Chapter 144 - 143: Setting the Board

Chapter 144: Chapter 143: Setting the Board

From their first encounter to his capture, it all happened in a flash.

"This... How is this possible?"

Before Zhao Deming could even react, he was like a fish on the chopping block.

A chill ran down his spine. As he looked at Chen Li, fear washed over him like a tidal wave.

"Elder, spare my life!"

He was not as unyielding as Jiang Wenfeng. The will to survive overwhelmed everything else.

Chen Li stared at him and asked coldly, "Speak. Who are you? Why did you come to my home?"

Zhao Deming’s voice trembled. "I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! My name is Zhao Deming. I’m an Honored Guest of the Songjiang Jiang Family. We came here because He Zhizhou asked for our assistance. Our goal... our goal was to kill Elder Chen’s entire family."

The Jiang Family?

A cold glint flashed in Chen Li’s eyes as killing intent surged within him. He narrowed his eyes. "Why is the Jiang Family specifically targeting my Chen Family?"

"T-To answer Elder, we aren’t specifically targeting you."

Zhao Deming swallowed and hurriedly explained, "This time, our targets aren’t just your family, Elder, but every wealthy household and landlord in Mirror Mountain. Our job is to wipe them all out. Then, the County Magistrate’s Office can step in and, under the pretext that the family lines have been extinguished, confiscate their farmlands for the government."

"Then... then the County Magistrate’s Office will sell these lands to the Noble Families. This way... this way the Noble Families can effortlessly annex vast amounts of land, and the County Magistrate’s Office gets the tax revenue from the sale."

’What a vicious scheme!’

Chen Li’s gaze sharpened. He finally understood.

’No wonder bandits have been running rampant in Mirror Mountain lately, pillaging everywhere, yet the Government Office hasn’t lifted a finger. Even the Jingwu Bureau hasn’t made an appearance.’

’The chaos in Jiangzhou is confined to the four counties around Mirror Mountain at most.’

’If the Court truly wanted to intervene, how could they possibly be powerless in a region as large as Jiangzhou?’

’It’s all been tacitly approved!’

"However..."

Zhao Deming glanced furtively at Chen Li’s expression, swallowed, and said cautiously, "Your family is different from the other wealthy households, Elder. The Jiang Family has privately issued a bounty, specifically calling for... for the lives of your entire family. The reward is a guaranteed opportunity to break through to the Spirit Realm. As for the specific reason, I don’t know."

’A bounty from the Jiang Family?’

Killing intent flared in Chen Li’s heart. He asked coldly, "How many more of you are there?"

"Th-Three more. They’re all in an abandoned mansion across Lingxi. They... they were originally planning to set an ambush there, waiting for us to lure Chen Shouheng over..."

Zhao Deming didn’t dare to hide a single detail, confessing everything.

Chen Li pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you have a way to see the Jiang Family’s young master?"

Zhao Deming froze, then, as if grasping at a lifeline, nodded repeatedly. "Yes! I can see him. But the young master is often out, so I... I can’t be sure of his exact whereabouts."

Chen Li stared at him. After a moment, he took a porcelain vial from his robes, tipped out a pill, and flicked it into the man’s hand.

"Swallow it." The command was curt and cold.

Zhao Deming’s face turned ashen, and he trembled all over. "E-Elder, what is this..."

"If you don’t take the antidote within three months, your guts will rot and your intestines will rupture. It will feel as though ants are gnawing on your very bones. You will suffer in agony for seven days before you die."

Chen Li’s tone was calm, yet it carried a chill that seeped into one’s bones. "Swallow it and do my bidding, and you live. Otherwise, you die now."

With a trembling hand, Zhao Deming closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

As the pill went down, he felt a burning heat slide down his throat, and he couldn’t help but gag a few times.

"Let’s go!"

"Elder, where are we going?" Zhao Deming hurriedly asked.

"To find the other three, of course."

Chen Li snorted and led the way toward the other side of Lingxi.

Not daring to hesitate for a moment, Zhao Deming scrambled to follow.

...

Inside Wang Shiming’s ruined estate, the wait seemed to stretch on forever.

One of the remaining men paced back and forth, muttering, "What’s taking Zhao Deming so long? Did something actually happen?"

The ominous feeling in Old He’s heart grew stronger, and his expression was as dark as a thundercloud.

Even Brother Sun had lost his earlier composure, his brows tightly furrowed.

Just then, the sound of rushing air came from outside the door.

It was Zhao Deming.

"Well? Did you see Jiang Wenfeng? What happened?" the man who had been pacing rushed forward to ask.

Zhao Deming gave a wretched smile. "He’s dead!"

Dead?

The three of them were stunned. How was that possible!

’Even though this place was far from the Chen Family’s home, if there had been a fight, how could they have failed to detect it with their Spiritual Sense?’

However, before they could give it another thought, a figure stepped into the ruined house without any warning.

"Who’s there?"

Brother Sun was the first to react. He whirled around, his pupils constricting.

But it was already too late!

Chen Li moved. The Wandering Dragon Staff in his hand became a streak of black light that ripped through the night. With a scream of tearing air, it chopped down toward Brother Sun’s head.

Before the staff even arrived, its immense pressure made Brother Sun’s breath catch in his throat.

Brother Sun was aghast.

He never imagined he would encounter such a terrifying opponent in this backwater.

The power of this strike was so immense he could feel the touch of death.

He let out a furious roar, unleashing the full power of his Profound Acupoint Pass cultivation. His longsword flew from its sheath, forming a brilliant Sword Curtain to meet the incoming staff.

CLANG!

The deafening clang of metal on metal exploded through the air.

The instant the sword and staff collided, Brother Sun felt an indescribable force surge up the blade.

The Fine Steel Longsword shattered instantly.

The Wandering Dragon Staff’s momentum didn’t slow. It slammed into his chest. Brother Sun’s eyes bulged and he sprayed a mouthful of blood, crashing heavily to the ground. He twitched twice, then fell silent.

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Li made the staff sweep sideways as if it were alive.

BANG!

BANG!

Two muffled thuds sounded out, one right after the other.

The sickening crunch of breaking bones could be heard from the other two men, who hadn’t even had time to fully react.

Killed in an instant!

From the start of his attack to the deaths of all three men, the entire process had taken no more than a few breaths.

It was utterly clean and efficient.

Three Spirit Realm masters of the Jianghu, one of whom was at the Profound Acupoint Pass, had been as fragile as clay dolls before Chen Li, unable to withstand a single blow.

Having witnessed this firsthand, Zhao Deming was utterly terrified.

Chen Li stood with his staff, its black shaft unstained by a single drop of blood.

He gave the three still-warm corpses on the ground a cold glance before his gaze fell upon Zhao Deming. "Clean this up."

"Yes! Yes!"

As if he had received an imperial decree, Zhao Deming scrambled to deal with the bodies.

...

After leaving home, Chen Shouheng had been constantly worried about his aunt, Chen Yao, and her family.

Someone from the Bai Family had later come to report that they were safe, but considering the great disaster they had suffered, it was only right for him to pay them a visit.

His horse’s hooves clopped along the dirt country road, and before long, he arrived at Shangxi Village.

He had visited the Bai Family estate twice before, but it seemed far more desolate this time than he remembered.

Chen Shouheng knocked on the door. After a moment’s wait, he heard the sound of soft, hesitant footsteps from within.

The door opened a crack, revealing a pale, haggard face.

It was his aunt, Chen Yao.

"Shouheng?"

When Chen Yao saw it was him, a flicker of astonishment crossed her face, quickly followed by a wave of immense shame. She instinctively moved to close the door but stopped. Her voice choked with a sob as she asked, "You... What are you doing here?"

Her eyes instantly reddened. She turned to the side and said in a low voice, "Hurry, come inside."