Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

Bai Shixuan hemmed and hawed for a long time before mumbling vaguely, "Last night, I got bored at the teahouse, so I... wandered around the county town for a bit. I didn’t spend the night at the teahouse."

As he spoke, his gaze unconsciously drifted to Bai San, who was standing to the side.

Bai San immediately turned his head away, pretending to inspect the roof beams with an air of having nothing to do with him.

Chen Li understood at once.

’You become like those you associate with. My dear brother-in-law has probably been led astray, dragged into the mud by that scoundrel Bai San.’

Though he saw the situation as clear as day, he didn’t call him out on it. It was a trivial matter, after all.

Bai San, however, grew anxious and tried to change the subject. "Sir, they’re demanding a ransom. We have to go rescue Old Zhao right away! If we wait a few more days, I’m afraid... I’m afraid all we’ll be able to do is collect his corpse."

"Rescue?"

Chen Li let out a cold, inscrutable laugh.

’This isn’t about money at all!’

’It’s either an enemy of Zhao Deming’s, or it’s someone coming after my family.’

’That Dragon God Temple at Tuo Dragon Gully... I fear they’ve already laid an inescapable trap, just waiting for us to walk right into it.’

’In fact, this is likely a ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain—an attempt to draw me away from Lingxi.’

After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Li summoned Chen Pi and instructed, "Leave at once. Ride hard for the county town, find Shouye, and tell him that there may be trouble brewing. Have him gather the important items and return home immediately."

"Yes, Master!"

Chen Pi didn’t dare to delay and hurried off after receiving his orders.

After Chen Pi left, silence temporarily returned to the study.

Bai San and Bai Shixuan exchanged glances.

Chen Li stood at the window, gazing at the courtyard. His brow was tightly furrowed as he wondered, ’Who exactly is plotting against me?’

...

「A hundred li outside Jiangkou County.」

Here lay a vast expanse of marshland, a dense network of waterways choked with reeds. The air hung with the perennial, faint stench of damp rot.

Deep within the swamp, there was a winding, dark ravine known as Tuo Dragon Gully.

Many years ago, countless Tuo Dragons had wreaked havoc here, devouring people and livestock, causing local fishermen to pale at the mere mention of the place.

To pray for safety, the fishermen had built a small Dragon God Temple on the high ground at the ravine’s entrance, where incense was burned in offering year-round.

Later, a great master of the Martial Dao passed through, venturing into the swamp with sword in hand and slaughtering every last Tuo Dragon.

With the reptilian menace eliminated, the Dragon God Temple fell into disuse.

Over the long years, its walls grew mottled and its idols became shrouded in dust. Hidden amidst the desolate weeds, it took on an even more sinister air.

Yet at this moment, faint light and human voices emanated from within the supposedly deserted temple.

In the center of the temple hall, a bonfire crackled and popped.

An iron pot sat over the fire, the milky-white fish soup within it bubbling away and releasing a rich, savory aroma.

Three men sat around the fire, silently sipping the fish soup.

Another man, though his hands and feet were symbolically tethered by a thin but sturdy iron chain, was not truly bound or imprisoned. He was staring longingly at the pot of fish soup.

This man was none other than the abducted Zhao Deming.

"Second Brother Sun, how about a bowl for your little brother here to warm himself up?"

Zhao Deming licked his chapped lips, his tone surprisingly familiar and fawning.

The man called "Second Brother Sun," a man with rugged features, glanced at Zhao Deming.

After a moment’s silence, he picked up a coarse ceramic bowl, ladled it full of steaming fish soup, and handed it over with a sigh. "Old Zhao, I’m not trying to lecture you, but you’ve been a captive for days now. Has there been any sign from the Chen Family? Forget a rescue party, they haven’t even sent a messenger. Why suffer like this, so stubbornly guarding his secrets?"

Zhao Deming took the bowl, blew on the soup, and took a careful sip, wincing from the heat. He gave a bitter laugh. "My dear Second Brother, I’ve already told you everything there is to tell. There’s truly nothing left to hide. As for anything else, I honestly don’t know!"

"I’m just a captured errand boy who now follows orders. How could they possibly let an outsider like me in on the Chen Family’s core secrets? That’s just unthinkable!"

Second Brother Sun snorted. "The Patriarch will never let the matter of Young Master Jiang Chaoshan’s death rest. You should know that. And you, Zhao Deming, you were supposed to be a dead man, yet here you are, alive and well, working for the Chen Family. Tell me, how much of what you say do you think the Patriarch will believe? What do you think he’ll make of it?"

Zhao Deming cried out in protest, "Second Brother, you have to believe me! I had a knife to my throat! I had no choice but to surrender. If I hadn’t swallowed that deadly poison, I’d have ended up just like He Zhizhou and the others—a lonely ghost in a mass grave! I was forced!"

Second Brother Sun shook his head and said no more. "Wait for the Patriarch to arrive. You can explain it to him yourself."

Another day passed. The sound of numerous, steady footsteps approached from outside the temple.

A grim-faced, middle-aged man entered, followed in single file by a dozen Martial Artists whose every breath exuded power.

It was the Patriarch of the Jiang Family, Jiang Hongyi.

Upon entering the temple, Jiang Hongyi’s gaze instantly locked onto Zhao Deming. His voice was bone-chillingly cold. "Zhao Deming, the Jiang Family has never treated you poorly. Why did you betray our family and defect to our enemy?"

Zhao Deming shuddered in terror and hastily repeated, in a trembling voice, the same story he had told Second Brother Sun.

How He Zhizhou had summoned him to Lingxi, how they were defeated and captured by the Chen Family, how he had begged for his life and swallowed poison to survive, and how he had been forced to work for them...

His words were earnest, his delivery tearful and desperate.

Jiang Hongyi remained expressionless. "Why did He Zhizhou make a move against the Chen Family?" he pressed.

Zhao Deming hastily explained, "It was... it was because the family had posted a mission. It stated that whoever could eliminate the Lingxi Chen Family would be granted an opportunity to break through to the Spirit Realm."

"Old He... He Zhizhou wanted to secure that opportunity for his younger brother, so he was very eager. But he knew he wasn’t strong enough on his own, which is why he gathered the rest of us to go with him."

Jiang Hongyi’s brow furrowed. "Who issued this mission?"

A man behind him immediately took half a step forward and reported in a low voice, "Reporting to the Patriarch, our investigation shows it was a private order from Young Master Chaoshan."

Jiang Hongyi’s expression turned icy, and an invisible pressure radiated from him. "Such a critical piece of information... why was I not informed sooner?"

Those behind him fell silent as winter cicadas, bowing their heads and not daring to meet his gaze.

Jiang Hongyi suppressed his rage and asked, "Why would Chaoshan issue such an order? What grudge did he have against the Chen Family?"

The temple fell silent. The men exchanged glances, but no one could answer.

It seemed this was either a whim on Jiang Chaoshan’s part or there was some hidden reason he hadn’t shared widely.

Jiang Hongyi snorted and changed the subject. "The five of you went together. How were you captured? And how did He Zhizhou and the other three die?"

Zhao Deming’s heart pounded wildly. He was terrified that a single careless word would bring about his own death.

His thoughts raced. "Reporting to the Patriarch, when we arrived in Lingxi, He Zhizhou ordered me to be the first to sneak into the Chen Family estate to scout, as my Lightweight Skill is decent."

"Who would have thought that the Chen Family residence, though appearing ordinary, was full of hidden traps. I was careless for a moment and fell into an ambush. I was captured alive, fed poison, and thrown into a cellar."

"As for what happened to Boss He and the other three... whether they met with misfortune... I was locked deep in the cellar, I truly have no idea!"

Jiang Hongyi stared at him, his gaze as sharp as a blade. "And my son, Jiang Chaoshan—who killed him?"

Zhao Deming looked utterly bewildered and shook his head repeatedly. "I swear, Patriarch, I truly don’t know. I was imprisoned the entire time. Later, maybe because the Chen Family was short-staffed, they let me out and ordered me to escort the Bai Family to procure medicinal supplies. I only did menial labor; I never got near any of their core secrets."

"Useless!"

Jiang Hongyi cursed. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he raised his hand slightly.

A Jiang Family master at his side immediately stepped forward with a ferocious grin, ready to strike.

Terrified out of his wits, Zhao Deming screamed, "Spare me, Patriarch! I may not know the details, but I know who does! I know who’s most clear on the inside story! I only beg you to spare my life!"

Jiang Hongyi paused his gesture. "Speak," he said coldly.

Zhao Deming’s mind raced. He had initially intended to shift the blame to Bai San or Shu Qi.

’But on second thought,’ he mused, ’that slippery Bai San and that wimp Shu Qi are even bigger cowards than I am.’

’If I drag them into this, the Jiang Family would just have to torture them a little and they’d surely confess everything about the three of us ambushing the Jiang Family’s Guest.’

’Then, even if Jiang Hongyi doesn’t kill me, the other Jiang Family Honored Guests would never let me go.’

At this life-or-death moment, he suddenly recalled someone. "It’s Linglong!" he said hurriedly. "Miss Linglong, the Courtesan of Drunken Creek Pavilion. She... she is Chen Li’s mistress, kept on the outside, and he trusts her immensely. She is intimately familiar with the affairs of Drunken Creek Pavilion. The young master died there—she must know what happened!"

"Drunken Creek Pavilion? The Courtesan Linglong?"

A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Hongyi’s eyes. "Such an important lead," he snapped, "why didn’t you report it sooner?"

Zhao Deming looked like he was about to cry. "Pa-Patriarch, you didn’t ask before! I just assumed you already knew about such a trivial thing."

Jiang Hongyi’s gaze was sharp. "And where is this Linglong now?"

Zhao Deming rushed to answer, "Sh-She’s living at Chen Li’s residence!"

A trusted subordinate stepped forward and whispered, "Patriarch, should we... find a way to capture this Linglong for questioning?"

Jiang Hongyi snorted. "How is that any different from attacking the Chen Family directly?"

He said no more, turning away from the man and falling silent for a moment.

His gaze drifted to the desolate swamp outside the temple as various clues and pieces of information rapidly collided and coalesced in his mind.

Over the past few months, the Jiang Family had already investigated the whereabouts of everyone from the Mirror Mountain Noble Families at the time of the incident. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

’It would seem the possibility of the Noble Families making a move against my family can be ruled out.’

’But that’s even more unbelievable.’

’If not the Noble Families, then who has the power to move against my own family? To kill so many at once!’

’Even Elder Wu, a Grandmaster, was killed.’

’Elder Wu was old, and he had past injuries, but he was a Grandmaster nonetheless.’

’Besides them, the only ones in Mirror Mountain with the motive and the means would be the Lingxi Chen Family.’

’Though it’s not a high probability either.’

’But when you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’

’What’s more, those two young men from the Chen Family both broke through to the Spirit Realm at such a young age. That can’t be explained by talent alone. The Chen Family must have a martial arts legacy.’

’Zhao Deming, He Zhizhou, and three other Spirit Realm experts went to Lingxi together, yet the result was four dead and one captured. A defeat so clean and complete, they were powerless to resist...’

’Add to that the fact that Chaoshan had a conflict with the Chen Family, and that Courtesan from Drunken Creek Pavilion is so close to them... this line of inquiry is all but confirmed.’

’As for proof... my family isn’t the Government Office. What do we need proof for?’

’Suspicion is enough!’