I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 109 Apology
After watching her older sister Wu Yu enter the courtyard.

Wu Ming then looked at the Xu family members in front of him, nodded slightly to his parents-in-law and the others, and greeted them.

He vaguely remembered that when Wu Yu got married, he accompanied her to the Xu family. The Xu family was extremely lively that day, with relatives and neighbors from all around coming to congratulate them. He, the brother-in-law, was just standing in the crowd like a lackey.

Now, three years have passed, and he has opened his own residence in the city. The Xu family came to congratulate him. People such as Xu's second uncle and his parents-in-law all had flattering and ingratiating expressions on their faces. As soon as Wu Ming greeted them, they all responded quickly.

Including Xu Tong.

This honest and easygoing brother-in-law is now quite reserved in front of Wu Ming.

After greeting the Xu family and inviting them to the courtyard, Wu Ming was about to enter when his gaze shifted slightly. He looked into the distance and saw seven or eight figures approaching from afar. Most of them were strangers, but Wu Ming recognized one of them clearly – Wang Wufeng, with whom he had a previous conflict!

What is he here to do?
A glint flashed in Wu Ming's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged. With his current strength and abilities, and with Liu Muyuan, the head of the division, behind him, he was no longer afraid of the Wang family. No matter what Wang Wufeng wanted to do, he was completely unmoved.

As the Wang family approached, it became clear that Wang Wufeng was not the leader. The leader was a middle-aged man with a ruddy complexion. Upon reaching them, he bowed respectfully to Wu Ming and said:

"Greetings, Lord Wu. My name is Wang Ming'an, a patrol officer of the Arrest Division. I have long admired your name, Lord Wu. Today, I heard that you have established a residence in the city, so I have taken the liberty of coming to congratulate you. I hope you will not take offense."

"You're too kind, Lord Wang."

Wu Ming returned the greeting with a calm demeanor.

Seeing Wu Ming's cold attitude, Wang Ming'an was not offended. He just smiled and said, "I am Feng'er's second uncle. I heard that Feng'er had some conflict with Lord Wu before. I have come to apologize to Lord Wu for what happened before. Lord Wu is not the same as before. I hope that you will not hold a grudge and forgive Feng'er's previous offense."

After all,

Wang Ming'an turned to look at Wang Wufeng and said in a deep voice, "Why aren't you going up there to apologize!"

A look of humiliation flashed in Wang Wufeng's eyes. He clenched his fist involuntarily in his sleeve, but he still forced himself to suppress his emotions, walked up to Wu Ming, bowed deeply, and made an apologetic gesture.

What's going on with the Wang family?
Wu Ming was somewhat surprised, but he remained calm on the surface, simply watching Wang Ming'an and the others perform.

Seeing that Wu Ming's apology to Wang Wufeng was indifferent, Wang Ming'an remained unfazed, smiled, and waved his hand. Immediately, a subordinate came over with a wooden box in his hands.

Wang Ming'an opened the wooden box and saw a bright and exotic flower inside. The edges of the petals were light pink, but they became more and more vibrant as they went in. The core of the flower was as red as blood. The whole flower looked like glass, like a work of art.

"This is a red lotus flower. It is shaped like a red lotus and is one of the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth. It has the effect of consolidating one's realm and nourishing one's blood and qi. Lord Wu has only just begun to establish his foundation after three attempts at blood clotting. If you drink water infused with this flower, you can save several months of effort."

"This flower is presented to Lord Wu in the hope that he will forgive my previous offense. Furthermore, my Wang family also promises Lord Wu that we will no longer interfere in the affairs of the Chen family."

Wang Ming'an said seriously.

Although the Chen family's herbal tea business is booming, making the Wang family want a piece of the pie, the actual profit is only so-so, which is better than nothing for the Wang family. It is normal for them to use it to do a favor now.

Seeing Wang Ming'an and the others' actions, Wu Ming felt increasingly strange. But then he realized that although the Wang family was involved in Shen Lian's attack on him, he had dealt with Shen Lian so cleanly that he had left no trace, and the matter had not been traced back to him.

In the Wang family's view, Shen Lian's disappearance had nothing to do with them, so there was no such thing as commissioning Shen Lian to assassinate them.

If that's not the case, then the only conflict between him and the Wang family is the fight that broke out at Chen's Pharmacy. Therefore, in the eyes of the Wang family, this conflict can be resolved simply by apologizing and offering some resources.

Wu Ming understood what was going on, but he remained calm on the surface and said, "Lord Wang, I am flattered. Why make such a fuss over a conflict between me and a junior?"

As soon as these words came out.

Wang Wufeng, who was bowing his head and making an apologetic gesture, gritted his teeth inwardly, feeling extremely humiliated. Wu Ming's words had directly categorized him as a 'junior,' even though he was several years older than Wu Ming!
Wang Ming'an just smiled and said, "It is precisely because this junior offended Lord Wu that I brought him here to apologize. I hope that Inspector Wu will not hold a grudge and forgive Feng'er for his previous offense."

Wu Ming said calmly, "Lord Wang, there's no need for that. I didn't take the junior's offense to heart."

Upon seeing this, Wang Ming'an was overjoyed, and his smile became even more sincere. He laughed loudly and said, "Lord Wu, please forgive me. On behalf of Feng'er, I thank you, Lord Wu. Today is the day you open your new residence, and I have prepared some congratulatory gifts. They are just a small token of my appreciation, and I hope you will accept them."

After all,

Wang Ming'an then directed his subordinates to present some more congratulatory gifts, this time of which were just ordinary gold and silver items.

Wu Ming didn't say much, accepting everything without question. After exchanging a few more polite words with Wang Ming'an, Wang Ming'an didn't linger. He quickly bid farewell to Wu Ming, leaving behind a gift, and led Wang Wufeng away.

"The Wang family is quite adept at changing their tune, but unfortunately... they're a little too late."

Wu Ming watched Wang Ming'an and the others leave, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

His words just now were not a lie. He had never taken Wang Wufeng's offense to heart. After all, to him, Wang Wufeng was just a nobody on the street. It would be beneath him to pay attention to such a person. Not to mention Wang Wufeng, even Wang Wufeng's elder brother, Wang Wuzheng, was nothing to him now and was not taken seriously.

If it were just about the previous incident at the pharmacy, he wouldn't mind making peace with the Wang family. However, the problem is that the Wang family had secretly sent Shen Lian, a true disciple of the Xuan Yu Sect, to assassinate him, which involved life and death, making it a different matter altogether. Although these gifts today are quite valuable, they are far from enough to resolve the life-or-death feud.

The Wang family assumed that Shen Lian had mysteriously disappeared and hadn't had a chance to assassinate him, so they didn't mention it at all. Of course, he wouldn't bring it up either, since the matter was rather complicated and involved the death of a true disciple of the Xuan Yu Sect at his hands. But it was impossible to pretend that such an assassination hadn't happened. He would settle this score with the Wang family sooner or later.

Besides,

The attack he encountered in Wu Village... Although it was Guo Xiang, a true disciple of the Black Fiend Sect, who was responsible, and Guo Xiang had an old grudge against him, there were many suspicious points in that incident. He had always suspected that the Wang family might have secretly tipped him off and leaked his whereabouts.

The Wang family refused to discuss either of these matters, showing absolutely no sincerity.

"This red lotus is not bad."

Looking at the congratulatory gifts left by Wang Ming'an, Wu Ming carefully examined the rare flower placed in an exquisite wooden box and nodded slightly.

This rare and precious item is worth five thousand merit points in the treasury of the Censorate, which is indeed quite valuable and suitable for his current use to consolidate his cultivation level. However, one should always be wary of others. This item was sent by the Wang family. Although it is unlikely that there is anything fishy about it, he still needs to take it to the Censorate for a specialist to examine it before he can use it with peace of mind.

As for the other gifts, they were worth only a little over a thousand taels of silver, which was better than nothing.

"Carry them all inside."

Wu Ming spoke to the servants beside him.

"Yes."

The servants immediately responded and worked together to carry the congratulatory gifts sent by Wang Ming'an into the inner courtyard.

……

The hustle and bustle of the Wu residence did not end until the afternoon.

As the people who came to celebrate gradually left, only a few people remained in the courtyard. Most of the relatives, including Wu Ming's family, did not try to persuade them to stay. Only Wu Yu and Xu Tong were persuaded by Liu Shi to stay at the mansion for a few days.

Wu Ming did not disturb the crowd. He went to the middle courtyard and gave an order. Soon, the four servants and four maids in front of and behind the courtyard gathered around and stood in a row in the courtyard.

In addition,

There was also a little girl, only eleven or twelve years old, with a sallow complexion and thin body, standing to the side dressed in a green maid's uniform.

This little girl was the same girl Wu Ming had bought at the entrance of the shopping mall. She was sallow and thin due to long-term malnutrition and could hardly be called pretty. However, after being dressed in new clothes and cleaned up, she was not bad-looking.

Because of the season, Wu Ming named her 'Xiao Mei'. Like a maid in the master's house, she was named by the master, which was basically the norm. All those who sold themselves into the household did so, which also symbolized ending the past and belonging to the master from then on.

The Wu household currently has nine servants: four men and five women.

"Today is a joyous occasion as you move into your new residence. You have all worked hard all day, so each of you will be rewarded with two taels of silver."

Wu Ming looked at the nine servants in front of him and said in a calm tone.

"Thank you, sir!"

Upon hearing this, the servants were overjoyed and bowed in gratitude.

Although they were sold into servitude to the Wu family, they still received a monthly allowance. However, their monthly allowance was only one tael, and Wu Ming's reward was equivalent to two months' allowance.

Clearly, their future master was a generous and magnanimous person. Although he looked to be about the same age as them, he seemed easy to get along with. Being able to enter such a mansion was undoubtedly a blessing.

"There aren't many rules in my mansion. The old master and old lady live in the middle courtyard, while I live in the back courtyard. You are not allowed to step into the back courtyard unless I give the order."

"In addition, everyone should be quick and efficient. My mansion is still short of managers. If the mansion is expanded in the future and more servants are hired, managers will be selected from among you. Who will be appointed will depend on your performance."

Wu Ming then said a few more words in a calm tone.

The servants responded enthusiastically, feeling all the fatigue of the day vanish instantly, and their hearts filled with energy.

After giving instructions to the servants in the courtyard, Wu Ming finally strolled into his own backyard. It was spacious, clean, and tidy. He stood there, his gaze sweeping over the entire courtyard, and he finally took a deep breath and smiled.

From now on, he will have his own residence in Jingye City.

(End of this chapter)