Chapter 1420: Dialogue

"A swift horse and a hero complement each other perfectly," He Lingchuan said, cupping his fists. "General, please be careful on your journey."

The two bid farewell. General Chongwu, with his retinue and the recovered tribute, set off eastward.

After the general's entourage disappeared around the street corner, He Lingchuan returned to his seat, just as Dong Rui slowly sat down and ordered a large bowl of salty gruel.

Dong Rui took one bite and nearly spat it out. "Ugh, what is this stuff? It's as slimy as snot!"

He Lingchuan, who had just finished the last half-bowl, remarked, "If you have something to say, say more."

"He's just leaving?" Dong Rui pointed in the direction General Chongwu had vanished. "I thought he'd seize the opportunity to question you endlessly."

"Why would he question me? What does the stolen tribute have to do with me?" He Lingchuan raised a hand, ordering a bowl of clear beef noodles from the waiter, specifying extra chili. "I drank too much wine and was honestly just sleeping here. He shouldn't suspect me over anyone else."

"But you're right, General Chongwu left too readily." While waiting for his noodles, He Lingchuan took a few sips of tea to rinse his mouth. "Either he plans to circle back for a surprise, or there's genuinely something amiss with these groups in the inn, and he doesn't want to get involved."

In his opinion, the second possibility was more likely.

General Chongwu had already recovered his lost tribute and was in a hurry to continue his journey; it wasn't worth spending too much effort here.

With the Xiāo Kingdom established for nearly two centuries, the upper echelons held many strange secrets and rumors. General Chongwu, as an "outsider," likely felt it best to stay clear.

In any case, He Lingchuan had passed this hurdle.

General Chongwu could never have imagined that the mastermind behind the theft of his tribute was actually targeting Xue Zongwu, who was dozens of miles away!

Guessing the motive incorrectly meant everything that followed would be wrong.

During their conversation, Wang Fubao also emerged. After greeting his superior, he slipped out of the inn to buy breakfast. He, too, couldn't stomach the inn's salty gruel.

Dong Rui watched him and suddenly recalled something:

"Oh, by the way, why didn't you just let him throw the stuff away? Why did he have to specifically take it to give to someone?"

In a public setting, he could only ask vaguely, but He Lingchuan understood.

Last night, General Chongwu's sudden appearance hindered He Lingchuan's plans, so Wang Fubao intercepted his tribute and deliberately delivered it to the abandoned village, framing two small thieves.

Wang Fubao had to evade and flee, and Dong Rui served as the coachman to pick him up. They knew the process was very difficult, and Wang Fubao was almost caught several times.

Why go through such a thankless effort? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just toss the tribute into the wilderness or a large lake?

The beef noodles arrived.

He Lingchuan slurped a noodle without lifting his head. "That was a fallback, just in case. When it's used, you'll understand."

He didn't elaborate, so Dong Rui didn't press further. After all, He Lingchuan rarely did anything without purpose.

As soon as they finished eating, Fan Shuang also woke up, looking pained from a hangover and still a bit unsteady on his feet.

"Brother Fan, come and eat!" He Lingchuan said with a cheerful expression. "General Chongwu has already departed. Oh, by the way, I heard there are immortal ruins in the western suburbs of Zhuo'an. I'd like to visit them today, so let's resume our journey tomorrow."

Ju County, Tongli Bathhouse.

This 'bathhouse' was not a typical eatery specializing in noodles and soups, but rather a hot spring inn.

Ju County was renowned far and wide as a hot spring region; legend had it that one could dig a hot spring simply by unearthing three feet of soil with a pickaxe.

The Weng brothers had spent the entire day soaking at Tongli Bathhouse.

The private hot spring courtyard they booked cost more than five times what their previous small inn did, but it offered beautiful surroundings, private conversations, and of course, fine wine, delicious food, pastries, and soups.

Having just accomplished a major task and narrowly escaped death, both wanted to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

After half a night of drinking and bragging, they both lay fast asleep in the steaming courtyard.

They slept until noon.

It sounded like a mosquito buzzing in his ear. Weng Xing smacked his lips a few times and instinctively slapped himself.

*Smack*, he woke up.

He groggily opened his eyes, saw no mosquito blood on his palm, but there was indeed a dark shape in front of him.

As his vision slowly focused, he realized it was a person.

A person dressed in black armor, wearing a dragon-headed mask, sitting on a large rock by the hot spring.

Weng Xing thought he was seeing things, rubbed his eyes, but no, it was him!

"Great Emperor Jiuyou!" Weng Xing sprang up, his sleepiness instantly banished to the ninth heaven. "You... how did you come here?"

The black-armored man raised a finger and quietly shushed him.

This foolish boy had a loud voice; if he hadn't set up a soundproofing barrier beforehand, the nearby courtyards would have heard that shout.

"Oh, oh!" Weng Xing shrank his neck, immediately lowering his voice. "It needs to be secretive! Why are you here?"

Weng Su also woke up, slowly sitting up. "What's going on, what's all the shouting... It's you!"

He startled, and also got up.

Previously, at Xiaotao Mountain Villa, their lives were on the line, and the three had fought side by side. Now, in this quiet courtyard, the Weng brothers were exceptionally reserved in front of Great Emperor Jiuyou, not knowing where to put their hands.

This was Great Emperor Jiuyou!

The Great Emperor Jiuyou whom they had mentioned countless times throughout the day.

Weng Xing had been wondering when they would meet again. Yet, he appeared today, catching them completely off guard.

Facing him again after escaping danger, they felt somewhat awkward.

They had brazenly used his name to seek revenge, only to be saved by the very person whose name they had invoked. What kind of situation was this?

*Sigh*, since things had come to this, they should at least get dressed.

Earlier, while drinking, eating meat, and soaking in the bath, both had been bare-chested and bare-backed, which was rather unseemly.

"You two are certainly treating yourselves well," He Lingchuan said, looking around. "Nice surroundings. Did you say anything out of turn while drinking?"

"No, no," Weng Su replied, closing his jacket and tightening his belt. "We first set up a barrier before indulging in drinks, so no loose talk could be overheard by outsiders."

As people of the jianghu, they were well aware of eavesdroppers and wouldn't make such an oversight.

The major deed of killing Xue Shouwu was something they could only savor privately; not a single word could be leaked outside.

He had originally wanted to invite two girls for a shoulder and back massage, but his brother's injury made it inconvenient, so he gave up the idea, which incidentally saved them from the risk of loose talk.

"Names?"

"Huh?" The abrupt question puzzled Weng Su for a moment before he responded, "My name is Weng Su, and my younger brother is Weng Xing."

They didn't even wonder how Great Emperor Jiuyou managed to find them.

After all, he was incredibly powerful.

The black-armored man took his time. "Why did you use my name when you assassinated Xue Zongwu?"

The two brothers exchanged glances. "We were also eliminating evil and bringing peace, and besides, your name is well-known and intimidating enough."

To undertake such an endeavor, one must always borrow a name.

"Why did you want to kill Xue Zongwu?" He Lingchuan knew, of course, that Xue Zongwu had enemies everywhere, but hatred was one thing; how many dared to act? The fact that these brothers took action was remarkable in itself. "What deep grudge do you have against him?"

"He killed our sworn elder brother, Tu Yuanhong."

"Your sworn elder brother?" He Lingchuan scrutinized them. "Different surnames?"

Tu Yuanhong?

The mirror in his embrace spoke up: "Hey, hey, it wouldn't be *that* Tu Yuanhong, would it? Couldn't be that coincidental, right?"

Lingshan had originally arranged a contact for He Lingchuan, someone well-versed in the internal affairs of the Xiāo Kingdom and familiar with all the grudges and entanglements in the capital. Unfortunately, before He Lingchuan could find him, he was killed by Xue Zongwu.

This contact was Tu Yuanhong.

"We are sworn brothers, not blood-related," Weng Su said solemnly. "Brother Tu's kindness to us was as immense as a mountain. Since that dog-thief Xue killed him, of course we had to avenge Brother Tu!"

He Lingchuan spoke to confirm: "Tonglin Villa?"

"Yes! Brother Tu was the master of Tonglin Villa. Ten years ago, he saved our lives. Eight years ago, when my brother and I were away, our mother was murdered. It was Brother Tu who ensured her proper burial and meticulously tracked down clues about the killer. We were so touched by his benevolence that we swore brotherhood with him."

They spoke voluminously, recounting all the past events.

He Lingchuan asked a few questions and found that Tu Yuanhong, as they described him, was a well-connected big merchant whose business in the Xiāo Kingdom was thriving, dealing with people from all walks of life.

No wonder Lingshan originally intended to introduce Tu Yuanhong to him; he was indeed a good contact.

It was often said that the wealthy were unkind, but Tu Yuanhong was charitable and highly popular.

His cultivation was far inferior to that of the Weng brothers, but he was very astute in business. Among the three sworn brothers, Tu Yuanhong always made the decisions, and Weng Su and Weng Xing would wholeheartedly follow.

After interacting with the Weng brothers this evening, He Lingchuan also understood why Tu Yuanhong had sworn brotherhood with these two 'silly' lads.

Although they were somewhat straightforward, their martial prowess was truly formidable, at least not inferior to Qiu Hu.

All-round talents like He Lingchuan were, after all, as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Some people, though clueless about worldly affairs, were born martial prodigies, blessed by heaven — like the Weng brothers.

As long as he utilized their strengths properly, Tu Yuanhong could accomplish many things.

As for why Xue Zongwu killed Tu Yuanhong, the Weng brothers couldn't say for sure. They were restless by nature, traveling nine months out of the year, and completely ignorant of Tu Yuanhong's business affairs.

He Lingchuan surmised that Tu Yuanhong's murder was either because he was acting as a Lingshan informant and was inadvertently discovered, or because he blocked Xue Zongwu's financial interests, similar to the Xiāo Kingdom branch of the Yangshan Merchant Guild, which led to his death.

With Tu Yuanhong murdered, what happened to Tonglin Villa and his other properties? Were they absorbed by Xue Zongwu, or...?

After the Weng brothers finished speaking, they bowed deeply to He Lingchuan. "Our great vengeance is avenged. Many thanks, benefactor!"

Had it not been for this person's intervention last night, they would not only have failed to get their revenge but also lost their own lives.

Weng Xing's eyes were full of curiosity. "You... are you truly Great Emperor Jiuyou?"

Two low chuckles came from beneath the black-armored man's mask.

"Tonight, how... how did you come to Xiaotao Mountain Villa?" Weng Xing swallowed. As cultivators, they shouldn't have revered the man before them like ignorant villagers. However, Jiuyou's timing was too coincidental, and his killing of Xue Zongwu too swift and decisive, leaving the Weng brothers with profound awe.

To accomplish what ordinary people cannot, one must be either a divine being or a hero.