Uncle

"Brother-in-law..." Song Chengan cupped his fists weakly.

An Ruifeng raised the teacup in his hand and glanced at Song Chengan.

"I heard you managed to land a clerk's post in the Demon Suppression Division?"

Song Chengan nodded. "More or less."

Damn it.

Could you at least let me sit down before we talk?

"Not bad."

"You never handled proper business, yet you somehow stumbled into becoming a clerk at the Demon Suppression Division through fishing."

"Your luck truly is good."

"I also heard that you haven't gone to the Gambling House these past days, nor have you asked your sister for silver to gamble anymore."

"From now on, be steady and dependable. Carry out Lord Wu's assignments properly."

"You must also get along harmoniously with your colleagues."

"Under no circumstances should you quarrel with others."

"Especially those Demon Suppression Envoys. They are all great figures destined to become immortals someday."

At this point, An Ruifeng could not help smiling. "Speaking of which, you've met Mingxin, haven't you?"

"He is now a Demon Suppression Envoy as well."

Song Chengan cupped his fists. "I saw him at the yamen."

"But he did not speak to me."

An Ruifeng nodded. "Mingxin entered the immortal sect with an Immortal Master, so naturally he is somewhat proud."

"You should be more accommodating toward him."

"This is a gift for your sister, isn't it?"

Song Chengan nodded. "I casually bought some pastries."

"Would you like some, brother-in-law?"

An Ruifeng shook his head. "I won't eat any. Go see your sister. I already had someone notify her that you had arrived."

"Alright, then I'll head over first."

Song Chengan cupped his fists and left.

Do middle-aged and elderly people all like lecturing others on how to live?

Song Chengan could only complain helplessly.

To be honest, he did not like coming to the An Household.

An Ruifeng did not like him.

And he also detested the rules of these grand households.

But his sister was here, so he had no choice.

Come to think of it, he had always felt that his sister should have married someone of a suitable age, not an old man like An Ruifeng.

"Chengan, they said you became a clerk at the Demon Suppression Division!"

"I heard even ordinary scholars can't compete for that position!"

"My little brother is amazing!"

"Come sit down. I had them prepare delicious food for you."

"Whenever you came before, I'd have the kitchen cook for you, and they would drag their feet. Today, before I even said anything, someone came to ask what you liked to eat!"

Song Cui pulled Song Chengan over to sit down.

At the same time, she said to An Mingxu beside her, "Mingxu, hurry and call him Uncle!"

"Uncle!"

Song Cui's words about the kitchen staff dragging their feet made Song Chengan fall silent for a moment, so much so that he did not even notice An Mingxu speaking.

"Uncle!"

"Mingxu called you Uncle!"

Song Cui said happily.

"He knows you're his uncle!"

A smile appeared on Song Chengan's face as well.

His father had vanished early on, and afterward, he had relied on his mother and sister for one another's support.

After his mother passed away, his sister became his only family.

As for his sister's only son, saying that he regarded him as his own would not be an exaggeration.

He did not know whether Mingxu's foolishness was inborn or caused by something else. He had heard there were miraculous pills for such things.

When he had time, he could ask Master Ciren whether there was some solution.

He took out the pastries he had bought. "I bought some pastries for you and Mingxu, Sister. Eat them later; don't let them go stale."

"Brother Song, two people died. It's damn strange!"

Ding Dahai said, still shaken.

"What does this family do?"

Song Chengan asked.

"The man of the household was named Huang Ze. During the day, he carried cargo at the docks, and at night he worked as a guard at Steward Qian's residence. When he was young, he worked for the Du Family Escort Agency. He knew martial arts, but later left the escort agency after being injured."

"His wife worked as a wet nurse for the Wei Family. One of the Wei Family's concubines had just given birth to a son, but she had no milk, so they called his wife over."

"He also had one daughter and two sons. The younger son was only recently born."

Song Chengan looked at the man on the table, already devoid of breath. He was a bronze-skinned man with a square face.

In his final moments, he seemed to have been eating.

But his life force had been drained dry in an instant.

There was also a girl dead on the bed.

She looked fourteen or fifteen.

"He worked two jobs by himself?"

"His daughter was born sickly. They had to spend quite a bit of silver every year."

Song Chengan nodded.

"How did you discover their home?"

"Didn't you say we should keep an eye on anyone who suddenly came into a fortune, Brother Song?"

"There's a man called Gao Er at the Gambling House. He specializes in luring people there to gamble. He noticed that this man had recently grown flush with money, so he followed the scent right over."

"Then he found the man dead and reported it to the authorities."

Song Chengan saw a pile of cloth by the girl's bedside.

"They said he wanted to make clothes for his daughter." Seeing Song Chengan looking at the cloth, Ding Dahai explained.

"What about the two sons?"

"The elder son is studying at the school and hasn't returned yet. The younger one is being looked after at his maternal grandmother's home."

As the two spoke, a heart-rending cry came from outside.

"His wife has returned. I'll go deal with her."

Song Chengan nodded, then thought of something. "Captain Ding, later ask your men whether anyone took silver from the Huang Household."

"The silver the Huang Household received is tainted with evil aura. Spending it will bring disaster."

"Brother Song, don't scare me." Captain Ding gave an awkward laugh.

Song Chengan glanced at him. "Otherwise, how do you think this man suddenly began spending money like water? And how do you think he and his daughter died?"

"His wife and sons probably didn't know about the money, or perhaps it never passed through their hands. Otherwise, they would have suffered too."

Captain Ding's expression changed at those words.

"Brother Song, wait here. I'll go ask."

"Brother Song, are these the ones?"

Not long after.

Ding Dahai returned, carefully holding a few pieces of silver on a tray.

He did not even dare touch them.

Song Chengan took them.

They were all ten-tael silver ingots.

The miscellany had said:

The silver from the Golden Silkworm Marriage could not be broken silver; it had to be large-denomination ingots.

So that those with good intentions would not take it, while the greedy would bring calamity upon themselves.

Now it seemed that was true.

"These are the ones."

"Later, Captain Ding, question them more thoroughly. Under no circumstances may they hide any privately, or disaster may follow."

"Thank you for the warning, Brother Song. I'll ask again in a moment."

Ding Dahai did not dare take it lightly.

He knew his brothers under him well. Not a single one had clean hands.

Song Chengan took out the Paper Crane he had obtained from Yu Changfu.

He infused it with a thread of true qi from within his body, then placed the Paper Crane upon the silver on the tray.

At once, red patterns lit up across the Paper Crane's body, spreading over its entire form.

The patterns flashed and vanished.

The Paper Crane immediately came alive.

Swaying unsteadily, it flew into the distance.

Song Chengan hurried after it.

"Captain Ding, please send someone to the Demon Suppression Division yamen and have them dispatch people to assist me."

Ding Dahai watched Song Chengan leave. "No wonder the rumors say Song Chengan comes from a cultivation Lineage in Sanjiao County."

"With such immortal methods, it seems the rumors are true beyond doubt."

"Now that he has entered the Demon Suppression Division, I must forge good relations with him."

In a dark room.

Balu held a longsword and paced through a series of ritual steps among rows of bronze lamps.

"Strange. The lifespan used for the sacrifice is much less than before."

"A little less is still less."

He muttered to himself.