Chapter 123
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When the shop assistant confirmed that Lu Qian had no money to pay, his expression suddenly changed. With a downturned mouth, he went to complain to the boss.
Standing just a few steps away from Lu Qian, the shop assistant complained while casting a disdainful look at the customer who couldn’t pay.
Lu Qian responded unfriendly to the scornful gaze. He lowered his head slightly, his naturally smiling peach blossom eyes looked up through long, thick eyelashes, staring at the shop assistant.
A pair of eyebrows, shaped by the contours of a handsome bone structure, transformed the natural smile in Lu Qian’s eyes into a highly provocative air, giving the illusion that this youth could effortlessly manipulate the world like toying with ants.
The youth’s demeanor momentarily distracted the proprietress, and then she approached Lu Qian with an almost blank silly smile, saying this meal was on her, inviting Lu Qian to come often.
Lu Qian declined her offer. If he accepted this charity, he would have to endure the disdain from the shop assistant as well. So, he sternly stated, “Your grandpa will send someone to pay for the meal in a bit.”
“Yes, yes!” The proprietress realized her assistance was too overt and might dampen the young man’s spirit. She promptly took the initiative, expressing concern that she might offend this honorable guest. It sounded as if Lu Qian not becoming a regular customer could lead to the imminent closure of her shop.
Women in this era were accustomed to using a display of weakness to maintain the dignity of young men.
But for the proprietress, such things only happened with a very small number of men. She was even a tigress to her husband. Yet, because of some quality in Lu Qian, she willingly descended into the role of a thirty-something young woman.
This feigned fragility could only be understood by those in the know. The shop assistant nearby could only scratch his head, bewildered and envious, glaring at the youth enjoying a free meal. He couldn’t comprehend why the boss was so lenient towards him.
More than just the proprietress, there were many people, familiar or just acquaintances, who harbored this peculiar tolerance toward Lu Qian, including Xue Yao.
Unaware of his own little secret, Xue Yao, in their daily interactions, consciously or unconsciously indulged Lu Qian’s cravings for a sense of being “family.”
Over time, it became a habit, to the point where Xue Yao appeared genuinely simple and carefree in front of Lu Qian, as if truly in need of protection.
Occasionally, when Lu Qian faced danger, Xue Yao would unlock his restraints, reverting to the role of a strategist and adaptable protector. Yet, he instinctively concealed this, so as not to shatter Lu Qian’s budding masculinity.
Lu Qian himself, who could induce such curious self-inflicting behaviors in many, remained unaware of the true situation.
He didn’t know whether these people intentionally or unintentionally portrayed themselves as weak in his presence, all to fulfill his inherent desire for strength.
In such treatment, Lu Qian always believed he was everyone’s protector, powerful to the point of being unbeatable. Consequently, he thought Xue Yao would never dare to leave him voluntarily in dangerous situations.
However, Xue Yao had now voluntarily left him.
This marked the first time Lu Qian experienced a fresh sense of defeat.
He disliked being disturbed by these annoying emotions because emotional obstacles made it difficult for him to process such strange feelings, similar to the pain brought about by the disappearance of Father Emperor, with no way to drive it away.
Lu Qian was at a loss against this kind of pain. Seldom did he face such helplessness.
If faced with several more losses like this, the inescapable pain would fill his world.
The only solution Lu Qian could think of was to drive out these people who entered his world, one by one.
If these people never existed in the first place, their loss wouldn’t turn into an indomitable pain.
Over the past year, he had been quite satisfied with the results of driving others away, as he had grown accustomed to the absence of the little reader-in-waiting.
He equated escaping the concerns of the real world with breaking free from the dependence of the spiritual world, mistakenly believing that he no longer had any weaknesses.
Xue Yao’s sudden disappearance shattered Lu Qian’s self-assessment.
He vaguely realized that his calm demeanor over the past year was only because he knew those people in his heart were safe.
And now, he didn’t know if Xue Yao was safe.
Lu Qian felt angry at his uncontrollable unilateral protective instinct. However, blaming himself for not resolving the issue only fueled his frustration. He shifted the blame onto Xue Yao for his willful behavior.
Grandpa would protect Yaoyao, always.
On the way back to the palace, Lu Qian thought, “Yaoyao can just leave whenever he wants. It’s not fair.”
Bad Yaoyao.
However, upon returning to the palace, Lu Qian discovered that Bad Yaoyao wasn’t there, waiting to throw a tantrum.
•••
Xue Yao and the two boys were led by A’Zhu into a secret room, reaching the so-called “crime scene” as mentioned by Xue Yao.
Holding an oil lamp, he crouched on the ground for a long time, attempting to confirm that his described events were not fictional through footprints.
If he could see the footprints clearly, even if the tracks were confusing, he could at least distinguish how many people had been in the room. However, the practical execution wasn’t as easy as theoretically suggested.
Xue Yao, with his bottom in the air, found five faint footprints but couldn’t discern the differences with the naked eye.
Without a camera, photo comparison was an impractical task.
“What kind of tricks are you playing?” one of the bound boys shouted at Xue Yao. “Trying to stall for time, waiting for your accomplice to bring the Sword Saint to your rescue?”
This remark successfully sparked a hostile fear among the surrounding elders towards Xue Yao.
“Is the Sword Saint someone who protects those close to him?” Xue Yao looked at everyone. “If I really did commit murder and robbery, I’d be too busy hiding from the Sword Saint. How could I possibly ask for his help?”
“So what are you doing now?” A’Zhu asked.
“Examining footprints,” Xue Yao said. “The man who disguised himself as the sect master was standing in this position, and I was standing in that position.”
A’Zhu frowned. The secret chamber was spotless, with no chance of clear footprints to discern.
The two boys also breathed a sigh of relief. One of them said, “Trying to deceive our young miss? Don’t waste your effort. Quickly reveal the whereabouts of the sect master and return the scriptures. Our elders might go easy on you, and give you a swift end!”
“Did you two steal the scriptures?” Xue Yao suddenly questioned, cold and direct.
The two boys immediately reacted, exclaiming in unison, “Lies!”
Xue Yao stood up, calmly walked to a bookshelf, lifted the lid of a chest on the left, and began to take out small items one by one.
The chest contained finely crafted concealed weapons, mostly made of iron, adorned with intricate patterns and engraved inscriptions in gold and silver. Turning to the bottom, he even found a solid gold sleeve arrow.
Xue Yao’s eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a breakthrough. After a moment of contemplation, he turned around and said, “When we left, we didn’t take the book at all, only a few items from this chest.”
A hint of disappointment flashed in A’Zhu’s eyes.
“Now you’re taking sense. Finally willing to admit it?” The boy sneered. “Since you’ve confessed, don’t tell half-truths. Who would believe you only took treasures and not the scriptures?”
Xue Yao frowned. “I did indeed take only two items, not the scriptures. Did you two take the scriptures? Also, the jade ornament in this box, like a night-bright pearl, I wanted to take it, but it was too slippery. We left in a hurry and didn’t search further. Now that bead is gone, you must have taken it too.”
“Stop fooling around! There’s no jade ornament in that box!” one of the boys hurriedly argued.
“None?” Xue Yao squinted his phoenix eyes, revealing a triumphant smirk. “I made that up, unlike you who knew there were no jade artifacts in the box. It means you deliberately searched through it. So, you must have taken all the solid gold concealed weapons, right? Otherwise, why is there only one solid gold sleeve arrow left at the bottom of the box?”
The two boys’ eyes widened in an instant. One of them retorted, “We didn’t touch the box! But we know our sect doesn’t use jade for crafting concealed weapons!”
Xue Yao turned to A’Zhu. “None at all?”
A’Zhu frowned and looked at the two young attendants. “Of course, there is.”
“But not in this box.” Xue Yao deliberately mentioned something that wasn’t there, anticipating these two kids’ inclination to contradict. Surely, they seized on his mistake and argued that there were indeed no jade artifacts in the box. As expected, the two boys unintentionally confessed.
“Most of the items in the box are made of gold, silver, and copper. Logically, there should be quite a few solid gold items, but now there’s only one left.” Xue Yao turned to A’Zhu. “Miss, have you seen the contents of this box? Is it, as I speculate, missing many solid gold items?”
A’Zhu fell silent for a moment before answering, “You’re right, there are a few missing golden concealed weapons.”
“Even if there are missing golden concealed weapons, you can’t pin it on us! You said you didn’t touch the box, so how do you know about the missing gold? You probably got greedy and took them for yourself!”
Xue Yao smirked, lowered his head, and slowly reached into his pocket.
“Don’t move! What are you trying to do?” The elders around, fearing he might pull out concealed weapons, gripped their weapons.
“Don’t be nervous, everyone. I’ll prove myself with something.” Xue Yao slowly pulled out a money pouch from his pocket and handed it to A’Zhu. “Please, Miss, take out the silver bills inside and have a look.”
A’Zhu, looking puzzled, took the money pouch. Following his request, she pulled out neatly folded silver bills. Opening them, she found four bills, each with a face value of five hundred taels!
Xue Yao was quite satisfied with the surprise on A’Zhu’s face. He smiled slightly and deliberately displayed an indifferent attitude. “This is the silver I carry with me. There should be a few thousand taels left, I believe. To be honest, my family is wealthy in the capital. We once dealt in grain procurement in Jingling and Hangzhou, and I easily spent a million taels of silver. If the lady doubts, you can take me to confront the grain merchants in both places. That will prove the wealth of my family.”
The boy exclaimed, “Do you think having money makes you impressive? Our Xuanye Sect can even offend the government!”
Xue Yao shrugged. “Having money isn’t impressive, but one thing is certain: with my perspective, I wouldn’t cling to a bit of gold at a life-threatening moment. Only despicable individuals would covet such cheap gains, like the two little brothers who insisted there were no jade ornaments in the box.”
“You vile thief!” The boy turned red. “If that’s the case, you must also know that there were no jade ornaments in the box. You deliberately set a trap to frame us!”
Xue Yao calmly said, “I just noticed there was only one gold item left in the box, suspecting you were only stealing gold. So, I intentionally said it, waiting for you to tell me the answer. I didn’t expect you two to reveal yourselves so easily.”
“Your words don’t make sense!” The boy’s lips turned blue with frustration. “You’re intentionally misleading with your words!”
“Oh?” Xue Yao retorted. “Isn’t it you who revealed yourselves first? During our meeting last night, how come you forgot to add one ingredient when preparing the incense in the room?”
“That wasn’t our responsibility in the first place!” The boy hurriedly defended. “Who knows what incense was burning in that room!”
Xue Yao took a deep breath, smiling contentedly. “So, where did the attendants who were supposed to serve in that room go? Why are only the two of you left? Didn’t you say the sect master would meet us? Where are the sect master’s attendants?”
In an instant, the air became tense.
The two boys, unintentionally admitting their guilt, turned pale, frozen like statues.
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