Evil Scheme

"Hm?" This time, Liang Yue was the one left puzzled.

He cautiously sized up Hu Tiehan, guessing at his intentions. Only after a moment did he answer, "Brother Hu has always treated us like his own brothers. Naturally, he's an excellent man."

Hearing this, Hu Tiehan's eyes immediately lit up as he asked, "Then if I asked you to acknowledge me as your adoptive father, would you be willing?"

"Pfft—"

The moment those words came out, Liang Yue and the other two all lost their composure.

Liang Yue panicked. "Brother Hu, where did that come from?"

"For who knows how many years, my Hu family hasn't produced a genius capable of mastering Cloud Dragon Nine Manifestations. Yet you grasped it so easily—you are simply a man chosen by fate!" Hu Tiehan shouted excitedly. "You're only in the Second Realm now. If you can one day enter the Grandmaster Realm... no, you need only reach the Martial Dao Seventh Floor to restore my Hu family's former glory!"

"That wouldn't be right." Liang Yue repeatedly waved his hands. "Everyone calls you brother. If I acknowledge you as my adoptive father, wouldn't that make me a generation lower?"

"I'll have them call you brother, while you call me adoptive father. Everyone can address one another however they please," Hu Tiehan said.

"No, no. My mother wouldn't agree either," Liang Yue continued refusing.

"Your mother..." Hu Tiehan frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "Has your mother been widowed for many years? If she doesn't mind, I'll divorce my wife tomorrow and marry your mother. Then it would be perfectly proper for you to take my surname."

"She minds! My mother absolutely minds!" Liang Yue shook his head hard, his face full of resistance.

Old Hu had truly lost his head. He could even come up with such a bizarre idea.

Liang Yue did not dare imagine the vicious words Li Caiyun would unleash upon Hu Tiehan if this reached her ears.

"If that really won't work, I'll become sworn brothers with you. No, that won't work either—sworn brothers can't change surnames." Hu Tiehan scratched his head, then added, "Then I'll acknowledge you as my adoptive father. As long as you change your surname to Hu, I can take your surname instead."

"Brother Hu, calm down. We'll be heading back first." Liang Yue dragged Pang Chun and Chen Ju away at a jog, not daring to look back even once.

Good heavens.

The natural order was about to turn upside down.

Still, it showed just how deeply Liang Yue's mastery of Cloud Dragon Nine Manifestations had shocked Hu Tiehan.

This blade technique was likely even more formidable than Liang Yue had imagined.

Some cultivation arts were useful only at low realms and lost their edge at higher realms, like Tiger Might Fist.

Others could run through one's entire cultivation, their power growing stronger with every higher realm. Cloud Dragon Nine Manifestations had already allowed Liang Yue, newly entered into the Second Realm, to defeat Zou Huainan at the peak of the Second Realm. At higher realms, it would surely display even greater might.

For that, he truly ought to thank Brother Hu.

But no matter what, it was not enough to justify changing his surname.

"Actually, I think it would be great if Brother Hu acknowledged you as his adoptive father." After they came out, Chen Ju laughed. "Then he'd be my grandnephew, and it would be easier for me to ask him to give me the Minor Guard Officer position."

"Then I'd ask him to add more meat to the food at the station," Da Chun made his simple wish.

"Let's think about serious matters first." Liang Yue hurriedly stopped them. "Although we drove Zou Huainan back this time, Linmen Street's problem still hasn't been resolved. Those people may have other underhanded tricks in the future."

"It really isn't a solution for things to go on like this," Chen Ju nodded.

"The elderly couple at the tavern said this whole matter began when a wealthy southern merchant failed to purchase the shops on Linmen Street. If we want to protect Linmen Street's peace, we'll probably have to understand the reason behind it. Why exactly are they so determined to drive away the original merchants?" As Liang Yue spoke, his brows drew together slightly. He found the matter somewhat thorny.

This truly did not seem like something several Imperial Capital Guards could reach into.

But aside from them, who would care about those old neighbors of Linmen Street right now? That helpless elderly couple only wanted to protect their ancestral property, yet they had suffered repeated harassment.

If no one cared and no one asked, would the whole world not be handed over to evil men?

At the very least, within the limits of his ability, Liang Yue wanted to lend them a hand. And the first step was to understand the situation clearly rather than act blindly.

"Come to think of it, a couple of days ago, someone in my clan also told my family to purchase some properties and shops in the southern district. In a situation like this, there's most likely some major move underway," Chen Ju suddenly said.

"Can you find out the inside story?" Liang Yue looked at him.

"My parents probably won't tell me, hehe. But I can ask around among my fair-weather friends." Chen Ju snapped his fingers. "Tomorrow, I'll set a table at the Red Sleeve Brothel. Come to the banquet with me."

Near the southern district of Western City stood Pine Forest Ward.

The trees there cast deep shadows, and there were very few residents. Only several dozen luxurious, imposing estates stood within. Outside one of them, soldiers dressed in Imperial Capital Guard uniforms patrolled both inside and out. Its defenses were strict.

It was the residence of Zou Fang, the Imperial Capital Guard's Grand Commander of the southern district.

Inside a bedroom in the rear courtyard, Zou Huainan sat cross-legged on the bed, looking quite sullen.

Four or five Official Guards and Subordinate Guards who usually ran around with him were also in the room, surrounding him with fawning expressions.

"Seeing that Young Master Zou is all right, we can finally rest easy." An Official Guard spoke with great feeling. "You have no idea how worried I was when I heard you'd been injured."

"My injuries aren't serious. I just need to take some medicine after coming back. But on Linmen Street today, I lost face all the way to my grandmother's house." Zou Huainan's gaze darkened. "I was injured in the street by a mere subordinate guard. How am I supposed to keep my footing in the southern district after this?"

Someone immediately egged him on. "He dared provoke Young Master Zou in the southern district? Why not kill him?"

The people around them all chimed in agreement.

"Don't mention it." Zou Huainan waved his hand irritably. "My father came back just now and even gave me a scolding. He guessed that Young Master Lu was the one who connected me with the Dragon Tooth Gang. He told me to associate with them less from now on, and that today's score could be settled later. From the sound of it, he intends for me to swallow this for now!"

"How can that be?" The person beside him immediately echoed, then his voice softened at once. "But since Commander Zou said so, he must have his reasons, right?"

These people fawned over Zou Huainan because of his father. Naturally, they dared not defy Zou Fang's words even more.

"He said the Ministry of Works has recently uncovered a major case, and it's still unclear how many people it will implicate. It's best not to get involved with the Lu family right now." Zou Huainan said, "If he'd said that earlier, I never would have helped with this. What's the use of saying it now? I can only suffer this loss for nothing... That subordinate guard falls under Fukang Ward's jurisdiction, and their Minor Guard Officer is extremely protective of his men. He even came personally to apologize. With my father refusing to help, it really won't be easy for me to retaliate."

"Why don't we wait until dark and swarm him to beat him up?" another person suggested.

"Pig brain!" Zou Huainan glared at him and shouted, "I'm no match for him. You think adding a few rotten cloves of garlic like you will make a difference?"

If he could not use power to crush someone, then he could only meet force with force.

Remembering Liang Yue's dazzling blade light from the day, Zou Huainan truly did not dare provoke him with only these people at hand.

"Eh?" At that moment, the Official Guard from earlier suddenly raised his hand. "Young Master Zou, I have a plan!"

Zou Huainan looked at him. "Hm? Let's hear it."

The Official Guard gave a sinister grin. "Commander Zou doesn't want to pursue this for now. He's probably afraid of making the matter too big and dragging out your connection to the Dragon Tooth Gang, drawing you into unnecessary trouble. Then we can find another pretext to punish that subordinate guard. As long as it has nothing to do with today's affair, won't that work?"

"What pretext?" Zou Huainan asked.

"The armory beside our main yamen is an important restricted site where the southern district's military equipment is stored. Commanders of every ward need permission to enter, and no one may carry a weapon inside. Otherwise, they'll be suspected of rebellion."

"Tomorrow, once we find out where that subordinate guard lives, Young Master Zou, you can go there before he returns and say he's seriously injured and recuperating at the yamen entrance, so his family should hurry and come with you to see him. Tomorrow happens to be my turn, along with several brothers, to guard the armory. We can let you inside. Then we'll send word to that subordinate guard, telling him his family is in our hands, and guide him there step by step. He's only a subordinate guard; he definitely won't understand the armory's secrets."

"Once he enters the camp, we'll fire a signal arrow and claim that someone barged into the armory with a blade! We'll surround him from all sides and seize him. With the law hanging over his head, not even the Jade Emperor himself can save him!" As the Official Guard spoke, he became excited himself, seeming to find the plan more and more brilliant.

"Not bad!" Zou Huainan rose from the bed as he listened. "Then we can pin the crime of stealing military secrets on him. Wouldn't that leave him entirely at my mercy, for me to flatten or round as I please and deal with however I want? I never expected that with your wisdom, you could think of such a wicked plan!"

"I learned it all from following Young Master Zou!" The Official Guard continued to flatter him.

Having thought of an evil scheme that pleased him so thoroughly, all the gloom vanished from Zou Huainan's face, replaced by a crooked-mouthed grin. His smug laughter traveled straight beyond the pines.

"Heh heh heh heh heh..."

Good morning.