Chapter 881: The ng Family
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
ng Mingshu was in a tough spot. He had overestimated his will and courage while simultaneously underestimating the ruthlessness and greed of Jade City.
Everybody knew that the ng family’s huge amounts of wealth no longer existed and that it was like a dying giant beast. After briefly testing the waters and confirming that there was indeed no secret treasure left, flocks of hunters poured in thick and fast, their eyes on the small amount of at left on this beast.
ng Mingshu had beco the patriarch as he had wished, but his family mbers had imdiately abandoned him. In front of dozens of family mbers, his old grandmother had cried as she said that she was too old to suffer any more misfortune, and that thus she would volunteer to live alone. But eventually, with the approving voices of those family mbers, Second Young Master ng had ultimately been the one to “voluntarily” move out of the family mansion.
The ng family of northern Jade City, which had once been renowned throughout the entire Western Regions, now split into several smaller families. The mbers of the family then divided up the remaining properties, which were not many. ng Mingshu only received the Bodhi Garden and two small courtyards. But one of his relatives also beca his business rival because every business and bank of the ng family was deeply in debt.
His servants betrayed him right after that. Those with any sense of morals expressed sympathy to their new master, but most of the servants directly chose to flee. The business network of the ng family broke down at an unexpectedly fast speed. Creditors started coming out of various places, all wanting their money back. None of them ever ntioned how many goods they had taken from the warehouses of the ng family.
Throughout the whole process, the attitudes of the residents of Jade City also changed accordingly. All those people who once used to race to curry favor with the ng family now stood in front of the new patriarch of the ng family with an arrogant look on their faces, as if they had fulfilled their dreams of “surpassing” the ng family.
This morning, ng Mingshu left his ho for the first ti in over ten days. He didn’t even dare to use the front gate, since he was afraid of encountering flocks of creditors. Under the escort of two loyal servants, he left his ho through a door at the corner of the courtyard, with his face covered by a hood the whole way. Every ti he heard soone said the word “ng,” his body would involuntarily shiver.
After winding his way through the streets and alleyways of northern Jade City and southern Jade City for about two hours, ng Mingshu finally received a cue from a strange man: nobody was following him. He could depart.
Upon seeing the army camp of the Shule Kingdom, ng Mingshu felt slightly relieved as he thought, I only have to endure a longer wait. Sooner or later, I’ll make a coback and dump all of those ungrateful relatives. I’ll beco richer than I used to, and I’ll trample all of Jade City underfoot and humiliate all those residents both inside and outside the city.
The Dragon King hadn’t arrived yet. ng Mingshu settled down in a common tent. His two attendants were taken elsewhere, which made him very uneasy.
The morale of the Shule Kingdom’s army seed very high. The words “Dragon King” ca out of those soldiers’ mouths very often. The longer ng Mingshu peeped through the tent flaps, the more strongly he felt the Dragon King’s influence in this army.
ng Mingshu had only ever seen the Dragon King sneak into Jade City alone, and back then, he had only a couple of killers accompanying him at the most. ng Mingshu had heard so new rumors, but this was his first ti seeing the true strength of the Dragon King with his own eyes.
He felt more uneasy.
It was not until the afternoon that the Dragon King finally arrived. When he saw that cold face that he was familiar with, ng Mingshu forgot his identity and status as well as the age gap. He imdiately knelt down with a thud, saying with a tearful face, “Please help , Dragon King.”
It had been only a couple of months since the Dragon King last saw ng Mingshu, but ng Mingshu seed to have beco over ten years older. Gu Shenwei stepped aside. Old Man Mu walked up to ng Mingshu and stroked Second Young Master ng’s head in a friendly manner. “I should pick you up, but I’m not tall enough, so this is all I can do. Are you okay with it?”
The solemn army camp matched the cold Dragon King perfectly. But this eccentric old man was the only one who gave ng Mingshu an inexplicable feeling. Having forgotten all those expressions and words that he had prepared very well in advance, ng Mingshu replied out of confusion. “Ah?”
Holding onto ng Mingshu’s elbows, Old Man Mu abruptly raised ng Mingshu up. Second Young Master ng was unprepared and his knees buckled. He shook briefly before regaining his footing. After gratefully smiling at Old Man Mu, he beca much more composed. “Dragon King, I’ve finally t you.”
“We shouldn’t have t each other,” Gu Shenwei responded flatly. “This is dangerous for both you and . You live in northern Jade City, which is still under the control of Golden Roc Castle.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.” ng Mingshu glanced over his shoulder for no reason, as if soone were staring at him from there. “I’ve been dreaming about the Unique King chasing and trying to kill .”
“Did the Unique King threaten you?”
“He didn’t. He even sent soone to comfort , but… but this makes feel even more afraid. I fear that the Unique King was trying to conceal his true intentions by doing this, and that he will soon send assassins to assassinate .”
Gu Shenwei frowned. “That’s why you ca here? We’ve talked about this before. Before ascertaining where the ng family’s wealth is, the Unique King won’t kill you.”
“I know, but he’s the Unique King. Once he gets angry, there’s nothing he won’t do. Dragon King, let stay in your army camp. Please. I won’t return to northern Jade City ever again. I’ll be a follower of the Dragon Army in public. You have the support of the Central Plains as well as the Norland, and you also have nurous troops. Thus, you don’t have to be afraid of the Unique King any more, and neither will I.”
Gu Shenwei had already gotten the ng family’s money, which ant that ng Mingshu’s public support was totally aningless to him, so he shook his head. “No.”
“Why?”
ng Mingshu’s face was full of disappointnt. Gu Shenwei could barely recall what that elegant, charming Second Young Master ng used to look like.
“Because I haven’t gotten the Central Plains’ full support yet, and I don’t want the situation in Jade City to change too much. You’re the patriarch of the ng family, and your every move will attract many people’s attention. Just wait a little while longer. Soon, I’ll need you to make your presence in public.”
“I really even know whether I’ll still be alive by then, Dragon King. I’m the patriarch in na only, and nobody will even notice if I die. Let stay in the army camp. I won’t let anyone see . I’ll just stealthily hide here.”
ng Mingshu was trying to devalue himself, unaware of how dangerous it was to do so. Gu Shenwei was even sowhat sympathetic towards his plight, but he still shook his head. “Trust . The Unique King is still making preparations for a counterattack, and he will never kill you under these circumstances. His ambition is synonymous with your safety. I’ll get you out of there before he gets desperate.”
ng Mingshu took a deep breath. “All right. I trust you with my life, Dragon King. Please don’t forget .”
“Um. I have another two tasks for you.”
ng Mingshu’s heart lurched, and his face also changed. “Tasks… ”
“They’re very simple. You don’t have to take any risks. Five or six years ago, when Wei Song was the governor of Jade City, I assu that the ng family gave him a lot of money when his term ended.”
ng Mingshu didn’t expect that the Dragon King would ask about this issue. After pondering it over for a while, he said, “I think so. Back then, my father was the patriarch, so it sounds right. That has always been the convention. But this year, we don’t have to go through the trouble as the governor designated by the Norland is missing, and the ng family has lost its wealth.”
“Go back and do so research. Get all of those records and docunts ready. I’ll send soone there to get them.”
This task was indeed not risky at all. Those docunts were worthless and probably related to more debt, so all of them were ng Mingshu’s inheritance. “This is easy. I can get that done in three days at the most, but… why do you want these things, Dragon King?”
Having beco vigilant, ng Mingshu unexpectedly regained part of his previous composure and sense.
“Wei Song is now the Governor of the Western Regions, so I want to know how large his appetite is, and I also want him to take the Dragon Army’s side at a crucial mont in the future.”
“Everybody says that the uncle of the emperor of the Central Plains and the Dragon King are like brothers with different surnas. I think that one Wei Song shouldn’t be able to make too much of a difference, right?”
“Better safe than sorry.” Gu Shenwei didn’t want to explain any further. He hoped that ng Mingshu would just regard this as a simple issue.
ng Mingshu didn’t ask any more questions. According to his previous experience, the latter one of the two tasks should be the more important one. “And the other task? I’ll do anything you want to, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei paused briefly. “Madam ng lives in northern Jade City.”
“Yes. She lives with my grandmother, in the old dwelling of the ng family.”
“You should go back there more often and gather more information about the Unique King’s movents.”
Though he had a very clear understanding of this task, ng Mingshu looked awkward. “I’ll try my best, but please lower your expectations, Dragon King. Madam ng is not easy to deal with.”
“Just do what you can.” What Gu Shenwei really cared about was those docunts which would be more than enough to help him bring down Wei Song in the Central Plains.
The conversation was coming to an end. Other than these two tasks, ng Mingshu had gotten nothing, but he desperately needed a guarantee. “Dragon King, please don’t take this to an anything, but the money of my family… ”
“It’s very safe. We haven’t used a single coin of it. Xiao Fengchai manages the money and she’ll explain it to you.”
“Fengchai is here?” ng Mingshu’s eyes lit up.
After they went into another tent, Old Man Mu curled his lips up in contempt. “You’re so kind, Dragon King. You actually allowed him to et his woman. If I were you, I would have forced this guy to swallow a couple of poisonous pills of the Waning Moon Hall and make him behave that way.”
Gu Shenwei’s thoughts had already shifted to another issue. “Speaking of Waning Moon Hall, how’s your observation of Shangguan Hong’s behavior been?”
Old Man Mu slapped his forehead. “I secretly observed him for a couple of days. I can offer my head as a guarantee – Shangguan Hong used to practice the Seven Rotation Skills.”
“But he didn’t beco any shorter.”
Smiling, Old Man Mu shook his head. “The evil part about the Seven Rotation Skills is its unpredictability. It may compress so kung fu practitioners’ bones, like what happened to . Or it might also cause other changes. It’s even possible that people will kill themselves while practicing it, which is why even those crazy won of Waning Moon Hall don’t dare to practice it. Shangguan Hong accepted this cultivation thod either because he was desperate or because he was unaware of this. I don’t think it was his bones that were changed. Maybe Shangguan Fei did him a great favor by cutting his thing off. Alas, if only I had caught him and done so careful research.”
Old Man Mu was lost in thought.
Xiao Fengchai only spent a very short amount of ti in ng Mingshu’s tent. When she ca out of it, the look on her face was very flat.
Old Man Mu took the hint and left. Xiao Fengchai sighed deeply. “Second Brother actually beca soone like this. This is so surprising. I didn’t expected that I, Xiao Fengchai, would misjudge soone.” After saying this, she stared at the Dragon King for a while, as if she was wondering whether the Dragon King would beco another man that she had misjudged. “He won’t do anything stupid at the mont, but you have to be cautious, Dragon King. He’s unable to handle too much pressure.”
Gu Shenwei nodded. He just wanted the paperwork.
Xiao Fengchai was still staring at the Dragon King. “I told Second Brother that I keep all of the ng family’s money right under my nose, and that nobody can touch it. Would you please tell the truth about where exactly my ‘nose’ is, Dragon King?”
“Sowhere safe.”
Before Jade City was in his control, Gu Shenwei wouldn’t tell anybody the whereabouts of this money.
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