Just an alley away from the estate where the Yu clan lived stood another old-style house of a similar sort.
A woman in her forties was dressed in modern attire, yet the teacup she drank from while seated, along with her every movement as she lifted the bowl to sip tea, carried a sense of an earlier era.
Every glance and posture revealed an old-fashioned upbringing.
Had this been in the old days, one could likely tell at a glance that she possessed the poise cultivated in a prominent family, steeped in the seasoning of passing years and rich with elegance.
A flurry of pattering footsteps echoed from outside the gate toward the front hall. A young teenage girl dressed in lotus-root pink came dashing in from outside, looking thoroughly anxious.
"Always so flustered and rushed. Not the slightest bit of ladylike manners." The woman, named Nianhua—Shang Nianhua—looked at the girl with eyes full of both indulgence and helplessness.
Yet the girl seemed in such dire urgency that she either didn't hear or had grown so accustomed to the chiding that she paid it no mind. Without even waiting to come to a halt in her dash, she blurted out on her own,
"It's over, it's over, Godmother... someone beat us to the Yu clan!"
Her name was Que Qingshang—a rather peculiar name.
Shang Nianhua, however, showed no surprise. She nodded gently and said, "I already know."
Her words were soft, but her expression held unmistakable disappointment.
In truth, they had been biding their time in hiding, coveting the Yu clan's assets and waiting for an opportunity... They just hadn't expected that before their chance arrived, the Yu clan would deliver itself right into Azure's jaws.
"Then what about us... Godmother?" Que Qingshang rolled her eyes, suddenly making a chopping motion with her hand. "Shall we go rob them? I checked—only four of them came!"
"Tsk." Shang Nianhua feigned an annoyed glare, charm radiating from her brows and eyes. "What nonsense are you spouting? We don't cross Azure! Besides, didn't you see what became of the Yu clan?!"
"But there are only four of them..." Que Qingshang argued, her eyes still brimming with eager restlessness.
Unfortunately, Shang Nianhua paid no heed and continued, "And another thing: that Little Black-and-White Impermanence of yours in the backyard—hurry up and release it back into the mountains. If someone spots it, the Public Security Bureau will arrest you."
The "Little Black-and-White Impermanence" she spoke of, kept in a county-town alley's backyard... was a giant panda.
This outrageous name had been given to it by Que Qingshang when she was a child. The girl had raised the giant panda for five or six years; when she came out of the mountains, she couldn't bear to part with it, so she had brought it along as well.
Now, the reason the Shang clan had emerged from the mountains was largely due to being implicated by the Yu clan. After Yu Yindou teamed up with others to raid an Azure supply depot, Azure's retaliation and search operations made the Shang clan—who existed in a similar situation—fear being caught in the crossfire, leaving them no choice but to relocate as well.
However, the Shang clan's situation was not entirely the same as the Yu clan's. While one part remained secluded to "cultivate," another branch had entered the secular world long ago, maintaining constant contact with the outside world and even running their own businesses—quite sizable ones at that.
"Oh, Godmother, I'm talking about the Yu clan! The Yu clan!" Dodging the topic of the giant panda, Que Qingshang said anxiously, "If we don't snatch it now, there won't be anything left!"
"Even if it's gone... we still can't provoke Azure." Shang Nianhua pondered for a moment as she spoke.
According to Azure's classification, the Shang clan would probably be considered part of the Self-Preservation Faction.
The relationship between the Self-Preservation Faction and Azure was not entirely hostile; there was considerable room for maneuvering.
Do not join, do not provoke—this was the stance and principle the Shang clan had established long ago for coexisting with Azure. But because of this, they were severely lacking in relevant supplies.
They could buy them from the City of Iniquity, of course, but the prices were steep—they simply couldn't afford it anymore.
"Madam." At that moment, another person entered through the doorway.
This was the scout stationed to observe the situation at the Yu clan's estate.
"Come here and speak," Shang Nianhua hurried to beckon.
The newcomer stepped forward and whispered for a bit.
"You mean those people... are privately embezzling the spoils?!"
"Yes, Madam."
"Are you certain?"
"Certain. Your subordinate heard it loud and clear. Two of the four kept talking about the value and uses of the items, even saying... 'We're rich! Hahaha, we're rich, haha!'"
"Ahem, you didn't need to imitate them so vividly. It sounds downright creepy..." Shang Nianhua said with a slight frown.
She lowered her head in thought for a moment, then stood up and said resolutely, "Let's go."
"Go? Godmother, where are we..." Que Qingshang asked excitedly.
"To talk business." Shang Nianhua gave a faint smile and said, "Now that the Yu clan is gone, isn't there still the He clan who teamed up with Yu Yindou to raid Azure's supply depot? Since this bunch dares to embezzle public spoils, I'm sure they'll be interested in talking to us."
Just as they had kept tabs on the Yu clan, the Shang clan also knew the He clan's whereabouts.
Que Qingshang thought it over, seemed to understand, and eagerly took two steps to follow her. "What a wonderful idea, Godmother! Killing two birds with one stone, plotting against the He clan as well... This is what they call 'the most venomous heart belongs to a woman,' right?"
"..." Shang Nianhua turned to look at her helplessly. "Why didn't you study properly in school? Sigh... How about this: Godmother will pay for you to join a class at an elementary school in the county town, all right?"
"I don't want to." Que Qingshang shook her head. "I can't memorize the multiplication table anyway—seven times seven is eighty-one."
"..."
…………
Yu clan residence, second floor.
On the tabletop, blue crystal source energy blocks were divided into two piles. One pile had about 120 blocks, while the other looked to be around twenty or thirty.
The two could easily be distinguished by their surfaces.
The larger pile came from Azure's standard manufacturing, whereas the smaller pile was likely older Azure manufacture or crude craftsmanship from some Self-Preservation Faction family.
"No way, Qingzi."
Wen Jifei and the others had spent ages scavenging and getting excited, only for Han Qingyu to come up—bringing only Milla along—and unexpectedly side with the official stance.
The larger pile went to Azure.
The smaller pile was kept.
Non-negotiable.
"Then what about these?" Giving up the struggle over the source energy blocks, Wen Jifei stood up, pointed at another table covered with a separate pile of items, and said, "Shiheng and I checked them out. These are all antiques... If we auction them off, they'll fetch serious money."
Antiques?
Han Qingyu had never seen any and was somewhat curious, so he stepped forward right then and there to rummage through them.
Ancient paintings, porcelain, silver coins, jewelry, odds and ends... Han Qingyu rummaged as he asked,
"But we aren't short on money right now. These things... how does Azure usually handle this sort of loot, Captain Milla?"
"In most cases, it's handed over to the host nation's government. After all, we trouble them quite often," Milla said.
"Oh, then let's hand them over. We don't have anywhere to store this stuff anyway; if we take it, we'll ruin it sooner or later."
Due to his family background, combined with his understanding of the world's true situation, Han Qingyu's greed for money capped out at a few hundred thousand.
Right now, he thought to himself: take these paintings, for instance—he couldn't make heads or tails of them, let alone his parents. If he brought them home, they'd probably complain that they weren't as colorful or festive as New Year paintings.
"So in the end, we only get this tiny bit? If you ask me, keeping one or two of these shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Patting the small pile of source energy blocks, Wen Jifei asked with some disappointment. As he spoke, he stealthily hid an exquisite phoenix coronet, likely once used in traditional opera performances.
Having done so, he turned back to look. "Qingzi... Qingzi?! What are you doing?"
"Source energy blocks! There's more here!" Han Qingyu spoke up, somewhat excited.
As he was rummaging through the pile of antiques and sundries, he had suddenly sensed the fluctuation of source energy.
When the surge occurred, his hand happened to be touching a small, antique wooden chest.
He brought the chest out.
Carefully, he sliced open the lock forged from dead iron.
The lid opened.
Inside, however, was not a source energy block... but a bone.
What was going on here?!
Just as he was bewildered, footsteps reached beneath the window.
"The Hengduan Shang clan comes to pay a visit," called a voice from downstairs.
Shang Nianhua looked up.
Clang, clang, clang! The response came from upstairs—blades were drawn.
"Look, Godmother?!" Que Qingshang whispered. "We aren't even robbing them, but the moment we meet, they're ready to rob us!"
Chapter 198