Free Web NovelChapter 30: Chapter 30: Non-existent
The matter of the Qinghe Gang was no small affair.
After all, they were one of the three major gangs in Cangzhou Prefecture.
And so, as Jiang Ran walked, he constantly overheard people discussing it.
He learned quite a bit of news this way.
The incident had occurred last night.
But no one knew the exact time.
An old man who delivered vegetables to the Qinghe Gang was the one who found out. The back door, which was usually open every morning, was still shut today.
So, he went around to the front gate to take a look.
Only to find the main gate wide open, with blood flowing everywhere.
Disciples of the Qinghe Gang lay scattered about, bleeding from all seven orifices.
Moreover, there were no wounds on their bodies.
How exactly they died was a mystery.
There was also another rumor, its truthfulness uncertain.
It was said that a large number of bodies had been discovered in a secret chamber within the Qinghe Gang’s headquarters.
All the bodies were female, their figures shriveled and withered, as if all the blood had been drained from them.
This led to rumors that the Qinghe Gang Leader, Fan Yumou, and his son, Fan Jiwu, had been cultivating some evil art that harmed women.
The incident yesterday, where they had forcefully abducted a young woman, was likely not the first time. freewebnovel.cσ๓
It was merely the first time they had been caught.
Perhaps Fan Jiwu had been more careful before.
For some reason, however, Tang Huayi had suddenly stumbled upon his deeds.
Hearing this, Jiang Ran wasn’t surprised.
He had felt that something was off about the whole affair yesterday.
After all, why would Fan Jiwu, who supposedly had his limits, suddenly cross the line so brazenly?
And how could he have been discovered by the meddlesome Tang Huayi of all people?
The traces of contrivance were far too obvious.
But at the time, Jiang Ran had only assumed it was all a scheme by Fan Jiwu, or perhaps a plan by Fan Yumou, to get their hands on the Tang family’s vast fortune.
’But now it seems... the one who deliberately orchestrated this might not have been Fan Jiwu.’
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Jiang Ran arrived before a large gate.
It was the Cangzhou Prefecture Government Office!
Two government constables stood at the entrance. When they saw Jiang Ran approach, one of them recognized him.
"Back to collect another reward, brother?"
Jiang Ran cupped his fist.
"Not this time. I’ve come today to visit Steward Liu. May I ask if the steward is in the Government Office?"
"Oh... yes, he is."
The government constable smiled.
"Please wait a moment. I’ll go inform him."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Jiang Ran let out a sigh of relief.
After waiting at the gate for only a short while, he saw Steward Liu jogging out, a smile on his face from a distance.
"Young Hero Jiang, I gave you a Token. You could have used it to come straight in."
"Why wait out here? My apologies, my apologies."
Jiang Ran gave a wry smile.
"Steward Liu, you’re being too kind."
"Come, come."
Steward Liu reached him and led Jiang Ran inside, smiling as they walked.
"Young Hero Jiang, are you here about the Qinghe Gang affair from yesterday?"
"Rest assured, the Government Office doesn’t meddle in the internal disputes of Jianghu gangs."
"Only when it involves truly inexplicable mass murder or scum who harm the common people do we get involved."
"On the contrary, when I heard what happened yesterday, I was inwardly delighted."
"Young Hero Jiang, you are truly impressive!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ran understood why Steward Liu hadn’t gone to the Qinghe Gang’s headquarters.
In his eyes, it was just another case of a Jianghu vendetta.
Not worth the Government Office’s intervention.
Thinking back to the Assassin’s Order he had been given...
He had a rough idea of Steward Liu’s way of thinking.
He smiled.
"You flatter me, Steward Liu..."
"Actually, to be honest, I didn’t come here today for that matter."
"I came to ask you about something."
"Young Hero Jiang, please, speak freely."
As they spoke, the two entered the Government Office, and Steward Liu led him to a room where tea was served.
After the tea was brought, Jiang Ran spoke softly.
"I wanted to ask you, Steward Liu, do you know if the Tang family is a local wealthy household of Cangzhou Prefecture, or did they come from elsewhere?"
"The Tang family..."
Steward Liu naturally hadn’t forgotten that Jiang Ran had asked him about them yesterday.
Hearing him bring it up again, he couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled.
"Young Hero Jiang, why are you so concerned with the Tang family?"
Jiang Ran thought for a moment, deciding not to mention how the old drunkard had tricked him into becoming Tang Shiqing’s husband.
Instead, he said:
"Before coming to Cangzhou Prefecture, I had long heard that Lord Tang is a great philanthropist."
"I admired him greatly, so after arriving in Cangzhou Prefecture yesterday, I hoped to visit the Tang family and make his acquaintance."
"Lord Tang is indeed as generous and hospitable as they say. He received me with great warmth."
"It was because of his kindness that I accompanied them when the Second Miss Tang was abducted by Fan Jiwu, to offer what little help I could."
"After that ordeal, Lord Tang insisted I stay at the Tang Mansion for the night. I couldn’t refuse, so I accepted."
"But I never expected... to encounter something so bizarre."
"When I woke up this morning, the entire Tang family... had vanished into thin air!"
"What?"
Steward Liu was stunned.
"How could that be?"
"It’s because I don’t understand that I came to ask you, Steward Liu."
Jiang Ran’s tone was much more frank now.
But Steward Liu’s expression had turned grim.
The disappearance of the Tang family, in his view, was far more important than the annihilation of the Qinghe Gang.
One must understand, the Tang family was wealthy, with countless properties, shops, and fertile lands.
The tax they paid to the Government Office each year was a considerable sum.
If they were to suddenly vanish, setting all else aside, the loss of this revenue alone would be immeasurable.
Thinking of this, he summoned a government constable and ordered him to check on the Tang family’s estate.
At the same time, he stood up and said to Jiang Ran:
"Young Hero Jiang, please wait here. I will be right back."
"Please."
Jiang Ran cupped his fist and sat down to wait.
He knew Steward Liu had gone to check the archives.
A family like the Tangs would certainly be important to the Government Office, and many records of them would exist.
Unlike a lone Jianghu martial artist like himself, whose arrival went unnoticed and whose departure would be unlamented.
He picked up his teacup, about to take a sip.
But just as it reached his lips, his heart seized.
Remembering the tea from last night, Jiang Ran sighed and put the cup back down.
In the past, he had always believed himself to be nearly immune to all poisons. Coupled with the medical skills he learned from the old drunkard, he was ninety-nine percent certain he would never fall for something like a knockout drug.
But... last night had been a harsh slap in the face.
’I really underestimated this Jianghu.’
Jiang Ran was not one to forget a painful lesson.
Having suffered such a huge setback last night, how could he not learn from it?
Therefore, even though he was certain there was nothing wrong with Steward Liu’s tea, he just couldn’t bring himself to drink it at that moment.
So he sat there, waiting idly for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Steward Liu finally returned.
Looking up, he saw Steward Liu walk in from outside, his face pale and his expression dazed.
Upon seeing Jiang Ran, he muttered to himself:
"Nothing..."
"What is there nothing of?"
Jiang Ran froze.
"There’s nothing at all!"
Steward Liu looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He said to Jiang Ran:
"The Tang family... it’s like the Tang family has no roots."
"Their... their ancestors truly must not be from Cangzhou Prefecture."
"But where they came from, how many of them there were when they arrived, how they acquired their properties..."
"There are no records of it in the Government Office at all!"
"It’s as if... they never existed."
"The earliest record is from ten years ago..."
"When they paid their first tax."
...
...
PS: It’s a new week... Please vote with recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, add to your collection, and keep reading~
PS: How did you all start thinking this was going in a *Liaozhai* direction? To be honest, I really struggled when writing this part, I was very hesitant... I’ll tell you all what I was hesitant about later.
I just never expected that after reading it, everyone would start thinking about *Liaozhai*. This... was truly beyond my expectations.
I’ll state it here: this book is Wuxia!
It won’t become Xianxia, it won’t develop into Xuanhuan, and there won’t be any ghosts or monsters appearing, so rest assured!!
In the Jianghu, there are always people who play at being gods and ghosts. Some are clumsy imitators, while others could deceive gods and swindle ghosts... The dangers of the human heart often far surpass those of gods or demons~
