Chapter 276: The Vessel (2)

Hua Hong stood outside the main hall with a child beside him, seemingly waiting for them.

Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Father, this is…”

“The vessel Luo Daofan requested,” Xu Yinhe replied evenly.

Xu Yuan glanced at his father in mild surprise.

By now, Xu Yinhe had already resumed his usual calm and imposing bearing. “Luo Daofan went to extraordinary lengths to survive. Naturally, he did not take on a disciple merely to pass down his legacy. What he wanted could only be a vessel for possession. His words to your maternal uncle outside the Sword Pavilion had already made that clear.”

Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment. “You truly intend to give him one?”

“I originally planned to delay for a while.” Xu Yinhe spoke softly as he continued walking. “But circumstances have changed. The Heavenwatch Pavilion’s return to the world, together with his identity as one of its traitors, means there is now a real chance for us to bring him completely over to our side.”

Xu Yuan said nothing more. He looked at the child and sighed. The boy had delicate features, with red lips and pearly teeth, but his eyes were hollow. He had clearly been through something terrible. Perhaps ten years from now, the child would cease to exist altogether and become Luo Daofan in every sense.

Xu Yinhe noticed Xu Yuan’s expression but said nothing. He walked directly up to Hua Hong and spoke softly. “Elder Hua, you have worked hard.”

As the Feng Family’s old steward, Hua Hong had spent his entire life laboring for the Chancellor's Manor. Nearly all its finances depended on him to keep the money flowing, so he more than deserved the respectful title.

At Xu Yinhe’s words, Hua Hong curled his lips, his tone carrying a trace of mockery. “Oh, it was hardly any trouble. I merely spent 1,739,214 taels of silver finding a few hundred promising seedlings for Wu Zigeng’s Calm Sky Martial Halls So much silver, gone just like that. Tsk, tsk…”

Although the two men were speaking right beside them, outsiders would have found it difficult to hear a word.

Xu Yinhe, however, had quietly granted Xu Yuan special access, so he could hear everything perfectly well.

At that familiar tone, Xu Yuan smiled and rolled his eyes. “Hey, didn’t I give you 3 million taels from the spoils of the war with the Myriad Manifestations Sect, old man? Not to mention all those businesses. Do you really have to be this stingy?”

The instant he heard that, Hua Hong’s perpetually narrowed eyes flew open. His beard bristled as he glared, years of resentment bursting forth all at once. “You brat still have the nerve to mention that? How much did you give me, and how much did you give that woman Lou Ji? 15 million taels! Do you have any idea what 15 million taels means? You ungrateful little bastard! Lou Ji treated you well, sure, but this old man paid plenty of your bills when you were a child too! Xu Changtian, if you don’t give me a proper explanation today, I’ll beat—”

“Ahem!”

Hua Hong immediately shut his mouth.

Xu Yuan wore an expression of perfect innocence.

Xu Yinhe looked at the child and asked evenly, “What physique does he possess?”

Hua Hong gave Xu Yuan one last glare before taking a deep breath. “Of the physiques you listed, I only managed to find one Profound Fate Yin Physique. This child’s village was slaughtered by mounted bandits. After we avenged his family, he said he was willing to follow us. Why? Are you planning to train him?”

“Luo Daofan requires a vessel,” Xu Yinhe replied calmly.

Hua Hong frowned, as though he wanted to object. But after seeing Xu Yinhe’s impassive expression, he ultimately sighed. “I know you won’t listen, but my opinion is that we should keep the boy and train him ourselves. We may not be able to raise him to the same heights as that Sage who has clung to life for ten thousand years, but at the very least, we could guarantee his loyalty.”

The night breeze lightly stirred Xu Yinhe’s black dragon robe. His eyes remained as still as an ancient well. “Elder Hua, we are running out of time. We can no longer afford to nurture the next generation slowly, as we once did. Luo Daofan will stand with us.”

Hua Hong glanced at the hollow-eyed child beside him and said no more. “As you wish.”

Xu Yinhe then glanced at Xu Yuan before turning away. Taking the child and the soul ring with him, he stepped through the doors and entered the council hall.

Bright moonlight poured over his retreating figure, which appeared as steady and imposing as ever. Yet for one brief instant, Xu Yuan thought he saw his father release a faint sigh, no louder than an exhaled breath.

The early-summer night still carried a slight chill.

The old man and the young man stood silently outside the hall, watching until Xu Yinhe disappeared from view.

Only then did Hua Hong give a quiet snort. “He turns down a safe return just to gamble instead. What a waste of such a fine seedling.”

Xu Yuan remained silent for a long while before sighing and shaking his head. “High risk, high reward.”

Hua Hong chuckled. His narrow eyes studied Xu Yuan’s expression. “Well, well. Who would have thought a rotten little bastard like you could possess such compassion for the suffering of others?”

Every one of the ancient fossils in the manor had eyes sharp enough to cut flesh from bone, so Xu Yuan did not bother hiding it. “Without compassion, a man is unworthy of being called human.”

The wrinkles on Hua Hong’s aged face twitched. He smiled as he examined Xu Yuan. “Then why didn’t you try to stop your father? He might have listened to you. Wouldn’t that have saved the child?”

Xu Yuan turned and headed toward the inner residence. “Stop making wild claims when you don’t know anything, old man. Trading one child for a powerful and dependable Transcendent Realm combatant in the immediate future. Father will not change his mind on this matter. Anyway, goodbye. I’m going back to my room.”

Instead of leaving, Hua Hong hurried after him. “Sacrificing one person now to save 10,000 in the future certainly sounds like a profitable bargain.”

Seeing him follow, Xu Yuan frowned and gave him a strange look. “Why are you following me, you miserable old fossil? Don’t you have the Calm Sky Merchant Association to—”

SMACK! He took a blow to the back of the head.

Hua Hong pointed at himself and snapped, “Even your father addresses this old man as Elder Hua, yet you call me a miserable old fossil?”

Xu Yuan opened his mouth, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse. Then he noticed the source qi surging freely around Hua Hong and quietly closed it again. After a moment of silence, he gave the old man an awkward smile. “Elder Hua, may I ask what business you have with me?”

Lou Ji was not here. If this old man decided to beat him, there was probably no one in the entire Chancellor's Manor willing to come to his rescue.

Hua Hong stroked the white beard beneath his chin and nodded in satisfaction. “This old man heard that someone named Zhou Chen possesses a remarkable understanding of trade and commerce, and even wrote some sort of treatise on business…”

The moment he heard that, Xu Yuan understood.

This was another arrangement made by his father.

Xu Yinhe had Hua Hong personally escort the child here, then deliberately created an opportunity for the two of them to speak alone. His father intended for him to begin taking over the Chancellor's Manor’s inner circle, one piece at a time. The first step was making the people beneath him accept their future Crown Prince.

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan broke into a grin. “Ah, yes. There is indeed someone named Zhou Chen, but he was sent to the northern frontier.”

The corner of Hua Hong’s eye twitched. He drew a deep breath and abandoned all pretense. “But I heard that Zhou Chen is you, brat.”

“Mhm.” Xu Yuan showed no surprise whatsoever. Of all the senior figures in the Chancellor's Manor, this wretched old man had the least shame. “That’s right. It was me. So what?”

“You can write it?”

“Of course.”

“In that case, could you write out that treatise on business for—”

“My head hurts. That blow just now damaged my brain. I’ve forgotten everything.”

Hua Hong fell silent.