Chapter 4038 — The Mysterious Junior Brother Pao
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
The last time Xu Lingchong appeared in public was when he hosted the birthday banquet, and the very last person to meet with him turned out to be none other than Shangguan Lan'er.
One was the foremost young master of Chongtian Pavilion, the other its foremost young lady. The weight of these two names was not something ordinary folk could bear, and in the end only the Hall Master, Gongyang Jun, could personally step forward to question them.
Shangguan Tianxia had no intention of interfering in the matter at all; he simply let Shangguan Lan'er take the little curly-furred bear and go trotting off to the Law Enforcement Hall, one girl and one pet.
Yet after Shangguan Lan'er arrived at the Law Enforcement Hall, she spoke a single sentence that left everyone present dumbstruck: "At that birthday banquet, Xu Lingchong, emboldened by drink, tried to force himself on me. Luckily my little Bai had also been drinking that day, and after going berserk from the wine, he saved me."
Such explosive inside information left several senior members of the Law Enforcement Hall listening in so astonished that their jaws hung slack, mouths agape, unable to react for the longest time. Only Gongyang Jun showed no sign of surprise; he said flatly, "So then, Xu Lingchong must have attempted the assault, failed, and fled in fear of punishment."
"It would seem... that is the case..." The others in the Law Enforcement Hall needed a long while to recover from the shock, and one by one they echoed him with strange expressions on their faces.
"Issue a wanted notice. Apprehend Xu Lingchong!" Gongyang Jun decided on the spot, his face expressionless.
Once the wanted notice went out, not only the Tri-Layer Pavilion but the whole of the North Island was in an uproar. People speculated all manner of things about Xu Lingchong's disappearance, yet not a single one had guessed in this direction.
The top young master of Chongtian Pavilion forcing himself upon the pavilion's foremost young lady—good heavens, this was the kind of explosive news one might not hear in centuries!
When Xu Yuanzheng heard the news, he nearly burst with rage. This was before he even knew that his own grandson had already been snipped below by the little curly-furred bear; otherwise he likely would have fainted dead away on the spot.
Xu Lingchong, his legitimate grandson, was the core figure he had groomed as the Xu family's successor! Now, with this mess, even if the boy returned safe and sound one day, his name would stink to high heaven!
"Hall Master Gongyang, what Shangguan Lan'er said does not hold up to logic at all. Never mind that my Chong'er would never do such a foolish thing—even if he truly had drunk too much and let his head go hot for a moment, could a mere little curly-furred bear have stopped him? You issued the wanted notice without a second word. Isn't that overly arbitrary?" Xu Yuanzheng said, his old face ashen.
Gongyang Jun raised his eyes and looked at him. Facing this elder of the Council of Elders, a man of towering power, he showed not the slightest reverence. Calmly, he said, "How my Law Enforcement Hall conducts its business—since when is that for Elder Xu to question?"
That one sentence choked Xu Yuanzheng so badly he could not speak for a long while. He knew Gongyang Jun had never answered to anyone; such was the authority the North Island's Island Master had vested in him. But never had he imagined the man would refuse him face so utterly!
"If nothing were wrong, why would he run? Once Xu Lingchong is caught and brought to justice, the truth will come out of its own accord. Elder Xu would do better to think carefully about how he is going to explain this to Pavilion Master Shangguan when the time comes." Gongyang Jun curled his lip in disdain, then flung his sleeve and left, leaving Xu Yuanzheng alone to stand there dazed.