Chapter 7 : Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Reactions from All Sides
The Dongjiang Zheng Clan was a hereditary great clan of Baihe County that had endured for more than five hundred years. On the surface alone, it had three Qi-Blood Realm cultivators in residence.
It was the unquestioned number one clan of Baihe County.
Inside the Family Head’s study,
Zheng Lingjun stared gravely at the urgent report in his hand and could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
Off to one side...
the Zheng family’s Old Ancestor lay lazily sprawled on a reclining chair. Seeing Zheng Lingjun in this state, he teased, “Has the heavens collapsed, or has the earth caved in, that it could make the dignified Family Head of my Zheng family lose his composure like this?”
Zheng Lingjun shook his head.
“Neither. Just now, the Li family made its move and wiped out the Zou, Zhang, and Jin families, along with the Great Saber Sect. Several thousand people were implicated.”
At that,
the Zheng family’s Old Ancestor arched a white brow and said with a smile, “I thought it was something truly serious. As this old man recalls, the strength of those several families was not bad at all. Didn’t Li Xuanfeng of the Li family die? They still had the power to destroy all four at once? Could it be that Li Xuantong that lad broke through to the Qi-Blood Realm? Even so, a mere Qi-Blood Realm cultivator should not have been enough to make the Family Head of my Zheng family lose himself like this.”
Zheng Lingjun gave a bitter smile and spread his hands.
“The Li family has indeed produced a new Qi-Blood Realm cultivator, but it isn’t Li Xuantong.”
“If not Li Xuantong, then who else could it be?”
The Zheng family’s Old Ancestor was slightly surprised.
“Li Xingge.”
The Zheng family’s Old Ancestor thought for a long while. Then suddenly his eyes widened, and he blew out his beard as he said, “That Li family junior you once told me about?”
“Exactly.”
Zheng Lingjun nodded.
The Zheng family’s Old Ancestor went still.
After a long moment, he clapped his hands and burst into hearty laughter.
“Good... good... good. Truly, the waves behind drive on those before. The younger generation is formidable—truly formidable.”
“A seventeen-year-old Qi-Blood Realm cultivator... it is hard to imagine just how terrifying his talent must be. What a pity. Such a genius was not born into my Zheng family. If my Zheng family had such a child among its descendants, we would surely be able to restore the glory of our ancestors.”
There was some sighing admiration in Zheng Lingjun’s tone, along with a trace of envy—and hidden deep in his eyes, a thread of wariness.
And that sliver of wariness was precisely caught by the Zheng family’s Old Ancestor.
“What? Are you afraid?”
Knowing his little thoughts had not escaped the notice of his own Old Ancestor,
Zheng Lingjun nodded without trying to hide it.
“That’s right. This Li Xingge is too monstrous. If he is given another ten years, I fear my Zheng family will no longer be able to keep the title of Baihe County’s number one family.”
“So? Kill him before he has fully grown?”
The Zheng family’s Old Ancestor still wore a smile as he spoke.
Zheng Lingjun thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“This child does not have complete confidence.”
“In that case, put away those little thoughts in your heart.”
The smile vanished from the Zheng family’s Old Ancestor’s face, and his expression became rarely serious.
He slowly rose from the reclining chair.
“Lingjun, do you know why, in Baihe County, only my Zheng family has managed to endure for five hundred years?”
Without waiting for Zheng Lingjun to answer, he continued on his own.
“It is not because my Zheng family has always been strong. In the past, the Guo family and the Yao family—which one was not stronger than my Zheng family? But where are they now? Their clans have long since been exterminated.”
“Nor is it because my Zheng family’s forebears came from the Lingxu Sect and thus had the Lingxu Sect’s protection. One must know that even ties of affection will one day run out.”
“It is because we are careful, cautious. We never do things unless we are sure.”
“In this world, there are always some people favored by the heavens. They are born with extraordinary talent, and their fortune soars to the skies. The road that takes others decades, even a hundred years, they need only a few short years to walk.”
“And every time they are not defeated, they only grow stronger. Those who once stood against them are all trampled beneath their feet and become stepping stones for them to climb even higher.”
Zheng Lingjun’s eyes widened.
He asked in astonishment, “Old Ancestor, are you saying this Li Xingge is that sort of person?”
The Zheng family’s Old Ancestor shook his head.
“I do not know for certain either.”
Zheng Lingjun frowned, puzzled.
“Then why...”
“Because one fears not ten thousand, but the one in ten thousand. Besides, why must you always think in terms of strangling such a person in the cradle? For the sake of some empty title of being first? Lingjun, you must remember this: empty reputation is the most useless thing in this world, and also the most harmful. Only benefit is real. The day you can stop caring about such hollow names will be the day you have truly become a qualified Family Head.”
The Zheng family’s Old Ancestor stroked his graying beard and spoke earnestly to the heir before him.
Zheng Lingjun lowered his head and fell silent.
After a long while...
Zheng Lingjun raised his head and gave his Old Ancestor a respectful bow.
“Old Ancestor, this child has been taught. Next, this child will send people to make friendly overtures to this new Li family Family Head. If he truly is the kind of person you described, then my Zheng family will follow close behind him. Perhaps, by relying on him, we may one day leave Baihe County and restore the glory of our ancestors. And if he is not, then my Zheng family will not have lost anything either.”
After hearing this, the Zheng family’s Old Ancestor burst into laughter.
“You are teachable.”
...
Mangshan was located at the northeastern corner of Baihe County.
The famed Mangshan Su Clan was situated among those towering mountains and steep ridges.
When the Su family’s Family Head, Su Zhe, learned of Su Yun’s death, he flew into a towering rage.
With one palm, he shattered the table before him and roared furiously, “That wretched brat! He actually dared kill a pillar of my Su family!”
The many upper-ranking members of the Su family looked at their enraged Family Head and all lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound. At the same time, they were guessing what exactly had happened to provoke such fury from him.
After venting for a while, Su Zhe’s anger eased slightly.
He looked at the crowd, narrowed his eyes, and said, “Everyone, the intelligence was wrong. The Grand Elder fell at the Li family.”
The minds of the gathered upper ranks went blank in an instant.
“The Grand Elder is dead? How is that possible? Aside from that dead man Li Xuanfeng, who in the Li family could possibly have had the ability to kill the Grand Elder?”
one Su family elder said in utter disbelief.
Su Zhe let out a sigh.
“It is absolutely true. The Li family’s young genius, Li Xingge, has broken through to the Qi-Blood Realm. The Grand Elder was unable to escape and died by his hand.”
All the Su family higher-ups fell silent.
After a long while,
someone finally asked in a hoarse voice, “Family Head, how is that possible? Li Xingge is only seventeen!”
“Though I can hardly believe it myself, that is the truth.”
“Family Head, with the enmity between my Su family and the Li family, Li Xingge will inevitably become a great enemy of my Su family in the future. We must make plans early. Otherwise, once Li Xingge fully grows, my Su family will be finished. Our ancestors’ foundation cannot be destroyed in our hands.”
The Su family’s Second Elder spoke anxiously.
“I know. I only hate that back then we did not pay any price necessary to kill this scourge. Now Li Xingge has grown into his strength. Regret comes too late.”
Su Zhe’s face was full of vexation.
The others, too, sighed heavily.
Just then,
a small, gaunt old man in purple robes with a sinister face slowly stepped out from the rear door.
He glanced at the worried, downcast crowd and gave a cold snort.
“That is enough. A mere junior has frightened all of you out of your wits. If word of this got out, would you not be laughed to death?”
At the sight of the newcomer,
all the higher-ups of the Su family hurried to their feet.
Bowing deeply, they said with utmost respect, “We greet the Supreme Elder!”
The newcomer was none other than the Su family’s only Qi-Blood Realm cultivator—the Supreme Elder, Su Changqing.
Su Changqing walked straight to the Family Head’s seat and sat down. Su Zhe quickly stepped aside and stood beside him respectfully.
In a careful voice, he said, “Old Ancestor, why have you come?”
Su Changqing glared at him and sneered.
“If I had come any later, this Su family would have been destroyed by you fools.”
Hearing Su Changqing’s rebuke, everyone quickly lowered their heads.
“When you decided to move against the Li family, why was I not informed?”
Su Changqing narrowed his eyes, his voice icy.
Seeing that Su Changqing was calling them to account, Su Zhe hurriedly explained, “Old Ancestor was in seclusion. We did not dare disturb you.”
“Idiot. Worthless fool!”
The moment he heard that, Su Changqing struck Su Zhe hard across the face with a slap.
The enormous force sent Su Zhe sprawling to the ground at once.
Watching Su Zhe’s face swell visibly before their eyes, Su Changqing rebuked him with the look of someone furious that iron had failed to become steel.
“Back then, this old man overruled all objections and made you, a son of a concubine, the Family Head because I believed you possessed the bigger picture, that you understood reason and knew when to advance and when to retreat. But now it seems this old man was wrong. Put a pig in your seat, and it would still have done a better job than you!”
Though he had been slapped, Su Zhe did not dare harbor the slightest resentment.
Prostrating himself on the ground, he hurriedly said, “It is I who am incompetent. Old Ancestor, please calm your anger.”
“Calm my anger?”
“Will calming my anger bring Su Yun back to life? Do you know what Su Yun meant to my Su family?”
“This old man does not have many years left to live. I had only been waiting for Su Yun to break through to the Qi-Blood Realm so I could hand the burden over to him and depart in peace.”
“And now Su Yun is dead? Tell me—what is to become of the Su family’s future?”
“Did you not see the Li family’s situation? Or do you think our Su family can somehow produce a Su Xingge as well?”
At once, everyone’s faces turned deathly pale.
“Even a lion uses its full strength to fight a rabbit, much less when facing a clan like the Li family, which is hardly some nameless minor household. Your arrogance and carelessness have been a joke played with the lives of the more than one thousand members of my Su family!”
Su Changqing’s oppressive gaze swept across the crowd.
After staring at their helpless, panicked faces for a long while, he finally let out a long sigh.
“That is enough. The great mistake has already been made. Since things have come to this, there is nothing more to say. Give this old man another half month. If I can break through to the Minor Accomplishment stage, then I can still protect the family for another ten-odd years. A mere Li Xingge could be erased with a flick of the finger. But if I fail, then bring out the Burning Blood Pill. That will be the last thing this old man can do for the family.”
With that, he ignored the rest of them entirely and walked away.
As they watched that hunched, diminutive figure recede farther and farther into the distance,
everyone wore expressions of grief.
Two lines of hot tears even streamed down Su Zhe’s face.
“Old Ancestor, I know I was wrong.”
Su Changqing’s steps seemed to falter for an instant, but very quickly he vanished from their sight.
...
Baihe County Yamen.
Gu Zhiting, the County Magistrate, looked at the news in his hand, his expression flickering uncertainly.
“A seventeen-year-old Qi-Blood Realm cultivator. What a monstrous prodigy indeed.”
At the side, the adviser with the thin mustache seized the opportunity to say, “County Magistrate, this Li family has acted with such reckless lawlessness. In broad daylight, they slaughtered more than a thousand people in a single day. They have utterly failed to place you—or the imperial court—in their eyes.”
Gu Zhiting looked expressionlessly at the indignant adviser, his gaze fixed and unmoving.
Only after staring long enough to make the other man’s scalp go numb did he slowly say, “And in your opinion, what should be done?”
Joy flashed in the adviser’s eyes.
He hurriedly said, “The Li family violated the laws of the imperial court. County troops should be dispatched to strangle them and make an example of them for the rest.”
“With the thousand or so crooked melons and split dates in White River Camp?”
Gu Zhiting said mockingly.
The adviser gave an embarrassed laugh, then quickly put on a flattering smile.
“County Magistrate, your strength is unmatched. If you yourself were willing to take action, then destroying a mere Li family would naturally be no difficult matter.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiting burst into laughter.
“This official is old. My qi and blood have long been in decline. Since you possess such loyal devotion to crown and country, how about I hand this task over to you? As long as you can destroy the Li family, I shall submit a memorial to the imperial court and ask that merit be granted to you.”
The adviser’s expression froze.
By the time he recovered himself, Gu Zhiting had already walked away.
Looking at the figure in that green official robe,
the adviser spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground and said viciously, “Bah. What a piece of work.”