Chapter 2655: Several Questions
Xu Huo returned to the border town with Beibao. It was already late at night, most of the fans around the castle had dispersed, and only the cleaners were still active on the streets. He found a hostel to stay in.
"I thought you were going to storm into the Wan Family directly." Beibao looked in the direction of the castle, "Their rival, Minister Wang, is dead. I guess they’re busy receiving and sending people off, not having time to sleep."
"Why did the Wan Family change their surname to Wang?" Most of the restaurants in the small town were closed now. Xu Huo took out some dry rations and ate them with hot water to stave off hunger.
"The Wang family is very influential," Beibao said. "Many in this family hold official positions; Minister Wang holds the highest position, but he looks down on the Wan Family. The Wan Family tried to curry favor but failed. However, this might change in the future; with the death of one Minister Wang, surely another will rise."
She gazed at the bright lights, her voice suddenly low, "I don’t understand what the point of all this is..."
"You’re wondering why the Gao and Peng families are continuing their lineage in this way?" Xu Huo addressed her doubts.
"Exactly." Beibao turned back, leaning her body against the single-seater sofa, smiling brightly, "You’re an outsider and very smart. Just by listening to me, you guessed the boss is a descendant of Peng Guan. After knowing him for years, I never realized."
"It might have started as a ruler’s personal desire, but later evolved into a mode of unity," Xu Huo said. "Among the descendants of the Gao and Peng families, many players must have appeared. They needed to support each other to live better."
"Just like now, there must be Gao and Peng descendants inside the government of Moon Corner Duchy, supporting the Wan Family, and the Wan Family supports them."
"When passing on surnames, there must have been other tasks too," Beibao said. "According to your view, the descendants of the Gao and Peng families have money, power, and strength. Why does Lian Qingkong ignore me?"
"Gao Hui can’t mobilize the descendants of the two families; Lian Qingkong might not be able to either." Xu Huo casually said, "Everyone has their own life."
Beibao laughed, finding it incredibly absurd, "Both my biological and adoptive parents were burdened with this surname all their lives. What life of their own? Could it be they’re guarding a pointless secret?"
"Do you want to return to Yu Country?" Xu Huo looked up at her.
Beibao calmed her emotions before speaking, "I just want to know the significance of this matter."
Among the descendants of the two families, certainly many are powerful, but there are more who die nameless in battle or silently inherit the surname. Ordinary people in chaotic times consider mere survival a luxury, let alone secret inheritances that have changed many lives.
If passing on the surname leads nowhere for most, hundreds of years of effort are utterly meaningless.
"Everyone has their own ambitions. No one’s stopping you from returning to Yu Country." Xu Huo said.
Beibao took a deep breath, pulled a blanket from her luggage cart to cover her face, unilaterally ending the conversation.
Xu Huo unapologetically occupied the bed, catching a few hours of sleep.
The next morning, after breakfast, he headed towards the castle with Beibao.
They passed straight through the original location of the Defensive Barrier without any obstruction, entering the estate outside the castle directly. The walking time was also an opportunity for the Security Guard players to report.
Soon, several players appeared around them. Meanwhile, a middle-aged woman dressed as a butler hurried out, inquiring about their intentions.
"I’m here to visit Mr. Wan Ping." Xu Huo said.
The butler smiled apologetically, "Minister Wang passed away, sir went to help manage the funeral, but he won’t be back for a while..."
Xu Huo glanced at the time, "Give him half an hour, that should be enough."
After speaking, he proceeded to the castle’s main hall, ignoring the Wan Family members and guests originally present in the hall, found a seat to sit down, and stated, "I’ll wait here."
He could ignore the other players present, but Beibao couldn’t. Furthermore, many in the Wan Family knew her due to Wan Yao’s relationship, whether they knew her true identity is another matter.
She looked at Wan Ping’s eldest son, Wan Chuan, "Mr. Wan, please go and invite Mr. Wan. This gentleman insists on seeing him today."
Uninvited guests cause displeasure, but the disparity in power kept the Wan Family silent. After arranging for the guests to leave, Wan Chuan indicated he would soon contact his father and sent over tea and snacks, trying to chat with Xu Huo to discover his purpose for the visit.
"Can you represent the descendants of the Gao family to answer my questions?" Xu Huo asked him.
Wan Chuan hesitated at first, then smiled wryly, "Others have come for this reason before. It’s all a misunderstanding. We have no relation to the Gao surname. My father’s origins are clear, he’s truly a native of Moon Corner Duchy... We’ve kept the records."
He said this and sent someone to retrieve the materials. As Xu Huo began to browse them, Wan Chuan tentatively said, "You must be here to clear the instance. Unfortunately, we can’t help. But since you made the trip, we can’t let it go to waste. We have some props in our collection if you fancy..."
"Bang." The folder closed softly. Xu Huo interrupted him, "Twenty minutes left."
Wan Chuan’s expression changed slightly, apologized, then left the main hall.
The rest of the Wan Family had already left cleanly during guest departure, making the large castle seem suddenly empty except for the staff.
Ten more minutes passed quickly, during which no Wan Family member appeared.
Even Beibao felt uneasy, "The Wan Family didn’t all flee, did they?"
"Where would they flee to?" Xu Huo chuckled gently, "If I remain in this instance, there’s plenty of time to deal with them."
Beibao was right though; the Wan Family had fled, which was expected. But within the time limit, Wan Ping was bound to return.
Sure enough, with three minutes left on the countdown, Wan Ping arrived. The aircraft landed directly in the estate, and this Wan family head who inherited the Gao surname hurriedly ran toward the main hall, wiping sweat while apologizing to Xu Huo, explaining that due to the funeral, he couldn’t get away but hoped there wouldn’t be any offense taken.
Xu Huo watched him perform quietly, then got straight to the point, "I just want to ask a few questions: did Gao Hui come to you with the National Treasure? Where’s the National Treasure now? And how did Gao Hui die?"
Wan Ping’s face showed no resistance, and he cooperatively recounted the course of events.
Gao Hui came to Moon Corner Duchy and sought out many people, but when he came to the Wan Family, he didn’t bring the National Treasure. Instead, he wanted to exchange props and the players around him for the Wan Family’s wealth and support. Despite the Wan Family repeatedly declaring they weren’t Gao descendants, Gao Hui wouldn’t believe it. After many negotiations, he even intended to murder the Wan Family members.