Chapter 259

Half a year later, Zhang Jian and his wife received a family letter from Fengyang Prefecture.

Inside the residence, Zhang Jian was currently standing by the vegetable garden, the lush green vegetable garden teeming with vigorous growth of various vegetables.

After nearly a year of trials and continuous seed selection, he finally succeeded in improving the seeds of some vegetables.

But merely looking at the family letter before him, Zhang Jian furrowed his brow.

The Qi Qian clan is critically ill!

In his impression, that maternal grandmother, although her luck wasn't particularly good, still had decent vitality, able to move about everywhere, not to deteriorate so quickly.

As a cultivator, he dared not misjudge this point.

"Is it a backlash of fortune?"

Zhang Jian inwardly sighed with emotion.

Eight or nine out of ten, that must be it.

He had reminded his maternal grandfather Qi Yi about this, but Qi Yi did not adopt his suggestion, placing greater emphasis on the glory of the Qi family and the splendor of royal relatives and nobles.

Zhang Jian immediately stepped into Qi Yuhua's boudoir.

Qi Yuhua, seeing Zhang Jian's solemn expression, felt her heart sink slightly; she detected a hint of something amiss from his solemn demeanor, took the letter, glanced at it briefly, and instantly turned pale.

"How could this be possible?"

Zhang Jian remained silent.

After Qi Yuhua's expression changed, she suddenly glanced toward Zhang Jian.

"Husband, your methods are divine—can you treat the ancestral forefather?!"

Hope shone in her eyes.

Zhang Jian embraced her emaciated frame; seeing this, Qi Yuhua instantly understood the answer.

Zhang Jian spoke in a deep voice.

"I had warned my maternal grandfather about this, and I am also powerless to help!"

The marvelous method of fortune is profound and mysterious; Zhang Jian has likewise never attempted it.

"And it's probably not just the ancestral forefather; the others to come..."

"Once San Ya became Empress of the Central Palace, she shares honor and disgrace with the fortune of the Great Qian state; the Qi family is intertwined with her fate, inseparable, and cannot extricate themselves!"

Zhang Jian's expression was solemn; the court first leaked dragon aura, then later suffered a backlash from the former dynasty's dragon veins—such extraordinary power, how perilous it is, even he now dare not lightly touch it.

What can be done now is merely to suppress the fortune's power with the Vermilion Dragon Pearl and the Qian Yuan Golden Cauldron to protect his own family; others truly have no recourse.

After all, this is not an ordinary fortune backlash, but a backlash of the former dynasty's dragon aura!

Unless one possesses a treasure to suppress fortune, or the marvelous method of fortune, or can find a way to avoid mishaps, then always...

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuhua's face changed drastically.

She gazed at Zhang Jian with sorrowful eyes.

"Husband..."

But seeing Qi Yuhua's sorrowful expression, Zhang Jian sighed and continued.

"I will try my utmost, but you must persuade your uncle to relinquish his official post, thereafter remain at home, close the gates to guests, avoid people, or perhaps you can preserve yourselves!"

In the fourteenth year of Jingwu, mid-autumn, Zhang Jian and his wife took leave, returned to the Qi family to mourn, and held the funeral rites.

The entire Qi household wore mourning white.

At the Qi family ancestral grounds, as that small coffin was lowered to the ground, Zhang Jian saw beside it Qi Yi, clad in crimson and purple robes, his face seemingly aged instantly; he sat before the grave for a long time without speaking.

Qi Yuanwu, Qi Yuansi, Qi Yuansheng, Qi Yuanjia, Qi Yuanxing, and including Zhang Yifu and his wife among the many additional daughters and sons-in-law, all stood to one side.

Zhang Jian stood among the crowd; this was the first time since his rebirth that he had sent off a close relative, and he knew he would endure such experiences again.

"A Yu, this is what you called the backlash of fortune..."

Within the Qi mansion, Qi Yuansi and Qi Wan Shi couple, their expressions were somewhat fatigued, especially Qi Yuansi, whose eyes showed signs of exhaustion.

Under Zhang Jian's spiritual gaze, Qi Yuansi and Qi Wan Shi had threads of black qi continuously flowing into their life palaces from above their heads, merging into them.

Not only was it a fortune backlash, but also the malevolent power of dragon veins.

A hint of gloom flickered in the depths of Zhang Jian's eyes; the Great Qian royal family has done this too underhandedly.

This is to forge enmity with him!

"Husband, what's wrong?"

Noticing the anomaly in Zhang Jian's eyes, Qi Yuansi and Qi Wan Shi couple had not yet reacted, but as his bedmate, Qi Yuhua could not help but rise, a hint of concern appearing in her eyes.

Zhang Jian gave Qi Yuhua a reassuring look.

Qi Yuansi and Qi Wan Shi couple also turned their gazes toward him; seeing this, Zhang Jian spoke.

"The backlash of fortune flows endlessly, its foundation lies in Haojing City; this matter is truly difficult to eradicate at the root, and moreover, the Qi family's foundation is inherently unstable; to resist head-on would surely fail, but I as son-in-law can set up a great formation to ward off evil and eliminate malign influences, which may temporarily ensure safety!"

Seeing this, Qi Yuansi gave a wry smile: "It is the time and fate; originally I thought that if your grandfather sent San Ya into the palace, our Qi family, even if not restored to the founding era's peak, could at least regain three or four tenths of its former influence, but who would have thought such a heaven-toppling calamity would occur!"

Qi Yuansi's heart also felt some regret at this moment.

Qi Yuhua had previously written to remind everyone, but unfortunately, at that time everyone's eyes were only filled with boundless wealth and glory to their ancestors, overlooking the danger therein.

Listening to Zhang Jian's meaning, this might be a calamity of extermination.

While Zhang Jian was deeply pondering, he suddenly saw a commotion outside, the noises of many servants shouting and clamoring coming from afar.

"What's happening!"

Upon seeing the scene, Qi Yuansi's face immediately darkened.

But then a servant came forward to report: when the master of the fourth house, Qi Yuanjia, had just returned home, his small boat was overturned by a fierce wind, all aboard fell into the Bai Shui River, and the people have already gone missing!

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuansi's expression changed upon hearing the report, and he hurriedly rushed out.

The Qi Wan family also stood up at this time.

She murmured under her breath, her expression losing color: "How coincidental?"

The ancestral land of the Qi residence lies on the south bank of the Bai Shui River, requiring crossing the river that spans it.

The Bai Shui River is wide, its surface stretching for several li, usually requiring boats to cross; the Qi residence has large boats at its disposal, those vessels no inferior to official ships, so how could they suddenly capsize and fall into the water?

"Could there be some demon causing trouble?"

Zhang Jian furrowed his brows; if so, then the Qi family's luck has truly plummeted to rock bottom.

Qi Yuhua also turned her gaze toward him.

Zhang Jian comforted her, urging her to stay at the Qi residence and not leave.

"I'll go take a look!"

His form transformed into a streak of flowing light, directly departing from the Qi residence, his figure instantly appearing beside the Bai Shui.

Yet he saw the surging torrents in the depths of the Bai Shui; Zhang Jian gazed forward, only to see demonic energy pervading within.

His gaze fell upon two dragon shadows locked in battle within the water.

"..."

Witnessing this scene, Zhang Jian's eyes flickered with silent astonishment; one of the majestic white flood dragons was naturally Bai Nu, while the other dragon shadow was a horned chi dragon, its body covered in purple scales, purple clouds swirling around it, demonic energy surging like a flood, it was exceptionally fierce, yet whether in magical power or cultivation level, it was far inferior to the white flood dragon; moments later, Bai Nu subdued its dragon tail, body, and claws, seizing its neck in hand.

Two streaks of flowing light flashed past, instantly appearing above the water's surface, yet Bai Nu was seen holding a voluptuous woman dressed in purple robes.

"How about it, Fellow Daoist Zi Ying—will you submit to this lord?"

He laughed aloud, but at this moment noticed Zhang Jian's presence on the water's surface, his expression slightly surprised, his eyes brightening.

"A Yu, you've returned!"

Zhang Jian nodded, then immediately pointed at the purple-clad beauty in Bai Nu's hand and asked.

"Father-in-law, this is..."

Bai Nu laughed: "Not long ago, a purple-backed chi dragon emerged from the deep dark waters of my Bai Shui, constantly stirring up trouble in the waterways, seeking to challenge my paternal divine authority; Father spent a considerable time finally cornering her, and today at last captured this demon!"

Bai Nu laughed heartily, his expression carrying a hint of pride.

Upon hearing Bai Nu's words, Zhang Jian immediately let out a sigh.