Chapter 717: Collecting Debts

Wei Zhangle did not see Wei Jianzhang.

Although Wei Zhangle considered his arrival sudden enough, Wei Jianzhang had somehow heard news of Wei Zhangle and the others, and had hurriedly climbed out the window to flee. He was in such a rush when he left that he hadn't even closed the window.

When Wei Zhangle brought the two children into the room, he felt a chill; he saw the window wide open, the shutters still swaying. Clearly, the person had just run off.

Wei Zhangle sneered and rushed to the window to look out, but he only saw the vast marshland; he did not see the figure fleeing in panic.

Although he didn't see the back of the person, it was clear the other party hadn't been gone long; if he went to chase, he could catch up. But he just stood there and did not pursue.

Changxin was a step behind; he rushed over and was about to climb out the window, but Zhangle pulled him back and said, "Don't go."

Changxin gritted his teeth and said, "Just let him go like this? Wouldn't that be letting him off too easily! We must chase him down and demand justice; otherwise, haven't we suffered all these years in vain?"

He said excitedly, "Back then... back then when the family fell, although each branch scattered, the family assets were still there. Who knew he would rely on being older, and without notifying us when he got news outside, he rolled up all the valuables and ran first, even clearing out the accounts at the money shop; it was clearly premeditated. Not to mention dumping all the responsibility on Brother to save himself, even if he had left some gold and silver behind, it would count as him being a person, and Brother and we wouldn't have been in such dire straits..."

Wei Zhangle said, "Whether you let him go or not, you cannot chase him. Firstly, this is the teacher's Zhuoyu Villa; it is impolite for us to brazenly catch people and chase fugitives. Secondly, be careful that he doesn't ambush you on the road and use a 'dragging sword' trick. After all, he has practiced longer and his martial arts are stronger than yours; if he turns hostile, how would you handle it? Even if he doesn't strike directly, you might not win a shouting match if he turns hostile and puts on the status of an elder brother..."

Changxin said angrily, "He is not my brother, what kind of damn brother is he? If it weren't for Brother, we would have died long ago..."

Wei Zhangle's expression dimmed upon hearing this, and he said, "It wasn't me; what ability do I have to protect you? We should thank good people like Sui Uncle and Young Master Tang. If you had just followed me, you might not have survived... This can be considered a blessing from heaven, where extreme adversity leads to prosperity. In the end, our luck is not the worst."

He waved his hand and said, "Although Wei Jianzhang is hateful, the most hateful ones are those people. The enemies came first, the deserters came later. I came to find Wei Jianzhang to settle accounts, not to have him die. If he still had a conscience and felt guilty, he would have waited here, sincerely repented, cried his heart out here, and been willing to treat Changxin well from now on; I wouldn't have done anything to him, and returning our share of the accounts would have been the end of it. Now that he refuses to stay and is intent on running away, that is especially hateful. It shows he doesn't even have a human heart, so not only must he pay back the full amount, but he must also add interest."

He pointed to the room and said, "This is the room he usually stays in; let's sweep through the family assets first to see what he left behind. If only the person ran and the assets are still here, it means he tacitly agrees the items can be used for compensation, and we can take them as settling the account. If he even rolled up everything at this juncture, that is being intentionally stingy and stubborn to the end. Since he doesn't feel he is wrong now, don't blame me for chasing the account to the end, making him unable to live in peace and regret it too late."

He waved his hand and said, "Search."

Changqiu and Changxin agreed and scrambled to ransack the room.

Changxin searched the most vigorously, not because he wanted to find much money, but because he was certain that bastard Wei Jianzhang would not repent, and he still wanted to chase him down and strip him bare.

Changxin and Wei Jianzhang were true biological brothers, flesh and blood, and could be considered the closest people in the world right now. But brothers are different from parents; if parents wrong their children, even if the children have hatred in their hearts, they inevitably think of the grace of birth, and their feelings are complex, making it hard to be ruthless in the end.

But brothers are different; not to mention those with grudges, people often fall out over houses and land, let alone being truly screwed over. He hated Wei Jianzhang to death from the bottom of his heart; he wouldn't even blink if he had to do to him what the Taizong Emperor did to his brothers.

After searching a circle, there were many odds and ends, but they were all daily necessities and not worth any money; the gold and silver didn't even add up to ten taels. The Wei family was wealthy back then; even though most of it was destroyed, the gold and silver valuables taken away were very considerable. It seems Wei Jianzhang took the money again when he left.

Wei Zhangle was not surprised to see this and laughed, "Giving face but not wanting it. Since that's the case, we are locked in; with frequent visits in the future, can you still run? Let's go."

He figured Wei Jianzhang didn't know that Zhangle had been transferred to be the Deputy Envoy of the local Land Inspection Division, thinking he had come from thousands of miles away, and that he could live in peace for a few days if he dodged this time. He didn't expect Wei Zhangle was already living below his mountain; the so-called 'the monk can run, but the temple cannot,' if the road down the mountain is guarded well, the monk can't run either.

Changqiu heard they were leaving and asked, "Should we burn the house down?"

Wei Zhangle looked at her in surprise, wondering if this girl had developed a sharp temper from wandering the martial arts world. Changxin had already said first, "Don't be stupid, there are houses all around here; this is the place of Young Master Tang's sect, how can you mess around?"

Zhangle said, "Changxin is right. Changqiu, use your brain when doing things. Not to mention this is Zhuoyu Villa, even if it were outside, could you just burn houses at will? It's best to think of a way to lure him down the mountain, catch him, and teach him a lesson before demanding money. Let's see how long he can hide. Let's go, pay a New Year's visit to the Young Master first."

The three left first. When Changqiu left, she used rouge to write a few large characters on the wall: "Wei Jianzhang, you heartless bastard, don't think about having a good life this lifetime! Even if you hide in your mother's womb, I will drag you out; even if you jump into the mountain, you must pay back the money!" The rouge was like blood, written on the wall like a blood letter, the wording simple and direct, quite full of martial arts slang.

Changxin took the opportunity to dismantle the doors and windows of the house.

The three returned to Gongyu Hall and saw a few people in front of the hall from afar. Wei Zhangle was about to wait a while before going over, but Changxin whispered, "I recognize that person."

He pointed to one of the tall men and said, "That person should be the Town Guardian of the Youzhou Land Inspection Division, Lord Che."

When Changxin was in Youzhou, he didn't understand official matters at all, but after returning to Wei Zhangle's side, his horizons opened up, especially since Wei Zhangle was also in the Land Inspection Division sequence, and recalling the situation at that time became even clearer.

Wei Zhangle was surprised in his heart; the Land Inspection Divisions of various provinces were not subordinate to each other, and he didn't know why a Youzhou Land Inspection Division official would visit Tang Zhao. Looking at Town Guardian Che again, he was wearing plain clothes, which could even be considered simple and rustic; his face and body were covered in the dust of travel, and he appeared calm on the surface, but one could still see a trace of anxiety and worry between his brows. Could it be that he encountered some difficult matter and came here for help?

Besides Town Guardian Che, there were a few others nearby. Wei Zhangle found one of them somewhat familiar, but couldn't remember for a moment; he only saw that the style of dress was different from that of Yunzhou, and one of them was speaking in a low voice to another, and the accent was not from Yunzhou either.

There were actually people from other provinces coming?

Wei Zhangle was even more surprised, but then he thought: The Young Master's status is different now, and his title of Marquis was granted by that side, so it's not strange for people from other provinces to visit, right? Since that Town Guardian is from Youzhou, people from other provinces can also come.

It's just that he hoped the Young Master wouldn't get too close to the damn Imperial Court.

At this time, Jiang Shenyi came out and said, "Distinguished guests, please come in; the Junior Brother will be here soon. This one... you seem to be..."

One of them smiled and said, "I am Liu Hu under the seat of His Highness Shou Wang, an old acquaintance of the Fuguang Marquis. I have also met Young Hero Jiang a few times."

Jiang Shenyi said "Oh" and said, "I remember now, we came back on the same boat; it's just that you weren't very conspicuous and liked to stay alone; you are a low-key person. Why did you come today?"

Liu Hu chuckled: Where was he low-key? Besides, the slave owners and slave traders on his side were almost all dead. He relied on his boldness, resourcefulness, and luck to get on this boat, which was already very difficult. If he were any more high-profile and happened to be targeted by someone, wouldn't that be courting death? So he kept his tail between his legs the whole way.

Having finally returned from the mountain, he fled halfway and escaped all the way back to Shou Wang, where he heard the news of the new Fuguang Marquis, Tang Zhao.

After he confirmed that Tang Zhao was Tang Zhao, he only felt this matter was very absurd—how did the Sword Hero Tang Zhao of Wangliang Mountain become the Commander of Yunzhou and the titled Marquis of the Imperial Court, Tang Zhao?

After Liu Hu reviewed his experience at Wangliang Mountain, although he couldn't fully understand it, the more he thought about it, the deeper the water seemed, and the more he thought about it, the more he broke out in a cold sweat, feeling that this matter must absolutely not be known to anyone. He also couldn't get close to Yunzhou again, especially he absolutely could not see the fierce star Tang Zhao again; he would just pretend this didn't happen, and find an excuse to report back to the Prince; fooling the master was still relatively simple.

Actually, he had achieved the first thing; so far, except for the parties involved, no one had revealed the experience in Yunzhou, and he hadn't either. Fooling Shou Wang was also successful, but the wish not to come to Yunzhou again was not achieved. Sent by his lord, he had to come.

He smiled dryly and said, "I am under the orders of His Highness Shou Wang to send some New Year gifts to the Fuguang Marquis."

Jiang Shenyi was a little puzzled and said, "Does the Junior Brother have a friendship with His Highness Shou Wang? Oh, please come in."

He also didn't know what experiences Tang Zhao had outside, and unlike Wei Zhangle, although he had experienced a tragic change, it was purely a matter of pugilistic grudges, and he didn't have any prejudice against these official forces. Thinking that since Tang Zhao accepted the title of Marquis, these official social niceties could not be refused, he politely invited them in, and then looked at the other unfamiliar face, saying, "You are..."

This was also a refined middle-aged man, somewhat similar in temperament to Liu Hu; both had the temperament of a Guest Minister to a noble, and he said, "I am Li Meng under the seat of His Highness Chun Wang, here to pay a visit to Marquis Tang."

Jiang Shenyi said blankly, "Ah, Chun Wang..."

This was even more of a blind spot in his knowledge. He still had an impression of Shou Wang, but he had never heard of Chun Wang at all. He had only heard of a few famous princes, but there were quite a few princes in the world, and the Imperial Court had been very active in granting titles recently; one prince here, another prince there, so it was normal that he hadn't heard of him.

It was Liu Hu who saw it and explained, "His Highness Snow Mountain Prince entered the capital last year, and the Emperor bestowed upon him the position of assisting the government as a member of the imperial clan, renaming him Chun Wang; he is the most famous prince in the capital today."

Jiang Shenyi said "Oh" and said, "So it is His Highness Snow Mountain Prince. Please."

Snow Mountain Prince, Wang Fei, was also a frequent visitor; anyway, he was closer than Shou Wang.

At this moment, Liu Hu, Li Meng, Che Lin, and Wei Zhangle and the others were all welcomed into the Sword Hut by the marsh. This was Tang Zhao's own Sword Hut; although Tang Zhao was in Zhu Ying's forest, he would not bring outside guests in.

Just as several people were entering the door, Li Meng lightly touched Jiang Shenyi, and they brushed past each other.

Jiang Shenyi felt a stir in his heart and realized there was an extra slip of paper in his hand.