As the lord of Jiangnan City, a wealthy and prosperous place, Uncle Yan was busy with work every day.
Yet even under such circumstances, he had still decided to summon his son, Yan Xiangma, for a talk.
He glanced at the "Tiger Roaring Mountains Painting" by the empire's master painter, Qin Kuaiyu, which stood in the corner of the wall, then picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of hot tea. "The ancients valued the spirit of dragons and tigers. The dragons have all been slaughtered, but the fierce tigers still roar proudly through the mountains and forests. Qin Kuaiyu truly lives up to his reputation as an imperial master painter. With just a few strokes, he has brought out the tiger king's majesty to the fullest. Every time one looks at this painting, one's heart and mind open wide, filling one with boundless spirit."
Yan Xiangma knew that his father had finished dealing with the documents at hand for the moment. He turned and walked toward him, smiling as he said, "Father is the tiger king of Jiangnan City. With one furious roar, the heroes of Jiangnan City fall silent and the petty villains bow their heads."
"Bootlicker." Uncle Yan remained as calm and unconcerned as drifting clouds and flowing water. He had heard flattery far more shameless than this, and the flattering words that came from his own son were beyond counting. "You killed Crow?"
"Yes, Father." Yan Xiangma smiled. "That Crow brought death upon himself by daring to attack Little Sister Xiao Xin. Recently, all the city lord's mansion's constables have been sent out to search for Crow's whereabouts. I wanted to ease your burden and avenge my sister, so I sent some of my trusted subordinates to search everywhere for him. I never expected them to actually find some traces. We followed the clues, laid a Heavenly Net, and killed him in one fell swoop—"
"Where did you kill him?"
"At Li Mu Yang's home."
"One of Xiao Xin's classmates?"
"Yes, Father."
Uncle Yan tilted his face upward in thought, his gaze unfocused. In a low voice, he said, "Both attacks were connected to that Li Mu Yang. That Li Mu Yang's background—is it clean?"
"Father, I had someone investigate him. It's absolutely clean. He definitely isn't a pawn planted in Jiangnan City by either the Song or Lu family—"
Uncle Yan's eyes turned stern, and he barked in a low voice, "Who told you this assassination was sent by the Song or Lu family?"
"Father, do I need someone else to tell me something like that? Apart from the Song and Lu families—"
"Shut up. If there's no evidence, don't say such things again."
"I'm not making wild accusations. I only said it offhand in front of you. There are just the two of us in this room—"
"You are not allowed to make reckless guesses or drag others into accusations even in front of me. Remember this: it is a grave taboo."
"Yes." Yan Xiangma bowed slightly, accepting his father's instruction.
Only then did Uncle Yan's expression ease. Looking at his son, he said, "Crow ranked among the top twenty on the empire's assassin list. His strength was far from weak. You are only at the High Mountain Realm mid-grade—how did you kill Crow by yourself?"
"It wasn't just me. Li Da Lu and the others helped too. You know their strength is quite good as well—they're just a little stupid."
"Since your people found the whereabouts of Killer Crow, why didn't you report it to the city lord's mansion in time? And why did you go and claim the wanted notice without consulting me?" Uncle Yan looked at Yan Xiangma thoughtfully. "What exactly are you hiding?"
Yan Xiangma's expression stiffened slightly, but in an instant he returned to normal. He chuckled. "What am I hiding? What could I possibly be hiding? The reason I didn't have anyone report to the city lord's mansion in time was that there simply wasn't enough time. You know how capable Crow was. He came and went without a trace, and killed people with incredible speed. After I encountered him, I didn't even have a chance to catch my breath, much less spare any attention to send for reinforcements. Besides, the bounty on Crow was a notice issued by the city lord's mansion, and you personally stamped it. Naturally, I had to collect the reward after killing Crow. Otherwise, given your usual noble and upright character, you definitely wouldn't have been willing to let me take those three thousand Gold Coins—"
"Do you know that by claiming this achievement, you will draw the hidden mastermind's attention afterward? You will also have to endure their endless reprisals—"
"Father, who am I?"
"..."
"I am Yan Xiangma, the son of Uncle Yan, the lord of Jiangnan City. My father is renowned and mighty, guarding an entire region. Naturally, I must also stand tall beneath heaven, fearless of everything. Those scoundrels and pieces of trash who only dare to scheme from the shadows—do you think I would take them seriously? If they have the guts, let them come out and fight me openly, blade against blade. Just see if I don't crush their balls—"
"Absurd." Uncle Yan slammed a palm onto the table. "Do you think this is child's play?"
Yan Xiangma looked at his father with a serious expression. "I don't think this is child's play. But this is the responsibility I ought to bear."
Uncle Yan stared at his son for a long while, then waved his hand. "Get out."
"Yes, Father."
Yan Xiangma opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but in the end he said nothing. He turned and walked outside.
Click—
The sound of a mechanism moving rang out in the room.
The enormous "Tiger Roaring Mountains Painting" split in two from the middle, revealing a huge opening in the center of the wall. A man dressed in gray robes walked out of the darkness.
He walked up to Uncle Yan and said, "City Lord, the young master has become too deeply involved in this matter. I'm afraid there will be consequences."
Uncle Yan pushed his chair aside and stood up. He paced irritably around the study as he said, "Even the Cui family hasn't reached a conclusion about this matter, yet he has stirred up the winds and clouds in the middle of it. It is truly infuriating. It seems I have been too lax in disciplining him."
"What should we do next?"
Uncle Yan looked at the moonlight outside the window. After pondering for a long time, he said, "First, make absolutely certain that someone protects Xiangma's safety. He has some ability to protect himself, but it is still far from enough."
"Yes."
"Second, protect Xiao Xin's safety. It is a good thing that Xiao Xin hasn't gone out these past two days. The Literary Examination is over. In a few days, people from the Cui family will come, and Xiao Xin will be taken back to the imperial capital as well. The imperial capital is turbulent, and the situation is difficult to predict. We will watch and wait."
"Yes."
"Third, investigate Li Mu Yang again. If necessary, you may as well personally probe him—"
"Does the city lord suspect that Li Mu Yang is another family's pawn?" the man in black robes asked in a deep voice. "The young master investigated him, and I had someone investigate him as well. All his records are perfectly normal. We couldn't find the slightest flaw."
"Not finding any flaw may itself be the greatest flaw." Uncle Yan's expression was cold and severe. "How could a master capable of killing Crow possibly be the useless youth you and I know?"
"Yes," the man in black robes replied in a low voice.
Uncle Yan sighed softly. "Xiangma idling about all day is ultimately not the right path. When Xiao Xin returns to the capital this time, let him go to the imperial capital as well and find himself a position."
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