Chapter 163: Chapter 159: A Blatant Frame-Up
The next day, Feng Siyong arrived in high spirits, bearing gifts worth over three hundred Spiritual Jade.
He imagined that he had now successfully latched onto the Holy Blood Sect’s Guardian Envoy—a powerful backer. Through this connection, he could acquire scarce resources and precious Inheritances that were previously unobtainable, even with Spiritual Jade.
He would lead his clan to greatness, step by step, vanquishing all his enemies.
And he would always be the one leading the way.
With his connection to the Guardian Envoy, he could even come to a peaceful understanding with his most formidable foes, ensuring they would not cross each other’s paths.
A hundred years from now, he would successfully achieve Core Formation, becoming famous overnight.
He would attain Longevity and Vision, and the Feng Family would prosper for generations to come...
Outside the Guardian Envoy’s room stood a young cultivator with a weaselly face.
Though only at the Qi Cultivation Realm, the man had stood behind Lord Yu the entire previous day, clearly a trusted subordinate. Feng Siyong dared not slight him and offered a friendly smile.
The young cultivator approached, giving a casual salute. "Patriarch Feng, you’re here early?"
His dismissive attitude displeased Feng Siyong.
But Feng Siyong was far too shrewd to let his true feelings show. He simply chuckled and exchanged a few pleasantries with the young cultivator.
"Right, Patriarch Feng, did you bring the bounty?"
Feng Siyong quickly produced the Storage Treasure Pouch. "I did, I did. We are truly grateful to Lord Guardian Envoy for ridding the Feng Family of that menace!"
"Let me have it."
"Hm?"
Gu Xiaofang sneered. "You’re not going to let me inspect the bounty before you hand it to Lord Yu, are you? What if you’ve hidden some malicious Cursed Demon Artifact or a single-use Explosive Spiritual Artifact inside?"
Feng Siyong complained internally, ’You Demon Children, why do you always assume the worst of people?’
’The Feng Family is aligned with the orthodox Profound Sects. Would we ever do something like that?’
’Ahem, even if we did, we wouldn’t dare do it to the Holy Blood Sect. You people would actually retaliate a hundred times over.’
’A gentleman can be deceived by exploiting his principles. If we were going to assassinate someone with a Cursed Demon Artifact or an Explosive Spiritual Artifact, we’d target someone from the orthodox Profound Sects.’
But after a moment’s thought, Feng Siyong understood Gu Xiaofang’s motives. ’It’s just extortion,’ he thought. ’I get it.’
So, with a broad smile plastered on his face, he handed the Storage Treasure Pouch to Gu Xiaofang. Then, as swift as lightning, he stuffed twenty Spiritual Jade into Gu Xiaofang’s sleeve.
Gu Xiaofang nodded in satisfaction, took the Storage Treasure Pouch, and disappeared into an adjacent side hall.
He returned after about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, handing the Storage Treasure Pouch back to Feng Siyong. "Let’s go. I’ll take you to see the Yu Guardian Envoy."
Inside the room, Du Youqian was speaking with two other men.
Feng Siyong recognized them immediately. One was Wan Changxiong, the Supreme Elder of the Fifth-class Sect, the Qu Shui Sect, and a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator. The other was Zhu Maocai, the Patriarch of the Foundation Establishment Clan, the Zhu Family, and a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator.
Upon seeing Feng Siyong enter, Du Youqian greeted him warmly. "Patriarch Feng, you’re here!"
With a wide grin, Feng Siyong presented the Storage Treasure Pouch. "Lord Yu, thank you for ridding the Feng Family of that unfilial descendant. This is the bounty the Feng Family posted for Feng Bin. Please, accept it!"
Du Youqian smiled and, in just a few words, explained the situation to Wan Changxiong and Zhu Maocai.
Wan Changxiong stroked his beard and chuckled. "A fine tale, indeed."
Zhu Maocai also joked, "To think that Lord Yu was already working to protect the realm’s peace before even officially assuming his post. I’m sure that during your tenure as Guardian Envoy, the Immortal Sects and clans of the Qi Kingdom will..."
Before he could finish, Du Youqian had already opened the Storage Treasure Pouch and begun inspecting its contents.
One of the Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts inside was suddenly emitting violent fluctuations.
"Not good!" Zhu Maocai’s face paled.
Du Youqian’s expression also shifted, and he instantly activated the Secret Technique, "Binding the Azure Dragon with Bare Hands."
After his advancement to Foundation Establishment, this Secret Technique could not only briefly trap a cultivator, but could also seize Spiritual Artifacts and even momentarily freeze an Array in place. It was one of the most practical and versatile Secret Techniques available.
After "Binding the Azure Dragon with Bare Hands" temporarily restrained the Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact on the verge of self-destructing, a cold light flashed. Du Youqian’s sword, Jinhuan, shot out and sliced the artifact into dozens of pieces.
He then glared furiously at Feng Siyong. "Old dog! How dare you try to harm me!"
Feng Siyong’s mind went blank. ’I packed that Storage Treasure Pouch myself, how could I not know what’s inside?’ "It wasn’t me! It must have been..."
He suddenly remembered that before entering, he had given the Storage Treasure Pouch to that weasel-faced young cultivator. He immediately corrected himself, "It was him! It must have been him! Lord Yu, it really wasn’t me..."
Before he could finish his explanation, a thousand blades of Sword Qi came slashing at his face.
Du Youqian struck with pure malice, his aura so powerful it was suffocating.
Feng Siyong didn’t dare to meet the attack head-on. He dodged, simultaneously tossing out a Defensive Spiritual Artifact, intending to block the blow and then plead his case.
But just then, the door burst open. The cold, beautiful Kun Cultivator appeared, silent. Her Flying Sword, devoid of any emotion, shot straight toward Feng Siyong, carrying an intent that could sever all things.
"Sword Intent!" Feng Siyong was scared witless.
"Wait!" Wan Changxiong sensed that something was amiss and tried to stop Du Youqian from landing a fatal blow.
Having laid his plans so carefully, Du Youqian would never allow for any accidents.
He unleashed three consecutive sword strikes. The first landed like a clap of thunder; the second was completely silent.
By the time the third sword strike emerged, Feng Siyong’s life had already been severed by the combined assault of Du Youqian and Fang Hua. Du Youqian’s third strike merely minced his corpse.
"Ah!" Seeing an acquaintance killed so gruesomely in the blink of an eye, both Wan Changxiong and Zhu Maocai were terrified. Their gazes toward Du Youqian filled with wariness.
They had wanted to save Feng Siyong, but they never even had a chance to make a move.
In that final moment, Feng Siyong had unleashed the full power of his Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation.
Yet under the combined assault of Du Youqian and Fang Hua, he couldn’t even withstand two moves.
The sheer power of this Guardian Envoy sent alarm bells ringing in the minds of Wan Changxiong and Zhu Maocai.
And that single-use Explosive Spiritual Artifact was highly suspicious, riddled with holes.
They couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Yu Guardian Envoy had orchestrated the entire thing just to eliminate the Feng Family.
’If the Guardian Envoy can eliminate the Feng Family today, does that mean he can eliminate the Zhu Family tomorrow?’
’And the day after that, will he trample over the Qu Shui Sect?’
Du Youqian sheathed his sword, Jinhuan, and studied the two men.
The shock and wariness on their faces did not escape his notice.
Du Youqian knew his little plot was a bit crude. It was a rather obvious frame-up.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see it was purely a setup to find an excuse to kill Feng Siyong.
But Du Youqian didn’t want to waste too much time and energy on the details.
A plausible surface-level excuse was good enough.
’Even if they can see Feng Siyong was framed, would they dare to oppose me?’
With that in mind, Du Youqian spoke with indignation. "I never imagined the Patriarch of the Feng Family would harbor such malevolence and attempt to assassinate me. Could it be that the Feng Family has dirty secrets he was afraid I would uncover? Junior Luo!"
Luo Jinyu hurried in from outside. "Your subordinate is here!"
Du Youqian commanded, "Go and conduct a thorough investigation of the Feng Family. If you find anything incriminating, deal with it swiftly on my behalf and execute the law. If you don’t find anything... it just means they’ve hidden their crimes very well. In that case, intensify the investigation!"
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing this, Wan Changxiong and Zhu Maocai were rendered speechless. They didn’t even know where to begin criticizing the order.
’Does this mean that regardless of what the investigation finds, the Guardian Envoy has already decided the Feng Family is guilty? Is he not going to be satisfied until he’s skinned them alive?’
’Thinking about it more deeply, if this Guardian Envoy isn’t an idiot, then by saying such a thing, he’s openly telling us: "I am intentionally targeting the Feng Family, and I don’t care if you know that I’m framing them!"’
’It’s just... killing a chicken to scare the monkeys.’
But did Wan Changxiong and Zhu Maocai dare to say a word?
Not a single word.
The Qu Shui Sect only had five Foundation Establishment Cultivators in total, with Wan Changxiong himself being the strongest.
And Wan Changxiong reckoned that he wasn’t much stronger than Feng Siyong, if at all.
From the looks of it, even if the entire Qu Shui Sect attacked together, they would be no match for the Guardian Envoy and his entourage.
’So if I speak out of turn, will the Guardian Envoy pin the crime of "associating with villains" on me and wipe out my sect?’
At that thought, he fell silent as a winter cicada, resolving to keep his mouth shut no matter what.
’I’ll just get through today and observe the situation before doing anything.’
Zhu Maocai had the same idea.
Luo Jinyu accepted his orders and went to investigate the Feng Family. With their only Foundation Establishment Cultivator already dead, the remaining members were in no position to cause any trouble.
However, to the surprise of many onlookers, Luo Jinyu didn’t completely crush the Feng Family. He merely purged Feng Siyong’s close confidants, leaving the family itself largely intact. Even their business shares were left untouched.
The final punishment was a mere slap on the wrist: the confiscation of a few properties and some Spirit Stones.
The total value amounted to only around two hundred Spiritual Jade.
The punishment was practically symbolic and wouldn’t cause any real harm to the family’s foundation.
After punishing the Feng Family, the Guardian Envoy settled down. He merely summoned some young, beautiful women from the various sects and clans to watch them dance while he drank and made merry. He made no improper advances.
The onlooking clans and minor sects finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
It seemed that Feng Siyong must have offended the Guardian Envoy at some point to bring about this calamity.
The other clans were probably safe from being implicated.
Soon, another piece of news spread: the Guardian Envoy planned to take over the rental cave abodes in the Marketplace to build a Guardian Envoy’s Mansion on the site.
