Must Take It Back
His Adam's apple bobbed, and the fear from that moment still lingered on his face:
"The young master's death was truly unexpected—he was completely ruined by that black horse."
The horse looked like Whirlwind Horse breed, but it was a whole size larger than a regular Whirlwind Horse and quite intelligent. I was fighting the Lin Household brothers at the time, so I didn't see what happened.
Then I saw the Third Young Master being killed by that black horse... and Instructor Zhang also died from that horse.
Having said that, he didn't dare to say anything more, and simply prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed heavily.
Pan Hongxuan had been listening intently with his eyes closed, but upon hearing this, he suddenly opened them, a hint of surprise flashing in his cloudy eyes. "Whirlwind Horse? It can be so powerful? Could it be... a spirit beast?"
The words had barely left his mouth when he frowned and slowly shook his head. Spirit beasts were incredibly precious, treasured even by cultivation sects; how could mortals use them as ordinary warhorses? But if they weren't spirit beasts, how could an ordinary horse possess such strength and intelligence, capable of kicking a cultivator on the verge of breaking through to the Second Layer of Qi Refinement to death with a single kick?
Silence fell over the room once more. Neither father nor son spoke again, both knowing that they had likely kicked a far harder rock than they had anticipated.
Pan Wenbai was suddenly startled, as if he had just remembered a matter of life and death. Even the grief on his face subsided somewhat, and he said urgently to Pan Hongxuan:
"Father! Zimo's Cultivation Practice Method, along with the Spirit Stones and pills the clan prepared for him, are always kept in his personal pouch. I need to go to his courtyard to see if he took them out!"
Pan Hongxuan's expression changed, and he immediately raised his hand. "Go quickly! Search carefully, don't miss any hidden compartments or secret rooms."
Less than half an hour later, Pan Wenbai returned with heavy steps, his face ashen.
"They've searched it all. His two personal maids both insist that Zimo always carries his cultivation Cultivation Method and Cultivation Resources with him at all times, never letting them out of his sight. It seems... he took them all out."
Pan Hongxuan gripped the armrest tightly, gritted his teeth, and said in a deep voice:
"We must find a way to get it back! That cultivation Cultivation Method is the hope of our Pan Household. If any more disciples with Spirit Roots are found in the clan in the future, they will all depend on it for their inheritance! And those Spirit Stone stones and pills are the clan's savings accumulated over many years. We absolutely cannot let them fall into the hands of outsiders."
Zhao Kui knelt on the ground, his head bowed low, seemingly obedient and holding his breath, but in his heart he was secretly making plans.
These cultivation Cultivation Method and Cultivation Resources are incredibly valuable fortuitous opportunities. If I could find a way to retrieve them and keep them for myself, wouldn't it be like my children and grandchildren were to achieve instant success if they were to discover Spirit Roots in the future?
Perhaps the Zhao Household can become an Aristocratic Clan cultivators and no longer have to be instructors and live under someone else's roof.
Pan Hongxuan remained calm, gave Pan Wenbai a wink, and glanced indifferently at Zhao Kui, who was kneeling on the ground.
Pan Wenbai immediately understood, his face concealing its sorrow, and he softened his tone, saying:
"Instructor Zhao, you're still injured. Go back to your courtyard and rest. I'll have the royal physician come and treat you later. Take good care of yourself and don't let it become a chronic condition."
"Thank you for your kindness, Patriarch Xie!" Zhao Kui hurriedly kowtowed in gratitude, clutching his bleeding shoulder, and bowed as he withdrew.
As soon as the door closed, Pan Wenbai lowered his voice and looked at his father. "Dad, are you going to...?"
Pan Hongxuan didn't even lift his eyelids, his voice as cold as ice:
"He knows too much..."
Pan Wenbai frowned and asked in a low voice, "Father, the Cultivation Method and Spirit Stones are in his hands. Are we just going to let it go like this? We have to find a way to get them back."
Pan Hongxuan slowly shook his head and said in a deep voice:
"What's the rush? Even if he gets it, he might not be able to use it. Spirit Roots are incredibly rare in this world; perhaps only one in a million people possess them. Without Spirit Roots, even the best Cultivation Method is just a piece of waste paper in his hands."
He paused, then gave the order:
"The most urgent thing is for you to personally lead a team to the scene of the incident. First, to retrieve Zimo's body and bury it properly; we can't just leave it in the middle of nowhere. Second, to search the area thoroughly, just in case that Shen guy doesn't know what he's doing. Once we've found out the details, we can come back and plan our next move."
Pan Wenbai nodded in agreement, glancing out the window at the deepening twilight.
"Father is right. But it's already completely dark, and the city gates are about to close, so we can't leave the city. I'll take some men there first thing tomorrow morning."
Three horses entered the Yuxi Prefecture as dusk fell. After traveling along the main street for a while, they arrived at the entrance of Weiyuan Escort Agency. Lin Shan and Lin Yue both reined in their horses and dismounted.
"Young Master Shen, we'll head back to the escort agency now." Lin Shan clasped his hands in a fist salute.
Sitting on his horse, Shen Jingchuan hesitated slightly before speaking, "The items found on those two people today... I didn't inspect them in front of everyone because there were too many people around..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yue interrupted him with a smile:
"Hey, Young Master Shen, you're being too polite! The rules of the martial world dictate that whoever kills the enemy gets their loot. Those two thieves were both taken down by your Big Black, so the loot is yours to dispose of. We're all family, so don't be shy."
Shen Jingchuan didn't refuse any longer and nodded:
"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony. Thank you both for your help today; I'll treat you to drinks another day."
Lin Shan solemnly said:
"Young Master Shen, don't forget what we discussed on the way. Don't act impulsively. Let's investigate first before deciding what to do."
Shen Jingchuan cupped his hands in greeting. "Alright, don't worry."
With that, he pulled on the reins, and Big Black strode steadily toward the house he had purchased.
Upon entering the residence, Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua went to the kitchen to fetch hot water and towels, Qinghe helped him change into clean everyday clothes. The group worked quickly and efficiently, and soon dinner was ready.
After dinner, Shen Jingchuan chatted with Bai Ruoli for a while before taking her back to their bedroom in the inner courtyard. The curtains were drawn, the candles were blown out, and only soft sounds remained in the room. After a few tender moments, he told her he had to go practice his martial arts, Bai Ruoli agreed.
Shen Jingchuan quietly put on an outer robe, got up, left the room, and went to the study to sit down.
He took out the two bags he had seized during the day from his pocket. He first opened the bag belonging to the man in black. Inside were a few pieces of silver, a few small silver notes, a small bottle of wound medicine, and a carefully wrapped oil paper package. Inside was a yellowed booklet with four black characters written on the cover, "The Gale Saber Technique".
He casually flipped through a couple of pages; it was a close-combat sword technique, the style was fierce and powerful, and it seemed pretty good. He'd keep it to practice later when he had time. He closed the book and tossed it aside on a corner of his desk.
Then he picked up another one, emptied its contents, and found an exquisite box, a velvet bag, a stack of silver notes, which he counted as more than 1,500 taels, and a few taels of loose silver.
Beside him were two small, lustrous, translucent white jade bottles. He picked one up, uncorked it, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted out. He poured it onto the table and examined it closely; inside were five round, pale blue pills, their surfaces gleaming with a delicate sheen, clearly not ordinary objects.
He raised an eyebrow. Could this be the elixir used by cultivators in novels? But what exactly it was and what its uses were, he had no idea. After pondering for a moment without any clue, he poured all the pills back into the bottle and sealed it tightly.
The other jade bottle contained three different pills, which he also put back. Then he picked up the velvet bag, untied it, and poured out its contents. His eyes widened immediately... Damn!