Volume 1: The Rise of the Western Regions Chapter 27: The Secret Past
"You want to save Grandpa?"
The old scholar's voice trembled and he asked:
"Master, what's wrong with him?"
Zhao Rang saw that he didn't seem to be a hypocrite, and such a secret person wouldn't have much contact with his master's family on weekdays.
Otherwise, if there are too many of them, others will recognize them, so what’s the point of hiding them?
"How often do you and Mr. Wang San meet?"
The old scholar shook his head and replied:
"I never meet. Only when my grandfather has something to do, he will send a message to me to take care of it."
Zhao Rang pondered for a moment and said to the old scholar:
"Let's go, this is not the place to talk!"
"Where to go?"
Zhao Rang said impatiently:
"Of course we go to a place where we can talk easily."
The old scholar hesitated.
After a long silence, he asked:
"Why should I believe you?"
Zhao Rang said calmly:
"You don't want anything to happen to Grandpa, right?"
The old scholar nodded:
"certainly!"
Zhao Rang continued:
"I don't want to either."
"Although we have different reasons for worrying, in the end we don't want anything to happen to him, so you have to believe me!"
Zhao Rang's words are very convincing.
The old scholar silently picked up his iron rod, put it on his shoulder, and asked:
"Where to go?"
After Zhao Rang told him the name of the inn, the old scholar said that he knew a small road that could avoid the main street. It was very secluded and there were almost no pedestrians.
Zhao Rang knew that he was still worried about him.
Follow the path he is familiar with, and if he finds something wrong, he can always turn his back and take action.
With the old scholar's level 5 martial arts cultivation, which was similar to his own, and the amazing strength gained through hard training, although he was no match for Zhao Rang, there was no problem at all if he wanted to survive wholeheartedly.
Zhao Rang expressed no objection to this, so he let the old scholar lead the way and walked from the path to the inn.
I don't know how many alleys they passed through, and the two of them even scaled the courtyard wall of a house.
Fortunately, both of them have good cultivation, so it is not difficult to hide their figures in front of ordinary people.
However, Zhao Rang was still extremely shocked by the old scholar's strength!
Because he was carrying such a heavy iron bar, he was able to lift it as lightly as he climbed over the wall, and there was no sound at all when he landed!
"arrive!"
Coming out of a small road, the old scholar stood still and said.
Zhao Rang had long been confused by the twists and turns of the road. Only when he saw the plaque of the inn did he come back to his senses.
"Yes, this is it!"
After Zhao Rang finished speaking, he walked towards the inn, but the old scholar pressed his shoulders and kept looking around, for fear of being ambushed.
"Old sir, if I had this intention, I would have killed you just now! Why wait until now?"
The old scholar thought about it and thought it was right, but his old face was a little uneasy and he said in a low voice:
"Then let's go!"
In the hotel lobby, the waiter was drinking behind the counter.
People from the Western Regions are good at wine, and Yuan Mingkong gave him a lot of reward today, which is enough for him to live happily for several days.
When Zhao Rang came back, he immediately greeted him with a smile and worshiped him as the God of Wealth!
However, in the Western Regions, there is no such thing as the "God of Wealth". They call wealthy and generous customers "Golden Pockets".
Although Zhao Rang didn't give him a reward, the clerk knew that he was with Tong Yuan Mingkong. The two had a close relationship, so it was right to fawn over him!
"The guest officer is back!"
Zhao Rang pointed upstairs and asked:
"Is the girl in the house okay?"
The guy nodded like a chicken pecking at rice:
"Everything is fine, everything is fine. I gave that girl food and water!"
Zhao Rang replied with a smile:
"You did a good job. When his brother comes back, he will definitely give you a reward!"
The waiter happily agreed. Seeing that Zhao Rang was still with others, he didn't ask any questions and went back to the counter to continue drinking.
The old scholar walked up the stairs carrying a heavy iron bar, which made the whole inn creak.
Yuan Kexin, who was in the house, heard such a big noise and quickly opened the door to check.
"Scared me!"
"Your brother hasn't come back yet?"
Zhao Rang asked when he saw that Yuan Kexin was the only one in the room.
"Not yet. This is..."
Yuan Kexin stared blankly at the old scholar behind Zhao Rang.
After all, the iron rod he carried on his shoulders was too eye-catching.
"You're on your own, don't be nervous!"
Yuan Kexin nodded, welcomed the two of them into the house, and poured two more cups of Golden Wind and Jade Dew.
"Try this wine, old man!"
Zhao Rang picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp, feeling refreshed all over.
The old scholar put the iron rod on the ground, glanced at the wine glass, but was indifferent, and instead urged:
"You'd better tell the story first!"
Zhao Rang told in detail what happened between him and Mr. Wang San that day. But he did not tell the old scholar what the horse dealer said.
If you talk too much, the old scholar can follow these clues and make up a story to fool himself.
What he wanted to know was whether the old scholar himself knew any secrets.
"I was just wondering why Xiangtengju suddenly closed the third floor. It turns out that... the master was poisoned!"
What Zhao Rang said had a great impact on the old scholar.
When he saw the notice in the hands of the young Liba, he had doubts, so he warned everyone not to be too impatient.
What he wanted to do was to stabilize the group of Liba first, and then contact Mr. Wang San through special channels to verify whether the matter was as simple as what was written in the notice.
It happened that after Zhao Rang heard the notice, he was eager to go to the market to pick up the work. This of course aroused the suspicion of the old scholar, so the previous battle took place.
"When was the last time Mr. Wang San contacted you?"
The old scholar said without thinking:
"Five days ago."
The old scholar remembers everything related to Mr. Wang San very clearly.
Zhao Rang calculated the time, and the horse dealer said that when he took over the girls in Yangguan, it was more than ten days ago, and it would take three days to reach the Merchant League from Yangguan.
And he took a long detour. If we give him two more days, then the day when he met Mr. Wang San would almost coincide with the time mentioned by the old scholar.
"What did Master tell you?"
Zhao Rang asked.
The old scholar kept silent.
At the moment, he could not verify whether Mr. Wang San was really poisoned, so he still had reservations about Zhao Rang.
Zhao Rang changed his mind and asked in a different way:
"Did he tell you to keep an eye on the trading trends in Dianma Market? And there is news about the fourth prince of Lan Mo Kingdom, An Zuo?"
The old scholar's pupils shrank, and Zhao Rang knew that he had guessed correctly!
When he came to his senses, he sighed heavily, walked forward, picked up the wine that Yuan Kexin poured just now, and drank it all in one gulp.
For people who are worried, nothing tastes good when they drink it.
The old scholar did not comment at all on this "Golden Wind and Jade Dew".
He felt that since Zhao Rang already knew so much, there was no need to hide it anymore.
After clearing his thoughts, the old scholar spoke:
"Anzuo and Grandpa were very close to each other. It can be said that they have been friends for many years!"
Counting his age, Third Grandpa Wang can be Anzuo's grandfather. Moreover, one is the fourth prince of Lan Mo Kingdom, and the other is the leading uncle of Dawei Northerners in Lan Mo Royal City. It is not easy for the two of them to get along harmoniously.
"Anzuo is extremely curious about the story of my grandpa's adventures in the North when he was young. You are still young and don't understand the old man's thoughts."
"My grandpa has no wife or children, only three adopted sons. But after all, they are not his biological children. They are separated by a layer of belly, so he is very lonely a lot of the time."
Zhao Rang suddenly understood why Mr. Wang San had to eat at the dining table on the first floor of Xiangtengju every day, just to watch the excitement, distract his energy, and make himself less lonely.
"Perhaps due to Anzuo's identity at first, my grandfather was quite taboo about interacting with him. But after going back and forth like this, the two of them became as close as a grandfather and a grandson!"
Zhao Rang interjected:
"Then the master said something to him that he shouldn't have said?"
The old scholar was stunned.
He probably didn't expect Zhao Rang's mind to be so fast.
"you're right."
"My grandpa once talked too much after drinking...but it wasn't too much."
The old scholar's thin face was covered with a layer of gloom.
"Little brother, have you ever heard of Hachioji Temple?"
Zhao Rang repeated it several times and made sure that he had no impression of it.
"My grandpa and I used to be monks at Bawang Temple. According to the way he was called before he returned to secular life, I have to call him senior brother!"
Bawang Temple is a Buddhist sect in the northern border of Dawei that pursues asceticism.
As soon as believers enter this door, they must give up human greed such as rich clothes, jade food, excessive sleep, etc. Only by holding on to the body through suffering and striving to improve their realm can they practice the selfless middle way.
Mr. Wang Santai became a monk since he was a child. After fifteen years of practice, he took his young junior apprentice and old scholar out of the mountain to make a pilgrimage to Jiuhua Mountain in the south. They walked more than two thousand miles in total, and the two of them paid homage all the way.
But this pilgrimage, neither brother nor brother completed it.
"Halfway through the journey, both of us have returned to secular life!"
The old scholar said, raising the wine glass in his hand.
Zhao Rang really didn't expect that the old scholar and Mr. Wang San would have such past events.
It sounds natural and enjoyable, but it doesn't help the current situation.
“Why have I never heard of this temple?”
Zhao Rang is also well-informed. With his family's position in the north, he should have heard about everything.
"Because Hachioji Temple has been destroyed."
"Destroyed in the military chaos of Dawei's division of the north and the south."
A moment of loneliness flashed in the old scholar's eyes.
"A temple for ascetic cultivation will be destroyed if it is destroyed. Is there anything that can't be said? Is it possible that Mr. Wang San is worried that others will laugh at him if they know that he used to be a monk?"
Yuan Kexin said frivolously.
"Hachioji Temple is indeed no big deal. Just like what you said, little girl, if it is destroyed, it will be destroyed. Everything in this world is destined to happen."
"Mr. Wang San's mistake is that he shouldn't have told Anzuo...!"
"Okay, stop talking! It's best that I don't know what Mr. Wang San shouldn't tell An Zuo!"
Zhao Rang quickly interrupted the old scholar's narration.
Zhao Rang understood the truth that a common man is not guilty of having a jade in his possession.
Sometimes not listening to a single word can actually make you safer.
"Aren't you going to save Mr. Wang San? How can you save him if you don't know the whole story? Are you lying to me?"
The old scholar became angry as he spoke.
The thick iron bar he was holding in front of him was about to start dancing.
Zhao Rang quickly protected Yuan Kexin behind him, fearing that the old guy would go crazy and hit her with the stick first.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became extremely tense!
At this moment, the door was slowly pushed open.
Yuan Mingkong walked in with a relaxed expression, followed by three people.