Chapter 56

Mulan Su returned to the Qingyang tribe alone two days ago, with the purpose of investigating news about "Little Sword Lord" Xie Yutang.

The Qingyang tribe was undoubtedly the best choice for gathering information about Xie Yutang.

Because in Mulan Su's view, since Xie Yutang had come to the Three Thousand Great Mountains, he would inevitably choose the Qingyang tribe as his temporary residence.

As long as she could find out if anyone had seen Xie Yutang recently, she could roughly determine when he arrived at the Three Thousand Great Mountains.

The reason for doing this was entirely Shi Xuan's idea.

Mulan Su did not understand why the Young Master was so eager to meet Xie Yutang. Was it just to appreciate the uniqueness of the "纵横剑经" (Zongheng Sword Canon)?

Or did the Young Master believe that Xie Yutang had already found that "world-renowned treasure"?

But regardless of whether she understood or not, Mulan Su had to act. However, she had been back in the Qingyang tribe for two days and had not found any information about Xie Yutang.

This made Mulan Su somewhat helpless. Xie Yutang was such a person, elusive like a dragon, and it was not easy to gather information about him.

Fortunately, on this very evening, Mulan Su received news that last night, a thousand miles away from the Qingyang tribe, a golden flame beast that had not appeared for hundreds of years had emerged by a river, and it was highly likely to be related to the "world-renowned treasure."

The news also said that Liu Yukun, the eldest son of Liu Wujun, the governor of the southwestern province of the empire, had been killed by this beast!

This was a shocking piece of news, enough to cause a great upheaval.

Mulan Su had already made up her mind to investigate the whereabouts of this golden flame beast early the next morning.

However, what surprised Mulan Su was that on this very evening, she had planned to discuss some matters with Yan Zhen, the shopkeeper of Shiding Hall, but she unexpectedly saw that despicable and cunning young man who made her teeth grind in hatred!

At this moment, Mulan Su stood at a distance, watching Lin Xun being questioned by Yan Zhen, and seeing him surrounded by a crowd, looking like a lamb ready to be slaughtered. For some reason, Mulan Su suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction.

"Little brat, you have this coming?"

Mulan Su wished Yan Zhen would take action and give this despicable young man a good lesson, to vent her anger.

But just as this thought crossed her mind, she immediately noticed that the little brat's gaze was looking in her direction.

Mulan Su's heart skipped a beat, and she was about to move to avoid him, but it was too late.

She heard the little brat wave his hand with a look of surprise and call out, "Sister Mulan Su, you came at just the right time. Please quickly tell them what this token is all about. Brother Shi Xuan never said that holding this token to enter Shiding Hall would result in such a cold reception."

Mulan Su was speechless, her hand on her forehead. How could this guy be so shameless? The way he called her so affectionately, anyone who didn't know would think they were closely related!

Mulan Su wanted to pretend she didn't know him and turn around and leave, but then she remembered that the token was indeed given by the Young Master Shi Xuan. If the Young Master found out about this, it would be hard to explain.

What should she do?

Mulan Su hesitated. If possible, she really wanted to grab the little brat's ear and give him a good thrashing. He was so infuriating, even when asking for help, he acted so confidently!

Meanwhile, Yan Zhen and the others, seeing this scene, were all puzzled and looked in the direction Mulan Su was standing.

Mulan Su was still wearing a black dress, her hair neatly tied up, her face beautiful and delicate, her figure graceful and alluring, her eyebrows straight and sharp, like a wild rose blooming on a cliff, beautiful but thorny.

Seeing her, Yan Zhen's eyes narrowed, and he said in surprise, "Miss Mulan Su, you... know this young man?"

The others were also puzzled.

Mulan Su sighed inwardly and could only walk over, lightly opening her lips and saying, "This token is indeed a gift from the Young Master."

She did not directly answer, but the meaning was clear.

In an instant, Yan Zhen's doubts were dispelled. Mulan Su was the head of Shiding Hall in Donglin City, and even his own status was far below hers.

Most importantly, Yan Zhen knew that these days, Mulan Su had been helping the Young Master. How could her words be false?

It seemed they had indeed wronged this young man.

Yan Zhen thought to himself, and when he looked at Lin Xun again, his gaze had changed. He did not know why the Young Master had given such a valuable personal token to this young man, but since the Young Master had done so, there must be a reason.

The others, including the man in brocade, had their faces change. This young man was a friend of the Young Master? If the Young Master found out about today's events...

They dared not think about it!

Especially the man in brocade, who was already regretting his actions. His behavior had indeed been too rude and impolite, but how could he have known that this poorly dressed young man had such a significant background?

At this moment, the man in brocade suddenly saw Lin Xun turn around and look at him. His heart skipped a beat, thinking Lin Xun was about to settle the score.

But to his surprise, Lin Xun bowed with a look of regret and said, "I was rash just now, and I was wrong. I apologize to this uncle, please forgive me."

The man in brocade was taken aback and said instinctively, "No problem, no problem. It was just a misunderstanding, sir, please don't take it to heart."

Lin Xun smiled and said no more.

Yan Zhen, seeing this, waved his hand and said, "You can all step back."

Then, he led Lin Xun and Mulan Su along a long corridor into a refined room, where they all sat down.

"May I ask the young sir's name?"

Yan Zhen's attitude had become formal and enthusiastic. He was originally quite refined, and his words and laughter were like a warm spring breeze.

"Senior, you are too polite. I am Lin Xun."

Lin Xun smiled and bowed.

Mulan Su sat alone on one side, absentmindedly playing with a delicate teacup, seemingly not wanting to get involved in the conversation.

Her attitude made Yan Zhen slightly puzzled, but he still smiled and said, "So you are Lin Xun. Today's incident was due to our negligence at Shiding Hall. Please don't take it to heart."

He was polite, but Lin Xun was even more polite, quickly standing up and bowing, looking apologetic, "Senior, you are too polite. I was the one who was wrong, how can I blame others?"

Yan Zhen couldn't quite grasp Lin Xun's thoughts. This guy had been so aggressive in the hall just now, but now he was so humble?

Thinking about this, Yan Zhen said, "I may be bold to ask, but if you had shown the token right away, perhaps this misunderstanding wouldn't have happened..."

Before he could finish, Lin Xun said with a sheepish smile, "Senior, you don't know. The situation was urgent, and I couldn't really determine the use of this token, so I had to resort to this. I thought if things got big, it would definitely get your attention."

Yan Zhen was speechless. This guy was honest, openly admitting his thoughts, which showed he had good character.

Unconsciously, he had developed a liking for Lin Xun. A teenager of thirteen or fourteen with such a mind was indeed rare.

The key was that this young man could be humble and flexible, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Yan Zhen would have suspected Lin Xun was a deeply scheming adult.

"Is that really what you were thinking?"

Suddenly, Mulan Su spoke, her beautiful eyes piercing Lin Xun.

She could see that from the moment he entered the room, this little brat had been lying. He seemed to be very humble, but his words were so well-crafted that no one could find fault with them. He was extremely cunning.

Especially since Mulan Su knew that with Lin Xun's intelligence, he wouldn't have just caused such a commotion to get Yan Zhen's attention. He must have had other intentions!

Lin Xun smiled bitterly and sighed, "Sister Mulan Su, I have never left my village before. I have no experience or knowledge. If I did something wrong, please kindly point it out."

As he spoke, he bowed to Mulan Su, his attitude sincere and earnest, making it impossible for Mulan Su to criticize him, as it would make her seem petty.

"This little brat is getting more and more cunning!"

Mulan Su was secretly angry but smiled sweetly and said, "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. Besides, you are someone the Young Master values, so even if you make a mistake, everyone will forgive you."

"Ha ha, Sister Mulan Su is right. Let's not talk about it anymore."

Yan Zhen laughed, "By the way, may I ask what brings you to Shiding Hall this time?"

Lin Xun's expression became serious, and he bowed, "To be honest, I have two things to do this time."

"Please go on."

Yan Zhen stroked his beard and smiled.

"First, I am here to sell some items to exchange for living supplies for the villagers of our Fiyun Village. At the same time, I hope to reach a trade agreement with Shiding Hall."

Lin Xun quickly said, "Senior, you may not know, but our Fiyun Village now produces a lot of Fiyun Fire Copper. I believe these materials are also needed by Shiding Hall, so I plan to sign a trade agreement with Shiding Hall to exclusively buy and sell Fiyun Fire Copper, which will also provide a long-term income for our Fiyun Village."

Yan Zhen raised an eyebrow, "Fiyun Fire Copper?"

Lin Xun smiled, "Yes, that's right. Sister Mulan Su saw this material when she and the Young Master visited Fiyun Village last time."

With this sentence, he pulled Mulan Su into the conversation. She glared at Lin Xun but finally nodded, "He's right."

Yan Zhen was immediately reassured and smiled, "Alright, I can agree to this. It will be mutually beneficial."

Lin Xun smiled, "Thank you, Senior."

With this matter resolved, with Shiding Hall's protection, no one would dare to touch the Fiyun Fire Copper mine. Additionally, because of his relationship with Shi Xuan, Shiding Hall would not dare to cheat the villagers of Fiyun Village. This way, even if Lin Xun left Fiyun Village, he wouldn't have to worry about this matter.

Moreover, selling Fiyun Fire Copper would bring long-term benefits to Fiyun Village, gradually improving the villagers' lives and freeing them from worries about their livelihood.

This was a win-win situation, and Lin Xun had been planning this since he came to the Qingyang tribe. Seeing it go so smoothly, he felt a sense of relief.

"Sir, what is the second matter?" Yan Zhen asked.

Lin Xun glanced at Mulan Su, then at Yan Zhen, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

Just this expression made Mulan Su's heart skip a beat. She knew this little brat was up to no good and was about to propose something difficult!