Chapter 49 : Chapter 49
Chapter 49: The Five Great Families Plot in Secret
One day later, at the invitation of Song Zhong, the Song Clan’s Supreme Elder, the heads of the Lu, Yuan, Shen, and Chen families secretly gathered in Baibo Valley.
The four Family Heads sat in separate rows within the guest hall, chatting and laughing merrily.
In the midst of their conversation, Song Zhong and Song Tianbo also arrived at the guest hall, and the heavy wooden doors slowly closed behind them.
When they saw Song Zhong, the four Family Heads were all somewhat surprised, but they immediately rose to their feet and cupped their fists in salute. “We greet Senior Song.”
Song Zhong was very pleased with their attitude. Smiling faintly, he spread his hands and said, “Family Heads, you are too courteous. Please, sit.”
The four men returned to their seats, but their hearts grew heavy.
It seemed this matter was no small one. Otherwise, this old relic of the Song Clan, who spent all his time in seclusion, would never have shown himself in person.
“Family Heads, the reason I invited you all to Baibo Valley this time is because there is an important matter I wish to discuss with you.”
Song Zhong spoke with a genial smile.
“Please speak plainly, Senior. We are all ears!”
The four men answered in unison.
Song Zhong stroked his beard and slowly said, “I will not waste time with unnecessary words. The reason I invited you all here is to discuss the destruction of the Qingfeng Li Clan!”
The moment they heard this, the pupils of the four Family Heads contracted sharply.
The Family Head of the Yuan family was the first to speak. “Senior, it is not that I refuse to give you face, but the grudge between the Baibo Song Clan and the Qingfeng Li Clan is not something we wish to involve ourselves in. If this is the matter at hand, then we can only take our leave.”
With that, he rose to depart.
With the Yuan Family Head taking the lead, the other three Family Heads also stood up one after another.
What a joke. Your Song Clan has enmity with the Li Clan, yet you want to drag us into the mire as well. Do you really take the rulers of our four great families for fools?
Seeing this, a shadow of gloom surfaced in Song Zhong’s clouded eyes.
“All of you may indeed have no enmity with the Li Clan now, but that may not remain true in the future. The Li Clan is not a family that will be content to stay in its place. And that Li Clan Family Head, Li Xingge, is not only monstrously talented, but also a man brimming with ambition.”
“Do you truly think that after destroying the Mangshan Su Clan, he will be satisfied? Right now, he has already set his sights on my Baibo Song Clan. And if my Song Clan falls, who is to say the next one to be destroyed will not be you?”
Song Zhong’s words left the four men silent.
Seeing this, Song Zhong was highly satisfied. He continued, “Of course, since I invited all of you here, my Song Clan has also come with sincerity. I am willing to cede fifty percent of the Song Clan’s holdings to be divided among you equally. And after the Li Clan is destroyed, everything obtained from them, my Song Clan will not claim a single coin. What do you say?”
After hearing the terms Song Zhong had offered, the four men all drew in sharp breaths.
In order to deal with the Li Clan, the Song Clan had truly paid a heavy price.
At that moment, all four Family Heads were greatly tempted and sat back down once more.
Watching all this, Song Zhong inwardly sneered. So long as the price offered was high enough, let alone men—even ghosts could be made to pull the millstone for him.
“It seems you have all thought it through?”
“We shall obey Senior’s arrangements in all things!”
“Good. Then tonight, at midnight, the five families will join forces, commit all their experts, and sweep through Qingfeng Valley!”
Song Zhong declared with boundless ambition.
...
...
Chen Family was one of Baihe County’s Eight Great Families, and its seat lay upon Auspicious Cloud Ridge.
As a newly risen Qi-Blood Realm family, the Chen family’s strength was the weakest among the Eight Great Families.
The moment the Chen Family Head returned home, he immediately summoned the three elders of the clan and told them all about how the Song Clan had offered up a great portion of its interests to unite the four great families and destroy the Li Clan.
The three elders were all deeply shocked upon hearing it.
“Family Head, even if we truly destroy the Li Clan, what if the Song Clan later goes back on the conditions it promised? If they renege, there is nothing we can do to them. And I have also heard that the Li Clan’s Second Elder has already broken through into the Qi-Blood Realm. The Li Clan now has three Qi-Blood Realm cultivators in a single family. They will not be easy to deal with.”
A Chen Clan elder frowned as he spoke.
“Who said I intended to go along with them?”
The Chen Family Head let out a cold laugh.
“But, Family Head, didn’t you say you already agreed to the matter?”
“If I had not agreed first, do you think I would have walked out of Baibo Valley alive today?”
The Chen Family Head sneered.
“But if we go back on our word, then we will offend the Song Clan. And if the Song Clan truly joins forces with the other three great families to destroy the Li Clan, then once the Song Clan frees up its hands, it certainly will not spare us.”
The Chen Clan elder sighed.
“I naturally know that. My Chen family may be called one of Baihe County’s Eight Great Families, but we were founded the latest, and both our strength and foundation are weak. Barring some unexpected turn, our Chen family has no hope of rising to prominence any time soon. That is why I intend to gamble on this. If this succeeds, then the future of my Chen family will be filled with possibility!”
“Family Head, you mean...?”
Seeming to realize something, the Chen Clan elder widened his eyes.
...
Qingfeng Valley.
A figure in a bamboo hat took out a calling card and handed it to the Li Clan cultivator guarding the gate.
That cultivator opened the calling card and glanced at it, and his expression changed slightly.
“Please wait a moment. I will go in and report this immediately!”
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea,
the gate guard returned. “Honored guest, the Grand Elder invites you in. Please follow me!”
Under his guidance, the two of them arrived at the Li Clan’s guest hall.
“The Grand Elder is waiting for you inside. I shall take my leave.”
The man in the bamboo hat stepped into the guest hall and removed the hat from his head, revealing his true face.
It was none other than the Chen Family Head, Chen Shuyao.
The Grand Elder’s pupils shrank slightly. He hurriedly rose to his feet and smiled apologetically. “I never expected the Chen Family Head himself to come. This old man has been discourteous.”
“I came uninvited. I only hope the Grand Elder will not take offense.”
Chen Shuyao said with a genial smile.
“How could I? Please, sit. May I ask why the Chen Family Head has graced Qingfeng Valley with his presence? What instruction do you have for us?”
The Grand Elder asked, filled with puzzlement. The Chen family and the Li Clan had never enjoyed any real friendship, so the fact that the Chen Family Head had personally come to their door today left him thoroughly confused.
“Is your Family Head present?”
Chen Shuyao asked.
The Grand Elder shook his head. “The Family Head entered seclusion some days ago. At present, clan affairs are being handled by me. If the Chen Family Head has something to say, you may speak to me directly.”
“What I have to say concerns the life and death of the Li Clan!”
The Grand Elder’s pupils contracted slightly. Seeing that Chen Shuyao did not seem to be joking, he called toward the doorway, “Quickly summon the Second Elder to the guest hall.”
“Yes.”
An answering voice came from outside.
Before long, the Second Elder hurried over.
He had only recently broken through, and his aura could not yet be perfectly restrained, allowing Chen Shuyao to sense it at once.
“So the rumors were true. The Li Clan’s Second Elder has also advanced into the Qi-Blood Realm. It seems this trip truly was the right choice!”
Chen Shuyao thought to himself.
“Chen Family Head, you may speak now.”
Chen Shuyao nodded, then recounted in full how the Song Clan had united the four great families and was preparing to launch a surprise attack on the Li Clan tonight.
As Chen Shuyao spoke, the Grand Elder’s expression grew increasingly grave.
The Second Elder, meanwhile, slammed his palm onto the table and said furiously, “Who would have thought that the dignified Baibo Song Clan would resort to such underhanded methods!”
Chen Shuyao then continued, “To be frank, I have long admired your Family Head’s great reputation, though I have never had the good fortune to meet him. My Chen family has no gift worthy of presenting, so tonight, I am willing to turn against them and strike once on the Li Clan’s behalf!”
The Grand Elder and the Second Elder both trembled inwardly when they heard this.
With such a declaration, Chen Shuyao was clearly determined to stand or fall together with the Li Clan.
Naturally, the Li Clan would not refuse him. Every additional measure of strength meant an additional measure of victory.
“Chen Family Head, had you not come today to warn us, my Li Clan would have been caught completely unprepared by the Song Clan. We will remember this favor. From this day forth, the Chen family is a friend of my Li Clan.”
Chen Shuyao beamed with delight upon hearing this.
He had taken such a great risk for exactly these words.
After the three men discussed matters further, they politely escorted Chen Shuyao out.
Then the expressions of the two elders darkened.
“Come. Quickly go and invite the Family Head out of seclusion!”