Chapter 26 - Xuanming Division

"Didn't you say this was Tongfu Inn? The name doesn't look right." Two men stood outside the inn. Shen Lian knew one of them. That would be Governor Shuo.

He was dressed in plain clothes and was very confused.

The person who spoke was dressed in black. His eyes were bright and dark, his long hair covered the left of his face. He looked cold and detached and seemed to be around thirty of age.

"This is definitely the place. Maybe they just changed the name. Let's go in and find out about it." Governor Shuo spoke.

"You people are all getting paid without doing your work. How can you not know about little things like this?" The person replied coldly.

Governor Shuo laughed in embarrassment. "You are but one of the tools of the Xuanming division, mere lapdogs of the Emperor. What are you gloating about?" He thought.

Even though in his mind he was cursing, he did not have the guts to do it in the man's face. In terms of official ranking, they were of the same rank. Furthermore, he was said to be the Emperor's fang – a watchdog monitoring the state officials, and from the Capital City. It would thus be best not to get on his bad side.

As his name suggested, Governor Shuo just wanted to be a 'shuo cong', a borer. He wanted to spend his first few years holding the office stably. His ultimate goal was to earn enough for him to spend for the rest of his life. As for going far in the field of politics, a Jinshi like himself did not even bother thinking about it.

The officer from Xuanming division departed from the Capital City for the man in green. For some reason, there was a slight delay on the part of Xuanming division. After the state government has reported the incident relating to the man in green, an official reply came. However, it took a few days for the Xuanming division to assign an officer, which was why the officer had only came then.

Shen Lian was the last person to see the man in green and got back to the Shen family safely, while the man in green disappeared. It was only reasonable that the officer from Xuanming division wanted to talk to Shen Lian.

However, the Shen family was extremely reputable in the locality. To bring Shen Lian back to the town hall would give off the wrong impression that the State was against the Shen family. Governor Shuo was too experienced to make this sort of rookie mistake; he would not want to bring troubles onto himself.

He raised the pros and cons and managed to convince the officer to look for Shen Lian at the inn.

Moreover, it seemed that the officer from Xuanming division wanted to keep things low-profile; he was just bothered by this particular heinous criminal who got on the radar of both the Ministry of Justice and the Xuanming division.

The officers in the Xuanming division were actually connected to Jianghu. This particular officer was from a renowned Jianghu sect. He came to look for the man in green for both official and private reasons. After all, he knew the background of the man in green. To say that he was not interested in the Deity Vanquishing Sword and the Shenzu Scripture would be an outright lie.

...

Although on paper, Shen Lian was the owner of the inn, Steward Wu was the one who handled the business.

Steward Wu was bothered by how Shen Lian changed the name of a hundred-year-old shop. The Shen family had a lot of profitable businesses. Though the value of these old shops was beyond business, it signified an inheritance of sort and symbolized perpetual wealth and glory.

Old Master Shen being decisive had told everyone that Shen Lian now exercised full control over the inn, and there was no need for anyone to report anything to him anymore.

Even things like the land title, they were all kept by Shen Lian.

This was Shen Lian's private property. Even if Steward Wu were to say something, what good would it do when it was faced with Shen Lian's nonchalant smile?

The temple at its high position would not bother itself with the loss of a small land; those who were in Jianghu would not be calculative to the cents.

The inn had three floors. Shen Lian was on the highest floor, which was not open to the public.

The inn faced the street, and was located at one of the busiest parts of the town; it could be considered as the classic example of the secular mortal world. The building opposite did not block the sunlight from shining through the windows and onto Shen Lian; it was a peaceful and calming scene.

Ever since he time traveled, this was the first time that he actually enjoyed the life here in this world.

Different from the hectic modern world that he came from, there were more face-to-face interactions here rather than digital interactions through social media platforms.

The neighborhood did not steer away from Shen Lian due to the fact he was born with a silver spoon. If anything, they pitied him for the circ.u.mstances surrounding his birth.

In the past three days, a lot of them helped us with the opening preparations of An Inn. As Shen Lian was born out of wedlock, outsiders would think that he was banished from the family; running the inn business was merely a cover-up.

These things were like drinking water; only the person who drank could tell the warmth or coldness of the water.

The sound of footsteps interrupted Shen Lian's thought process. Besides Steward Wu, there were two more visitors.

Shen Lian reacted immediately; he was shocked. Among the two, one of them was skilled in martial arts.

The person walked so softly that, if not for Shen Lian's uniqueness, he would have missed it.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Shen Lian was still facing towards the windows, with his back towards the door.

"Young Master, esteemed guests have come for you."

When Steward Wu recognized Governor Shuo, he was almost shocked. He did not expect him to come to visit. The Shen family, was in reality, more influential than the State Governor.

However, the person Steward Wu was faced with was still supposedly, the most powerful person in the State Capital of Qing, in terms of ranking. Steward Wu was a mere servant; it was only natural that Steward Wu felt the pressure in the presence of Governor Shuo.

If not for the fact that Governor Shuo was trying to keep a low profile, Shen Lian should have gone down to welcome him as a matter of courtesy.

"You can go down first." Shen Lian turned to wave at Steward Wu.

Before Steward Wu could elaborate further, Shen Lian gave him a look to send him away.

Shen Lian was young, and he was not stern. Steward Wu was not particularly intimidated by him. However, whenever Shen Lian gave him instructions, he found himself obeying subconsciously. Even if he were to approach Shen Lian afterward, he could not bring himself to complain when he saw how casual and nonchalant Shen Lian was.

Shen Lian looked at Governor Shuo before he turned to look at the officer from Xuanming division.

The person was clothed in black and brought along a sword. There was a hint of bloodl.u.s.t coming from between his brows, which made Shen Lian uncomfortable.

"Shen Lian young friend, how do you do? I still haven't thanked you for the other time. This is Sir Meng Han from the Xuanming division in the Capital City. He has some questions for you."

His words were tactful. He was saying that he remembered Shen Lian's favor from the last time they met and that he was not here for trouble. He was here to enquire.

As for the matter in question, Shen Lian should know exactly what he was referring to.

He also pointed out Meng Han's background, just so that Shen Lian knew how to behave around him.

After all, Governor Shuo had dealt with Shen Lian. He knew that despite his young age, Shen Lian was not someone to be taken lightly.

Of course, if Shen Lian were just anyone, the Governor Shuo would not have owed him a favor.

The first time that Meng Han set eyes on Shen Lian, he could not help but praise him in his mind. He did not expect a young child as such to appear at the rural State Capital of Qing.

Although, that was it. "Child, you better tell me everything that you know about Yang Xuan," he said coldly.