Chapter 107 - Family Head Ku Le

Chapter 107: Chapter 105 Family Head Ku LeThe problem with the child’s courtyard was resolved, so there were no obstacles on the way to the child’s city.

The Kang Rui family also realized that their young miss had disappeared, so a large group of people hurriedly left the city and followed the official road to find Lu Hong and his companion on the way back to the city.

"Uh... If I say I was just tickling your young miss, would you believe me?" Lu Hong admitted that the timing of their encounter was not right, so he gave a reasonable explanation.

"Ptui! You shameless human, I will kill you today!" The retainers of the Kang Rui family were all furious. They had clearly seen this human slapping their young miss, yet he had the audacity to claim he was merely tickling her—did he take them for fools?

"Indeed, Uncle, you must act quickly and kill him. He has been humiliating and mistreating me all the way!" Cui Xi burst into tears upon seeing her relatives and accused Lu Hong of his misdeeds.

Slap slap! Lu Hong slapped her again: "Stop talking nonsense; when did I ever humiliate or mistreat you?"

"What?! You dare to continue humiliating and mistreating our young miss in front of us?"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

These two slaps from Lu Hong completely ignited the anger of the Kang Rui family members, and they rushed at him without any hesitation.

"I originally thought that only she was brainless in the Kang Rui family, but it turns out you all are," Lu Hong said regretfully as he shook his head, showing no mercy since they had started the fight.

"Stop!" Just as Lu Hong was forced to fight back, a rebuke came from behind the Kang Rui retainers.

The familiar voice made the retainers unable to resist; it was an order from the Family Head.

"Are you all fools?!" The Clan Leader of the Kang Rui family came striding from behind; his obese and rotund figure swayed like a penguin.

An indignant retainer couldn’t help but retort angrily: "But Family Head, this boy dared to insult our young miss right before us. He deserves to die!"

"Deserve to die my foot!" The Kang Rui Clan Leader walked up to the speaker and tried to slap him but couldn’t reach his shoulder due to being too short. After several failed attempts,

the retainer cleverly crouched down, and received two slaps from the Family Head.

After successfully disciplining the retainer, the Kang Rui Clan Leader then turned to Lu Hong with satisfaction, "Clearly, my young miss was kidnapped by villains, and this hero has rescued and escorted her all the way here. What? Are you planning to raise your swords against the benefactor of the Kang Rui family?"

"It is indeed reasonable to be the Family Head." This fat man seemed to see things clearly, like a mirror in his mind. Lu Hong was satisfied as he sheathed the Blood Holy Sword and approached the Kang Rui Family Head: "Before I rescued your daughter, she promised me a generous reward."

The Kang Rui Family Head chuckled and showed no intention of reneging on the deal. After signaling his aides to take Cui Xi away, he turned to Lu Hong: "Since my daughter promised a reward to the hero, the Kang Rui family will certainly honor it. Just name anything we can help with."

"Hmm, I need some information." Lu Hong’s rescue of Cui Xi wasn’t motivated by silver, magical items, or the like; rather, he wanted to use the influence of the Kang Rui family among the demon race to gather information about the Eye.

"Information?" The Kang Rui Family Head was slightly taken aback, then looked at Lu Hong with renewed seriousness: "You are a smart man. Although the Kang Rui family might be ranked low in terms of combat power within the demon race, when it comes to finances and connections, we are among the broadest in the demon race."

"That’s very good." Lu Hong took the Kang Rui Family Head aside to ensure no one was eavesdropping before he whispered, "I would like you to gather information about all the magical items related to mind control within the demon race."

"Oh? Magical items of mind control?" The Kang Rui Family Head seemed to have an insight as he smiled, "Are you by chance looking for the legendary Eye of the Demon Ancestor?"

Lu Hong was startled by the Kang Rui Family Head’s question: "You know about this artifact?!"

"Of course." The Kang Rui Family Head nodded: "During my forty-some years in office, countless individuals have approached me to buy or sell information about the Eye, but no one has ever truly found the Eye. So even if I provide you with ample information, you still might not be able to find the real Eye."

"Do you all in the demon race know about the Eye?" Lu Hong was still somewhat skeptical; if everyone in the demon race knew about the Eye, why would it be his turn to find it?

"Yes. The legend of the Eye has been spread among the demon race for thousands of years. Ever since the demon race first entered the wilderness, they have been searching for the Eye. In fact, the decision to establish a nation here was precisely because it was confirmed that the Eye was hidden in this land."

Hearing the Kang Rui Family Head’s answer made Lu Hong feel that his trip to the demon realm might be a bit hopeless: "A few thousand years and still not found?"

"It has been found." The Kang Rui Family Head was now quite certain that Lu Hong was not a human who was born and raised amongst the demon race—he was an outsider, and it was very likely he wasn’t even from the wilderness realm.

"The Eye of the Demon Ancestor was found by the Demon King Yan over a thousand years ago, and it was then kept within the Demon Treasure Palace."

Upon hearing the response from Clan Leader Kanggrei, Lu Hong felt a surge of curses in his heart. It turned out that the assassin in the game stole the Eye from the demon’s treasury, but that didn’t seem right either. Kanggrei’s words contradicted the information he had in the game.

Lu Hong repeatedly confirmed that he hadn’t misremembered the information from the game and, staring at Kanggrei, he asked, "You’re not lying to me, are you?"

"Of course I’m not lying to you. You are the savior of my daughter. Providing information about the Eye is the least I could do. Why would I deceive you?" Kanggrei, Clan Leader, was somewhat displeased by Lu Hong’s mistrust.

"But I think there’s a problem with the information you provided. If the Demon King Yan found the Eye over a thousand years ago, why has anyone been seeking information on trading the Eye from you for the past forty years?" Lu Hong’s eyes shifted, spotting a loophole in Kanggrei’s recent statements.

"Ah, don’t rush me unduly, I haven’t finished speaking yet," Clan Leader Kanggrei signaled Lu Hong to be patient and then continued, "The Eye was indeed found by the Demon King Yan, but he only found one of them."

"???" One? Lu Hong was stunned, surprised to learn there was more than one Eye?

"Hahaha, sir, did you not know that the Eye is a pair?" Kanggrei laughed heartily. "Alright, let’s not hurry. I will tell you more about the Eye later. For now, why don’t you accompany me back to Tuzhui City? Seeing that you have rescued my daughter from Tong Tang’s hands, I, Ku Le, must properly thank you."

"Forget it, just tell me everything now or I’ll be anxious." Lu Hong declined Ku Le’s invitation. Hospitality was superficial; information about the Eye was far more critical, especially now that he knew there were two.

"Then you must come with me to the Kanggrei family estate. There’s too much information about the Eye for me to remember all at once, and I have a study in my house specifically for storing it."

A whole study’s worth of information? Lu Hong felt overwhelmed. If there was enough information to fill a study, surely there must be a lot of trivial details.

"Come, come, let’s head back to Tuzhui City and allow me the chance to play host," Ku Le took Lu Hong by the arm and swayed back toward his house, gesturing slightly to a servant who quickly brought over two black demonic steeds characteristic of the demons.

Lu Hong mounted his horse, curiously watching Ku Le. Considering Ku Le’s small stature, it had to be an amusing sight watching him mount the horse.

As expected, Ku Le spread his arms, and two tall demonic servants stepped forward to lift him onto the back of the horse.

Ku Le adjusted his sitting position and with a smile said to Lu Hong, "Let’s go."

On their way back, Ku Le and Lu Hong chatted pleasantly. As a member of a family of merchants, Ku Le was extremely well-informed about the news from all over, not just the wasteland, but even from different dimensions across the outer realms.

As they talked and laughed, they both gained new knowledge. Through Ku Le, Lu Hong learned the latest news of the Continent of God’s Grace. Three days ago, Emperor Konstantin finally appeared in God’s Grace, rallying a million soldiers who triumphantly returned from the lower planes. With the force of a storm, they swept through the remaining forces of the Eight Great Families, while the Hell Sect, which had been occupying the northern borders attacking the Shahak family, retreated promptly, vanishing without a trace. The Shahak family successfully defended their political power in the north, though with the main lineage lost, there were signs of civil war within the family.

Hearing what Ku Le said, Lu Hong asked, "Does Clan Leader Ku Le have a way to send messages out of the wasteland?"

"Of course," Ku Le responded, "If Brother Tu has any messages, just say the word, and I will ensure they are delivered."

Since Ku Le could send out messages, Lu Hong felt it was time for Nono to stand up and return to take charge of the Shahak family. Thus, he said, "Please send a message to a certain old man Tu, an innkeeper in an adventurer’s town on the west side of Tuzhui City, telling him that I want Nono to return to the family to take charge. Please make sure he assists."

"No problem," Ku Le squinted, smiling brightly.

From Ku Le’s expression, Lu Hong knew Ku Le had guessed something. As a very well-informed Clan Leader, Lu Hong’s few words were enough to reveal certain things. Besides, the name Nono was not hard for Ku Le to connect with the princess of the Shahak family.

"Say, is Cui Xi really your daughter?" Lu Hong changed the topic, not caring how much Ku Le knew since it didn’t matter with Caesar around. Who could cause trouble?

Hearing Lu Hong’s question, Ku Le’s expression changed momentarily He glanced around to make sure no one was listening before whispering to Lu Hong, "Brother Tu, how did you figure it out?"

Was it even necessary to figure out? An old dad as plump as a ball, with short hands and feet, how could he have fathered such a distinctly beautiful daughter?

"I guessed."

"Brother Tu guessed accurately. To be precise, Cui Xi is indeed the sole daughter of Kanggrei Clan Leader, but she is not my daughter, rather the child of my late brother," Ku Le said with a sigh. "Poor brother of mine, he insisted on venturing out of the wasteland. My father and I tried our best to dissuade him, but to no avail. Taking advantage of our neglect, he fled the wasteland one night."

"Everyone has their own aspirations. If his heart wasn’t in it here, keeping him wouldn’t have been of any use," seeing Ku Le’s mournful expression, Lu Hong consoled him. "Although your brother left, he left his lineage here, did he not?"

In Lu Hong’s comforting words, Ku Le’s expression shifted from sorrow to bitterness: "He left his lineage because on the night he escaped, it was too dark and he took the wrong child!"