Chapter 29: Chapter 26 The Court Takes Action
Li Qiusheng woke up at 9 a.m., and it was already bright outside.
Already standing by, the servant, seeing his master awake, reported, "Young Master, it has been found that the sedative held by Song Ziyu came from a servant's offering. That servant who offered the sedative died last night in an alley near Chun Gui Pavilion."
Li Qiusheng felt his head, which had just rested, begin to ache again and waved his hand, "I see, you may leave."
The servant bowed and exited.
'Was he silenced? Was it truly the Song Family who silenced him, or was someone creating an illusion?'
Li Qiusheng rubbed his forehead and remained silent for a long time.
Qing Yu spent his days as usual, cultivating at the inn. During this period, Qing Yu cultivated during the day and at night either discussed plans with Li Xin or went out disguised in black, on assassination missions.
Sometimes there was nothing at night, or he came back early from discussions and continued cultivating. With the Quanzhen Heart Method's breathing technique, Qing Yu's quality of sleep was excellent, needing only six hours of sleep a day to satisfy his fatigue from the entire day.
Suddenly, Qing Yu opened his eyes. There was now an additional silent person in the room, Xiao Gao.
Xiao Gao was very strong. Qing Yu could only be sure of that much, as to how strong he was, Qing Yu at his current realm couldn't estimate at all. If Xiao Gao hadn't deliberately emitted his aura, Qing Yu would not have noticed his arrival. This meant, if Xiao Gao wanted to kill Qing Yu, it would be as easy as reaching into a bag.
Xiao Gao looked deeply at Qing Yu, "You are about to make a breakthrough." He spoke with certainty.
"Remember the wager."
A shadow flickered in Qing Yu's eyes, which quickly cleared, and he looked up at Xiao Gao, "I will suppress it, and will never break the conditions of the wager."
Xiao Gao nodded, his expression unseen beneath his mask, leaving Qing Yu uncertain whether he believed his promise or not.
Xiao Gao then said, "The court has already started making its move."
Hearing this, Qing Yu couldn't help but wonder, "When did they start?"
Recently, Yang City had been quiet, despite Qing Yu's attempts to stir up trouble, he couldn't make any waves. The Li Family had lost so many people, yet Li Qiusheng had been keeping a low profile like a turtle hiding, and Li Pingsheng didn't even show his face.
Zhang Mingyuan suffered a big loss last night, lying outside in the open listening at the corner of a house for two hours. If not for the Song Family having sent protection, this proud and unchallenged only son of the Zhang Family would surely be battling Song Ziyu to death. Yet today, the Zhang Family was completely silent, as if it wasn't Zhang Mingyuan who suffered last night but Song Ziyu instead. This false alarm caused the cautious Song Family to breathe a sigh of relief.
Xiao Gao looked at Qing Yu oddly and said, "A distant relative of the Sun Family, named Sun Man, who deeply trusted by the Five Tigers of the Sun Family, is also the village chief of Wohu Village. Half a month ago, this man led a group to rob a wealthy merchant, stealing a thousand taels of patterned silver. Unbeknownst to them, this merchant was an official dealer purchasing medicinal materials for the court from the Southern Border. The issue of Sun Man's robbery has reached Six Gates, and recently, the Six Gates constables have begun sweeping the mountain bandits around Yang City."
Qing Yu finally understood why Xiao Gao gave such an odd look. Sun Man was killed by himself right after he returned to the village with the silver, not even entering his own gates, and the thousand silver taels were exchanged by Qing Yu for Villain Points.
"Wait, that's not right. The court's official merchant carries only one thousand silver taels, is the court that poor?"
Xiao Gao's look became even odder, making Qing Yu slightly uncomfortable, and his words carried a rare hint of emotion, "Do you perhaps misunderstand the value of one thousand silver taels? For an ordinary citizen, the necessities for a year's living costs approximately one silver tael. A thousand silver taels are enough to cover the living expenses of a thousand people for a year."
"······"
Dammit, TV dramas have misled me. Qing Yu roared internally in outrage.
In his past life, he watched TV dramas where the protagonists casually spent over a dozen taels on a meal, and bandits would rob others of a million taels in patterned silver at the slightest disagreement. In this life, Qing Yu had spent the earlier ten years as a beggar on the streets, frail and weak, with every small amount of copper coins he obtained being snatched away by other beggars. Later, he spent years confined to Beicang Mountain, utterly clueless about the purchasing power of silver.
"So," Qing Yu awkwardly changed the subject, "the court apparently engineered Sun Man's raid on the merchants to use it as a pretext to sweep through the mountain bandits, starting from the Sun Family to set the stage."
"That doesn't make sense, don't they have an insider in Yang City? Why would they need an external excuse to make a move?"
Xiao Gao spoke gravely, "This means they are ready to make their move······"
Hearing Xiao Gao's words, Qing Yu also realized something: the court was attacking from both inside and out, fully prepared.
"The only good news now is that it has been confirmed that the Sun Family is not colluding with the court."
Xiao Gao said, "Mr. Mo suggests that you take action as soon as possible, better to kill mistakenly than let go, starting by eliminating one family in Yang City."
"I understand, I will act swiftly," Qing Yu nodded slowly.
Xiao Gao said no more, his figure flashed, and he disappeared from the room.
Although Qing Yu knew he must have left through the open window, he couldn't detect the slightest trace of his departure. He guessed that Xiao Gao must also be cultivating a speed-focused martial arts like Exorcism Swordsmanship. Such individuals were highly skilled in assassination; Qing Yu had killed several times in Yang City recently, each time successfully without leaving any traces, which highlighted the terrifying enhancement of such martial arts for assassination.
Each meeting with Qing Yu, Xiao Gao adopted this manner of coming and going, not lacking in warnings. Your life is in my hands, stay in line if you want to live.
Qing Yu closed his eyes once more, fully concentrating on his cultivation.
Mr. Mo had become somewhat indifferent to disguising his malice. Even though the court had already taken action, he still entrusted the handling of matters to Qing Yu, merely at the Postnatal Realm, as if the duck wasn't cooked yet and he wasn't afraid it would fly off to someone else's bowl.
For now, strengthening his cultivation was crucial. More strength meant a better chance of surviving the upcoming treacherous whirlpool.
Recently, with the aid of elixirs and his extraordinary heavenly talent, Qing Yu had managed to unblock all the Yin Meridians in his limbs. All that was left was to unblock the Governor Vessel, which would directly proceed because he had previously unblocked the Yang Meridians in his limbs while practicing Exorcism Swordsmanship.
When the moon reached its zenith, Qing Yu stopped his cultivation. Having just started practicing martial arts not long ago, although he had the aid of elixirs, extraordinary talent, and profound internal cultivation methods, his quick progress still wasn't enough to unblock the Governor Vessel all at once.
Although Qing Yu was anxious, he also understood that haste makes waste and immediately ceased his cultivation.
With Mr. Mo's orders already given, now was not the time to turn against him. To do so would be akin to seeking his own death.
He still needed to discuss with Li Xin before taking action, and although Qing Yu considered himself not less cunning than others, he acknowledged that his familiarity with Yang City was far inferior to Li Xin's; thus, discussing with him was necessary.
Guessing that it was about time, Qing Yu stood up, covered his face with a scarf, picked up the Bishui Sword, and, like Xiao Gao, leaped out of the window to head toward Li Xin's residence.
Chapter 30: Chapter 27 Target: Li Family
Qing Yu arrived at Li Xin's place, where it seemed he too had matters to report and had already been waiting for a while.
"Patriarch, the only anomaly in the Li Family recently is that Li Pingsheng started to seclude himself for cultivation several days ago. All household affairs have since been managed by Li Qiusheng."
Qing Yu did not expect that before he could even mention the incident that occurred in the Sun Family, Li Xin had brought him important news.
"Several days ago? When exactly?"
Li Xin pondered for a moment and confirmed, "It was two days after Li Dian and the other two were killed. Since then, all matters have been handled by Li Qiusheng. With the Li Family's recent spate of misfortunes, Li Qiusheng has been so busy that he's at his wits' end. It's said that he hasn't had a proper rest in many days."
'The Li Family is acting strange, as is the Zhang Family.'
Recently, Yang City has been unusually peaceful, eerily so. On normal days, although the Four Great Families of Yang City appeared harmonious on the surface, they were constantly engaged in both overt and covert struggles, with the three gangs frequently brawling. But lately, it has all been calm.
The Iron Saber Association and Qingshan Gang have always been at odds, with their fights occurring most frequently. Li Xin, under the pretext that the Deputy Gang Leader and two elders had died in the Zhang Family's tavern, proposed avenging their deaths by attacking Qingshan Gang to Li Qiusheng, only to be rebuffed. The reason given was to avoid gang casualties and disturbances among the citizens. Since when did the Li Family start to cherish the people like their own children?
And then there's the Zhang Family. Zhang Mingyuan suffered a loss at Chun Gui Pavilion, with Song Ziyu being the main culprit and the Brothel Owner simply looking on. Yet, Zhang Mingyuan didn't go looking for trouble with the Song Family; even the Brothel Owner remained unscathed. Very unusual indeed.
"Let's talk about the Four Great Families of Yang City," Qing Yu suddenly said to Li Xin. Although he had already reviewed the dossiers Xiaogao had sent about each family, Qing Yu still wanted to hear the perspectives of Li Xin, who had grown up in Yang City since childhood.
After pondering for a while, Li Xin said, "The City Lord Mansion's Song Family, having allied themselves with the right side years ago, has continued to inherit the position of the City Lord of Yang City ever since. The current Family Head is incompetent, and his only son, Song Ziyu, who is also the heir apparent, is neither scholarly nor martially adept, only indulging in pleasure-seeking. If not for an Innate Realm ancestor propping up the family and a daughter managing the affairs of the City Lord Mansion, it would have likely fallen into decline."
As he spoke of this daughter, a peculiar expression flashed across Li Xin's face, but Qing Yu, lost in thought, did not notice.
Li Xin continued, "The eldest daughter of the City Lord, named Song Ziqi, is both literary and martial, and exudes a heroic spirit. She has always been preoccupied with maintaining the City Lord Mansion's assets. At twenty-three years of age, she has had no marital engagement, nor has there been any rumors of involvement with anyone."
At twenty-three, that would qualify her as an 'older maiden' in an ancient society where ordinary people often married at sixteen or seventeen. Song Ziqi was not a child of the worldly society; even if she had not married, there would usually at least be an engagement.
However, Qing Yu was not one for gossip, and thus did not ask Li Xin to elaborate on Song Ziqi.
"The Sun Family of this generation boasts the strongest vitality in terms of kin. There are many descendants from collateral branches, and the Patriarch has five sons. Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Sun Qiang, Sun Feng, Sun Hai, collectively known as the 'Five Tigers of the Sun Family.' What's even more commendable is that, regardless of whether they are from the main or collateral lines, they're all very united. They don't resemble a family as much as a worldly society of snakes gathered together in fidelity, prioritizing loyalty when dealing with those not of the same surname. Thus, the Sun Family can be said to be the strongest in terms of force."
The corner of Qing Yu's mouth twitched—Sun Jian, Sun Ce, brothers... the world is indeed marvelous...
"In contrast to the Sun Family, the Zhang Family's kin are few in number. Fifteen years ago, there was a disturbance amongst the Zhang Family's collateral branches, which was suppressed by the main line, resulting in the near annihilation of those in the collateral branches. The Family Head of the Zhang Family, Zhang Qingfeng, is said to have suffered internal injuries during that uprising of the collateral branches, which is why there is only one son, Zhang Mingyuan. Zhang Qingfeng is exceedingly protective of this sole descendant, pouring endless resources into him and forcibly advancing Zhang Mingyuan to the Postnatal Seventh Realm."
Internal injuries, probably kidney damage, thought Qing Yu, feeling that Zhang Qingfeng would definitely have a promising future if he were to learn sword training with him.
Li Xin took a deep breath before continuing, "The Li Family, young master, should be most familiar to you. Family Head Li Pingsheng is extremely secretive; even after many years under the Li Family, I still can't claim to understand him fully. The eldest son, Li Qiusheng, has mediocre martial arts talent and is still hovering in the Postnatal Fourth Realm. The second son, Li Qiuran, is often away on business, and it is said that most girls in Chun Gui Pavilion are sourced by Li Qiuran during his travels. The youngest son and the mother of the Li Family have both passed away, so it's best not to mention them."
Qing Yu tapped his fingers on the table, thinking for a moment before asking, "What are the Martial Arts Realms of the Patriarchs of the four families?"
"The Song Family Patriarch is a widely known martial arts dud, barely able to defeat even an ordinary person. The other three family heads should all be at the Postnatal Ninth Layer. The Sun Family Patriarch, in his early years, engaged in highway robbery and met a tough end, dying relatively early. The eldest of the 'Five Tigers of the Sun Family,' Sun Jian, inherited the patriarch position in his youth and has exceptional martial arts talent; it is said that if it had not been for the deliberate suppression by the City Lord Mansion, he would have already broken through to the Innate Realm. Due to his young age when he took over, he has always been quite aggressive, and after the Sun Family Patriarch's death, the other three families took advantage of the situation to loot and plunder. Without the power of the Postnatal Nine Realms, Sun Jian would not let the Family Heads of the Zhang and Li Families off easily."
The suppression by the City Lord Mansion is none other than the Zhen Shan Army's suppression, right?
It's no wonder the Sun Family is legendary, having produced individuals like Sun Jian and Sun Ce. For a family patriarch to actually lead in highway robbery, what exactly was he after?
"Postnatal Ninth Layer..."
"Wait a moment..." An epiphany struck, and Qing Yu suddenly awakened.
Patriarch Li Pingsheng was already at the Postnatal Ninth Layer, so what was the point of his seclusion? He was a veteran Postnatal warrior, and if it weren't for someone holding him back, he could have long tried to break through to the Innate. Therefore, Li Pingsheng was in seclusion for a breakthrough.
Qing Yu rarely lost his composure and, forgetful of maintaining his authority in front of Li Xin, stood up and began pacing back and forth.
Li Pingsheng's actions meant he no longer wanted to be suppressed by the Zhen Shan Army, he must have had dealings with the court. His second son was often away, providing ample opportunity to contact the court.
And there's the Zhang Family, which is also very strange, certainly not without suspicion.
As for the Song Family, their old leader didn't have much time left, the patriarch was famously inept, the next generation relied on a female to support the family, with no one to follow, they were likely the ones who most wished for stability in Yang City, so Song Ziyu could inherit the position of City Lord. After all, it was Lord Zhen Shan who gave them the hereditary title.
"Li Xin, what's the extent of your influence over the Iron Saber Association now?"
Li Xin immediately replied, "The Li Family has always been quite distrustful of outsiders. The five elders are just figureheads; in reality, they are there to set an example for the outsiders and to prevent them from becoming disloyal. Young master, you've recently eliminated quite a few Li-named leaders, causing the power of outsiders in the gang to rise. Some have already reached out to the remaining elders, and some even sought to join me, who bears the Li surname."
"So, if we take out the head, the rest are just the tangled roots and branches, right?"
Knowing the opportunity was not to be missed and considering Li Pingsheng was in seclusion, Qing Yu decided on the spot, "Prepare yourself, I'm going to take down Li Qiusheng."
"But young master, what about Li Pingsheng?" Li Xin asked.
Qing Yu stroked his smooth chin with a grin, "Postnatal Ninth Layer, he's no god; he still has to partake in the mortal world's nourishments. As long as we don't alert Li Pingsheng, we can silently take down Li Qiusheng. Just add a little something extra to Li Pingsheng's meals, and it'll be all too easy to capture him."
Drugging someone, that I'm skilled at...
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