Chapter 51: Investigation

This village of Zang was something Xu Yuan knew too well.

Well enough that he could still recall the names of every single person in it.

The butcher who liked to sharpen his knives in the dead of night, the beautiful young woman who always smiled and teased others with playful words, the blind man whose eyes were partially lost but still saw clearly, and the village elder who smiled endlessly—these were all faces etched into his memory.

Zang was the starting village in the story of Cangyuan.

A quiet, serene village nestled deep in the borderlands of Da Yan, yet one that was both peaceful and terrifying.

Its peace came from the elders—uncles and grandfathers—whose kindness toward the protagonist was so genuine it felt like that of ordinary family elders.

Its danger stemmed from the fact that these elders, though appearing ordinary on the surface, were all seasoned masters living out their final years. Each one had once been a notorious thief or a fearsome demon.

A once-thriving village, now reduced to a crumbling settlement filled with masters of the old world.

Then…

Then, his father, the Chancellor, personally led an army and wiped it out completely.

Only a single youth, who had chanced into the deep mountains to hunt, survived the slaughter.

Indeed, this very boy was the protagonist of the grand narrative.

And this was the fundamental reason why Xu Yuan had been searching for him so relentlessly.

With a blood feud forged in slaughter, there remained absolutely no room for reconciliation between the protagonist and the Premier’s estate.

Once the boy fully came into his own, no matter what justification his old man had for massacring the village, the protagonist would show no mercy whatsoever.

Yet now, through the clues provided by Su Jinxuan, Xu Yuan had successfully narrowed the protagonist’s potential trajectories down to three, and could roughly determine the nature of the cheat the boy possessed.

The first possibility was the path of the classic, hot-blooded shonen protagonist.

For such a hero, the nature of his cheat was entirely self-explanatory—a berserker at death's door, growing exponentially more explosive the closer he drew to his demise.

The second possibility was the path of the cloistered mentor.

This cheat was equally straightforward: entirely guided by an artificial intellect, capable of sending his power skyrocketing under specific conditions.

Article Three: The corrupt path of cultivating the Great Henghuan Yin-Yang Technique.

Three doses of Henghuan Powder as a cheat—this substance bypasses level restrictions.

Gender-neutral.

Thinking this through,

Xu Yuan’s heart grew slightly heavy.

The first and the latter options weren’t particularly troubling; if he could simply arrange for Zhou Chen to go and kill them, it would suffice.

But according to Murphy’s Law,

Xu Yuan sensed subtly that the plot’s protagonist was likely the elderly grandfather route—because that path’s protagonist was the most difficult to handle.

Without the game’s special advantages, once pushed to the brink, the other party could unleash a devastating counterattack at any moment.

Among the people Xu Yuan currently knew, only his elder brother could reliably eliminate the threat—Ran, the ice giant, was still a dangerous unknown.

.......

A delicate fragrance filled the carriage.

Most often, silence brings peace to the mind. But when life rests in the hands of another, such stillness becomes a torment.

Gazing at Xu Yuan's silent profile, Su Jinxuan took a soft, deep breath.

Her fist clenched.

Then unclenched.

Clenched again.

Unclenched.

Again and again.

A shadow of sorrow flickered in her eyes. She exhaled slowly, the breath soft and gentle, and whispered:

"Lord..."

The answer had already settled in his heart, yet people are always bound to hold onto some unrealistic hope.

Xu Yuan's gaze swept over her, and the earlier ease in her expression vanished. He saw the unease in her eyes.

A faint sense of bewilderment.

It seemed the claim that Qin had regarded her as his own sister was likely true. If she were a carefully trained assassin, she would not have shown such hesitation.

A young lady who had never married—showing such composure in the face of death was already a rare thing.

"Do you seem afraid?" he asked.

Su Jinxuan bit lightly at her lower lip:

"The Shadow Guards of the Imperial Chancellor's household are well known. I have certainly heard of them."

"If you're afraid, then why did you come to me?"

"......." She remained silent.

Xu Yuan's eyes carried a smile, yet there was not a single trace of pity:

"The final question—if you're willing to answer it, after I take you into the mansion, I won't hand you over to Ying'er. Of course, if you choose not to answer, I believe Ying'er will still be able to extract this information from you."

"Su Jinxuan, what was the true purpose behind Mr. Qin's instruction that you control me?"

"......."

Su Jinxuan clutched at the hem of her dress, her fingers growing pale with tension. After a long silence, she shook her head:

"I... I don't know."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan gently ran his hand through her soft, flowing hair, speaking softly:

"Unfortunately, Jinxuan, the answer I'm looking for isn't this one."

You yourself earlier claimed you were willingly stepping in to alleviate Mr. Qin's worries—now you say you don't know?

They'd already talked it all over.

So stupid.

Thinking this, Xu Yuan's thoughts flickered with a faint, amused smile.

But that was exactly right.

If every person remained calm in the face of death's terrifying grip, then the world would be filled with too many ruthless ones...

........

Su Jinxuan was taken by Ying'er.

Yet, judging by the information provided, Xu Yuan had indeed spoken well of her in front of Ying'er.

No corporal punishment—just bind her hands and feet, seal her hearing, and throw her into a dark room filled with soft blankets.

Seeing Su Jinxuan's slightly grateful look as she departed, Xu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

Modern torture techniques might not inflict the raw, immediate agony of ancient corporal punishments, but they're still a psychological assault.

Don't ask.

Ask, and you'll have lived it yourself.

Out of sheer reckless curiosity, Xu Yuan, in his previous life, had once joined a group of friends to experience a professional torture simulation.

Lying on a soft bed, his limbs wrapped in special cotton sleeves, then fitted with specialized ear and eye masks by staff...

The sensation—

It's beyond words.

......

The Xu family estate stood in the northern reaches of the vast city of Jingjiang, spanning over a thousand acres. At its heart lay a vast wetland lake, dotted with pavilions, towers, and jade-and-jewel halls stretching into the horizon.

The wind along the lake's edge was constant. Watching the silhouettes of Mu and Su Jinxuan fade into the distance, Xu Yuan turned to Zhou Chen, who was drinking wine beside him, and suddenly said:

"Mr. Zhou, could you help me with something?"

"Master Yuan, just give me your orders." Zhou Chen set down the wine pot.

Xu Yuan stared at the fading silhouette of Su Jinxuan:

"Help me investigate the incident where Su Jinxuan's family was slaughtered."

Zhou Chen's eyes flickered with a subtle surprise: "Master, you mean..."

Xu Yuan explained:

"Su Jinxuan said she was rescued by Mr. Qin during her journey from fleeing danger—most of her family perished. I suspect there's something hidden beneath the surface."

"Such as that..."

Zhou Chen murmured softly, as if grasping the meaning behind Xu Yuan's words.

Though his mind harbored some doubts, Zhou Chen showed no reluctance.

The Third Prince's recent actions had begun to warrant closer attention.

He bowed slightly,

"Only, I wonder—what is the origin of this Su Miss?"

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered for a moment, then replied,

"The Jin City in the Jiangnan Prefecture."

In a previous life, when Xu Yuan had guided the protagonist into Jin City in Jiangnan, the very first thing Su Jinxuan had said had been, "Over ten years have passed—this Jin City truly has changed, everything is gone, and people have shifted."

Zhou Chen immediately bowed, "Got it, Third Prince. I'll immediately inform the Black Scale Guard in the Jiangnan Prefecture."

As he spoke,

Zhou Chen swiftly prepared to turn and leave.

"Wait."

Zhou Chen paused in his tracks.

Without a trace of haste, Xu Yuan drew a stack of five bank notes from his Sumeru ring, each valued at a thousand taels, and used his primordial qi to deliver them gently into Zhou Chen's hand.

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up, yet he still held tightly to his wine flask, murmuring in a low voice:

"Third Young Master, what is the meaning of this..."

Xu Yuan let out a soft laugh:

"Mr. Zhou, you have spared no effort to ensure my safety. Think of this as a little wine money to express my gratitude."