Chapter 174: Chapter 33 Xiaozhuo
The trading house was teeming with people, far busier than Baiyan City.
On both sides of the hall were shops, stocked with medicinal materials, weapons, armor, furs… a countless variety of artifacts.
As he walked among them, pondering where to seek information, Zhang Xuan heard a somewhat familiar voice.
“Mommy, I want to eat sugar-coated hawthorns…”
The voice was as clear as a bell, with a touch of baby talk. Looking over, Zhang Xuan saw a shapely woman leading a child of about three years old, standing in front of a sugar-coated hawthorn stall.
It was Xiaoying and Xiaozhuo, whom he had accidentally saved on the way here.
“You’re sick now and can’t eat sweets. When you’re better, Mommy will buy them for you…” Xiaoying said.
“Xiaozhuo is a good boy; I won’t eat them now, I’ll wait until I’m better. I want to eat a big sugar-coated hawthorn, as big as this house…” Xiaozhuo nodded his little head.
“Good boy, Xiaozhuo…”
Xiaoying smiled gently, about to pick up her son when he suddenly brightened up: “It’s Benefactor Uncle! Benefactor Uncle…”
Saying so, Xiaozhuo ran over.
Looking at him, Xiaoying’s heart “thumped.”
It was indeed the benefactor who had given her an Origin Currency and saved them from the hands of Lian Huo.
Had it been earlier, she would definitely have rushed over to express her boundless gratitude, but not long ago, upon learning that this benefactor was none other than Ling Buyang, the Boss of Lian Huo and his cohorts, she hesitated.
However, Xiaozhuo had already run over, and she dared not delay. She approached quickly and bowed with clasped hands: “Benefactor, I didn’t expect to encounter you here…”
Nodding his head, Zhang Xuan crouched down and smiled slightly: “Xiaozhuo, right? Do you want to eat sugar-coated hawthorns?”
He had learned the child’s name when he saved them.
“Yes, Benefactor Uncle, sugar-coated hawthorns taste so good, but Mommy says Xiaozhuo can’t eat them right now…”
Xiaozhuo turned his head, eyes filled with longing, then as if recalling something, and not wanting to worry his benefactor uncle, he smiled: “But it’s okay; Xiaozhuo’s illness will be better soon, and once it’s better, I can eat them!”
Ruffling his hair, Zhang Xuan smiled back: “You’re such an understanding child…”
He turned to Xiaoying: “How about it? Could the Red Leaf Herb possibly cure the child?”
“Yes, yes…” Xiaoying nodded quickly, tense.
“That’s good!”
Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief: “I have other business, so I’ll take my leave now…”
Seeing her recognition of his current identity, Zhang Xuan did not linger any longer and turned to leave.
Xiaoying sighed in relief, picked up her child, and hurried towards the medical hall.
Seeing her again was just a small episode for Zhang Xuan, not something he was concerned with. He soon arrived at a stall, purchased a trinket of little value, and asked with a smile, “Boss, I’ve heard of a place called Unnecessary Hall in our city, do you know of it…”
These small merchants and vendors, though seemingly at the bottom rung, often were well-connected with a wealth of information.
“Unnecessary Hall? Of course, I’ve heard of it. It’s a big establishment, located in the northern part of the city. Many people go there to learn. The Mo Blade Martial Skills and cultivation methods taught there are very powerful…”
The middle-aged boss, around forty, was very talkative and answered the question directly.
“I want to learn some skills, could you please tell me the detailed address…” Zhang Xuan handed over an Origin Currency.
The boss took it, his eyes lighting up as he explained in detail: “It’s over there…”
After listening, just as Zhang Xuan was about to find the location, he saw several sturdy men in black clothes, armed with swords, rushing past.
“Make way, you blind dogs…”
Two people didn’t manage to dodge in time and were sent flying, while the sturdy men didn’t stop for a second and continued on.
Zhang Xuan frowned.
The trading house was already crowded, and to charge through like this was a complete disregard for the rules.
“Who are these people?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“Them?”
The boss seemed accustomed to this: “They are members of the Trading House Enforcement Team, responsible for all affairs within the trading house. They’re used to acting belligerently. We small folk best not offend them… better to steer clear!”
True to his word, the two people who were hit, though innocent victims, did not complain but hurried away instead.
Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment but ultimately shook his head.
There were too many injustices in the world; one could not address them all.
He was about to walk away when the sound of an explosion of air came from not too far away, in the direction the enforcement team had run. It seemed someone had started fighting.
“Someone must have violated the trading house’s rules and got caught…” the boss speculated.
Zhang Xuan looked in the direction of the fight, but too many people were gathered around, and he couldn’t see a thing.
“You little thief, daring to steal our trading house’s medicinal materials… You’re courting death!”
A loud shout.
“I didn’t steal anything, we found this ourselves…” a weak voice responded.
Zhang Xuan frowned; the voice was familiar. Where had he heard it before?
“My daddy didn’t steal anything, Mommy and Daddy picked the medicine in the mountains…” a child’s voice piped up.
Zhang Xuan’s pupils shrank.
“Xiaozhuo?”
It couldn’t be that the Red Leaf Herb Yu Fei and the others had obtained had caught someone else’s eye, and they wanted to snatch it!
His brow furrowed, he rose to his feet and headed in the direction of the fight. Before he had gone far, the shouting from earlier came again.
“You little beast know nothing, a dog who courts death. If you won’t hand it over, then I’ll kill this little one…”
“Xiaozhuo, Xiaozhuo… I’ll fight it out with you…”
Immediately afterward, Xiaoying’s frenzied voice rose, and the next moment someone was kicked into the air, the sound of them crashing to the ground rang out, along with Yu Fei’s sorrowful cry.
“Xiaoying, Xiaoying… Xiaozhuo, Xiaozhuo, I’ll fight it out with you all…”
Something sounded wrong, and Zhang Xuan, paying no heed to anything else, hurriedly pushed through the crowded people in front of him and rushed in.
Yu Fei lay on the ground, his legs apparently broken, cradling the Xiaoying he had just seen; the Xiaozhuo who had wanted to eat a sugar gourd earlier lay in Xiaoying’s arms, covered in blood and motionless.
In front of them stood a middle-aged man with a fierce look on his face, and surrounding him were black-clad members of the patrol squads, each with a menacing air, shouting as they charged over, “Daring to steal medicine from our Merchants, you really must be bold…”
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists, anger surging into his mind.
Yu Fei and Xiaoying were just ordinary cultivators, seeking to heal their child, having offended no one. Did they deserve to die just because the Red Leaf Herb was precious?
He took a few steps forward, crouched down and asked, “How are you?”
Yu Fei’s eyes had lost focus. Seeing him, he suddenly laughed crazily, “Xiaoying and Xiaozhuo are gone! All for a single herb… Hahaha, all for a single herb… Since you want it so badly, then I’ll give it to you!”
With sudden force, Yu Fei released his strength, and the Red Leaf Herb in his palm exploded under the impact, the next moment blood spurted wildly from him, his heart veins shattered.
With his wife and child killed before his eyes, he had no more attachments and thus chose to end his own life.
“Yu Fei…”
Zhang Xuan had not anticipated such a resolute act and was too late to stop it. He hastily approached and transferred Heaven’s Path zhenqi into Yu Fei’s body through his arm.
At the same time, he placed his fingers on Xiaoying and Xiaozhuo, attempting to save them.
But even the powerful Heaven’s Path zhenqi, while it can heal the dead and help the injured, can’t bring back the dead.
“Dare to destroy our medicine, chop up this guy’s corpse, throw it out to feed the dogs…” the middle-aged man with the fierce face shouted, his eyes falling upon Zhang Xuan: “Who are you? Are you in this with the thief? To step forward voluntarily, that’s just great, come on, arrest him, torture him severely. I want to see if he has stolen any other medicine…”
Whoosh!
Before the scolding was over, in the blink of an eye, Zhang Xuan had already appeared before him, grabbing the man’s neck with one hand and lifting him up.
“What did you say? Say it again!”
Zhang Xuan’s face was contorted with rage.
Having become the master of an entire realm, he had long suppressed his emotions, devoid of joy, anger, sorrow, or delight, and had never been so enraged before.
At this moment, the young face that longed for a sugar gourd, along with the milky voice, echoed in his ears.
“Mama, I want a sugar gourd…”
“Xiaozhuo be a good boy, no more. Wait until my illness is cured, then I’ll have a big one, as big as this house…”
“Xiaozhuo’s illness is about to be cured, after it’s cured, you can have some!”
…
The middle-aged man, startled by the unexpected speed of this newcomer, trembled, “What are you doing? I am the Chief Manager of the Fuyuan Trading Company. If you dare to harm a single hair on me, our Boss will surely kill you…”
“Put down the Chief Manager!”
“You brat! If you don’t want to die, let him go quickly. Don’t think just because you have some strength you can do whatever you want, and not take notice of where you are!”
“Our Merchants’ Boss is none other than Feng Yizhou, a Ninefold Source Pool expert! And the Boss’s brother is even an Elder of the Heaven Mandate Hall… If you don’t want to bring trouble upon yourself, kneel down immediately and admit your wrongs!”
By this time, the strongmen in black around him had also reacted, rushing forward in unison, encircling Zhang Xuan in the center, their faces filled with anger.
The Trading Company had been in business for so many years and yet it was the first time anyone had dared to cause trouble here, daring to seize their Chief Manager.
“Why did you have to kill them!”
Ignoring the shouting of the crowd, Zhang Xuan looked at the Chief Manager he was holding, his gaze sharp as a knife.
“They stole medicine from the Merchants…”
The Chief Manager said through gritted teeth.
“Why did you have to kill them!” Zhang Xuan demanded, his fingers tightening.
“I, I…” the Chief Manager found it difficult to breathe, finally realizing that this man before him might truly kill him, no longer daring to waste words, “They, they had a Red Leaf Herb, that’s something the Boss wanted…”
“So you killed them over a single herb?” Zhang Xuan’s entire body was trembling.
“Who told that rogue not to give in! I even asked him for it, and he should have been grateful and handed it over immediately, yet he dared to resist…”
Before the Chief Manager could finish, he suddenly saw darkness, felt pain in his throat, and then lost consciousness.