6kv Chapter 79 The Wei Family
Chapter 79 The Wei Family
The inner city, the Wei family.
A middle-aged man, seeing his father's furrowed brows and sorrowful expression, stepped forward and spoke:
"Father, it was just Zhang Wu; he's dead, so be it. Why are you so distressed?"
Upon hearing this, Master Wei glanced at his son and shook his head, saying:
"Zhang Wu's death was suspicious. I suspect... it might be related to the governor."
Is it related to the governor?
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man was taken aback and quickly asked:
"Father, what do you mean?"
He remembered that Zhang Chuanting had vomited blood and fainted, and had only recently regained consciousness, but his face was still pale and listless.
How could one have the leisure to ponder the meaning of the text?
"Him?" Master Wei sneered. "Zhang Chuanting is a cunning old fox too."
"Why do you think he vomited blood and fainted? Do you really think it was because he was angry?"
As he spoke, Mr. Wei took out a small booklet and handed it to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man took the booklet, glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
The booklet clearly stated that His Majesty urged Zhang Chuanting to march south to quell the Liang rebels, but due to Zhang Chuanting's fainting spell, the army was unable to set off.
Master Wei snorted coldly:
"Zhang Chuanting is going against us."
"But Father, why do you suspect that Zhang Wu's death is related to Zhang Chuanting?" the middle-aged man asked, puzzled.
Upon hearing this, Master Wei remained silent for a moment:
"When Zhang Wu left, I gave him a few 'Marrow Strengthening Pills'."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes widened, and he hurriedly said:
"Father, how can we give him that thing?"
The marrow-strengthening pills are their secret, growing in the ground and protected from sunlight.
A secret that must never be revealed.
Master Wei took a deep breath.
Fearing the secrets of the land would be exposed, he ordered Li Qi to burn down the Bureau of Experiences, and then commanded all families in the inner city to temporarily stop planting that thing, and that the Marrow Strengthening Pill must not continue to appear in the city.
He never expected that Zhang Wu, who had always been safe and sound when entering and leaving the inner city, would cause this incident right after he gave him the Marrow Strengthening Pill.
"Zhang Chuanting is still determined to destroy me."
Master Wei tapped his thin fingers on the wooden table. In the past, people who asked them for money were easily dismissed by them with a few thousand or tens of thousands of taels.
However, when Zhang Chuanting arrived, he demanded 500,000 taels of silver.
They won't give it to them now, and they're still refusing to leave.
This was the first time he had ever met someone as difficult to deal with as Zhang Chuanting.
"How about... we give Zhang Chuanting 50,000 taels of silver to send him away?" the middle-aged man suggested tentatively from the side.
Fifty thousand taels of silver was not a lot for their family.
Moreover, with control of Lin'an, they could easily earn back any amount of 50,000 taels of silver.
Why waste time with Zhang Chuanting?
"If you give him 50,000 taels this time, he'll dare ask us for 100,000 next time..." Master Wei sneered, "If Zhang Chuanting is really that short of military pay, why doesn't he go ask His Majesty for it?"
"Every year we've been bribing everyone, from the Prince of Wu to Grand Secretary Zhou, and now Zhang Chuanting. Will anyone be able to come to us for money in the future? What about the Wei family's fortune?!"
The middle-aged man stood to the side, looking hesitant.
"If Zhang Chuanting's southward campaign ends in defeat, and the King of Liang marches on Lin'an..."
Master Wei glanced at him and said coldly:
"I'll have my own way of handling it then."
"Alright, you don't need to worry about these things..."
"As for Zhang Wu... he is, after all, the son-in-law of our Wei family. We can't just let it go like this. Let's find a scapegoat in the city who has mastered the leg techniques of internal strength."
If the Wei family doesn't react at all to Zhang Wu's death, it will surely cause a lot of gossip.
Zhang Chuanting and his gang were naturally people they couldn't afford to offend, but finding a scapegoat was easy.
"Yes."
The middle-aged man wanted to say something more, but the words wouldn't come out, and he could only leave in the end.
Watching his son's departing figure, Mr. Wei shook his head inwardly.
His son is too soft-hearted and too kind; he's not up to any great responsibility.
……
The next day.
Sun Cheng, a renowned master of hidden leg techniques in the outer city of Lin'an, was grabbed on his bed and taken to the government office.
His arrest caused quite a stir.
The reason is that Sun Cheng is a wicked man who has done all sorts of evil deeds. He is a backer of a local gang and not only robs other people's daughters, but also steals the money that the elderly have saved for their funerals. He has also caused a number of murders.
Therefore, many people applauded and praised this.
"I am innocent!"
"On the day Zhang Wu died, I was drinking with the leader of the Righteousness Gang; they can both testify to that!"
When questioned, Sun Cheng spoke with intense emotion.
The Wei family official who interrogated him chuckled:
"Sun Cheng, Sun Cheng, do you have a bad memory, or did you just wake up and need to wake up?"
The Wei family official snorted coldly, gave the bailiffs on his left and right a look, and quickly left the torture chamber.
The Wei family official went out for a meal and returned to the torture chamber. Looking at Sun Cheng, who was tortured beyond recognition, he sneered:
"Do you remember now?"
"I...I remember now..." Sun Cheng said weakly.
"Did you kill Zhang Wu?"
"Yes……"
"Is the disappearance of that person from the prefectural city related to you?"
"Yes……"
"Did you burn down the Bureau of Records?"
"Yes……"
The Wei family official, having obtained a satisfactory result, immediately had someone sign and seal the document, laughing loudly:
"Case closed!"
……
Soon, the news spread throughout Lin'an City.
Many people deeply felt the authority of the Wei family, and when the news reached the White Crane Martial Arts School, many disciples sighed with regret.
"That damned Sun Cheng!"
"If Senior Brother Zhang knew this from beyond the grave, he could finally rest in peace."
"I didn't expect that the Director of the Bureau of Investigation was also Sun Chengshao's. We misunderstood the Wei family before."
"Sun Cheng is truly wicked. He harmed Senior Brother Zhang, burned down the Bureau of Records, and wiped out the Fierce Tiger Gang and the Wild Wolf Gang. It's rumored that he also..."
The disciples gathered in the training ground, discussing the case animatedly. Some even marveled at the Wei family's uncanny ability to solve cases and find the murderer in such a short time.
Although Lu Li was extremely surprised to hear the news, he was happy to see someone help him clear his name.
At that moment, he also put on an expression of regret and satisfaction, as if he had finally gotten his revenge.
The commotion didn't last long, and the discussion among the disciples in the martial arts school returned to the matter of Master Qin accepting a disciple for the last time.
The news that Master Qin wanted to take Lu Li as his last disciple had spread throughout the neighborhood by now.
Now, Lu Zhiyuan, Third Aunt, and Lu Yu'er have all been invited.
The cumbersome apprenticeship ceremony was simplified. In front of everyone, Lu Li presented his apprenticeship certificate, offered tea, Master Qin replied, and after drinking tea, the ceremony was successfully completed.
Compared to Zhang Wu's event, it wasn't particularly grand, but it still attracted quite a few guests, such as the Wang family, and several other martial arts schools also sent people to deliver gifts.
Duan Kang and Wang Hong each presented a gift and chatted happily with Lu Li.
Looking at the smug Lu Li, Liang Jing felt a mix of emotions.
Within the White Crane Martial Arts Hall, he was the most senior and earliest master of Dark Force, while Lu Li had only barely broken through a few months ago.
The two should have been worlds apart in terms of strength and status.
But who would have thought that after a few months, he, as the senior brother of the White Crane Martial Arts School, was inferior to, and even far inferior to, this junior brother in terms of strength and status.
He always believed that he was able to inherit his master's mantle, and even if there were competitors, he should be the first successor. However, Zhang Wu suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and now that Zhang Wu is dead, Lu Li has risen to power.
Over the years, he had never passed the martial arts exam, yet each year felt like the best chance he could hope for.
Perhaps, he really can only go back and inherit the family business.
Xu Fang looked at Lu Li, also appearing dazed.
That's Master Qin's personal disciple! Although Lu Li's natural talent might not be enough to break through to the Transformation Realm, with Master Qin's guidance, reaching the late stage of Dark Force and mastering Xingyi Quan is a certainty.
She should have tried to win over one or two people back then.