Chapter 21 Unconventional_1
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"Hahaha, gentlemen, my sincerest apologies. Something urgent came up and made me slightly late. I've kept you all waiting. Please don't hold it against me."
With a burst of laughter, two figures walked in from outside.
The first was an old man with a robust build, albeit with one blind eye, which gave him a somewhat fierce appearance. He was the patriarch of the Sun family, known as Sun Li.
The other was a middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to the old man. This person was Sun Li's son, named Sun Changzhi.
Upon entering the room, Sun Li spotted Zhou Rang and his eyes lit up. He approached Zhou Rang and laughed heartily, "Haha, so the venerable Brother Zhou is here. It's not easy to meet you! It seems that today's visit is worthwhile—absolutely worthwhile!"
Following behind Sun Li, Sun Changzhi also cupped his fists, greeted Zhou Rang with a bow, and called him Uncle Zhou.
Zhou Rang stroked his beard, offering a slight smile, and nodded his head in greeting without saying a word.
Sun Li, unconcerned, looked around the room, glanced at everyone, and said, "Oh, it looks as though everyone has been here for a while. We really do have a full house today."
After saying this, he beckoned Sun Changzhi to sit down with him, and then turned to Fang Zhen, saying, "My talented nephew, please accept my condolences. I've heard about what happened to the Fang Prefecture. Many details remain unclear, and to think that someone who loved his people like his own children met with such a sudden disaster. If you need to investigate and require any assistance from the Sun family, please do not hesitate to ask. We will certainly support you wholeheartedly, no questions asked."
Fang Zhen responded with a slight smile, but didn't engage in further conversation.
Seeing this, Sun Li turned to greet the patriarch of the Zhao family, exchanging pleasantries. The patriarch of the Zhao family returned the gesture with a polite smile and a few perfunctory replies.
In Ning City, among the seven major families, only the patriarchs of the Sun and Zhou families held the highest seniority and were the oldest. The leaders of the other five families were all about the same age as Fang Zhen.
In this way, Sun Li went on to exchange greetings with the heads of the several major families from Ning City, one after the other.
It was almost as if the gathering was like a tea party hosted by his own family, with constant laughter as if Gu Chen didn't exist at all.
Wu Qian stood at the doorway, observing the scene, and couldn't help but glance at Gu Chen, who sat at the head of the table. He noticed that Gu Chen's expression remained unchanged, giving no sign of pleasure or anger.
This inwardly impressed Wu Qian, who mused that Lord Gu's depth of character was truly extraordinary. If it were anyone else of a similar age, being so ignored would likely have caused them to lose their composure and display their anger by now.
A fair amount of time passed before Sun Li eventually looked toward Gu Chen, who sat in the seat of honor, and said with a beaming smile, "Is this the esteemed Gu Chen, the Master Gu from the Jing Tian Department in Tiandu?"
"What can I do for you, Patriarch Sun?" Gu Chen asked, his face calm as he looked at him.
Sun Li replied, "I wouldn't dare to instruct. It's merely that someone as young as Master Gu has achieved such a position and authority over us. I can't help but feel admiration and sigh to myself that truly, heroes emerge young.
"Compared to you, my own grandson, Sun Jie, truly pales in significance," he commented while shaking his head as though lamenting his grandson's lack of achievement.
Meanwhile, Sun Li covertly watched Gu Chen's expression. When he noticed that the mention of "Sun Jie" provoked no reaction from Gu Chen, he couldn't help but snort inwardly.
Sun Jie was none other than the young master who had insulted Gu Chen at Yi Xiang Building and subsequently attempted to attack him, only to end up injured himself.
At this moment, Sun Jie was still lying unconscious in the Sun family residence, while the assailant, Gu Chen, was sitting here completely fine, even seemingly ready to issue orders to them. Seeing that Gu Chen had no recollection of Sun Jie at all, Sun Li was even more furious inside.
Of course, despite this, Sun Li still maintained an amiable facade and a smiling expression.
"Since entering, Patriarch Sun has been quite talkative. Have you said enough by now?" Gu Chen said, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Hahaha, please don't take offense, Master Gu. It's just that our families haven't met for a long time, and today we happened to gather here. Old age makes one prone to talking more than one should. I trust Lord Gu has an open heart and won't blame this old man, right?" Sun Li replied with a smile, resembling a one-eyed smiling tiger.
Seeing this, the corners of Gu Chen's mouth also showed a hint of a smile as he said, "Since Patriarch Sun is so warm and hospitable, then tomorrow we shall commence our search starting with the Sun family. I trust Patriarch Sun should have no objections, right?"
"Search? What search?" Sun Li's face changed dramatically upon hearing this.
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Gu Chen said indifferently, "Yao gui are lurking in Ning City, and they are very likely to have possessed someone. This is true for both the lead courtesan of the Yi Xiang Building and the prefect of Ning City, Fang Yong. Therefore, for the safety of the entire city and for everyone present here, it is necessary to conduct a city-wide search. Starting tomorrow, we will begin with your Sun family."
Upon hearing of yao gui lurking in Ning City and Gu Chen's intention to search the entire city, many people's faces changed.
But Fang Zhen felt a sense of relief inside, exhaling quietly. It seemed Gu Chen didn't specifically intend to target the Fang family, which alleviated his worries significantly.
"Where did Master Gu get this news from? Of course, I'm not doubting Master Gu, but if we are to conduct a search, we should at least be informed of the reasons," Sun Li said with a furrowed brow.
Upon hearing this, the other family heads also nodded in agreement. They would naturally not be willing to have their homes searched without any reason.
Gu Chen replied, "It was Fang Prefecture who told me before he died."
"Fang Yong?" Sun Li said with some confusion. "But didn't Master Gu just say that Fang Prefecture was possessed by a yao gui? As I understand it, a person's mind becomes tainted when possessed by a yao gui, turning them into the puppet of the yao gui. Can we still trust what such a person says?"
Hearing this, Fang Zhen's expression changed instantly. He stood up and glared at Sun Li, saying, "What do you mean by that?"
Sun Li smiled and replied, "Nephew Fang, please don't be agitated. I was merely stating one possibility."
Fang Zhen looked at Gu Chen, took a deep breath, and sat back down.
Gu Chen said, "Whether to believe it or not is my affair. You only need to comply. Besides, didn't Sun family head mention just now that there are many doubts regarding Fang Prefecture's affair? Why are you not insisting on that now?"
Stroke his beard, Sun Li looked towards Gu Chen with his one eye and said with a smile, "No, no, as I mentioned earlier, my previous words were only a possibility. Until now, I still harbor the greatest suspicion about Fang Prefecture's death, as there were no witnesses at the time and no evidence to prove that Fang Prefecture was indeed possessed by a yao gui."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chen's expression remained calm as he looked at Sun Li and said, "Are you implying, Sun family head, that you are doubting me?"
Laughing, Sun Li said, "Master Gu, please don't take offense. We are, after all, handling a case, and this matter is of great importance—it affects over a hundred thousand citizens of the city. We cannot simply rush to conclusions. There must be some discussion. Since we are discussing, then we must speak frankly and openly express our thoughts. Do you not all agree?"
The last question was directed at the other family heads present.
Upon hearing this, the family head of the Zhao family and several others nodded, showing some agreement with Sun Li's remarks.
They thought Sun Li was right. There were indeed many doubts regarding this matter.
Moreover, since the incident had occurred so suddenly and even Fang Yong had died, and as this was their first encounter with Gu Chen, it was inevitable for them not to trust him.
This lack of trust was only amplified by Sun Li's remarks.
As Gu Chen sat at the head of the table, his brows furrowed slightly. He could see clearly; Sun Li was deliberately inciting everyone. Whatever Gu Chen wanted to do, Sun Li seemed intent on preventing that, and his tactics were quite clever. Normally speaking, Gu Chen indeed had no way to prove anything.
It had to be said, Sun Li was truly a sly fox, having managed to grasp Gu Chen with just a few words.
Unfortunately, Sun Li made the same mistake as the Fang family, which was misjudging Gu Chen's character.
It might be difficult to make a case using normal reasoning, but Gu Chen didn't plan on following the usual rules.
Who said that one must always play by the book?
At this moment, Gu Chen spoke, "According to what Sun family head is saying, no matter what, it seems impossible for me to conduct a search throughout the city, does it not?"
Sun Li did not speak, only watching Gu Chen with a smile and silence.
Then Gu Chen stood up, looking down at Sun Li with increasingly sharp eyes, and said, "Well, if that's the case... if I persist in searching the entire city, what can you do about it!"