Young Master

"Young Master, please understand. The money in these accounts is merely held and accepted by our Zhong'an Bank on behalf of others; it does not belong to the bank itself. Unless it is time for dividends to be paid out, no one is permitted to withdraw it," the Head Manager explained patiently.

"Who said I was withdrawing it?" Eldest Young Master Qiao sat with a swagger, his expression displeased. "I am merely borrowing it temporarily; I shall return it in a few days."

"This... this is against the rules!" the Third Manager spoke up. "When the Old Master was here, he established the rules long ago. If the Young Master wishes to borrow funds, he must provide a written note, offer collateral, and pay interest."

"My father is dead! From now on, my rules are the ones that matter." Young Master Qiao looked even more annoyed. "Do you still want to keep your job?"

The Third Manager was momentarily speechless, so he turned his head to look at the glass window beside him.

Seeing this, the Head Manager hurriedly said, "If the Young Master wishes to borrow, we can waive the collateral and interest, but the written contract must be signed, otherwise we have no way to account for it."

"You are a sensible one, at least." Young Master Qiao nodded. "Bring me paper and pen; I want to borrow two hundred thousand silver dollars!"

"This..." The Head Manager was also in a difficult position. "May I ask, Young Master, what do you need so much money for?"

"Is that something you should be asking?"

"Young Master!" The Third Manager could no longer stand it. "Our Jincheng Prefecture is already remote, and the bank's profits are meager. If you take these two hundred thousand silver dollars, our capital will be drained dry, and we won't be able to honor other withdrawals!"

"I see you really don't want to keep your job!" Young Master Qiao flew into a rage.

"Calm down, calm down!" The Head Manager quickly signaled with his eyes. "Why don't you apologize to the Young Master yet! How could the Young Master not know about this? We are only issuing a note; the Young Master will naturally find other branches with abundant capital to redeem it. Why are you worrying about nothing?"

Seeing the Third Manager lower his head to apologize, the Head Manager turned back to Young Master Qiao with a fawning smile. "You agree, don't you, Young Master?"

"You old man are the only one who understands." Young Master Qiao nodded. "Hurry up, I don't have time to bicker with you lot!"

"Very well!" The Head Manager immediately drafted the contract, had Young Master Qiao sign and stamp it, and personally issued the silver notes for two hundred thousand silver dollars.

Young Master Qiao took the notes and stood up. The Head Manager breathed a secret sigh of relief, thinking he was finally sending off this plague god, but he did not expect Young Master Qiao to speak again.

"Do you have someone here named Gao Xiwen?"

In the lobby of Zhong'an Bank.

"Gao Xiwen? Isn't that our Third Manager!" A clerk at Zhong'an Bank said to Chen Wu. "He is busy right now; if you have business to attend to, just find me."

So that was the Third Manager from the door earlier!

"Oh, thank you." Chen Wu said, "I am not here for business; I am here specifically to find him."

"Then you have a long wait ahead of you."

"It's fine, I can wait."

"So you are Gao Xiwen?!" Young Master Qiao's tone rose as he looked the Third Manager up and down, as if examining a rare piece of merchandise.

"That is indeed this humble one." The Third Manager kept his eyes lowered, his tone calm.

The Head Manager did not understand what was happening and grew nervous.

Young Master Qiao scrutinized him for a long time before suddenly shaking his head and laughing. "I heard people mention you before, but you're nothing special."

The Head Manager breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed there was no major trouble.

"Forget it, get back to your work!" With that, Young Master Qiao turned and left.

The Head Manager hurriedly rose to see him off, but for some reason, the Third Manager remained standing where he was, not moving an inch.

The lobby of Zhong'an Bank suddenly became boisterous as a group of people emerged from the back hall. Leading them was that same Young Master Qiao, laughing and chatting unscrupulously with the servant beside him.

Chen Wu looked carefully, searching everywhere, but he could not find the Third Manager; he only saw the old face of the Head Manager, so he had no choice but to follow them first to see what was happening.

The Head Manager, looking humble, saw Young Master Qiao out the door and into his carriage.

Finally having sent Young Master Qiao away, the Head Manager's expression suddenly changed. He raised his index and middle fingers, pointing them at Young Master Qiao's carriage as if he wanted to offer a greeting, but he shook his head and lowered them instead.

Chen Wu hurried forward and cupped his hands in a salute. "Head Manager, greetings. This humble one would like to ask, where is your Third Manager, Gao Xiwen?"

"Who are you?" The Head Manager became vigilant.

"I am... introduced by General Shui. I have business with the Third Manager." Chen Wu had a sudden inspiration and quickly pulled the medal given to him by Shui Ziyi from his robes, using the General's name to bolster his own standing. "This is a token from General Shui, the Sea-Settling Medal."

As soon as the Head Manager saw the object, his face immediately broke into a smile. "Oh my, I was just saying that the Daoist priest has a refined and elegant air, quite unlike the common folk. No wonder you are acquainted with General Shui."

The speed of his change in attitude caught Chen Wu off guard.

He hadn't expected the influence of Shui Ziyi to be so effective.

"Daoist, please wait a moment; I will call him out right now." The Head Manager patted his chest and went back to the rear hall to fetch the Third Manager.

A moment later, the Head Manager brought the Third Manager out. After instructing Gao Xiwen to properly attend to Chen Wu, he returned to his work at the bank.

Gao Xiwen looked at Chen Wu, his face full of suspicion. "Why is the Daoist looking for me?"

Chen Wu glanced at the flow of people on the street. "This is not a place to talk. Please, Manager Gao, follow me."

Gao Xiwen nodded and followed Chen Wu to a quiet, private booth on the second floor of Liaowanghe Tower.

After tea was served and they were seated, Gao Xiwen grew even more puzzled. "Daoist, you can speak now, can't you?"

Chen Wu did not beat around the bush: "Then I will keep it brief. Shopkeeper Gao, is your mother's name Gao Huijun?"

"That is correct."

"Then you are the son of Qiao Weisheng?"

Gao Xiwen's expression shifted drastically: "Who are you?"

"I am the assassin from that day."

Gao Xiwen remained silent, staring at Chen Wu for a long moment before finally speaking: "How do you know about me?"

"General Shui told me. He and your mother are on very good terms, and it is said that General Shui was the one who vouched for you to work at Zhong'an Bank." Chen Wu looked Gao Xiwen in the eye, unafraid. "He once told me that your mother taught Qiao Weisheng the Muscle-Shifting Bone-Misplacing Secret Manual."

"I deduced that the relationship between Qiao Weisheng and your mother was far from ordinary. I came to find you to confirm this."

"And what do you intend to do?"

"Did you kill Qiao Weisheng?" Chen Wu asked directly.

"Why would you say that?"

"Of all the suspects in Qiao Weisheng's death, I am naturally the most obvious one, as I stabbed him in full view of everyone." Chen Wu tried to restrain his emotions. "But I know it wasn't me. I was invited by Qiao Weisheng to stage a fake assassination."

"His death, therefore, might be related to the political situation in the imperial court. The current situation is delicate, and it is entirely possible that the School of Heavenly Principle killed him to make an example of him."

"Exactly! That old man had plenty of enemies, so why pin it on me?" Gao Xiwen narrowed his eyes, a look of mockery appearing on his face.

Chen Wu nodded: "Unfortunately, I had a run-in with the School of Heavenly Principle yesterday, and they were not the ones who did it. Because they couldn't find the real culprit, they stubbornly pinned the matter on my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower."

"With that lead gone, I had to change my approach. Since I couldn't deduce the motive, I had to deduce it from the assassination itself."

Gao Xiwen said nothing, listening quietly as Chen Wu analyzed the situation.

"The key lies in this Muscle-Shifting Bone-Misplacing Secret Manual. This martial art is rare, and even fewer people knew that Qiao Weisheng practiced it." Chen Wu continued, "I went to assassinate him during the day, and that very night, Qiao Weisheng truly died."

"Only someone who knew Qiao Weisheng would use the Muscle-Shifting Bone-Misplacing Secret Manual to fake his death would seize the opportunity to strike that night." Chen Wu said, "I specifically wrote to General Shui to inquire about the manual. He told me that besides himself, you were the only other person in Jincheng Prefecture who knew about it."

Gao Xiwen couldn't help but clap his hands: "A fine assassin from the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower indeed!"

"Are you admitting it?"

"These are merely your speculations; you don't have a shred of evidence, do you?" Gao Xiwen smiled. "Even if we went to the authorities, they could do nothing to me."

"You are right." Chen Wu nodded in acknowledgment. "It has been several days; even if there were evidence, it would have been destroyed long ago."

"But I am not the authorities!" Chen Wu's tone was stern. "I don't care why you killed your own father; I only care about one thing. The people from the School of Heavenly Principle used the death of Qiao Weisheng as a pretext to surround and kill the Patrol Commissioner of my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower!"

"As the real culprit, you must take some responsibility for that!"

"The String-Plucking Bewitching Sound Sword is dead?" Gao Xiwen asked in surprise.

"He passed away yesterday."

"I did not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me." Gao Xiwen's expression was complex. "Since this matter started because of me, if you have something to say, speak."

"What is your cultivation realm?"

"I just entered the Micro Realm," Gao Xiwen said.

"Good. I need you to help me once, and then we shall call it even."

Chen Wu looked into the other man's eyes and said earnestly: "I want revenge!"

"I want revenge!" Chen Wu emphasized again.

"Chen Gawa, have you really thought this through?" Here in the courtyard of Qingbaishi, Old Ma's expression was grave.

"If the man had truly been killed by our Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower, then the Crown Prince's Mansion would be justified in causing us trouble," Chen Wu said. "But they know full well we didn't do it, yet they insist on framing us. I cannot tolerate this."

"The Imperial House is unjust, bringing forth blades and fire. Today, I shall raise a blade of my own to show them!"

"This matter requires fairness—fairness, and goddamn fairness!"

"What do you intend to do?" Old Ma asked. "Even though you have reached the Concentrated Spirit Realm, the experts of the Crown Prince's Mansion are not to be trifled with, not to mention that they have Li Changgeng, who is in the Mystic Realm, holding the line."

"Old Ma, I need your help this time."