Fugitive

Monk Zhongcheng lived up to his reputation as a master on the verge of the Concentrated Spirit Realm; his pace was swift, and in less than an hour, he returned with the replies from Old Ma and Shui Ziyi.

After reading the two letters, Chen Wu weighed the contents in his heart and decided to visit Zhong'an Bank first to confirm his suspicions.

The death of Old Jin and the flight of Old Ma were both tied to the death of Qiao Weisheng. Unless this matter reached a definitive conclusion, Chen Wu would never find peace.

Having made up his mind, Chen Wu disguised himself as a wandering Taoist and walked to the front of the Zhong'an Bank in Jincheng Prefecture.

At that moment, a fleet of luxurious carriages appeared from the street corner and pulled up in front of the bank, their entourage of servants crowding the entrance until it was completely blocked.

"I wonder what kind of ostentatious figure this is!"

A voice spoke the very words Chen Wu had in his mind.

Chen Wu turned to look and saw a burly man with piercing eyes. The man had broad shoulders and long arms, his palms were calloused, and his temples bulged—a clear sign that he had reached a certain level of mastery in external martial arts.

Seeing Chen Wu look over, the man assumed Chen Wu wanted to chat and naturally continued, "The old owner of this bank was assassinated nearby just a few days ago, and even then, there wasn't such a grand display."

Unsure whether he should engage with this stranger, Chen Wu simply nodded in acknowledgment before turning his gaze back to the young man stepping out of the carriage.

To Chen Wu, the man looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six. In Great Shun, one could be a father at that age and would be expected to appear quite steady. Yet, this man's overall attire, temperament, and even his gaze gave off the impression of someone naive and sheltered.

The man wore a persimmon-colored cloak with cloud-and-crane patterns, held a white-haired horsetail whisk in his hand, and wore a black net cap on his head, yet he had pinned a red flower to his ear, making his entire appearance garish and flamboyant.

The servants following him were dressed just as brightly and gaudily as their master, wearing obsequious expressions as they chatted and fawned over him.

Because of this, the master was in high spirits. Perhaps due to a joke one of the servants told, the master laughed out loud right at the entrance of the bank, as if no one else were around.

Perhaps the crowd blocking the door was affecting business. At this moment, an employee in his late twenties, looking steady and experienced, walked out of the bank and bowed to the young master.

"Young Master, our establishment is open for business. If you have any needs, please come inside to discuss them in detail. Your carriages can be parked in the backyard; we have staff there to look after them."

The employee spoke neither too fast nor too slow, giving the young man plenty of face.

"Call your manager out!" Perhaps annoyed at being interrupted, the young master's tone was not pleasant.

"I am the head clerk of Zhong'an Bank, effectively the Third Manager. Whatever business you have, I can handle it personally. If you trust me, I am willing to serve you." The employee bowed again, speaking with sincerity.

"Call your Head Manager out!" the young master insisted.

"May I ask for your name, so I may announce you?"

The young master couldn't even be bothered to speak; instead, a servant jumped out and tossed a token forward. "Blind your dog eyes! You don't even recognize the Eldest Young Master Qiao? How did you become a manager at Zhong'an Bank? Did you get in through connections?"

"Eldest Young Master Qiao?" The Third Manager took the token, his expression changing. "I will go inside and announce you immediately."

With that, he hurried back into the bank.

"So this is Qiao Weisheng's only son?" The burly man beside Chen Wu began his sharp critique again. "Truly, a tiger father has a dog for a son. Qiao Weisheng hasn't even passed his seventh day of mourning, and he's already acting like this. Even heroes and men of honor cannot escape the misfortune of an unworthy wife or unfilial son."

"Judging by your words, you seem to know Qiao Weisheng," Chen Wu couldn't help but interject.

"Know him? Of course I know him! His exploits are quite famous within the Investigation of Things School." Seeing Chen Wu respond, the man's desire to talk grew even stronger. "In his early years, Qiao Weisheng went to the Rakshasa lands to trade tea. At that time, Empress Anna of Rakshasa had passed away, and the new king, Peter III, betrayed their alliance and withdrew from the First World War, infuriating Great Shun."

"In its rage, Great Shun pushed Empress Catherine to the throne. Qiao Weisheng was a nobody back then, yet he participated in the affair. By using the pretext of offering tea to the Rakshasa royalty, he frequently entered and exited the palace to gather intelligence. He also threw money around to win hearts for the current Rakshasa Queen, playing a significant role in the coup. Afterward, he was rewarded by the Queen and rose to prominence from there."

"So impressive..." Chen Wu couldn't help but gasp.

Chen Wu had heard a little about this First World War.

Although he hadn't been in this world for long, he had learned some history from various places. While recuperating a few days ago, he had nothing to do and had spent time exchanging knowledge with Wang Zhenyi, cramming a great deal of history about this timeline.

The so-called Great War was the Great Shun-France-Austria alliance against the Britain-Prussia-Netherlands coalition. The result was a stalemate where both sides fought until they were exhausted. However, the Shun-France alliance held the overall advantage, eventually breaking through Gibraltar, forcing England to end the Anglo-Dutch alliance, repeal the Navigation Acts, and open their colonial markets.

Russia had played a role of jumping back and forth, effectively the Italy of the Great Shun plane.

During Empress Anna's reign, she was allied with Great Shun and France. Toward the end of the war, Empress Anna passed away, and Peter III, who was of North German descent, took the throne. He jumped to the side of Prussia, effectively saving Prussia from being surrounded and destroyed, preventing the Shun-France alliance from achieving total victory.

It was likely for this reason that Great Shun supported Catherine's coup.

Thinking of Qiao Weisheng's usual amiable, money-grubbing demeanor, Chen Wu found it hard to imagine that he had also profited from the aftermath of this great war.

"If this man weren't truly capable, how could he have caught the eye of the Minister of Revenue and become the old Minister's son-in-law?" The man laughed, revealing the secret without reservation. "At the time, the old Minister was serving as an envoy to Rakshasa and was orchestrating the whole affair; Qiao Weisheng used that opportunity to build a connection with the old Minister."

Chen Wu couldn't help but look at him sideways. "Who are you, sir? How do you know so much?"

"I used to be with the Red Lantern Society. These matters were long recorded within our ranks."

The Red Lantern Society? Could it be...

"May I ask if your surname is Wu?" Chen Wu probed.

"I am indeed Wu Chengyi, the 'Cloud-Grasping Iron Hand'!"

Well, this fellow really was the recently escaped Wu Chengyi! And he admitted it so openly!

"If you aren't going to hide to avoid the heat, why are you walking around so brazenly?"

"You recognize me?"

"I recognize Monk Zhongcheng."

Wu Chengyi's eyes lit up, and he was about to say something.

Inside the Zhong'an Bank, the Third Manager had led a middle-aged man out. All the employees of the bank followed, bowing to the Eldest Young Master Qiao. The scene was lively, cutting off Wu Chengyi's words.

Eldest Young Master Qiao nodded slightly and followed the manager into the bank.

As the group entered the building, Wu Chengyi withdrew his gaze and leaned toward Chen Wu. This fellow was already a Sixth-Stage Zhou-Tian expert; Chen Wu hadn't even managed to dodge before his hand was gripped by him.

"Since you are a friend of my savior, Daoist, then you are a friend of mine, Wu Chengyi." Wu Chengyi wore an enthusiastic expression. "Come, come, come! Let me treat you to a drink!"

Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Chen Wu to lead him away.

"Brother Wu, Brother Wu!" Chen Wu quickly shook him off. "This Humble One has urgent business to attend to. Let us do this another day."

"Oh?" Wu Chengyi's gaze suddenly sharpened. "Who are you going to kill, Daoist?"

Chen Wu's entire body immediately tensed. "What do you mean by that?"

"No need to be nervous. We are both from the Yongjiu School; we should help one another. Although I was dissatisfied with the senior brother of the Red Lantern Society and defected, I would never betray you to the authorities," Wu Chengyi said hurriedly.

"These iron palms of mine possess a unique martial property that allows me to sense the martial arts practiced by others. When I shook your hand just now, I knew you practiced the Nine Evolutions Dragon-Expelling Art and are a man of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower."

Damn it, there's actually a martial art like that!

Seeing Chen Wu's disbelief, Wu Chengyi continued to explain, "Your Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower focuses on assassination, while our Red Lantern Society makes a living selling information. Both of our martial arts possess certain investigative abilities."

There really is such an absurd martial art! The level of absurdity was comparable to Old Jin's Sound Transmission Soul-Searching Technique.

Chen Wu did not want to be entangled with this fellow for the time being, so he said, "Brother Wu, Zhang Iron Ruler is currently hunting you. You had better find a place to hide. As for the drinking, we can talk about that later."

"Hmph—as if I'm afraid of that Zhang Iron Ruler!" Upon hearing the name, Wu Chengyi became extremely indignant. "If not for his underhanded schemes, he wouldn't have been able to catch me before! I am in the Circulation Realm now, and I'm just looking to settle the score with him!"

"Zhang Iron Ruler is here!" Chen Wu raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Wu Chengyi immediately jumped behind Chen Wu, using him as a shield while scanning his surroundings like a startled cat—a stark contrast to his burly, rugged physique.

And he said he wasn't afraid of Zhang Zhihe! Chen Wu laughed inwardly.

"My apologies! I was just joking." Chen Wu barely managed to keep a straight face.

"Hey, you..." Wu Chengyi looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Although I am not going to kill anyone, I do have matters to attend to," Chen Wu said sincerely. "How about this? Leave an address, and I will come find you for a drink when I have the time."

Wu Chengyi had spoken without a filter to Chen Wu, a complete stranger, revealing his carefree and boisterous nature. If the timing hadn't been so poor, Chen Wu would have genuinely liked to make friends with such a person; at the very least, it would be quite relaxing.

"Since that's the case, I'm not an unreasonable man," Wu Chengyi said. "I'm staying outside the East Gate. There's a donkey and horse stable near the city wall where I'm doing some odd jobs. I'm quite a hand at tending to livestock."

He's only been out of prison for a few days, and he's already out here working odd jobs so brazenly.

Chen Wu was truly speechless. He couldn't tell if Wu Chengyi was simply big-hearted or completely brainless.

"You're being so blatant—aren't you afraid the authorities will catch you again?"

"Hehehe!" At this, Wu Chengyi smiled with a hint of cunning. "I have your Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower to thank for that!"

"You assassinated Qiao Weisheng, so the authorities have been too busy to worry about me lately. I'm working a short-term job with a caravan at the stables, and I'll be leaving with them in a few days. If you want to drink with me, brother, you'd better make it soon."

It seemed this Wu Chengyi was not stupid after all.

Is this Young Master Qiao an idiot? How could he say something so foolish!

The head manager of the Jincheng Prefecture branch, upon hearing the words of Eldest Young Master Qiao, could not help but let this thought rise in his heart.