Big Data Cultivation - Chapter 266

Chapter 266: Chapter 266 Arbitrary Blackmail

The middle-aged man’s heart harbored a bit of a complaint: this was not the place to say such things. If we’d spoken in private, we could have discussed it, but with you doing this now, how can I negotiate with you? You can’t blame me for lying; you’ve cornered me into it.

But if I’m being honest, he thought that the princely heir really wasn’t worth a hundred Immortal Crystals, not even ten. Even if the Prince’s Mansion had ten Immortal Crystals, it was unlikely they would compensate that much.

Feng Jun heard his denial and simply scoffed, “No Immortal Crystals? Then tell me, where did the Immortal Crystals in the Array Plate come from?”

The middle-aged man moved his mouth, about to say that it was “Wonderful Hand Pavilion’s business, how should I know?”

However, before he could speak, Feng Jun motioned with his hand and spoke coldly, “Before you deny it, consider the consequences. Think about what will happen if you deceive me.”

A mortal deceiving an Immortal would only lead to one outcome: a merciless, unpardonable death!

The middle-aged man immediately shut his mouth; he understood all too well the ruthless nature of the Immortal Family. If the Immortals turned against him, the princely heir might have a chance of survival due to his background, but he, a mere eunuch, had no such luck.

Seeing that he remained silent, Feng Jun nodded in satisfaction. “Agreed, then. I just happen to need some extra laborers. The princely heir can stay and help out. Once the Yongyi Duke sends over a hundred Immortal Crystals, I’ll release him.”

The princely heir and the middle-aged man exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat odd.

An official not far away could no longer hold back and spoke out, “Your Excellency aims to be a good physician, but are you aware that your actions are tantamount to kidnapping and extortion? I would advise you not to muddle your own path.”

Feng Jun turned his head, and upon spotting the speaker, he couldn’t help but laugh, “So it’s Magistrate Han… You’re not dead?”

This person was none other than the magistrate of Zhige County, who had previously admired Feng Jun and held the Divine Doctor in high esteem. Today’s duel, however, had Magistrate Han serving as the first official witness, with the command to “begin” issued by him.

Feng Jun asked if he was dead because, in his memory, the person overseeing the duel was only half a li away from the Formation, about three hundred meters, and appeared to have been caught in the blast of the explosion and killed outright.

“The… Prefecture Chief is gravely injured,” Magistrate Han coughed awkwardly, his expression somewhat odd, “Just now, someone triggered the Formation, and I happened to have a pressing need. He volunteered eagerly to take charge.”

He hadn’t dared to object to the three of them, speaking out against the unfairness, but in his heart, he held contempt for such behavior—astonishing that the Yingyi Duke’s great name had a son who couldn’t accept defeat.

Seeing the Divine Doctor trapped by the Formation while the trio outside the Formation were leisurely and effortlessly prevailing, he felt indifferent and took the chance to leave under the pretext of an emergency, thus out of sight, out of mind.

However, the Prefecture Chief saw this as an opportunity to shine. Even though there was nothing left to do, he promptly took over the task.

Then, the Prefecture Chief eager to prove himself was blown away by the explosion, currently unconscious and hanging by a thread, likely not to survive the day.

Magistrate Han found the situation quite comical and secretly congratulated himself on having a shred of principle. However, with so many colleagues around, he couldn’t be too explicit—surely he couldn’t say the fellow deserved no sympathy and had it coming, right?

But indeed, he had moved away to find some peace, thus he didn’t have a very clear understanding of the situation here.

Feng Jun didn’t have a particularly good or bad impression of this man. Although he was implicated in the ordeal, there was no helping it; this incident occurred in Zhige County and would be unavoidable for any local official.

Thus he casually replied, “I did not kidnap him. If he wants to leave, he may do so—as long as he remembers he owes me a hundred Immortal Crystals, to be repaid within a month.”

A look of incredulity spread across the princely heir’s face. “I can leave… now?”

“Of course,” Feng Jun nodded and replied casually, “Remember, repay it within a month.”

The princely heir didn’t take these words to heart. He figured he wouldn’t need a month before returning home, where others would surely handle this person. As for a hundred Immortal Crystals? Heh, wishful thinking on your part.

At the same time, he felt an indescribable sense of regret… Yes, regret.

It was not every day one encountered an Immortal and had such direct contact—though the contact wasn’t friendly and he was made to work—to have such an opportunity was a rare fortune for others.

The princely heir didn’t enjoy work or serving others, but if there was a chance at an Immortal destiny, he would consider humbling himself—after all, for a man with a goal, suffering hardships was not shameful.

So now that the other party was allowing him to leave, he was actually somewhat conflicted.

But the middle-aged eunuch wasn’t as naively hopeful as the princely heir. Brought to the Yongyi Duke Mansion as a child with the maids, though he hadn’t interacted much with society, being of a lower status and living in the inner house meant he’d seen much of the world’s ugliness.

Thus, he suspected that Feng Jun’s words might have an ulterior motive and once again stated firmly, “A hundred Immortal Crystals is absolutely impossible!”

Feng Jun glanced at him indifferently, sat down at the table, and spoke casually, “If you want to leave, it’s a hundred Immortal Crystals. You prompted me to set the price… Lang Zhen, pour me some tea.”

Lang Zhen came over to pour the tea upon hearing this, and the middle-aged eunuch, seeing his demeanor, couldn’t help but ask, “After we leave, the Prince’s Mansion will probably not agree to such terms.”

His question was very direct, nearly adding, “What will you do to me then?”

Doctor Feng placed the knife on the table, took out an object, and played with it casually, then he picked up his tea and sipped it leisurely. After a while, he said offhandedly, “The princely heir was born in the hour of the pig? That’s not a suitable birth time for a first son.”

The Princely Heir and the middle-aged eunuch’s faces changed simultaneously at the words.

This plane also spoke of one’s birth time and fortune—each time period had its pros and cons, with no absolute good or bad.

A first son’s birth in the hour of Hai was not taboo, but generally speaking, people preferred a good omen, as the first son bore the responsibility of leading the family’s development. Yet, the hour of Hai was the last of the day.

Of course, the firstborn son might not necessarily be the legitimate eldest; he could also be a child born out of wedlock. This saying did not cover all situations and was merely for appearances.

However, regardless of the reason, having a family’s first son born in the last hour of the day symbolically was not considered very auspicious.

Yet, the change in the Princely Heir and the eunuch’s expressions wasn’t due to this reason. They understood the implication of those words better than anyone else—apart from a very few individuals, no one knew the Princely Heir’s exact time of birth.

For the friends and relatives of the Yongyi Duke, the Princely Heir’s birthday was not a big secret. Aside from celebrations for his first hundred days and his first birthday, the Prince’s Mansion would hold a celebration every year for the Princely Heir’s birthday—after all, he was the foremost among the next generation.

Even if there was a year when the Princely Heir was not at home and no banquet was held, the servants still received an extra meal.

But those who knew the exact hour of the Princely Heir’s birth could really be counted on one’s fingers. The publicly declared position of the Duke’s Mansion was: “The Princely Heir was born at the exact hour of Chen.”

A firstborn son born in the hour of Chen truly had a nice ring to it—the rising sun at dawn, tender yet unstoppable, representing hope that would eventually bless all living beings.

But did the Duke’s Mansion claim this merely because they cared about such appearances? Only a fool would think so.

The true reason was: The Princely Heir’s birth time and fortune must not fall into the hands of outsiders! This was a world where Immortals existed!

In the Earth Realm without Immortals, there were still socalled masters who used others’ birth times to cast spells. What about here?

Therefore, the change on the Princely Heir and the middle-aged eunuch’s faces was unavoidable.

The eunuch asked with a dark face, “Sir, if you speak thus, may I ask what you mean?”

Feng Jun glanced at him sideways, with visible displeasure, “Are you talking to me?”

“I have offended you, Sir. We will take our leave first,” the eunuch apologized immediately, pulling the Princely Heir and signaling with his eyes: other matters were not appropriate to discuss now; they would talk privately later.

In fact, there was too much that was inappropriate to say at this juncture, like: the Prefecture Chief was about to die.

The Prefecture Chief wasn’t directly managed by the Ministry of Personnel but was under the jurisdiction of the Prefecture. Often, once the Prefecture made recommendations, the higher authorities would approve them.

Regardless, as the second-in-charge of the County, part of the Official Government structure, his imminent death posed a challenging issue to explain to the higher authorities.

Apart from the Prefecture Chief and the five killed by Feng Jun, at least a dozen others had perished on site. With a death toll exceeding twenty, it was a serious affair—what was to be accounted for when spectators died in such numbers, never mind the duelists?

In strict terms, a feud between two Clans might result in as many deaths, which wouldn’t be a major issue if suppressed and unreported.

But with many officials present from the County, the Prefecture, and the Province, and even officials from neighboring counties, quelling this incident was immensely difficult.

Moreover, Immortal Crystals had appeared on site and, furthermore… had been secretly taken, while the Imperial Court officials merely looked on.

Another issue was the death of one of the County Soldiers, who fell backward directly onto the point of a blade.

All things considered, there needed to be a method to bring closure to this event.

Feng Jun didn’t worry about these matters. Since he was posing as an Immortal, he had to act the part. Thus, he motioned to Lord Beiyuan in the crowd with a beckoning finger, “You, come here.”

Lord Beiyuan really didn’t want to step forward, but with the other party pointing directly at him, he didn’t dare to feign ignorance. He could only tug at the person beside him, speaking pitifully, “Le Wen, help me through this calamity, and I shall bestow a generous reward upon you.”

Tian Lewen truly didn’t want to deal with him, but he also couldn’t neglect him, so he sighed, “Wasn’t the hint from my family obvious enough? How could you not understand?”

Lord Beiyuan felt aggrieved, “You only warned that this man should not be provoked. Why didn’t you make it clearer?”

Tian Lewen looked at him as if he were an idiot, his lips twitching into a half-smile, “We told you everything we knew, and then what… so you could snatch the opportunity meant for my family?”

This remark left one speechless, yet it was the harsh reality. With opportunity at hand, what did kinship matter? Even blood brothers would vie with each other.

However, the difference was, Tian Lewen’s words were also “after the event”—before today, he truly wasn’t certain that Feng Jun was an Immortal, and at times, he believed that his Uncle was simply too anxious to advance to the Innate level and had gone a bit mad.

Speaking of which, he looked around and gesticulated to Tian Yangni, “Uncle…”

(Updated to, calling for monthly passes.)