Chapter 16: Qualification

He Lingchuan thought for a while: "Find them two sets of new clothes, clean them up, and raise them for two good meals. No matter how they scold, you all smile. In addition, keep an eye on Chen Laoqi, don't let him run away. He smashed people's butts, maybe his own will be opened this time." This sect member responded, and couldn't help but say: "Young Master, we can't afford to offend the Donglai Mansion, if we release people..."

The Red and White Path knew their background and still took heavy hands, because they were sure they were dead. Dead people won't inform, what does it matter if they take action? But now He Lingchuan intends to release people, and the Red and White Path is inevitably worried.

"Don't worry, they have something to ask of us, so they shouldn't care about such small things. Besides, this is Qiansong County, Black Water City. There is a saying that a strong dragon doesn't suppress a local snake." This is not the place where the Donglai Mansion has the final say.

The Red and White Path sect member was sent away, He Lingchuan turned back and saw his second brother's worried eyes: "Brother, how to explain this to Father?"

"Just a little misunderstanding, the Donglai Mansion will definitely take the overall situation into account." He Lingchuan laughed, his expression calm, "This is nothing!"

He Yue didn't speak. For the Grand Marshal, it was a trivial matter, but for the He family, it had to be fearful, weighing left and right.

My mountain, his dust.

The He family teenager who grew up with the wind and water felt the frustration of a small person for the first time.

It's really hard to pass.

"What's wrong?" He Lingchuan saw the boy's expression depressed, as if he had something on his mind.

"Nothing." He Yue smiled, "I'll go first."

He had just left when He Lingchuan turned to Uncle Hao: "Something happened?" Uncle Hao's state was wrong.

"Young Master, Little Gray is dead."

He Lingchuan was shocked: "How did it die?"

"Didn't fly back last night, I went to the cliff in front of Hulu Mountain and picked up the corpse." Uncle Hao's voice was a bit astringent, "Wings and abdomen were pierced, the blood was dark green, and it was poisoned, but the cause of death was having its neck twisted."

"Nian Songyu, National Master Sun!" He Lingchuan saw

Xiao Hui is a harrier demon and was Uncle Hao's childhood playmate. He has been with him for decades, can speak human language, and usually eats meat, drinks alcohol, kills people, and sets fires together—they are as close as brothers.

Uncle Hao has no children and no brothers. With Xiao Hui dead, it is as if his hands and feet had been chopped off.

"You were not the one who struck; why apologize?" A fierce glint shone in Uncle Hao's eyes, "Those two could have just asked their questions; why take a life! Can you help me find out who dealt the fatal blow? Was it the State Preceptor or that man surnamed Nian?"

"Certainly." He Lingchuan immediately urged him, "But you must not be impulsive. Let alone you, no one in the entire Jinzhou dares to be their enemy."

"Xiao Hui saved my life, at least twice." Uncle Hao said decisively, "He cannot die in vain!"

"If you go for revenge now, you will just throw away another life." He Lingchuan rolled his eyes, "The Panlong Desert is a man-eating devil's den. Even if they can return alive, their strength will inevitably be greatly diminished." It would be best if they didn't return.

"Wait another ten days or so, and the hope for revenge will increase more than three or five times." He pressed Uncle Hao's shoulder, extremely sincerely, "As long as there is an opportunity, my father and I will certainly help you."

The opponent is the State Preceptor, the nation's weapon of slaughter. To go for revenge now is too rash.

"By the way, does my old man know?"

Uncle Hao shook his head: "I came to find you first."

He Lingchuan took off the mutton-fat jade ring from his finger and took out a string of pearls, stuffing them all into Uncle Hao's hands: "I'll give you three days off. Well, I mean, you should rest well for these three days." Mourn properly, "Don't drink too much. If there's anything, I'll call you at any time."

The mutton-fat jade ring still had a large ruby on it, a custom piece for the nouveau riche, and each pearl on the necklace was the size of a sparrow's egg, uniform in size—all of them were valuable treasures.

Uncle Hao took them, remained wooden for a moment, then nodded and turned to leave.

The lives of loved ones are of course priceless, but ample money can at least soothe a wounded heart to some extent.

After he left, He Lingchuan slowly sat down on the stone bench in the garden.

This is truly sitting at home while trouble falls from the sky.

The harrier demon Xiao Hui lost contact yesterday, which means that before Nian Songyu and State Preceptor Sun came to the He residence, they already knew the He family held the clues they wanted. Coming to the door today—could it be courtesy before force? Not to mention the gap in status and position between the two sides, State Preceptor Sun also came under the King's order; would He Chunhua dare to say no? But to ask them to respectfully offer up the leopard corpse and honestly send cannon fodder to the two noble guests—He Lingchuan was unwilling, so unwilling.

These two attacked the West Mountain leopard den, implicating him in falling off a cliff; the original self died, and he, this imposter, also suffered twenty-plus days of pain.

These two easily killed the scouts the He family sent out on He family territory.

They also wanted He Chunhua to send cannon fodder to help them enter the Panlong Desert and seize the Great Fang Hu. Once successful, their merits would be great, while the Commandery Governor's merits would be meager.

Losing troops and suffering casualties, only to be exchanged for a word of praise from the Emperor.

But what qualifications did He Lingchuan have to challenge them?

This kind of loss, it seemed he had to swallow it even if he had to hold his nose.

So frustrating! He Lingchuan held his head with both hands and sighed long, suddenly seeing something white drifting down before his eyes.

It was a feather.

He didn't know which bird had passed overhead.

He Lingchuan grabbed the feather, turning it unconsciously, when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Hmm? That's not right.

After his injuries healed, He Chunhua had Uncle Hao transferred from another place to be his personal guard, so Xiao Hui might not have known the details of his fall. Besides, the He family did not allow demons to set foot inside, and the harrier demon had always perched on branches outside.

He Lingchuan and Uncle Hao had not spent much time together, but the man was reticent. What Uncle Hao saw, Xiao Hui might not have known.

Therefore, from the perspective of Nian and Sun, the information they pried from Xiao Hui might have been very vague.

At the very least, they didn't know the leopard corpse was right here in the He residence, nor were they certain if there were clues they wanted here. After all, the leopard demons that escaped the den scattered in all directions, and they sent people to pursue them separately—how could they guarantee that the one that fled to Mount Hulu was the main target?

What if the other sand leopards that escaped were the ones hiding the tokens of the Panlong ruins? Most importantly, they didn't know the sand leopard's relic was in the hands of the He family's eldest son! With so many uncertainties, they couldn't casually strike at the local power.

Using the King's order to coerce and using profit to lure—that was the best method.

In that case, what did the He family have to fear?

Having figured this out, He Lingchuan stood up, patted his butt, and decided to go to the office to find his old man.

Scaring oneself, there was no need for that.

……

He Chunhua was writing furiously, but upon hearing what his eldest son said, the brush in his hand stopped.

(End of chapter)