The group went to the back courtyard to sit and talk, dismissing all unrelated personnel.
Only then did the shopkeeper slowly begin to speak: "What I'm about to say may sound utterly bizarre, but I assure you, everything I'm about to tell you is from my own personal experience."
And so, an old affair from decades ago unfolded before everyone's eyes.
Back then, the village had poor harvests year after year, and the villagers unanimously believed that some demon was causing mischief. After looking around, the strangest person in the entire village was Xiao Biti.
Shortly after he was born, he fell severely ill with a persistent high fever that lasted for days. The doctor came to examine him and said they might as well prepare for his funeral.
But unexpectedly, the very next day, he recovered on his own—except he had become simple-minded and couldn't communicate normally with others. His parents had to go out to work in the fields, so he would sit at the doorstep every day without saying a word.
Some of the village children, curious, would run up to play with him, but even when he was scolded or hit, he never fought back.
When his parents came home at night and saw his body covered in bruises, they lamented that the child was pitiful—if he was going to live like this, it might be better to just let him die. In the end, though, they couldn't bring themselves to do it.
The next day, a circle of wooden fencing appeared around their doorstep to keep others out, and so Xiao Biti sat beside the fence waiting, from dawn until dusk.
But then one day, the villagers caught him off guard, seized him, and brought in a witch to perform a ritual, intending to burn him alive.
His parents rushed over upon hearing the news, kneeling on the ground and begging everyone, crying out that he wasn't some demon—he was just a child.
But it was no use. The crowd was dead set on finding a scapegoat to ease their own inner torment, and they lit the fire anyway.
Just then, a stone fell from the sky and, by sheer coincidence, struck the leg of the witch who was about to light the fire. Blood immediately gushed out, and she wailed in agony.
The villagers hurriedly tried to carry the witch away for treatment, but one person refused to give up and wanted to continue lighting the fire to complete the ritual.
At that moment, a strange, inhuman voice suddenly rang out: "Damn it, I miscalculated the time."
Everyone was so startled by the sudden voice that they scrambled backward, retreating at least three meters away. The stone on the ground was still faintly glowing.
"Ghost!!"
"What ghost?" Another voice came through, filled with confusion. "Wait, where the hell did you send me?"
"Sorry about that, I'm not familiar with the job yet—got the time wrong," the System explained guiltily.
Xie Qingci: "…Go to hell!"
As soon as the words fell, a person descended from the sky and landed squarely on the ground. "You're definitely doing this on purpose to get back at me!"
…
"And then? And then?"
Everyone else remained silent after hearing the story, but Xie Ning, playing the role of the enthusiastic listener, quickly pressed for more.
He had already heard his father's version of the story before and roughly knew what happened next, but hearing his father's tale from someone else's mouth was a first for him, and he found it utterly fascinating.
"Then everyone took him for a deity descending to the mortal world and began kneeling on the ground, praying for good weather in the coming year."
Xie Ning's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Did it come true in the end?"
The shopkeeper nodded, his expression turning somewhat wistful. "The weather the following year wasn't all that great, but he seemed able to foresee the future. He helped everyone avoid the risks in advance, the harvest was bountiful, and everyone had enough to eat."
At this point in the story, the innkeeper still had some doubts—after all these years, he still hadn't figured it out. "Later, I went to ask him out of curiosity whether he was really an immortal who had descended to the mortal world, and he told me to stop reading so much superstitious nonsense and that everything should be approached with scientific reasoning."
Xie Ning immediately raised his hand upon hearing the key phrase. "Because and so, science says so."
"What does that mean?" the innkeeper asked, puzzled.
Although Xie Ning knew what it meant, at his current level, there was no way he could explain it to anyone else. So he opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He felt a bit frustrated. Here was a rare moment where everyone else was clueless and only he knew something—wasn't this the perfect chance to show how smart he was?
Everyone else always called him stupid, but he wasn't stupid at all!
And he'd also smartly noticed that in the story just now, the grandfather was still just a little kid, yet the grandfather before him was a genuine, real-deal grandfather.
But his father was only in his twenties—the timeline just didn't add up.
Everything he was thinking was written all over his face.
The innkeeper looked at Xie Ning with a warm smile and continued, "That was the first time I met him. Later, the villagers grew unsatisfied—they wanted more and more things, and they started to argue among themselves."
"Then, the villagers actually tried to pull the same trick again—burn him, force him to hand over his powers. But there were no powers to speak of. That night was chaotic; I passed out, and when I woke up again, I found that many people had died—my parents were dead too."
"Then he asked me if I wanted to go with him, to the capital."
Shen Wang commented flatly, "Greed knows no bounds—the snake that tries to swallow the elephant."
Hearing this, Xie Ning couldn't help but pound the table. "So evil! How could these people be so evil!"
"I was still simple-minded back then and didn't understand what had happened. After we arrived in the capital, he opened this tavern and took me to see many doctors. In the end, they really found the root of my condition and cured me."
"Then he left, leaving me alone to tend this tavern. I wasn't good at business, and for a time the tavern was barely breaking even, but no matter what, I refused to give up. I thought I'd never see him again in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, ten years ago, he appeared once more—looking exactly the same as in my memories…"
"So many years have passed, and I've gone from a child to white-haired old age, but he hasn't changed a bit," the innkeeper said, a faint trace of tears appearing at the corners of his eyes. "He still treated me like the child I once was, teaching me step by step how to get this tavern back on its feet, until it became what you see now."
All these years, he'd always felt that he'd failed to take care of what his master had left behind—that when they met again, his master would see the run-down state of things and have to clean up his mess.
Everyone fell silent.
Xie Ning's mind jumped around. He propped himself up, leaned over, and gently patted the innkeeper's head like comforting a child. "Xiao Biti, don't cry, don't cry."
The innkeeper composed himself and looked at Xie Ning with a calm, steady gaze. "I never expected that after four years apart, my master would already have a child."
"My father actually mentioned you to me before," Xie Ning suddenly said.
The innkeeper was taken aback.
Xie Ning thought for a moment before speaking. "Father said that was his first job, and there were many things he didn't do well. But through it all, what worried him most was that Xiao Biti was so simple-minded—what if he got bullied again and didn't even know to fight back?"
He searched his mind for the words his father had said, repeating them verbatim.
When his words fell, the shopkeeper could no longer contain his emotions, and tears streamed down his face.
"…"
After a long moment, the shopkeeper rose to see them off. "It's getting late now. Young master, you should head back first. Feel free to come and play here whenever you have free time."
Xie Ning had one hand held by Shen Wang, so he could only extend his other hand, turning his head to wave goodbye. "Grandpa Xiao Biti, I'm so happy to have met you!"
Watching them walk away into the deepening night, the shopkeeper only then turned around slowly.
Xie Ning had played for so long today, and his emotions had been running high. As soon as he got into the carriage, he leaned against Shen Wang's chest and fell asleep.
Within moments, he drifted into a sweet slumber, breathing evenly.
"…" Shen Wang looked down at his sleeping face.
Forget it. Whatever needed to be said could wait until tomorrow.
Then, he raised his eyes to size up Wei Zhao before him. If today's incident had been stirred up by Xie Ning, it had been caused by Wei Zhao in the first place.
Was Xie Ning standing up for a friend, or had his kindness been deliberately exploited by someone?
Shen Wang kept his face stern but did not interrogate, worried about waking Xie Ning.
Feeling his gaze, Wei Zhao lowered his eyelashes, pressed his lips together, and clenched his right fist slightly.
The carriage was utterly silent as it rumbled forward, soon arriving at the gates of the Duke of Wei's mansion.
Wei Zhao bowed without a word, then stepped down from the carriage.
Qingyi, who got off with him, nearly went weak in the knees the moment he landed. Wei Zhao caught him with a quick hand. "Young master…"
Wei Zhao said softly, "Go back first."
Qingyi nodded, and the two walked inside.
Once he was gone, the carriage continued on. Shen Wang made a subtle gesture, and a figure in black received the signal, trailing after Wei Zhao.
The night was as dark as ink.
When the carriage arrived at the gates of the Shen residence, waiting to greet him were not only Butler Liu but also an uninvited guest.
It was Wei Jian, Wei Jiyu's father. The moment he saw Shen Wang, he hurried forward with an ingratiating smile. "Lord Shen."
Shen Wang gave him a look, signaling him to keep quiet.
Wei Jian immediately shut his mouth.
Shen Wang gently held Xie Ning, moving as slowly as possible, and handed him to Butler Liu.
"Let him rest well first."
Only after giving the instruction did he turn to look at Wei Jian. Knowing full well why the man had come, Shen Wang still asked knowingly, "I wonder what urgent matter brings the Duke of Wei to my door so late at night?"
Wei Jian cursed inwardly, but kept a fawning smile on his face. "Lord Shen, I heard my son is in your hands. Might I ask for your leniency? He's my only son."
"Oh? I am a man who distinguishes right from wrong and only arrests criminals. Why would I arrest the Duke of Wei's son?" Shen Wang raised an eyebrow.
Wei Jian gritted his teeth and continued, "…Whatever conditions you have, my lord, you may name them."
Shen Wang had been waiting for exactly those words. Somewhat satisfied, he gave a light hum. "Let's discuss it tomorrow."
After all, the most important person had yet to speak. He needed to ask Xie Ning's thoughts first before making any demands.
But there was no way the man would be released so quickly either. Keeping him for one night to teach him a lesson wasn't too much, was it? Even without any torture, anyone who had been through the imperial prison would be scared out of their wits.
Having waited at the Shen residence's front gate all night in the cold wind after learning the news, Wei Jian still had a flood of censored words running through his mind upon hearing this.
If there weren't hostages in the other party's hands, he would have already been puffing his beard and glaring, ready to start cursing.
The next day.
After Xie Ning woke up, Shen Wang asked him how he wanted to handle yesterday's matter, saying it was up to him.
Xie Ning, still groggy and half-asleep, yawned at this question, his eyes bleary. "Of course I want him to apologize to me publicly and write a thousand-character self-criticism by hand."
"What?! You want me to apologize? On what grounds!"
Wei Jiyu was locked in a cramped cell. He'd barely slept a wink all night, and the moment he saw his father approach, he rushed over and grabbed the bars—but the words his father spoke next left him both shocked and furious.
He'd spent the whole night in this filthy, stinking cell, thinking his father would come and take him home.
But in the end, the solution turned out to be him apologizing to that brat.
"I'm not doing it!" Wei Jiyu's face twisted, barely able to contain his raging fury.
Wei Jian smacked him on the head. "This is all your fault—always out there causing trouble. How many times have I had to clean up your messes?"
Wei Jiyu had no comeback, but he still refused to accept it. "Father, are you really that afraid of that Shen Wang?"
"…"
"Watch me beat you to death first!" Wei Jian wanted nothing more than to kick him, but the other party's men were standing behind them, so he suppressed his anger and said, "Get out first."
The black-clad man standing behind them kept his hand pressed on the sword at his waist.
"Per our lord's orders, Wei Jiyu must write it himself, and then it must be posted at the city gate for all passersby to see."
After saying this, his expression suggested that if they didn't cooperate, he would draw his sword and hold it to their throats in the next second.
Wei Jiyu licked the inside of his cheek, thoroughly displeased. Was everyone allowed to walk all over him now?
But with his father watching from the side, Wei Jiyu had no choice but to pick up the brush and ink they'd prepared and start writing in a wild, flamboyant scrawl.
After watching him finish, the black-clad man frowned and picked up the paper to inspect it.
Wei Jiyu slouched in his seat, looking up with a cocky air. "Can you even read that?"
The black-clad man gave him a blank look, then returned his gaze to the paper, reading through to the end before replying flatly, "Utter nonsense."
With that, he folded the paper and tucked it into his sash, preparing to report back to Shen Wang.