The Fugitive

Monk Zhongcheng was indeed a master on the verge of reaching the Concentrated Spirit Realm. He was incredibly swift, and in less than an hour, he had brought back the replies from Old Ma and Shui Ziyi.

After reading both letters, Chen Wu weighed the matter briefly and decided to visit Zhong'an Bank first, to confirm his suspicions.

Old Jin's death and Old Ma's escape had both stemmed from Qiao Weisheng's death. Until the matter was settled, Chen Wu couldn't find peace.

Once he had made up his mind, Chen Wu disguised himself as a wandering Daoist and went to the entrance of Zhong'an Bank in Jincheng Prefecture.

Just then, several luxurious carriages appeared from around the street corner in a procession and stopped in front of Zhong'an Bank. Attendants crowded around them, blocking the entrance completely.

"I wonder what sort of grand personage this is!"

A voice had spoken Chen Wu's thoughts aloud.

Chen Wu turned to look. It was a burly man with bright, piercing eyes. He had broad shoulders and long arms, rough palms, and bulging temples. Clearly, he had cultivated his external martial arts to a considerable degree.

When the man saw Chen Wu looking at him, he assumed Chen Wu wanted to talk, and naturally continued, "A few days ago, the old proprietor of this bank was assassinated nearby. I didn't hear of anything this grand then."

Unsure whether he should respond to this stranger, Chen Wu simply nodded first, then turned his attention to a young man stepping down from one of the carriages.

The man seemed to be around twenty-five or twenty-six. In Great Shun, he was old enough to have children of his own, and should have seemed quite mature. But his overall appearance and manner, even his gaze, gave the impression of someone inexperienced in the ways of the world.

He wore a persimmon-colored cloak embroidered with cloud-and-crane patterns and held a white-haired horsetail whisk. A black gauze cap sat on his head, with a red flower tucked beside his ear. His entire getup was gaudy and flamboyant.

The several attendants following him were dressed just as brightly as their master, in a riot of colorful finery. They wore obsequious smiles as they chatted and fawned over him.

Naturally, their master was in high spirits. One of the attendants must have told a joke, because the young man burst out laughing in front of the bank, oblivious to everyone around him.

Perhaps the crowd was blocking the entrance and interfering with business. Just then, an employee nearing thirty, composed and experienced, came out of the bank and bowed to the young master.

"Young master, our bank is open for business. If you need anything, please come inside and discuss it with us. Your carriages can also be parked in the rear courtyard, where our staff will look after them."

The employee spoke calmly and unhurriedly, showing the young man every courtesy.

"Go call out your manager!" Perhaps the interruption had cut short his joke, because the young master's tone was less than pleasant.

"I am honored to serve as the head cashier of Zhong'an Bank, or, in other words, its third manager. Whatever business you have, I can attend to it. If you'll place your trust in me, I'll be glad to serve you." The employee bowed again, speaking with sincerity.

"Go call out your head manager!" the young master insisted.

"May I ask your esteemed name, so I can announce your arrival?"

The young master couldn't even be bothered to answer. Instead, one of the attendants jumped forward and tossed out a token. "Are you blind? You don't even recognize Eldest Young Master Qiao? How can you be a manager at Zhong'an Bank? I bet you only got the job through connections!"

"Eldest Young Master Qiao?" The third manager took the token, his expression changing. "I'll go announce you at once."

With that, he hurried back inside.

"So this is Qiao Weisheng's only son?" The burly man beside Chen Wu began offering his critique again. "Like father, unlike son. Qiao Weisheng hasn't even been dead seven days, and look at him. Even a hero can end up with a bad wife and an unfilial son."

"From the way you speak, it seems you knew Qiao Weisheng," Chen Wu couldn't help replying.

"Knew him? Of course I did! His deeds are famous throughout the Investigation of Things School." The man grew even more talkative after Chen Wu responded. "Qiao Weisheng went to Rakshasa to trade tea in his early years. Back then, Queen Anna of Rakshasa died, and the new king, Peter III, broke his alliance and withdrew from the First World War, angering Great Shun."

"In a fit of anger, Great Shun put Peter's wife, Catherine, on the throne. Qiao Weisheng was nobody at the time, yet he got involved. Under the pretext of presenting tea and other offerings to the Rakshasa royal family, he went in and out of the palace, gathering information. He also scattered money everywhere, buying support for the current queen of Rakshasa, and played no small part in the coup. Afterward, the queen rewarded him, and that was how he rose to prominence."

"That impressive..." Chen Wu couldn't help clicking his tongue.

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

Though he had only been in this world a short time, he had picked up some historical knowledge from different places. While recovering from his injuries a few days ago, he had nothing to do, so he had talked with Wang Zhenyi and crammed even more history from this world.

The so-called First World War had pitted the Great Shun–France–Austria alliance against the England–Prussia–Netherlands coalition. The two sides had traded victories until they were both utterly exhausted. Overall, though, the Shun-French alliance held the advantage. In the end, it captured Gibraltar, forced England to end its alliance with the Dutch, repeal the Navigation Acts, and open its colonial markets.

Russia, meanwhile, had played both sides, earning it the distinction of being the Great Shun world's Italy.

During Empress Anna's reign, Russia had been allied with Great Shun and France. Late in the war, Empress Anna died, and Peter III, who hailed from northern Germany, took the throne. But he then switched sides to join Prussia, saving it from being beaten to the brink of collapse and preventing the Shun-French alliance from achieving total victory.

That was probably why Great Shun had supported Catherine's coup.

Thinking of Qiao Weisheng's affable, money-making face, Chen Wu found it hard to imagine that he had made his fortune in the aftermath of that great war.

"If he hadn't been so capable, how could he have won the favor of the Minister of Revenue and become the old minister's son-in-law?" the burly man said with a laugh, revealing the secret without a care. "The old minister was serving as an envoy to Rakshasa at the time and had orchestrated the whole affair. That was how Qiao Weisheng got in with him."

Chen Wu couldn't help looking askance at him. "Who are you, exactly? How do you know so much?"

"I used to be with the Red Lantern Society. We'd recorded all this stuff long ago."

The Red Lantern Society? Could it be...

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

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

Well, this really was Wu Chengyi, who had just broken out of prison! And he had admitted it openly!

"Why aren't you lying low? How come you're out here, swaggering around?"

"You know me?"

"I know Monk Zhongcheng."

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

Inside Zhong'an Bank, the third manager had already returned with a middle-aged man. Every employee in the bank came out with him to pay their respects to Eldest Young Master Qiao. The lively scene cut Wu Chengyi off in mid-sentence.

Eldest Young Master Qiao gave a slight nod, then followed the manager into the bank.

As the group entered, Wu Chengyi turned away and leaned toward Chen Wu. This man was already at the sixth-step Zhoutian Realm. Chen Wu hadn't managed to dodge him, and Wu Chengyi had grabbed one of his hands.

"Since you're a friend of the man who saved my life, Daoist, you're a friend of Wu Chengyi too." Wu Chengyi beamed warmly. "Come, come! Let me treat you to a drink!"

Without waiting for an answer, he dragged Chen Wu away.

"Brother Wu, Brother Wu!" Chen Wu quickly shook him off. "I still have important business to attend to. Another day, another day."

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

Chen Wu's whole body tensed at once. "What do you mean?"

"No need to be nervous. We're both from the Yongjiu School, so we should help each other. I may have fallen out with the Red Lantern Society's senior brother and left the society, but I wouldn't sell you out to the authorities." Wu Chengyi hurried to explain.

"My pair of iron palms has a few peculiar martial properties. They can sense the martial arts someone has cultivated. When I shook hands with you just now, I realized you practiced the Nine Evolutions Dragon-Expelling Art and were with the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower."

What the hell, there was a martial art like that?

Seeing that Chen Wu didn't believe him, Wu Chengyi continued explaining, "Your Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower specializes in assassinations, while we of the Red Lantern Society make our living selling information. Both our martial arts have ways of detecting things."

So there really were martial arts that far-fetched! It was about as ridiculous as Old Jin's Sound Transmission Soul-Searching Technique.

Chen Wu didn't want to get entangled with this man just yet, so he said, "Brother Wu, Zhang Iron Ruler is hunting you. You should find somewhere to hide first. We can drink another time."

"Hmph—I'm not afraid of Zhang Iron Ruler!" At the name, Wu Chengyi grew furious. "If he hadn't used dirty tricks, he wouldn't have caught me before! I've reached the Zhoutian Realm now, and I'm looking to settle the score with him!"

"Zhang Iron Ruler is here!" Chen Wu raised his brows.

"What?" Wu Chengyi immediately jumped behind Chen Wu, putting him between himself and the street. He looked around like a startled cat, a comical contrast to his burly frame.

So much for not being afraid of Zhang Zhihe! Chen Wu laughed to himself.

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

"Hey, you..." Wu Chengyi looked a little awkward.

"I'm not going to kill anyone, but I do have business to attend to," Chen Wu said sincerely. "How about this: give me an address, and I'll come find you for a drink when I have time."

Wu Chengyi didn't even know Chen Wu, yet he had already been chatting without a filter. That told Chen Wu he was a carefree sort. If the timing had been different, Chen Wu really would have been willing to make friends with someone like him. At the very least, it would have been easygoing.

"In that case, I'm not unreasonable," Wu Chengyi said. "I'm staying outside the east gate, at a mule and horse depot by the city wall. I'm doing odd jobs there. I'm quite good at tending livestock."

He'd only been out of prison for a few days, and he was already out in the open, working.

Chen Wu was at a loss. He really couldn't tell whether Wu Chengyi was carefree or just stupid.

"You're being so brazen. Aren't you afraid the authorities will catch you again?"

"Heh heh heh!" Wu Chengyi gave a sly grin. "I have your Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower to thank for that!"

"You assassinated Qiao Weisheng, so the authorities have no time for me these days. I'm doing odd jobs for a merchant caravan over at the mule and horse depot. In a few days, I'll leave with them. If you want to have a drink with me, brother, you'd better come soon."

It seemed Wu Chengyi wasn't stupid after all.

Could that Young Master Qiao really be an idiot? How could he say something so stupid?

After hearing Eldest Young Master Qiao's words, the head manager of the Jincheng Prefecture branch couldn't help thinking this.