Chapter 30: I Can Laze Around Again

In the Ning residence, in the carriage.

The situation on the chessboard was already clear.

With Old Master Ning’s last piece placed, there were no more pieces to be placed.

The scholar didn’t even count, and said coldly, “Mr. Taiyi, you have lost by thirty-seven points.”

Old Master Ning stroked his beard and smiled, “I’m old, I’m old. Zhuangyuan Lang, you let me win.”

The scholar looked at his smile and frowned.

To lose, but not like a stray dog, was in itself a manifestation of magnanimity.

But magnanimity needed confidence to support it.

Old Master Ning’s confidence was in Manfeng Mountain.

If he won outside the chess game, the chess game would just be a game of chess, and winning or losing would no longer be important.

The scholar’s thoughts moved slightly, and he suddenly understood, and said coldly, “Mr. Taiyi, your people still ate the demons of Manfeng Mountain in advance. You have received the dragon qi and also have confidence. Can I know why?”

Steward Zhao on the side also cast his gaze over. The round face with smile lines was now extremely stern, as cold as a piece of iron.

It could be said that if Ning Taiyi’s reply was not good, then… the Ning family would be completely finished.

No one liked to have a settled matter overturned.

Ning Taiyi bowed slightly and cupped his hands to Steward Zhao, “This time, the fault lies with me. I will get off the carriage first to arrange a banquet and apologize.”

Immediately, he looked at the scholar and said with a chuckle, “Zhuangyuan Lang, don’t be angry either. I will definitely explain everything clearly.”

Steward Zhao frowned impatiently and said directly, “Old Ning, you have already broken the rules. What is there to explain?”

As soon as the last word fell, a burst of hurried footsteps and the sound of metal scales colliding came from outside the carriage.

The black-armored soldiers blocking the main gate of the Ning residence felt their hair stand on end and suddenly stood up straight.

Not far away, a golden light surged from the ground.

In the golden light, two ghost-masked men appeared.

The black-armored soldiers all stared at the ghost-masked Taoist boy who was carrying a saber on his shoulders as if facing a great enemy. Some of them had even put their hands on the hilts of their sabers at their waists.

In their eyes, this ghost-masked Taoist boy’s qi and blood were soaring, as if emitting rolling wolf smoke.

The ghost-masked Taoist boy moved forward a little, and their bodies tensed up a little. It was only the quality of the army that prevented them from retreating.

The leader of the black-armored soldiers asked in a deep voice, “Who are you?!”

At this time, the curtain was lifted.

The gazes of the three people in the carriage were cast out.

When Old Master Ning saw his two returning sons, he finally let out a long, long sigh of relief. He would rather die himself than have these two sons die.

The scholar closed his eyes slightly, raised his hand to pick up a piece, and slowly put it into the chess jar.

The ghost-masked Taoist boy did not answer.

In the distance, Chou Nu cupped his hands and, with the etiquette of a subordinate to a superior, said respectfully, “Mr. Taiyi, on Manfeng Mountain, Qingfeng and I were intercepted by another Heavenly Master and Taoist boy.”

In the carriage, when the scholar heard this, his hand paused, but it was only for a moment. He still had some self-control.

Chou Nu said, “Those two helped the tyrant to do evil and assisted the demons, so Qingfeng and I killed them.”

As he spoke, Ning Xuan threw out a large bag from his back.

The blood-stained, shattered strong crossbow, as well as some shattered purple robes and broken personal ornaments, were scattered all over the ground.

Thud.

The chess piece in the scholar’s hand fell in shock, hit the chessboard, bounced, and then rolled to the ground, rolling to a dark corner.

The scholar hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

Old Master Ning suddenly looked at Steward Zhao, his face full of indignation, “Steward Zhao! Speaking of which, I am also the General’s man, right?”

Steward Zhao was also stunned. He looked at the scholar who was bending down to pick up the chess piece, and his eyes also wrinkled. Immediately, he let out a laugh and raised his hand to press down, “Alright, alright, Old Ning, let’s investigate clearly first.”

As he spoke, he looked at the two people in the distance, and his gaze finally fell on the ghost-masked Taoist boy.

He recognized Chou Nu, but he did not recognize this one.

And from the conversation between the two, he also knew the general situation of the incident: in order to be foolproof, the Zhuangyuan Lang had sent his trusted subordinates to wait in Manfeng Mountain. As long as Ning Taiyi dared to let Chou Nu go to wipe out the demons of Manfeng Mountain, that trusted subordinate would secretly make a move, borrow a knife to kill someone, and then leave without a trace. This matter had no evidence, so of course it could not be brought to the table. But now, the matter had been botched.

He was very curious about how this matter had been botched.

His intuition told him that the problem was with this ghost-masked Taoist boy.

He tilted his head and said curiously, “This is?”

Old Master Ning smiled and said, “Xuan’er, why don’t you take off your mask and call him… Uncle Zhao.”

The ghost-masked Taoist boy immediately took off his mask, revealing a young man’s face.

Ning Xuan shouted from a distance, “Uncle Zhao!”

Steward Zhao nodded blankly, then looked at Old Master Ning and said, “This…”

Old Master Ning said, “My son doesn’t have any demonic aura, right?”

Steward Zhao stared for a long time and shook his head.

Old Master Ning said, “This time, my son and Chou Nu went to Manfeng Mountain together. My son was the Taoist boy.”

Steward Zhao’s Adam’s apple rolled. He suddenly understood what Ning Taiyi wanted to do.

Old Master Ning said, “If you don’t believe me, you can have someone test him?”

Steward Zhao glanced at the dozen or so black-armored soldiers and was about to ask them to test Ning Xuan’s background, but he saw at a glance that the leader was sweating profusely, and the dozen or so people behind him had extremely nervous expressions.

He was not a martial artist.

But these dozen or so people were not weak martial artists.

He glanced again at the shattered crossbow and purple robe that were still stained with fresh blood.

Of course he knew that if the Zhuangyuan Lang was willing to send people, he must have calculated that he would win.

In other words, Chou Nu could not have killed those two people.

Then…

Steward Zhao had completely understood Ning Taiyi’s plan. He closed his eyes and sighed lightly, “This matter is of great importance. I don’t have the final say…”

Old Master Ning said, “I am also considered General Qin’s man, so I let you see this matter first. If not, it’s not that I can’t directly take Xuan’er to the imperial capital.”

Steward Zhao said hurriedly, “I understand, I understand.”

Immediately, he looked at Ning Xuan and said, “Nephew, please show me a slash.”

Ning Xuan nodded, and without any nonsense, he instantly drew his saber and delivered a Swallow’s Union at the air.

A sharp and extremely piercing hum immediately sounded in the air.

The faces of the black-armored soldiers next to him changed drastically.

Steward Zhao was also a connoisseur.

He looked at Ning Xuan seriously, sized him up, and then said, “Nephew is truly a young hero, with a limitless future.”

Immediately, he looked at Ning Taiyi and said, “Old Ning, the General will definitely investigate the matter of the sneak attack on Manfeng Mountain and give you an explanation.

And I also know about Nephew Ning’s matter.

There will be a reply on this matter by the end of the month at the latest.

As for the handover before the end of next month, it will definitely be postponed, but I have no authority to decide. Let me report to the General first.

You can rest assured, General Qin is a person who cherishes talent, and you are also considered a person of my General’s residence. It won’t go wrong.”

Ning Taiyi nodded and said, “Then I’ll have to trouble Brother Zhao.”

The smile lines on Steward Zhao’s fat face were all spread out. He cupped his hands and said, “Brother Ning is too polite.”

Immediately, he glanced at the scholar who was still looking for the chess piece and shouted, “Zhuangyuan Gong?”

The scholar did not answer.

He shouted again, “Zhuangyuan Gong, have you found the chess piece?”

Seeing that he could not avoid it, the scholar said in a low voice, “It’s not easy to find…”

Steward Zhao said, “You can tell the General about this yourself when you go back.”

A moment later…

The soldiers from General Qin’s residence, who had come with great momentum to question and punish, left in a hurry.

In the study of the Ning residence…

After Chou Nu had explained the matter to Old Master Ning, Old Master Ning also looked at Ning Xuan in astonishment.

How did he not know that his own son had been raised like this?

But after the astonishment, it was full of relief and joy.

His worried brows relaxed, and his solemn face also had a smile.

He praised repeatedly, “Good, good, good.”

Only then did Chou Nu say, “Mr. Taiyi, Young Master Ning’s aptitude is extremely high, and the Son of Heaven will surely value him. Why did you have to tell General Qin first, and then have him report it upwards?”

His words were a bit rushed and a bit unhappy.

Old Master Ning stroked his beard and smiled.

How could he not know what kind of person Chou Nu was?

Chou Nu was not asking for himself, but for Ning Xuan, to help Ning Xuan vent his anger.

Ning Xuan was young and vigorous. He was unwilling to be subservient to others before. Now that he had performed so well, he must be thinking “Heaven is first, and I am second.” He must be thinking “I can also become a general, why do I have to go through this damn General Qin”?

So, he said, “Before there was dragon qi, the officialdom was already extremely complicated. Now that there is dragon qi, it is even more unimaginable. This superficial puppet imperial court and the real imperial court in the background are not to be trifled with.

I have been struggling for a lifetime, but I have not been able to see through the ways of it, nor have I been able to find out how deep this water is.

The major forces are even more entangled with each other… Xuan’er may have aptitude, but his foundation is shallow.”

Chou Nu said unhappily, “So what if his foundation is shallow? Who didn’t fight their way up? Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don’t bully the young and poor! Mr. Taiyi, are you underestimating the Young Master?”

When the two were talking, they were both secretly looking at Ning Xuan.

The expression on Ning Xuan’s face was a bit anxious.

Old Master Ning couldn’t help but say, “Xuan’er, what… are you thinking?”

Ning Xuan finally let out a sigh of relief and then said, “I’m thinking, can I move?”

“Move?” Old Master Ning said curiously, “Where are you going to move?”

Ning Xuan said seriously, “This time, my killing intent was too heavy. I want to move to Wangyue Prefecture, so that I can often go to the Zen monastery to offer incense and wash away the killing intent in my heart with the tranquility of the Zen monastery.”

Old Master Ning looked at Chou Nu.

Chou Nu nodded. He had seen Ning Xuan’s killing intent, and knew that his younger brother was not lying.

Old Master Ning thought for a moment and felt that there was no problem.

He had been operating in Wangyue Prefecture for nearly thirty years, and all the people there were his. What’s more, his own son was so fierce.

His son was sensible.

Old Master Ning was greatly relieved.

“Pack up and go.” Old Master Ning waved his hand in relief. He didn’t even ask where his son would move.

The entire Wangyue Prefecture was his eyes and ears, why bother to ask?

He left as soon as he said so.

In the morning, he was a demon-slaying guest, and at night, he arrived at the Chenxiang Pavilion.

Xiao Jie stopped the carriage, glanced at the Young Master, and asked, “Didn’t you say you were going to worship the Bodhisattva?”

Ning Xuan said, “I’m going to worship the female Bodhisattva.”

After speaking, he excitedly walked towards the brightly lit and fragrant gentle village in the distance.