Chapter 34: Leaving the City, Commencing the Killing Spree

The wails rose and fell, but soon fell silent.

The night was deep, and the north wind howled.

Qin Feng sheathed his sword and returned to the gate of the residence.

"Lord, should we search the corpse?" Zhao Hu bowed and asked.

He had already led more than twenty guards to wait here.

"Searching would be unwise; better to leave it untouched!" Qin Feng said.

Zhao Hu scratched his head, a little puzzled.

Qin Feng smiled, but gave no explanation.

Most of them were scouts from various families; killing them was fine, just find any excuse to claim they were enemies. If we searched the corpse and uncovered the details, the problem would be laid bare on the table.

Just as he was about to return to the residence, a feeling struck him; he snapped his head, squinting through layers of darkness, and saw a silhouette on a distant rooftop.

A figure dressed in red.

Even with heightened sight and divine perception, his view remained hazy.

"Definitely a strong one!" Qin Feng thought, his heart soaring.

He only glanced furtively, yet it already gave him the feeling of facing a great enemy; in an instant, the figure leapt away and vanished without a trace.

"The Qin Residence has become a true vortex; once it erupts…"

Qin Feng suppressed the thought and walked back into the residence.

After washing up, he went straight to bed.

He slept, but many others could not.

Liu Residence.

Liu Kaishan always slept late, even without cultivation.

Besides practicing calligraphy, he liked to organize collected information; sure enough, Steward Xiao returned, with an inexplicable expression: "Master, it seems Qin Feng has cleared the scouts around the Qin Residence; heads are rolling."

"Well done, that kid is truly ruthless and poisonous." Liu Kaishan's spirit jolted, "He split with the Third Branch of the Qin Family this afternoon, and by night began slaughtering the surroundings. Does he really think he can go it alone?"

"Perhaps he's too young, lacking scheming." the old steward whispered, "Even his own kin don't trust him; who will seek refuge later? The Qin Family is truly on the brink of decline."

"No, no, no!" Liu Kaishan stood, shook his head, "I actually support his decision. Old Xiao, you still don't understand; a family is merely a backdrop. What truly determines a family's stature are the strong, the real strong. Even if he's ruthless, poisonous, heartless, once he reaches the Grandmaster Realm, countless forces will swarm to pledge to the Qin Family."

"Look at the Qin Family now: the main line has suffered calamities one after another, yet the Third Branch does nothing but hinder from behind. If it were me, I'd have no qualms about wiping them out completely."

"In turbulent times, unity is essential."

"Since there's no unity, we should decisively discard them, so future troubles won't be a concern."

"I suspect that Qin Family's kid is waiting for another pretext, a legitimate excuse to slaughter them."

"The news sent today is just a starting point. If the Third Branch kept to themselves, fine; but if they harbor deceit, manipulating many clan elders to oppose the main line, ha, that would be a great amusement."

Liu Kaishan smiled.

"Master, what you say is correct, but under the current circumstances I, your humble servant, think the Third Branch is right." Steward Xiao said, "The Qin Residence has become the eye of the storm; a slight misstep and the whole Qin Residence will be buried. There's also the ancestral worship ceremony in three days. If he doesn't go, he loses his legitimacy as head of the Qin Family; if he does go, he will surely be besieged. Can he truly survive the ceremony?"

"Difficult, difficult, difficult!" Liu Kaishan paced, watching the quietly burning candle. With a flick of his sleeve, the flame leapt, and the room brightened for an instant. He frowned, "The Xiang Family will spare no effort to kill Qin Feng, as will the Bai Family, Fan Family, and the demon people. Those are the overt enemies; what about the hidden ones?"

The Third Branch of the Qin Family might be colluding with enemies.

What about the Liu Family? The City Lord's Residence?

And the Cao Family and Sun Family?

What of the crowd of warriors that came from outside?

Many would rather not see such a genius alive, especially a young man who kills at a whim.

"From Zhou City, besides the Fan Family, there are several other forces. This situation gives me a headache." Liu Kaishan sighed, "It's hard for him to survive. Even if he escapes this calamity, death is inevitable later. Such a talent is pitiful; if he were born in my Liu Family, I could abandon all inheritance to help him grow."

"Master, what should we do?"

"Do nothing!"

"Do nothing?" "The more we act, the more mistakes we make. The grand curtain has already been drawn, like water flowing east, rain falling from the sky—cannot be blocked or stopped. The storm has formed, unsolvable, un‑dispersable; only blood will flow like a river. Old Xiao, issue orders to tighten the family's strength."

"Yes!"

City Lord's Residence.

The junior City Lord called his father Zhou Yicheng to attention and relayed the freshly gathered intel: "He split with the Third Branch this afternoon and began slaughter at night. Does he not realize that's just each family's eyes? Father, what do you think he truly intends? The storm approaches, a catastrophe looms, yet he abandons family strength and, at this critical moment, offends the families harshly. Is he foolish or arrogantly reckless?"

"I can't see through it!" Zhou Yicheng yawned, "Recently too many warriors have poured into the city; you should pay more attention, strengthen patrols, and deter all sides. If anyone causes trouble, kill the chicken to warn the monkey. Also, cooperate closely with the guard office to hunt for demon‑person clues; dealing with them is what we truly must do. As for the Qin Family? Just watch. If he survives, he'll become a great man; if he dies, it's fate."

"Father, I'm already an adult; can you tell me why everyone is focusing on the Qin Family?" Zhou Yunhai asked hesitantly.

Zhou Yicheng fell silent.

Seeing his son's hopeful gaze, he nodded, "Very well, there are some things you truly know now. The Martial Path realms—do you know which they are?"

"Martial Path Ninth Rank, Grandmaster, Heavenly Phenomena, Martial Saint!" Zhou Yunhai replied.

"Hmm, legend says that in antiquity there were beings surpassing the Martial Saint, as well as great demons—truly great demons—and perhaps other terrifying things." Zhou Yicheng considered, "It's unclear why such beings no longer exist today. Yet rumors claim that a forbidden land hides secrets beyond the Martial Saint; that's also some information your grandfather learned from the main family."

Zhou Yunhai did not interrupt, merely listened quietly.

Zhou Yicheng continued, "Qin Wenshan's talent was astonishing, his martial cultivation unparalleled. Do you know what level of strength he possessed before he was killed?"

"Martial Path Eighth Rank? It can't be Ninth Rank, can it?" Zhou Yunhai replied.

"It's Ninth Rank!" Zhou Yicheng said, "Others don't know, but I do; he had already reached the pinnacle of Ninth Rank, touching the Quasi‑Grandmaster Realm. Coupled with the Qin Family's elite and his wife, that was a terrifying force, yet he was still wiped out cleanly. Upon hearing the news I was puzzled; Qin Wenshan was generous and never provoked strong foes, so why was he killed? I began investigating, even leveraging our family's power, and eventually uncovered a bit."

"It was the Xiang Family allied with the Fan Family of Zhou City."

"What puzzles me is why they did it; later I found it was for something, and I thought of the Heavenly Phenomena Realm strongmen that once appeared in our lands, assuming it was a Heavenly Phenomena inheritance."

"If it was for inheritance, the most crucial target would surely be the Qin Family. Why didn't they strike the Qin Family after killing Qin Wenshan?"

"In Zhou City, the Fan Family is restrained by the Wang Family; even if they don't want to expose themselves and can't act openly, they can send some Seventh or Eighth Rank warriors to force their way into the Qin Family, especially with Xiang Family support."

"I sense something amiss."

"I also sent people to keep watch on the Qin Family and found strong individuals slipping in secretly, more than once, apparently searching for something while avoiding fanfare. They found nothing and then ceased. If they were after inheritance, they could have tortured them when nothing was found, yet they didn't."

I feel even more wrong.

I then carefully went through past history, searching for clues, and also looking into the Fan and Xiang families' situations, finally catching a lead.

Before, legends of forbidden-land treasures had appeared in this region, and the Fan family had expended great effort searching. I suspect they suspected Qin Wenshan had obtained the treasure, or at least had a clue, which is why they brought disaster upon themselves.

After sorting all the clues, I feel it's probably nine out of ten correct.

I didn't want the Xiang family to become powerful with the Fan family's support, so I released the news that Qin Wenshan was killed because he might have obtained the inheritance of a heavenly-phenomenon expert, thereby attracting the attention of the Liu, Lu, Cao, and even Sun families.

Now they're all raring to go, muddying the waters.

Zhou Yicheng said slowly.

Zhou Yunhai listened, stunned speechless.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

That morning, at the Qin Manor.

"Master, are you really going? Please think again," Zhang Fu urged again, anxiously.

"We have to face it!" Qin Feng said with a smile, "The curtain has risen, all parties are in place, watching like tigers, their strength fully stored; if I don't appear, their wrath will surely inundate the Qin Manor."

"Fu Ye Ye, let's go!"

"Leave the city!"

"Offer sacrifices to the ancestors!"

"Open the killing ban!"

Qin Feng's killing intent had already boiled over.

It's the Dragon Boat Festival—should we be happy? Wish health? Neither seems fitting.

Then let's ask for support, ask for monthly ticket support! Don't forget to eat zongzi.

(End of chapter)