Baron Augustus Lionsmith, who has a rich family, strong financial resources and abundant capital; Baron Runci Iris, who owns most of the farmland in the West District and inherited the title of his deceased father, Old Edward; Lord of Stio, Viscount Cobb Double-Headed Axe, who holds the overall power of the city...
And, Baron Langman Hodge - Tongzhongdao, who has the lowest presence and acts low-key and introverted.
The Hodge-Hōzhongkai family is the most special of the four great noble families of Stió.
They are not like the Lionsmiths, who are brave enough to try new fields and take unknown risks. They sell their properties to buy machines and factories, thus becoming the new bourgeois aristocracy and becoming the richest people in Steo.
It is not like Iris. Although it gradually declined because old Edward was too traditional and conservative in his thinking and chose to stick to his old ways, his family was rich and well-off, and he also owned a large amount of arable land, so he had the capital to live off his wealth.
- After all, this is an old aristocratic title that has been canonized since the founding of the Templar State and has a history of nearly two hundred years.
He is not like Lord Double-Headed Axe, who is backed by the Holy Church of Grace and has contracted most of the taxation and collection powers in Stio and its surrounding territories, thus possessing extremely high real power.
The Hodge-Hōchōkai family has a history of less than twenty years in Stio. Lunxi even remembers that when he was a child, such a family did not exist in the city.
Not only do they have no real industry and very little land under their names, they also rarely participate in the various political and economic activities of Stio, and generally take a laissez-faire attitude towards affairs within their jurisdiction.
If it weren't for the tall and magnificent castle-style mansion of the Hodge-Tonakatobi family in the central district, perhaps many people would have forgotten the existence of such a family.
Logically speaking, the financial situation of such a family should be extremely tight, at least much worse than the original Iris family.
But... according to Lunxi's observations, at least on the surface, the Hodge-Tong Zhongfei family seemed to have never had any financial difficulties.
According to some credible gossip, the Hodge-Tonakatobi family is a branch of the "Tonakatobi family", a noble family in the inland large city "The Third City of Gift". Later, due to some things, they moved to Stio seventeen years ago and settled down there.
As for where their extra income comes from...it could be the continued profits from the original assets in the mainland, or it could be the subsidies regularly sent by their main family, the Tongzhong Tobi family, located in the "Third City of Gift"...or both.
Looking at the blonde girl with a bit of sadness in her eyes, Lunxi sighed lightly:
"Vanya, I'm very happy that you can come and care about me. I really have nothing to do."
The current head of the Hodges-Tongzhongfei family, Langman Hodges-Tongzhongfei, has three children, among whom Vanya Hodges-Tongzhongfei is the eldest daughter.
That is the blonde girl with blue eyes in front of you.
She is a friend of Lunxi and they have a good relationship. She is one of the few direct communication channels between Lunxi and the closed and low-key Hodge-Tong Zhongfei family.
“I see… I…”
Vanya wanted to say something, and subconsciously withdrew her arm that was pressed on the table, but her elbow accidentally touched the cup on it.
"ah!"
Vanya reacted, but it was too late to do anything. She could only watch the white porcelain teacup being knocked over and falling to the ground, with the hot coffee inside spilling out.
"!"
However, before the teacup and coffee liquid fell to the ground, Lunxi on the opposite side suddenly leaned forward and grabbed the teacup in mid-air at a speed faster than the human eye can distinguish.
Then, like a pre-set machine, the arms, wrists, and shoulders, grabbing the teacup, moved quickly through the air with extremely precise movements, leaving behind fleeting afterimages.
"Snapped!"
Vanya felt a flash of light before her eyes, and then there was a sound of something hard hitting the table. When she came to her senses and looked carefully, she found that Lunxi had held the teacup and slammed it on the tea table.
The cup is filled with dark brown coffee liquid, which creates ripples as it is shaken.
"This……"
Vanya was stunned by the precise and swift movements like these acrobatic performances. Her mouth opened slightly and she was speechless for a moment.
The next second, she seemed to suddenly think of something, and suddenly raised her head, moving her eyes away from the table and looking at Lunxi's delicate but expressionless face:
"You...are mindful?"
She is worthy of Lunxi as a warrior, but she should be in the late stage of tempering skills. The speed, power and strength of her body are still within the human range, but her skills and reaction are excellent.
But the speed and limb control reflected in that expression just now... are far beyond the reach of human beings.
This means that Lunxi's body... has surpassed humans and reached a higher level -
Mindfulness!
"Well," facing Vanya's question, Lunxi retracted his hand and did not deny it, "I just had a lucky breakthrough recently, it's not stable yet, it needs some time to consolidate."
Really a breakthrough?!
Although Vanya had such a guess, she was still greatly shocked and speechless after hearing the person's personal admission.
Due to some family genetic reasons that are embedded in her blood, she is not a superhuman, nor can she become one.
But as a descendant of a branch of a great inland noble family, his knowledge of the spiritual realm was enough to make up for the lack of practical experience.
If a person can enter the door of the extraordinary, then with sufficient resources for cultivation and a little effort on their own, it is foreseeable that they will be promoted to the second realm - that is, a righteous master or a righteous warrior.
As the only daughter of the Iris family, Lunxi naturally had no shortage of resources for cultivation, so it was not surprising that she became a righteous warrior at the age of seventeen or eighteen.
But the key is that the improvement of the extraordinary realm must be achieved step by step. If you want to advance to the right mind in the late stage of tempering skills, the prerequisite is to first go through the peak stage of tempering skills.
Kelunxi was only in the late stage of tempering skills last week...
In other words, she had completely completed the training to the peak of her tempering skills in just one week? !
This speed is incredible no matter how you think about it!
It's just like the brave hero in a heroic opera who has one adventure after another. It's hard to believe that this actually happens in real life!
"Well, congratulations..."
Vanya was a little confused and didn't know how to respond. She just nodded instinctively and said words of congratulations.
Lunxi looked at her reaction, as if he had expected it. He leaned back again with a calm expression and turned his head to the side.
"After that incident, the adults from the church arrived very quickly. They did a lot of things, but it seemed that..."
Looking out through the large, transparent French windows at the green and vibrant lawn of the manor, Lunxi was silent for a while, thinking, and suddenly whispered:
"Did nothing."
Chapter 316: Symptoms... Peeling off the wounds from reality... (Part )
There are two chapters today, so I will finish writing this rather important plot first.
=========================
"……what?"
When Vanya heard this, she was stunned, and her blue eyes showed obvious doubts:
"What does this mean...?"
Lunxi didn't turn his head, still gazing at the warm and peaceful green scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling window with a dazed look.
After pausing for a moment as if thinking, she slowly spoke:
“Less than half an hour after the incident, the church priest of East Woshu Cathedral rushed to Stio, immediately sealed off the Lionsmith’s Mansion, and detained a large number of relevant personnel for interviews and investigations.
"The heads of noble families, lords, wealthy merchants in the North District, and famous adventurers... Of course, this includes you and me..."
She placed one wrist on the coffee table, tapping it lightly with her slender, white index finger, making a rhythmic tapping sound like the drumbeat of a heartbeat:
"No matter if they are nobles or businessmen, at this moment, they are no different from ordinary people. In the face of true power and rule, those people and organizations that once boasted of being noble and lofty in the city seem so insignificant..."
"you……"
Vanya was confused by Lunxi's incoherent speech, but her subconscious mind, which had been cultivated over the years as a descendant of aristocrats, told her that the other party might talk about some... more sensitive topics next.
Out of basic political sense, she wanted to say something to change the subject, but when she saw Lunxi's gaze, which was originally confused but now gradually became focused, she hesitated.
After a brief hesitation, she asked in a deliberately low voice...:
"What do you want to express?"
Lunxi suddenly turned his head and stared deeply into Vanya's eyes with an indescribable complex look. His dark green eyes seemed to be faintly flashing with some indescribable brilliance:
"What do you know about that incident?"
"Uh, me?"
Vanya was choked for half a second by Lunxi's sudden question. Although she had no idea what the other party meant by saying this, she finally decided to respond according to Lunxi's guidance:
“The Grace Holy Church announced that terrorists attacked the Lionsmith’s residence, including high-level extraordinary people, which ultimately led to the tragedy…
“However, this is most likely just a statement to appease the people. The nobles and celebrities are well aware that the facts do not match this.
"But the truth has not been revealed to anyone by the elders in the church. I guess only the church knows about it. As for us, we can only make a rough guess based on the words, actions and reactions of the elders..."
"So, what's your guess?"
Lunxi kept his posture unchanged and asked calmly.
"Um……"
After thinking for a while, Vanya answered uncertainly:
"Based on what I know, it's possible that this is a cult sacrifice, and the center of the incident is very likely to involve Baron Lionsmith himself..."
She briefly stated her conjecture, a conjecture that was nothing new and could be deduced by almost anyone with a certain amount of common sense in the extraordinary field.
Vanya is the eldest daughter of the Hodge-Tongzhongfang family, but not the oldest child. Therefore, many family affairs are not handled by her, but mostly handed over to the eldest son, Cumberland Hodge-Tongzhongfang.
Therefore, Vanya did not know much about the various intelligence within the family, and most of it was second-hand or marginal information.
In such a context, it is normal to come to a vulgar and boring conclusion.
Lunxi listened to her patiently without interrupting her. After she finished her narration, Lunxi said calmly:
"Do you know the inside story behind the recent epidemic?"
"Forehead……"
Seeing that Lunxi had changed the subject again, Vanya was indeed somewhat speechless because of her overly jumpy conversation style, but she still did not show any impatience, and nodded slightly and said:
"I heard my brother and father occasionally talk about it. It seems that Baron Augustus Lionsmith secretly seized the antidotes distributed by the church in order to make money, and sold them in bulk to foreign merchants and local drug dealers...
"Augustus has always loved money and was bold, but to love money and be bold to this extent... is indeed too much. Combined with his tragic ending, there is also some drama of fate."
Lunxi nodded as expected, and then said:
"After the staff of the Higher Church arrived in Stio, in addition to investigating and analyzing the incident, they also delivered a sufficient amount of antidote for the fever and distributed it to the people and patients as needed. So far, the threat of the fever has been basically eliminated in Stio."
As she spoke, she suddenly reached into the inner pocket of her coat, took out a small object, and placed it on the table:
"Look, what is this?"
Vanya lowered her head and saw a thumb-sized bottle made of glass on the table, filled with crystal clear liquid that emitted a light golden fluorescence.
"Is this... the antidote for the fever?"
Vanya recognized it immediately.
"Yes, but not entirely."
Lunxi picked up the bottle with two fingers, shook it gently and said:
"This is not the antidote distributed by the church, nor is it the antidote sold in the North District before the incident. It is the so-called 'degraded version' antidote sold in the East District before the incident."
"Degraded version?" Vanya was stunned.
"Well, at that time, there were two antidotes circulating in the Stio market. One was the 'complete version' from the North District, which had the same effect as the real antidote for the fever, and was priced at three thousand Ferums.
"One is the 'degraded version' from the East District, which costs one thousand Ferums and is said to have a weaker effect... Of course, both of these were directed by Augustus behind the scenes."
Lunxi explained without any tone:
"What I have in my hand is the 'degraded version' antidote that was sold for one thousand Ferum at the time."
"Actually, there is such a thing..."
Fannia was shocked by this fact and sighed in amazement:
"Baron Augustus... is really good at making money. The prices of 3,000 ferrums and 1,000 ferrums are just close to the limit of what the residents of the North District and the East District can afford...
"In this way, whether it is the relatively wealthy residents of the North District or the relatively poor people of the East District, they can all make full use of their money..."
There was a hint of contempt and ridicule in her words, and it was obvious that she despised Baron Lionsmith's actions.
Of course, Lunxi understood what she meant. She suddenly smiled coldly and slammed the "antidote" in her hand on the table, making a loud clattering sound.
"I think Baron Augustus is better at 'making money' than you think."
"Well?"
Vanya looked at the other person in confusion.
Lunxi pointed to the glass bottle on the table and said in a cold and deep voice:
