Chapter 115: Registering in the Family Genealogy (Begging for Monthly Tickets at the Fifth Watch!)

The fox sisters caught up, and upon seeing the Old Fox, immediately bowed with utmost respect: "Grandfather."

The Old Fox nodded slightly: "You may go down now; leave this place to me."

The fox sisters dared not speak further and returned properly to the Plum Blossom Pool below.

Xu Yuan continued: "That night, you put on quite a show with the two sisters in the town."

The Old Fox's eyes glowed green as he stared at Xu Yuan with a deep, eerie gaze.

"At that time, you must have already guessed why I sought out the sisters. You and they played out a scene of deep grandfather-grandchild affection, but in truth, you had long decided to intervene."

That night, the fox sisters' behavior was utterly inconsistent from start to finish.

They were clearly terrified of the Old Fox, yet later, in his presence, they pretended to act spoiled and affectionate.

Xu Yuan had suspected something at the time.

The Old Fox nodded: "You are a clever child. Then guess again: why did I intervene in this matter?"

"Because you did not want the evil spirits in the mountains to collude with people from outside the mountains!"

From a human perspective, colluding with evil spirits is a grave crime.

Conversely, from the perspective of the evil spirits, is colluding with living humans not equally so?

The Old Fox chuckled with a "Heh," and tossed the wine gourd beside him toward Xu Yuan: "Return the Mountain Lord Stele; in any case, it is of little use to you."

Xu Yuan caught the wine gourd, pulled out the stopper, and sniffed; a pungent aroma of alcohol mixed with the metallic sweetness of blood rushed strongly into his nostrils.

Xu Yuan frowned, and the Old Fox's expression had already turned hostile: "You criticized me for unfair conduct, deceiving you into helping kill the Haikou Toad, claiming the help I gave you was not equivalent.

Now that I have already provided additional compensation, do you still dare to be insatiably greedy?"

Xu Yuan curled his lip; this old thing changed his face so quickly.

Since keeping the Mountain Lord Stele was indeed of no use anyway, Xu Yuan returned it to him.

The Old Fox rose, looking like an old mountain hermit of idle clouds and wild cranes, and with a few floating steps vanished into the wilderness.

Only a voice remained, echoing in Xu Yuan's ears: "Little child, you might as well guess again: who instructed me to oppose the colluding of mountain evil spirits with living humans?"

Xu Yuan was stunned; the Old Fox had someone behind him... or was it an evil spirit?

Xu Yuan's first thought was "Master Ruan Tian," but he immediately dismissed it; if it were that one, there would be no need for such actions.

Once Qin Gaoming arrived at Guanghuo Street, simply killing him to make one's stance clear would suffice.

Even when Snake Pole came to smooth things over, one could simply state one would not receive Qin Gaoming.

"Then... is it one of the others on Guanghuo Street?"

Xu Yuan could not be certain.

This Ghost Wushan is intricate and complex; the waters are deeper than I imagined.

Fu Jingyu and the other two saw Xu Yuan talking with the Old Fox and did not dare approach, waiting at a distance.

Only after the Old Fox left did they come forward; seeing Xu Yuan standing there in a daze, they called out: "Little Xu?"

Xu Yuan came to his senses, smiled at the three of them, and said: "Let's return."

The fox sisters waited properly inside the hollow of the old plum tree.

The two little foxes were lively and active, unable to stay still.

But as soon as one of them twitched its small tail, the sister kicked it, scolding: "Behave properly!"

The small tail drooped in aggrieved submission, and then a door-opening sound echoed from the old plum tree as the Old Fox entered with his hands behind his back.

"Grandfather!"

"Great-Grandfather!"

The four foxes pressed their front paws to their foreheads and knelt to welcome him.

The Old Fox raised a paw like a human and said: "Rise. You did well this time; cultivate diligently. In three years, I will take you back to the Ancestral Land to register your names in the family genealogy."

"Thank you for Grandfather's grace!" The fox sisters were overjoyed and knelt again.

The Old Fox snorted: "By rights, among the descendants from the Ancestral Land, you two are the least promising, knowing only how to play all day long; yet you have benefited from that little child's light and are the first to return to the Ancestral Land for registration..."

The fox sisters' tails, which had just been held high, drooped listlessly.

The four of Xu Yuan moved quickly; with still an hour before nightfall, they returned to the town.

The Captains waiting inside the Zhao Fur Shop, seeing them all return safely and without missing anyone, all breathed a sigh of relief.

"My lords have worked hard!"

"Is there any progress on the case?"

With a single sentence from Yan Lao, everyone was overjoyed: "The case is solved!"

The crowd cheered in unison: "This time, we all benefited from the grace of the lords."

Yan Lao waved his hand: "It was mainly thanks to Little Xu."

The Captains bowed respectfully one after another: "Thank you, Young Master Xu. After returning to Huicheng, we will host a banquet together; please, Young Master Xu, do honor us with your presence."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "No need..."

One Captain, selected by the others, said: "Young Master Xu, do not misunderstand; before the lords returned, we had already agreed on this matter. Alas... previously, we were indeed ignorant and shallow; we are truly ashamed. We only ask Young Master Xu to give us a chance to express our gratitude."

Xu Yuan could not refuse: "Very well."

Xu Yuan grabbed that Captain: "There is also an urgent matter; mobilize immediately and arrest everyone at the Lin Family Sugar House!"

"As ordered!"

A group of Captains rushed out like wolves and tigers; this time, Xu Yuan and the others did not follow.

There were only a few cats and mice at the Lin Family Sugar House; the Captains were fully capable of handling it, so there was no need for them to oversee.

In just two quarters of an hour, the Captains returned, escorting the prisoners.

Fu Jingyu and Yan Lao were in charge of interrogating, but Lin Qi knew very little and yielded no crucial testimony, so they locked him up for now and would transport him back to Huicheng tomorrow.

After several Captains brought the man back, they hurried to prepare dinner.

What fine cooking could these rough men, accustomed to long-term field duty, possibly have?

They could only manage to fill their bellies.

Xu Yuan's appetite stirred, so he proposed: "Let's go eat at Xi Yazi's Restaurant. Hurry up—we must return before dark."

He added: "Young Master Fu should treat us—clearly he's the richest."

These people had no idea how fortunate it was to have a wealthy Young Master as a friend.

Fu Jingyu was still interrogating Lin Qi with Yan Lao, so everyone laughed together: "Let Young Master Xu decide."

After finishing the interrogation and hearing the news, Fu Jingyu didn't understand why he was being treated, but still nodded: "Fine."

They all stepped out together; Xu Yuan went across the street and ordered another jar of the best wine, and also told Ah Guang about the possible establishment of a public office and his request for help delivering goods to Wangxiang Village.

Of course, it wouldn't be a free trip—the Qiusi would pay compensation.

Ah Guang readily agreed.

At the restaurant on the town's western edge, Xi Yazi, seeing so many people, beamed: "Oh, Ah Yuan's here! I'll tell the owner to send you two side dishes on the house."

Xu Yuan murmured: "You really know how to run a business."

Xu Yuan ordered the dishes, and Fu Jingyu paid upfront—they'd leave right after eating to save time, since dusk was drawing near.

While waiting for the food, Xu Yuan suddenly remembered: "There's another person in town who needs questioning—Yang, the widow on South Street. She had the most contact with Zheng Rongkui; he stayed at her place when he returned this time."

Xu Yuan looked at Young Master Fu: "If it's about soul-interrogation methods, only you can handle it."

Upon hearing it was official business, Fu Jingyu immediately rose: "I'll go now."

Just as the food arrived, he left with two Captains.

Another five-thousand-character explosion tonight!

This month's vote request feels a bit more confident.

The Ghost Wushan arc is temporarily concluded, but its secrets have only revealed a fraction of the iceberg—more revelations lie ahead.

Many settings still haven't been fully explained: why Lin Wanmo changed from disciple to second wife, the standards defining each level of the Seven Sects, the inner workings of Shanhe Si, the truth behind the Imperial Ming's life-extension, and more—we'll unfold them slowly, calmly.

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(End of Chapter)