Chapter 115 - 113: Favor
After all the guests had left, Liu Dingsheng also took his granddaughter and subordinates away.
"Sir, what should we do next?" one of Liu Dingsheng’s subordinates asked.
Due to the appearance of fog beasts, this Liu residence had been mostly destroyed, it was no longer habitable, and rebuilding wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight.
"Go and find another house between the Public Security Bureau and the Governor’s Mansion for me to settle in," Liu Dingsheng instructed.
"Sir, should we hide elsewhere..." someone else cautiously suggested.
He was worried that once their whereabouts were exposed, other enemies might come seeking revenge.
Today’s wave of high-quality enemies attacking had truly frightened them all.
Originally, they thought those potential enemies were just insignificant, but now they had put away any contempt they harbored in their hearts.
"Years ago, I rose in Donglai Prefecture, and now it’s like returning home. I don’t want to go anywhere else," Liu Dingsheng said slowly.
"Moreover, I’ve already established contact with the government of Donglai Prefecture, if anyone comes looking for me, they will be dealt with properly!"
Seeing Liu Dingsheng speak in such a manner, obviously with his mind made up, the subordinates said no more.
On the other side, on the way back, in the carriage.
"Who could have imagined this carriage ended up untouched," Zhuang Ren shook his head and said.
The entire Liu residence was almost crushed by that horde of fog beasts, yet the carriage parked on the street was unharmed.
Song Changming looked at his outfit, which was intact when they came, but now it was nearly in tatters, unwearable.
Zhuang Ren in the carriage was the same; the clothing on him was also severely damaged, mostly due to fighting the fog beasts.
Fortunately, aside from that, neither of them was injured.
"Changming, how do you plan to use Brother Liu’s favor?" Zhuang Ren suddenly asked.
"I haven’t thought about it yet." Song Changming shook his head, then asked.
"What suggestions do you have, sir?"
Since Zhuang Ren proactively mentioned it, clearly he had something in mind.
"After today’s ordeal, Brother Liu might not stay in the county city for long. It’s best to use this favor sooner rather than later, lest you find it unusable in the future," Zhuang Ren reminded, speaking very candidly.
"Don’t be embarrassed, some people’s favor can be worth thousands of gold, even priceless. If you miss it, I would feel somewhat sorry for you."
Hearing this, Song Changming nodded.
He couldn’t help but seriously consider how to use Liu Dingsheng’s favor.
If Liu Dingsheng’s favor was truly so valuable, honestly, he was quite tempted to go directly and cash it in.
After all, he was indeed short of money at the moment.
Various aspects of cultivation require a large amount of money and silver to acquire sufficient cultivation materials.
Once he runs out of money and silver, the daily supply of cultivation materials will fall short, which will severely affect his martial practice speed.
But obviously, this wasn’t realistic.
If he truly did that, Liu Dingsheng would most likely feel insulted, and in his anger, who knows what might happen.
Besides money, Song Changming truly didn’t have anything else he particularly wanted.
Unable to come up with anything at the moment, he looked at Zhuang Ren again.
Zhuang Ren clearly had suggestions yet to be revealed. Seeing Song Changming look over, he didn’t play coy and directly said.
"If you ask me what is most valuable from Brother Liu, I believe it is his martial achievements over the sixty-plus years, and his cultivation experience richer than most martial artists!
Additionally, his knowledge and broad understanding of the outside world are invaluable treasures that cannot be measured by money and silver!
If you use this favor to seek some guidance from him, I believe it’s a great gain."
Hearing this, Song Changming was thoughtful, and hesitantly said.
"Sir, are you suggesting I seek guidance from Elder Liu?"
Zhuang Ren shook his head and said, "Brother Liu has guided others, but I’ve never heard of him accepting disciples or students. If you can truly become his disciple, gaining his legacy and support, that would indeed be a great opportunity.
However, I think just one favor is not enough for him to give you his all; let’s not mention apprenticeship for now, but getting his guidance once is enough."
"I see." Song Changming understood Zhuang Ren’s point.
In simple terms, it meant using this favor to get a chance to be guided by Liu Dingsheng.
This guidance would not only be about cultivation but also other personal dilemmas, and he might find answers from Liu Dingsheng, a great elder of the Jianghu.
It’s undeniable that this is indeed a good idea.
It neither offends Liu Dingsheng nor benefits him greatly.
"Thank you for the guidance, sir." Song Changming expressed his gratitude.
"No problem, it was just a small casual suggestion, whether to adopt it is up to you," Zhuang Ren waved his hand and said.
After working together for over a year, he and Song Changming were now very familiar with each other.
He admired Song Changming and relied on and trusted him immensely in daily affairs, hence this conversation.
Soon, the carriage returned to the General Department.
Zhuang Ren hurriedly changed into his official uniform and rushed to the Governor’s Mansion to report today’s matters to the Governor.
The appearance of foreigners and a large group of fog beasts was enough to draw everyone’s attention, and they dared not treat it with slackness or hesitation.
Song Changming also changed into his Patrol Captain’s official uniform, leading Liang Zhao Long and other Patrol Guards to personally patrol the streets for investigation.
At night, he also supervised the interrogation process of the captured criminals.
Zhuang Ren was also present, working personally, waiting for the results.
Approaching midnight, several of Liu Dingsheng’s enemies finally opened their mouths in the prison, revealing some matters.
The relatively young man who jumped out first in the courtyard during the day to prevent Liu Dingsheng from retiring was their leader.
The man was earlier the descendant of a powerful family in the northern Hengyang Prefecture.
His parents colluded with corrupt officials, exploited the people, and were later eliminated by Liu Dingsheng, with their vast wealth returned to the local people by Liu Dingsheng.
Thus, the enmity was formed.
The man, although young at the time, understood patience, and grew up practicing diligently while recruiting people, scouring the Jianghu for Liu Dingsheng’s whereabouts.
Later, holding a resolute determination, he ventured into the Outer Domain, striving to finally gain the support of strong people in the Outer Domain.
Upon learning that Liu Dingsheng was going to retire, unable to suppress the flames of revenge in his heart, he initiated the events of the day.
In fact, if he were a bit calmer, he might truly have had the potential to become the protagonist in a storybook, achieving ultimate revenge.
But unfortunately, he underestimated Liu Dingsheng’s terrifying power despite his old age, ending in dismal failure, and a tragic fate where both he and his lamplight extinguished.
According to the interrogation results, it was confirmed that this person only found three foreigners to aid him, who were the red-robed men.
Now, all three are dead, which can be considered good news.
At least there’s no need to worry about suddenly suffering a night assault from a large group of fog beasts in the city centers while asleep.
Heaven knows how many innocent people could be killed or injured if that truly happened.
"Go back and rest, the remaining matters we will discuss tomorrow," Zhuang Ren said as he stood up and left the General Prison.
"Alright." Song Changming, somewhat fatigued, yawned and then stepped away.
The intense battle with the fog beast group and those attackers during the day led to such exhaustion, fatigue was normal.
Indeed, he needed to go back and rest well today.
Returning to his residence on Brocade Street, Song Changming suddenly remembered something.
"Seems it’s time today..."
Then he opened the information panel to check.
The first refreshed information was the daily evaluation.
[Today’s Evaluation: A meaningful day, lifespan +1, gained the limited-time status ’Heaven Rewards Diligence’]
Unfortunately, despite facing a large group of mighty fog beasts, and the intense battle spanning the day,
he didn’t encounter any dangerous or thrilling crises, thus didn’t attain the precious status of ’Potential Activation,’ just the usual ’Heaven Rewards Diligence.’
He was not surprised by this though.
His focus was not on tonight’s refreshed daily evaluation.
But on the subsequent messages that surfaced.
Every June, the annual evaluation unfolds once.
[Annual Evaluation: A year of mixed gains and losses.]
[Martial Arts Aspect: This year saw rapid advancement in your Martial Tao strength, with the Great Strength Bull Demon Skill reaching the Sixth Realm, Spiritual Monkey Skill...]
[Battle Achievements Aspect: This year you repeatedly fought formidable enemies with bravery, without a single defeat, including slaying one High-level Fog Beast, three Middle-level Mist Beasts, Jianghu Flying Thief...]
[Connections Aspect: This year yielded modest gains, earning moderate trust from the new General Director, gaining recognition from the Governor for your abilities, and forming initial ties with Jianghu elder Liu Dingsheng...]
[Power and Fame Aspect: This year was average, with no promotion in government position, earning the ’Dragon Saber’ title, and a slight increase in Jianghu fame...]
[Family Aspect: Disappointing this year, not yet married, parents are worried about your future marriage, family mission of expansion stalled...]
[Please choose an annual reward.]
[1, lifespan +1500, 2, lifespan -500, any Martial Arts Experience +100, 3, lifespan -200, attribute points +2]
...