Chapter 340: A Family Must Stay United

Night falls, Youzhou Inspector's Office, underground secret chamber.

This chamber is buried dozens of zhang underground, its surrounding walls inlaid with array-patterned bricks that block spiritual perception and sound.

Around a long table at the chamber's center sit the heads of more than a dozen of Youzhou's most powerful families.

They control seventy percent of Youzhou's land, eighty percent of its grain stores, and all the mines and trade routes.

Cui Yuandao sits in the chief seat, his complexion as gloomy as water.

"Gentlemen, the events that occurred today at the Inspector's Office, you must all already know."

Cui Yuandao's gaze sweeps over the crowd,

"That yellow‑mouth brat Gu Yuan, leaning on the Emperor and the Crown Prince, wants to swallow our Youzhou inheritance in one bite. Surveying fields, consolidating military authority… he aims to cut off our roots!"

"Lord Cui, that kid is too arrogant! Does he really think he's a dragon crossing the river, able to crush us local snakes?"

The head of the Wang family slams the table, angrily saying,

"I propose we immediately mobilize our influence in the bureaucracy and commerce, a full‑scale strike and market shutdown! Let the entire Youzhou Prefecture City collapse! I want to see how that lone Light‑Staff Commander handles this mess!"

"Strikes and market closures work, but they act too slowly and easily leave evidence."

The head of the Li family twirls his beard, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes,

"In my view, we should cut off his grain stipend outright!"

"Cutting grain is a good idea, but not enough."

Cui Yuandao sneers, his finger thudding heavily on the table,

"Gu Yuan can slay the Black Mountain Old Demon, isn't he a born saint? Fine, let's give him something to do."

Cui Yuandao lowers his voice, madness flashing in his eyes:

"I've heard the Blue Lion King on the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains is desperate for blood food this winter, and the Youzhou border defenses are dilapidated. He'd be willing to slip through, ravage the fields. If they can cause enough commotion, preferably attack a few counties, the border will be in crisis, the demon race will revolt, and Gu Yuan, as Youzhou Governor, must go personally to suppress it."

"The demon troops of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains are not lone spirits like the Black Mountain Old Demon; they are an organized army led by a demon king! Even if Gu Yuan had three heads and six arms, he'd still have to shed his skin at the border! If he dies in the demons' hands, he dies for the nation and we can petition the court for a martyr's title. If he shirks battle, that's dereliction of duty, and we can jointly accuse him, condemning him to eternal ruin!"

At those words, the heads in the chamber all inhaled a cold gasp, then burst into suppressed maniacal laughter.

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Lord Cui's scheme is the ultimate art of killing with a borrowed blade!"

"Inviting the demon race into the passes is risky, but as long as we control the scope, losing a few foot soldiers is nothing. As long as we eliminate Gu Yuan and preserve our families' inheritance, the death of countless serfs is worth it!"

"That's the plan! I'll immediately send a trusted aide to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains to contact the Blue Lion King!"

The chamber's atmosphere grows heated, as if they already envision Gu Yuan's disgraceful, dismembered death.

Yet, a few li from the Inspector's Office, in the Governor's yamen, Gu Yuan leans against a Grand Master Chair, idly handling the lamp that emits gray‑purple Dao fire, the Ten Thousand Dao Time Lamp.

Gu Yuan's eyes half‑close, a mocking sneer curling his lips.

His divine perception, comparable to a celestial king's, already shrouds the entire Youzhou Prefecture City.

The isolation arrays in the Inspector's Office's underground chamber are, before Gu Yuan's law, as laughably flimsy as paper‑mâché.

Every conspiratorial whisper and vile scheme from Cui Yuandao and the others falls, word for word, into his ears.

"Cutting grain stipends? Inviting demons into the passes? Using border civilians' lives as political chips?"

Gu Yuan rises, tucking the Ten Thousand Dao Time Lamp into his palm.

He had originally intended to go through the motions, follow the Great Yin Divine Court's bureaucratic procedures, and gradually strip these families of power. But now, he has changed his mind.

Playing political games with this rot‑to‑the‑bone swarm of maggots is a waste of his vacation time.

Since they want to kill with a borrowed blade, he'll simply flip the table and slam the board onto their faces.

"Zhao Rui."

Gu Yuan says lightly.

Zhao Rui, who had been guarding the doorway, pushes the door open, kneeling on one knee: "Lord, what are your orders!"

"Gather fifty Imperial Guard under your command, bring weapons, and follow me out."

Gu Yuan smooths his fourth‑rank scarlet official robe, his tone as calm as if ordering a midnight snack.

"Lord, where are we going?" Zhao Rui asks.

Gu Yuan's gaze turns toward the Inspector's Office, murderous intent crystallizing into cold light: "Pillage homes, annihilate clans."

……

……

Youzhou Inspector's Office, underground secret chamber.

Cui Yuandao and the others have just finalized all details, preparing to raise cups in celebration of the forthcoming "victory".

"Everyone, to the everlasting legacy of our Youzhou families, cheers!"

Cui Yuandao lifts his wine goblet, his face flushed red.

"Cheers!" the heads echo in unison.

At the instant their goblets are about to clash—

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening blast erupts in the sky above the Inspector's Office!

The entire underground chamber shakes violently as if struck by a ten‑level earthquake.

The defensive array above, reputed to withstand a full strike from a third‑rank great scholar, shatters instantly into countless dim specks of light.

Large chunks of broken stone and earth, mingled with the Inspector's Office's blue bricks, rain down headlong.

"What's happening?! Has the earth dragon turned over?!"

The head of the Wang family, terrified, drops his goblet.

Cui Yuandao's complexion shifts dramatically; he abruptly summons his fourth‑rank official qi, trying to stabilize the chamber's structure.

Yet before his qi can exit his body, the chamber's ceiling is violently torn apart by an irresistible terrifying force!

Moonlight pours through the massive fissure, illuminating the horrified faces within the chamber.

Directly above the fissure, Gu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering.

Behind him, Zhao Rui and fifty Imperial Guard soldiers resembled fifty killing deities, brandishing unsheathed steel swords, coldly looking down at the group of clan heads below.

"Lord Cui, staying up all night without sleeping, gathering here to discuss how to cut off my supplies and how to lure the demon tribe into the passes—what a refined hobby."

Gu Yuan's voice came from above, sounding like the Death God's verdict.

"Gu… Gu Ziyuan?!"

Cui Yuandao's pupils contracted sharply, his heart feeling as if someone had squeezed it hard.

He could not fathom how Gu Yuan had silently breached the numerous guards of the Inspector's residence and precisely located this hidden underground chamber!

What terrified him even more was that Gu Yuan's earlier words indicated that all their conspiracies had already been completely exposed!

"You… you actually dared to lead troops to raid the Inspector's residence at night! This is treason! This is rebellion!"

Cui Yuandao roared with a fierce exterior but a timid heart, trying to suppress Gu Yuan with lofty righteousness.

He abruptly drew from his chest the fourth‑rank official seal representing the authority of the Inspector of Youzhou, and frantically infused it with official qi.

"I am the Inspector of Youzhou personally appointed by His Majesty! If you dare to move against me, the Fortune Golden Dragon of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty will never let you go unpunished!"

"Fortune Golden Dragon?"

Upon hearing that, Gu Yuan let out a light laugh, his chuckle filled with contempt and pity,

"Lord Cui, it's already this far, and you still hope that the diseased dragon with black spots will save you?"

He paused, then gave Zhao Rui a glance behind him, "Send down the return gift I prepared for the honored gentlemen."

Zhao Rui, expressionless, waved his hand; several Imperial Guard soldiers hurled a heavy bundle wrapped in a massive black cloth down from the fissure with great force.

A muffled "Bang" sounded as the bundle struck the long table, shattering the precious rosewood table into pieces.

With the massive impact, the black cloth burst open, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

The head of the Wang family instantly recognized his beloved son, who usually delighted in torturing slaves.

The head of the Li family saw his younger brother who handled all the family's secret accounts.

Cui Yuandao shivered all over; he saw his most cherished nephew, the one who had just boasted before him that he had already contacted the inner circle of the demon tribe's Green Lion King…

And this… is only the tip of the iceberg.

Gu Yuan's tone was so plain as if he were stating a trivial matter:

"While you were scheming, I paid a visit to your residence. Rest assured, I am a man of reason; I have seen all their past deeds and sins. Those women and children who only knew pleasure and whose hands had never been stained with blood are now all safe and sound. As for these…"

He pointed at the people on the ground,

"Those who trafficked your people, those who bred demons for you, those whose hands are soaked with innocent civilians' blood—one by one, I have cleared them all for you. A family must be tidy and orderly."