Chapter 1225 The Pavilion of the Thunder God
Chen Xuan ambled out of the Su family's residence in the capital. Not long after, a car pulled up beside him. Huo Guangtai, supported by others, walked over unsteadily.
Huo Guangtai approached Chen Xuan and immediately bowed, saying, "Mr. Chen, it was I, Huo Guangtai, who had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. I am truly ashamed. This old man is here to offer my apologies!"
"Heh heh, I couldn't possibly accept that," Chen Xuan waved his hand, letting out a cold chuckle.
Huo Guangtai's expression faltered. He quickly said, "Mr. Chen, this old man knows he was wrong. If you don't help my Huo family, my Huo family will be finished!"
"Alright, alright, I can take a look for you," Chen Xuan said indifferently.
"Mr. Chen, please!" Huo Guangtai hastily gestured for Chen Xuan to get into the car.
Chen Xuan nodded slightly and got into the car.
"Mr. Chen, shall we go to Jiangshang Mingyue?" Huo Guangtai asked from inside the car.
"Let's go to Jiangshang Mingyue first," Chen Xuan nodded slightly.
Thus, Huo Guangtai signaled the driver to drive towards Jiangshang Mingyue.
Upon arriving at Jiangshang Mingyue, the establishment was already sealed with tape. Since someone had died yesterday, the usually bustling Jiangshang Mingyue had become extremely desolate. Even the small plaza nearby had very few people.
Chen Xuan's eyes narrowed as he stared at Jiangshang Mingyue. After a moment, he suddenly looked at Huo Guangtai and asked with a solemn expression, "Huo Guangtai, did someone else die at Jiangshang Mingyue last night?"
"No... no," Huo Guangtai's expression flickered with an unusual glint as he subconsciously shook his head.
Chen Xuan was taken aback. His gaze fixed on Huo Guangtai, and he said with a cold smile, "No? If you don't tell me the truth, then I can't help you with this matter."
Huo Guangtai quickly replied, "Yes, yes, but how did you know?" He looked at Chen Xuan in disbelief.
Actually, another person had died last night. That person was a female waitress at Jiangshang Mingyue. The waitress was from a rural area in another province and had no influential background. To quell the matter, Huo Guangtai had given the waitress's family a large sum of money.
The village where the waitress was from had poor living conditions and a preference for males over females. Their only son was also of marriageable age. The family was struggling with the betrothal gifts. Since their daughter was already dead and couldn't be brought back, causing trouble might not yield good results. Thus, the waitress's family accepted the compensation. Everything happened silently, but how did Chen Xuan know about it?
"I naturally saw it," Chen Xuan's gaze shifted back to Jiangshang Mingyue. He had opened his Heavenly Eye and could see two ghosts roaming Jiangshang Mingyue. According to Huo Guangtai, only one person had died at Jiangshang Mingyue, so how could there be two ghosts?
Upon hearing this, Huo Guangtai's respect for Chen Xuan deepened.
"What exactly happened? Hurry and tell me honestly," Chen Xuan asked.
Huo Guangtai slowly began, "Mr. Chen, to be frank, after you left last night, something happened at Jiangshang Mingyue..." He recounted the events at Jiangshang Mingyue to Chen Xuan.
It turned out that after Minister Tian's friend was poisoned to death, Minister Tian ordered Jiangshang Mingyue to be sealed. Huo Guangtai used all his connections, but it was to no avail. So, he asked the employees of Jiangshang Mingyue to clean up, preparing to close down. However, unexpectedly, while cleaning, a waitress suddenly slipped down the stairs, hitting her head on a steel nail and dying on the spot.
After listening, Chen Xuan's gaze grew serious. He looked upstream along Jiangshang Mingyue and saw that the incoming malevolent energy was even denser than last night, turning the entire river surface pitch black. Moreover, all this malevolent energy flowed into Jiangshang Mingyue, making the entire establishment eerie and terrifying, like a haunted building.
Chen Xuan muttered, "I didn't expect the malevolent energy at Jiangshang Mingyue to be so powerful already."
"Mr. Chen, you must save Jiangshang Mingyue. This Jiangshang Mingyue is the lifeblood of our Huo family!" Huo Guangtai pleaded.
Chen Xuan said indifferently, "It's manageable. Although it's a bit difficult, solving it shouldn't be a problem." Huo Guangtai breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Chen Xuan looked upstream towards where the rolling malevolent energy was coming from and said, "Huo Guangtai, do you know what that place is?"
Huo Guangtai looked somewhat confused but replied, "That's the origin of the Mingyue River, Mount Xiangshan. This Mingyue River flows across the west city and then comes here along the western suburbs. Could it be that Mr. Chen thinks the matters at our Jiangshang Mingyue are related to the upstream?"
Chen Xuan didn't say much more. "Let's go. We'll walk along the Mingyue River and take a look." Some things he wasn't sure about yet.
Thus, Chen Xuan got back into Huo Guangtai's car, and they slowly drove upstream along the Mingyue River. Chen Xuan kept his eyes fixed on the Mingyue River. He noticed that the malevolent energy was becoming increasingly concentrated. However, despite its density, this malevolent energy didn't seem to affect the people visiting the Mingyue River; it was more like it was passing by.
Continuing forward, the crystal-clear Mingyue River had turned pitch black in Chen Xuan's eyes. Huo Guangtai beside him was getting impatient and showing signs of annoyance. Chen Xuan didn't seem like he was here to solve a problem, but rather to sightsee.
"This..." Huo Guangtai couldn't help but frown.
But just then, Chen Xuan suddenly sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the outside. "Stop the car!" The driver slammed on the brakes. Huo Guangtai, sitting in the back seat, hadn't fastened his seatbelt and almost crashed into the seat. Huo Guangtai let out a painful groan and said, "Ouch!" The driver shivered, thinking he was finished! Would Huo Guangtai fire him?
"Mr. Chen, what's wrong?" Huo Guangtai couldn't bother with the driver and quickly looked at Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan pointed to a building outside and asked, "Do you know what this place is?" Huo Guangtai looked over and saw an octagonal building by the Mingyue River. He said, "That's a restaurant opened by the Lei family to compete with our Huo family for business. However, the Lei family's business is not doing well; it's barely surviving and is about to go bankrupt." Mentioning this, Huo Guangtai showed a hint of arrogance. The Lei family, like the Huo family, was in the hotel business. The Lei family was arguably the Huo family's biggest competitor in the capital. The two families had engaged in many confrontations, and Huo Guangtai was naturally pleased that the Lei family was struggling.
"Are you sure that Lei family's hotel is about to go bankrupt?" Chen Xuan blinked.
"Hmm?" Huo Guangtai was stunned. He turned his head to look. He saw that the Lei family's Pavilion of the Thunder God hotel was bustling with activity, with drums and gongs playing. Guests were coming and going endlessly. There was no sign of it about to close. Seeing this, Huo Guangtai was immediately taken aback and said in astonishment, "How is this possible?" But the fact was right there.
"How could this be? I heard that the Lei family's Pavilion of the Thunder God was going to be transferred recently. Our Huo family also received the news. How could the business suddenly become so good?" Huo Guangtai was extremely surprised.
Hearing this, Chen Xuan also had some thoughts. His gaze shifted to the Pavilion of the Thunder God, and his Heavenly Eye opened. He saw that the Pavilion of the Thunder God was covered in golden airflow above it.