Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao-Chapter 523 - 291 Mr. Wu_2

"I really lost my head, giving birth to such a useless child. He shouldn't bear the Chen surname; it's a disgrace to our ancestors," Chen Tao fumed as he paced back and forth on the ground, cursing under his breath, his usual refined and gentle demeanor nowhere to be seen. Now that chaos reigned, and the bandits were moving unpredictably outside the city, he was utterly exhausted.

After all, these bandits were coming straight for the Noble Families and Clans. Should the city fall, the Noble Families and Clans would be exterminated. At such a critical moment, his incredibly foolish son had ignored his orders, sneaked out to visit brothels, and even got himself kidnapped due to offending someone. Right now, he wished he could hang his unfilial son and beat him mercilessly.

He looked down at the house servant kneeling on the ground, covered in blood, a hint of disgust flitted across his face but was quickly concealed; instead, he forced a smile and said, "You've had a hard time, running around for my good-for-nothing son. Are your injuries all right?"

Warm words from the Family Head made this former Jiangyang Bandit feel appreciated. He hurriedly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Master. These wounds won't take my life, but we must act quickly on the Master's son. That man is a fool; I'm afraid if we delay too long, he will really choose to destroy the evidence."

Chen Tao gave a slight wave of his hand and asked, "Tell me the truth about that man's skills."

The house servant pondered for a while before replying, "He is unfathomable; at least I do not know anyone in the martial world who possesses such capability."

Chen Tao observed the fearful expression on the servant's face and frowned. Although this man did not always behave properly, his abilities in the martial world were well recognized, which is why he had been assigned to protect his son. Since he claimed the man was unfathomable, his skills must be extraordinary, and Chen Tao knew he had to be extremely cautious in handling this.

After pacing back and forth a few times on the ground, Chen Tao began to issue commands: "Pass my order, have the Defensive Army ready with bows and arrows to accompany me."

"You go find the Chief Steward first, take three chests of Gold back, say it's for ransom, to stabilize the situation for now. I'll follow shortly," Chen Tao instructed the house servant.

Watching the servant's retreating figure, Chen Tao thought for a moment and then called over a maid and said, "Go to the backyard and ask Mr. Wu to come over; tell him I have important matters to discuss."

It wasn't long before an elderly man in a black robe, his face marked with scary scars, and a thin build arrived in the main hall guided by the maid.

"I don't know why Master Chen has summoned me; what important matters do you have?" Mr. Wu asked, his tone carrying not much respect for Chen Tao.

"Not to hide it from you, I encountered an issue today, and just to be safe, I must ask Mr. Wu to accompany me out," he explained then detailed the incident that had occurred.

Mr. Wu listened attentively to Chen Tao's recounting and after a moment asked, "It seems you suspect this stern-faced man is from the Cultivation Realm."

Chen Tao smiled and said, "It's just a precaution."

Hearing that, Mr. Wu nodded and said, "Since I have accepted your patronage, of course, I should do your bidding. I will accompany you out today."

"Then I am grateful for Mr. Wu's assistance," Chen Tao said.

Meanwhile, the house servant had already arrived at the brothel with three chests brimming with shimmering Gold. The moment the heavy chests were opened, a golden radiance began to gleam across the hall; the onlookers' eyes widened, never having seen so much gold in their lives—an opulence only possible for Noble Families and Clans like the Chen Family who had long held power in the region.

"Pitiful, these dazzling chests of gold, who knows how soaked they are with the blood of the poor," said a middle-aged man as he sighed lightly while looking at the gold.

Beside him, Lao Han's eyes flashed with hatred. After all, his father had been sold into servitude to the Chen Family and had died of illness eventually. These chests of gold likewise contained the blood of his family.

Big Black Donkey split his mouth in a broad smile, he had finally fulfilled his long-cherished wish and accomplished a robbery, and it was a fruitful one at that, making him feel that if he had not encountered Lu Yu, he might have become a famous bandit himself.

"Not bad, not bad, I didn't realize your family was quite wealthy," Big Black Donkey said, pulling at Young Master Chen with a laugh.

Young Master Chen could only reveal a flattering smile, "Brave sir, as you can see, the ransom has arrived, could you please release me?"

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With a gentle toss by Big Black Donkey, Young Master Chen fell to the ground, letting out a painful wail. The nearby house servant quickly helped him up, a look of surprise on his face; he hadn't expected the other party to have merely committed a straightforward robbery and to be so honorable about it.

At that moment, Chen Tao had arrived with Mr. Wux, and as they entered, they saw the house servant helping Young Master Chen. Chen Tao's face also showed surprise; he had prepared for a fierce battle, only to find that his son had already regained his freedom upon his arrival.

After giving his ungrateful son a fierce glare, Chen Tao managed a slight smile and said, "My foolish son has disturbed everyone, Chen Tao here would like to apologize first. May I ask which of you is the man who kidnapped my son?"

Big Black Donkey, busily counting the gold in the box, suddenly lifted his head and shouted loudly, "Who's looking for me?"

Only then did Chen Tao turn his attention to Big Black Donkey, his expression turning cold, and he slowly said, "Then, please come with me to the yamen now!"

"Go to the yamen? No, what's so good about that haunted place?" Big Black Donkey shook his head, saying the yamen had nothing interesting; the shiny gold was far more attractive.

"You don't have a choice, kidnapping is a serious crime, and you must take a trip there," Chen Tao said, his ploy apparent, mainly because Big Black Donkey had released Young Master Chen, giving him no need to beat around the bush. He had long planned to use a head to instill fear among those who despised the Chen Family like Big Black Donkey.

"I said I'm not going, get out of the way, or Black Lord will make you regret it,"

Hearing this, Chen Tao laughed angrily, finally understanding why the house servant called this person a fool. Indeed, there was something wrong with his intelligence. Thus, he was no longer courteous and softly said, "Since you resist arrest, don't blame me for being ruthless."

With a gentle wave of his hand, the sound of a swoosh was heard as a crossbow bolt whizzed with sharp velocity straight towards Big Black Donkey's face. During their conversation, Chen Tao had already positioned crossbowmen with powerful crossbows, ready to kill Big Black Donkey at a command.

As everyone gasped, the bolt struck Big Black Donkey squarely in the face. However, the expected scene of his head splitting did not occur. The bolt hit Big Black Donkey's face with a loud crash, the ensuing blast lifting the nearby curtains into the air, fluttering but not harming Big Black Donkey in the least.

Big Black Donkey touched his face, the bolt had completely turned into powder, leaving only some wood and metal shavings on his face. He picked them up and looked at them before lightly saying, "That hurt a bit!"

The people around him gaped in amazement; this was a crossbow capable of killing fierce tigers, banned in the Imperial Court as a weapon of great destruction, yet it could not even pierce the skin of this Mysterious Figure. It made everyone feel as if they were living in a dream.

Only Chen Tao's face darkened; his worst fear had materialized. The person across from him was clearly not ordinary, which probably explained his foolish behavior, and such people each possessed strange powers. Offending them meant endless unrest, and now his only hope was that Mr. Wux could handle this black-faced man.

Mr. Wux also looked at Big Black Donkey, equally astonished. After all, he was considered a veteran in the Cultivation Realm, yet he had never seen this man before, momentarily at a loss about the stranger's origin.

"May I ask which sect this fellow daoist is from, and whether you have heard of the name Wu Daotong," Mr. Wux introduced himself right off the bat, using this to probe the background of the man before him, considering he was also quite renowned; anyone from a reputable sect would likely have heard of him at least.