Chapter 9: Review
After searching for a long time, Chen Chao found quite a number of good stuff on that young man. Satisfied, he glanced at the young man who was currently breathing feebly and lifted his head to ask, "Do you want him alive?"
Only then, did Xie Nandu who had been absent-minded the entire time come back to her sense. She frowned and asked, "Can he still be saved?"
"Tough."
Chen Chao chuckled and no longer cared about this guy and walked towards the stove over there. But when he was about to sit on that old chair, Xie Nandu was a step ahead.
Chen Chao frowned and did not say anything. Sitting down opposite, he moved close to the stove. Feeling the warmth, he hummed comfortably.
Only after a few moments, did Chen Chao turn towards Xie Nandu and ask, "Shouldn't you have something to say now?"
Xie Nandu thought about it. Presently, the two of them were truly considered to be grasshoppers on the same piece of string. There was nothing to hide now as well. She said straightforwardly, "I'm born in White Deer's Xie Clan."
Chen Chao frowned and said, "White Deer's Xie Clan, that White Deer's Xie Clan that's of the same lineage as the Divine Capital's Xie Clan?"
Xie Nandu nodded her head very calmly.
But, Chen Chao was a little surprised. He had long known that this teenage girl's identity was not ordinary. But, even if he knew that she was surnamed Xie, he did not guess the Xie Clan. Xie Clan these two words were really too heavy.Over 200 years ago, the world coincided with troubled times. Great Liang's founding emperor decided to rise up and overthrow tyranny. White Deer's Xie Clan gave their all to help. Not only did they finance money and food, they even dispatched many of the outstanding descendants in the clan to help. Later, Great Liang Dynasty ruled the world. Under the conferment of the founding emperor, more than ten people in the Xie Clan were conferred. These dozen over people immediately became the Great Liang Dynasty's most trusted ministers. With the passage of time, these dozen over people gradually gained a firm foothold in the Divine Capital and formed a new family clan too. This was the origin of the Divine Capital's Xie Clan.
White Deer's Xie Clan was the ancestral shrine. The Divine Capital's Xie Clan was initially just a branch. But with the passage of time, generations of the Divine Capital's Xie Clan gained a firm foundation in the imperial court and were gradually able to be mentioned in the same breath as White Deer's Xie Clan. Several decades ago, thanks to the 100 plus years of accumulation, the Divine Capital's Xie Clan had long already leaped to become one of the largest family clans in the dynasty. In the imperial court, they could even contend with the Qing He's Wei Clan which stretched for hundreds of years. They naturally surpassed White Deer's Xie Clan for a time. Although the southern ancestral shrine was still the ancestral shrine, there were many rules that had long already inadvertently changed.
Xie Nandu was the most outstanding existence in this generation of White Deer's Xie Clan. On White Deer this side, they did not harbor other intentions by sending her to the Divine Capital.
"I said long ago, becoming friends with me should be a pretty good decision."
Xie Nandu added a piece of charcoal to the stove and said with some regret, "If only there was a sweet potato."
Chen Chao frowned and analyzed, "The Divine Capital's Xie Clan wants you to head north to the Divine Capital. But, someone amongst them doesn't want you to appear in the Divine Capital."
"Not that they don't want to, but that there are no friendly sentiments in the influential families of the capital. Everything depends on whether it's worth it or not. Actually, the thinking of big shots isn't hard to guess, it's just to have a look at me."
Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao, the meaning in her eyes was already very obvious.
"To see whether or not you're a so-called genius. This is a test too. Only if you pass, will your surname be Xie."
Chen Chao said mockingly, "This kind of behavior is very much in line with the temperament of those so-called big shots."
Xie Nandu looked at Chen Chao and said seriously, "Thank you."
How can a young girl who had yet to begin cultivating pass the so-called test after all of her retainers died in battle? It could only be through external forces.
This would be making use of people.
As a major family clan that was second to none in the Great Liang Dynasty, using people was one of the most fundamental abilities that Xie Clan descendants should possess.
Xie Nandu suddenly asked, "You don't have much information and I didn't make it clear to you too. How did you know that he'd show up here?"
Chen Chao glanced at the young man who had already stopped breathing and tilted his head, "There are many stupid people in the world. But it just so happens that I'm not one of them."
The demon appeared at Changyuan Street twice. Normal people would definitely still choose to go there and stand guard. But when he was chatting with Xie Nandu previously, she suddenly mentioned the matter of qi refiners rearing demons. That let Chen Chao understand that these two murders were not simple. Moreover, Xie Nandu chose to stay behind after that instead of going to Changyuan Street with him.
This was the biggest problem.
Xie Nandu had always believed that staying by Chen Chao's side was the safest. Why did she choose to stay behind at this time?
Did she wanted to keep Chen Chao out of this mess?
Then what would be the fate that she left for herself?
So very clearly, she wanted to draw that young man out. At the same time, she was also betting that Chen Chao this smart person would understand the hints that she had left for him.
Putting it bluntly, there were no coincidences tonight. Everything was a scheme planned by the two.
At this point, even Chen Chao could not help but admire this young girl's cunningness.
A calm temperament, highly shrewd, and extremely methodical when doing things. Plus, she had a meticulous mind. If say that she was a genius in cultivation too, then when Xie Nandu appeared in the Divine Capital, she would definitely set off a storm in the Xie Clan.
The outcome of the future was hard to say. But if one could have her friendship, it would certainly be good.
"That's also to say that I'm likely to be talking to the Xie Clan's next-generation family head?"
Chen Chao raised his eyebrows, but there was not much excitement.
He was not even as excited as when he was making a fortune from that young man previously.
"The atmosphere is all set up here. Aren't you going to tell your story?"
As a matter of fact, Xie Nandu was really interested in Chen Chao's story. Where this Tianqing County's young warden came from, how did he attain his martial arts cultivation, and even what martial arts realm he was in... All these were things that Xie Nandu wanted to know.
Curiosity killed the cat. But clearly, it would not kill Xie Nandu.
"There's nothing to say. But, I helped you once more today, no extra money?"
Chen Chao blinked his eyes. Only then, did he reach into his bosom and take out that demon bead he found in that demon. This demon bead was different from ordinary demon beads. The demonic qi was not that strong. But, it had the function to record images. It should be very welcomed by those noblewomen in the Divine Capital.
Using it to catch adultery would be guaranteed.
Keeping the demon bead, Chen Chao became serious and asked, "Does the test end here? Or is there more to come?"
Since he had already boarded the pirate ship, what else could he do other than try his best to keep the ship from sinking?
Xie Nandu shook her head and smiled slightly, "Who can really guess what big shots think?"
To take one look or take another look, who could say for sure?
Chen Chao suddenly said, "Someone like you, if anyone were to marry you in the future, wouldn't they be haunted with fear for life?"
Hearing this, Xie Nandu was not angry either, she just asked, "Why must I marry someone?"
Chen Chao was stumped by this. Just as he did not know what to say, Xie Nandu opened her mouth again and said with a smile, "If there's really a decent guy, what's the harm in marrying him?"