Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Taiyi Tun Na (Seeking Monthly Votes)

All unrelated individuals were asked to leave, only Lang Zhen, Tian Yangni, Feifei, and Yu Zhengqing remained.

The Yu family actually counted as unrelated too, but since Yu Zhengqing had earlier volunteered to take on a considerable role, Feng Jun wouldn’t leave him without a reward. Thus, he indicated that if Yu wished to listen, he could stay.

Although Yu Zhengqing’s cultivation level wasn’t high, he was in charge of the Yu family’s CheMa Trading Company. Facing him, even high-rank martial masters had to pay their respects. He was truly a man of responsibility. He immediately stated, “If you think I’m suitable to listen, then I’ll certainly eavesdrop.”

He was well aware that sometimes, not knowing was better than knowing. But considering the current circumstances… the Yu family truly had nothing to fear.

Now the representative of the Gu family began his account. It turned out that the people from Treasures Pavilion didn’t initially come here for Feng Jun.

Some time ago in a certain place in Fushan County—the exact location was unclear to the Gu family representative, it was just something he had heard from the Pavilion.

Reportedly, there was a small clan in that place, a very small clan, with only fifty or so members. Because of uneven distribution in a family division, their wealth was exposed, and they were said to possess spiritual objects. They requested the official government to arbitrate the matter.

But this arbitration turned out to be quite significant. As the matter kept escalating, everyone realized this small clan… had profound foundations.

That led to all kinds of forceful plundering. The biggest share was seized by the official government. However, that official was particularly greedy, planning to dedicate a portion to his superiors but never considering sharing any profits with his subordinates.

Once the subordinates grumbled, the news reached the ears of the people at Wonderful Hand Pavilion’s Thieves Hall.

Subsequently, the people from Thieves Hall made their move. After succeeding, they discovered the treasures were far more valuable than anticipated. To prevent any accidents, they had to arrange for the official to “accidentally die.”

Regrettably, soon after, individuals from Thieves Hall met their own accidents. Overwhelmed by a gang of petty thieves in an ambush, they perished, and their loot was raided and emptied.

The Pavilion, home to numerous factions on guard against potential insider theft, had been closely monitoring this wealth. When their watchers couldn’t contact their own, they swiftly commenced an investigation.

Once that gang of petty thieves got their hands on the treasures, they knew they had stirred up trouble and scattered to flee.

But how could they possibly escape the pursuit of professionals?

In the end, the treasures were recovered one by one, but the people who had gotten their hands on the only two sets of cultivation techniques remained unfound.

It wasn’t until recently that Wonderful Hand Pavilion detected the whereabouts of this person and sent people out to capture him.

They caught the man, but he stubbornly claimed he had sold the cultivation techniques—specifically, he got a good price for the Mystic Element Sword Technique, well-known for its fame.

This scoundrel, who had gotten the cultivation techniques and was the leader of the thieves, was not only brutal but also defiant. Knowing that the people of Wonderful Hand Pavilion wouldn’t spare him, after confessing to everything, he took advantage of a moment of carelessness on their part and resolutely committed suicide.

Wonderful Hand Pavilion continued to investigate the whereabouts of the cultivation techniques, and later they learned that they may have been acquired by the Gu Family’s Thirteenth Young Master.

Afterward, they sent this person from the Gu family to negotiate, hoping to buy back those two sets of cultivation techniques, only to learn that the Thirteenth Young Master had been missing for a long time—along with him, other members of the Gu family and his own attendants had also disappeared.

Such matters are easy to investigate. The Gu family could lie, but some attendants of the Thirteenth Young Master were personally trained and hired by him; their families could be approached to learn the truth.

Thus, Wonderful Hand Pavilion confirmed that the information was true, and most crucially, they learned from the Gu family that the Thirteenth Young Master had indeed obtained the Mysterious Primordial Saber Technique and another manual but hadn’t had the chance to send them home.

The actions of the Gu Family’s Thirteenth Young Master had always been high-profile—in fact, there are few in the Gu family who keep a low profile, but as for dressing in various bright-colored tight-fitting outfits and going out, fearing that others wouldn’t notice him, he was on his own.

At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing bright blue tight-fitting clothes. His whereabouts before this were also relatively easy to track; he surely couldn’t have left Qingning Prefecture.

So Wonderful Hand Pavilion cast out their forces to conduct an extensive investigation, aiming to find out who had made a move on the Gu Family’s Thirteenth Young Master.

This investigation went on for quite some time without yielding any results, until someone from Xiyin City in the prefecture came forward to report that there was a group near Mount Zhige possessing mysterious treasures.

Although the renown of Wonderful Hand Pavilion was nowhere close to that of Hundred Flowers Tower, they shared a vice that even the Tower would be ashamed of: an obsession with pursuing treasures—they simply couldn’t bear to hear the word “treasures.”

If the one possessing the treasures was someone from a major force, Wonderful Hand Pavilion wouldn’t dare to covet foolishly, but if it wasn’t some formidable character, they would definitely try every means to obtain the treasures.

Therefore, Wonderful Hand Pavilion sent people here, and then, at nighttime inside the small courtyard, Feng Jun captured and killed them.

However, even though the men were killed, the situation on Mount Zhige was reported—the presence of treasures that couldn’t be described in words.

In fact, Wonderful Hand Pavilion harbored considerable resentment towards the killing of their own. If given a chance, they wouldn’t mind seeking revenge.

But upon investigation, they found themselves in a difficult position—the individual known as Divine Doctor was quite an enigma.

So, for the time being, they could only maintain surveillance until one of their patrons became available.

This patron wasn’t necessarily set on opposing Feng Jun. First, he wanted to thoroughly understand who the Divine Doctor was, what kind of support he had behind him, and then he would determine the next move.

Moreover, if they did have to make a move, it wouldn’t just involve a single Innate expert and several martial masters—there would certainly be backup.

“Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit, let alone facing a mighty person who has slain an Innate Expert?”

The reason Wonderful Hand Pavilion sent an Innate was to ensure their own basic combat power, to avoid being completely vulnerable to slaughter.

When Feng Jun heard the phrase “Mystic Element Sword Technique,” he felt a bit dizzy—could it actually be related to that infamous case?

The subsequent statement of the other party was essentially a note: it really was that incident.

Lang Zhen couldn’t help but feel shaken upon hearing this; he had risked everything to kill Gu Family’s Thirteenth Young Master and his group, and now he had provoked the Wonderful Hand Pavilion?

Fortunately, he was currently healing his wounds with Tun Na, and since he always maintained his composure, his face showed no sign of disturbance.

However, as the person in question was inwardly muttering, Yu Zhengqing raised an objection, “Though the Mystic Element Sword Technique is rare, someone who is willing to put in the effort can always find it. The scope of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion… shouldn’t be so limited, should it?”

The member of the Gu Family did not wish to answer this question, but evidently, he had to give a satisfactory response to the other party.

So, he answered reluctantly, “The Pavilion’s stance is that the original manuscript of the Mystic Element Sword Technique has been damaged. However, personally, I think that since there are two copies of the technique, it’s very likely that the other one is of higher value.”

Feng Jun’s eyes narrowed, “What’s the name of that other technique?”

“What it’s called… I’m not clear on that, the Thirteenth Young Master never told the family,” replied the man with an expressionless face, “I only know it’s a breathing exercise technique.”

“That’s no surprise,” Yu Zhengqing nodded in sudden realization, “A good breathing exercise technique is not something money can buy. A technique on par with the Mystic Element Sword Technique, how could it be inferior?”

The Yu Family valued fundamental techniques greatly. Strictly speaking, Lord Beiyuan also wished to value them, but for the Earl to acquire a fundamental technique superior to his own was practically impossible.

Yet, Feng Jun glanced at him and asked, “Such as… which technique?”

“Such as the Five Elements True Qi Breathing Technique, the Chaos Unified Qi Technique,” Yu Zhengqing answered unaffectedly, “There are also rumors that the most primitive Taiyi Breathing Technique can point directly to the realm above Innate.”

Feng Jun’s brows furrowed as he muttered softly, “The Taiyi… Breathing Technique?”

What a pity, it wasn’t the Tai Chi Breathing Technique.

However, since it’s mentioned alongside the Mystic Element Sword Technique, the Tai Chi Breathing probably wouldn’t be too far off from this Taiyi Breathing.

Putting this concern aside, he raised another question, “In Xiyin City, who informed the Wonderful Hand Pavilion that we had spiritual objects?”

“Actually, we had already received the news, but just didn’t have the time to send someone over,” the man was indeed forthcoming, but then, an odd expression surfaced on his face, “The informant was, in fact, someone you know…”

Indeed, it wasn’t an outsider; the whistleblower to the Wonderful Hand Pavilion was a Xuanwu Colonel from the County Soldiers, named Zhao Huajing.

This man was also from the Zhao Family fortress and was one of the three martial masters. Having learned of the tragedy that befell his family, he hated that he was powerless to avenge them himself, so he exaggerated the situation at Mount Zhige to the Wonderful Hand Pavilion.

Feng Jun glanced at Tian Yangni and asked impassively, “A Xuanwu Colonel… can you handle him?”

“That will require the right opportunity… It’s not feasible to act rashly in the military camp,” Tian Yangni replied, frowning, “But I can assure you, that man is as good as dead unless he stays forever in the camp and never ventures out, then he might have a slim chance of survival.”

At that moment, Lang Zhen, who had been healing with his eyes closed, spoke up, “The County Soldiers undergo a spring and autumn inspection every year.”

He did have a bond with his fellow soldiers, but today he had narrowly escaped death himself, so he couldn’t afford to care too much about that now.

“Spring and autumn inspection?” Yu Zhengqing’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, “On this matter, my Yu family can try to come up with a solution. Divine Doctor, would you entrust this to us?”

“Discuss it with Lao Tian,” Feng Jun replied, undisturbed, “Regarding the Zhao Family fortress, Lao Tian assured me there would be no future troubles… Zhao Huajing acting this way is also disrespectful to the Tian Family.”

Upon hearing this, Tian Yangni couldn’t help but inwardly grumble, Divine Doctor, if you don’t want to owe a favor, that doesn’t mean you have to wash your hands of the matter completely, does it?

However, outwardly, he had to show righteous indignation, “Such a treacherous villain… deserves death!”

Yu Zhengqing laughed heartily, “Our families are connected by marriage, and since you have this intention, the Yu Family will naturally provide as much help as we can.”

Tian Yangni glanced at him and then involuntarily cast a look at Lang Zhen who was not far away, a sense of foreboding beginning to dawn on him.

This Yu Zhengqing… he couldn’t have guessed something too, could he?

As he pondered this, Feng Jun turned his gaze back to the man, “You’re from the Gu Family, how did you enter the Wonderful Hand Pavilion? Also, I must trouble you to explain a bit about the Pavilion’s situation.”

Upon hearing this, the man’s complexion turned deathly pale—whatever he feared had come to pass.

(End of update, calling for the monthly vote guarantee for March.)