Chapter 154: Golden Boy and the Rising Star
"Li Hua...?!"
"What have you done to me?!"
Instead of his Origin Qi circulating smoothly to refine the tea, a terrifying, turbulent wave of chaotic energy erupted through his dantian instantly freezing his meridians, causing his facial expression to stiffen in discomfort.
"My Qi... why is it in such turmoil?" Gu Yangtian almost choked out as he grabbed his chest, heavily slumping forward against the stone table,as his limbs suddenly felt completely numb and sluggish, utterly unresponsive to his commands.
Unbeknownst to Patriarch Gu Yangtian, this tea was secretly laced with the "Silver-Vein Sealing Powder," a colourless and odorless poison that left absolutely no traces in the victim’s body but could disrupt the natural circulation of Qi.
It was not lethal on its own, but for nearly the time taken to burn an incense stick, the victim’s Qi would remain volatile, perfectly mimicking a cultivation backlash.
Madam Li, on the other hand, did not panic and showed no obvious concern. She slowly stood up from her chair and calmly walked behind his trembling body, her hands folded gracefully behind her back as her dark eyes watched his struggling form with a cool, completely unbothered gaze.
"Perhaps your own foundation is finally showing its limits, husband," Madam Li spoke softly, "Or maybe your old injury is finally acting up?!"
’My old injury?’ Gu Yangtian repeated her words in her mind, ’But why all of a sudden?’
"Since the Gu Clan has only steadily declined under your current leadership, with our resources drained and our face completely lost after that disastrous tournament if not for your son, Gu Fan whom you ignored all your life, it is only natural that your dao heart is under great pressure and your cultivation is facing a backlash. I am surprised you did not cough up blood yet."
"What... what are you saying, Li Hua?" Gu Yangtian wheezed, trying to force his turbulent energy to settle, but his meridian pathways only raged wilder, as he stared forward in absolute shock at her chilling words.
"I am merely pointing out the obvious, my dear husband, trying to pin-point the cause of your state," Madam Li whispered, leaning slightly closer to his ear from behind with a cold, menacing glint in her eyes.
"You have spent years pampering Gu Chen, a mere side-branch good for nothing, while ignoring the rest of our family," Madam Li shook her head in disappointment, "And now that the clan is sliding into ruin, even your own cultivation seems to be rejecting the path you took."
"Is this a divine sign that perhaps you are no longer in a state to bear the heavy burden of the Patriarch’s seat."
Gu Yangtian’s heart sank with a chilling dread as her sharp words pierced through his chaotic mind.
’She... She is wrong... She has to be... I can still... I am not done...’
As he struggled to keep his head from crashing against the stone table, Madam Li’s eyes flashed with absolute, bloodthirsty ruthlessness.
She stood up straight behind him, as she slowly raised her right hand, silently gathering Qi in his palms to form a blade directly over his vulnerable neck, preparing to drive it through it, blaming it all on the sudden "backlash".
But exactly a fraction of a second before she could execute the lethal strike, a terrified maid burst directly into the garden in an absolute panic.
"Matriarch! Patriarch! Disaster! It is a disaster" the maid screamed hysterically while she collapsed onto her knees, "The Imperial Tribute! The Imperial Tribute Caravan... it has been attacked and completely looted!"
Madam Li quickly absorbed her Qi back into her body just in time, her eyes snapping wide open in disbelief. This news, it totally derailed her plans.
Instantly wiping the cold contempt from her face, she quickly stepped forward to support Gu Yangtian’s trembling shoulder with a look of concern.
"Husband! Your Qi is in such a chaotic turmoil! Please, do not force yourself! Let me help you steady your meridians before you strain yourself further!"
But Gu Yangtian weakly pushed her hand away from his shoulder.
While he did not know she had poisoned him, he was suddenly skeptical of her favourite wife.
While he assumed his body had suffered a temporary meridian blockage from the massive stress of the crisis, as he slowly pushed himself up from the table, his eyes locked onto her with a cold, silent warning, proving that he would never blindly trust her again.
"Husband, Let me help you," Madam Li tried to support him, but Gu Yangtian shook her hand away yet again.
"I can walk on my own," And then he turned toward the maid, "Call every elder in the Audience Hall, immediately."
~~~~~
Less than an hour later, an emergency assembly convened within the grand Audience Hall of the Gu Clan.
The atmosphere inside the massive stone chamber was absolutely suffocating as dozens of Clan Elders frantically whispered among themselves, their faces completely pale with fear at the prospect of facing the Emperor’s divine wrath.
Patriarch Gu Yangtian sat heavily on the high throne, his face completely drenched in cold sweat while his hands visibly trembled on the armrests. While the effects of ’Silver-Vein Sealing Powder’ had finally washed away, he still felt wary to circulate his Qi through his meridians.
Standing stoically in the very center of the hall was Gu Chen, wearing his signature immaculate white robes with his jaw clenched tightly.
While Madam Li stood off to the side by her husband’s seat with her arms crossed, visibly frustrated, avoiding the teasing gaze of her beloved son who sat lazily in the front and was smiling ear to ear looking at her.
He had officially earned his own seat among the upper echelon thanks to his exploits during the recent hunting competition, then the Annual tournament and finally Madam Li’s backing.
"Speak! Tell us exactly what happened!" One of the elders demanded furiously as he pointed a shaking finger directly at the three caravan escorts who were currently kneeling on the polished jade floor, completely covered in thick bandages and dried blood.
"It was an absolute nightmare, Elders!" The lead guard started to speak with his forehead pressed against the cold floor, "We were passing through the narrow gorge just outside the Venom Forest when a group of heavily masked cultivators suddenly descended upon us like ghosts!"
"They were entirely silent!"
"They didn’t speak a single word."
"They declared nothing about themselves!" Another guard cried out while holding his heavily bandaged, severed arm.
"They cut through our defenses in seconds and instantly looted every single chest containing the Emperor’s tribute!"
"They brutally maimed our elite guards, completely severing arms and legs to permanently cripple us, yet... they did not kill a single person!" The lead guard finished with a heavy shudder, completely confusing the entire assembly.
Absolute panic instantly rippled through the grand hall as the elders began to scream over one another in sheer desperation.
"With the Emperor’s tribute gone, the Royal Court will slaughter our nine generations for treason!"
"We barely managed to scrap out from the shortage of resources, and now we have to face the wrath of the Imperial Army?!"
"Who would dare attack a royal caravan? Was it the Bai Clan acting out of desperation?!"
"They won’t dare! It has to be someone else!"
While the elders panicked like headless chickens, Gu Fan simply leaned back in his chair with a calculated smirk playing on his lips, ’It has to be Bai Haoran... And if it is not, I can use this to distract them.’
And so he decided to make his move.
Gu Fan slowly stood up from his chair, while no one paid any attention to him.
"Patriarch, Elders... please allow this junior to speak," Gu Fan requested with a perfectly respectful, yet commanding tone that echoed clearly through the silent hall.
Despite some initial, hesitant murmurs, several high-ranking elders immediately nodded their heads in support, completely impressed by his recent display of overwhelming strength and deeply desperate for any viable solution.
"Preposterous!" One of the elders who was still not in Madam Li’s faction immediately snapped, slamming his wooden cane aggressively against the jade floor.
"You might have won a few matches on a stone stage, boy, but this is clan politics! It will go right above your head. A junior of your standing has absolutely no right to speak when the fate of our nine generations is at stake!"
"Shut your mouth, you stubborn old man!" Another elder roared right back, stepping forward to defend the rising star, "Gu Fan single-handedly salvaged our honour and secured the Spirit Mines from the Bai Clan. What was the rest of our younger generation doing? Absolutely nothing!"
"His strength is completely undeniable, so let the boy speak because we are clearly out of options!"
Several other high-ranking elders quickly nodded their heads in loud agreement, silencing the opposition as they turned their desperate, expectant gazes directly toward Gu Fan.
"Speak your mind, Gu Fan," Patriarch Gu Yangtian spoke weakly from his seat, secretly struggling to keep his posture straight against the lingering effects of the poison.
"We are currently facing an unprecedented crisis, no doubt." Gu Fan began to speak.
"But if we simply sit here and panic, we will appear weak and utterly incompetent to the rest of the valley and especially the Royal Court," Gu Fan argued as he slowly paced across the jade floor, his green eyes locking directly onto Gu Chen.
"We can’t appear weak, and show our strength and resolve by sending our absolute best to track down these petty thieves and retrieve the stolen tribute before word reaches the capital," Gu Fan continued while gesturing dramatically toward the center of the hall, "And who better to lead this retrieval team than our Gol... Brother Gu Chen?"
"Brother Chen is our once-in-a-century genius, blessed with supreme, heaven-defying perception and an unbreakable Dao heart," Gu Fan praised Gu Chen admirably, "I firmly believe that only he possesses the extraordinary talent and righteous destiny to navigate this massive crisis and restore our clan’s glorious honour!"
The panicked elders instantly erupted into loud, highly enthusiastic cheers of agreement, completely falling for Gu Fan’s words since they also wanted a scapegoat to handle the seemingly impossible suicide mission.
"Yes! Gu Fan is absolutely right!"
"Gu Chen’s supreme tracking arts and elite combat senses can perfectly follow the residual Qi of the attackers!"
"Only he can save us from the Emperor’s wrath!"
Standing in the center of the cheering hall, Gu Chen’s fists clenched tightly and his knuckles turned completely white.
While in his heart he was cursing Gu Fan, he could not do anything since he was cornered by his own meticulously crafted ’Hero’ persona.
In the end, Gu Chen could only force a benevolent smile onto his handsome face as he gracefully stepped forward, bowing deeply toward the Patriarch and the cheering elders.
"I humbly accept this heavy burden, Patriarch, and I swear upon my Dao heart that I will retrieve the Emperor’s tribute or die trying," Gu Chen declared with absolute, unwavering resolve that brought tears of admiration to the eyes of the foolish elders.
However, as Gu Chen slowly stood up straight, his blue eyes locked directly onto Gu Fan with an incredibly sharp, venomous glint, proving that the protagonist was not going down without pulling a desperate, highly calculated counter-maneuver.
"However..." Gu Chen spoke up loudly, ensuring his voice carried over the dying cheers to perfectly capture the room’s attention, "As Junior Brother Gu Fan so wisely pointed out, we must send our absolute best to ensure complete success."
Gu Chen turned entirely toward Gu Fan, his benevolent smile widening into a deeply dangerous, trapping smirk.
"Junior Brother Gu Fan has recently shown immense martial prowess, proving himself to be the bright, rising star of our younger generation," Gu Chen praised smoothly, using Gu Fan’s exact same manipulative tactics against him.
"To truly guarantee the safe return of the tribute, and to provide Gu Fan with the perfect, high-stakes opportunity to properly stabilize his incredibly rapid cultivation climb through actual life-and-death combat..."
Gu Chen bowed respectfully toward the high throne before delivering his final, inescapable checkmate.
"I firmly suggest that Junior Brother Gu Fan must join me as well. And with the two dragons of the Gu Clan working perfectly together no one can dare stop the Gu Clan!"
"Brilliant! The Golden Boy and the Rising Star fighting side by side!" The elders instantly roared in approval, completely sealing the deal before anyone could raise a single
objection, leaving Gu Fan standing stumped in front of his chair with his dark eyes narrowed at Gu Chen.
"Well played, son!"
"Well played!"
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