Free Web NovelChapter 236: Chapter 236: Master Zhu: Feigning Foolishness? Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger?
Master Zhu had prepared a banquet with entertainment at the Beast God Hall branch in Qi Yuan City. To cater to her tastes, the singers and dancers were, naturally, all men.
A dozen handsome men danced gracefully, and Yu An thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
Ao Yi was also there. Seeing how intently Yu An was watching, he felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of relief that the Lord hadn’t come along.
’Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble he would have started with the Hall Master...’
’No, why am I thinking this? I’m not even familiar with the Lord, and I don’t know what his temperament is like.’
Although Yu An had never explicitly stated whether Feng Xuan was her husband, everyone in the Beast God Hall had tacitly accepted it as fact.
Ao Yi shook his head slightly, suspecting that staying up all night had started to affect him.
When the song ended, the other men withdrew, leaving only the one who had been the center of the performance. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Master Zhu smiled. "Hall Master, this is my son. He has admired you for a long time. I wonder if he might have the honor of serving by your side?"
’Admired me for a long time?’
The corner of Yu An’s mouth twitched. ’I’ve been in this position for less than a month, and I was living on the Divine Mountain before that. Where could Master Zhu’s son have possibly developed this admiration for me?’
’He’s just spouting nonsense!’
Yu An didn’t even look up. She chuckled softly. "Master Zhu, what is the meaning of this? Did you think this is why I came here?"
Just as Master Zhu was about to reply, Yu An slammed her teacup on the table. Her voice turned icy. "The missing people of Qi Yuan City have not yet been found, and yet Master Zhu is already trying to present me with beautiful men. Are you trying to frame me as an unjust and negligent leader?!"
"Hall Master, forgive me!"
Master Zhu’s face went deathly pale. He dropped to his knees, trembling. "Your subordinate... Your subordinate was only..."
Just as he was about to defend himself, Yu An said nonchalantly, "With such fanfare. Do you take me for someone who indulges in carnal pleasures?"
Master Zhu swallowed the words of his defense. A sudden realization dawned on him.
’I arranged it at the wrong time!’
People always talk about accepting both wealth and beauties. He figured since Yu An had accepted the gold and silver, throwing in a handsome man would be the icing on the cake and please her even more.
But he had forgotten that while treasure can be accepted quietly in private, a person is different. This was at a public banquet. If word got out...
Master Zhu quickly shouldered all the blame. "It is my fault. I will accept any punishment. I beg for the Hall Master’s forgiveness!"
Yu An let him squirm for two seconds before saying, as if bestowing a great favor, "Get up. Have them all leave. We’ll have a simple meal. We still have to investigate the case this afternoon."
Master Zhu shot his son a look, and the son immediately withdrew.
Afterward, they ate and drank as if the earlier incident had never happened. Yu An’s attitude toward Master Zhu was as amiable and pleasant as ever.
That evening, Master Zhu escorted Yu An and her entourage to the residence where they were staying. Not long after, Ao Yi left his room and knocked on Yu An’s door.
"Come in."
Yu An was handling official business that had just been delivered from Beast God City that afternoon. She figured she would be here for a long time, so to avoid delays, she had simply requested it be sent to Qi Yuan City by express courier.
Along with the documents were letters from Feng Xuan and the Zaizai. She hadn’t had a chance to read them before Ao Yi arrived.
Ao Yi entered holding a thick stack of papers. He reported, "Hall Master, I’ve found some things regarding Master Zhu. His hands are indeed... not very clean."
As Yu An looked it over, he added, "Time was short, so I brought what I’ve found so far. The rest is still under investigation."
"Master Zhu’s wealth was not obtained through legitimate means. A gold mine was discovered near Qi Yuan City. He never reported it to his superiors and has been mining it secretly."
Mining requires manpower, but the Beast God Hall has regulations regarding miners’ working hours and wages. Furthermore, a messenger from the main temple must supervise the mining, and seventy percent of the mined ore must be turned over to the public coffers. After all those deductions, there wouldn’t be much left for Master Zhu.
Yu An pondered for a moment. "And the miners? Where did they come from?"
Ao Yi shook his head. "I haven’t been able to determine that yet. However, I can say with certainty that those miners are not there voluntarily."
He paused, then said in a low, heavy voice, "My men discovered a mass grave near the gold mine."
It was filled with densely packed skeletons, as well as the bodies of recently deceased Beastmen. The sheer number of them piled together was appalling!
Yu An’s expression darkened. "The mining was done illicitly, and the origins of the miners... East Hall Master, do you think Master Zhu is behind the recent disappearance of those hundred-plus people?"
Ao Yi hesitated. "Hall Master, I had my men count the bodies in the mass grave. There are already several thousand in there. Logically, the disappearance of so many people should have caused a massive uproar. The fact that the citizens of Qi Yuan City haven’t questioned these disappearances suggests Master Zhu is quite capable."
"If he had a way to cover it up, why didn’t he cover up the disappearance of these hundred-plus people?"
Yu An thought he had a point. ’So, does that mean Master Zhu wasn’t behind the recent disappearances?’
"Keep investigating. But Zhu Chenghui doesn’t strike me as a clever man. To have the ability to suppress the disappearance of thousands of people... could it be... he’s far more cunning than he appears?"
Yu An was deeply perplexed. She couldn’t help but wonder if Master Zhu had someone pulling the strings.
Ao Yi was silent for a moment, then said diplomatically, "I also feel that Master Zhu isn’t exactly... ah... the sharpest tool in the shed."
’Could it be that we’ve all misjudged him? Is Master Zhu actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing?’
After Ao Yi left, Yu An took out the letter from Feng Xuan to read.
In the letter, Feng Xuan wrote that he’d heard the matter there was tricky, but not particularly dangerous, so he told Yu An to take her time and not be anxious.
The two Zaizai had each written a few lines, telling her to be safe. Although they were young, their handwriting was neat and tidy.
A small smile touched Yu An’s lips. She folded the letter, placed it back in the envelope, and put it away.
The moonlight was bright tonight. She watched it for a while, then suddenly tapped her head.
’Although the memories of my training on the Divine Mountain are in my head, they always felt unreal. If I really think about it, I can find a lot of holes.’
’For example, I discovered that despite having the Wood Element Ability for so many years, I never knew it could be used for healing.’
’Also, I supposedly went through countless life-and-death situations on the Divine Mountain, yet my body doesn’t have a single old scar.’
’My skin is smooth and fair, not like someone who has endured the elements and the clash of blades.’
’Most importantly...’
Yu An trusted her intuition. She felt that the times she spent with Feng Xuan and the two Zaizai were when she was most relaxed.
Only when surrounded by people she truly trusted could she feel so at ease.
Yu An silently resolved to make a trip to the Divine Mountain after she finished handling things in Qi Yuan City.
The moment this thought appeared, the Amulet she always wore suddenly grew hot. Yu An quickly pulled it out from under her collar. The Amulet was glowing red.
This Amulet was a gift from Lu Lu. Seeing the Amulet acting strangely, before she could even summon Lu Lu, it poked its head out on its own.
In an anxious and pleading tone, it said, "An’an, please don’t go looking for the Beast God, okay?"
"Why?"
Yu An was confused. "Lu Lu, there’s something wrong with my memories. I can only guess that the Beast God did this. I would rather die than live my life in a daze with replaced memories. I have to know the truth."
