"Are you afraid the master would harm me?"
"No, that won’t happen," Shen Boyu shook his head and said, "He had already mentioned when he accepted Tang Fei as his disciple, that you needed a catfish... The two of you fighting and killing each other was within his expectations."
"Still, let’s give everyone some time to ease into it. You’ll be at ease, and so will he."
"Yes," Shen Xinglan nodded in agreement.
After a pause, he asked again, "Do you think Tang Fei understands?"
Shen Boyu pondered for a moment and said, "He might understand, but he will pretend not to."
"I see," Shen Xinglan voiced.
Shen Boyu leaned back comfortably into the Taishi Chair and looked at Shen Xinglan as he asked, "On this trip of yours, did Tang Fei ever talk to you about his life story?"
"He mentioned it once," Shen Xinglan replied, "He said that he and his brother lived in the Old Land, relying on an old man for survival..."
"Our people have been to the Henshan Region; indeed, the locals mentioned such an old man, but then he disappeared without a trace."
"Do you doubt Tang Fei’s identity?" Shen Xinglan asked aloud.
He knew that the Shen Family had always kept a close watch on Tang Fei.
Even closer than him.
After all, in their view, there were many things that should have belonged to them, but were snatched away because of Tang Fei’s arrival.
They had previously conducted a thorough investigation into Tang Fei’s background and even sent people to the Old Land and Henshan Region where Tang Fei had lived to gather information.
Yet, they found nothing of use.
Why was Grandpa asking again about Tang Fei’s past?
"I suspect the identity of that old man," Shen Boyu said aloud.
"Whom do you suspect he is?"
"I suspect that the old man who raised Tang Fei is Lu Yu," Shen Boyu replied gravely, "The genius Mechanic Lu Yu, who was known alongside Tang Li as the Imperial Double Wall."
"Lu Yu?" Shen Xinglan’s eyes widened as he looked at Shen Boyu, fully aware of the significance of that name, and asked, "Why would Grandpa suspect it’s him? Wasn’t he long dead?"
"He simply vanished all of a sudden; dead or alive, who can say?"
Shen Boyu’s face showed a hint of reminiscence as he looked at Shen Xinglan and said, "Tang Li was a cultivation genius, just like you are now... and Lu Yu was a deity of mechanics, every object in his hands could be transformed into something novel, his inventions and creations were countless... At that time, they were the two most prominent figures in the country."
"The former Emperor greatly favored them, calling them the Imperial Double Wall, saying that with Lu Yu as the scholar and Tang Li as the warrior, the Empire had nothing to fear. Due to Tang Li’s act of treason, he also became implicated. Although the Lu Family saved him from death, he went into seclusion on Nanshan, leading a life of melancholy, drowning his sorrows in drink every day..."
"Then how did he later disappear without a trace?"
"Heh, that would be a question for the one above," Shen Boyu revealed a mocking smile and said, "Jealous of his talents yet wanting to use them, he was repeatedly summoned to serve the country, but he refused every time."
"In the end, that person became impatient and said if you don’t answer the call, you’ll be executed as a member of Tang Li’s rebel party... And just like that, he disappeared without a trace."
Shen Xinglan fell silent for a moment then praised, "This man truly had integrity."
"What’s the value of integrity? There are plenty of people with integrity, and who knows how many blades have been blunted because of it..."
"Why does Grandpa suspect it’s him?"