Chapter 58: Traditional Villain Skill

Xu Yuan glanced at the rolled-up paper dispatch before him, feeling a subtle surprise.

A surprise at the efficiency below,

a surprise that the report had not been delivered by Zhou Chen, but by this household steward.

He had instructed Zhou Chen to handle this matter, and given Zhou Chen’s current state of idle inactivity, one would expect him to seize the opportunity with eagerness. Yet the truth was, the dispatch had not come from Zhou Chen.

Only one explanation remained.

The procedure was flawed—Zhou Chen had no authority over the Black Scale Guard, nor over the intelligence apparatus of the Prime Minister’s household.

Thus, this matter carried a certain intrigue.

The Prime Minister’s intelligence network was vast, and the Black Scale Guard, born of the Shadow Sect, was merely one component among many.

The Tian’an Trading Guild, through its brothels, taverns, and various pawnshops and moneylenders, also maintained its own intelligence-gathering functions.

Orders flowed from above, intelligence was collected from below, useless data filtered out, useful information preserved, and the final summaries transmitted in coded form.

And yet, the recipients of these transmissions were mere household stewards.

Power was greater than he had imagined.

Yet soon enough, Xu Yuan found himself at ease.

The influence of the comics and anime he had seen in previous lives still ran deep, ingrained in his subconscious.

It made him instinctively believe that in a world beyond the ordinary, the power one held had to match one's own strength and capability.

But reality was different—there was no correlation between one's cultivation talent or managerial skill. If one truly entrusted a group of uneducated outsiders, all obsessed with muscles, with managing enterprises, the very largest fortune might be lost in a matter of days.

This structure of power, however, was remarkably stable for the upper echelons. The managers of various family enterprises were much like eunuchs in the royal courts of past lives—lacking cultivation, they could only cling to their masters, with almost no possibility of growing independent.

Reaching out to take the scroll of confidential report, Xu Yuan prepared to open it, only to find a faint ripple of original qi, along with simple, flowing array patterns.

He carefully sensed the array markings on the surface of the scroll, and his eyes grew strangely puzzled.

This...

A password lock?

Seeing Xu Yuan accept the item, the withered old steward offered a fawning smile without a moment's hesitation:

"Third Young Master, should this secret missive be opened directly or by brute force, it will instantly crumble to pieces. It requires a specific technique to be unsealed."

Xu Yuan cast a sidelong glance at him. "Can you decipher it?"

To think that formations could be employed in such a manner. How intriguing.

Steward Li rubbed his hands together:

"You jest, Master. How could a decrepit soul like myself decipher the secret sigils of the Black Scale Guard? Besides, these missives merely pass through my humble hands."

With that,

he cast a furtive glance back at Ying'er, who was following closely behind.

It seemed that confidential intelligence of this nature was merely handled and sorted by these mortal stewards, who possessed no authority to read them.

Presumably, this was a safeguard to prevent leaks should these mortal overseers ever fall victim to soul-beguiling arts.

Xu Yuan directly passed the confidential report to the shadow behind, tossing it over his shoulder with casual ease.

"Unseal it."

The shadow silently accepted it, not noticing Xu Yuan's spirit observation at all, and immediately unsealed the array markings before returning it to Xu Yuan.

With the report back in hand, Xu Yuan let the source qi enter his eyes—blood-like flashes flickered in his gaze as he began to scan the contents, turning to the old man casually and asking:

"Are the medicines from the estate stored under your care?"

His own medicines were gone, and without the little green bottle, he could only rely on the family's assets—specifically, his father's holdings.

"The money and medicines within the estate are indeed under my supervision," replied Li, the steward, his eyes flickering with a quick glance. He murmured, smiling nervously, "But Master, the warehouse stock belongs to the estate itself. I wouldn't dare touch anything without authorization..."

"Don't worry,"

Xu Yuan glanced at him, knowing the old man was already bracing himself for another request from the third son—another attempt at borrowing. He spoke softly:

"Shortly, my father's orders will arrive. Go check the warehouse inventory—see if there's any medicine I need."

At this, Li Guanshi gave a shy, uncertain smile:

"Very well, Master, what do you need?"

Xu Yuan casually listed several remedies he currently required.

Li Guanshi's face instantly darkened halfway.

These things—the household's four-rank, body-integration-grade official could barely obtain a few grains in a full year. And now this third prince was ordering them by bottle!

Deciding firmly in his heart, he would be relieved if the Grand Minister's command came down. If not, then for the near future, he would have to avoid this third prince at all costs.

With that thought, Li Guanshi kept his tone humble:

"Old servant will fetch them for you. Is there anything else you'd like me to arrange?"

As they spoke, the three had already stepped out of the basement. The sky beyond was vast and endless, a boundless expanse of blue.

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, glanced at the guard on duty outside the sealed chamber, and after a moment's quiet contemplation, softly asked:

"I once arranged for someone to search for a man named Qin Mo. Do you know of this?"

"........"

At these words, Li Guanshi's eyes flickered with sudden alertness.

For this matter, even the prodigy at the peak of Iron Body, Xue Yong, had been killed. How could he, as a manager, not know?

After a silent pause, Li Guanshi spoke cautiously:

"I know."

"Any progress?"

"...Yes."

A definite answer, yet delivered with a faint hesitation.

In his heart, Xu Yuan sighed softly.

"Did you resort to violence?"

He remembered the original order had been simply to monitor and track.

Li, the steward, spoke softly,

"That individual was highly alert. As soon as he sensed being followed, he attempted to flee. We were forced to intervene."

"Did your intervention only result in him escaping?"

"...Yes." Li observed Xu Yuan's expression.

Yet Xu Yuan's face remained unchanged, his tone still calm and even:

"Tell me in detail what happened."

Li carefully chose his words, speaking quietly,

"Immediately upon receiving your instructions, I set about arranging the operation. During your period of seclusion, we located him in the eastern part of the city. However, he proved extremely difficult to handle. The several quenched-meridian guards we first encountered were no match for him. By the time the rest of the household guards arrived, he had already vanished."

"Then there was no further word from him?" Xu Yuan's voice was smooth and calm.

"There was one instance..." Li, the steward, forced himself to speak.

"Go on."

"We tracked him to the Changhong Valley, over one hundred and twenty miles outside the western city, but... he was extremely powerful. Only eighth-rank Quimai cultivation, yet even with two seventh-rank Quige cultivators leading the charge, they were no match for him."

"Destroyed completely?"

"One escaped."

"........" Xu Yuan.

A silence passed. Xu Yuan looked at Li, puzzled, and softly asked:

"Why weren't six-rank cultivators sent instead? I remember that among my guards there are numerous six-rank cultivators at their peak, and there should also be five-rank Ninghun cultivators within the estate itself."

At this question, Li's face twitched, and he whispered a small explanation:

"Third Young Master, though the monthly stipends of the entire Jingjiang Manor are distributed by my humble self, I possess no authority to directly command guards above the bone-tempering realm, and by the rules, your personal bodyguards cannot stray too far from your side.

"Furthermore... furthermore, who could have possibly foreseen that this scoundrel would be capable of slaying opponents beyond his own cultivation realm?"

At this point, Steward Li paused, clearing his throat softly.

"However, pray rest easy, Young Master. That Changhong Valley has but a single exit, and I have already reported this matter to the main manor. Having received their sanction, I have now dispatched three experts of the iron-body realm to wait for him just outside the valley mouth."