Clues
Clues
"Not an issue! I didn't sustain any injuries." Jun Moxie answered in a heroic manner: "This was just a small incident, I've been through worse."
Even though Old Pang's mouth parted to open, he didn't speak. He could tell that Jun Moxie had indeed gotten used to these affairs. [The young master had sustained a few injuries during the last assassination attempt on the princess…. Compared to that, this assassination attempt on the young master's life was nothing since the young master is perfectly unharmed.]
"In that case, you must return to the residence young master. The master and the Guan family have been waiting a long time now." Old Pang stated.
"Just a minute, but first I have to go back because I need to take a look at my palanquin…. There should still be something inside it." Jun Moxie took the umbrella and turned around.
[The palanquin was first attacked by concealed weapons, and was then set ablaze. And now this rain has turned it into a pile of dirt and ash; what could possibly be still left in it?]
Even though Old Pang didn't quite agree, he still followed after Jun Moxie for the sake of keeping him safe.
Jun Moxie circled around the remains of the palanquin a few time like a fly, and then bent down to pick something up from the floor, and then first looked east, then west, and then swirled around in a circle once. Then he handed the umbrella back to Old Pang and said: "Let's go."
"I don't think that the weapon you just picked up belongs to you, young master." Old Pang's keen peak Earth Mystic eyes were capable enough of spotting the item that Jun Moxie had just picked up. [You just walked all the way over to here for picking up a concealed weapon which was left behind the enemy? These kinds of weapons are very common…. It's common sense to know that this will give us no clues…. The young master considers himself to be too smart…]
Even though he had seen Jun Moxie picking up that weapon, he hadn't noticed the way his eye had lit up or the 'Ah, is that so' smile on Jun Moxie's face at that moment.
Even the pouring rain and fierce winds weren't enough to completely wash away all the traces of the assassins. Though some minor traces still lingered, the Jun Family's sleuths weren't capable of understanding or interpreting them.
For example, the wind was still carrying a faint fragrance with it.... Even though the fragrance was so faint that a normal person wouldn't exactly be able to tell things apart, Jun Moxie's amplified senses were keen enough to detect it.
And then there had been a hint of familiarity in that 'Withdraw' command; these two factors were alone enough! A wretched smile creased onto his face as he put two and two together.
Upon reaching home, Jun Moxie found his grandfather standing at the gate of the hall way. The Old man's eyes scanned his grandson from head to toe but found no scratch on his body. He frowned his brows in rebuke: "When will you be strong enough for me to stop worrying about you! Now go and change your clothes."
Jun Moxie obediently left for his room even though he didn't quite agree with his grandfather.
He quickly changed his clothes and entered the dining hall, and found that the food and beverages had already been set on the table. Jun Wuyi was sitting in his wheelchair with a thin layer of blanket atop his legs. He looked at Jun Moxie, smiled faintly and whispered in a low voice: "I don't know what kind of skills would be required to handle this matter in such a neat manner… Moxie, your uncle is very curious ah. You have to tell me about the origins of these mysterious skills; don't say that you don't know anything about it!"
"Uh…. Uncle, this big world is filled with all kinds of wonders, and some extraordinary talents, this…" Jun Moxie smiled mischievously.
"Stop, I don't want that talk again." Jun Wuyi widened his eyes to stare at his nephew: "What about those people? Do you have any idea about them?"
"I did get some idea about them; I might be able to track down a few of them." Jun Moxie winked.
"Should I send some more men to assist you?" Jun Wuyi's expression suddenly became very cold. [Those bastards tried to assassinate my Moxie, therefore they must die!]
"That time hasn't come yet." Jun Moxie smiled back: "They've given us something to build on, but if we send out our men after them right now, then we'll only make them more cautious."
"You mean...you already know who's behind this?" Jun Wuyi's eyes lit up.
"Uncle, your clear as flame foresight is capable of planning battle strategies from a tent and can win a battle from a thousand miles away..." Jun Moxie mockingly flattered.
Jun Wuyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Guan Family?" Jun Moxie asked out of curiosity: "We've organized this banquet for them, so why aren't they here yet?"
"They are in your sister-in-law's courtyard. Qinghan had a fit of rage." Jun Wuyi smiled subtly: "This is their internal family matter after all; therefore it's alright to wait a while."
As he said these last words, Jun Moxie turned his head to look outside into the rain and spotted a queue of individuals slowly making their way towards the dining area.
It was the Guan Family!
A total of five from Guan family had shown up for the dinner with a beautiful but ice-faced Guan Qinghan leading the way, followed by a thin and tall, middle-aged man dressed in a green robe. Even though his robes were fluttering in the wind, his clothes were completely dry, almost as if his clothes were impervious to the rain outside. The man behind Guan Qinghan was her father, Guan Dongliu; he was also the head of the Guan family.
Behind Guan Dongliu was a burly looking old man. Even though his hair and scanty beard were gray, his body was still very big and sturdy. The sharpness of his eyes seemed to resemble that of a leopard, and his tiger-like walk made it rather evident that this man, Guan Ru Shan was one of the finest warriors of the Guan family.
Guan Ru Shan was followed by two long-faced, jade shaded, elegant, smart and handsome youngsters. These two youngsters were Guan Qinghan's elder brothers. The eldest one was named Guan Qing Bo, while the second son's name was Guan Qingyue.
Guan Qinghan was a very elegant and beautiful young woman, but her two brothers' elegance and looks were at par with hers'. [This family has excellent genes; really excellent ones.] Jun Moxie thought: [They look like embroideries on a pillow cover, don't they?]
"Brother Guan!" Jun Wuyi greeted Guan Dongliu by cupping his hands in a traditional manner while remaining in his wheelchair.
"Brother Jun, there's no need for such formalities." Guan Dongliu smiled radiantly as he cupped his hands to return the greeting, and then signaled his two sons to step forward and greet Jun Wuyi.
"The third generation of the Jun family is indeed very handsome, graceful and bears extraordinary talents ah. Brother Jun, the future of your family is indeed in very secure hands." Guan Dongliu looked sideways at Jun Moxie and smiled affectionately.
The sincere and complimenting manner in which he stated these insulting words to the new master of the house was indeed very fascinating! Jun Moxie could already tell that maintaining control of the relationship with a man of such diplomatic skill could be a very difficult task.
But at this moment, Jun Moxie's eye suddenly diverted towards youngster at the back, Guan Qingyue, who had intentionally or otherwise hidden his body behind his father's in an instant. His eyes had revealed a hint of anger at first upon seeing Jun Moxie, which had quickly transformed to shock and surprise, almost as if he wasn't expecting to see Jun Moxie here. Even though that look in his eyes had disappeared so quickly that no one else was able to notice it, he still wasn't able to hide it from the keen and perceptive eyes of the Hitman.
Jun Moxie couldn't help but wonder: [What's the reason behind that look in his eyes?] He searched his entire memory in order to determine whether he or the previous Jun Moxie had any kind of an association with the youngster, but only found that not only had he never had any sort of an association with the youngster, he had never even seen the man's face before, [but then why did he look so shocked after seeing me? What am I missing here?]
Even though Jun Moxie's mind was busy juggling a plethora of thoughts, his surface expressions were indifferent to it as he stepped forward and smiled courteously to greet Guan Qing Bo and Guan Qingyue. Jun Moxie had heard that the two brothers of his sisters-in-law' had interests similar to the previous Jun Moxie.
It was customary for the host family to entertain their guests; the older generation was responsible for the entertainment of their counterparts, while the younger generation was responsible for looking after theirs'. Since Jun Moxie was the only youngster in the Jun Family, the burden of entertaining these two youngsters naturally fell onto his shoulders.
"Third young master." The two youngsters cupped their hands in greeting. Even though this was his usual title of address from strangers, it was still rather weird coming from the elder brothers of his sister-in-law since the appropriate term of address would have been 'brother' or 'younger brother'. The Guan Family was based out the Jiang Hu province and though their region of residence was fairly small, the family was still quite wealthy and influential since they were practically the overlords of the territory; the young generation of such a family obviously must be aware of the appropriate terms of address.
This title of address alone was enough to reflect that these two youngsters didn't consider Jun Moxie to be their sister's brother-in-law and were plainly considering him to be a powerful family's young descendant.
Just this one 'third young master' was enough to reveal a lot of information to Jun Moxie. Suddenly, a warm smile surfaced on his face as he extended one arm and led the younger of the two men into a more isolated corner of the dining hall. Guan Qingyue's arm shook as Jun Moxie pulled him away, and although this vibration was extremely subtle, Jun Moxie was clearly able to sense the fear inside this young man's heart.
Even though his face wasn't reflecting anything, his mind was constantly considering all sorts of circumstances. [Could it be that?]
Even though Jun Moxie's mind was busy making its calculations, his mouth was free to talk: "You guys have travelled thousands of miles to get to the Heavenly Scent city…. and I've failed to entertain you for the first two days of your stay here, brothers…"
Guan Qing Bo elegantly smiled and said: "There's no need for any formalities. Our first two days in the Heavenly Scent city have been quite wonderful anyway, and we've managed to keep ourselves amused. We met a lot of new people, and have come to realize that this place is indeed worthy of being called the 'capital city' of the Heavenly Scent Empire. We've kept ourselves very busy brother, so there's no need to apologize, really ha ha…."
Guan Qing Bo's nature had taken after his father, which was evident from the fitting choice of words he selected to reply with. Jun Moxie had been informed that Guan Qing Bo was just as interested in certain activities as the pervious Jun Moxie had been, but that wasn't even remotely visible from the sophisticated manner in which he was conducting himself!
"Oh?" Jun Moxie sneakily moved closer, and said in a low voice: "Then I can guarantee a place which will bring the brothers more joy than any other place ever has…."
"What place?" Guan Qing Bo asked in a low voice.
A wretched smile surfaced on Jun Moxie's face; the kind that only a man can understand. His quickly glanced around at Guan Qinghan to ensure that he was standing at a safe distance away from her: "Spirit Fog Lake! That place is every man's paradise, ah, you just can't miss it…"
Guan Qingyue's face suddenly and violently twitched for a second the moment he heard the words 'Spirit Fog Lake'.