Chapter 49: Elder Shen

"Enough, enough!" Xu Yuan said irritably, "Stop acting. I'll eat, alright?"

Then he muttered quietly, "Sacrifices are banned today. Crying before my father's spirit tablet counts as a sacrifice."

The stepmother heard this, realized the truth, and immediately stopped acting. She pushed the bottles and jars toward Xu Yuan, "Here."

Where was even a trace of grief on her face?

Xu Yuan sighed in resignation, first chose to eat that Xiao Ghost, and began refining it into a Longzhu Waidan.

In the darkness, an old man in his fifties leaned against a wall under an eave in the alley.

He had arrived long ago, but a layer of darkness seemed to shroud him. When Old Qian walked past him carrying bottles and jars, he did not notice a person standing right beside him.

The old man witnessed Old Qian's killing from start to finish.

When the three gunshots rang out, the old man was also somewhat startled, then a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes.

After the matter ended, the old man did not act rashly.

He waited a while longer until all the strange things lurking in the darkness had retreated, then stepped out, glanced at Xu Yuan's small courtyard, and turned to leave the alley.

However, as he passed the neighboring small house, a light cough suddenly sounded from the pitch-black room, followed by the lighting of a lamp.

The voice of Elder Shen came through, "Would my lord be willing to come in and sit?"

Elder Shen sold dog-skin plasters, and a faint scent of medicine permeated the inside and outside of his house.

The old man wore a uniform similar to Fu Jingyu's, but his cuffs lacked cloud patterns; instead, a divine bird, the Vermilion Bird, was embroidered on his chest.

As soon as Elder Shen spoke, the old man exclaimed, "So that child, Fu Jingyu, fell into your hands."

Elder Shen did not admit it, "I merely invited my lord in for a chat. I wonder if my lord would grant me this favor."

If he did not grant this favor, it would mean adopting an attitude of life-and-death struggle with the River Work Alley, and plans would need to be made early for what followed.

The River Work Alley was quite unusual, but the Purification Bureau was an even greater giant!

The old man pondered briefly, then happily entered the house.

Elder Shen wrapped himself in a tattered cotton jacket, huddled his body, sat by the table, and smiled to reveal a gap-toothed grin, "My lord has courage. May I ask your name?"

"Ma Tianshou. What is your honorable surname, brother?"

Elder Shen thought for a moment and said, "Deputy Commander of the Southern Jiaozhi Branch of the Purification Bureau? With such a noble identity, why come to the small Shanhe County?"

Ma Tianshou asked again, "What is your honorable surname, brother?"

"I dare not let my lord call it 'honorable'. This old man's surname is Shen, and I truly cannot remember my given name."

Ma Tianshou thought for a moment and said, "Are you the descendant of Shen Yongji from back then?"

The smile on Elder Shen's face vanished, "Indeed, he was my father. Did my lord truly come for us?"

Ma Tianshou shook his head, "No. However, I did accidentally discover a promising seedling."

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," Ma Tianshou said, "Xu Yuan."

Elder Shen frowned and said patiently, "We people have long been forgotten by the court. Why must my lord bring up that old matter? It brings you no benefit and will only cause certain high-ranking nobles in the court to feel dissatisfied with my lord."

Ma Tianshou shook his head again, "I do not wish to bring up old matters. This child suits my taste perfectly; he is naturally cut out for the Purification Bureau. If I let him go just like that, I truly cannot bear it."

Elder Shen, however, misunderstood, "My lord, name your price. What must be done to let Xu Yuan go?"

Ma Tianshou chuckled helplessly and waved his hand, "Brother, your guard is too high. Never mind, if I were you, I would do the same."

After thinking for a moment, Ma Tianshou added, "How about this? Let Xu Yuan choose for himself, is that agreeable?"

"This..." Elder Shen muttered irritably in his heart. Could this high official truly be well-intentioned?

"This official has said all he needs to say." Ma Tianshou stood up to take his leave. His gaze swept over Elder Shen's room, noticing several wine bottles placed under the bed, so he said, "If I come again next time, I will bring some wine for you, old brother, and we can drink and chat together."

Elder Shen remained silent and saw Ma Tianshou out.

If he could come again next time, it would mean Xu Yuan had already entered the Purification Bureau.

But Elder Shen was truly unwilling to accept this arrangement.

Ma Tianshou stepped out the door, just about to bid farewell to Elder Shen. Before he could turn around and speak, Elder Shen's door slammed shut with a bang.

The old man was very displeased.

Ma Tianshou chuckled helplessly, shook his head, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Strolling leisurely, he walked all the way to the alley entrance before truly relaxing his entire body; a layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on his back!

This Shen-surnamed old man was unfathomable!

Ma Tianshou watched Old Qian from the side, and Old Qian noticed nothing, because Ma Tianshou's level was far higher than Old Qian's.

Yet Elder Shen had also been watching Ma Tianshou from the side from beginning to end!

When Elder Shen suddenly coughed and lit the candle, Ma Tianshou appeared calm, but in reality, his scalp was numb and his eyelids twitched.

"However," Ma Tianshou thought silently, "the people in this alley seem to have some issues. This Shen-surnamed old man's body also seems to have some ailments; I fear he does not have many days left..."

When Ma Tianshou walked out, a patch of shadow at the alley entrance suddenly surged like water. Two Captains of the Purification Bureau carried a plain sedan chair and walked out from the darkness.

Ma Tianshou boarded the sedan chair and gave an order, "Return."

The two "sedan bearers" then ran as if flying, and before long, they returned to the county yamen.

The main gate of the county yamen was tightly closed at night.

However, the entire courtyard seemed shrouded in a layer of red light. The hidden evil spirits wandering the city at night were terrified and dared not approach easily.

The rear courtyard was where the county magistrate resided, but the magistrate was an outsider. When he took office, he brought only four servants and one scribe.

Upon arriving in this county, he took a concubine locally, so he did not need such a large rear courtyard.

When the people of the Purification Bureau arrived, more than half of the space was vacated for them to settle.

However, since Ma Tianshou did not appear, the county magistrate always believed the Purification Bureau was led by the Third-Rank Captain, Fu Jingyu.

Had he known Ma Tianshou had arrived, he would not have gone to seek an audience with that lord, but would have been diligently attending to Ma Tianshou's side.

That old master has already retired; Ma Tianshou's power in Southern Jiaozhi Province is at its zenith.

Fu Jingyu greeted: "Master."

His eyes were red, his eye sockets still swollen; he looked somewhat ridiculous, yet he remained stiff and serious.

Ma Tianshou nodded and entered the room directly. Yan Lao, who had refined the calculation method, waited inside; he rose to greet: "Commander."

"Sit." Ma Tianshou pressed down lightly with his hand.

Song Lu offered a cup of hot tea; Ma Tianshou took a sip before saying: "It is indeed Chen Liangxuan."

"Truly him!" Song Lu exclaimed excitedly: "This is a big fish!"

"During the day, I had someone deliberately leak some news; tonight, sure enough, someone went to River Work Lane, intending to capture Xu Yuan and Lin Wanmo—those who went were 'Ghost Ding Qian', a man who, when in Southern Capital, specialized in doing dirty work for him."

The news that Fu Jingyu and Song Lu had gone to River Work Lane was deliberately leaked to the great master Chen Liangxuan by the Filth-Dispelling Bureau.

Thus, Chen Liangxuan knew the two had gone, but did not know that Fu Jingyu had suffered a setback.

The Yamen Runner who brought the two there was a retainer of a certain wealthy household in the locality.

That was how the news was released.

The appearance of the Filth-Dispelling Bureau created a sense of urgency in Chen Liangxuan.

Had it not been so, he might have first sent people to secretly observe Xu Yuan for a period.

Even if he decided to move immediately to capture Xu Yuan, he would have summoned more powerful cultivators.

"You will go to River Work Lane again tomorrow, doing thus and so, thus and so..." Ma Tianshou gave detailed instructions; Fu Jingyu nodded, committing them carefully to memory.

Ma Tianshou added one more instruction: "Old Yan, for these few days, you shall assist Jingyu."

"This old one obeys."

Requesting monthly tickets!

There is more tonight.

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(End of this chapter)