Chapter 6: Demons Sending Babies
"Did they say why they wanted to buy this residence?"
Su Chen sat in his spot in a private study and asked Li Shu.
"Apparently, the Long Clan's Young Master wanted it. He said that the whole 'demons sending babies' thing only affected women, not men, so he would buy it so that men could live there first. Perhaps if that demon were to leave, he could then remodel the residence and make a huge profit."
"That seems to make sense. But is he not afraid of this at all? It does have to do with evil spirits, after all. They might leave, but they might also change their way of doing things and begin to stuff babies inside the stomachs of men, right?" Su Chen asked.
Li Shu laughed, "Yes, that's what I thought as well. If that weren't the case, why would the Li Clan give up on this residence? They were afraid of this matter in the end and wanted to get out a bit earlier. But the Long Clan's representative said that they were a Bloodline Nobility Clan and weren't afraid of this. If evil spirits really came after them, they were willing to fight it out. Young Master, you're also an Origin Qi Scholar and you're not afraid. So what ground do I have to force them to be afraid of it? His words were still reasonable, so I couldn't say much."
"Oh. Then are there no Bloodline Nobility Clans that aren't afraid?"
"It's still related to demons and evil spirits in the end. If they don't know how deep the roots go, they won't try and touch it easily. This world is so vast, and it is filled with ruffians and vagrants. If the Bloodline Nobility Clans were to take unnecessary risks all the time, they wouldn't survive for very long."
"The Long Clan and I just so happen to not fear evil spirits and are determined to live here, huh?"
Li Shu awkwardly laughed, "Young Master is different from them."
He was originally just flattering Su Chen, but Su Chen nodded. "Yes, I am different from them. If I dare come here, naturally I have my own source of confidence. What about the Long Clan? They're also probably different, right?"
Li Shu froze. Su Chen said, "Chang Er."
An individual wearing a black cloak entered the room and kneeled in front of Su Chen. "Master!"
Bandits never had much integrity in the first place. After Su Chen's "training" of him, he had completely sold himself over to Su Chen.
"Go keep an eye on the Long Clan and see what's going on there."
"Yes!"
An instant later, Li Shu discovered that the black-cloaked individual had actually disappeared without a trace from before his very own eyes.
This gave him quite a bad shock.
Even though he wasn't an Origin Qi Scholar, he knew that invisibility techniques was not something every Origin Qi Scholar could achieve. If Su Chen had achieved it, then he wouldn't have been as surprised. However, for a servant whom he had never seen before to possess such a technique – there was no way he could have been prepared for it.
Most importantly, he remembered that there were a total of six individuals dressed like this black-cloaked individual
After sending Chang Er off, Su Chen continued to discuss the situation with Li Shu.
"Right, this matter of demons sending babies, it happened about year ago. What happened to those girls that got pregnant?" Suu Chen asked.
"Most of them have already given birth, but every one was a stillbirth."
"Stillbirths……" Su Chen muttered. "Is it really a demon?"
After thinking for a moment, Su Chen asked, "So where are the stillbirths and the pregnant women at now?"
"Naturally, the stillbirths were discarded, with their exact location unknown. It's also unknown what happened to the mothers; some committed suicide, some ran away, and others still were captured and locked by the Li Clan. In any case, none of them met any good fates; the only one who was a little better off was probably the Li Clan's Fourth Young Miss, who was apparently sent back to her old home and began a new life under a new identity."
Su Chen tapped his finger on the dragon-shaped mahogany armrest of his chair, resulting in a rhythmic echo throughout the study.
He thought for a moment, then said, "Gui Dashan."
"I am here." The black-cloaked individual that walked in was the original leader of the Tortoiseshell Camp, Iron Hammer Gui Dashan. Currently, he was Su Chen's top-ranked Shadow Servant.
"Figure out where the Li Clan ended up disposing those stillborns, as well as where all the dead mothers are."
"Yes!" Gui Dashan similarly disappeared into thin air, giving Li Shu quite a big shock. His fear and admiration of Su Chen only increased.
"Right, how is my mother doing? Did you bring her the medicines I told you to bring her?" Su Chen suddenly changed the topic.
"Based on Young Master's orders, Zhou Hong went to visit Northface City a while back and brought the medicine over, and he also informed Madame of your wishes. But Madame said that she is getting old and her bones aren't as good anymore. She doesn't want to move here and there again, so she didn't want to come to Clear River."
"Has she still not given up on Su Cheng'an yet?"
"That's not it. In these ten years since Young Master has been at the Institute, Great Master – I mean, Su Cheng'an took in another four concubines, but his days only grew more and more difficult. He has been labeled the trash of the Su Clan, and Madame has already given up on him a long time ago. But she also said that she was still a member of the Su Clan; as long as the Great Master doesn't die, she cannot leave. Otherwise, it will ruin family principles."
"So she still isn't willing to break through this barrier of principle," Su Chen sighed. "But this might be for the best. The path I am going to take is going to be fraught with thorns. If she doesn't come with me, she might have a bit more peace and be under a little less danger."
"Now that Young Master has finished his studies, it would be good to go back and visit sometime," Li Shu tried to persuade him.
Su Chen shook his head. "I really don't want to return to that home. Let's just leave it like this. From this point on, me and the Su Clan will go our separate ways. I don't owe them anything anymore, and this way I won't involve them in any trouble that I stir up. As for mother…… Li Shu, go to the Gu District and buy a place for her. Tell mother that every midsummer I will go there and live for a few days. If mother misses me, she can go there and live for a couple of days."
The Gu District was located in between Clear River and Northface, more towards Northface. Most importantly, it was quiet and charming, making it a popular summer getaway. Since Tang Hongrui didn't want to leave Northface, he would help her find a nice place where they could see each other from time to time.
After taking care of his family issues, he asked around again about how the new Agarwood Pavilion set up here was doing. Upon confirming that everything was in order, Su Chen said, "Okay, you'll be the Chief Steward in this place from today onwards. Everything will be under your control, while Mingshu will be responsible for handling internal security, and Zhou Hong will be responsible for handling external security."
Mingshu and Zhou Hong had reached the Qi Drawing Realm eight years before and had handled security at the Agarwood Pavilion all those years. Now, Su Chen was just giving them an official title.
Next, Su Chen pulled out a few Origin Skills and medicines for them to use in cultivating. Even Li Shu got a vial of Aging Medicine.
These people had come with them all the way from Northface until now. They were pretty much his trusted aids, so naturally he had to take care of them.
After taking care of these matters, Su Chen rose and said, "Iron Cliff, go and prepare the carriage. We're going into the city."
"Young Master, you're going out?"
"Yes, we need to go to the Origin Bureau and hand over some official documents. Even though it's somewhat of a bother, we still need to do the required procedure," Su Chen replied as he dusted himself off.