Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

Jiangzhou City.

The Liu Family Estate.

In the study, Liu Gongchang held an official document, his face unreadable in the flickering candlelight.

Suddenly, the door was violently thrown open.

"Father, this is bad! Something terrible has happened!"

Liu Yunfeng burst in, panting for breath.

"What’s all the panic?!"

Liu Gongchang looked up at his son, a flash of anger on his face.

But Liu Yunfeng seemed oblivious to his father’s fury. He rushed to the desk and said anxiously, "Father, in Qingshui County... Third Uncle’s family... Cousin Yuanqi... they’ve been massacred! The entire household, wiped out, not even a dog or chicken was spared, Father!"

He had expected his father to be shocked, even furious, given his relationship with Third Uncle.

However, Liu Gongchang’s expression remained calm. His sharp gaze fixed on his son, preternaturally composed, even carrying a chill. "Tell me the truth. What trouble did you and Yuanqi get into in Liyang recently? Who did you provoke that you shouldn’t have?"

Stunned by his father’s cold reaction and questioning, Liu Yunfeng quickly tried to defend himself, his voice tinged with grievance. "Father, I didn’t! I really didn’t cause any trouble. It was just ordinary business dealings, some minor friction at most."

"Minor friction?"

Liu Gongchang cut him off abruptly, his voice thick with suppressed rage. "You didn’t provoke someone you shouldn’t have? Then tell me! Why did your Third Uncle and Third Aunt suddenly disappear without a trace? Why was Yuanqi’s entire household slaughtered? Does this scale, this level of brutality, look like ’minor friction’ to you?"

Overwhelmed by his father’s aura, Liu Yunfeng lowered his head and mumbled, "Father, they left words written in blood at the scene... ’The killer is Liu Yuanzhao of Qingshui.’ It must have been Liu Yuanzhao! He held a grudge and colluded with some outsiders to get revenge!"

"Liu Yuanzhao?"

Liu Gongchang shook his head in disappointment. "He’s only at Qi Realm Perfection. Do you think he has the power to kill the six Spirit Realm Honored Guests your cousin Yuanqi had guarding his home? Yunfeng, do you take your father for a senile old fool?"

Liu Yunfeng’s face went pale. He tried to argue, his voice weak. "Maybe he got ridiculously lucky, and some hidden master took a liking to him..."

"Enough!"

Liu Gongchang was finally, completely enraged.

His son’s baseless, responsibility-dodging excuses were like pouring oil on a fire.

He slammed his hand on the desk, and a torrential, Grandmaster-Level aura erupted from him, pressing down on Liu Yunfeng like an invisible mountain.

The air grew thick, suffocating.

With a THUD, Liu Yunfeng, completely unable to resist the terrifying pressure of the aura, felt his knees buckle and collapsed to the ground.

His face was white as a sheet, and the bones throughout his body creaked under the pressure. Even breathing became difficult. His eyes filled with terror.

Liu Gongchang stood up and looked at his kneeling son with deep disappointment. "On any other day, I tell you to read more books, and you dismiss it. I tell you to focus on your martial arts, and you dismiss it even more, choosing instead to run around causing trouble all day.

"How many resources have you consumed over the years? Elixirs, Cultivation Techniques, guidance from famous masters—when have you ever been lacking? And what’s the result? To this day, you haven’t even touched the threshold of the Spirit Realm. With your pathetic level of strength, you dare to meddle in the struggles between Noble Families, heedless of the danger?

"Do you have any idea how deep the waters are with this ’turning paddies to mulberry fields’ affair? That’s a play being made by the Court! How many eyes are watching? How many factions are wrestling for power in the shadows?

"Not only did you dare to get involved, you were audacious enough to target the Textile Bureau! Are you trying to tell me our family has had it too peaceful these past few years?"

Just as Liu Yunfeng was about to be crushed by his father’s Grandmaster aura, a furious female voice came from outside the door.

"Liu Gongchang! Have you lost your mind? What’s the big idea, showing off your power against your own son!"

Before the words had even faded, a beautiful woman walked into the study.

It was Liu Gongchang’s wife and Liu Yunfeng’s mother, Yun Ya.

Her willow-leaf brows were arched in anger, her face an icy mask.

With a cold snort, she unleashed her own Grandmaster aura, no weaker than Liu Gongchang’s, instantly neutralizing the pressure on Liu Yunfeng.

Liu Yunfeng felt the weight lift and scrambled behind his mother like he’d found his savior, crying out, "Mother!"

Yun Ya shielded her son and glared at Liu Gongchang. "What? Did my Textile Bureau somehow offend your Jingwu Bureau?

"Is that why you look down on it so much? My son wanted to help the family, to find a way to earn more silver coins. What’s wrong with that? Is it your place to lecture him?"

Seeing his wife so fiercely protective, not even bothering to find out what happened, Liu Gongchang’s bellyful of anger and lecturing was choked back. His face ashen, he snorted heavily. "A doting mother spoils the child!"

Yun Ya flew into an even greater rage at his words, her voice rising as she started dredging up old grievances. "I spoil him? Liu Gongchang, search your conscience! Over the years, the rare medicinal materials and Elixirs you’ve consumed for your Cultivation cost tens of thousands of taels of silver annually.

"Add to that the expenses of our entire extended household, the maids and servants, the social obligations... Can we get by on less than two hundred thousand taels of silver a year? Your annual salary of a few thousand taels—what good is that?"

She showed her husband no mercy. "Our son is trying to acquire land and open a Textile Workshop. Isn’t every single thing he does for the good of this family? And isn’t it because you, his father, are incompetent and can’t support this family?!

"That’s why our son has no choice but to go out and struggle on his own! And look at you. Not only do you not help, you stand here flaunting your authority as a Thousand Households commander? Liu Gongchang, I think you’re becoming more and more pathetic with age!

"And don’t you forget, that official robe you’re wearing, that position of Thousand Households—who did you inherit it from? My father! The majority of your Cultivation expenses have been paid for by my Yun Family.

"Who has been supporting this family all these years? What right do you have to stand here and scold my son? Huh?"

This barrage of questions and insults was like a dousing of ice water, like a steel blade carving out his heart.

Liu Gongchang was speechless. The color drained from his face, turning from ashen to red, then finally to a stark white.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, all that came out was a cold snort. He sat down in his chair and said no more.

Having had her say and seeing her husband silenced, Yun Ya said coldly, "I don’t have time to waste on you. Go deal with your third brother’s family affairs immediately. His Textile Workshop, land, and storehouses in Qingshui County—find a way to take them over right now. Don’t let anyone else, especially the Government Office, take advantage of the situation."

With that, she turned away from her husband, took the still-shaken Liu Yunfeng by the arm, and stormed out with a flick of her sleeve.

Only Liu Gongchang remained in the study.

He sat in his chair, gazing out the window at the heavy darkness of the night.

After a long while, he slowly raised a hand and pressed his throbbing temples, letting out a long, heavy sigh.

He couldn’t control his son, and he certainly couldn’t control his wife.

’That by which we rose shall be that by which we fall.’

Years ago, the three brothers had relied on their wives’ families to rise to power and overthrow the Eldest Branch.

’Are we truly fated to be destroyed by them as well?’

...

「Three days later.」

Qingshui Pier.

An Official Ship, flying the flag of the Jingwu Bureau, slowly pulled up to the dock.

The moment the gangplank was lowered, Liu Gongchang was the first to disembark.

The Qingshui County Magistrate had long been waiting at the pier with the County Captain, the County Deputy, and a retinue of other officials.

Seeing him, they hurried forward and bowed with cupped fists, their tones respectful and cautious. "This subordinate, Hu Zhijie, Qingshui County Magistrate, pays his respects to Households Commander Liu. Lord Thousand Households, please accept my condolences..."

"Lord Hu, spare me the pleasantries."

Liu Gongchang gave a slight nod, but his gaze went past him, landing on Zhou Chengkai, the Hundred Households from the Liyang County Jingwu Bureau, who was also waiting nearby. "Let’s go to the scene first."

"Yes, Lord Thousand Households. Please follow this subordinate."

Zhou Chengkai didn’t dare to delay and quickly responded.

He and the County Magistrate’s Office had already prepared horses.

Liu Gongchang mounted his horse, snapped the reins, and, followed by two Hundred Households commanders from Jiangzhou City and dozens of Standard Bearers and Junior Banner Officers, galloped straight toward the Liu Mansion in the west of the city.

Before long, they arrived at the Liu Mansion.

The estate, once bustling with carriages and heavily guarded, now had its vermilion gates wide open, with only a few constables from the County Magistrate’s Office standing guard.

Even after several days, the thick stench of blood was still faintly discernible.

Liu Gongchang reined in his horse before the mansion’s gate. His gaze swept over the familiar lintel, an indescribable emotion flickering in the depths of his eyes.

He took a deep breath, dismounted with a stony expression, and strode through the gates.

The sight that greeted him was one of utter devastation.

In the courtyard and under the covered walkways, though the bodies had been partially cleared, the ground, walls, and pillars were still stained with a great deal of dark red blood.

Liu Gongchang stood in the center of the courtyard, surveying his surroundings in silence.

Zhou Chengkai and the other Jingwu Bureau officials held their breath, not daring to disturb him.

"Chengkai, what have you found?"

Liu Gongchang finally spoke, his voice betraying no emotion.

Zhou Chengkai quickly stepped forward, bowed, and reported, "Reporting to Lord Thousand Households, a preliminary tally and inspection shows that all three hundred seventeen people in the Liu Mansion, including servants and family members, are dead. There are no survivors."

He paused before continuing, "Based on the autopsies and the evidence left at the scene, we deduce there were not many assailants, likely four. One of them, who appears to have used a weapon like a spear, staff, hook, or mace, had the highest cultivation.

"The six Spirit Realm Honored Guests guarding the mansion, including one expert at the Spirit Realm Third Level and two at the Second Level, were all killed by this individual, and almost all of them were killed in a single blow."

"As for the other three..."

Zhou Chengkai added, "Their strength was likely not that great, at most Spirit Realm First Level, or perhaps even just Qi Realm Perfection. They were responsible for cleaning up the rest. Many servants were first knocked unconscious with some kind of drug, like Seductive Fragrance, losing the ability to resist before being cut down."

Liu Gongchang listened quietly before asking, "Has the Liu Family made any blood feuds with anyone recently?"

Zhou Chengkai glanced cautiously at Liu Gongchang. "Reporting to the Commander, this subordinate has made extensive inquiries. The Liu Family is a powerful force in Qingshui; no one dares to provoke them. I have not heard of any recent, major conflicts with other factions."

He left one thing unsaid: ’From what I’ve gathered, it’s always the Liu Family provoking others, not the other way around.’

Liu Gongchang asked, "What about the Liu Family’s liquid assets? Were they stolen?"

"Well..."

Zhou Chengkai glanced at the Qingshui County Magistrate standing a short distance away.

From the state of the crime scene and subsequent investigations, the killers did indeed search the Liu Family’s vaults and secret chambers, but they seem to have only taken the most valuable items.

As for the family’s assets, there are no records of large-scale transport carriages entering or leaving Qingshui County after the incident.

However, eyewitnesses did claim that after the County Magistrate’s Office took control of the scene, they immediately transported at least eighty cartloads of goods away from the Liu Family estate.

After a moment of thought, he reported, "Magistrate Hu was the first to arrive at the Liu Family estate. He should know more about it than this subordinate."

Liu Gongchang shot a look at Hu Zhijie, who was feigning noninvolvement. It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened.

However, he was in no mood to argue with the Qingshui County Magistrate about it right now. He asked again, "And what about Liu Yuanzhao? What’s the full story there?"