After a brief standoff with the old woman from the Zheng family.
In the end, the refined old man withdrew for the time being.
Firstly, since they are both currently in the city, if the two of them, both at the Innate Realm, were to fight here, it would inevitably affect the nearby residents.
When the time comes, they will all be held accountable by the Holy Mountain for violating the Holy Mountain's prohibitions, and may even be arrested and imprisoned.
Although he had sufficient reasons, the old woman had not actually performed a human sacrifice. If things really escalated, they would probably both be equally at fault.
Secondly, the old man saw madness and desperation in the eyes of the old woman from the Zheng family.
He could sense that if he really tried to stop the old woman, she would fight him to the death.
This old woman doesn't have much time left to live; she doesn't have many years left to live, so she doesn't care about anything.
But the old man didn't want to go along with her crazy behavior and get himself involved.
So he decided to take a step back for the time being.
However, before leaving, the refined old man still advised, "Old Madam Zheng, human sacrifice is too cruel, goes against the way of heaven, and damages one's virtue. You are dragging the Zheng family into an abyss of no return. Please reconsider."
"Hmph! Old man, if you don't dare to fight, then get lost and stop getting in my way!"
"And which eye of yours saw me performing a human sacrifice? I was merely dealing with some disobedient servants and lackeys. Even if people from the Holy Mountain came, they couldn't interfere with the affairs of my Zheng family!" the old woman said coldly.
Upon seeing this, the refined old man knew that the old woman was completely obsessed and could not be persuaded at all.
He shook his head and had no choice but to turn and leave.
Watching the old man's departing figure, the old woman's eyes revealed a look of disdain.
These old folks in the city—back when her eldest son was killed by that outsider innate realm expert, she had come to their door to beg them to join forces with her and help her take revenge.
As a result, everyone made excuses and refused to help.
If they had been willing to help her back then, how could she have suffered such severe injuries and had her lifespan shortened?
Now look what's happened; she's only dealing with some servants, and they're all jumping out to stop her.
A bunch of hypocrites, ptooey!
The refined old man walked home with a heavy heart. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked up at the top of a tower not far away.
There stood an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face, and a middle-aged man with a fair complexion, both smiling.
"You guys came too?"
With a slight movement, the refined old man leaped a few times and also reached the top of the tower.
"The innate pressure from the two of you is almost permeating half of the city. How could we not come?"
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man said helplessly, "Brother Lin, why do you have to provoke that old woman? You know her temper; she's not the same person we knew when we were young anymore."
"But she wants to perform a human sacrifice, which is too cruel and goes against the natural order. It will surely incur the wrath of the Holy Mountain, and then the entire Zheng family will probably suffer."
"Then let her hold it!" the man with a face like white jade said nonchalantly. "This old woman wants to drag the Zheng family to their death. Do you think you can stop her, senior?"
The refined old man shook his head with a wry smile and remained silent.
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man knew what he was thinking.
They shared a bond with Old Lady Zheng and the deceased patriarch of the Zheng family when they were young, and were even close friends.
However, due to differences in their philosophies and some life experiences, they gradually drifted apart and lost contact.
But it was clear that the refined old man still cherished this sentiment in his heart.
The man with the fair complexion was a junior and therefore unaware of these matters.
"Brother Lin, I know you still remember the promise we made when we were young, but you should also understand that the old woman has long since changed and is no longer the white-clad heroine we met back then."
Now, she is ruthless, obsessive, insane, and indifferent; she is a completely different person.
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man earnestly persuaded him.
The refined old man remained silent for a while before sighing, "Of course I know that, but even if I ignore that old woman, I should still stop this. You didn't see the terrible state of those people just now. There were even babies under one year old among them. How could I bear to do that?"
"I think Senior Lin is overthinking it. Don't forget, there's still the City Lord's Mansion."
Our city lord is not a weak person. If that old woman really intends to perform the act of human sacrifice, the city lord's mansion will definitely not stand idly by.
Otherwise, how can we maintain our authority in Cangzhou in the future?
The man, with a face as white as jade, said.
The refined old man paused for a moment, then his eyes brightened slightly as he slowly fell into deep thought.
Although the conflict between the elderly woman from the Zheng family and the refined old man did not escalate into a full-blown argument, their conversation still reached the ears of many.
Thus, the story of the Zheng family ancestor holding a human sacrifice to comfort his recently deceased grandson began to circulate quietly in the prefectural city.
"Yuanhao, how's the investigation going, I asked you to find the thief who killed Yu'er?"
At the Zheng residence, the old woman coldly questioned the head of the Zheng family.
"Mother," the Zheng family head said somewhat awkwardly.
"I have used all the resources in the manor to investigate, but I haven't found even the slightest clue."
All that is known is that the black-clad warrior who killed Yu'er was a martial arts master who was proficient in hidden weapons and fist techniques.
His identity remains a mystery; he seems to have appeared out of thin air, and there is absolutely no information about him whatsoever in the entire Cangzhou.
"Can't find anything? According to you, Yu'er died in vain?" the old woman said, looking at her second son.
"That's not what I meant. It's just that the person appeared so mysteriously that it's really difficult for the manor to find anything with its resources."
"If you can't find out with the people in the manor, why don't you use other forces? One of the Seven Kill Tower's strongholds was destroyed, shouldn't you have made some kind of statement? Why don't you go to the Seven Kill Tower and investigate?"
The head of the Zheng family was taken aback; he had indeed not considered this aspect.
The old woman felt even more disappointed when she saw her second son's dull-witted appearance.
If her eldest son were still alive, how could he not have thought of such a small thing?
"Mother is right. I will send someone to the Seven Kill Tower to gather information right away," the Zheng family head said hastily, regaining his composure.
"Hmm," the old woman hummed softly.
The room fell silent again.
After a while, the head of the Zheng family remembered another piece of news reported by the spies in the manor. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to speak.
“Mother, there are rumors circulating in the city that our Zheng family is going to hold a human sacrifice. If this rumor spreads widely, it will be very detrimental to our Zheng family.”
"Really? That suits me perfectly!"
Unexpectedly, the old woman was not surprised at all, but instead gave a cold laugh.
"I want this rumor to spread far and wide, preferably even further, throughout the entire Cangzhou."
Didn't the thief who killed Yu'er keep saying that he would seek justice for those lowly brothel girls?
Since he prides himself on being chivalrous, and so many people are about to die tragically because of him, I'd like to see if he dares to step in and stop it!
"Mother, you..."
The head of the Zheng family was shocked, never expecting that his mother had such a plan.
"Don't worry, although I hate it, I'm not really senile yet. How could I possibly do something like a human sacrifice? Just do as I say and prepare accordingly."
"Yes, Mother, I will make the arrangements right away!"
Knowing that his mother was not truly insane, the head of the Zheng family felt greatly relieved.
He immediately bowed and happily went to make arrangements.
But he didn't see the cold, resentful look in his mother's eyes behind him.
