Chapter 100: The Xiao Family's Old Residence (Part 2)

  Song Nan Cheng nodded after listening, "No wonder your father was desperate. He didn't want to learn martial arts back then and had no ability to even tie up a chicken, how could he possibly take revenge?"

  He sighed and a look of nostalgia appeared on his face, saying: "To say that your Xiao family also has a great origin. The ancestors of the Xiao family were the personal bodyguards of the founding emperor of Western Liang, and the family's martial arts are also famous in the imperial court. Unfortunately, it was lost from your father's hands..."

  "Your grandfather Xiao Zhengyu was once the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, with a rank of 4th grade. The Imperial Guard only took orders from the Emperor and was in charge of gathering intelligence, serving as the Emperor's eyes and ears. Although their official rank was not high and they were not well-known by name, their power was extremely great."

  "In the past, your grandfather followed Wei Guo Gong to conquer the rebellion of Cheng Tian Wang. He was named as the protector of Wei Guo Gong, but in reality, he had the responsibility of supervising the army. Just when the army was winning victory after victory, your grandfather suddenly and inexplicably left the army without permission, wanting to secretly return to the capital. Unexpectedly, this matter was discovered by Fu Guo Gong, who immediately reported it to the Emperor. The Emperor ordered that your grandfather be captured and brought back to the capital, but for some reason, your grandfather resisted arrest and was killed by the skilled hands of those who were sent to capture him..."

  "Alas... As for why your grandfather deserted the army back then and how he was killed, I no longer know."

  Xiao Ziyang nodded and said: "So that's it! So that's it! That old thief Su must have wanted to kill my grandfather because of that letter!"

  "Believe it! What believe!" Song Nancheng seemed to be extremely excited, his tone changed. Seeing Xiao Ziyang looking at him with some curiosity, he hastily explained: "In these years, I have exhausted all my efforts to investigate why your grandfather offended the Auxiliary King, but I have gained nothing. Today, I suddenly want to hear the truth, and I'm a bit...

  Xiao Ziyang was extremely grateful and looked at him, saying: "When I was sorting through my parents' belongings, I found a secret letter written by Su Laoze to Cheng Tian Wang. These two people had actually colluded with each other long ago! Su Laoze must have known that this letter had fallen into my grandfather's hands, which is why he resorted to murder!"

  Song Nan Cheng hastily asked: "Where is the letter? As long as we have this letter, we can find a straightforward official in the court and move against that old thief Su."

  Xiao Ziyang said: "To prevent unexpected events, I buried that letter in the mountains of Ganbei Taifu."

  Song Nan Cheng's face showed a hint of disappointment, then he said: "Well, in that case, my wise nephew will tell Uncle Song where the letter is hidden. I'll send someone reliable to retrieve it, and we can set off for Beijing immediately... Your grandfather's great revenge will finally be avenged..."

  He laughed loudly towards the sky for a few moments, then reached out to wipe away the tears from his eyes.

  Xiao Ziyang's face showed a look of difficulty, saying: "In those years, the county governor Zhao Zhi Bai wanted to capture me. Fortunately, I was lucky and saw through his ambush, avoiding disaster. In fear, I fled north overnight, escaping into the mountains of Gannan. In my haste, I ventured deep into the mountains for hundreds of miles. The terrain in the mountains is complex, and after all these years have passed, even if I went there myself, it would not be easy to find the hiding place of the letter. If only relying on my description, wanting to find that letter in the vast mountains spanning hundreds of miles would be like searching for a needle in the ocean."

  Song Nan Cheng heard this and rebuked him, saying: "You child, that letter is of great importance, how can you be so careless?"

  Xiao Ziyang said: "In those days, I was worried and couldn't even make it through the day, not knowing if I would still be alive to see the sun the next day. How could I have dared to hope for revenge? However...it doesn't matter now. Uncle Jiang, you go ahead and make contact in the capital first, while I hurry back to Ganzhou to retrieve the letter and then immediately head to the capital to meet up with you."

  Song Nan Cheng hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject and asked: "Xian nephew, from what you said, it seems that five years ago you didn't have this astonishing martial arts skill. I wonder which school you learned from, why not seek help from your master?"

  Xiao Ziyang had already made up the story, and he explained: "Pity old man Xi Tian back then. When I escaped into the Gobi Mountains, I saved an injured old man, who unexpectedly turned out to be a Taoist master. Unfortunately, I didn't have any spiritual roots, so I couldn't cultivate Taoist magic. To thank me, that old man passed on his martial arts skills to me."

  Xiao Ziyang sighed and said, "It's a pity that the immortal master taught me martial arts for only half a year before leaving. Alas, if not, I would have no difficulty in taking revenge."

  Song Nan Cheng's eyes flashed a hint of surprise, which quickly disappeared. He said: "Listening to you say this, it seems that heaven has indeed opened its eyes. Alright, you go to Ganbei to fetch the letter, I'll head to the capital city. We'll take separate actions and meet again in half a year, on October 3rd, outside Ci'en Temple in the capital."

  "Alright, nephew, take note: October 3rd, meet outside Ci'en Temple!"

  After saying that, he stepped back three steps, knelt down again, and said to Song Nan Cheng: "Uncle Song is comparable to the righteous men of ancient times. To my Xiao family, your kindness is as heavy as a mountain. I have no way to repay you, so I can only kowtow to you." After saying that, he heavily knocked his head three times and got up, leaving without looking back with big strides.

  Looking at Xiao Ziyang's back, Song Nancheng's face showed a complex expression.

  Xiao Ziyang left the desolate mansion and unfolded his body technique, drilling into a short mountain by the roadside. After crossing the short mountain, he released his spirit boat, retracted his spiritual light, and flew slowly until he was dozens of miles away from Longkou Town before urging his spirit boat to head northwest at full speed.

  Fudong Town is a town thirty miles east of Fu'an City, the capital of Anzhou Prefecture. The town is located on the prosperous and wealthy Fu'an Plain, and it is also the eastern gateway to Fu'an City, which is renowned for its wealth. Its prosperity surpasses that of even the most remote prefectural cities in Western Liang State.

  Fu Dong Town does not have a city wall outside, but its city wall is in the center of the town. The reason for this strange phenomenon is precisely because of the prosperity of Fu Dong Town!

  Fudong Town was just a county town. According to the Western Liang Dynasty system, the city wall of a county town should not exceed two zhang in height and four li in circumference. This system seemed so out of place when applied to Fudong Town.

  Fudong Town has a population of over 100,000; the small town of Zhouli is how to live under it; so there appears to be a strange phenomenon that the city wall is submerged in the prosperous streets.

  The sky had not yet fully brightened, and the official road on the east side of Fudong Town was very quiet.

  Suddenly, a young Taoist priest walked out of the forest beside the official road at a quick pace.

  The Taoist wore a black wooden Taoist crown on his head and a blue Taoist robe on his body. His face was cold, handsome and firm, and his figure was straight and tall. This Taoist was Xiao Ziyang.

  If viewed from the map, Longkou Town, located in the southwest of Chuzhou, is closer to Fu'an City, the capital of Anzhou Prefecture, than it is to Xiang'an, which is located in the northeast of Chuzhou.

  Of course, for ordinary people, there are continuous mountains between Longkou and Fuan that block the way, and there is no road to walk. But this is naturally not a problem for Xiao Ziyang who drives the spirit boat to fly away.

  To take a shortcut, Xiao Ziyang abandoned Xiang'an City and took the road to Fu'an City, planning to take a boat from there to the capital.

  At this time, Fudong Town seems very quiet and deserted, with few pedestrians on the road, only some early-riser stalls floating out of smoke and steam, heralding the awakening of this bustling city.