Chapter 100 - 97: Hush Money

Chapter 100: Chapter 97: Hush MoneyPfft! Hearing Ye Xuan’s especially deserving-to-be-beaten words, Tang Xiaoyan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Looking at Ye Xuan’s expression, there was not the slightest hint of fear, but rather, a calm composure indicating he wasn’t afraid in the slightest of Master Gu’s threats. "Little brother, it’s my confusion, but please, for the sake of the Spiritual Items Workshop, let’s write this off, shall we?" With his arm broken by Ye Xuan, Master Gu already despised Ye Xuan deeply but, in order to escape, he still forcibly endured the excruciating pain, smiling forcefully at Ye Xuan, planning to seek revenge once he had left the Tang Residence. "Write it off? How could that possibly be? Master Gu, I’ve heard you are a highly respected elder, yet today, you’ve behaved in the Tang Residence in a manner akin to that of a beast preying on a young girl. Although I managed to stop you in time, if this were to get out, I fear the public would look at you in a completely new light..." Ye Xuan had a smirk on his face that made Master Gu somewhat uneasy. "What do you want then?" Master Gu’s face twitched twice, but he had no choice but to ask. "I am a man who keeps his promises. As long as Master Gu provides me with a sum to seal my lips, I’ll consider the matter settled." Ye Xuan said with a bright smile. "How much do you want?" Master Gu secretly breathed a sigh of relief; as long as it was a problem that could be solved with money, it wasn’t an issue. Still smiling, Ye Xuan raised his right hand and extended three fingers. "Thirty thousand taels?" Master Gu laughed; to him, thirty thousand taels was insignificant. "It’s three hundred thousand taels," Ye Xuan corrected him. "Damn, three hundred thousand taels? Why don’t you just rob me?!" Master Gu’s expression instantly darkened. Thirty thousand might be trivial, but three hundred thousand taels nearly amounted to half his fortune. If he really gave that to Ye Xuan, his wealth would significantly diminish. "It seems Master Gu doesn’t want to pay." Ye Xuan showed an expression of sudden understanding. "You see, I have a hobby of chatting with the neighborhood aunties. I’m afraid I might let something slip about your matter without thinking, and before you know it, all the aunties in the streets and alleys might start discussing it, and it will spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred..." "Fine, I’ll give you three hundred thousand taels, but you have to ensure to keep your mouth shut." Master Gu looked terrible, having no choice but to pull out a stack of gold bills and hand them to Ye Xuan, his eyes flickering with a slight malevolent gleam. He’d just let the young man gloat for a while; once he got reinforcements, he’d make sure Ye Xuan spit it all out, with interest. "Master Gu is indeed generous, rest assured, I will keep this matter a secret." Ye Xuan chuckled, then released Master Gu’s body, who fell to the ground and immediately clutched his limp arm, sprinting towards the door and escaping in a most disgraceful fashion. "Master Gu." Just as Master Gu was about to exit the door, Ye Xuan suddenly called out to him, almost scaring his soul away, his body abruptly freezing in place. "Take care." Little did Master Gu know, Ye Xuan was merely smiling and bidding him goodbye, which nearly knocked a few years off his life. After forcing a strained smile at Ye Xuan, he didn’t look back and fled in a panic, disappearing from sight. Seeing Ye Xuan handle Master Gu as if he were toying with a monkey, Tang Xiaoyan couldn’t help but find it amusing, but at the same time, she was somewhat worried. Ye Xuan had treated Master Gu so harshly; could the latter easily let it go? "Brother Ye, you better leave quickly. It won’t be long before Master Gu returns. He can’t do anything to me, but he will definitely seek fierce revenge on you." Tang Xiaoyan said anxiously. "I actually want him to come back. If he doesn’t come back and concede, I really have no other plans left. Don’t worry, I have my own ideas." Ye Xuan smiled faintly, clearly unconcerned, and he didn’t believe that if he left, Tang Xiaoyan could escape Master Gu’s clutches. The current Tang family had no real power to intimidate anyone. "If only my father could wake up." Tang Xiaoyan sat beside the bed, looking at the middle-aged man in blue lying there, her eyes beginning to well up with tears. Unable to stand seeing a woman cry before him, Ye Xuan frowned, "What good would him waking up do? The Tang family head has severe injuries, and even if he wakes up, he won’t recover in two or three months. If you like, I can wake him up right now." "Do you have a way?" Tang Xiaoyan looked at Ye Xuan, taken aback. Master Gu, the Spirit Medicine Master of the Spiritual Items Workshop, had been helpless, and Ye Xuan, so young, could possibly have medical skills? Without any more words, Ye Xuan walked up to the middle-aged man in blue, his gaze intensifying as he pinched his forefinger and middle finger together, and swiftly targeted three acupoints on the man’s body. With each press, he channeled a highly concentrated True Qi into the middle-aged man’s body. On the last press, Ye Xuan targeted the Shenting acupoint, and with a groan, the middle-aged man’s body finally showed signs of awakening. "How is that possible?" Looking at the blue-robed middle-aged man showing signs of awakening, Tang Xiaoyan’s pretty face also revealed an incredulous expression. Then she turned to Ye Xuan, "How did you manage to do it, when even Master Gu couldn’t..." "Don’t compare that old lecherous quack to me." Ye Xuan waved his hand, halting Tang Xiaoyan’s words. He knew that women’s curiosity was strong and letting her continue would likely be endless. He just needed to maintain his mysterious image as always. "Cough cough..." At this moment, the blue-robed middle-aged man on the bed also opened his eyes and, after a few violent coughs, finally fully woke up. "Dad, you’re awake." Seeing the middle-aged man awaken, Tang Xiaoyan was also overjoyed to tears. Watching this father-daughter reunion, Ye Xuan felt somewhat touched too, regretting that he no longer had such an opportunity. "Little Yan..." The middle-aged man tenderly stroked the girl’s hair and, after a while, finally noticed the presence of Ye Xuan, his expression turning to surprise, "And who might this young man be?" "This is Brother Ye Xuan, Dad, he’s the one who saved you," Tang Xiaoyan hurriedly introduced. "Brother Ye, this is my dad, Tang Zhen." "Oh? Then I really must thank Brother Ye." Tang Zhen’s eyes brightened. He was well aware of his own physical state, and he knew that ordinary people could definitely not have awakened him like this. He hadn’t expected this seemingly ordinary young man to possess such abilities, which was a genuine surprise. "It was just a small effort." Ye Xuan slightly clasped his fists, his expression then became somewhat more serious as he said, "I wonder what exactly happened to the head of the Tang family. The injuries on your body, they must have been caused by a Martial Sect Master, right? It seems the perpetrator didn’t want to kill you but rather wanted you to lay half-dead forever." "How did you know so accurately?" Tang Zhen was greatly shocked, his gaze even turning somewhat wary as he didn’t expect Ye Xuan to speak out the truths he had only come to understand after long reflection, and so accurately too. "Guessing." Ye Xuan smiled, neither confirming nor denying. "Dad, Brother Ye Xuan isn’t from Great Hua Country, and besides, he saved me in the Poison Miasma Forest, he isn’t a bad person," noticing the wary look in Tang Zhen’s eyes, Tang Xiaoyan hurriedly explained. Hearing this, Tang Zhen also smiled wryly and shook his head, "I’m not being overly suspicious, it’s just that Brother Ye’s words were too incisive, as if he were a witness to the affair." "I only made a judgment based on the condition of the head of the Tang family," Ye Xuan said indifferently, "As for the specifics of the affair, of course, I have no way of knowing." "This matter is a long story." Tang Zhen sighed, dispelling a trace of doubt in his heart, "My family in Green Sun City was originally the top family, along with the Cao family, standing as the two great families of Green Sun County. However, the Cao family has always been ambitious, with their hearts set on dominating Green Sun County alone. Apart from them, I really can’t think of anyone else who would have the motive and capability to act against me." "Does the Cao family have a Martial Sect Master?" Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. If the Cao family had a Martial Sect Master, they wouldn’t be content to just stay in little Green Sun County, but even though they don’t have a Martial Sect Master, they do have close ties with one of Great Hua Country’s top families, the Deng family," Tang Zhen, his eyes shining, explained. "I see." Ye Xuan slightly frowned, realizing the complexities involved in this matter. "In half a month, it will be the day I’m supposed to duel with the head of the Cao family, Cao Qiudao. We had an agreement that the loser must leave Green Sun County. I didn’t expect that just when it came down to this, that despicable person would pull such a trick, clearly wanting to take the opportunity to swallow my Tang family whole." Tang Zhen’s face showed deep disappointment, obviously worried about the fate of the Tang family. "With the current condition of the Tang family head, you shouldn’t worry too much about these matters. Just focus on recuperating," Ye Xuan naturally didn’t want to get involved in such family feuds, which were very complex, and once he stepped in, it might be difficult to get out. Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Tang Zhen felt somewhat disappointed, but at the same time, he also sighed inwardly. He was really desperate, but even if Ye Xuan wanted to help, how could he possibly stand a chance against Cao Qiudao, a Half-step Martial Sect Master? With complex feelings, Tang Zhen fell back to sleep. After Tang Zhen had fallen asleep, Ye Xuan and Tang Xiaoyan walked out of the room and into the courtyard, where he pondered the recent events, debating whether or not to offer help. But soon he shook his head, deciding not to intervene unless his strength recovered sufficiently. If his strength hadn’t recovered perfectly, then he wasn’t capable of helping, so there wasn’t much use in thinking about it further. "You little beast, get the hell out here!" Just then, from outside the courtyard, a sharp shout filled with anger suddenly erupted. Ye Xuan’s mouth curved into a sardonic smile; that old man had indeed come back. PS: This Chapter took a long time to write, maybe because I was too focused on the details. After all that effort, I finally speak up, asking everyone for a recommendation ticket.