I Have A Qi Fortune Altar

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Identity Revealed!
 

“Horse bandits?”

Chen Yuan’s brows were tightly furrowed. In his memory, there seemed to be no horse bandits around Ping’an County, just some mountain bandits, but even they wouldn’t dare to brazenly enter the county town. They were merely a minor annoyance, like wild grass in spring, cropping up again as soon as they were cut down.

“They came from another state…”

Tie Qinghua said in a heavy voice.

“You know about them?” Chen Yuan looked at Tie Qinghua with surprise, thinking he would need to investigate further, but it seemed Tie Qinghua already knew something.

A hint of sadness flashed in Tie Qinghua’s eyes:

“When my elder brother was still alive, he mentioned once that a nest of horse bandits had appeared near Ping’an County. It seemed they had a bounty on their heads in another prefecture city, so they came to the vicinity of Ping’an County.”

“But they have not committed murder, so… the County Government turned a blind eye…”

Chen Yuan was speechless, wondering how Tie Qinghua seemed more like a government official than he was?

However, it did seem plausible, after all, he had only been in his position for a few days and had been busy with his cultivation, without sufficient time to inquire into these miscellaneous affairs.

“Do you know their exact situation?” Chen Yuan asked in a grave voice.

He was not someone who suffered losses lightly, whatever was taken from him had to be returned tenfold, a hundredfold!

“I do not know…” Tie Qinghua shook her head, but then added in a low voice:

“Besides my Tie Family, several caravans in the city were also robbed, and moreover…”

“Moreover what?”

“Moreover, I suspect that there must be other powers tipping off the bandits about the caravans…”

Tie Qinghua’s gaze sharpened, showing a hint of hatred.

“Oh? Who might that be?”

“The Wang Family in South City…”

“If I remember correctly, the Wang Family has always had a good relationship with your Tie Family,” Chen Yuan said, looking straight at Tie Qinghua, his eyes flickering, considering something.

“That was in the past. Ever since my elder brother passed away, the Wang Family has repeatedly tested us. Two of my gambling houses have been taken by them… They want the foundations of the Tie Family!”

Tie Qinghua took a deep breath, her words seemingly repressing anger.

“So… what you mean is?”

“Destroy the Wang Family, and Brother Yuan will not only gain a sum of silver but also establish authority…” Tie Qinghua whispered.

“Establish authority?”

Chen Yuan’s eyes beneath the mask flashed with a glimmer of murderous intent; Tie Qinghua, it seemed, had discovered his identity!

Tie Qinghua’s gaze stalled, realizing she had unintentionally spoken out of turn. She remained silent, her eyes darting to the ground, thinking about how to explain herself.

But Chen Yuan did not choose to feign ignorance. Instead, he sat down beside Tie Qinghua and said indifferently:

“It appears you have already discovered my identity.”

Chen Yuan lightly touched his wrist, where a hidden crossbow was primed and ready.

If he could discern from Tie Qinghua’s words that she had guessed Tie Xuan’s death was his doing, then… he could not leave her alive today.

He would not leave any loose ends for himself.

Sensing the veiled murderous intent behind Chen Yuan’s mask, Tie Qinghua lifted her head to look at him and said:

“Yuan Chen, Chen Yuan… Brother Yuan, you’ve concealed yourself so deeply…”

Chen Yuan inwardly cursed himself for still not being cautious enough and said in a low voice,

“Is it that simple for you to deduce my true identity?”

“Of course not, elder brother once taught me to see the essence through the phenomena, who stands to gain the most from the Huang Family’s annihilation? The one who benefits most is likely the one manipulating everything from behind.”

“The recently famous Chen Yuan, the arrest officer, is of the Blood Refining Realm, and Brother Yuan is also of the Blood Refining Realm. And then, think about Brother Yuan informing me of the Huang Family’s entanglement with the Demon Dao villains of the No-Life Sect, is it hard to guess?”

Tie Qinghua said so.

It was only after she heard the news about Chen Yuan that she started piecing all this together. It seemed a bit too coincidental. Originally, she planned to feign ignorance, but Chen Yuan arrived before her thoughts had shifted, resulting in her unintended slip of the tongue.

Chen Yuan’s gaze flickered uncertainly, and he thought to himself, indeed one should not underestimate anyone; the connection between him and Yuan Chen, once carefully considered, was indeed profound.

To see the essence through the phenomena, Tie Xuan was truly talented!

“You are a clever person.”

Chen Yuan slowly took off the black iron mask from his face, revealing a handsome visage.

Tie Qinghua looked at Chen Yuan and chuckled self-mockingly,

“It’s the arrest officer Chen Yuan who is truly clever, playing everyone into clapping their hands. And yet, with only Blood Refining Cultivation, he has ascended to the position of arrest officer of a county, commanding nearly a hundred government officials.”

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes, surprised by how far Tie Qinghua’s conjectures had gone. Heaven knows, his original purpose was only to obtain the Marrow Cleansing Spirit Pearl; he had never coveted the position of arrest officer. His promotion was due not only to his strength but also to a fortunate coincidence.

If among Li Mingqi’s men there had been another Bone Refining expert, he wouldn’t have been able to sit in this position.

However, Chen Yuan had no intention of explaining.

The more Tie Qinghua conjectured, the better—provided, of course, she didn’t guess that he was the one who had killed Tie Xuan. Otherwise…

“My original plan was to reveal my identity to Brother Tie after taking the position of arrest officer, so that together, we could handle anyone in the Ping’an County Government, aside from the County Magistrate and the County Magistrate. What a pity…”

Chen Yuan sighed lightly, but his eyes were roaming up and down Tie Qinghua’s body, watching her every subtle move.

Tie Qinghua let out a breath and suddenly stood up, kneeling on one knee towards Chen Yuan, and said in a low voice,

“Only after becoming the head of a family have I realized how heavy this burden is. Qinghua hopes to submit to arrest officer Chen Yuan from now on, the Tie Family will pay a monthly tribute of fifty silver taels for your protection!”

Tie Qinghua did not connect Chen Yuan with Tie Xuan’s death, because there was no conflict of interest between them. Even if Chen Yuan killed Tie Xuan, he would not benefit; as now, someone else had taken the jailer’s position.

Moreover, Tie Qinghua was very confident in Tie Xuan’s abilities; she believed that Chen Yuan’s Blood Refining Realm cultivation would find it difficult to match her elder brother, attributing it to bad luck that he encountered the demon from the No-Life Sect.

Of course, the most important reason was that the Tie Family now needed a backer, otherwise, she really couldn’t hold on any longer. From within and without, they were all coveting the Tie Family’s foundation.

Her own strength was not outstanding, how could she protect it all?

Chen Yuan indeed had exploited Tie Xuan to eradicate the Huang Family; his elder brother’s death was somewhat connected to him, but she no longer wanted to make any more enemies. The incident at the Sanhe Boxing Club had already spread throughout Ping’an County.

The new arrest officer Chen Yuan killed Sun Xiong with a single strike and scared off Xu Changming, a highly respected Bone Refining expert, proving his strength was not inferior to that of a Bone Refining expert.

How could she dare to consider such an existence her enemy?

Her true enemies were the Demon Dao fiends from the No-Life Sect who had killed her brother!

Not Chen Yuan!

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It is said that those who love to give Monthly Tickets are very enduring, is that so?