Behind Fu Juemin was Fu Guosheng’s study. Judging by Li Tong’s direction, Fu Guosheng must have summoned him to discuss sothing.
Li Tong hadn’t attended tonight’s banquet. He probably still didn’t know about the evening’s turmoil.
"Uncle Tong."
Fu Juemin greeted Li Tong familiarly, and Li Tong smiled and nodded in return.
The information Zhou Yunzhi had inadvertently revealed had led Fu Juemin to discover so of Li Tong’s secrets, which seed related to the car accident that killed his predecessor.
But upon seeing Li Tong, he still feigned ignorance, acting just as he always had.
Just as they were about to pass each other, Fu Juemin suddenly stopped and said out of the blue, "There’s sothing I’d like to ask you, Uncle Tong."
"Hm?"
Li Tong stopped, looking at Fu Juemin with so surprise. "Young Master, what is it you wish to ask ?"
Fu Juemin thought for a mont, then said, "I want to ask, Uncle Tong, if a regular person were to encounter a Tongxuan Realm Martial Artist, what thods could they use besides gunpowder and firearms?"
Hearing Fu Juemin’s question, a strange glint flashed through Li Tong’s eyes, but he surprisingly didn’t ask why. He just mulled it over and replied, "Poison, drugs, Hidden Weapons, traps...
"To deal with a Tongxuan Realm Martial Artist, the key is to break through the Vitality Qi mbrane that surrounds their body. Once that Qi mbrane is broken, forget foreign guns and gunpowder—even an ordinary sword or saber can injure them."
"Break the Qi mbrane?.."
Fu Juemin nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Uncle Tong."
He wasn’t worried that Li Tong would wonder about his reasons for asking. The events of the evening couldn’t be kept secret, and Li Tong would find out soon enough.
After asking his question, Fu Juemin turned and left, making his way to his room on the third floor.
Waving away the attending servant, Fu Juemin sat alone at his desk.
’Qi mbrane...’
Under the desk lamp, Fu Juemin took out his silver revolver. The scene replayed in his mind: Song Lin’s brawny Tongxuan subordinate lunging at him, and his Second Uncle, Fu Guoping, forcing the man back, shot by shot.
’A single bullet from an ordinary rifle can’t even penetrate his Protective Qi mbrane...’
Fu Juemin stared at the revolver in his hand, gently caressing the beautiful foreign script and olive leaf pattern on the grip. ’But what if multiple bullets hit the exact sa spot, one after another?’
A multitude of ideas flooded his mind.
Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered. A mont later, he put the revolver away and took out the Pharmacist Buddha Sutra, reading it page by page.
...
The Hu Mansion.
By now, the guests in the front hall had mostly dispersed. Only a few remained, "lingering, unwilling to leave."
These people were lying scattered across the floor. Beneath them, large pools of dark red blood slowly seeped out, staining the imported colored tiles.
Song Lin crouched beside the corpse of a wide-eyed girl, pulling her snow-white sleeve over to ticulously wipe his military boots.
A mont later, he stood up, satisfied. He scanned the mbers of the Hu Family, who were silent as cicadas in winter, then turned to Hu Fulai at his side and asked, "Is everyone hidden?"
"Yes, yes..."
The massive Hu Fulai was drenched in sweat. He forced a smile onto his deathly pale face and said fawningly, "They’ve all been hidden for a while now, just waiting for Young Master Song to go find them."
"I have a habit. Whenever I go to a new place, I have to play a few gas to have my fun..."
Song Lin grinned, pulling out the gilded pistol at his waist, eager to start. "County Magistrate Hu, you can join for this round. After all, this is your ho. With you, the host, to guide the way, my search should go more smoothly."
"Of course! Of course!"
Hu Fulai’s smile was uglier than a grimace. The sweaty handkerchief in his hand was so damp he could almost wring water from it.
"Then let’s go."
Song Lin called out and strolled toward the covered walkway by the side door of the front hall. As he walked, he spoke to the two guards at his side.
"Uncle Bai, what’s the background of that woman from tonight?"
He was asking the gray-haired, green-robed old man, one of his two Martial Family bodyguards.
"The Tongxuan expert with her practices the Profound Sleeve Skill, a secret technique from the forr dynasty’s inner court.
"In the world today, only the Su Erjia Luo Clan, who were imperial relatives of the forr dynasty, still possess the lineage for this Cultivation Technique."
"The Su Erjia Luo Clan that produced two Empresses and eight imperial concubines?!"
Song Lin clicked his tongue, then suddenly laughed. "I’ve lived this long... and I’ve never played with an imperial concubine before."
As he spoke, Song Lin, without any warning, raised his hand and fired at a rockery outside the walkway.
A gunshot rang out. The maids trailing behind them all scread, covering their ears. At the sa ti, with a THUD, a figure rolled out from behind the rockery, blood gushing from a wound in their chest.
Judging by their appearance and attire, it must have been a servant of the Hu Mansion.
"Keep a tally."
Song Lin turned his head and ordered the sowhat stunned Hu Fulai.
Before Hu Fulai could react, he was already strolling forward, gun in hand.
"Uncle Bai, what do you think of my idea?"
"I advise the Young Master to dismiss this notion."
The green-robed old man spoke calmly.
"Why?"
Song Lin paused, his expression displeased. "No matter how powerful the Su Erjia Luo Clan is, can they really lead an army into Yangping?"
"Leading an army here is naturally impossible."
The green-robed old man shook his head. "But with the Su Erjia Luo Clan’s resources, sending a few experts to sneak into Yangping, take the Young Master’s head, and leave would be an effortless task."
"Can’t even you stop them, Uncle Bai?"
Song Lin’s brow furrowed slightly, but then relaxed. He said dismissively, "Fine, then. Forget it."
He walked a few steps forward and fired again, this ti at a corridor pillar. The sound of the gunshot startled a servant hiding behind it, who imdiately scrambled to run.
Song Lin fired several more shots, finally killing the person. He couldn’t help but laugh as he said, "County Magistrate Hu, that’s two. Are you keeping count...?"
"Yes... yes..."
Facing this demonic figure who treated human life like dirt, Hu Fulai was now beyond shock or numbness. He could only nod blankly.
Suddenly, he heard Song Lin say, "Oh, right. County Magistrate Hu, what was the na of that most powerful and influential family in Luan River that you ntioned tonight...?"
Before Hu Fulai could respond, Song Lin’s other guard—a brawny man wearing Soft Armor with a centipede-like scar on his face—answered first. "The Fu Family, Young Master."
The brawny man casually dug a long, narrow bullet out from under his shoulder plate and said coldly, "Fu the Second shot eight tis. I rember every single one.
"Young Master, should I take so n and storm them tonight? Just give two hours..."
A cruel glint appeared in the scar-faced man’s eyes, and his expression turned bloodthirsty.
Hu Fulai was so horrified that the fat on his face trembled. He was just about to say sothing when he heard Song Lin let out a soft laugh.
"Do you think this is like the poor, small counties we visited before? Don’t forget why we ca out here. Get rid of that bandit-like attitude of yours..."
Song Lin’s eyes scanned his surroundings as he continued his leisurely stroll. He said lightly, "Luan River is no ordinary county. Before the Xin Republic’s Governnt implented the ’province-county two-tier system,’ Luan River was designated as a prefecture.
"And I, your Young Master, would like to have so fun here for a good long while..."
"Then this matter..."
The scar-faced man narrowed his eyes. Without any visible effort, he slowly crushed the bullet in his hand into a small, flat brass disc.
"We can’t just let it go. Getting shot... it hurts, after all."
"Uncle Bai knows the most appropriate way to handle this."
Song Lin glanced at Hu Fulai beside him and said aningfully, "And County Magistrate Hu will also tell us the best way to deal with this Fu Family..."
With that, Song Lin bent down and waved at a little girl, dressed up like a porcelain doll, who was peeking curiously at them from under a window lattice ahead. He called out with a grin, "Co on, co play hide-and-seek with Uncle~~"
When Hu Fulai heard Song Lin’s words and saw the little girl hesitantly about to walk toward them, his heart clenched violently.
His portly body suddenly lunged forward, just barely blocking the path between the girl and Song Lin.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he lowered his voice and spoke rapidly, "Is Young Master Song concerned that using force against the Fu Family from the start might alarm the other major families in Luan River, thereby jeopardizing the grand plan to follow?
"The Fu Family has operated in Luan River for many years; their power and connections are deep and tangled. Fu the Second has a private fortress outside the city with several hundred n under his command. It would indeed be difficult to take them by force...
"But I have an idea. One that will allow Young Master Song to devour the Fu Family with ease, without having to resort to a major conflict..."
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