…
The response of this wandering cultivator was somewhat unexpected to Wang Shouzhe. His face immediately darkened: “It seems that you have committed a serious offense in Yingxiu.”
“My lord, it’s my fault. I was greedy,” the wandering cultivator confessed tearfully. “We were a group of traveling merchants passing through Yingxiu when we saw a wealthy merchant getting married. We were about to leave after getting some wine, but we discovered that the dowry was very rich, with hundreds of pieces of gold and two valuable hundred-year-old ginsengs. We were tempted and snuck into the wealthy merchant’s house to steal…”
As the confession went on, Wang Shouzhe’s face became increasingly dark. These wandering cultivators were too audacious. After being caught stealing, they even dared to kill people, destroy evidence, and plunder wealth.
Fortunately, these wandering cultivators had internal conflicts due to their greed, and this one was the only survivor. However, he had the misfortune of being discovered by Wang Shouzhe and his party while treating his wounds in a sparsely populated forest.
“My lord, as long as you spare my life, I will reveal the location where the stolen goods are hidden and offer everything to you,” the wandering cultivator begged, seeming to understand the Xuanwu Clan’s style of doing things. If Wang Shouzhe made a vow in front of his subordinates, he would not go back on his word.
Otherwise, what would his subordinates think if the head of the family could easily break his oath? Could they still trust the head of the family’s words in the future?
Wang Zhong and the other family members also looked at Wang Shouzhe with some hope. The stolen goods were valuable, and if they could get their hands on them, it would alleviate the Wang Clan’s financial difficulties.
After a brief thought, Wang Shouzhe got on his horse and said, “Take him and hand him over to the Lu Clan in Yingxiu.”
“Yes, my lord.” Wang Zhong obediently carried out his duty and stuffed the wandering cultivator’s mouth, ignoring his struggles, and threw him onto the horse’s back.
“Let’s go!”
The coachman, Wang Lao, cracked his whip, and the two horses pulled the carriage slowly along the bumpy and muddy road.
After a short while, Wang Zhong rode up to Wang Shouzhe and asked in a low voice, “My lord, do we really have to give up the stolen goods? If you’re afraid of getting your hands dirty, let me handle it. As long as you give me some time, I guarantee he’ll reveal the hiding place.”
“Our time is precious, and we don’t have time to play treasure hunting games with a wandering cultivator,” Wang Shouzhe said calmly. “Wang Zhong, as a member of the Xuanwu Clan, you need to have a long-term vision. There are no walls that don’t let the wind through. If we offend the Lu Clan because of this, the losses we will suffer will be ten or even a hundred times the value of the stolen goods! Most importantly, if we indulge in greed and let the thief go, how can we be worthy of our ancestor who founded the clan by opening up new territories, and our ancestor Long Yan who protected the clan with her own strength for decades?”
This was a matter of clan faith. The greatest faith of most clans was their ancestor who founded the clan.
Wang Zhong trembled with shame and said, “I understand. I was blinded by my own interests.”
“Human nature is greedy, but it is essential to restrain our desires,” Wang Shouzhe said calmly. “Just like those wandering cultivators, they couldn’t control their greed and committed a crime together, then turned on each other. Such lack of self-control and self-discipline, they may have escaped this time, but can they escape the second or third time?””Master, if those wandering cultivators escape once, won’t they stop committing crimes in the future?” Wang Yong rode up on his horse and said.
“Perhaps there will be some, but they will be very few.” Wang Shouzhe laughed. “Think about it, if they couldn’t resist the first temptation, how can they resist the second one after tasting the sweetness? That kind of greed will eventually lead to their destruction. I don’t want to take the stolen money, not because I don’t want it, but because I’m afraid I can’t control my own greed and gradually lead our clan to ruin.”
The few clan members fell into deep thought and looked at Wang Shouzhe with admiration in their eyes.
Wang Zhong sighed and said, “Master, I have a feeling that our Wang Clan in Ping’an Town will definitely rise under your leadership.”
“Hehe, although your flattery is crude, our Clan Leader finds it useful.”
“Master, I’m not flattery, I really think so.”
“Yes, yes, Master, we all think so.” The other clan members echoed and agreed.
At the same time, inside the carriage, Wang Luo Jing had already woken up and witnessed everything that had happened. Her eyes lit up as she thought to herself, being with Fourth Brother always makes me feel safe and secure. Even if it’s just for Fourth Brother, Luo Jing, you must work hard to share his burden.
…
In less than half an hour, Wang Shouzhe and his group emerged from the forest and walked onto a wide road.
The first thing that caught their eye was the vast and boundless Yingxiu Lake, with the towering Longji Mountain reflected in the water, dyeing the lake water dark green. The lake wind mixed with water vapor blew in their faces, bringing a cool breeze in this early summer season.
Occasionally, a big fish would jump out of the water, splashing a large area of water. Various waterfowl swam in the dense reeds.
Undoubtedly, Yingxiu Lake not only had beautiful scenery, but also abundant natural resources. Compared to the turbulent and majestic An River, Yingxiu Lake was more beautiful and graceful.
At this moment, a group of knights galloped towards them from the distance and stopped in front of Wang Shouzhe’s group.
“Phew!”
The leader was a man in his thirties, dressed in sturdy clothing, with a strong bow on his back and a precious sword hanging from his waist, exuding an extraordinary aura. When he saw Wang Shouzhe, he was first stunned, then he laughed happily and said, “Ze’er, it’s only been a few days, and you’ve become more heroic. It seems that your temperament has changed since becoming the clan leader.”
“Uncle, why bother to come and pick me up in person?” Wang Shouzhe hurriedly clasped his hands.
This man was Lu Zhengjie, the younger brother of Wang Shouzhe’s birth mother Lu Mengxue, and the pillar of the Lu Clan’s young generation in Yingxiu. He was only in his thirties, but had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining Realm and was expected to break through to the Lingtai Realm. He had gone to Ping’an Town a while ago to attend Wang Dingyue’s funeral, so he had only recently separated from Wang Shouzhe.
“It’s not just to pick you up.” Lu Zhengjie’s smiling face froze. “A group of bandits disguised as traveling merchants killed seven members of a wealthy merchant’s family. We followed the clues and found that they had fled in the direction of Shanyang. We’re investigating the matter now. I’ve heard about your visit to Yingxiu from our clan members. Go see your uncle, I’m busy now and can’t accompany you back.””That’s a coincidence,” Wang Shouzhe smiled, “I just came from Shanyang and happened to catch a criminal on the way. After preliminary interrogation, it should be the same gang of criminals that my cousin mentioned.”
“What?” Lu Zhengjie was slightly surprised.
Then, Wang Shouzhe handed the criminal over to Lu Zhengjie and recounted the whole story. “I’ll leave the criminal to you, cousin. However, he has hidden the stolen goods and I can’t interfere. You can send someone to interrogate him.”
“That makes things easier. Lu Yi, I leave the matter to you. Try to recover the stolen goods and give an explanation to the survivors of the wealthy merchant family.” Lu Zhengjie gave orders with a mix of surprise and joy.
The Xuanwu Clan had various privileges in the area, but also had the responsibility of protecting the common people under their jurisdiction.
“Yes, Second Young Master.” A man with a gloomy and fierce expression stepped forward and grinned cruelly. “This thief has a lot of guts to commit a crime on our Lu Clan’s territory. If he falls into my hands, I guarantee he won’t be able to beg for mercy or death.”
This kind of cruel words made Wang Shouzhe look at him more.
“Lu Yi has a lot of experience in torture.” Lu Zhengjie smiled and said, “You can send a qualified family member to learn from him.”
Wang Shouzhe didn’t comment on this.
If it was purely about torture, Wang Shouzhe’s “knowledge” was quite rich. He had accumulated a lot of knowledge in this area from various modern crime investigation dramas and spy dramas. The methods were quite scientific.
Not dwelling on this matter any longer, since the task of capturing the fugitive had been completed, Lu Zhengjie personally led Wang Shouzhe back to the main residence of the Lu Clan in Yingshu.
Compared to the Gongsun Clan’s main residence, which was built halfway up the mountain and had an imposing presence, the main residence of the Lu Clan in Yingshu was built on a peninsula in Yingshu Lake, with water on three sides and only one way in.
Purely in terms of blood relations, Wang Shouzhe had a deep connection with the Lu Clan, so he naturally received high-standard treatment here.
Before he even entered the door, a girl in a red dress rushed out and plunged into Wang Shouzhe’s arms. “Cousin Shouzhe, Xiaoxiao missed you so much.”
Lu Xiaoxiao!
The current Clan Leader, Lu Zhengxiong’s youngest daughter, was the most favored.
But before Wang Shouzhe could speak, Wang Luojing, who was hiding behind him, suddenly grabbed his hand. “Fourth Brother, Jing’er is feeling a little unwell.”
Unwell?
Wang Shouzhe was taken aback and quickly held her small hand with concern. “What’s wrong, Luojing? Did you get sick while sleeping in the carriage…?”
He hadn’t finished speaking when he noticed the eyes of the two girls meeting, their hostility towards each other not concealed at all, and sparks flying.