Jie Fu Lian paused and scratched the back of his neck as he tried to save himself, "I seemed to have acted out on impulse. My apologies. I am Fu Ming, a rogue cultivator and this is Daoist Hua Tianshu and his disciple Duan Luoyang from the HuiXue sect."
Fan Xue seemed to have recognized the name 'Hua Tianshu' and hence his frown deepened as he questioned, "What reason is there for Respected Daoist Hua Tianshu to come and find me."
Jie Fu Lian couldn't help but gulp as he wondered how different the current Fan Xue was from the one he remembered.
Back then, Fan Xue had always greeted Jie Fu Lian politely and warmly as if Jie Fu Lian were really his real nephew.
Now, he as glaring at Hua Tianshu, clearly unhappy and annoyed with the other's mere presence.
It was the same with Bai YiJun as well. Although he tried to mask his hostility, it was pretty clear that he hated Hua Tianshu. Jie Fu Lian couldn't help but wonder if the people that he had known had changed or if everybody in Xiujiang just hated Hua Tianshu.
"Minister Fan Xue, I am really sorry about last time," Hua Tianshu coughed as he guiltily spoke.
"If you are sorry then compensate us with money," Fan Xue sharply replied, without missing a beat.
"Minister Fan Xue, I am poor." Hua Tianshu shamelessly claimed making Jie Fu Lian stare at him wth an odd expression on his face.
One of the youngest and most respected elders of the HuiXue sect was poor...?! This was absolute bullsh*t!
Fan Xue's frown grew deeper and he looked to be even more pissed off as he spoke, "If you don't want to pay up then don't come here to talk. I don't talk to poor people."
"..."
Why was this conversation a bit weird...?
Jie Fu Lian pulled Duan Luoyang aside and asked in a whispered, "Duan Luoyang, what's the relationship between your master and Uncle Fan Xue? Why does it seem like Uncle Fan Xue holds a grudge against him?"
Duan Luoyang awkwardly scratched the back of his neck as he hesitantly revealed, "About that... Last time Master came here, he was annoyed at Bai YiJun and put the entire city on fire."
Jie Fu Lian blinked and repeated the man's words in his head just to make sure that he hadn't heard wrong.
Burnt a city because he was annoyed...?
Was Hua Tianshu's temper always this low? Was he always this impulsive?
Jie Fu Lian gulped as he glanced at Hua Tianshu and then looked back at Fan Xue.
Well, if that were really the case then it explained Fan Xue's anger.
If they needed to get any information out of Fan Xue, they needed to first calm the man down and improve the relationship between Hua Tianshu and Fan Xue.
However, with Hua Tianshu acting like this, it was quite hard to improve Fan Xue's mood.
In such cases, of course, the knight in shining armor needed to save the damsel in distress.
With a sigh, Jie Fu Lian, the knight in shining armor, stepped up as he asked, "Uncle Fan Xue, it seems that my friend has troubled you. How much were the damages worth? I'll pay up for it."
Hua Tianshu, the damsel in distress, quietly looked at Jie Fu Lian without saying anything.
"Thirty thousand gold coins."
Jie Fu Lian's mood immediately changed, "Uncle Fan Xue, just lock up my friend in a dungeon and we can sit down for a nice cup of tea. He is clearly too poor to pay up. If you don't want to talk to him then talk to me. The investigation must continue."
"Fine."
Just like that, Jie Fu Lian betrayed Hua Tianshu and Hua Tianshu was politely escorted away to the dungeon where he was locked up.
Duan Luoyang didn't know if he was supposed to laugh or not as looked at Jie Fu Lian with a bit of disbelief and asked in a whisper, "Uncle Fu, are we seriously abandoning Shizun?"
"Is your Shizun rich enough to pay me back thirty thousand gold coins?"
"No."
"Then he shouldn't have been impulsive enough to burn down a city."
"..." Duan Luoyang was immediately silenced.
"Take a seat," Fan Xue politely gestured over to the table as he spoke. There was a warm welcoming smile plastered on his face and he finally resembled the Uncle Fan Xue from Jie Fu Lian's memories.
"What investigation were you talking about?" Fan Xue asked as he poured tea into three porcelain cups.
"We are reinvestigating the Yan Sect case."
"The Yan Sect?" Fan Xue repeated with a small frown, seeming to be a bit confused, "The case from seven years ago?"
Jie Fu Lian nodded his head as he picked up the tea cup and took a whiff of the lovely fragrance.
"Wasn't it led by the Jin Sect? Were there any problems?"
"There were no problems."
"Then why investigate again?"
"For personal satisfaction," Jie Fu Lian beamed as he replied.
Fan Xue looked to be even more confused as he heard this and carefully looked at Jie Fu Lian's face as he asked, "Were you acquainted with the Yan Sect?"
Jie Fu Lian once again nodded his head as he confirmed it and spoke, "That's right. I knew a boy called Jie Fu Lian. He was a disciple of the Yan Sect. Due to certain circumstances, I was unaware of the incident when it had happened. I recently returned and found out all about it. My heart was quite broken when I heard the details."
Fan Xue sighed as he heard this and slightly nodded his head as he shared the feelings of disappointment and sadness.
"I was also acquainted with Jie Fu Lian. He was talented and well-mannered. I would have never thought he'd end up like that. It must have been quite a shock for you too."
Jie Fu Lian gulped as he felt a little guilty for lying to the man like this, but he still nodded his head as he agreed.
"But what brings you here?" Fan Xue continued with a question, "As long as I remember, I was never related to the case."
"You weren't related but you might still have some information that would help us."
"I can't think of anything like that."
Jie Fu Lian had already expected this response so he gently smiled as he spoke, "There is no hurry. You just have to answer a few questions. As long as you cooperate, we'll be able to end this meeting soon enough."
Fan Xue nodded his head in understanding.
Duan Luoyang who sat beside Jie Fu Lian, quietly drank the tea, feeling that it would be rude of him to interrupt the conversation.
"Do you remember the city head's wife Bai BaoShi?"
For a second there, Fan Xue looked to be a bit annoyed as he heard that name, but the man was still able to cover up his expressions soon after as he nodded his head and spoke, "I knew her but wasn't too familiar."
"Uncle Fan Xue, when you say 'wasn't too familiar', do you mean to say that you didn't know her that well or do you mean to say that you didn't like her very much?" Jie Fu Lian's question was quite straightforward and even sounded a bit rude but Fan Xue didn't seem to mind it.
"I didn't know her that well and her personality, as I understood it, wasn't one I particularly liked."
Jie Fu Lian had expected to hear this answer. After all, Bai BaoShi was the one who had crippled Bai YiJun. Fan Xue's relationship with Bai Guanyu and Bai YiJun was quite good, hence, he would naturally not have a good relationship with Bai BaoShi.
"Was there anything peculiar about her that you had noticed?" Jie Fu Lian curiously asked as he looked at Fan Xue and secretly analyzed his every expression and action.
This time, Fan Xue took a minute to think about the answer carefully before he spoke, "She was just an annoying woman. Except for that, there wasn't much I had known about her."
Jie Fu Lian wanted to laugh as he heard this but he controlled himself.
Jie Fu Lian didn't really pay much attention to these words since he remembered that in the eyes of Fan Xue, every woman was annoying.
"Then do you remember how she got married to the city head?"
"Ah, that marriage was a bit unexpected," Fan Xue sighed as he recalled the day, "Madam Bai Yaling had just passed away and everyone was a bit shaken by her death. Bai Guanyu had loved her very much so it was expected of him to mourn over her death, but on the same day as her death, he announced his plans for another marriage and on the very next day, he got married to Bai BaoShi."
Jie Fu Lian's eyebrows creased together as he heard this and he carefully asked, "Were there any problems between Bai Guanyu and Bai Yaling around that time?"
Fan Xue shook his head, "No problems. They loved each other very much."