Chapter 279 - 110: Price Difference
’I never thought that would be the last time I saw him. That story he never finished... I’ll never get to hear the rest of it now.’
He sighed, filled with a deep sense of regret, an indescribable sorrow surging within him.
It was like an old man with white hair stumbling upon an unfinished exercise book from his youth, lamenting how little time he had left.
"Daoist Ge, I will take care of Qing Yan Little Child as promised. Journey well!"
Fang Rui flicked his sleeve. A surge of pale cyan True Essence obliterated the stench of blood, the tattered cloth, and the grisly remains, turning them to ash that rose into the air and scattered in the downpour.
’Zhang Henshui, Sun Shouchai... those two...’
He muttered, a cold look flashing across his face before he quickly suppressed it.
’I can’t do it myself. It would draw too much attention.’
Just imagine: first, Ge Changgeng dies. Then Qing Yan Little Child comes to the Fang Mansion. And right after that, Zhang Henshui and Sun Shouchai turn up dead...
’Zhen Daoji is a sharp man. If that happened, he’d almost certainly suspect me.’
’Besides, that bootlicker Zhang Henshui lives too close to the Zhen Mansion. If I made a move and alerted Zhen Yi and Zhen Daoji, that would be disastrous.’
’Zhen Daoji is a Third Grade Martial Artist, and not just any Third Grade at that. Still, dealing with him would be a sure thing. But Zhen Yi is an Upper Grade Spirit Master who has progressed quite far in his Realm—he’s probably on par with a Second Grade Martial Artist!’
Fang Rui hadn’t forgotten that when he first met Zhen Yi, the man exuded an indescribable, immortal-like aura, one that was strikingly similar to the Second Grade Purity Realm!
’One-on-one against Zhen Yi, the outcome would be uncertain. Even if I won, I might not be able to stop him from escaping. And if Zhen Yi and Zhen Daoji teamed up, it would be even more troublesome.’
’Wait, why am I even thinking about this? This is about Zhang Henshui and Sun Shouchai. When did it become about taking on Zhen Yi and Zhen Daoji?’
Fang Rui slapped his forehead. "I’m a civilized man, after all. When my fists can’t solve a problem cleanly, it’s time to use my brain."
’Right. I’ll go back and ask Qing Yan Little Child for the full story—why Zhang Henshui and Sun Shouchai went after Daoist Ge...’
...
He returned to the Fang Mansion.
"Daoist Ge has passed on. I’m sorry for your loss." As his disciple, Qing Yan Little Child had the right to know, so Fang Rui didn’t hide the truth.
"WAAAH!" Upon hearing this, Qing Yan Little Child immediately burst into tears.
He waited until the boy had vented his emotions and his sobs quieted down.
Only then did Fang Rui ask, "Why did Zhang Henshui and Sun Shouchai attack Daoist Ge? I know there was bad blood with Zhang Henshui, but what about Sun Shouchai? What was his reason?"
Only by understanding their motives could he gauge the enemy’s resolve and assess the gravity of the situation.
"Layman Fang, I don’t know either. I... I never heard Master mention any feud with that Sun. Back when Grandpa Zhou was still around, my master and Spirit Master Sun seemed to get along quite well."
Qing Yan Little Child choked back a sob. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he took out two Spirit Rings. One had belonged to Ge Changgeng, and he opened it to take out his master’s possessions.
Fang Rui’s eye twitched as he thought, ’Daoist Ge’s lineage is truly one that can be traced back to antiquity. Although it’s declined, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse!’
He recalled Zhen Yi mentioning how extremely precious these Storage Spirit Rings were. Zhen Yi had been quite proud of owning one and had boasted about it endlessly. Yet here were Ge Changgeng and his disciple, each with their own!
"Qing Yan, these Spirit Rings... don’t show them to anyone from now on. Also, you should get some rest. I’ll take these things with me and see if I can find any clues."
Fang Rui didn’t touch anything related to the Spirit Master’s legacy. He only took a few miscellaneous items, like Ge Changgeng’s recent writings and a journal that was similar to a diary.
Back in his room.
Fang Rui went through the items one by one, paying close attention to any section that mentioned interactions between Ge Changgeng and Sun Shouchai.
Finally, in the diary-like journal, he found a key entry: "Twelfth of the fourth month. Fishing at Mochou Lake. Captured a Yin Corpse Remnant Soul... Extracted the Yang Attribute Dragon Pearl Origin for alchemy... Sun Shouchai saw it and looked surprised. Avoided his questions..."
"The Zheng Family, the Yin Corpse, the Yang Attribute Dragon Pearl, the Extreme Yin Attribute Supreme Treasure, Ge Changgeng, Sun Shouchai, Zhen Daoji..."
Fang Rui muttered, writing these names and terms down on a piece of paper. He drew lines between them, connecting the dots with the information he already had.
Then, he arrived at a conclusion that was both unexpected and perfectly logical. "The Zheng Family’s Extreme Yin Attribute Supreme Treasure... could it be the Yin Attribute Dragon Pearl? There are two Dragon Pearls?!"
’That explanation seems to make sense.’
’The Zheng Family is in the middle of a grand scheme. By slaying the Yin Corpse, I disrupted their plans and have been continuously affecting the situation in the city. That’s why I’ve been receiving a steady stream of Tribulation Points.’
’Sun Shouchai had already pledged allegiance to Zhen Daoji. After learning about the Yin Attribute Dragon Pearl, he then saw the Yang Attribute Dragon Pearl Origin during alchemy... He attacked Daoist Ge to conceal the existence of the Yang Attribute Dragon Pearl and to silence the only one who knew.’
’No wonder they had to destroy the body and erase all traces after the murder!’
Fang Rui’s eyes narrowed. "But Sun Shouchai didn’t count on Daoist Ge’s habit of keeping a journal, and that journal has now fallen into my hands!"
’Qing Yan Little Child is here with me. Sun Shouchai isn’t sure if Daoist Ge left any clues or what the boy knows. He certainly wouldn’t dare attack my mansion to kill him like he did Ge Changgeng, but I imagine there will be an endless stream of other, smaller schemes to probe the situation.’
’I’m not afraid, but it will be incredibly annoying!’
The key issue was that Fang Rui couldn’t move against Sun Shouchai directly, otherwise he would risk exposing himself.
’So what’s the key to breaking this deadlock?’
The tip of his brush moved, circling the name ’Zhen Daoji’.
...
「The next morning.」