Dawnsky Pavilion has stood tall in Maplecloud City for years, and for good reason. So when Ian Song said he wanted to meet the Great Boss, Sam Wei hurriedly advised, "Master, the Great Boss is a Core Formation Stage expert!"
"It's fine. Just take me to him," Ian waved off the concern, completely unconcerned.
A quarter of an hour later.
Sam Wei led Ian Song to an ordinary-looking house and said, "This is our Dawnsky Pavilion headquarters."
Hidden in plain sight—looks like the Great Boss of Dawnsky Pavilion has some brains.
Knock knock!
Sam Wei knocked on the old, worn-out gate.
After a moment, an old servant opened the courtyard gate. Seeing Sam Wei, he quickly bowed and greeted him.
With Sam Wei leading the way, no one stopped them, so the two quickly arrived at a refined little courtyard inside the residence.
"Is the Great Boss in?"
Sam Wei asked the two martial artists guarding the courtyard gate.
"Greetings, Third Boss. The Great Boss is inside—please, come in!"
The two martial artists naturally didn’t dare make things difficult for Sam Wei and opened the gate for him without hesitation.
Inside the courtyard stood a large green tree, thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around. Under its shade sat a Go board, where black and white stones were locked in a stalemate. A white-haired old man in black sat there, holding a white stone between his thumb and middle finger, suspended in midair for ages, unable to decide his next move.
After a long pause, the old man finally gave up, tossed the stone back into the jar, turned his head, and smiled slightly at Ian Song. "You must be Evan Chu, right? Young and accomplished, just as the rumors say."
He seemed perfectly calm, as if he’d expected Ian Song’s arrival all along.
An ordinary person might be awed by his act and think he was impossibly deep, but Ian Song wasn’t so easily impressed. He just waved it off: "No need for all these pleasantries. I need Dawnsky Pavilion to keep investigating my father’s case!"
The Great Boss was briefly stunned by Ian Song’s bluntness, but quickly regained his composure and replied coolly, "That depends—what kind of price is Young Master Chu offering?"
"Not a single coin!"
Ian Song shook his head.
The Great Boss's eyes instantly turned cold, staring at Ian Song. "Is Young Master Chu joking, or are you just trying to mess with this old man?"
Ian Song replied calmly, "I'm not joking, and I'm not here to amuse you. Bottom line: you'll investigate this, whether you want to or not!"
Seeing Ian Song act so forceful, the Great Boss was both shocked and suspicious. He unleashed his spiritual sense to scan Ian, confirmed he was just late Divine Sea Stage, and relaxed a bit. Still, he felt a surge of anger—he, a Core Formation expert, had almost been bluffed by a junior at Divine Sea Stage.
A cruel grin appeared on his face. "Kid, do you know what kind of place Dawnsky Pavilion is? You're messing around in the wrong spot. Now I'll teach you a lesson, so you'll learn to behave next time!"
As soon as he finished, the Great Boss snatched up a black Go stone and flicked it with his finger. The stone turned into a streak of black light, shooting straight at Ian Song at incredible speed.
But just then, a nine-tiered pagoda appeared above Ian Song's head, its pale light falling and enveloping him.
Clang!
The Go stone smashed into the yellowish pagoda light and shattered instantly. At the same time, Ian Song formed a hand seal, and a wave of suppressive force swept out, covering the entire courtyard.
Boom!
The Great Boss couldn't withstand the overwhelming suppressive force and collapsed to the ground.
His face flushed red as he desperately tried to mobilize his Core Formation, but was horrified to find even his core was locked down in his dantian, unable to move at all.
Ian Song strode over and pressed three Puppet Mastery Divine Art sigils into the Great Boss's brow.
In no time, the Great Boss was successfully enslaved.
Ian Song then put away the Xuanhuang Pagoda.
No way he’d have come to Dawnsky Pavilion without a trump card.
Even now, he could only barely control the Xuanhuang Pagoda, but it was more than enough to suppress a Core Formation expert.
Three days later.
The Great Boss and Sam Wei arrived together at Ian Song's inn room.
"Greetings, Master!"
Both of them knelt on the floor.
"Get up. How's the investigation going?" Ian Song asked.
"Master!" The Great Boss replied bitterly, "Your father's case seems to be a taboo. In three days, every scout we sent to investigate ended up dead."
"Oh?" Ian Song raised his eyebrows. "Did you find out who did it?"
"I personally examined the wounds. It had to be Core Formation experts, and more than one. So, Master, you’d best give up—otherwise, if they trace things back to Maplecloud City, I’m afraid..." The Great Boss’s face was full of worry.
"Who sent them? What are you trying to hide? Or did my so-called father know something incredible and get silenced on purpose?"
One question after another surfaced in Ian Song’s mind, only making him more interested in the case.
Hongtian City, Zhu Family.
Patriarch Gavin Zhu tapped his right hand lightly on the tea table. Before him stood a middle-aged man, bowing and reporting on a certain matter.
Once the report was finished, Gavin Zhu said coolly, "If that bastard is investigating this, send someone to kill him. I don’t want him stirring up trouble later!"
The middle-aged man hesitated. "But what if the young miss finds out...?"
"Doesn't matter!"
Gavin Zhu waved his hand. "Tanya is the Princess Consort of Jin. The Chu father and son are a stain on our name. Thomas Chu is dead, and that bastard was crippled—no threat. Who could have guessed he’d recover and have such a lucky breakthrough, and now he dares to investigate the past? He’s courting death!"
"Yes, sir!" Seeing Gavin Zhu’s mind was made up, the middle-aged man nodded and left.
Ian Song didn’t take the Great Boss’s advice to stop investigating. He ordered him to keep digging. Ian had a feeling—the truth behind Thomas Chu’s death would soon come to light.
That night.
Chuxue was already fast asleep, while Ian Song sat cross-legged on the bed, refining his inner qi.
Suddenly, Ian’s eyes snapped open and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "So, you’ve come?"
Sure enough, the next moment, someone swaggered right in through the door.
This man’s aura was completely hidden—he looked like an ordinary person with no martial skill, but in truth, he was far stronger than Elder Ethan Xu.
In other words, this man was at least mid Core Formation.
"Who are you?"
Ian Song stared at the intruder and asked.
"Who I am doesn’t matter. All you need to know is—I’ve come to take your life!"
As he spoke, the man suddenly jabbed a finger forward.
A pale golden finger-force ripped through the air, shooting straight for Ian Song’s brow. Just as it was about to pierce him, a white shadow flashed in—another finger jab shattered the golden force instantly.