Chapter 108: Post-Matters / Aftermath

Wu Chengyu returned home at the Hour of the Tiger, roughly before five in the morning; he had rested less than two hours when Wu Zhengliang came knocking before the Hour of the Snake had arrived.

He had tossed and turned all night, still worrying that Wu Chengyu might kill Shi Tong outright in a fit of rage.

Struggles at the top are nothing but compromises and deals; they can be utterly filthy — those in power excel at letting spit dry on their own faces — all that matters is gaining the benefit, but not killing is the bottom line, or rather assassination cannot be played lightly; once someone dies, many things become impossible to untangle.

The more Wu Zhengliang thought, the more he regretted it; the young man struck without knowing measure, he should never have agreed to let Wu Chengyu go out — he should have kept him home by force if necessary.

So, early in the morning, Wu Zhengliang rushed over impatiently to find Wu Chengyu, dragging him off the bed where, after the mental strain of battling Hong Qigong the night before, he only wanted to sleep.

"Last night I only asked you to find out what schemes Shi Tong might have next; a small punishment to warn him was enough — you didn't use a heavy hand, did you?"

"No, no, I was very gentle with him the whole time, even let him enjoy the ultimate bliss of the mortal world." When Wu Chengyu said this, his expression was a little subtle, instantly letting Wu Zhengliang know the brat was lying.

"Words not from the heart, eyes flickering — you juniors, whenever you lie, you never escape my eyes.

Speak up — what exactly has become of that silk-pants Shi Tong? As long as he still has breath, as long as he's not dead, it's fine."

"Uh… not daring to hide anything from Fourth Uncle, Shi Tong and those subordinates of his are now all dead through and through."

"You… sigh, what can I say about you? Right now nothing is settled; Shi Tong must not die — he came to Suzhou seemingly by Shi Miyuan's special arrangement, who knows what important business; if Shi Miyuan finds out, he will certainly demand accountability."

Wu Zhengliang's face changed at those words; he could no longer sit still, rose, and paced back and forth in the room.

"Since this has already happened, we must find a way to bear the consequences; I will report to the Family Head and have him write a letter to friends in Hangzhou to intercede on our behalf — after all, those people are still cooperating with Shi Miyuan, and Shi Miyuan, wanting to become Prime Minister in the future, absolutely will not make an enemy of them now.

Besides, since a life was lost, a price must still be paid; fortunately, the Third Branch has not only repaid its deficits these past years but even has a slight surplus — I will borrow some more from the Main House and Second House to see if we can satisfy the other side.

You stinking brat, still snickering — do you know killing is easy, but for the next few years our Third Branch will have to tighten our belts and live frugally again."

Wu Chengyu wasn't snickering; he merely felt warmth seeing Wu Zhengliang so wholeheartedly protecting him and cleaning up his mess, and smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"Fourth Uncle, rest assured — to say no one will suspect us is impossible, but on the surface we've left no handle."

"Then stop beating around the bush — tell me in detail exactly what happened last night, what you did, every single detail, nothing omitted."

Not wanting Fourth Uncle to keep worrying for him, Wu Chengyu immediately recounted the whole course of last night's events, concealing only the matter of his exchange with Hong Qigong.

"You're saying he actually wanted to send people to poison the well water at Wu Family Slope? This brat is truly vicious; his death is no loss."

"No wonder you couldn't hold back last night — there's no such thing as guarding against a thief for a thousand days; if he had truly succeeded, who knows how many at Wu Family Slope would have died."

"If it was because of that, he deserved to die; worst case we compensate with more property — the lives of our Wu Family Slope people are more precious."

When he learned what method Wu Chengyu used to kill Shi Tong and the other two, Wu Zhengliang's face was indescribably colorful; he looked his nephew up and down — normally polite to everyone, respectful to elders, contributing considerably to the clan, absolutely the outstanding figure of the Wu Family's Cheng generation.

Wu Zhengliang had even thought to keep Wu Chengyu by his side and cultivate him well once he came of age, to make him the next helmsman of the Wu Family Third Branch.

Who knew this brat was a completely different person outside — last night's methods, about hidden pulses and Severed Pulse techniques, with his meager martial arts grounding Wu Zhengliang fundamentally couldn't understand, but the final method was really a bit too vicious.

Shi Tong died far too disgracefully; the key point was his posthumous reputation would stink to high heaven.

"Can you guarantee that Shi Tong and the other two show no signs of external force killing?"

"I can — unless there's an expert master of the Taoist School's martial arts essence who also understands the heart's hidden pulse, and performs an autopsy the moment Shi Tong just died.

After Shi Tong's death, once the time of one incense stick passes, the residual Internal Energy in his hidden pulse will also completely vanish; then unless it's an immortal, no one can detect any clue."

"Good — Shi Tong can't produce evidence of murder; no matter how absurd or unbelievable the death, as long as there's no overt evidence, no one can directly trouble the Wu Family. Our friends in Hangzhou won't allow it either — but there's still one unsatisfactory matter."

"Fourth Uncle, please speak."

"The other two subordinates, Cheng Wuji and that Yu Black Tiger, can be seen at a glance to have been killed by someone; although they're just martial world figures attached to the Shi Family, the Shi Family doesn't care how many die, they can still serve as corroboration that Shi Tong's death wasn't accidental."

"That Cheng Wuji I hid away — later I'll tell Fourth Uncle the burial spot; Fourth Uncle send men to dispose of the corpse — with our Wu Family's influence in Gusu City and Fourth Uncle's means, it shouldn't be hard; others will at most think Cheng Wuji disappeared, and with no one found there's nothing to say.

As for Yu Black Tiger, when I killed him I hadn't yet thought of killing Shi Tong; now it seems I was indeed shortsighted — he died in Shi Tong's courtyard, and by this time he may well have been discovered.

So I've racked my brains and there's only one method — I ask Fourth Uncle to secretly spread a rumor in Gusu City.

Last night in Gusu City I unintentionally saw the Northern Beggar Hong Qigong among the Five Absolutes — as long as everyone knows Hong Qigong was in Gusu City yesterday, all focus and spearheads will point at him.

After all, in outsiders' eyes, not knowing the Wu Family has me as a variable, under normal circumstances even if the Wu Family and Shi Tong had friction, the Wu Family would never immediately move to kill him."

"Hong Qigong? The Beggar Clan Chief on par with Huang Yaoshi? Heard he shows his head but not his tail, has a warm heart and does chivalrous deeds — is it really not too good for us to do this?"

Wu Chengyu also knew it wasn't too good — after all Hong Qigong had shown him kindness — but this was currently the best method; anyway, the matter Hong Qigong wanted to do had already been inadvertently ruined by him, and Hong Qigong himself was opposing Shi Miyuan and those peace-faction people.

And with Hong Qigong's martial arts, Shi Miyuan's people have no way to deal with him — so right now Hong Qigong is the best shield; worst case later we find a way to compensate the Beggar Sect, like teaching them the begging verses from my own begging days, improving the Wuyi Sect's meals somewhat.

For some reason, Wu Chengyu felt a slight thrill at framing Hong Qigong a little.

After Wu Zhengliang and Wu Chengyu finished discussing, he rose to leave — Cheng Wuji's corpse in the city must be properly handled, and Shi Tong might already have been discovered; he needed to gather intelligence at the first moment — but before leaving he hesitated, wanting to say something more.

"Fourth Uncle still has something to ask?"

"That Spring Drug of yours — is its potency really that terrifying?"

"If Fourth Uncle likes it, I'll make some more for Fourth Uncle."

"Scram."

(Chapter End)