Chapter Forty-Eight: An Unexpected Discovery (Part One)

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Yue City, Xiao Mansion

"Black Lion!"

At the sound of the call, a silver sphere was hurled into the air. Immediately, a fierce dog, over two meters long, leapt up and caught the silver ball midair with a steady bite, its four fangs like the iron bars of a cage, rendering the ball completely immobile.

“Well done!” a young man cheered from afar.

The fierce dog, tail wagging, approached the boy with an adorably simple expression. Under the noonday sun, boy and dog frolicked amidst the fragrant garden—a scene full of delight. Black Lion’s glossy black mane gleamed under the blazing sun, and each powerful muscle on its body displayed its formidable strength.

This boy was none other than the eldest young master of the Xiao family—Xiao Kang.

His father, Xiao Liang, had sired more than a dozen daughters over the previous forty years, and that was only counting those born of legitimate wives; if one included those from various affairs, the number would have been even greater.

It wasn’t until Xiao Liang married his thirteenth wife that things changed. On the day of his forty-fifth birthday, he received word from the physician: the thirteenth wife was three months pregnant.

With the meticulous care of all in the Xiao household, Xiao Kang’s mother finally gave birth to him, the long-awaited son.

A crucial reason for this was that Xiao Liang, after many years of toil, was diagnosed to have lost his ability to father children not long after marrying Xiao Kang’s mother.

Xiao Liang thus lavished his only son with boundless paternal love—from the moment Xiao Kang was born, the entire household revolved around him. From naming ceremonies to meals and diapers, everyone treated him as if he were a living ancestor.

Moreover, when Xiao Kang was four or five, Xiao Liang began to “hire highly educated scholars at high salaries” specifically to tutor his son in the classics.

Yet, Xiao Kang turned out to be quite the scamp, chasing off a teacher every few days. The tutors dared not beat or scold him, and could only fume helplessly as he tormented them.

Having received multiple “joint complaints” from the tutors, Xiao Liang had to apply some “pressure”: if Xiao Kang behaved in class, he could have a wish granted.

Fortunately, Xiao Kang was somewhat obedient, and the next half year passed peacefully enough. To reward him, Xiao Liang gifted him a famous Mongolian Hali dog for his sixth birthday.

Growing up pampered and overprotected, Xiao Kang found even his own sisters unwilling to treat him as an equal; most kept their distance. After he received the dog, it followed him everywhere, never leaving his side.

By now, the Hali dog was fully grown, and Xiao Kang had given it a mighty name: Black Lion.

But this beast was by no means docile. If Xiao Kang was not there to restrain him, the household would descend into chaos at his mere roaming.

Xiao Kang patted Black Lion’s head and took the silver ball from its mouth, wiping it carefully with his handkerchief.

Examining the intricate carving on the ball, he looked at Black Lion with curiosity. “Black Lion, how did you come back with this thing after you got lost last time?”

He turned the ball in the sunlight, admiring the vivid dragons and phoenixes etched upon it. “This is truly exquisite craftsmanship. Not even among the entire Xiao household have I seen anything better. Whoever made this must be a famed master.”

He sighed. “What a pity such effort was spent on such inferior material.”

His eyes suddenly sparkled. “If only Master Cai of Yue City could replicate these patterns onto my clothes—wouldn’t that be grand?”

He put the polished ball safely in his pocket, ready to seek out the most skilled carver in Yue City.

But as soon as he turned, he nearly collided with a household servant.

The servant bowed and respectfully said, “Young master, the master asked me to inform you that an important guest is arriving. He requests that you prepare yourself and accompany him to greet the visitor.”

After delivering the message, the servant glanced nervously at Black Lion’s fierce eyes and, unable to suppress his fear, hurried away.

“A guest?” Xiao Kang barely had time to ask before the servant fled.

Feeling Black Lion nudge his leg, Xiao Kang resignedly tossed the silver ball back to him.

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Watching Black Lion gleefully play with the ball again, Xiao Kang’s gaze softened. He gently stroked the dog’s furry head and said, “Hold onto this for me, will you? I’ll play with you when I get back.”

Black Lion blinked his dark, puzzled eyes, as if he didn’t quite understand what his young master was saying.

“You, come here.” Xiao Kang pointed to a guard at the garden gate.

“Me?” The guard pointed to himself.

“Who else would I be talking to?”

“Oh… oh, right.”

“Don’t let Black Lion leave this garden before I return, or there’ll be trouble and father will punish me again.” Xiao Kang warned him sternly.

“But…” the guard hesitated, “how could we possibly hold him back? If he bites someone, we’ll be lucky to get away half-intact.”

“Fine, fine,” Xiao Kang said, somewhat dissatisfied. “Just lock the garden gate until I come back.”

Relieved by this concession, the guard thanked him profusely. “Thank you, young master! We’ll be sure to watch over Black Lion and not let him wander off.”

“All right, enough.” Xiao Kang shot him a sidelong glance and strode out of the back garden.

“Phew.” The two guards exchanged a relieved sigh. One grumbled, “The young master is really hard to please. If the pay weren’t so good, I’d have quit long ago.”

“Just put up with it,” the other consoled him. “Luckily, the master needs him urgently this time, so he couldn’t waste time. Otherwise, we’d have to look after that beast ourselves.”

The first shuddered. “No way! That thing would swallow me whole. I’d rather die than take care of it.”

The second scoffed, “You don’t know how much the master dotes on the young master. He’s pampered to the extreme. Forget caring for his dog—if he asked you to be his steed, it wouldn’t be impossible.”

“For real?” The first was incredulous.

“Why not? Fifty taels of silver a month! Wouldn’t you take it?”

“Well, yes… sigh, what times we live in.”

“Come on, let’s just stand our post. When the young master returns, we’ll hand this mess back to him.”

“Fine, fine.”

Xiao Kang had no idea the guards were grumbling about him the moment he left. But he was not oblivious; he simply didn’t care.

“These people think I don’t know what they’re saying behind my back, the way they looked at me just now,” Xiao Kang thought as he walked.

He had grown up in his father’s shadow. Although his life seemed carefree, he found no true happiness in it.

Everyone assumed he should be the happiest of all. After all, in a small town, such wealth made them local royalty.

But only he knew the burdens he would have to bear as the family’s future.

He was rude to his tutors, arrogant with the servants—all symptoms of his lonely heart.

“My sisters won’t play with me; everyone in the house is afraid of me, avoiding me whenever they can. The tutors wear the same stiff, dour expressions. Even father, busy with his business, has no time to talk. Only Black Lion stays by my side.”

He gazed up at the sky, thinking, “If I could choose again, I’d never be born here.”

Meanwhile, the important guest Xiao Liang was to receive was on his way.

A county magistrate of the seventh rank followed timidly behind the guest, hardly daring to breathe.

He had no idea why this distinguished visitor had descended on his remote backwater.

The guest was a member of the Embroidered Guards from the Divine Capital, here to track down remnants of the Su family. To the magistrate’s surprise, the man had come straight to him, demanding to be taken to the most powerful local family.

Even an inexperienced magistrate could guess: they meant to use the locals to help with their investigation.

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But the magistrate dared not say a word, trailing behind like a shadow, head bowed and breathless.

Strangely, although the Embroidered Guard leader seemed to walk at a leisurely pace, the magistrate had to jog, sweating profusely, just to keep up.

Suddenly, the leader stopped, and the magistrate, unable to halt in time, nearly crashed into him.

At that critical moment, a pale-faced man beside the leader stepped forward and firmly grabbed the magistrate by the collar.

Before the magistrate could recover, the man had already let go.

Sensing the magistrate’s blunder, the leader did not turn but coldly asked, “So the Xiao family is the most powerful here?”

The magistrate nodded desperately, sweat streaming down his face like fine rain.

“How much farther?” the Embroidered Guard leader continued.

“N-not far. Just turn left ahead and we’ll be at the Xiao residence. The street we just passed is also… also their property.” The magistrate’s reply was broken by gasps.

The leader turned his hawk-like gaze to the side. “Carry him. I want to meet the Xiao family’s head immediately.”

“Yes, sir!” The pale man saluted, then looked at the magistrate with a hint of disgust before gesturing sharply.

At once, four or five men hoisted the magistrate effortlessly, as if he were a fat pig, and followed closely behind the Embroidered Guard leader.

As the magistrate had said, they soon arrived at the gates of the Xiao mansion.

The Embroidered Guard leader regarded the grand, imposing gates with indifference. The doors were tightly shut, and not a soul was present to welcome them.

Stroking the sparse beard on his chin, the leader remarked with interest, “Such pomp in a small place—no wonder they have the nerve not to open the doors for me.”

He glanced at the magistrate, who was drenched in sweat, and sneered, “It seems you’ve taken quite a bit of the Xiao family’s silver over the years, haven’t you?”

The magistrate’s corpulent body trembled. Summoning unknown strength, he leapt from the men’s grasp and dropped to his knees with practiced speed, pleading loudly, “My lord, you must see the truth! Don’t listen to slander! I’ve always upheld integrity in office and never accepted bribes. Please, my lord, see the truth!”

The leader watched his performance coldly. “That’s only my speculation, Magistrate Yu. No need for such ceremony—do get up. The ground is cold.”

He exchanged a look with his men, and one immediately stepped forward to the gates and struck them with a resounding blow, loud enough for even the deaf to hear.

“I’ve never seen such a grand merchant’s house. It seems all thanks to your fine governance, Magistrate,” the leader said, his tone anything but polite.

Magistrate Yu was like an ant on a hot pan, wanting to stand but too frightened, bowing his head ever lower.

He had informed the Xiao family that an important guest was arriving, but had not specified who.

The Xiao family, now in decline since the passing of the old master, still commanded respect—after all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and they could still make the magistrate show deference.

Yet now, even the magistrate could not foresee what would come—a catastrophe seemed imminent.

Even with only a superficial understanding of the Embroidered Guards, the magistrate knew the Xiao family had offended a powerful figure this time.

“I must go along with the lord’s wishes and help punish the Xiao family, or he may well have my head,” the magistrate thought, trembling, already plotting how to betray his benefactors before they had even come to greet the guests.

“Well, I’ve taken so much of their silver, but under these circumstances, I have no choice. Xiao Liang, you have only yourself to blame, not me,” the magistrate silently shifted all responsibility away from himself.