Xia Ci naturally understood Tang Buyi's difficulty. Although Tang Buyi was the Tang family's eldest young master, he didn't have the final say. For small matters, his status was enough, but to truly mobilize the Tang family's resources, it would definitely require the Tang family head, Tang Tianhao, to give the order.
"Brother Xia, come with me to see my father," Tang Buyi said. "Although my father usually has a stern face, he's upright and values martial world honor. I know about Flying Dragon too – he's committed many atrocities and is extremely vicious. If you want to hunt down such a person, my father should be willing to help."
Xia Ci cupped his hands and said, "Then I must trouble Brother Tang to introduce me to your esteemed father!"
Xia Ci's request for Tang Buyi's help wasn't really based on the hope that Tang Buyi could help him find Flying Dragon. His ultimate goal was to ask Tang Buyi to arrange a meeting with Tang Tianhao.
"It's my duty."
Tang Buyi immediately took Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin back to the Tang family.
After returning to the Tang family estate,
Tang Buyi promptly led Xia Ci and his sister to a small courtyard.
Just as they reached the courtyard gate, they saw a disheveled middle-aged man walking out. He wore a blue robe, had an unkempt beard, was very untidy, reeked of alcohol, had a haggard appearance, a sallow complexion, and exuded an air of decadence from head to toe.
"Second Uncle, you're back?"
Tang Buyi saw the man and immediately cupped his hands in greeting.
Hearing Tang Buyi address him this way, Xia Ci immediately guessed the man's identity: Tang Tianhao's younger brother, Tang Tianyuan, the second master of the Tang family. He was also quite renowned in the martial world. In his youth, he and Tang Tianhao were known as the Tang Brothers, and they were half-brothers, born of the same father but different mothers.
Xia Ci had heard of Tang Tianyuan a few years ago when he was working as an escort. People in the martial world said that the Tang family's second master was gentle as jade and a perfect gentleman.
"I've been back for a while. Are you here to see your father?" Tang Tianyuan casually asked. "Who are these two?"
Tang Buyi said, "These are my friends. I'm here to see my father about something."
"Oh."
Tang Tianyuan didn't care about Tang Buyi's business. He nodded and left directly, his figure very desolate.
Xia Xiayin curiously asked, "Tang Buyi, what's wrong with your second uncle? I heard that the Tang family's second master was a perfect gentleman. Why does he look so..."
"Disheveled and slovenly, right?" Tang Buyi sighed and said, "The martial world rumors aren't wrong. My second uncle was indeed a perfect gentleman, well-read and scholarly. The Tang family's business has grown so large mainly due to my second uncle's contributions. He and my father complemented each other – one scholarly, one martial. But that was in the past.
My second uncle has had a bitter life. Originally, he and my second aunt were deeply in love and lived in harmony. Although they had no children, it didn't affect their relationship. But three years ago, my second uncle and second aunt encountered an evil martial arts master, Fan Yuyun, while traveling. My second aunt was killed saving my second uncle.
My second uncle escaped alone with serious injuries, barely saving his life. Since then, he has been in a state of decline, drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day, no longer managing family affairs, and often going out. Whenever he hears news about Fan Yuyun, whether true or false, he rushes off to seek revenge. For these three years, he has been traveling about. Even on the rare occasions when he returns home, he's always drunk. The only thing that can sober him is news about Fan Yuyun."
"Blood Hand Fan Yuyun?"
"Yes."
Xia Ci had heard of this person. He was an evil martial arts master, heavily wanted by both the imperial court and the righteous martial arts world. He had been famous for over forty years, killing people like flies, especially enjoying killing martial arts masters. According to rumors, this man had a martial art called the Blood Cauldron True Scripture, an extremely vicious martial art.
Using blood as a catalyst and one's own body as a cauldron, the blood of those with profound martial arts had the best effect on the Blood Cauldron True Scripture, and the internal energy it developed was filled with evil qi.
Fan Yuyun was even more vicious. Not only would he kill martial arts masters to cultivate his skills, but he also enjoyed massacring villages and families. After all, there weren't that many martial arts masters, and they weren't easy to deal with, while ordinary people were very easy to handle.
Especially in recent years, Fan Yuyun's actions had become more frequent and larger in scale. Many people speculated that he must have reached a bottleneck period and was about to make a breakthrough in his martial arts, which was why he had been particularly active in recent years.
However, Fan Yuyun moved like a ghost, his whereabouts uncertain, and neither the government nor the righteous martial arts world had been able to catch him.
Hearing about Tang Tianyuan's experience, Xia Xiayin sympathetically said, "He's so pitiful. That Fan Yuyun is really hateful and vicious!"
"Sigh, I just hope my second uncle can overcome this and regain his spirit soon!"
Tang Buyi sighed a couple of times, then led Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin into the courtyard to a large hall. After a servant went in to announce them, they entered.
The Tang family head, Tang Tianhao, was waiting in the hall. Beside him was a graceful woman, who was Tang Buyi's mother, Madam Tang. Although Madam Tang was nearly fifty, she maintained herself well. Time had not left many traces of aging on her; instead, it had added a touch of mature charm.
"Father, Mother!"
Tang Buyi respectfully bowed, then introduced, "This is Brother Xia Ci, my lifesaver, and this is Xia Xiayin, Brother Xia's sister."
Xia Ci and Xia Xiayin bowed with cupped hands.
"Greetings, Master Tang, Madam Tang."
Tang Tianhao stood up, laughed heartily, and said, "Young Hero Xia, Young Heroine Xia, please don't stand on ceremony. You two are the saviors of my son. I should have met you both last night, but it was too late, and I was afraid of disturbing you. I planned to personally thank you this morning, but then I heard you had already left, which made me quite regretful. Come, come, please sit."
"Thank you."
Xia Ci expressed his gratitude and sat down with Xia Xiayin's assistance.
Afterward, Tang Tianhao warmly ordered servants to serve tea and began chatting with Xia Ci.
After quite a while, Tang Buyi explained Xia Ci's purpose, saying, "Father, Flying Dragon is an extremely vicious villain. Please help Brother Xia find him!"
Tang Buyi had thought he would need to persuade his father at length, but to his surprise, Tang Tianhao directly and readily agreed, "No problem. Young Hero Xia is a benefactor of the Tang family. When a benefactor needs help, our Tang family will naturally do our utmost without hesitation.
Young Hero Xia, Young Heroine Xia, please stay at my Tang family residence for now. Leave the matter of finding Flying Dragon to me. Rest assured, as long as Flying Dragon is still in Zhushan County, I will dig three feet into the ground to find him for you. My entire Tang family, including myself, will fully support you in killing that villain!"
Tang Buyi was delighted and filled with surprise, never expecting his father to agree so readily.
Xia Ci quickly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Master Tang."
"Don't be so formal," Tang Tianhao was very enthusiastic and said, "Young Hero Xia, you saved my son's life. Helping you is what we should do."
"Thank you, Master Tang."
Afterward, Tang Tianhao and Madam Tang chatted with Xia Ci and his sister for a while before letting Tang Buyi take them to rest.