Chapter 246: Hooked Again

Two days later.

Outside the Shen family ancestral hall.

Heavy snow fluttered.

Here there is an execution platform that has been dust-covered for many years, used in the past to behead those who committed crimes against the Shen family.

In the cracks of the blue stone tiles, one can still see blood rust from a hundred years ago.

The crowd below the platform was silent, only the sound of falling snow could be heard.

A clacking sound rang out.

This is the sound of shackles dragging on the ground.

Everyone's gaze turned to one side: Shen Meng, Shen Ruoshan, and Liu Lan.

Their eyes held no light; dragging heavy shackles, they walked up to the execution platform and knelt before it without any resistance.

Days of torture had already completely destroyed them.

An elder standing on the execution platform glanced toward the ancestral hall; Shen Qing gave a faint nod.

The elder's face also grew cold; he took a deep breath, his energy surged, he stepped forward, his voice imbued with intimidation, exploding in everyone's hearts.

"Today, under the witness of the spirits of our ancestors, on this execution platform, we judge the wicked Shen Meng, Shen Ruoshan, and Liu Lan!"

"Sin one: harming fellow clansmen..."

The elder recited the seven sins in succession, his resonant voice exploding in everyone's hearts.

The elder looked at Shen Meng and the two others.

"Do you know your guilt?"

Shen Meng lifted his head and glanced at the Shen family below, his lips trembling as he uttered a few words: "I... am guilty."

As for Shen Ruoshan and Liu Lan, they couldn't speak at all; their tongues had been torn out.

The elder shouted sternly.

"I sentence you three!"

"From now on, your souls shall not enter the ancestral shrine, your bones shall not return to the ancestral graves, your name shall be eternally carved on the reverse of the Ancestral Stele, to be spat upon by myriad generations. On the path of reincarnation, the ancestral spirits will close their eyes and not see you; in the Nine Yellow Springs, the clan's fire will shine upon you like enemies."

"Carry out the execution!"

Shen He and the three others standing beside them raised high a black long sword flowing with faint golden patterns, its blade covered in ancient runes; it is said this sword can sever a person's soul.

A swish.

The sword fell.

Three fine red lines appeared, and heads rolled to the ground.

All the Shen family members watched the continuously flowing blood in silence; recent events have shocked them somewhat, this being the greatest upheaval the Shen family has experienced in a thousand years.

The Shen family consists of three branches, but no one expected that today the second branch, the strongest, would be almost entirely eliminated, with many also cut down from the first and third branches.

Everyone turned to look at Shen Qing standing outside the ancestral hall; some looked at him as if seeing an evil demon, full of fear and awe, while others looked at him as if seeing a deity, full of reverence and adoration.

Shen Qing paid no heed to their gazes, turned and walked toward the outside of the Shen family, the snow on his shoulders sliding down with his sway.

Just as Shen Qing approached the direction of the Shen family gate, a disciple on guard duty ran in, running toward Shen Qing.

"Young Master Shen Qing! Someone outside is looking for you, calling himself Eunuch Xu."

"He says he has important matters to discuss with you."

Shen Qing narrowed his eyes.

"Eunuch Xu? That's not Zhu Lingyue's style; Zhu Lingyue wouldn't send a eunuch to find me."

Seems it's an old fogey from the palace; indeed Zhu Lingyue was right, the palace's old fogey has taken notice of Shen Qing.

Shen Qing chuckled: "Fine, let him in."

After the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, the Shen family reception hall.

Shen Qing sat in the seat of honor; an old eunuch with somewhat pale skin walked in and immediately knelt on both knees.

"This servant pays respects to Young Master Shen Three."

Shen Qing looked at him: "No need for pleasantries; I'm tired of your nonsense. Just state your purpose, and who sent you."

Eunuch Xu rose: "It's Prince He who sent me."

Shen Qing waved his hand: "Someone, break this bastard's legs and throw him out."

Upon hearing this, Shen He's energy surged as he walked toward Eunuch Xu, who panicked.

"Wait, wait, I'll speak! It's Emperor Cheng who sent me!"

Shen Qing chuckled and waved, letting Shen He retreat from the room.

The previous emperor was Emperor Jing, while this Emperor Cheng is the one before that, i. e., Emperor Jing's father.

Is that right? A prince has the guts to send a eunuch to find Shen Qing?

"After saying that, what is that old fogey Emperor Cheng having you convey?"

Upon saying that, Eunuch Xu's forehead kept sweating cold.

His heart began to pound wildly; calling Emperor Cheng an old fogey, this Young Master Shen Three truly lives up to the rumors—lawless and heaven-defying.

Eunuch Xu shivered slightly, feeling that continuing to stand was inappropriate.

With a thud, he knelt down again.

"Emperor Cheng said:"

"Congratulations, Young Master Three, for clearing the family's wickedness and reviving the Shen family's might."

"However, now that Young Master Three has cleared the wickedness, can other matters be left uninvolved?"

"Better to do less than more; if Young Master Three stops here, our reward will surely not disappoint him."

The meaning of these words is obvious; they already clearly know that Shen Qing and Zhu Lingyue have joined forces.

So they wanted Shen Qing to withdraw from their struggle.

At first hearing it sounded quite tempting; Shen Qing already had what he wanted, could still make a big profit, and could even sit on the mountain watching tigers fight.

But Shen Qing would never agree.

First, along the way Zhu Lingyue really helped him; abandoning teammates is something Shen Qing never does.

Second, if he doesn't kill those old fogies in the imperial palace, who will supply him with the dragon energy for slaying-dragon evolution?

Third, believing those old fogies' words would be downright spooky; how could they possibly let Shen Qing go if they wanted to keep things secret? They simply weren't confident handling both Shen Qing and Zhu Lingyue at once, so they planned to deal with Zhu Lingyue first, then Shen Qing.

Shen Qing tapped his finger: "This matter, if we're going to talk, we definitely need to talk."

But Shen Qing always eats every grain of rice in his bowl clean.

This old eunuch still has some use value.

Shen Qing rose and went before Eunuch Xu, grabbed him and pulled him up, while leaving a karmic thread inside his body.

"But you coming to talk is definitely not enough; let that old fogey Emperor Cheng come and talk to me himself."

"Someone, see the guest out."

Not long after, Eunuch Xu walked out of the Shen residence gate.

But before he had gone far, a black shadow flashed and Eunuch Xu was kidnapped.

They arrived at a hidden place, that person dressed in black.

"Eunuch Xu, what did Shen Qing say? Has he agreed to the deal?"

His voice was plain, but he was already gathering vital energy in secret; if Eunuch Xu answered wrong, it would be death.

Actually, from the moment Eunuch Xu came to see Shen Qing on Emperor Cheng's orders, he was already a dead man—just a matter of sooner or later.

If Shen Qing refuses the deal, Eunuch Xu will die as soon as he leaves the Shen residence.

If Shen Qing accepts the deal, Eunuch Xu could live a bit longer, but only a little bit longer.

Eunuch Xu nodded: "He agreed to the deal, but..."

Before he could finish speaking, the black-clad person covered his mouth, not wanting to hear too much.

"Enough, no need to say more; I'll take you away."

The black-clad person grabbed the old eunuch and flew off into the distance.

Inside the Shen residence.

Shen Qing felt the karmic thread moving swiftly, and slowly opened his eyes.

"Hooked again."