61: Chapter 58: The Traditional Skills of the Villain 61: Chapter 58: The Traditional Skills of the Villain Xu Yuan glanced at the cylindrical paper secret report in front of him, feeling slightly surprised.
Surprised by the efficiency of the staff below him,
and surprised that it wasn’t Zhou Chen who handed him this secret report, but this steward instead.
He had ordered Zhou Chen to handle this matter, and given Zhou Chen’s current idle working state, he would most likely not miss such an opportunity to show diligence.
Yet, the fact was that the secret report wasn’t delivered by Zhou Chen.
So, there was only one reason left.
The procedure was not right; Zhou Chen had no authority to interfere with the Black Scale Guards, let alone the intelligence system of the Pri Minister’s Mansion.
In this way, the matter beca sowhat interesting.
The intelligence system of the Pri Minister’s Mansion was extensive, and the Black Scale Guards from which Ying’er ca was just one of them.
Under the Tian’an Comrce Assembly, places like Hook Bars, wine shops, and various pawnshops and money houses also had the function to collect intelligence.
Commands were issued from above, intelligence was gathered below, and after layer-by-layer filtration to eliminate the useless and retain the useful, the summarized information would be encrypted and transmitted back.
Surprisingly, the person in charge of receiving these contacts was a re estate steward.
The power was greater than he had imagined.
However, Xu Yuan soon ca to terms with it.
The influence of the comics and ani he saw in his previous life was still sowhat deeply ingrained.
It made him subconsciously believe that in an extraordinary world, the power in one’s hands must be equal to one’s own strength.
Yet real-life cultivation talent and managent ability were not necessarily linked; if a bunch of muscle-headed layn were to manage an industry, even the largest family business might be squandered away.
This kind of power structure was quite stable for the upper echelons; the stewards of the various industries of the Sects were like the eunuchs in a royal court from his previous life, possessing no cultivation and could only blindly rely on their masters, with almost no chance of becoming independent and powerful.
Reaching out to take the scroll of the secret report, Xu Yuan prepared to open it, but found that there was a faint layer of Origin Qi fluctuating on it, along with so simple Formation Patterns flowing.
After carefully sensing the Formation Patterns on the surface of the scroll, Xu Yuan’s gaze beca sowhat strange.
This was…
A cipher lock?
Seeing Xu Yuan take the scroll without any hesitation, the old steward imdiately smiled obsequiously and said,
“Third Young Master, if the secret report is directly opened or forcibly broken into, it will automatically shatter.
It requires a special thod to be opened.”
Xu Yuan gave him a glance, “Can you unlock it?”
Formations could be used in this way, interesting.
The steward rubbed his hands together:
“You’re joking, how could this old man know how to unlock the Black Scale Guards’ cipher?
Besides, I only handle these secret reports for safekeeping.”
With that,
he cast a sideways glance at Ying’er, who was following behind.
It seed that the secret reports were only handled by these mortal stewards for categorization and storage, without any authority to access them.
This was probably to prevent these mortal stewards from divulging information after being enchanted.
Xu Yuan casually tossed the secret report to Ying’er who was behind him;
“Open it.”
Ying’er silently took it, not minding Xu Yuan’s Will-spirit observation, and directly unlocked the Formation, then handed it back to Xu Yuan.
As Xu Yuan retrieved the secret report, Origin Qi entered his eyes, and his pupils flashed with blood, browsing while casually asking the old steward:
“The Elixir dicine from the mansion, is it retrieved from you?”
His Elixir dicine was gone, and without the little green bottle, he could only ask for it from his father, the Pri Minister’s, possessions.
“Indeed, the finances and Elixir dicine within the mansion are indeed managed by ,” the steward said, his eyes darting around as he replied in a low voice with a smile, “But Young Master, everything in the storeroom belongs to the mansion, and I dare not tamper with them…”
“Don’t be nervous.”
Xu Yuan glanced at him, knowing that the steward was worried that he, the Third Young Master, was about to make another unwarranted request.
He spoke softly,
“My father’s orders will co down soon.
You go check the inventory in the storeroom to see if there’s the Elixir dicine that I need.”
Hearing this, the steward could not deny and sheepishly smiled:
“Alright, Young Master, just tell what you need.”
Xu Yuan casually listed several types of Elixir dicine he currently needed.
Steward Li’s face turned dark with displeasure.
Those items were such that even the Protector of the Pri Minister’s Mansion at the Integration Body Realm, Fourth Grade, couldn’t get his hands on more than a few grains a year, yet the Third Young Master was asking for them by the bottle.
Deciding in his heart, the best outco would be if the Pri Minister indeed issued such an order.
If not, he would have to avoid the Third Young Master for so ti.
With this in mind, Steward Li’s tone remained humble:
“This old servant will go and fetch them for you.
Is there anything else you wish to instruct?”
As they spoke, the three of them had already erged from the basent, into the vast, azure sky.
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, glanced at the Protector outside the secret chamber, and asked softly after a short pause:
“I arranged for soone to look for a man nad Qin Mo.
Do you know of this?”
“…..”
Upon hearing this, Steward Li’s eye twitched.
The Iron Body Peak talent Xue Yong was killed because of this matter.
How could he, as the steward, not be aware?
After a mont of silence, Steward Li replied cautiously:
“I’m aware.”
“Any progress?”
“..There is.”
His answer was affirmative, but his tone was weak.
Understanding the situation, Xu Yuan let out a slight sigh:
“Did you take action?”
He rembered that the initial order was only to monitor and track.
Steward Li explained lightly:
“The man was quite vigilant.
Upon realizing he was being tracked, he attempted to escape, and our n had no choice but to act.”
“And the result of your action was to let him escape?”
“…Yes.” Steward Li watched Xu Yuan’s expression.
But Xu Yuan’s face showed no particular emotion, and his tone remained even:
“Explain the process to in detail.”
Steward Li chose his words carefully, and spoke softly:
“After receiving your instructions, this old servant imdiately set about making arrangents.
During the days you were in seclusion, we located the man in the eastern part of the city.
However, this person was quite troubleso, as the several Bone Tempering Protectors who found him were no match for him at all.
By the ti the rest of the Protectors from the mansion arrived, the man had already vanished.”
“And there’s been no news since then?” Xu Yuan’s voice was gentle and calm.
“There was one more ti….” Steward Li said begrudgingly.
“Go on.”
“We tracked the man to Changhong Valley, over a hundred and twenty li outside the western city.
But…
his strength was formidable.
Despite only being an Eighth Grade Bone Tempering cultivator, he was not soone even two Seventh Grade Bone Tempering experts leading a team could handle.”
“Wiped out?”
“One escaped back.”
“…..” Xu Yuan.
After a quiet second, Xu Yuan looked at Steward Li and asked with genuine puzzlent:
“Why not send Sixth Grade to reinforce?
I recall that there are no few Sixth Grade Peak among my guards, and there should also be Fifth Grade Soul Condensation Realm experts within the mansion.”
At this question, Steward Li’s cheek twitched, and he explained in a low voice:
“Third Young Master, although the old servant is in charge of distributing the monthly wages of the entire Jingjiang Prefecture, I do not have the authority to directly dispatch Protectors above the Bone Tempering Realm, and your guards are not supposed to leave your side according to the rules.
“Moreover…
who could have predicted that this foe was capable of killing beyond his level?”
As he said this, Steward Li hesitated, then coughed lightly:
“But rest assured, young master.
There is only one exit from Changhong Valley.
I have already reported this matter to the main mansion.
Once permission was granted, three Iron Body Realm experts have now been dispatched to wait for him outside the valley entrance.”
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