Did Shen Youran really have a conspiracy?
Sun Yixie wasn't sure; he just couldn't believe that his modest abilities and reputation would warrant a personal invitation from the Justice Sect Leader to come and explain the situation.
According to Brother Sun's logic after years of experiences in the fish market, this Shen surname must be scheming against either him, Sun Yixie, or the Sun family; otherwise, why would he go to such lengths?
But today, Shen Youran had neither asked for money nor for beauties and had not requested any favors. After delivering the letter, he simply left… That was quite mysterious.
"Color, what do you think he's after?" Sun Yixie shared his thoughts with Huang Donglai before asking for his opinion.
"What you said… makes some sense," Huang Donglai mused, "But what could Shen Youran want from you? Speaking of money, although the Justice Sect is not as wealthy as the Sun family, judging from his carriage and clothes, one can tell he's not lacking in funds; as for people…" At this point, he sized up Sun Yixie, "Even if he had a penchant for male beauty, he wouldn't be looking for someone like you, right?"
"Get lost! Where did you get the idea that so many people have such inclinations?" Sun Yixie retorted.
"So, then…" Huang Donglai continued, "Does your Sun family have anything else that he could be after?"
"Perhaps…" Sun Yixie pondered as he spoke, "he wants to owe me a favor. After all, the debt of gratitude is the hardest to repay."
"Hmm…" Huang Donglai mused, "That's hard to say."
Neither of them could come up with a plausible answer for a while, so the matter was left to rest.
That night, the two of them enjoyed their wine and conversation, sharing experiences from the past years and reminiscing about the old days in another world. They drank until midnight. When the servants checked in after hearing no noise from the room, they found both men had "self-destructed," having drunk themselves into oblivion.
With no other choice, the servants had to carry the pair, one to a guest room and the other back to his own room.
...
Meanwhile, at the same time of midnight, within the inn where Shen Youran was staying.
"Young Master, it's been thoroughly investigated," Shen Youran's coachman was reporting his findings from the afternoon until just now, "As you suspected, it was indeed the Cao Gang's doing. After we left yesterday, the corpses we'd left on the main road were quietly taken away by their men, with no sign that the officials were alerted."
"Hmm…" Shen Youran nodded hearing this, then smirked with contempt, "Heh… this Di Bujuan really is relentless, tirelessly causing me trouble."
"Young Master…" At this moment, the coachman showed a hint of confusion, "I still don't quite understand what happened yesterday. May I be enlightened?"
"Ah, Wu, there are only the two of us here, no need for such formality. Speak freely," Shen Youran said.
This coachman, Wu, indeed was a trusted confidant of Shen Youran, otherwise he would not have brought only this one man with him on his travels.
"Yes." Although Wu still emphasized the master-servant relationship and spoke very respectfully, "Among the eight men who ambushed us yesterday, the one I fought with had Inner Strength cultivation that was no less than mine, and his technique of using softness to overcome hardness even overwhelmed my Thirteen Mountain Breaking Water Cutting Saber… However, the other seven were mere underlings, whose martial arts were inferior even by Cao Gang standards… I don't understand why, knowing who you are, they would deploy such a group to ambush us?"
"Oh, you are talking about that." Shen Youran chuckled, "Simple, because that Gang Leader Di did not actually plan to kill me." He leisurely picked up the teacup from the table, took a sip, and continued, "If he really wanted to kill me, he wouldn't have chosen a spot so close to Li City to strike, nor would he have sent so few men, and he certainly wouldn't have just used ordinary arrows to ambush… At the least, he would've used poisoned arrows."
Wu was even more puzzled, "Then… what was the purpose of his ambush?"
"The 'Four Sects and Three Gangs' will elect the Chief Sect Leader next year. Di is trying out my Kung Fu," Shen Youran said unhurriedly, "Think back and it will make sense…
"When the arrows were shot from a distance, you could 'see' them directly, but I was inside the carriage, I had to 'listen'; if I didn't hear them or heard them too late, I wouldn't be able to react in time, so he was testing my ear skills.
"At the moment the arrows pierced into the carriage, they would suddenly change direction due to impact, and since there's very little room to dodge inside, you can only try to catch the arrows with your hands, so he was testing my eye skills and Hidden Weapon catching ability.
"Sending the only expert to lead you away and surrounding me with seven men sent to die was to see my current movement technique and methods of killing.
"After testing all these, the one responsible for the observation should naturally withdraw."
Wu suddenly saw the light, "No wonder… I did find it odd the way the person fighting me was acting, as if his mind wasn't fully on the fight."
"That person, I'm afraid, was even more formidable than you think," Shen Youran said, "If I'm not mistaken, he should be the 'Rhino Head Flood Dragon' Feng Shunshui from the Cao Gang… He was concealing his moves while fighting with you because he was afraid of being recognized; otherwise, you would not last ten moves against him."
"I see." Wu frowned and nodded, "Young Master is insightful!"
"Heh, those Cao Gang fellows really did have a difficult task." Shen Youran said dispassionately, "Usually, I stay in Luoyang, and on my own turf, they wouldn't dare make a move; and if I traveled with a large retinue, they wouldn't dare to act rashly either; this was a rare opportunity for Di Bujuan, but he still only dared to send his sworn brother to test my skills without intending to kill me, fearing that if an accident really happened, the righteous sects of the Martial Arts world would hold him accountable."
Wu echoed, "Di Bujuan, a petty person, can not be mentioned in the same breath as Young Master's magnanimity."
"Heh… no point in talking about him anymore. Now that I have confirmed it is the Cao Gang causing trouble, I can rest easy," Shen Youran said, "By the way, Wu, what is your opinion on Mr. Huang that we met earlier?"
After some thought, Wu responded, "Mr. Huang's martial arts are not bad among his peers, but of course, in comparison to your cultivation at his age, Young Master… the difference is like between the clouds and the mud."
"Hmm…" Shen Youran pondered for a moment, "I do find Huang Donglai to have some remarkable traits, but I also feel there's something strange about him… Moreover, today I finally met Sun Yixie; he and his father, Mr. Sun, being descendants of the Sun clan, surprisingly know no martial arts… It seems their family has indeed stayed out of the Martial Arts world for a long time; thus, after the success of this 'grand plan,' I still need to send someone to Sun Mansion, and use a 'more straightforward method' to obtain 'the Sun family's items.'"
"Young Master…" Upon hearing this, Wu's face suddenly showed a tinge of fierceness, "We are already here, why not take advantage of tonight and just…"
"Ah!" Shen Youran quickly gestured with his hand, "How could we do that? In addition to the Cao Gang, there are many other gang informants in Hangzhou Prefecture, and I went to Sun Mansion today - who knows how many eyes were watching… If the Suns were found massacred the next day, could I be free of implications? No matter what, we'll have to wait until after the Youth Hero Conference, when I have the lifeline of the martial arts factions in my hands, then I can make a move, and no one will have anything to say about it."
"Yes, yes! Young Master is wise, and I am foolish," admitted Wu, who wasn't too clever but was extremely loyal, and it was precisely such people who were most suitable as confidants.
...
The next day, Shen Youran and Wu left Hangzhou City early in the morning.
When they departed, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai were still fast asleep in bed. Of course, for the young master of a wealthy family, it wasn't surprising to occasionally, or even daily, sleep until the sun was high in the sky.
By 9 a.m, Sun Yixie got up, and after washing up, the house servant informed him that Mr. Sun requested his presence.
Sun Yixie initially thought that his father might scold him for drinking too much the day before, but to his surprise, when he arrived, Mr. Sun didn't say anything and instead solemnly asked him to accompany him to the ancestral hall.
In wealthy households, there's usually an ancestral hall within the home. Only the poor would place their family tablets in the communal hall at the village entrance; besides ritual offerings for ancestors during the festivals, the ancestral hall had other functions, the most typical being…
"No way? Just because I had a few extra drinks occasionally, do I need to face family discipline? Or has he finally decided to disown me?"
On the way to the ancestral hall with Mr. Sun, Sun Yixie was absorbed in wild speculation.
Mr. Sun, on the other hand, remained silent, his face showing a hint of determination, which really did seem like something serious was about to be disclosed.
As they stepped into the ancestral hall, Mr. Sun immediately ordered the servants out and shut the door of the hall.
Sun Yixie felt even more anxious. He thought to himself: he hadn't done anything outrageously wrong recently, had he? Could it be that some former misdeeds like slapping black hats and bagging people have been exposed?
"Yixie." After a brief silence, Mr. Sun began, "You are seventeen this year, right?"
"Yes." Sun Yixie was a bit cowed, so his answer was meek, "I turned seventeen this spring."
"Hmm…" Mr. Sun nodded, "Have you made up your mind this time to head to Luoyang with Mr. Huang to attend the Youth Hero Conference?"
"Er..." Sun Yixie hesitated, tentatively answering, "Well… that's the current plan."
His subtext was—If you have any objections, I could also not go.
"Good." Unexpectedly, Mr. Sun nodded again, sighing, "It seems it's fated…" He paused for a moment, "Since that's the case, it's time…" As he spoke, he stepped forward a few paces and moved behind the altar where the ancestral tablets were placed.
Mr. Sun moved something in the shadows, and after a moment, accompanied by a sound of gears rolling, a secret door opened in the ancestral hall.
"My son, follow me." Then, Mr. Sun gestured to Sun Yixie with a calm wave and led him, stepping into the secret door.