"Yes, not only a newspaper but also two printing presses. Seventy percent of Mingjiang Prefecture’s newspapers come out of the Si Family’s printing presses."
"That’s great. I need your newspaper’s front page headline to print a piece of news. The title should read: ’Kidnapper massacres innocents on East Market Street, City God Holding Armor Incense Master turns accomplice,’" Zhou Xuan said.
Housekeeper Bai: "..."
It wasn’t surprising he fell silent. Zhou Xuan’s headline was massive, not only implicating the kidnappers but even the City God?!
"Housekeeper Bai, are you listening to me?"
"I’m listening, I’m listening."
"I’ve told you the headline. Now I need to explain the contents of the news,"
Zhou Xuan summarized the story. Essentially, the kidnappers and the City God Holding Armor Incense conspired to massacre civilians on East Market Street. The civilians’ children had previously been abducted and murdered by the kidnappers, leading them to gather and resist.
When the civilians were slaughtered until blood flowed like rivers, the righteous City God Zhang Yifeng arrived with the night watchmen. He not only eliminated the kidnappers but also killed the City God’s traitor, Lu Yusheng.
Housekeeper Bai’s frown deepened as he listened and eventually couldn’t hold back. He said, "Young Master, this news is far too outrageous. I have to report it to the master."
"Go ahead. Do you remember all the details?"
"Yes, if the master agrees, we’ll immediately start printing. By tomorrow morning, it will be out. If he doesn’t agree..."
"If he doesn’t agree, have Master Si call me. I’ll convince him with my unyielding eloquence."
Zhou Xuan hung up with a smile.
He was confident that Si Ming would agree. Si Ming hated kidnappers to the bone; such a sensational story about them was an opportunity he had no reason to pass up.
Housekeeper Bai hung up the phone, picked up his kerosene Wind Lamp, and hurried to Si Ming’s residence.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The door was opened by the residence’s maid.
She yawned and apologized to Housekeeper Bai, saying, "Master and Mistress have already gone to bed."
"Please inform them that the Young Master has a major matter to discuss."
"I’ll try to let them know."
Zhou Xuan’s name had been highly prominent in the Si Mansion over the past few days. Not only had he cured the young lady’s madness with two tattoos, but it had also been said that after accompanying the master to Qiye Temple, the family could save a million annually for the Tangkou.
Such an esteemed guest with urgent business—how could the maid dare delay?
Before long, Duan Qinglan and Si Ming came downstairs wearing their nightclothes.
The couple sat on the sofa and asked Housekeeper Bai, "What brings the Young Master to us?"
"Master, he wants us to publish a piece of news."
Housekeeper Bai explained Zhou Xuan’s request for the title and contents.
Si Ming reacted intensely. He lit a cigar and paced the room, cursing as he walked: "Good, good, this is excellent! Those kidnappers, those scumbags, have been stomping all over our Tangkou for ages. Now, this is our moment to strike back!
Whenever we published criticisms of the kidnappers, the City God would always send someone to imply that we should keep things subdued. ’We’re all Tangkou operators; harmony brings wealth,’ they’d say. Harmony, my ass! This time, I’ll include the City God in the report!"
"Old Si, don’t get too excited just yet. I feel like there are some holes in this story—how could Zhang Yifeng manage to kill Lu Yusheng? And the kidnappers have been warned by Bone Elder recently; it doesn’t make sense for them to act so brazenly."
Duan Qinglan remained composed, picked up the phone, and started contacting Bone Elder for intel.
Almost no one knew what had transpired tonight.
Eventually, she called her teacher, Li Chengfeng, at his home.
Li Chengfeng, being close to Duan Qinglan, didn’t withhold any information and revealed the truth of the matter.
As she listened, her grip on the phone tightened until her hand began to tremble.
When the call ended, she hung up the phone with fiery eyes.
"Mistress, what did you find out?"
"Tonight’s events were monumental. The Night Patrol God Stele King has fallen, Lu Yusheng is dead, and those who went to East Market Street weren’t kidnappers—they were Wuzuo, pretending to be kidnappers and all wiped out together."
"All of it was the work of the Young Master." Duan Qinglan, typically calm to the core, now showed unrestrained excitement in her gaze.
"Who?" Si Ming asked again.
"The Young Master," Duan Qinglan repeated.
"Mistress, do you realize that the Young Master only has two incense flames?"
After last night’s charity gala, Si Yuer had mentioned to Si Ming in the car that Zhou Xuan possessed only two incense flames.
Si Ming had already been shocked then. What did two incense flames signify?
Take the Divine Stealer Tangkou, for example. Within the Tangkou, those with two incense flames were only qualified to wipe ancestral tablets in the Main Hall.
Yet Zhou Xuan, with just two incense flames, had entered the Forbidden Tower that Si Ming himself couldn’t access.
That alone was astounding, perhaps attributed to the Young Master’s extraordinary spiritual power.
But Lu Yusheng, the Stele King, a five-incense-flame cross-border killer—paired with a six-incense-flame Night Patrol You Shen...
"The Stele King was neutralized by Ping Shui Prefecture’s God Traveling Department tonight; they fought for the Young Master," Duan Qinglan said.
"Oh, now that makes sense," Si Ming’s mood stabilized somewhat.
"Lu Yusheng was indeed personally killed by the Young Master."
"Oh, that’s understa—wait, what? That’s impossible! How could two incense flames kill Lu Yusheng?"
"Lu Yusheng had even donned the City God Armor, but now it’s disappeared—it’s likely the Young Master removed it."
"Lu Yusheng in City God Armor?!"
Si Ming suddenly collapsed onto the sofa, and Housekeeper Bai collapsed along with him.
"Two incense flames! When I was at two incense flames, all I did was pinch my master’s aching leg! My grandest dream back then was someday learning some ultimate skill from him and crossing borders to beat up my three-incense-flame senior brother who stole my wages!
The Young Master—two incense flames, yet he’s already confronting the Cross-border King of Mingjiang Prefecture. The disparity is staggering."