After seeing that couple off onto the main road away from the manor, Yu Qing turned back to ask his two senior brothers, “All sorted?”
“More or less.” Nan Zhu mumbled, glancing at Wu Hei and his son not far away, then lowering his voice, “But going back with this amount, the shortfall is huge, it is not enough!”
Yu Qing also looked back, puzzled, “We loaded so many carts, how can the shortfall still be huge?”
Nan Zhu: “Hey, most of it is not ours. I estimated our gold at about fifty thousand jin. Converted to silver, that is only a few million taels, and that includes the large chunk Shen Qingcheng and Ning Chaoyi helped send. Not even mentioning Ye Diandian’s side, just the annual interest from the Bihai Shipping Line alone falls way short.”
Yu Qing did not understand, “Then whose is the majority?”
Nan Zhu glanced at Wu Hei, “Whose else could it be? Most of it was hauled out by that one. His cultivation is high, even all of us together cannot compare to him. You did not see it. He beat the big gold blocks into flat cakes, stacked them, and carried out a dozen or so at a time. I estimate he hauled out about two hundred thousand jin by himself, enough for us to last a year. From what he said, he definitely will not stay here anymore. Once outside, he will need money to spend, so he wants to keep some for security.”
Yu Qing frowned, “Then why did you lot not carry out more?”
“You think we did not want to? There was no time! No time!”
Nan Zhu spread his hands, explained about the golden giant’s deadline for them to leave, and emphasised that carrying heavy loads meant they could not fly and had to walk, so each trip took considerable time. He repeatedly stated that there truly was not enough time.
After hearing this, Yu Qing pondered for a while, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the loaded carts, then finally turned and walked towards Wu Hei and his son.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie exchanged glances, both somewhat surprised. They had thought Yu Qing would come back to settle scores with them over Qiao Qie’er’s matter, but he did not utter a single word of blame. It was as if nothing had happened, as if he had returned to normal.
Little Black was practising flying, tugging on the flying insect’s leg and being dangled through the air.
That flying insect had clearly been taught a lesson by Wu Hei as well, and was quite cooperative.
“Oh, is that not the Rat Crone’s walking stick? You got it to be your son’s toy?”
Yu Qing cheerfully sidled up to Wu Hei.
Wu Hei looked him up and down. He actually very much wanted to ask how he was doing, or offer condolences, but seeing Yu Qing’s manner, he ultimately did not say it. He simply responded with a “Mm.”
Yu Qing asked again, “Where do you plan to go after leaving here?”
Wu Hei: “Haven’t thought about it yet.”
Yu Qing said directly, “Go to Youjiao Port. I have a very large shop there, with a beautiful courtyard and many empty rooms. Yet my shop barely has any people, nor many customers. It is more than enough for you father and son to live freely.”
Wu Hei stared at him intently, his expression clearly thoughtful.
Yu Qing: “This place looks safe on the surface, but who knows if there are eyes watching us in the shadows? The force behind the Iron Mask could strike at you father and son at any moment. I know you are not afraid, but your son is still young. Relatively speaking, there may be no safer place in the world than Youjiao Port. Under the nose of Youya, no one would dare act recklessly. Staying at my place, you get peace and quiet with the doors closed, and the splendour of the world when you open them.”
Seeing the other still showed no reaction, he nodded towards Little Black, “To be honest, I think Little Black is quite a good child. He just did not end up with a suitable father, so much so that he cannot even speak properly. That is your fault. Since you want to bring him into the world, should he not learn to live like ordinary people?
I truly think Little Black is good. It would be a waste for him to be ruined in your hands. Do you think you can teach him well? To speak bluntly, I may not match you in fighting and killing, but when it comes to picking up a brush to write and paint, you probably are no match for me. Why not let me try teaching Little Black?”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie’s gazes met, then both turned away with numb expressions, countless turtles crawling in their hearts.
This was the world’s number one talent! Wu Hei, who had always been indifferent, now showed deep emotion on his face, even a slight sense of unease. He asked in return, “If we father and son move in, would it not be too much trouble for you?”
Yu Qing immediately asked his two senior brothers, “Would it be troublesome?”
Mu Aotie affirmed, “Not troublesome.”
Nan Zhu puffed out his chest, “What trouble? We are all family. We can be considered to have shared life and death together. When you go there, treat it as your own home. To speak unpleasantly, there are countless people in this world who want Old Fifteen to teach their children to read. Many come bearing untold sums of money to request it, yet Old Fifteen refuses every single one. For Old Fifteen to be willing to teach someone of his own accord, Little Black truly is the first. It seems Little Black really does have potential. It would be too great a waste to let it go.”
Yu Qing waved his hand, “No point saying such things. I just think, where else would we go? Would we harm you father and son?”
Wu Hei looked at his son dangling in mid-air playing, the corners of his mouth tightening, then finally nodded, “Very well, then I shall follow your advice.”
Nan Zhu immediately beamed, “Aiya, no need to be so polite. From now on we are family. If you are always this polite, how will we get along in the future?”
Wu Hei promptly responded, “From now on, call me Heizi.”
Yu Qing smiled, turned his head to look up, and shouted, “Little Black, come down, we are leaving.”
Wu Hei immediately flashed into the air to catch his son, who was playing with utter delight.
Nan Zhu took the chance to whisper beside Yu Qing, “Is it appropriate to have them stay at our place?”
Yu Qing replied blandly, “If they are not appropriate, then there are no appropriate people. Are there any father and son with a cleaner background than them?”
Nan Zhu tilted his head to think, then nodded, “That is true.”
Soon, the convoy loaded with “wine” set off, flying the banner of “Rift Valley Manor.”
The three senior brothers escorted the convoy at the front, middle, and rear.
Along the way, whenever they encountered a city, they would find a bank, using the banner of “Rift Valley Manor” to exchange for silver notes. They never exchanged too much at once, depending on the bank’s size, at most a few million taels in notes.
After more than ten days, all the gold was cleared out. As Nan Zhu had estimated, the three senior brothers only received about five million taels in notes, while Wu Hei alone had roughly twenty-one million taels.
Compared to the gains from their last exit from Xiaoyun Realm, compared to incomes in the hundreds of millions, this amount truly failed to raise the spirits of the three senior brothers.
But the three also understood that such windfalls could not be encountered frequently. The current income was already quite substantial.
With all the gold exchanged, the convoy was dismissed. They did not let the drivers work for nothing, giving them one hundred thousand taels of silver in one go. The drivers returned overjoyed, already discussing what goods to buy and bring back, since the carts were all ready anyway.
Before they even returned to Rift Valley Manor, Yu Qing and the others had already arrived back at Youjiao Port.
That it went so smoothly surprised even them. They had been worried the whole way that the mastermind behind the scenes would strike again.
Youjiao Port was as bustling as ever, with flowing lights dancing and fantastical shadows.
Wu Hei and his son walking the streets curiously looked all around, both looking like country bumpkins entering the city for the first time, which indeed it was.
Little Black was especially excited. Children loved this kind of fantastical scene.
He had reluctantly put on clothes and shoes under the adults’ insistence, but still let his hair hang loose. The tied-up hair was always undone by him, shoes were constantly kicked off, and clothes always made him look uncomfortable. In the end, he was simply not used to it.
Also, everywhere he went he carried a stick over his shoulder. Standing in front of someone’s door, he either looked like a beggar with a dog-beating staff, or like he was about to smash the door down.
The stick was actually the Rat Crone’s walking stick. Now either the stick carried him flying, or he ran around carrying the stick.
Walking and browsing, the group finally arrived beneath the sign of “Miaoqing Hall.”
The shop door was open. Yu Qing reached out with a gesture of invitation. As the group entered, they ran into Sun Ping looking outwards.
Suddenly seeing Yu Qing and the others return, Sun Ping was visibly stunned. The gazes of the three senior brothers instantly became profound.
Sun Ping quickly put on a smiling face, “Ah, the master is back.”
She hurriedly ran inside shouting, announcing Yu Qing and the others’ return.
Chong’er was the first to rush over upon hearing the news. Seeing Yu Qing, he immediately crossed his fingers, bowed excitedly, and said, “The young master has returned.”
“Mm.” Yu Qing casually pinched his cheek, always feeling the lad’s face was tender, making him want to test the texture at a glance.
Then came Tie Miaoqing. Seeing strangers among the returned group, she immediately became reserved and courteous.
Even Wu Hei could not help but look a few extra times at Tie Miaoqing’s beauty.
The stick on Little Black’s shoulder immediately pointed at Tie Miaoqing as he shouted loudly, “Pretty.”
Tie Miaoqing smiled gently.
Wu Hei quickly pressed down the stick in his son’s hand and glared at his son.
Second senior brother Gao Yunjie arrived unhurriedly with his hands behind his back, putting on a morally upright air, and asked blandly, “Did the trip to the Nether Sea go smoothly?”
Yu Qing stopped. Under everyone’s gaze, he fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, “Not very smoothly. Nearly lost our lives. Someone had grasped our every move, even knew in advance where we were going, and had laid an ambush along the way waiting for us.” With that, he strode away.
Nan Zhu also let out a cheerful sound, speaking in a yin-yang tone, “This ‘Miaoqing Hall’ is truly strange. Why does it always leak information everywhere?” With that, he too left.
Wu Hei did not care what was going on with them. Pinching his son’s neck, he followed.
Chong’er followed with a face full of shock and uncertainty.
Gao Yunjie’s face darkened. He reached out to stop Mu Aotie, asking in a deep voice, “What exactly happened?”
Mu Aotie brushed his hand aside, giving him, “That we could return with our lives is truly not easy.” With that, he too left.
Gao Yunjie frowned in thought.
Tie Miaoqing was already standing frozen in shock. If Yu Qing’s words were not obvious enough, then Nan Zhu’s words were practically pointing at certain people’s noses.
She suddenly looked at Sun Ping, hoping that Yu Qing and the others were overthinking it, hoping that she herself was overthinking it. Yet the Sun Ping she saw already had her head bowed in dejection, which made her heartstrings tremble. She asked in a trembling voice, “Ping Niang, was it really you?”
Sun Ping’s tears fell like rain, and she immediately burst into sobs…