The Modern Martial Immortal-Chapter 35: Life

Dayu had existed for more than four hundred years, and since its earliest days, there had always been a saying that the royal court and the aristocratic families ruled the country together.

A century ago, during an age of turmoil, the royal family seized the opportunity to weaken the influence of aristocratic families within the country and pushed for a cabinet system, intending to replace the aristocrats’ control over the major provinces. Yet a starved camel remained larger than a horse.[1]

Although the aristocratic families no longer stood on equal footing with the royal family as they had a hundred years prior, and even though the royal family had become the strongest of all aristocratic lineages, their influence was still astonishingly deep.

Even a governor appointed by the cabinet needed the support of the local aristocrats to accomplish anything. If the aristocratic families grew dissatisfied, even government operations might fail to run smoothly.

Tiannan's governor Wei Kongming possessed both skill and authority, and he had once pressed the Tiannan aristocratic families so hard that they could not raise their heads. But even so, he still could not eradicate the problem posed by the aristocrats.

Similarly, even though Xia Wuyuan had followed the trail behind Yulong International all the way to the Yue family, he remained unable to do anything to them. He had come to investigate, yet he had not even been granted an audience with the Yue family patriarch.

In the end, under the polite escort of the butler, who had merely appeared cooperative on the surface, he left the Yue family's manor.

***

On the ride back, Ye Yuhe watched Xia Wuyuan with worry. "Senior Brother, this case involves the Yue family... Are we really going to keep investigating?"

"Yes!" Xia Wuyuan answered without hesitation. "We trained in both pen and sword to serve the empire. Since we chose this path, we must continue walking it!"

"But the Yue family..." Ye Yuhe murmured.

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Xia Wuyuan said. "The Yue family is not our true target."

Hearing this, Ye Yuhe finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although terms like aristocratic family and noble weren't used any longer, and although these ancient lineages no longer presented themselves as aristocrats and instead appeared as chairmen or corporate heads of vast conglomerates, Ye Yuhe, who barely had access to the edges of this circle, understood that the aristocratic families still existed.

They had merely concealed themselves, establishing stricter entry requirements. Ordinary people could live a lifetime without ever encountering them and would naturally assume they had been drowned beneath the tides of a new age.

In reality, society had always been held firmly in their hands. Now, upon hearing that Xia Wuyuan did not truly intend to strike at the Yue family, she naturally felt relieved.

"Enough. There is much left to investigate in this case. I expect this will turn into a long, drawn-out struggle. You should first return and study firearm combat techniques properly," Xia Wuyuan said.

He then glanced at her. "Your Martial Dao foundation is good, but your ability with firearms still needs some work. You don't even understand the basic parameters of common guns. That will put you at a severe disadvantage in firefights."

"We usually conduct investigations in urban regions where it is easy for the action to move into complex environments like buildings and streets. If we use structures as cover, fights turn into close-range encounters or sudden clashes, and in such battles, firearms cannot unleash their full power. I am better off focusing on martial arts. If I become a grandmaster like you, Senior Brother..." Ye Yuhe said.

"Times have changed," Xia Wuyuan said, shaking his head. "So what if you become a grandmaster? A bullet can still kill you. All weapons are ultimately designed for humans, but if we fail to keep pace with the times, we will one day be eliminated by steadily advancing technology."

He paused. "Take the Su family's young master as an example. Perhaps he is exceptionally gifted, already a grandmaster. If I were to fight him bare-handed in a life-and-death duel, the outcome between the two of us would still be uncertain. But the moment firearms are brought into it, the result will be clear."

"Like someone with a sword facing an unarmed man?" she asked.

"Firearms are far more lethal than blades," Xia Wuyuan replied.

Ye Yuhe could only nod obediently. Seeing she had seemingly understood, Xia Wuyuan turned his attention forward and focused on driving.

Truthfully, the trail behind Yulong International had already gone cold. Or rather, once the Prosecutor’s Office refused to give him the authority to investigate further, it became impossible to continue.

Perhaps someone of a higher level had pressured Zhou Tianqiao, and he had subtly instructed Xia Wuyuan not to escalate the matter.

However, after witnessing the tragedy in basement level 4 of Yulong International with his own eyes, he simply could not ignore the case. He could not accept the masterminds walking free.

If the Prosecutor’s Office refused to escalate the case and denied him the resources to keep investigating, then he would investigate his own way. He had deliberately alerted the enemy.

As one of Tiannan’s aristocratic families, every move the Yue family made attracted the attention of the entire provincial upper echelon. Openly visiting the Yue family to investigate the Yulong International case had unquestionably revealed his stance.

The rank of senior prosecutor was neither particularly high nor low. His rank was beneath that of a deputy county magistrate, and yet, at the same time, it was not a low rank at all, as the system allowed his voice to reach the throne.

Anyone hiding in the shadows, upon learning what he had done, would certainly react. In other words, he was using himself as bait. He intended to lure the enemy into revealing themselves.

The reason he dared do so was simple: He had the strength to back it! He was Xia Wuyuan, a grandmaster of the current era, known as the Peerless Martial Artist!

He only hoped that those lurking in the dark would not be too cowardly or too cautious. The more arrogant they were, the better.

Otherwise, until he discovered new leads, this fishing operation would have to continue indefinitely.

Almost the instant that thought surfaced in his mind, something flickered past the edge of his vision.

The next moment, he jerked the steering wheel and slammed down the accelerator, making the tires screech against the asphalt.

Before Ye Yuhe could react, a dump truck brushed past their sedan so closely it felt as though the two vehicles scraped against each other.

"Hold on!" Xia Wuyuan’s voice burst out sharply.

Just as Ye Yuhe snapped her head up in shock, a second cement mixer roared toward them at a speed no vehicle should have reached inside a city.

The car lurched violently. Fortunately, her reaction speed was incredible; she grabbed the nearest support in time and held her balance.

Even so, the moment a third off-road vehicle burst into view, a shudder ran through her entire body. She felt as though she had been thrown into the air.

The rear of the sedan shattered under the impact and exploded into twisted metal.

In that instant, she clearly saw the off-road driver's expressionless face and eyes devoid of anything human.

"Senior Brother!" Ye Yuhe cried out. But Xia Wuyuan shot the car into a narrow residential side lane and slammed the brakes.

"Stay inside. Do not come out!" With a low shout, he exploded out of the vehicle, his speed like that of a leopard during a hunt. He immediately sprinted straight toward the off-road car.

Thinking of the driver’s cold, inhuman eyes, Ye Yuhe felt a wave of dread rising in her chest. She could not stop herself from screaming. "Don’t—"

But Xia Wuyuan, unleashed at full speed, vanished from her sight within a heartbeat.

***

Night lights gradually illuminated the city. Inside a quiet bar booth, a woman who remarkably resembled Su Yaoyu yet exuded a colder, more commanding aura held a slim cigarette between her fingers, slowly exhaling a stream of smoke. Her eyebrows remained tightly furrowed, her silence heavy.

"What is it, my dear Second Young Lady?" A girl with cute hair clips, straight bangs, and a pure white dress slung her bag over her shoulder and sat down beside her. She looked like the embodiment of innocence, but the moment she took her seat, she naturally slid out a cigarette and lit it with practiced ease.

Then she said, "You did not answer your phone. If I did not know you so well, I would never have found you here."

The cold woman glanced sideways at the girl but gave no response.

"Let me guess. For something to make our Director Su look this troubled... it must be something from your family again, right? What did your little aunt do this time?" asked the girl.

"It is not her," replied the woman.

The woman was Su Yaoxue, Su Huafeng’s second daughter.

The only junior from Su Huafeng’s direct line who could barely be considered capable.

At just twenty-four years old, she had taken ten million in starting capital from Su Huafeng, combined it with several million of her own savings, and founded a video production company. In just three years, the company’s valuation had multiplied tenfold, reaching over a hundred million. There was no denying she was a business prodigy.

"It's Su Yaoguang. Yaoyu asked me to join them for dinner."

"Su Yaoguang?" The girl dressed like a well-behaved maiden looked puzzled. "Who is that? Which Su family member?"

"Su Huafeng has two sons. Which one do you think it is?" Su Yaoxue shot her a glare.

"Him?" Only then did the girl seem to recall something. She blinked in surprise. "He came back? Wasn't he too aloof to bother coming home? Why return now?"

"Su Huafeng is dying. He ought to come back for at least one last look." Su Yaoxue sounded completely unsurprised.

"Oh, I get it. He wants his share of the inheritance, so the portion you receive will shrink. And your company is planning an expansion soon, right? You need a lot of capital. If he comes back now, that will affect your plans." Enlightenment dawned on her face.

Su Yaoxue said nothing. Unlike Su Yaoyu, who occasionally visited Su Yaoguang, she hardly ever saw her younger brother. She had no particular impression of him.

Since the two were just half-siblings born of different mothers and had never lived together, her feelings naturally could not compare to those of Su Yaoyu.

"If I can get a share of Su Huafeng’s inheritance, that would be ideal. If not, I am not desperate for it."

"You are too stubborn. You will suffer for it one day. Honestly, the Buzhou Group is massive. Would it not be easier to follow your older sister’s example and just take a position inside? With your Su family status—"

Before she could finish, Su Yaoxue cut her off. "Lean on a mountain and the mountain will collapse. The whole Su family survives on the Buzhou Group. If the group falls someday, the entire family will starve."

She thought of the current state of the Buzhou Group. If something truly happened, at least with her own assets, she could prevent that foolish older sister and naive younger sister from going hungry.

"You? Starve?" The girl shook her head. "And besides, how could a conglomerate as large as the Buzhou Group possibly collapse? You just cannot let go of your pride. Because of a single incident in the past, you want to cut ties with your entire family?"

Su Yaoxue exhaled a pale ring of smoke. "In this life, you must carve out your own path. That's true especially for us women. Without ability, no matter where you go, you will be looked down upon, treated like a tool, used and stepped on without dignity."

The girl did not argue. "That is not easy, though... I still think relying on family is much more comfortable. If not for my family, how could I carry a bag worth tens of thousands or drive a luxury car over a million?"

"Everyone makes their own choices. In this era, incompetence is the greatest sin." Su Yaoxue stood up. "There is a saying I like. It goes, 'I would rather twist and writhe like a maggot than live as insignificant as dust.'"

"That is not how the saying goes..." The girl trailed off, then suddenly brightened. "Wait, if he gets a share of your father’s inheritance, he will instantly become a billionaire, right? Why not take me with you and introduce me to him?"

"You?" Su Yaoxue gave her a long look.

The girl immediately crushed her cigarette, straightened her bangs, and sat upright in an elegant, demure pose. "Your little sister Ran Qiu greets you."

"You are not suitable; you will lead him astray."

"Hey, don't be like that. Think about it. Your brother has never been exposed to upper-class life. If no one guides him, bad people will take all his money. He might even get some bad habits. If I take him out and show him around, at least he will not go down the wrong path. I smoke, drink, club, and have tattoos, but I am a very good girl—"

"Shut up." Su Yaoxue cut her off without mercy. "Besides, from what I know, he is not capable of much and he's not even your type."

"I forbid you to badmouth my Yaoguang. He clearly has so much money. How can he be incompetent?" Ran Qiu’s eyes sparkled. "And your family’s genetics are not bad. Who knows, maybe I would even profit."

Su Yaoxue ignored her completely, walked out of the quiet bar, and headed for the hotel address sent by Su Yaoyu.

1. The saying "starved camel remained larger than a horse" means that although a rich family has become less rich than it previously was, they are still far richer than a poor family ☜