Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 207 - 164 Slum

Chapter 207: Chapter 164 Slum

"Yuan Hao..."

A faint murmur arose.

Xu Xinyao’s beautiful eyes pondered as if searching for memories related to this name in her memory.

After a long while, she looked towards Xu Yuan and asked softly,

"Third Brother, why has Xinyao never heard of this person at the ’Age Gathering’?"

Under the Prime Minister’s Mansion were numerous branches that gathered intelligence, financial resources, food supplies, and maintained workshops for equipment, among other things. The higher-ranking managers reported to the capital every three years. Originally, it was once every year, but since some provinces were too far and the journey troubled by many inconveniences, it was changed to every three years after the situation stabilized, aligning with the schedule of the Imperial Court officials coming to the capital for their posts.

It was somewhat similar to a company’s annual meeting.

Among these people, many important characters had to meet Xu Yinhè in the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

As a child she knew nothing, finding only the bustle, but as she grew older, she also came to understand a lot.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan rolled his eyes:

"Father isn’t planning on having you take over, and with so many people hidden in plain sight under his command, how could he possibly let you know everything?"

Xu Xinyao pouted, "Then do you know, Third Brother?"

"....." Xu Yuan.

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan shrugged:

"I know now."

He paused,

then he side-glanced at Ran Qingmo beside him and said unhurriedly:

"However, the Black Scale Guards previously contacted me, saying that this Yuan Hao seems very dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"Dangerous?" Xu Xinyao’s eyes showed a hint of puzzlement.

Combining memories from his previous life with the information learned recently, Xu Yuan spoke in a low voice:

"He likes to kill people."

"......"

Xu Xinyao’s eyes widened slightly.

Xu Yuan leaned back gently against the coarse cushions inside the carriage and said softly,

"Five years ago, the Xuanqing Sect of Huai’an Prefecture allied with Prince Xiang to rebel. This man followed the Marquis of Zhenxi to suppress the rebellion, and in the end, he killed all his surrendering soldiers, chopping off their heads and erecting them as a display in the capital."

With a bit of hesitation, Xu Xinyao asked,

"Could it be due to insufficient provisions or difficulty in control?"

Besides the general security forces, Dayan’s regular troops were all cultivator warriors. Whether it was the Imperial Court or the Sects, such an army could still cause an uproar without their weapons if not watched carefully.

Xu Yuan shook his head, "No, he just likes killing people, that’s all."

Xu Xinyao fell silent for a moment and then spoke in a low voice,

"If he likes slaughter so much, why not arrange for him to go to the Wanxing Mountain Range?"

"Xinyao."

Xu Yuan looked into her eyes and said, word by word,

"Yuan Hao likes to kill humans, not other creatures."

"...."

Silence.

Xu Xinyao frowned, "Why?"

"How am I supposed to know why?"

Xu Yuan shrugged, "I guess he is just a psychopath, but apparently this psychopath is quite capable of leading troops. Heh... only Father would dare to employ such a person."

Xu Xinyao didn’t speak again.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan said no more and raised his hand to knock on the wall of the carriage.

The crisp knock of "dup dup" sounded twice, and the wooden window in front was pulled open, followed by a somewhat ingratiating male voice:

"Young Master, may I ask what you need?"

Xu Yuan asked directly, "Do you know Ping Shui Bay?"

This demonic beast carriage was bought from a rest stop more than a hundred miles outside Wanxiang City for the purpose of finding rest and avoiding attention, not too luxurious, just a standard model. The carriage was equipped only with a sound-cancelling formation, and the beast was just an Ear-Rabbit Horse, which couldn’t be guided by will-spirit, so they also hired a local carriage driver familiar with the area.

Upon hearing the question, the driver was slightly stunned, then hesitantly replied,

"I do indeed know the place, but..."

"But?"

"It’s near the docks, the area has a mixed crowd, it’s very chaotic, the young ladies might encounter trouble if they go there, and there will be a fee."

Xu Yuan glanced at Ran Qingmo and Xu Xinyao across from him and smiled,

"Is that so? No matter, just drive us there. I will pay you an extra thirty percent."

"....."

The driver chuckled dryly and his tone became more respectful,

"Alright, just a moment, we should arrive in about half an hour."

With that, the driver steered the carriage onto a large roadway for beast carriages, speeding toward the southern part of the city....

...

...

...

Ping Shui Bay.

Coming out from Shuan Ma Manor, Xu Yuan’s first reaction to the outside scene was chaos, chaotic by more than a hundred times than the train station he had seen in his childhood in his previous life.

Shouting, cursing, fighting, and laughing melded together into a noisy tumult,

Passing passenger and merchant ships were endless, large cargo carriages rolled out from the harbor and dispersed into various parts of the city, groups of porters squatted by the shore joking in groups, merchants, travelers, hawkers, and among them, Xu Yuan also spotted many sword-carrying Sect disciples.

Around the docks lay a dense low-rise residential area, or rather, a slum.

The densely packed buildings twisted like braids. Shanties and wooden houses were askew, far removed from the orderly entrance to the city. There was no sign of city planning.

Making his way to one of the alley entrances in the slum, he asked for directions and then walked inside.

Xu Yuan felt these narrow and dark alleys were just like the ones from movies where heroes performed assassinations.

As they delved deeper, Xu Yuan found his thoughts to be correct, as traces of blood were occasionally noticeable on the ground along the way.

But it wasn’t surprising; in this era, a slum wouldn’t be called a slum if a few people didn’t vanish every day.

Perhaps because it was daytime and the men were all out working, only some women could be seen occasionally sitting by their doorsteps, washing clothes or chatting.

However, these ladies seemed mostly indifferent to the sight of the three visitors with screens; they watched Xu Yuan and his companions arrive and then disappear without much reaction, continuing with their tasks as usual. The residents here were mostly born and raised in this place. Growing up in such slums, how could they not have seen a bit of the world?

After turning a few corners, the alleyway became utterly silent, save for the faint sound of boots on dirt.

Suddenly,

"Third Brother."

Xu Xinyao suddenly spoke up, using sound transmission.

"Hmm?"

Walking at the forefront, Xu Yuan slightly glanced to the side, "What’s the matter?"

Xu Xinyao suddenly asked in a low voice:

"Didn’t father say earlier that our visit this time was merely for negotiations and intimidation?"

With a smile, Xu Yuan said, "Of course, you heard it too earlier, father has no intention of waging war for the time being."

Xu Xinyao said softly:

"But Yuan Hao set the meeting place here."

"......"

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

It seemed that this fourth sister really wasn’t stupid.

If one wanted secrecy, Yuan Hao would most likely have chosen a remote location outside Wanxiang City with sprawling wilderness.

If he intended to entertain Xu Yuan, a supervisor dropped from the sky, wouldn’t he at least find a decent inn if not the top taverns and Hook Bars?

Yuan Hao was a man personally recruited by Xu Yinhè, he couldn’t be a fool.

The reason for choosing this kind of place was simple; the more chaotic the area, the easier it was to hide people.

After a pause, Xu Yuan asked softly:

"Do you think this is inappropriate?"

Xu Xinyao faintly expressed her unease:

"Big brother, you just said that Yuan Hao is a madman, hiding troops here could likely lead to trouble."

Xu Yuan nodded:

"Are you worried that he won’t follow father’s orders? That he’ll directly act against the Myriad Manifestation Sect for his own desires?"

"Yes," Xu Xinyao nodded.

Xu Yuan waved his hand dismissively:

"It’s not an issue."

"But..."

"Enough, if you don’t trust that Yuan Hao whom we’ve never met, you should at least trust our father’s judgment, right?"

Xu Yuan shook his head, looking at the narrow alley all around:

"I actually think Yuan Hao hasn’t made a mistake.

"Xinyao,

"Negotiating with a sword out versus negotiating with a sword against the opponent’s throat is quite different."

After a quiet moment, Xu Xinyao reminded softly:

"But there is a Protective City Formation within the city."

Xu Yuan shrugged his shoulders:

"Don’t ask me, I don’t know; later you can directly ask Yuan Hao."

"Alright..."

Without further conversation, they continued on their way and, after turning another corner, Xu Yuan and the two women arrived in an oddly quaint alley.

Some women with cheap rouge applied to their faces were sitting at the doorways, mostly plain or even ugly in appearance, their homespun clothes partly concealing and revealing, with varying figures.

Seeing such a street, Xu Yuan didn’t stop walking, but his eyebrow twitched involuntarily.

These women, seeing men arrive, all lit up, but on noticing the graceful figures of the two women following behind him, veiled just by thin muslin, they prudently returned to their previous languid poses.

Of course, there were still a few who made earnest attempts at casting amorous glances toward Xu Yuan.

Who knows, after gorging on delicacies, maybe he would crave a coarse grain bun.

Moving forward in silence,

Ran Qingmo’s eyes revealed a hint of confusion as she regarded these scantily clad women.

Xu Xinyao looked down, not watching.

They walked past doors that were firmly closed, some of them with one or two men waiting outside, uttering phrases not fit for polite company.

However, there were no fools rash enough to meddle with Xu Xinyao and Ran Qingmo; their outfits typically signified they were disciples of Sects, and being killed for an offensive comment often resulted in death, with compensation of a few pieces of silver dependent on the whim of the aggrieved party.

Out of the group, there was a man who, as the three walked away, started to say something derogatory with a licentious laugh, but a companion pulled him back:

"The ears of those divine lords are sharp, if you wish for death, go ahead and speak."

The street was long,

near the end, Xu Yuan’s eyes twitched uncontrollably again.

He saw a line, a very long line, about twenty or so people, most of them in linen clothes, and a few low-rank martial disciples, silently standing without speaking, likely unacquainted.

Seeing these people, Xu Yuan looked at the tightly shut door with an odd expression.

Just as he mused,

Ran Qingmo tugged at Xu Yuan’s sleeve:

"Xu Yuan..."

Xu Yuan responded softly:

"What’s wrong?"

Ran Qingmo, looking toward the tightly shut door, asked:

"Um... what are they doing?"

"Don’t you have will-spirit?"

"Master said, when traveling outside, one must not rashly use will-spirit to probe others." Ran Qingmo replied clearly.

"He’s right." Xu Yuan nodded, retracting his will-spirit, "It’s better not to look at this sort of thing."

"Then do you know what they are doing?" Ran Qingmo asked.

Without hesitation, Xu Yuan shook his head:

"I don’t know."

"Pfft..."

Xu Xinyao couldn’t help but laugh beside him.

Xu Yuan shot her a glare in return.

Xu Xinyao curled her lip.

Ran Qingmo looked at the siblings with puzzled eyes.

Xu Yuan cleared his throat:

"Enough, I’ll teach you another time when there’s a chance. Let’s drop it for now."

Underneath the muslin veil, Ran Qingmo’s beautiful eyes blinked as she nodded lightly:

"Alright."

And as the three passed by,

from that line, a martial disciple quietly left and followed behind Xu Yuan and his companions.