4.9

The water monster was seriously injured. Xiao Qinan was worried about it potentially escaping, so he jumped onto the beast and stabbed his pike into one of its eyes. The water monster writhed in pain and thrashed wildly. Xiao Qinan was shaken off and thrown onto the shore. As the water monster splashed about in pain, waves of water were hurled towards the shore and soaked everyone who stood nearby.

Xiao Qinan jumped onto the plank with his pike in hand and rushed toward the beast. It also jumped up and collided with Xiao Qinan. The soldiers on the lake perimeter wanted to offer support to Xiao Qinan by pulling up the iron frames once again. However, the monster's impact against the frames caused it to bounce off and fall under the water.

Everyone's attention was on the water monster and Xiao Qinan. Their hearts couldn't help but plummet when they saw the iron frame falling. They thought that the monster had caused by the beast's impact.

Qiao Chen specially designed this iron frame for Xiao Qinan, and Xiao Qinan had it secretly constructed. He knew more than anyone how much of an impact the frame could withstand. The water monster from the beginning of the fight, with no wounds or scratches, wasn't able to knock the iron frame down- let alone the current monster that was riddled with wounds and injuries.

Therefore, when Qiao Chen saw the iron frame falling into the water, he immediately looked back at the ropes and wooden stakes connected to the frame. Cheng Jingrui was crouched beside one the stakes and secretly cutting the ropes with a dagger.

"What are you doing?" Qiao Chen quickly stepped over and kicked Cheng Jingrui on the shoulder- effectively knocking him onto the ground.

Without the iron frame's defense, Xiao Qinan had no choice but to directly confront the water monster directly. Unfortunately, even a seriously injured water monster was still a tough opponent to deal with.

Xiao Qibei noticed the commotion behind him, so he quickly walked over. He saw the ropes that were cut by Cheng Jingrui. Then, he wordlessly picked up Cheng Jingrui by the collar and punched him in the face.

Xiao Qibei was a martial artist. Cheng Jingrui was a normal businessman and could only stand so much. He was quickly knocked out. If he was hit any more, then he would have surely died by Xiao Qibei's hand.

"Stay your hand." Prince Yong An saw Qiao Chen standing there watching Xiao Qibei. He didn't show any intent on stopping the assault, so he came over and had his men rescue Cheng Jingrui from Xiao Qibei's grasp.

Xiao Qibei fiercely glared at Prince Yong An. He didn't have time to argue with them. He hurriedly looked over at his brother's situation.

Xiao Qinan appeared to struggle greatly without the steel frame's defense. It also appeared as though the water monster wanted to take Xiao Qinan down with it as it attacked Xiao Qinan with every fiber of its very being.

The water monster was also thrashing too wildly. The archers were worried about mistakenly shooting Xiao Qinan, so they didn't dare to shoot.

Qiao Chen tightly held the gun hidden in his sleeve. He quickly stepped forward, jumped onto the planks, and called out to Xiao Qinan, "Fall back."

Xiao Qinan didn't know why Qiao Chen had suddenly jumped forward, but he still subconsciously followed Qiao Chen's orders and retreated. However, this meant that he was stuck in the on the outside with Qiao Chen in between him and the water monster.

Qiao Chen pointed his gun at the water monster. Then he initiated the system and had it take aim at one of the beast's eyes. He pulled the trigger and the eyeball immediately fell into the water with blood and bits of flesh.

No one knew what the concealed weapon that Qiao Chen used was. It was terrifyingly powerful. Cheng Jingrui, the only one who would know, had already been beaten into unconsciousness, so he failed to witness it all.

After Qiao Chen shot the monster in the eye, Xiao Qinan immediately jumped towards the monster's body and stabbed at it. He pierced the still struggling beast's head. Then, the soldiers dragged the dying monster to the shore.

The water monster's stench was so bad that it made people dizzy. The soldiers endured the foul odor, cut the skin and flesh away, and removed the bones.

The Xiao father was very happy that their group successfully retrieved the monster's bones. He suggested that the emperor should immediately give Xiao Qinan the water monster's bones as a reward.

Prince Yong An looked at Xiao father's proud face as he incessantly spouted things like it 'was heaven's will'. He was so angry that he felt like vomiting blood. Furthermore, a large part of why Xiao Qinan was able to capture the water monster was because of Qiao Chen. He thought that the Cheng family wanted to double dip and support both factions so they would gain benefits no matter who won. The thought of this made Prince Yong An livid.

After the hunt ended and they all returned to Luodu city, Prince Yong An immediately summoned Marquis of Guangde, Cheng Su, who hadn't accompanied them to the hunt. First, Prince Yong An harshly reprimanded Cheng Su because Qiao Chen helped the Xiao family. Then, he told Cheng Su that if their family wanted to support both factions vying for power, that he would never let the family go.

Cheng Su repeatedly swore and promised that the Cheng family didn't even have a single thought about betraying Prince Yong An, and they only supported Prince Yong An's faction. Cheng Su also promised that he would discipline Qiao Chen well and prevent him from communicating with anyone from the Xiao family. Finally, he vowed that he wouldn't let Qiao Chen help the Xiao family either.

Prince Yong An told him that he better do as he said otherwise there'd be consequences. Cheng Su reassured Prince Yong An that he definitely would.

During Xiao Qinan's battle with the water monster, people were observing from the lake's shore. They were curious about what Qiao Chen used that could shoot the water monster so accurately in the eyes, as well as blowing half its head off. Prince Yong An naturally wanted to know as well. He ordered Cheng Su to have Qiao Chen give him the weapon as soon as possible as proof of their loyalty.

However, when Qiao Chen returned to Luodu city, he immediately returned to the bamboo house behind Hanwu Temple. Chen Su attempted, several times now, to see Qiao Chen, but ultimately failed.

—–

Cheng Jingrui forcefully threw his accounting book onto the table. Several shopkeepers who stood in front of him felt uneasy because of Cheng Jingrui's obvious anger.

"This is what you're handing in? Not only did you fail to accrue income, but we've also lost money too?" Cheng Jingrui seethed. He couldn't believe that the shops that were so profitable a few months ago were now turning up profitless and even running a deficit.

The Qing Xing Restaurant's shopkeeper said, "The Hongyun Restaurant opened two new shops in the city. New dishes would come out every so often. They have hundreds of ways to cook hot dishes, cold dishes, and meat and vegetable dishes too. Furthermore, they even demonstrate and publicly display the cooking method. It's like they aren't scared that the guests would learn and copy it. The customers even watch the performance while eating their food. The Hongyun buildings are constantly full. We've also sent someone to steal the recipe, but all their sauces are kept secret. The things we make can't compare to the things they make at all. All the real customers have gone to the Hongyun stores. The only customers that we have now are part of the royal house. We don't dare take their money because they are the Royal Prince's people, so …."

The Rui Fu Ji Snack Shop's store keeper also stepped forward and said, " Hong Fu Ji's snacks also release a new product every now and then. The customers think that the snacks look good and are delicious. Every morning, people line up to buy, and they don't stop until closing time at night. No one comes to buy the Rui Fu Ji's snacks after we finish making them. They can't be kept for long either, so we have to throw it away after a day or two. Although we've been lowering the amount of product we make each day, there's nothing we can do. We end up tossing out every single thing we've made."

Rui Fu Cosmetics's storekeeper said, "Young Madams and women have all said that everything from the rouge to the eyebrow pencils from their cosmetic stores are far superior than the ones that we have. Furthermore, they even have great items like scented shampoos, scented body soaps, and over 10 different kinds of facial cleansers. The scents range from floral to fruity, and they all smell very good. They're all easy to use too. When one of our customers goes to their shop, we never see them return to ours again. Furthermore, every time they release a new product, all the women scramble for their products until the shelves are empty."

The snack bar's shopkeeper also talked about the shop's situation and it was roughly the same explanation. The taste and the recipe weren't as good as other shops'. Furthermore, their prices weren't as low as the other shops either. Therefore, the customers dwindled until no one visited their shop anymore.

The more Cheng Jingrui listened, the worse he looked. He suppressed his anger and asked the group of shopkeepers to return first.

After the group left, a common looking and dressed man came from the back of the door. Cheng Jingrui looked at him and asked, "Ling Jiu, how are you doing with the things that I asked you to check on?"

The man named Ling Jiu replied, "I did as Master directed. I found out that Zhang Guangyao, Zhang Hong's youngest song, was playing with some people by a river a little over a year ago. He accidentally fell into the river and was rescued. Afterwards, he was cold and in a frightened state. He developed a high fever that lasted for five to six days. The doctors even almost failed to save him. However, after he recovered, people said that he became very clever and sensible. I've heard that most of Hongyun's new dishes are things that he came up with. That rotating glass lamp was also something he thought of and sold the invention to boss Hu. People who are familiar with the family say that the near death experience was actually a blessing in disguise."

"Zhang Guangyao? How old will he be this year?" Cheng Jingrui asked.

"He'll be 16 years old." Ling Jiu said.

"How are you doing on Cheng Jingyun's matters?" Cheng Jingrui also asked.

"He seems to have no contact with Zhang Hong or the others. Every time he lives in Hanwu Temple, it's like he becomes a monk. He stays there and doesn't really leave. When he does leave, he just returns to the Marquis' Manor and doesn't go anywhere else."

"Could he have secretly left, but you just didn't find out?"

"It's highly improbable. I not only arranged to have people watch the front of the temple and the back of the mountain, but I have also bribed one of the Hanwu temple's monks to report Cheng Jingrui's daily activities. He's only stayed in the bamboo house painting or discussing philosophy with the host. He does not contact any other people."

"What about his two attendants?" Cheng Jingrui was unwilling to drop the matter just like that.

"His two attendants are almost always with him, and they have never left him or whent off on their own."

If everything was as Ling Jiu said, then Zhang Guangyao was more likely to be the other transmigrator. Cheng Jingrui had the feeling that he wasn't the only one who transmigrated. However, before he jumped to conclusions, Cheng Jingrui still needed to settle the doubts he had about Cheng Jingyun. He was more suspicious about Cheng Jingyun because all the fame and reputation he had only plummeted after Cheng Jingyun's return to Luodu city. Furthermore, Cheng Jingyun also received the Hanwu temple's abbot's protections. As long as Cheng Jingyun presided in the Hanwu temple, no one would be able to reach him. This was too suspicious.

Before, when he was watching Xiao Qinan battle against he monster on the mountain lake's shore, Xiao Qibei had knocked him unconscious. He failed to see that awe inspiring scene that everyone talked about. People were saying that Cheng Jingyun produced some sort of weapon he concealed in his sleeve. Then, he aimed it at the water monster. The monster's eye suddenly exploded and fell from its head.

According to their descriptions, Cheng Jingrui felt that it was likely that Cheng Jingyun used a gun or canno. However, he still couldn't believe it. Even if Cheng Jingyun was also a transmigrator, any ordinary modern man may never have the chance to even see what a real gun looked like in their life time. How would he be able to construct a gun in this ancient time and place?

Even though he knew that Cheng Jingyun had nothing to do with snatching his customers and businesses, Cheng Jingrui still hadn't dispelled that idea that Cheng Jingyun was a transmigrator. The more he thought about it. the more he felt that both Zhang Guangyao and Cheng Jingyun were transmigrators. Furthermore, they seemed to have richer experiences than him. If the two were to join forces, than he would have no chance of winning. Therefore, he had to find a way to lure Zhang Guangyao to his side so they could deal with Cheng Jingyun together. Afterwards, he would find a way to get rid of Zhang Guangyao. In this time and place, there could only be one transmigrator, and that transmigrator had to be him.