<h4>Chapter 523: I Know Your Secret (1)</h4>


    Prefect''s manor.


    While eating, Marquis Xia looked up at Xia Huyou. An odd look appeared on his plump face as he said, "The entire repelling force was removed?"


    "Yeah." Xia Huyou nodded and clicked his tongue, "Zhou Hao, the guy cultivating the Thousand Mountain Art and a student of Cousin Yuwen, was able to instantly remove the repelling force and bring two acupoints together. That''s the Thousand Mountain Art, the cultivation method with the strongest repelling force."


    Marquis Xia had a pensive look. He nodded and said, "In that case, this is definitely a good cultivation method. Even at the Mountainsea Realm, it would still be useful despite the weaker effect. This is the most suitable cultivation method to alter the situation of lower level cultivators. Geniuses would also be able to save a lot of time with it."


    Xia Huyou smiled, "Second Granduncle, I have good eyes, right?"


    "..."


    Marquis Xia nced at Xia Huyou and said, "If you really have good eyes and are capable enough, he would have willingly be your little brother by now. But instead, you are the one acting like his grandson right now."


    Xia Huyou was leftpletely speechless.


    That...wasn''t actually wrong.


    Marquis Xia snorted and said, "Seems like that kid has been hiding a lot of good stuff. The Xia Family can''t turn into robbers, but we also love getting things for free."


    "Huh?" Xia Huyou hurriedly said, "Second Granduncle, don''t be reckless. The moment we start breaking the rules..."


    "Piss off." Marquis Xia berated, "Idiot. Who''s breaking the rules? Do you think my old man won''t take care of me if I do that?


    "You fool! If it wasn''t for yourck of ability, do I need to be the one to do this? Can''t you learn from your dad? Don''t only learn from me. You''re turning into a greasy businessman. Because of this, none of the geniuses look highly upon you. This is not a good thing."


    He was actually quite happy with this grandnephew of his. But this grandnephew was too greasy. That wasn''t necessarily a good thing. As the son of Xia Longwu and the future prefect of Great Xia, he couldn''t be too overly greasy.


    "Look at your dad. He was stubborn back then, but he had still managed to rope in arge number of experts to his side. How about you? Who has you roped in?"


    "SuYu."


    "Piss off." Marquis Xia scolded, "Is that even the result of your recruitment? That kid was the one who had taken the initiative to approach you and make you his backer. That kid is even better than you at roping people in. Just look at those people in his research center. They have all been converted into his loyal supporters. He had earned their loyalty with his trust in them. Are you capable of this? You are on the verge of bing his little brother!


    "He has aplished this much even as a member of the multiple character faction, the declining faction that is being suppressed. As for you, you''re a member of the Xia Family!"


    After scolding Xia Huyou, Marquis Xia was able to vent some of his anger. But he was still unhappy. Using 300,000 merit points as the payment? Was the kid so generous because that wasn''t his money?


    300,000 merit points!


    This fool had only obtained partial rights to the cultivation method with that much money! This was too infuriating!


    Xia Huyou showed no anger. He smiled and said, "Second Granduncle, that''s nothing. All geniuses are proud. If I reveal my identity straight away, they would probably think that I''m trying to bully them with my status. Things are great right now. We can be normal friends. In the future when they eventually found out about my identity, they would feel touched after recalling how friendly I have been."


    "So was Su Yu not aware of your identity before this?"


    "Yeah."


    "So was he touched after finding out about your identity?"


    "Uhm...I don''t think so..."


    "Then what the fuck is the point?"


    Marquis Xia was speechless. What was the point of saying all that if it wasn''t working?


    He took another mouthful of food, wiped his oily mouth, and stood up before saying, "A good ruler should not be stingy with respect toward the wise. Since he has disyed his talent and potential, it is time for me to pay him a visit. I’ll visit him as the acting prefect. As for your dad, forget about him. He''s too dumb. He might end up selling the entire Xia Family on the negotiation table."


    Xia Huyou: "..."


    He couldn''t say anything. That was his father. If he joined in, his father would probably give him a beating after learning about it.


    While walking, Marquis Xia said, "What are you waiting for? Let''s go. I met that fellow once. We had a short conversation, but that was enough for me to see that he was a scoundrel through and through. Do not be careless around him. I checked his background before. He was never a good person since he was young. His neighbors, teachers, and ssmates all thought that he was a good kid. Meanwhile, his neighbor''s kid, Chen Hao, was a troubled child who would always get into fights. Through my investigation, nothing seemed wrong about that."


    Marquis Xia said, "But with one look, I can see that those two were partners. One was the mastermind while the other was the thug. That Chen Hao was frequently made the scapegoat for that kid to maintain his persona of an obedient child."


    Following behind Marquis Xia, Xia Huyou asked curiously, "Second Granduncle, why would that Chen Hao agree to be the scapegoat for everything? With Su Yu''s ordinary family background, he won''t be able to give Chen Hao much. At the very least, that''s the case during their childhood."


    Marquis Xia smiled, "That''s his ability. Chen Hao had not suffered any losses being the thug of Su Yu. He had only gained the reputation of being a simpleton. But due to that reputation, nobody dared to bully him. Everyone knew him as an honest and silly kid with a bad temper. Since he wouldn''t suffer any losses and would even get someone to do all the plotting and scheming for him, why not?"


    Xia Huyou nodded with a pensive look. The two got into a carriage pulled by a cloudrush horse with an unassuming old man as the coachman. Marquis Xia gave the coachman their destination.


    He then looked at Xia Huyou again and said, "Su Yu was also very crafty. Right after Chen Hao beat up the people who had offended him, he would be the one to apologize on behalf of Chen Hao, saying things like Chen Hao was too simple and honest. He would tell them to not waste their time bickering with a simpleton like that. He would even drag Chen Hao out and give Chen Hao a few casual ps to alleviate the other party''s anger.


    "Just look at how he does things. He was the mastermind. Chen Hao was the one to do the dirty deed. After his enemy suffered, he stepped forth to be the peacemaker. With an apology, the other party would feel too embarrassed to pursue the matter. They might even thank Su Yu for keeping the simpleton in line. Basically, Su Yu was able to get someone beaten and still have that person thank him."


    Xia Huyou inhaled in shock, "He''s already so crafty as a boy? How about his father? Is he such a crafty person as well?"


    "I''m not too sure about that."


    Marquis Xia had investigated Su Yu''s father before, but he wasn''t able to get much out of it. He said, "This is something you need to learn. You need your enemy to thank you even after suffering a loss from you. And you only need to give something as insignificant as an apology. Those people would stop ndering you. Instead, they would start praising you for being a kind person."


    Xia Huyou nodded and asked, "Second Granduncle, how should we proceed with this negotiation?"


    "Negotiation about what?"


    "The acupoint fusion method."


    "Piss off." Marquis Xia said, "This is only a one-off deal. What is there to negotiate? Just wait and see. Your second granduncle is not going to talk about that."


    "..."


    Xia Huyou didn''t know what to say. He could only sigh inwardly andment the fact that there was still a lot for him to learn. He had thought that he had learned the craftiness of his second granduncle, but he was clearly wrong.


    ...


    Outside the Source Soul Research Center.


    A chariot stopped there.


    Inside the chariot, Marquis Xia curled his lips and lifted the curtain. With a soft voice, he mumbled, "I''m only here to take a look. Stop looking at me. Monitoring the acting prefect can be viewed as an act of rebellion."


    No response came.


    "Pfft!"


    Marquis Xia walked off the chariot and wobbled toward the research center. Inside the Source Soul Research Center. Su Yu''s eyes flickered as he stood up and headed toward the entrance.


    Standing outside the building, Marquis Xia gazed at the signboard and sighed, "Lan Tian...Su Yu..."


    Back then, the Lan Tian Research Center was a name that one couldn''t neglect. And the current Source Soul Research Center might turn into an even more unforgettable name.


    After standing there for a bit, Su Yu arrived. The moment Su Yu saw the marquis, he bowed and said, "Greetings, Marquis."


    "There is no need to be too polite." Marquis Xia stepped forth and helped Su Yu up before saying, "Didn''t you say that Huyou''s family is your family? My good grandson, you don''t need to bow to me anymore. Just call me grandpa the next time we meet."


    Su Yu''s face turned stiff.


    Marquis Xia smiled and said, "Come on, let''s take a look at my good grandson''s research center. I had been sad at the fact that I didn''t have a grandson. Huyou is ultimately not my grandson, you know. But now, I have gained my very own grandson."


    "..."


    Su Yu waspletely speechless.


    After calming himself, Su Yu smiled and said, "Sure, Grandpa. Do you want me to show you around the academy? Thest time you visited must be so long ago."


    He then wrapped his arms around Marquis Xia''s arm with a smile on his face. If the marquis wanted to be his grandpa, sure.


    Marquis Xia said, "Forget that. By the way, why is there a security camera in front of the research center?"


    "Don''t worry about it, Grandpa. It''s here to notify us if there are intruders."


    Marquis Xia said, "I see. You couldn''t be recording something with the camera, right? For example, what''s happening right now? I won''t wake up tomorrow to find that this scene has been spread all over Great Xia, right?"


    Su Yu''s face twitched slightly as he said, "Absolutely not. You think too much, Grandpa. I know that your identity is sensitive. I won''t be carelessly spreading this scene around."


    He only intended to show this scene to Xia Chan, Marquis Xia''s granddaughter. Yes. That was the only person he wanted to show the recording of this scene to. After showing proof of his rtionship with his new grandpa, could he start calling her sister? She would probably feel too embarrassed to outright deny him, right? In that case, he could probably do that right in front of Zhou Mingren, right?


    Marquis Xia was beaming widely while Su Yu had a gentle, reserved, admiring, and friendly look on his face. He looked like the perfect example of a schrly and refined cultural researcher.