only candidate we have. The new castellan will definitely be from the Yun family."
He turned a scornful look at Lan Bei Er, and I instinctively moved to shield her from his derisive gaze.
"That remains to be seen," father-in-law said evenly, rage barely contained in his voice. "My daughter and son-in-law are more than the equal of any of your sons and nephews."
"We'll see about that." Yun Hai paused. "The Cang family, for some inexplicable reason, has decided to withdraw from the trials for the castellan. Their loss. This is the best chance for them to topple the Lan family, but they decided to be cowards."
Father-in-law smirked. "They withdrew when they heard that my son-in-law survived an attack by an assassin from Night Raid."
Yun Hai snorted. "Fake news. They should learn how to discern truth from lies."
"It's not a lie," I began, but Yun Hai interrupted me.
"Don't try to trick me, trash!"
"Um, you do realize my husband just stopped your sword that you sneak attacked with using only his fingers?" Lan Bei Er shook her head incredulously. "And you still insist on calling him trash?"
"Also, did I give you permission to leave?" Father-in-law growled. "Guards!"
"Fine. How about this?" Yun Hai raised his hand. "We'll hold the trials early, maybe next month. If I win, all my so-called crimes will be washed off…which makes sense because my son, Jian Tian, will be the new castellan. But if your son-in-law and daughter win, then I'll submit my own head on a silver platter to you. You can do whatever you want with the Yun family."
"How do I know you won't go back on your word again?" Father-in-law sneered skeptically. Yun Hai shrugged.
"You have no choice but to take my word for it. Otherwise…do you want to go to war with my Yun family right now?"
Father-in-law began laughing. "Oh, you won't want to go to war with my Lan family. You'll be wiped out overnight."
"More posturing and bragging," Yun Hai snapped. "See you in the trials next month."
Then he and the Yun family were gone. I caught sight of a younger Yun family member – that must be Yun Jian Tian. He was handsome and seemed a bit stronger and more cultured than his scarred brother. I wasn't sure if they had the same personality of going around murdering or kidnaping people, but he wasn't as unpleasant to look at, unlike his thuggish brother.
I mean, it wasn't practical to tar everyone with the same brush. It wasn't as if the Yun family were full of clones. I didn't expect Yun Jian Tian to be an identical copy of Yun Jian Ren, a caricature villain who went around kicking puppies and acting evil for the sake of it.
Then again, Yun Hai was pretty much the old version of Yun Jian Ren, so…
"Bastards," father-in-law muttered under his breath. His clenched fists quivered ever so slightly. "Bringing the trials forward…this is a direct challenge to my authority! They really don't place me in their eyes anymore."
"Don't worry," I assured him with a grin. "We should be able to win the trials without any problems. Then they won't have any excuse when you demand for his head on a silver platter."
"Really?" Father-in-law stared at me doubtfully. "You can guarantee that you can win?"
"I can't give any guarantees – in this world, there are no such thing as certainties. Anything can happen. Accidents, problems, obstacles…you know. But I'm confident that we'll win if everything progresses according to plan, so yes, there should be a high chance of success."
"I'll trust you then." Father-in-law sat back in his chair at the end of the hallway and mused to himself. "I already know you'll win the strength trial for sure. It's the other two that I'm worried about."
"Yun Jian Tian is known for being a literary scholar," Lan Bei Er said worriedly. "It'll be difficult for us to win the literary trial."
"Won't stop me from trying," I said with a shrug. "But as a precaution, I'm gunning for all three. I'll talk to the merchants. If all goes well, we'll be getting their votes – as well as the votes from their customers."
"Huh? You even got the merchants on your side?" Father-in-law gasped, totally shocked. I shook my head.
"Not yet. I'm going to get it done now. Wife, let's go."
A few minutes later, I found the merchants in the inn. They were waiting for me eagerly, wondering what solution I had in mind for their dilemma.
"Young master Hei, you mentioned that you can help us with transporting perishables?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "Horse carriages aren't cutting it. Your perishables and products are spoiling before they can reach the city, even with preservatives. But if my plan succeeds, you might be able to deliver even fresh food."
"Fresh food? How?"
"Do you guys mind following me? I have a bunch of people I wish to introduce you to."
A couple of hours later, the merchants were all gathered at the foot of a mountain, having followed me all the way from the main city. Shan Huo and Shan Mei met us, alighting from the backs of their golden eagles.
"Benefactor! Do you need any help?"
"Yeah, sort of. I thought of a way to help you guys out of poverty and your lack of resources. Actually, you do have one resource to offer. Services." I nodded at the golden eagles.
Shan Mei immediately stepped between me and the golden eagles. "I apologize, benefactor, but even if it's you, we won't sell our golden eagles away. They aren't for sale."
"No, no, you misunderstand me." I held my hands up. "We're not buying your golden eagles. Rather, I'm trying to establish a courier service. Delivery service. You see…"
I explained to them the predicament of the merchants.
"But if we set up a chain delivery service where eagles instead of horses ferry packages, then we'll be able to cut down on delivery time and expenses. Everyone will make more money. You guys will definitely benefit from the additional income, and you might even have a cut of some of the products."
"Since you'll be doing most of the, uh, heavy lifting, we have no complaints about that." A merchant nodded in agreement. "That will definitely help us a lot."
"So what do you think?" I asked, pushing my glasses up my nose and smiling. "We can set up a warehouse and have the eagles rest and roost there and here making a couple of trips a day. This will be the cultivator world version of Amazon."
"Amazon?" Lan Bei Er and the merchants repeated, confused. I cleared my throat.
"Never mind. It's a new courier service that helps customers get their products more quickly."
"I'm in for it," Shan Huo said with a nod. "It sounds interesting."
"Yeah, I think the golden eagles will appreciate being able to fly more often too. They need to spread their wings and exercise more." Shan Mei ruffled the feathers of the golden eagles. "We'll give it a try! And talk to the rest of the villagers about it."
"It's a new venture, so there might be hiccups and stuff, but…" I smiled. "If we succeed, we might just be able to revolutionize the way trade in the cultivator world works."