Chapter 3853 — To Intervene or Not

The reason it was named Hualan Residence was that only two masters lived there, and taking one character from each of their names had formed the name of this dwelling.

The character Hua was taken from Shangguan Tianxia, while the character Lan naturally came from the eldest young miss, Shangguan Lan'er.

Though the guards were extremely strict, Nan Tianguan, relying on the convenient identity of the Soaring Sky Pavilion's managing senior disciple, ultimately succeeded in appearing at Hualan Residence—and at this moment, Shangguan Tianxia was personally instructing Shangguan Lan'er in cultivation.

To receive personal instruction from a top-tier figure like Shangguan Tianxia—in the eyes of any cultivator, that was a blessing not to be earned over several lifetimes. Alas, comparisons were odious; this treatment that others could only dream of held no appeal whatsoever for the eldest young miss.

Just as now, when Nan Tianguan walked in trembling under the guards' escort, the eldest young miss was frolicking carelessly with Little Curly Bear, while Shangguan Tianxia, that lofty and majestically dignified Pavilion Master, sat to one side with his arms crossed and a bitter smile, wearing the pained expression of a man at his wit's end.

Affection skips a generation, and with his children all absent from his side, this sole granddaughter Shangguan Lan'er was absolutely the apple of Shangguan Tianxia's eye—even if not spoiled rotten, she was doted on beyond measure.

Unless some great matter arose, under normal circumstances Shangguan Tianxia would remain at Hualan Residence after nightfall, enjoying the pleasures of family while conveniently supervising Shangguan Lan'er's cultivation.

But what gave this Pavilion Master considerable headache was that although Shangguan Lan'er possessed outstanding talent and innate constitution, she had never taken the slightest interest in cultivation. Even with her grandfather personally watching over her, it was useless—she remained half-hearted as ever, finding every conceivable trick to shirk her lessons.

Otherwise, had this eldest young miss truly applied herself, with her exceptional talent and Shangguan Tianxia's personal instruction, she would by now surely have become an outstanding figure among the Soaring Sky Pavilion's new generation.

Seeing Nan Tianguan enter, Shangguan Lan'er immediately chirped joyfully, "Grandfather, someone's come to see you! Important business takes precedence—let's call today's cultivation to an end here."

Shangguan Tianxia was caught between laughter and tears. "Call it to an end? Little Lan'er, you haven't even formally begun today's cultivation—only you could say such a thing!"

"Hee hee!" Shangguan Lan'er stuck out her tongue cutely, and Little Curly Bear beside her pulled a funny face along with her; Shangguan Tianxia could only give up with a helpless sigh.

Nan Tianguan was, after all, the Soaring Sky Pavilion's managing senior disciple—Shangguan Tianxia could not simply ignore him. That Shangguan Lan'er had seized the chance to slip past this lesson was simply unavoidable.

Seeing that Shangguan Tianxia had noticed him, Nan Tianguan hurriedly knelt and prostrated himself, saying respectfully, "Your disciple Nan Tianguan pays his respects to the Pavilion Master!"

Before his sole granddaughter Shangguan Lan'er, Shangguan Tianxia was merely a kindly old man; yet before outsiders, he was a top-tier figure standing at the very pinnacle of the entire North Island, a top-tier power-holder in the truest sense. Even when he deliberately restrained his aura, he still made others feel an overwhelming might and domineering presence leaking through, leaving them trembling and treading on thin ice.

Shangguan Tianxia waved his hand, signaling Nan Tianguan to rise and speak. He said, "What business do you have?"

It was but a single plain and ordinary question, yet because Shangguan Tianxia had resumed his dignified bearing, it made Nan Tianguan—a fine hand at the peak of Foundation Establishment—feel a heartfelt shudder of dread. It seemed that the slightest slackening would immediately drown him in the pressure inadvertently emanating from the other.

Holding back every trace of momentum throughout his body, he rose lightly from the ground. Only then did Nan Tianguan cautiously answer, "Reporting to the Pavilion Master, your disciple has come on account of my third brother's matter."

"Nan Tianyong?" Shangguan Tianxia raised an eyebrow slightly.

In his eyes, Nan Tianyong was an out-and-out nobody, someone he would ordinarily never pay attention to; yet as the Soaring Sky Pavilion's Pavilion Master, not the slightest stir within the Pavilion could escape his eyes.

Nan Tianyong, as a supervisory deacon of the Soaring Sky Pavilion, had been killed in his own territory at Sandie Pavilion—even without anyone deliberately fanning the flames, the disturbance stirred up over these past few days had already grown considerable, and Shangguan Tianxia naturally could not be unaware of it.

"The Pavilion Master is wise. My third brother, as a supervisory deacon of our Soaring Sky Pavilion, was killed in the marketplace by an outside rogue cultivator. If the true culprit cannot be caught and brought to justice swiftly, your disciple fears it will only have an adverse impact on the Soaring Sky Pavilion's reputation," Nan Tianguan said, weighing his words carefully.

Even a shrewd and calculating man like him dared not play any tricks before a top-tier figure like Shangguan Tianxia; he could only express his wishes through careful phrasing—any other move was superfluous, was playing the clever fool, was the road to death.

Shangguan Tianxia nodded slightly. There was nothing improper in Nan Tianguan's words; if this matter were dragged on indefinitely, though it would not stir up any great storm, it would indeed do some damage to the Soaring Sky Pavilion's reputation.

"True enough. But has this matter not already been handed to the Law Enforcement Hall? Since Nan Tianyong was a supervisory deacon, he was one of the Law Enforcement Hall's own—they will not simply ignore it," Shangguan Tianxia said evenly. Nan Tianyong was indeed a supervisory deacon of the Soaring Sky Pavilion, but at bottom, he was still one of the Law Enforcement Hall's people!

Nan Tianguan's heart sank at these words. Nan Tianyong was indeed one of the Law Enforcement Hall's own; by rights, when one of their own was killed, the Law Enforcement Hall ought to have taken it very seriously. Yet the fact was that although Nan Tianyong's death had been formally filed as a case, the Law Enforcement Hall from top to bottom was merely going through the motions, making no major moves at all.

Otherwise, with the Law Enforcement Hall's terrifying capabilities, these past few days would surely have been enough to dig out that rogue cultivator Lin Er—how could things still be as quiet as they were now, without the slightest stir?

In the end, whether the Law Enforcement Hall would treat Nan Tianyong's death as a serious matter depended entirely on Gongyang Jun's attitude.

If Gongyang Jun gave the word, then even if they had to dig three feet into the entire North Island, the Law Enforcement Hall would find a way to dig out that Lin Er.

But the problem now was that Nan Tianyong's death simply did not catch Gongyang Jun's eye. To stir up such a fuss and expend so much effort over a mere nobody—in Gongyang Jun's view, that was simply an absurdly foolish thing to do.

Since the top superior had already taken this attitude, it was entirely understandable and perfectly normal for his subordinates to pay lip service and go through the motions.

Gongyang Jun could turn a blind eye to it, but Shangguan Tianxia, the Soaring Sky Pavilion's Pavilion Master, could not possibly disregard the Pavilion's reputation entirely.