Chapter 47: Showdown

「Uncle, what are you trying to do? 」

Yu You stood up at this moment, his face full of solemnity.

「Old General, what exactly happened? 」

Yu Tongguang slowly stood up, with several county officials vaguely standing around him.

Yu Tongguang furrowed his brows, not believing that Qi Yi would take advantage of today's opportunity to openly attack him, for doing so would be tantamount to rebellion, and none of the Qi family members present could escape.

The Qi family had not yet fully controlled all the garrison forces in the prefecture city, and he was not unprepared either; outside, several former commanders of the personal guards led parts of the garrison to exert deterrence.

His current target is the Gu family; for the other two families, he mainly uses deterrence and winning them over, and although there is coercion, his methods are relatively mild, not driving those two families to desperation.

But Qi Yi's actions right now clearly indicate that something else has suddenly changed within.

Qi Yi slowly rose at this moment, his gaze sweeping over the assembled county officials and numerous guests, his eyes bursting with unprecedented fury:

「Someone has murdered the Zhou Shi of the main branch of my Qi manor! 」

「What? 」

Upon hearing this, everyone present changed color.

Especially the Young Marquis Zhou Qianling, who had come from Haojing, his face changed and he sprang up from his seat.

「What, my older sister……? 」

「Uncle Qi, what on earth is going on? 」

Meanwhile, the Daoist clad in black-and-white Taiji robes, with a face like an infant's, who was standing beside Yu Tongguang, whispered a few words to him.

Yu Tongguang's eyes twitched slightly, he pondered briefly and then spoke.

「Old General Qi, if this prefecture were yours, at this moment you would not only seal off the living people present, but also mobilize the official seal to lock down the entire Qi family territory?! 」

「What do you mean, Lord Yu? 」

Qi Yi, and even Zhou Qianling instantly turned his gaze over, but Qi Yi's face sank; he directly took off the Third Rank Wei Yuan General's seal he carried, handed it to the nearby Qi Yuanwu, and ordered Qi Yuanwu to immediately place the official seal in front of the plaque of the Qi family manor.

At the same time, he ordered the Warriors of a Hundred Battles to block the gate.

As the Third Rank Wei Yuan General's seal was placed behind the plaque, Zhang Jian noticed a layer of invisible dragon-tiger qi flowing from the Qi family gate, faintly enveloping the entire Qi family residence.

Sensing this, the Daoist's eyes flickered slightly.

Zhang Jian's gaze had been fixed on the old Daoist in Daoist robes all along; he had long noticed that the old Daoist bore an extraordinary aura, the traces of his spiritual power well concealed—better than the Tianxu Daoist Zhang Jian had seen, and better than those hidden left‑path practitioners—but in Zhang Jian's divine sense, there was nowhere to hide.

Nevertheless, from this Zhang Jian could be certain that this Daoist's cultivation far surpassed that of the Tianxu Daoist and others.

He is a formidable figure.

「But he probably hasn't yet cultivated true magical power; otherwise, his magical power would merge with his body as one, altering the nature of the spiritual energy within... 」

Zhang Jian's eyes deepened as light flowed, his divine sense extraordinarily keen; this supernatural ability stems from his soul's innate strength.

He has merely never cultivated eye‑related arts, so he cannot draw out this essence or unleash more of its utility.

Many judgments may not necessarily be accurate.

Yu Tongguang faced the gazes of the Qi manor crowd and said lightly: 'Mr. Qingyu had previously sensed traces of a monster's presence in the Qi residence; this time perhaps some other demonic evil is causing trouble!'

「Demonic evil? 」

Qi Yi's face grew grim.

This reminded him of the Qi family's previous Demonic Suppression Calamity.

Beside him, Yu You leaned lightly on his cane, his eyes narrowed, and after a moment he said meaningfully: 'Perhaps it's not demonic evil, but someone staging a false alarm, shouting "catch the thief!"'

Yu Tongguang glanced at Yu You, a cold smile in his eyes, but he did not bother to reply, disdaining to offer such an explanation.

Qi Yi furrowed his brows and glanced at the two of them.

Whether it be Prefect Yu Tongguang, or Vice Prefect Yu You, or the steadfast Gu Chengyan beside them, in his view they all are suspects.

They could all be coercing the Qi family.

But the most advantageous party at present is surely Prefect Yu Tongguang.

With Zhou Shi dead, whether or not the Qi family can catch the killer, they will certainly no longer be able to rely on the power of the Haojing Dingyuan Marquis Manor.

This is undoubtedly extremely advantageous for Prefect Yu Tongguang, giving him the absolute advantage to sweep clean the entire Fengyang Prefecture.

Naturally, this also benefits the Yu and Gu families.

The Qi family, bereft of neutral capital, may then have to ally with the two families, jointly safeguarding the Qi family's interests.

Qi Yi's eyes flickered with a hint of murderous intent; he made up his mind that, if it were truly found to be Prefect Yu Tongguang's doing, even if he had to exhaust the Qi family's resources, he would certainly bring down Prefect Yu Tongguang today and send him to Haojing to seek justice.

Qi Yi sealed off the Qi manor and simultaneously sent people to inspect the crime scene, soon receiving feedback.

Within the rear courtyard, he saw Zhou Shi, whose corpse was eerily strange.

Around her were also a dozen or so trembling maidservants.

……

Within the main hall, the Zhang family father and son sat in the central seats, while the place of honor was taken by the officials of Fengyang Prefecture.

Numerous officials were somewhat anxious at this time.

「Jian'er, what do you think? 」

Beside him, Zhang Yi directed his questioning gaze toward Zhang Jian.

If one speaks of needing to investigate and subdue demonic evil, it still requires a professional cultivator to handle it, and the Zhang Jian before us is precisely such a cultivator; one would expect him to have a plan in mind.

Zhang Jian's eyes wavered; he had indeed sensed a fleeting trace of yin‑spirit energy earlier, but he still said: 'Father, this matter may indeed be related to demonic evil, but what is most crucial right now is not determining whether demonic evil exists, but my grandfather's attitude!'

Zhang Yi nodded upon hearing this.

Zhou Shi has died, and the balance of power in the prefecture city has been broken.

Now the situation in the prefecture city is like a wire about to melt down; at any moment it could snap, triggering a bloody clash.

Not only the Qi family, but also the three great clans and Prefect Yu Tongguang must make a choice between them.

The Zhang family is no different.

Zhang Jian, however, is a great family that is second only to the three great clans of Fengyang Commandery.

However, after gaining some understanding of the situation in the commandery city, the father and son reached an agreement.

Naturally, they prefer to profit from the chaos; ideally, they would maintain the status quo, letting the three great clans become four great clans to reestablish a balance, then wait for a favorable opportunity, and finally allow the Zhang family to make further progress.

Governor Yu Tongguang's oppression of the other three great clans is also an opportunity for the Zhang family; if the Zhang family seizes this chance, it can transform Zhang Jian into a true prominent clan.

In the past, becoming a prominent clan would have meant facing the full opposition of the original three families, even hostility from commandery officials; but now it is different—at this juncture, the three great clans, pressured by the governor, might choose to stand aside or even lend support.

Zhang Jian noticed that Gu Chengyan across from him was giving him a faint smile.

Zhang Jian's eyes shifted, and a thought flashed through his mind.

Others may not know, but Gu Chengyan, the head of the Gu family, surely knows that he is a cultivator.

The trump card he has kept hidden should now be revealed to play its proper role.

After seeing Zhang Jian's attitude, Zhang Yi immediately had an idea; he rose and entered the rear courtyard, whispered a few words to Lady Zhang Qi, and then saw Lady Zhang Qi hurry to the rear courtyard.

Not long after, Qi Yi and Qi Yuan si hurried over.

The two of them personally invited Zhang Jian to step aside.

"Brother Jian, do you know any techniques?"

At this moment, Qi Yi and Qi Yuan si had different expressions, but both gave him a somewhat scrutinizing look.

Seeing their expressions, Zhang Jian immediately realized that they might also not understand the difference between a cultivator and a minor heterodox practitioner who knows a bit of technique.