Yuan Zhuang looked toward Fang Chen, a profound shock rippling through his heart. The Military God Fang was truly as legendary rumors described: astonishingly young, and remarkably handsome...
"I have some business to attend to with them."
Fang Chen smiled slightly, then turned to Yuan Zhuang. "Take your subordinates and let's go."
Yuan Zhuang hurriedly beckoned to Yuan Yu. "Cousin... Yuan Yu, let's go. We have business to take care of!"
With a blank expression, Yuan Yu followed closely behind the two men.
Seeing that Fang Chen had completely ignored her, Fang Zhixue immediately gave chase. "Big Brother, what are you going to do?! I'm coming too!"
Chapter 34: Kuilong Street
"Don't be ridiculous. Big Brother is going on official business, why would you tag along?"
Fang Chen chided.
"Big Brother, you haven't taken me out with you for years. Remember when you used to sneak me out to buy candied hawthorns..."
Fang Zhixue instantly welled up with tears, looking pitiful and forlorn.
Yuan Zhuang and Yuan Yu awkwardly rubbed their hands together.
"Well..."
Fang Chen thought carefully. Indeed... he really hadn't taken Fang Zhixue out onto the streets in all these years.
"Let's go, but don't run around. I'm actually here on business today."
Fang Chen nodded helplessly.
"Brilliant! Let's go, let's go!"
The tears in Fang Zhixue's eyes instantly vanished. She stepped forward, hooked her arm through Fang Chen's, and looked as happy as if she had picked up ten taels of gold!
This left Yuan Zhuang and Yuan Yu staring in utter astonishment, scarcely believing their eyes.
"Please excuse this unseemly display."
Fang Chen offered an apologetic smile to Yuan Zhuang and his sister.
"Not at all, not at all!"
Yuan Zhuang waved his hands repeatedly.
A sudden thought popped into Yuan Yu's mind: The Military God Fang is so remarkably polite.
The four of them left Fang Mansion together, where a carriage was already waiting. The one holding the reins was none other than Xu Ge.
The Capital of Daxia was divided into an inner and outer city. Fang Chen lived in the inner city, while the outer city was split into over thirty streets. Their destination was Kuilong Street, located near the outskirts and close to the East City Gate—where Fang Canghai was currently stationed.
"Heir, once we reach Kuilong Street, please bear with things a little. The neighborhood isn't particularly peaceful. Should Yuan Yu and I get down first to scout ahead?"
As they neared Kuilong Street, the surrounding buildings grew increasingly dilapidated, forming a sharp contrast with the prosperity of the inner city. The common folk on the road wore ragged clothes and numb expressions.
"This is still the Capital. What about the commoners outside the Capital..."
Fang Chen sighed inwardly. He had once sworn to change something, but later found it terribly difficult—relying solely on himself made it utterly impossible.
Yet even so, he had never given up; he hadn't in the past, and he certainly wouldn't now!
"Since we're here, naturally we'll go look together."
Fang Chen smiled faintly at Yuan Zhuang. "You needn't worry. Do you really take me for a pampered nobleman who can't brave the elements?"
Yuan Zhuang suddenly remembered that the youth standing before him was no ordinary person, but a battle-hardened veteran who had charged through countless fields of war!
"Heir, we've arrived."
Xu Ge's voice came from outside, and the carriage slowly ground to a halt.
Seeing this, Fang Chen led Fang Zhixue down first, and Yuan Zhuang and Yuan Yu hurriedly followed.
Quite a few nearby commoners cast curious gazes toward them.
After all, people dressed in such refined attire were rarely seen on Kuilong Street. But as soon as they spotted the constable uniform on Yuan Yu, wariness washed over their faces, and they turned and fled without daring to linger, avoiding them like snakes and scorpions.
Before the group stood a dilapidated little house with its front door half-open. The latch seemed to have broken long ago, and nobody had ever bothered to fix it.
"Big Brother, what are we here for?"
Fang Zhixue asked with curiosity.
"Lord Yuan has a case to investigate, and we've come along to take a look."
Fang Chen smiled.
"Investigate a case!?"
Fang Zhixue's eyes lit up, a flicker of excitement crossing her face.
"I told you before we came, don't go causing trouble."
Fang Chen tapped her on the head, then motioned for Yuan Zhuang to step forward and knock. Though the door was open, entering directly without the owner's consent was still improper.
"Who is it?"
Before long, an elderly voice drifted from within, occasionally accompanied by a few coughs.
"Granny Wu, it's me, Yuan Zhuang."
Yuan Zhuang called out.
"It's Lord Yuan!? Please, come right in. Old woman's bones ache and I can't get up to welcome you, please forgive me, Lord Yuan."
The old woman's voice grew noticeably more urgent.
Entering the house, they found it extremely dim and utterly devoid of furnishings—just a broken bed, a broken table, and a broken stool. An elderly woman lay upon the bed, struggling laboriously to sit up.
Yuan Zhuang hurried forward to support her.
"Lord Yuan, is there any news of my son and daughter?"
The old woman grabbed Yuan Zhuang's arm, her voice trembling.
Her eyes were grayish-white, remarkably similar to Fang Chen's; she was clearly blind as well.
Seeing this scene, Fang Zhixue couldn't help feeling a sting in her nose.
"This..."
A somewhat awkward smile crossed Yuan Zhuang's face. The woman still didn't know that Junior Minister Li Huafeng of Dahua Temple had closed the case long ago.
"Granny Wu, would you be willing to go to Dahua Temple to lodge a complaint?"
Fang Chen spoke up abruptly.
The old woman started, a blank look crossing her face. "Old woman doesn't know a single character, how could I ever lodge a complaint at the yamen?"
"If you are willing, I can have someone write out a petition for you and submit it to Dahua Temple."
Fang Chen said.
Yuan Zhuang wanted to speak but stopped himself. Re-filing a case that Li Huafeng had already judged was entirely useless and would only invite Li Huafeng's wrath.
"Didn't the official from Dahua Temple tell me long ago that my son and daughter stole valuables from the Vice Minister's residence and fled with the money? Who is there for me to accuse?"
The old woman muttered.
"That's true enough."
Fang Chen smiled, glanced around the room, and said to Yuan Zhuang, "Let's go."
Yuan Zhuang was stunned. They had traveled all this way just to ask a couple of questions and leave?
However, since Fang Chen was already walking out, he didn't dare linger. He hurriedly exchanged a few parting words with the old woman, left a single tael of silver behind, and hurried to catch up.
Outside the door, Fang Chen murmured a few words to Xu Ge. Xu Ge nodded slightly and turned to leave.
"Cousin, what did we come here for today?"
Yuan Yu quietly tugged at Yuan Zhuang's sleeve.
"Hold your tongue."
Yuan Zhuang issued a warning, then stepped up to Fang Chen and lowered his voice. "Military God Fang, are we heading back now?"
"Didn't you find anything strange?"
Fang Chen turned back to look at the dilapidated cottage, a pensive look in his eyes.
"Strange? What's strange about this house?"
Yuan Zhuang was taken aback.
"Big Brother, that granny can't see, and she has no family by her side. How do you suppose she manages to live?"
Fang Zhixue asked softly.
Fang Chen smiled and nodded. "Exactly. How has she managed to survive—for two whole years?"
"Military God Fang!?"
A flash of shock crossed Yuan Zhuang's eyes.
"Did you notice? Although the old woman was dressed in rags, her clothes were remarkably clean. Moreover, when we entered, the threshold was choked with moss. That only happens when nobody has walked across it for a very, very long time."
Fang Chen said faintly.
"Granny Wu's health is poor, she's bedridden all year round..."
Yuan Zhuang murmured.
"Someone has to bring her food, don't they? Two years without family to care for her, and without even relatives dropping by to look in on her—an elderly person like that surely wouldn't survive a single winter."
Fang Chen said calmly.
Yuan Zhuang's expression shifted violently. Indeed, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
At that moment, a group of people suddenly approached. They all wore fierce expressions and clearly meant no good. Catching sight of Fang Chen's group, cruel grins spread across their faces as they stalked toward them.
"Such a pretty lass, heh heh heh..."
The leader stared lasciviously at Fang Zhixue, letting out a strange laugh.
Chapter 35: Threat
Fang Zhixue's face darkened as she glared coldly at the man.
"Little beauty, since you're so gorgeous, you ought to smile more. Come on, give your lords a smile."
The leader leered and bantered.
Yuan Zhuang flew into a rage. He had been worrying about precisely this sort of trouble in his heart, and never expected to actually run into it. This fellow was utterly courting death!
"You rat, nothing good comes out of a dog's mouth! Shut your filthy trap this instant!"
Yuan Zhuang shouted angrily.
"Yo, what manner of creature are you? When your Grandpa Lu is speaking, is there any room for the likes of you to chime in?"
The leader looked at Yuan Zhuang, his gaze gradually turning sharp.
Yuan Zhuang was stunned. Were these bastards truly not afraid of death? Even if they couldn't recognize the Military God Fang, and failed to recognize him as a Dahua Temple investigator, surely they could recognize the constable uniform on Yuan Yu?
"You have some nerve."
Yuan Yu stepped forward, her voice icy.
"Oh, a female constable too! Hahaha, come take a look, brothers, a female constable has come to Kuilong Street! Look at that figure, that face—a bit too tanned, otherwise she'd be quite a looker."
Instead of showing any fear at Yuan Yu's constable uniform, the men laughed even louder and more wildly. Their subordinates all cracked up, their gazes filled with aggression and greed as they looked at Yuan Yu.
Yuan Yu was completely dumbfounded.
She had just joined the force today, her very first day as a constable, and she never expected to run into such death-defying blockheads who didn't even hold constables in their eyes?
Were the thugs of Kuilong Street truly this brazen and lawless?
Standing to one side, Fang Chen watched with cold detachment.
Right at that moment, the death-defying fellow who called himself Lord Lu suddenly let his expression sink, fixing a cold stare on Yuan Yu:
"Listen up. This is Kuilong Street, so you inner-city constables shouldn't go sticking your noses in where they don't belong. If Grandpa Lu ever catches you around here again, I don't care who your backers are—I'm breaking both your legs first!"
Yuan Zhuang suddenly understood what was happening. His expression darkened by degrees as he stepped forward. "I am Yuan Zhuang, an investigator of Dahua Temple. Who sent you?"
An investigator of Dahua Temple?
Lord Lu was clearly taken aback for a moment, but then he burst out laughing. "So it's just a dog-leader of the constables."
His subordinates all snickered, their laughter dripping with disdain.
In their eyes, a Dahua Temple investigator was nothing more than a glorified head constable, leading a bunch of lackeys around to put on airs—nothing special at all.
Furious, Yuan Yu drew the blade from her waist with a sharp *clang*. "You lot publicly harass innocent women, and dare to brazenly threaten a Dahua Temple constable! All of you, come back to Dahua Temple with me right now!"
"On the strength of you lot? You think you're worthy?"
Lord Lu gave a cold laugh and suddenly threw a punch. A mighty surge of qi erupted from his fist, transforming into a white dragon that viciously shattered Yuan Yu's saber.
Yuan Yu was dumbfounded.
Qi Burst?
Yuan Zhuang's expression shifted again and again. He truly hadn't expected the other party to be a Qi-Bursting Martial Artist. Such a character existed right here in Kuilong Street?
"Still want to drag me back to Dahua Temple?"
Lord Lu chuckled softly.
Fang Zhixue immediately rolled up her sleeves, intending to show the fellow what she was made of, but Fang Chen held her back.
Fang Chen smiled and said to Yuan Zhuang:
"Yuan Zhuang, if I recall correctly, you're also at Early Qi Burst? Your subordinate's weapon has just been smashed to pieces, have you nothing to say about this?"
"Today, every last one of you is going to spend time in Dahua Temple!"
A flash of anger appeared in Yuan Zhuang's eyes. The aura around him abruptly transformed—a stark contrast to his timid demeanor in front of Fang Chen. In this moment, he was a true Qi-Bursting Martial Artist!
"Take the rest of them down. I'll deal with this Dahua Temple investigator."
Lord Lu instructed his men before engaging Yuan Zhuang in combat.
The two traded blows back and forth, every surge of qi capable of posing a grave threat to the other.
Nearby onlookers caught sight of the spectacle and scrambled to hide in the shadows, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
Lord Lu's subordinates grinned malevolently, their eyes flickering between Yuan Yu and Fang Zhixue. Just as they prepared to make their move, Xu Ge returned.
Xu Ge's sword remained in its scabbard, yet with lightning speed he struck each of the thugs in the center of their backs, instantly stripping them of their ability to fight.
"Big brother, why didn't you let me join in? Such a rare opportunity..."
Fang Zhixue complained with some dissatisfaction.
"If Mom and Dad found out you were trading blows with street thugs in a place like this, I'd undoubtedly be the one getting yelled at when we got back."
Fang Chen smiled faintly.
Yuan Yu didn't know Xu Ge's background, but seeing his methods so clean and decisive, she realized he was far more than a simple carriage driver, and a look of shock crept into her eyes.
"Heir, I've made inquiries. The neighboring townspeople all took money."
Xu Ge walked up to Fang Chen and said in a low voice.
*Bang!*
Yuan Zhuang was sent flying heavily by Lord Lu, landing in a disheveled heap right in front of Fang Chen. Raising his head, he met Fang Chen's downward gaze, and a wave of shame washed over him.
"You're both at Early Qi Burst, yet you couldn't beat him. You have some serious reflecting to do when we get back."
Fang Chen shook his head slightly. "Xu Ge, take him down."
"Understood."
Xu Ge nodded and strode toward Lord Lu.
Lord Lu had still been looking quite pleased with himself, but upon seeing his subordinates sprawled across the ground, he stared at Xu Ge with a mixture of shock and anger.
As he looked closer, he seemed to spot certain clues, his pupils gradually widening— "The Wind and Cloud Sword..."
*Bang!*
Xu Ge's sword remained unsheathed. With several rapid strikes targeting Lord Lu's chest, back, shoulder blades, and other vital pressure points, he instantly stripped the man of his mobility.
"As expected of the Wind and Cloud Sword..."
Yuan Zhuang could feel nothing but envy.
As an investigator, he naturally knew the background of the man trailing behind Fang Chen.
"Let's go talk to Granny Wu, and bring them along too."
Fang Chen smiled, turning back toward the dilapidated cottage.
In the courtyard, Lord Lu and his men lay paralyzed on the ground, yet their arrogance had not vanished. Even after recognizing who Xu Ge was, Lord Lu continued his threats:
"Wind and Cloud Sword! You dare meddle in muddy waters like this? Don't think that just because you're at Peak Qi Burst you can act however you please in the Capital of Daxia."
Xu Ge cast a contemptuous glance at him. He couldn't act however he pleased, true, but the person who *could* do whatever he pleased was standing right here, yet this fool was too blind to even recognize him and still dared to issue threats?
"The Wind and Cloud Sword!? One of the Capital's top ten Peak Qi Burst masters, the Wind and Cloud Sword!?"
Yuan Yu finally put the pieces together, her heart trembling with secret dread. Yet upon reflection, it made complete sense—with someone like the Military God Fang, it would be stranger if he didn't have a few top experts by his side.
"Is that Lord Yuan outside? What's all this racket about?"
From the inner room came Granny Wu's aged and hoarse voice.
"Xu Ge, tell us what you found out just now."
Fang Chen smiled.
Xu Ge cast a detached glance toward the inner room. "The Wu siblings who lived here lost both mother and father in their youth."
"What!?"
Yuan Zhuang was startled.
The inner room fell into an abrupt, heavy silence.
"Drag her out here."
Fang Chen ordered.
Xu Ge nodded and stepped into the inner room. A moment later, he dragged out Granny Wu, who had been struggling to get out of bed. Her hair was disheveled and she was weeping noisily:
"What are you people trying to do? What are you trying to do to me?!"
Chapter 36: Handao Guard
"Lord Yuan, why are you bullying a blind old woman? What on earth have I done wrong?!"
Granny Wu continued to struggle.
Fang Chen, however, said calmly: "A blind person doesn't dart their eyes around looking everywhere. Xu Ge, take off the things in her eyes."
"Yes."
Xu Ge chuckled, reached out roughly, and fumbled around Granny Wu's eyes for a moment before pulling out two milky-white films. Granny Wu's eyes were now bright and clear—where was the blindness?
Yuan Yu and Fang Zhixue stared in utter bewilderment.
Yuan Zhuang's expression grew slightly stiff. After a long moment, a bitter look of self-mockery washed over his face. He, a dignified investigator of Dahua Temple, had been played around with like a complete fool!
"Heir, peeling off fish eyes to fake blindness—it's just a trick we got tired of playing years ago."
Xu Ge mocked.
Granny Wu's expression stiffened, her eyes darting shiftily as if scheming. Seizing a moment when Xu Ge wasn't paying attention, she tried to break free and flee—gone was any trace of her previous sickly demeanor.
Unfortunately, escaping from the grasp of a Peak Qi Burst martial artist was no easy feat.
Xu Ge seized Granny Wu by the neck and said coldly, "The Heir hasn't said you can leave, so you don't move. Run again and I'll break your legs!"
"Tell us, where did the siblings who went missing from this place end up?"
Fang Chen asked quietly.
Granny Wu's expression flickered before she simpered, "This old woman really doesn't know anything! I just saw that this place was vacant and wanted to move in, occupying the spot so I'd have a place to spend my old age."
"Tell the truth."
Fang Chen smiled. "This place has been vacant for a very long time. If you were merely looking for a place to live, you should have settled here permanently from the start."
Granny Wu hadn't expected him to see through even that. Her expression shifted rapidly.
"If you won't speak the truth, we'll take you back to Dahua Temple for questioning. Once you're there, everything you want to say—and everything you don't want to say—will come out."
Yuan Zhuang said coldly.
"Lord Yuan, this old woman will tell the truth, I'll tell the truth!"
Hearing this, Granny Wu didn't dare conceal anything further and recounted the whole story from beginning to end.
She was essentially a professional swindler who specialized in hunting down vacant houses, disguising herself as a relative, and then finding a chance to sell the properties off.
A few years ago, upon learning that this house was empty, she bribed a few neighbors in the surrounding area and posed as the blind mother of those siblings to seize the property.
"Things aren't that simple."
Fang Chen smiled faintly. "If you refuse to talk, you needn't bother. Take her away."
"No, no, no! I'll talk, I'll talk!"
Granny Wu's expression turned ashen, and she blurted out, "There *is* something unusual about this! Someone approached me back then, telling me there was an empty house here and having me occupy it. But there was one condition: I had to play the part of those siblings' mother to fool any officials who came looking."
Yuan Zhuang's face turned livid. If that was the case, the disappearance of those siblings was indeed fishy; otherwise, why would someone orchestrate it all from behind the scenes?
"Who was that person?"
Fang Chen asked calmly.
"This old woman truly doesn't know! I was forced into it—they said if I didn't comply, they'd kill me. I wouldn't dare cross such desperate cutthroats."
Granny Wu pleaded, "I beg your lordship to show mercy and spare this old woman this once. I'll never dare do it again."
Fang Chen glanced at her, then turned his gaze to Lord Lu. "And you? Who sent you here?"
"Who the hell are you?"
Lord Lu glared fiercely at Fang Chen. "I advise you not to stick your nose into business that isn't yours. The person behind me is someone you can't afford to cross!"
"Such incredible audacity from Dahua Temple, running around overstepping your bounds! You can't even catch enough corrupt officials in the inner city, so you have to run all the way out to my outer city to meddle?!"
Abruptly, a middle-aged man strode in flanked by a troop of subordinates, shouting curses the moment he crossed the threshold.