The wax seal on the envelope was already broken, proof that it had been opened.

Fu Juemin opened the envelope, drew out the letter within, and examined it.

A moment later, Fu Juemin slowly lowered the letter, his face a mask of astonishment.

"Zhou Muyun... Inspector-General of the Nineteen Provinces of the North..."

Fu Juemin tutted. He never would have imagined this to be a secret letter detailing a conspiracy between Song Zhenyuan and a warlord from the Northern Lands.

The Northern Lands were currently embroiled in a chaotic free-for-all among warlords, with various factions vying for control. The situation was a total mess.

He wasn’t even sure which faction this "Inspector-General of the Nineteen Provinces of the North" from the letter actually belonged to.

The letter’s contents were actually quite unremarkable. Fu Juemin didn’t know if it contained some secret code that an ordinary person couldn’t decipher, nor did he have the mind to try.

What mattered was that the letter itself was enough.

With the Southwest Rebel Army currently launching a major invasion of Yangping, sending this letter to the Central government wouldn’t be enough to topple Song Zhenyuan in one blow. It was, however, more than enough to land him in a world of hurt.

—Internal strife, external threats, suspicion from Central, and now his son was dead... one could only imagine the utter chaos Song Zhenyuan was about to face.

’This is a pleasant surprise, indeed...’

Fu Juemin placed the secret letter back into the envelope and carefully put it away.

He had no idea how this secret letter, which should have been delivered to Song Zhenyuan, had ended up in Song Lin’s possession, only to be found by him... It could only be said that the Songs deserved this fate.

After securing the letter, Fu Juemin continued to look through the remaining contents of the kraft paper bag.

He pulled out a handful of papers, revealing several blank documents stamped with the Provincial Government’s official seal.

A glint in his eye, Fu Juemin continued to dig deeper. Beneath the blank documents was a thick stack of promissory notes and Gold Yuan Banknotes, all bearing the "Universal Pass" logo.

A rough estimate put the total at a staggering sum of over twenty million silver coins!

Even though he had been somewhat prepared, Fu Juemin was still deeply shocked.

’How much is the entire annual revenue of Yangping Province?’

’Sixty million? Or eighty?’

Fu Juemin couldn’t quite recall. He only knew that the promissory notes and bills, worth over twenty million silver coins, felt heavy in his hands.

To fund their escape, the Fu Family had been forced to liquidate nearly all of their assets. And while they had managed to salvage some of their fortune, the losses had been catastrophic.

But now, with over twenty million in promissory notes in hand, their previous losses were more than covered—several times over, in fact.

’Eight counties, plus the Luan River region makes nine... Song Lin was truly ruthless in his extortion on this trip.’

If the Fire Cloud Army hadn’t interfered and he’d managed to finish his tour of the province, he probably would have scraped together enough to fund Song Zhenyuan’s army for the next several years.

Fu Juemin quickly put everything from the kraft paper bag away and strode into the Hu Mansion.

In the front courtyard of the Hu Mansion, its great vermilion gates thrown wide, stood seven or eight chests.

Ignoring the corpses that littered the ground, Fu Juemin walked over and kicked open the chests one by one.

Silver coins, antiques, jewelry... and a chest packed full of "Yellow Croakers"!

’Twenty million was an understatement,’ he thought. ’With the gold, silver, and antiques here, plus the stacks of property deeds and business shares in one of the other chests, the total must be well over thirty million.’

Fu Juemin stared at the seven or eight chests of treasure, lamenting that he couldn’t take it all with him.

Just then, his expression shifted. He turned toward the gate and shouted, "Second Uncle!"

A few seconds later, the sound of heavy, approaching footsteps echoed.

Fu Guoping strode in, several grenades tucked into his belt and a light machine gun in his hands.

Behind him followed a group from the Civil Affairs Bureau, all wearing red bandanas and fully armed.

"I was just about to look for you. I didn’t think you’d already be here, Second Uncle," Fu Juemin called out to Fu Guoping with a smile. Qian Fei and a few other familiar men from the Civil Affairs Bureau approached and addressed him one by one as "Young Master."

When Fu Guoping saw Fu Juemin, his eyes first lit up with surprise and joy, followed by the complex, hollow feeling of having arrived a step too late.

Clearly, he had already seen the bodies of Song Lin and the scar-faced man before he entered.

Fu Juemin knew what he wanted to ask. "Uncle Tong made the first move," he said candidly, "but... I’m the one who shot and killed Song Lin."

Fu Guoping’s lips trembled. After a long moment, he muttered a curse. "Dying like that... was getting off too easy."

Fu Juemin smiled. Using [Yao Ling], he could sense the situation in the city growing more chaotic and tense by the second.

He thought for a moment, and had just begun to call out, "Second Uncle," when Fu Guoping interrupted him.

"I know what you want to say."

Fu Guoping looked at Fu Juemin, his gaze calm as he said, "But this time, I won’t be going with you."

"If I leave, what happens to these brothers of mine?"

Fu Juemin remained silent. He had hesitated for this very reason—the boat the Fu Family had arranged simply didn’t have room for the hundred-odd men of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

"Lingjun."

At that, Fu Guoping reached out, patted his shoulder, and spoke slowly. "You’ve grown up. From now on, you have your own path to walk."

"And so do I."

"Do you remember that story I told you?"

Fu Juemin froze for a second, then listened as Fu Guoping continued, "Actually, there’s a part of that story I never told you."

"Back when I was about to bring my sword down on that fortune-teller’s head, he dropped to his knees and begged for his life. He said that as long as you survived past the age of nineteen, you were destined to soar to the heavens, with a future beyond measure."

"He also said... that I..."

As he spoke, Fu Guoping couldn’t help but laugh. "He said that in the future, I’d either be made a nobleman and a general, or I’d don the emperor’s yellow robes! ...Haha...."

It wasn’t clear if he was mocking himself or just found the whole thing absurd, but Fu Guoping laughed until tears streamed down his face.

Fu Juemin, however, didn’t laugh. He waited for Fu Guoping to finish, then said calmly, "It seems you’ve already figured out your path forward, Second Uncle."

Fu Guoping was noncommittal.

Fu Juemin didn’t press him. After a moment’s thought, he took out the kraft paper bag from Song Lin’s body, pulled out the blank documents stamped with the Provincial Government’s seal, and handed them to Fu Guoping.

"These," he said, "and all this other stuff I can’t take with me... I imagine you’ll have a use for them, Second Uncle."

Fu Guoping took the documents. The moment he saw what they were, he froze, his face breaking into a wide, ecstatic grin.

"Lingjun, you are truly your Second Uncle’s lucky star!

No matter what your Second Uncle wants to do, you’ve just given him a massive boost..."

Fu Guoping stared at the blank documents, his eyes gleaming as countless schemes and plans no doubt flashed through his mind.

Fu Juemin smiled and met Fu Guoping’s gaze.

"Second Uncle..."

He slowly said, "Then I’ll be going. Until we... meet again."

Fu Guoping waved his hand dismissively. "Go on. We’re grown men. There’s no need for such sentimental farewells."

"Just remember—you still owe your Second Uncle a drink."

"I’ll remember."

Fu Juemin answered in a low voice and walked through the portico. The men from the Civil Affairs Bureau parted to make way for him.

At the main gate, Fu Juemin paused for a moment, as if wanting to say something more, but he quickly turned and left.

Once Fu Juemin was gone, the expression on Fu Guoping’s face slowly settled back into a calm mask.

’Lingjun truly gave me a magnificent gift...’

’With this money and these blank documents, we have more than enough to build our own foundation!’

Fu Guoping’s eyes narrowed as he issued his orders. "The Fire Cloud Army hasn’t entered the city yet. Have the brothers move these things out, quickly."

"And, send two men to the Black Shark Gang. Find Wu Pozhou..."

The men acknowledged their orders and split off to carry them out.

Just then, Qian Fei approached and asked in a low voice, "Second Master, what about... here..."

"Bring all the bodies inside and set the place on fire."

Qian Fei hesitated. "Second Master, there are still people alive in there..."

Fu Guoping’s face was devoid of expression. "Take some men in there and take care of it. Leave no one alive. We can’t risk someone investigating later and finding something..."

Qian Fei was stunned. "Second Master, the people who know won’t necessarily talk. Everyone wanted that animal Song Lin dead..."

"You find them pitiful?"

Fu Guoping’s gaze turned sharp as a razor.

Qian Fei immediately lowered his head, not daring to utter another word.

But then, the sharpness in Fu Guoping’s eyes softened.

He turned to look back into the Hu Mansion’s courtyard, his voice low. "They are pitiful, yes. But I can’t let Lingjun shoulder this risk....

If they hold a grudge in their hearts, then after they die... they can come find me, Fu Guoping."

With that, Fu Guoping’s expression became impassive once more. He hefted his gun and strode out of the Hu Mansion.

....

The sedan he’d arrived in was destroyed, and Fu Juemin had no intention of leaving on foot.

Seeing that Fu Guoping’s party had brought horses, he commandeered one and galloped away down the street.

He hadn’t gotten far, however, when Li Tong appeared like a ghost from an alleyway, silently falling in behind him.