Chapter 121 A Mistake
After Luo Xuanyi asked to leave and headed for the ferry, Xi Xingji sat back at the table and breathed a sigh of relief. Qu Qitao asked curiously, "Senior Brother, what's wrong?"
Xi Xingji shook his head: "I'm just not good at dealing with people like Fellow Daoist Xuanyi."
Shang Qian, in a rare move, echoed Xi Xingji, saying, "Fellow Daoist Xuanyi is quite quiet. I think it's because independent cultivators tend to be cautious and reserved. But if Fellow Daoist Xuanyi hadn't said she practiced alchemy, I would have thought she was a disciple of the Great Freedom Temple in Tianyan Prefecture."
"Buddhism? I don't think so. Fellow Daoist Xuanyi looked calm and unmoved even when he saw the people suffering from the disaster of obesity. He seems more like a follower of the Lianqiu Temple." Qu Qitao couldn't help but say something.
However, it is not an honorable thing to talk about fellow Taoists behind their backs, so the three of them quickly brought the topic back to the discussion, but they had no idea how to discuss it, and the atmosphere became cold for a while.
At this moment, Qu Qitao suddenly moved, with a strange look on his face, and listened for a while: "Did you hear the sudden sound of thunder?"
Xi Xingji and Shang Qian exchanged a glance, then waved their hands, breaking the seal in the room and rushing out into the courtyard, startling a young servant who was sweeping the floor. Xi Xingji didn't look at the servant, but simply gazed upwards, frowning for a long moment before returning to his room.
"How is it?" Qu Qitao asked.
Xi Xingji shook his head: "There was nothing unusual."
The boy sweeping the floor quietly looked up into the house and continued to slowly clean up the fallen leaves on the ground.
"This Fuji Town may seem normal, but there are suspicious points everywhere. No matter what, it's better to be cautious." Xi Xingji, the main person in charge of this mission, made a conclusion. "Isn't Fuji Town's Spring Bell Festival in ten days? By then, other flaws may be exposed. If we don't detect anything unusual in ten days, we will confess to the Wang family that we are here to set up a formation to ward off evil spirits."
"That makes sense."
"Just do as Senior Brother says."
Shang Qian and Qu Qitao naturally had no objections. Since there was nothing wrong with keeping him in the room, the three of them decided to leave the palace and go to the town to have a look. But just as they were leaving the courtyard, Shang Qian suddenly shouted, "Who?!"
The sword in his arms instantly pressed against the neck of the man lying against the wall, frightening him so much that he shouted, "Sir, sir! I am Wang Da! I am Wang Xianqing from the palace! I am not a suspicious person!"
Shang Qian studied Wang Xianqing carefully. The man before him bore a striking resemblance to Master Wang, yet his expression was utterly panic-stricken, as if he were terrified of death. His face was smooth and sleek, as if water could be squeezed out of it. He looked considerably younger than his younger brother, Wang Zhanke. He wore a purple robe trimmed with gold, layered over several loose layers of white lining, and held a cage covered in black cloth.
Shang Qian lifted the black cloth and heard a pleasant bird song. It turned out to be a birdcage.
This frivolous, yet extravagantly dressed figure certainly fits the description of Wang Taiyuan's unlearned eldest son, Wang Xianqing. Shang Qian released his hand, apologized, and stepped back.
"Ahem!" Wang Xianqing rubbed his neck in shock. He looked at the three people in front of him and was about to lose his temper, but he saw a servant standing behind them shaking his head at him. He hadn't spent all these years in Longlan City for nothing. After calming down and taking a closer look, he saw that the three people's temperament and clothing made them look like the occasional people in Tianjie. His legs couldn't help but weaken.
"If there's nothing else, please allow us to go ahead." Xi Xingji said this politely, but Wang Xianqing was shocked and said, "Wait! I have something, absolutely important! My lords and immortals, I'm sure you will be interested!"
The servant's brows furrowed as he stood aside with a broom, his mind etched in his hands. Wang Xianqing didn't care; he was so excited he felt like he'd just found a golden opportunity. If he hadn't been worried about Shang Qian hitting him in the neck again, he would have grabbed Xi Xingji and dragged him straight into the yard.
Seeing his excitement, the three of them couldn't help but think of his younger brother Wang Zhanke. Xi Xingji was worried that he would drag them down to talk about cultivation like Wang Zhanke did, so he stood still and said, "We have important matters to attend to. If there is anything else, we can talk about it later."
"No, I'm not here to play with you, oh my!" He looked around and whispered mysteriously to Xi Xingji, his voice so loud that even the eavesdropping servants could hear him clearly, "My second brother, Wang Zhanke definitely has something important to say! You'll definitely be interested!"
Now Xi Xingji's curiosity was indeed aroused. Wang Xianqing knew from his expression that Xi Xingji was persuaded. He raised his eyebrows and smiled proudly, then strode into the yard. The three of them looked at each other and returned to the room.
Wang Xianqing was tactful enough to invite the three of them to sit down first, then he pretended to wipe his sweat off his face and sat down. Shang Qian couldn't stand his behavior. He glanced at him and before he could say anything, Wang Xianqing immediately backtracked, "Hey, hey, let me tell you!", interrupting Shang Qian.
"If you ask me, are the adults investigating some monster or other? If they investigate my second brother, they'll definitely find the truth!"
Qu Qitao asked, "How can you be sure that there is something wrong with your second brother?"
Wang Xianqing excitedly lifted his robe and was about to slam the table, but Shang Qian saw this and subdued him, saying, "Anyone with a discerning eye can see this! It's like this old man has been drugged by Wang Zhanke all these years. I'm the legitimate son, but he's passing the family business to the second son!"
Xi Xingji, who had been quite expectant, felt that he was being toyed with. The polite smile on his face turned a little cold. "It is not convenient for us cultivators to interfere in these family affairs. If you just want to use us to seize power, then please give up."
"No, no! I have other evidence!" Seeing the three people grow indifferent, Wang Xianqing immediately raised his voice an octave. "My informants in the courtyard all say that the second brother has been going to the mountains frequently in recent years! In the past, it was always the old man who went there, but the second brother also secretly went there! The old man fell ill after coming down one time, and he has been bedridden ever since! It must be the second brother's doing!"
This is somewhat believable, but Wang Xianqing's previous words make it hard not to think that this is just nonsense he exaggerated to frame Wang Zhanke. When Qu Qitao first met Wang Zhanke, he secretly tested his spiritual power, but found nothing, and he had not been contaminated by any other unfamiliar spiritual power.
But this is still a clue. Fearing that Wang Xianqing would continue to talk, Xi Xingji immediately stood up. Shang Qian and Qu Qitao also understood what he meant. As they pushed Wang Xianqing out, they said, "Don't tell anyone else about this. I'll investigate later."
Wang Xianqing was immediately happy when he heard this. He nodded, not caring that Xi Xingji almost pushed him out of the yard, and happily carried the birdcage to Wang Taiyuan's yard.
"Brother, do you think what he said is credible?"
Xi Xingji folded his hands, lost in thought, when he saw a servant sweeping in the corner of the yard, his head bent. He waved at him. The servant came running over, bowing nervously, "What are your instructions, sir?"
"That guy just now was your uncle? Why isn't he in the yard handling official business for the master?"
The servant blinked and replied nervously, "Yes, Master. But Master used to spend all his money away from home, even lying to Master that he was studying, which really hurt Master's feelings. Later, he just became uneducated and always found opportunities to have the accountant secretly do the accounting for Master. The second master in charge of the accountant's office found out and told Master, so Master didn't allow him to stay at home permanently."
"In other words, your uncle and second uncle have a feud?"
"It's more than just a holiday! When Second Master's wife gave birth to our only granddaughter, the eldest daughter, our eldest master kept yelling he was going to throw her to death! We were originally torn between our eldest and Second Master, but gradually he started talking to us about making Second Master our leader and giving the eldest daughter the throne! He was furious and always took it out on others."
Xi Xingji and the other two listened, lost in thought, and walked out. Seeing the three disappear around the corner, the servant's cautious expression dropped, and he quickly ran to Wang Zhanke's yard, broom in hand.
Chapter 8! I can do it!
The actors are all on stage~Will Wang Buxi of the Wang family make a cameo appearance in the future chapters? Anyway, he won't appear again in this one~
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