Gold Ingot

Golden Branch Pavilion.

Inside a spacious room.

Xiao Sheng closed his eyes and regulated his breathing to stabilize the fluctuating Qi and Blood in his body.

After a long while, he finally opened his eyes, the shock in them lingering.

Although several days have passed, the bone-chilling tremor he felt that day, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, still lingers. That feeling of being completely seen through was truly awful; since advancing to Master, he had only ever experienced it with the Commander.

The commander was at the Grandmaster level.

This means that Grandmaster was watching him that day.

Could it be that the Sun Household has truly produced Grandmaster?

If that's the case, then that day was a warning to myself. Or perhaps the Hui Barbarians didn't come from Gu Shan at all, but from their master. If that's the case, then the Sun Household truly deserves to die.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He looked up at the door and saw a young man in a brocade robe walk in.

Xiao Sheng immediately asked, "How is it?"

Xiao Ming shook his head and said, "We still haven't found any trace of Gu Shan and the others. Apart from opening a new general store, the Sun Household hasn't made any moves these past few days. Are you sure you're not mistaken? Could it be that Grandmaster has really entered this Bei'an Prefecture City?"

Xiao Sheng shook his head and said, "I can't be wrong about my senses. It's definitely Grandmaster, and maybe it really is Gu Yue himself."

Xiao Ming frowned and said, "If it really is Grandmaster coming in person, then the Sun Household's transaction with the Hui Kingdom this time must be far greater than in the past. We should immediately report to the Commander and ask for his support. Otherwise, the two of us alone may not be able to find any evidence of the two families' transaction."

Xiao Sheng slowly shook his head and said, "Although I can confirm that it is Grandmaster, I cannot confirm whether the person who came is really Gu Yue, or another Grandmaster. Without substantial evidence, it would be inappropriate to make a secret report rashly."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Xiao Ming looked over.

Xiao Sheng pondered, "The other party is only warning me, but hasn't made a move yet. They still have some reservations about my Embroidered Robe Bureau. Otherwise, you and I would probably be dead by now. In that case, we might as well lull them into a false sense of security and look for another opportunity."

A glint flashed in Xiao Ming's eyes, as if he had thought of something, and he confirmed, "You mean you want to extort money from the Sun Household?"

Xiao Sheng nodded and said, "That's right. With Grandmaster personally involved, it must be a big deal. We should naturally take a cut of the profits, so we can give an explanation to our superiors."

Xiao Ming nodded and asked, "How much would be appropriate?"

Xiao Sheng pondered for a moment and then said, "How about 100,000 taels of silver?"

Xiao Ming asked with some concern, "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"For the Sun Household, a single deal can yield profits far exceeding a million. With Grandmaster personally present, it's normal for them to multiply that amount several times over. If we ask for too little, it might arouse suspicion from the Sun Household."

"That makes sense!" Xiao Ming nodded. "Then I'll send someone to fetch Sun Hu right away."

"Mm!" Xiao Sheng nodded.

Xiao Ming turned and walked out, but stopped at the door and turned back, asking, "So, are the people below still going to investigate?"

Xiao Sheng, "Of course we need to investigate, and we need to intensify our efforts. Hmm, after so long, we haven't found a single clue. It shows how lazy the people below are. We need to give them a good thrashing."

"Understood!" Xiao Ming said, turning and leaving the room.

*****

Fang Yu lingered near the general store where the gold was kept for several days, but he didn't stay in the area for long, so as not to attract the attention of the people staking out the area.

On this day, as usual, he walked past the grocery store to get a feel for the surroundings, and then headed towards a teahouse that Zhou Daqing and others frequented.

Soon, he arrived near the teahouse and saw a man glance at him before striding over.

Fang Yu's Divine Thought stirred slightly, and based on the other person's figure, posture, and the aura of Qi and Blood and qi emanating from him, he made a preliminary judgment that this person should be a Sixth-Rank Strongman.

"Xu Fang, do you recognize this order?"

The man approached and displayed a token engraved with his name: "Xiao Qi".

Fang Yu recognized it immediately; it was the Embroidered Robe Bureau's token. He bowed respectfully and said, "Your subordinate, Xu Fang, greets Your Excellency!"

"Come with me!" Xiao Qi said, turning and walking away.

Fang Yu followed and arrived at No. 17, Hualiú Alley. As soon as he entered, he saw a corpse lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he could see the corpse's face clearly.

"Master Ning!"

Fang Yu cried out in alarm, his feet seemingly welded to the ground, and a look of terror appeared on his face.

Xiao Qi turned and glanced at him, saying, "Xu Ning failed in his duties and has been executed according to family rules. As his informant, you should be responsible for collecting his body!"

"Yes! Yes!" Fang Yu, his teeth chattering, took a few steps forward and came to Xu Ning's body.

With a fluctuation of his Divine Thought, he had already figured it out: Xu Ning had died from having his skull shattered by a single palm strike. A Seventh Grade Battle Soldier, he died so suddenly.

However, considering the reputation of the Embroidered Robe Bureau, this seems quite normal. When things go wrong, someone has to take the blame. Fortunately, he was just the lowest-ranking Scarlet Robe, not even qualified to take the blame.

As for what kind of trouble it is, it's most likely caused by those Hui Kingdom!

Xiao Qi then spoke up, "Do you know why he died?"

Fang Yu said, "I don't know!"

Xiao Qi said in a deep voice, "Do you still remember the task Xu Ning assigned to you?"

Fang Yu nodded and said, "I know, it's about finding three Hui Barbarian!"

"Very good!" Xiao Qi looked at Fang Yu and said, "Keep searching for them. Make a big fuss about it, let everyone know that the Embroidered Robe Bureau is looking for these three people."

"Yes!" Fang Yu replied, then a troubled look appeared on his face. "Sir, I will certainly do my best, but I have no money and cannot command the idlers on the street."

"Heh!" Xiao Qi chuckled twice upon hearing this. "You rascal, you've got some guts, daring to ask me for money!"

Fang Yu said in a panic, "I misspoke, please forgive me, sir! I don't want the money anymore, I don't want it!"

"Don't be like that!" Xiao Qi said, taking a gold ingot from his pocket and tossing it to Fang Yu. "It's really hard to get things done without money. Do you know why Xu Ning had to die? It was because he withheld the errand fees that should have been paid to you and the others. Don't make the same mistake as him."

Fang Yu raised his hand and caught the gold ingot. With a slight thought, he knew that it was a standard gold ingot weighing ten taels.

"Thank you for your guidance, sir. I will certainly do my utmost!"

"Alright, go!" Xiao Qi said, waving his hand. "If there's any news, come here immediately to report."

"Yes!"

Fang Yu said something, stepped forward, carried Xu Ning's body on his back, left the courtyard, and headed towards Xu Ning's home.

Xu Ning's death is a good thing for Fang Yu. However, the task of finding him has now fallen to him. If he can't find any clues in the future, he may face the same fate as Xu Ning.

However, Xiao Qi's order for him to search so openly implies that he must have some information that Xiao Qi doesn't know. This kind of action is probably meant to alert the enemy and see if they can be scared out. If they aren't scared out, that's fine, but if they are, then those of them who are responsible for cutting grass will definitely be the ones who get bitten.

"Ugh! This job is really tough!"

Fang Yu sighed, but the next moment, his eyes narrowed.

Since the Embroidered Robe Bureau wants to alert the enemy, he can use this identity to get his hands on the gold.