NOVEL NEXT Chapter 606: Reaching the Peak 15
Tan Yue is the head of the Tan Family in Mangshui City. It's no wonder these people were secretly observing her, as the Tan Family was the only one among the few local families that suffered the least during this disgraceful incident, mainly losing hired guards for the Spirit Field where Spirit Plants were grown.
In Tan Shuangshuang's analysis, it's likely because even though the Tan Family in Mangshui City is merely one of several families, it has strong roots, backed by the main Tan Family, which dominates Qingyun City, with a background no weaker than those recruited by the Bai Family.
If Tan Shuangshuang's analysis is correct, and these people were involved in the population loss incident, then bypassing the Tan Family is simply rational since targeting the Mangshui City Tan Family would be akin to crossing paths with the Qingyun City Tan Family.
However, the situation has escalated significantly and is at a sensitive point, with all family heads extremely busy and anxious, making Tan Yue's sudden appearance, dining with a young girl, rather unusual.
These individuals might have spun various conspiracies around Tan Yue in their minds, perhaps even envisioned a grand drama, but in reality, Tan Yue was simply accompanying Tan Shuangshuang on a stroll.
After Tan Shuangshuang and Tan Yue finished their meal slowly, they paid the bill and left, leaving behind the prying eyes.
Upon leaving the restaurant, Tan Shuangshuang was contemplating how to break the situation. First, the Tan Family should not act, as there are too many foreign forces in Mangshui City now; acting rashly could turn them into a target.
Though the Tan Family is deeply rooted, these outsiders' backgrounds are also quite strong. If they perceive the Tan Family as a threat and decide to join forces against it, the Tan Family would not stand a chance.
After much thought, Tan Shuangshuang realized the best candidate to intervene in this matter would be the City Lord Mansion of Mangshui City, as they would have no trouble acting and no one could retaliate.
Firstly, according to Baiyue Country's law, every mine must pay a significant amount of taxes. If the Bai Family indeed has a Secret Silver Gold Crystal Mine and hid it, it would be a violation of Baiyue Country's laws, making it justified for the City Lord Mansion to take action.
Moreover, since the City Lord is appointed by the Monarch of Baiyue Country, his background encompasses the entire nation, and no major family would dare to confront the country directly. Thus, it's best for the City Lord to step in, as the Mansion has nothing to worry about and need not consider these foreign forces.
However, getting the City Lord Mansion to take action is not easy. While they may intervene lawfully, the Mansion represents authority and must have concrete evidence to act. Mere rumors won't compel the City Lord Mansion.
If the City Lord dares to act without evidence and the results are negative, he would face immense trouble. Disturbing the citizens without cause is a grave sin, and if the Bai Family filed a complaint, not only would the City Lord's position be at risk, he might also be convicted.
Therefore, to have the City Lord Mansion take action, Tan Shuangshuang must first obtain evidence of the Bai Family possessing a Secret Silver Gold Crystal Mine. Only with this evidence can the Mansion take action confidently.
As for obtaining evidence, Tan Shuangshuang plans to visit the Bai Family's Secret Silver Mine herself. She dares to do so because, in her previous life, when she was unable to cultivate, she learned many bits and pieces to pass the time, including a skill called Transformation Technique.
The so-called Transformation Technique is an unconventional Cultivation Technique that can change one's appearance, including facial features, height, build, into another person's appearance. It was invented by a terribly ugly woman whose goal was to transform herself into a beauty.
By using this Cultivation Technique, the woman turned into a stunning beauty, alluring many men. She didn't discriminate, seducing them regardless of their relationship status, ultimately angering their partners, who banded together and destroyed her cultivation.
Once her cultivation was destroyed, the woman couldn't maintain the Transformation Technique and reverted to her original appearance, disgustingly affronting the men she had seduced. As a result, the Cultivation Technique became proliferated, cherished by many beauty-loving women.
When Tan Shuangshuang learned the Transformation Technique, she once considered using it to alter her appearance and capture Liang Ziqian's heart, but her inherent pride prevented her from doing such things to please a man based on appearance, so she tucked the Technique away after mastering it.
Now facing the crisis in Mangshui City, Tan Shuangshuang recalled this Technique, planning to disguise herself as a Bai Family member and then legitimately enter the Bai Family's Secret Silver Mine for inspection.
Yet, impersonating someone without being detected, even for just a day or two, isn't easy, as a mishap might expose her to the knowledgeable Bai Family members, leading to danger.
The choice of disguise must be carefully selected, requiring a thorough study of the person's daily habits, ensuring minimal chances of slipping up.
When the idea came, Tan Shuangshuang immediately reviewed the information she had seen about the Bai Family in her mind.
Thanks to the Tan Family's detailed data collection, every member of the Bai Family was recorded. Therefore, as she processed this information mentally, Tan Shuangshuang had already selected a suitable candidate.
Bai Shuyao, the legitimate daughter of the Bai Family Master's second son, was chosen because of a reason for choosing someone so close to the Bai Family core.
Although Bai Shuyao was born the legitimate daughter of the Bai Family Master's son, her parents died in an adventure, falling victim to an ambush of comrades. Consequently, soon after their death, Bai Shuyao's elder brother was killed accidentally by martial masters seeking revenge while protecting her during an outing.
Although the Bai Family Master promptly avenged his grandson, he felt uneasy about the daughter left by his second son, believing she was cursed with misfortune.
Because of this subtle sentiment from the Family Master, Bai Shuyao became an invisible presence within the Bai Family; however, as she was the Master's granddaughter, no one dared to bully her.
Some attempted to embezzle Bai Shuyao's rightful Cultivation Resources but were fiercely punished by the Bai Family Master. From then on, the Bai Family knew although Bai Shuyao wasn't favored by her grandfather, she was still protected by him.
Despite not lacking Cultivation Resources and no one daring to bully her, the prolonged cold treatment from her family made Bai Shuyao's personality increasingly strange, becoming more reclusive and taciturn, and privately very cruel, fond of mistreating servants.
Once, Bai Shuyao consecutively tortured two maids to death in a single day because they privately joked about visiting their parents, triggering Bai Shuyao's sensitive point.