Xu Yuan looked at the rolled paper dispatch before him, mildly surprised.
He was surprised by the efficiency down here,
and surprised that the one delivering this secret report was not Zhou Chen, but this steward.
He had instructed Zhou Chen to look into the matter. Given Zhou Chen's current state of having nothing to do, he was unlikely to miss such a chance to curry favor. Yet the report had not come from Zhou Chen's hands.
That left only one explanation.
It was a breach of protocol. Zhou Chen held no authority over the Black Scale Guards, and even less over the Chancellor's Manor's intelligence apparatus.
Viewed in that light, this became rather intriguing.
The Chancellor's Manor possessed numerous intelligence networks, and the Black Scale Guards, Ying'er's former unit, was merely one among them.
Establishments under the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce—such as pleasure houses, taverns, pawnshops, and money houses—all functioned as intelligence-gathering nodes.
Orders came down from above, information was gathered below, filtered tier by tier to discard the useless and retain the valuable, and the compiled intelligence was ultimately sent back via cipher text. And the person receiving and coordinating these dispatches was merely a residential steward.
His authority was even greater than Xu Yuan had imagined.
Yet Xu Yuan quickly reconciled himself to the fact.
The influence of the manga and anime from his previous life ran deep.
It subconsciously led him to assume that in a transcendent world, power in one's hands had to correspond directly to personal strength.
In reality, cultivation talent had no bearing on managerial capability. If a massive enterprise were placed in the hands of muscle-bound novices whose brains were full of brawn, even the greatest family fortune would be squandered into ruin.
Such a power structure was remarkably stable for the upper echelons. The stewards overseeing the great clans' various businesses were like the eunuchs of imperial courts in his former life; without cultivation, they could only rely blindly on their masters, leaving virtually no possibility of growing strong enough to establish independence.
Reaching out to take the rolled paper dispatch, Xu Yuan was about to open it when he felt a faint ripple of Source Qi and the subtle flow of simple array runes across its surface.
Sensing the runes on the paper carefully, Xu Yuan's expression grew somewhat odd.
Was this...
a combination lock?
Seeing Xu Yuan take it, the diminutive old steward immediately broke into a flattering smile without missing a beat.
"Third Young Master, if this secret dispatch is opened directly or forced, it will automatically destroy itself. It requires specialized means to unlock."
Xu Yuan glanced at him. "Can you undo it?"
Formations could even be used like this? How interesting.
Steward Li rubbed his hands together. "Young Master jests. How could an old man like me know how to decipher the Black Scale Guards' secret runes? Besides, these dispatches merely pass through my hands."
Saying so, he cast a sideways glance at Ying'er, who stood quietly behind.
It seemed mortal stewards like him merely handled, sorted, and stored such intelligence without any clearance to read it.
Presumably, this was to prevent intelligence leaks should these mortal stewards fall under mind-controlling arts.
Xu Yuan casually tossed the dispatch backward to Ying'er. "Unlock it."
Ying'er caught it in silence, paying no mind to Xu Yuan's intent-soul observing her. She directly unraveled the runes upon it and handed it back to Xu Yuan.
Taking back the dispatch, Xu Yuan channeled Source Qi into his eyes. A crimson gleam flashed in his gaze. As he scanned the contents, he asked the little old man offhandedly, "Are the pills for this manor collected from you?"
His pills were gone, and having no little green vial of his own, he could only request them from his chancellor father's assets.
"The funds and pills within the manor are indeed under this old man's care." Hearing this, Steward Li's eyes darted around, and he offered a low, obsequious smile. "Only, Young Master... everything in the storehouse belongs to the manor. This old man wouldn't dare move them lightly..."
"Don't be nervous."
Xu Yuan gave him a look, knowing the man thought the Third Young Master was about to squeeze him for handouts again. He said calmly, "My father's orders will arrive shortly. Go check whether the storehouse inventory contains the pills I require."
Hearing that, Steward Li offered a noncommittal, sheepish smile.
"Very well. Please tell me what you need, Young Master."
Xu Yuan casually rattled off several pills he currently needed.
Steward Li's face darkened considerably.
Even the manor's fourth-rank Flesh Integration Realm consecrated retainer could hardly obtain more than a few such pills a year, yet the Third Young Master demanded them by the bottle.
Resolving the matter in his heart, he thought: if the Chancellor's orders came through, all would be well; but if no orders arrived, he would have to steer clear of this Third Young Master for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, Steward Li's tone remained humble. "This old man will fetch them for you. Do you have any other instructions, Young Master?"
As they spoke, the three had already emerged from the underground chamber. Outside, the sky was a vast, clear expanse of azure.
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, looked at the guards stationed outside the secret chamber, and after a moment's thought, asked in a soft voice, "I once arranged for people to search for someone named Qin Mo. Are you aware of this?"
"..."
Hearing the question, Steward Li's eyelid twitched.
Because of that matter, Xue Yong, a genius at the peak of the Iron Body Realm, had been killed. How could a steward like him not know?
After a second of silence, Steward Li spoke cautiously, "I am aware."
"Any progress?"
"...Yes."
It was an affirmative answer, but delivered with weak conviction.
Understanding immediately, Xu Yuan gave a soft sigh. "Did your people engage him?"
He recalled that his original order had merely been to monitor and track the man.
Steward Li explained gently, "That person was exceptionally vigilant. Seeing that he was being tailed, he attempted to flee. Our men were forced to act."
"And the result of your action was that he got away?"
"...Yes." Steward Li watched Xu Yuan's expression closely.
Yet Xu Yuan showed no expression at all, his tone remaining flat. "Tell me the details."
Steward Li weighed his words briefly before speaking in a low voice:
"After you issued the command, this old man learned of it and immediately made arrangements. During the days you were in secluded cultivation, we located him in the eastern part of the city. However, he proved exceedingly troublesome. The several Meridian Tempering guards who found him were entirely outmatched. By the time the rest of the manor's guards arrived, he had already vanished."
"And after that, there was no further trace of him?" Xu Yuan's voice was gentle and calm.
"There was once..." Steward Li said, bracing himself.
"Go on."
"Over a hundred and twenty li west of the city, in Changhong Valley, we tracked him down. But... but his strength was terrifying. He was merely at the Eighth Rank Meridian Tempering Realm, yet two Seventh Rank Bone Tempering experts leading the team were still no match for him."
"Wiped out entirely?"
"One managed to escape back."
"..." Xu Yuan remained silent.
After a quiet second, Xu Yuan looked at Steward Li, asking with genuine confusion, "Why didn't you send Sixth Rank experts? I recall there are quite a few peak Sixth Rank guards among my escort, and the manor should have Fifth Rank Soul Condensation Realm experts as well."
At this question, Steward Li's cheek twitched, and he explained in a hushed voice:
"Third Young Master, although this old man distributes the monthly stipends for the entire Jingjiang residence, I have no authority to mobilize guards above the Bone Tempering Realm directly. And by the rules, your personal escort cannot stray too far from your side.
"Besides... besides, who could have known that vile scoundrel could kill enemies above his rank?"
Pausing, Steward Li cleared his throat lightly.
"However, rest assured, Young Master. Changhong Valley has only one exit. I have already reported the matter to the main estate, and having received approval, three Iron Body Realm experts have been dispatched to await him outside the valley entrance."
Chapter 58