Chapter 32: Chapter 31: The Massacre Begins
Many years later, Chu Hongshang would still remember the moment Chen Yuan took her hand and offered to help her annihilate a family.
But right now, Chu Hongshang’s eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared at Chen Yuan’s back.
She couldn’t believe it herself. ’Someone actually took such an outrageous mission!’
Chen Yuan led Chu Hongshang out of Wan Tong Restaurant, found an inn, and booked a room.
Once inside, Chu Hongshang stared blankly at Chen Yuan. "Can you really help me annihilate the entire Zhu Family?"
"Of course. I accepted your mission in public, in front of everyone."
Chu Hongshang gently shook her head. "I only posted the mission at Wan Tong Restaurant to lure someone from the Zhu Family here so I could take them down with me."
"The Zhu Family is very powerful. How can you annihilate their entire family by yourself? You shouldn’t go get yourself killed."
Chu Hongshang pulled a small, exquisite dagger from her robes. Its hilt was inlaid with rubies.
Chen Yuan smiled.
’The Crimson Demon Venerable is still so kind at this stage,’ he thought. ’To think she’s worried I’m going to get myself killed.’
’And so naive, thinking she could fight the Zhu Family to the death with an ornamental dagger like this.’
"Don’t worry. Wiping them out is my job now. I wouldn’t have taken this mission if I wasn’t confident."
Chen Yuan looked intently at Chu Hongshang. "However, since I’ve accepted the mission, we need to discuss payment."
"The Chu Family was annihilated. Our family fortune, built over generations, was seized by the Zhu Family. Even my fiancé’s family threw me out."
"I have nothing left but myself. Sir, if you can help me take this great revenge, I, Chu Hongshang, am willing to serve you like a slave for the rest of my life to repay this debt!"
Chu Hongshang moved to kneel, but a wisp of True Qi from Chen Yuan held her upright.
Instantly, a look of utter disbelief flashed in Chu Hongshang’s eyes. Her own eyes turning red, she stared intently at Chen Yuan.
’Qi Casting Realm!’
’This Young Hero who’s willing to help me get revenge... he’s actually a Qi Casting Realm master!’
Although Chu Hongshang was young, she was from a Martial Dao Family, so her foundational knowledge of the Martial Dao was quite solid.
She knew what the Qi Casting Realm represented.
A Martial Artist who could cultivate True Qi was already considered an expert in the Jianghu.
The Zhu Family was able to dominate Lonely Mountain City precisely because the Zhu Family’s Patriarch was a Qi Casting Realm master.
His five sons, known as the Five Tigers of the Zhu Family, included three who had reached the Qi Casting Realm.
But even the Zhu Family’s most brilliant genius, Zhu Chengzong—who had joined the Blazing Sect, a Major Sect in Yong Province—hadn’t reached the Qi Casting Realm at Chen Yuan’s apparent age.
It was only at this moment that Chu Hongshang truly began to believe that Chen Yuan could help her get her revenge.
"There’s no need for that. I only want one thing from your Chu Family."
Chu Hongshang gave a sad smile. "My Chu Family has nothing now. The Zhu Family took everything."
"Then I’ll just take it back," Chen Yuan said nonchalantly. "I want your Chu Family’s Celestial Star Divine Box."
Chu Hongshang froze, then shook her head with a bitter smile. "That’s just a rumor from our ancestors. My father even considered selling it to add to my dowry."
At the thought, a sharp pain lanced through Chu Hongshang’s heart.
Her father had always doted on her. Fearing she would be bullied or looked down upon after marrying into the Wang Family, he had started saving for her dowry when she was just a child. Her brothers had done the same.
But now, they were all dead.
The so-called Celestial Star Divine Box was a box passed down through the Chu Family’s ancestors. It was engraved with a Star Map and was quite beautiful.
But the box had no lock and no seams. It was more like a solid block of iron.
According to ancestral lore, a Supreme Technique was hidden inside.
But after so many years, the Chu Family had tried countless methods and had never been able to open it.
Eventually, the Chu Family even brought out the Celestial Star Divine Box publicly, allowing the various major powers and Jianghu People from around the North Sea to try their hand at opening it.
This was actually a clever move by the Chu Family. As long as the rumor existed, people would believe the Chu Family possessed a great treasure, which would inevitably attract covetous eyes.
It was better to show it to everyone and prove it was nothing more than a useless chunk of metal.
In the end, after several days of study, the numerous Jianghu People could only come to one conclusion.
The object was a solid block of iron, not a box at all.
It was probably the result of some Chu Family ancestor boasting while drunk.
Its only value lay in its material. It was made of top-grade Cold Iron, a material used for forging Profound Soldiers. If melted down, it could fetch a decent price.
After that, no one ever mentioned the Chu Family’s Secret Treasure again. Even the Chu Family themselves paid it no mind.
If the Chu Family ever truly fell into decline, it was entirely possible they would have melted down the Celestial Star Divine Box for money.
"It’s not a rumor. Your Chu Family simply hadn’t waited long enough for the person who could open it."
Chen Yuan shook his head gently. ’The Chu Family really had a tragic fate.’
’To possess such a great treasure and be unable to use it all this time.’
’Back when the ’Blood-Handed Fairy’ Shi Xueyan took Chu Hongshang in, she didn’t help her annihilate the Zhu Family.’
’Her reasoning was that preserving enough hatred would better stimulate Chu Hongshang’s potential, so she even suppressed her and forbade her from seeking revenge.’
’When Chu Hongshang was finally strong enough to take revenge and wipe out the Zhu Family, it ended up causing her a lot of trouble.’
’After the Zhu Family seized the Celestial Star Divine Box, they couldn’t open it either. It was just left to collect dust in a warehouse.’
’After taking her revenge, Chu Hongshang recovered the Celestial Star Divine Box. She had intended to keep it as a memento, but she unexpectedly opened it and discovered the Inner Vision God Observation Method hidden inside.’
’By then, however, Chu Hongshang was already the Crimson Demon Venerable, a figure who stood at the pinnacle of the Jianghu.’
’The Inner Vision God Observation Method was no longer critically important to her; at best, it was merely the icing on the cake.’
Chu Hongshang was about to say more, but Chen Yuan waved his hand dismissively and asked in a low voice, "So, are you willing to trade the Celestial Star Divine Box for the annihilation of the entire Zhu Family?"
"Of course I’m willing!"
Chu Hongshang nodded emphatically.
Forget a mythical treasure like the Celestial Star Divine Box; at this moment, she would have given Chen Yuan anything he asked for.
"Then wait here. I’ve already instructed the inn attendant to bring you food every day. I will bring you the heads of the entire Zhu Family."
With that, Chen Yuan left the inn.
Chu Hongshang watched his departing figure, then slowly knelt and kowtowed deeply.
...
Lonely Mountain City was one of several small mountain cities near the Beihai Collection.
It was named Lonely Mountain City because the mountain it was on was steep, with only a single, solitary road leading down.
It was only a third of the size of Lianshan City, but its location near the sea made it more prosperous.
Because Lonely Mountain City had been established relatively late, at a time when You Province had already broken away from the control of Great Xia, the city didn’t even have a Government Office.
Order had previously been maintained by several small families, but now, the Zhu Family, who dominated Lonely Mountain City, had the final say in everything.
Thirty years ago, the Zhu Family was an insignificant little family—hardly even a clan, just the Patriarch Zhu Chaofeng with his wife, concubines, and two children.
He had left Lonely Mountain City in his teens to make his way in the world. Rumor had it that he had joined the Great Xia Military, run with gangs, and even served as an Honored Guest Elder for a Noble Family.
By the time he returned to Lonely Mountain City, he had amassed a small fortune and had reached the Blood Movement Realm in his Cultivation.
Over the next thirty-odd years, Zhu Chaofeng fathered three more sons. Each of his sons possessed excellent Martial Dao Talent, and they came to be known as the Five Tigers of the Zhu Family.
Zhu Chaofeng’s own Martial Arts had also advanced over those thirty years, and he reached the Qi Casting Realm.
Of his five sons, three were at the Qi Casting Realm and two were at the Blood Movement Realm. His youngest son had even been accepted into the Blazing Sect, a Major Sect in Yong Province.
The Zhu Family’s power had skyrocketed. At this point, even the combined strength of all the other small families in Lonely Mountain City couldn’t match theirs.
Thus, over the past two or three years, the Zhu Family began to annex and suppress the other small families.
Those small families were either wiped out by the Zhu Family or became so terrified that they relocated.
The Chu Family didn’t leave. They had always kept to themselves and, from the very beginning, had made it clear they would honor the Zhu Family as their superior, ceding all power to them.
The Chu Family had assumed that by humbling themselves so completely, the Zhu Family would spare them.
They never expected that a simple refusal of a marriage proposal from the Zhu Family would lead to the annihilation of their entire clan.
In the very heart of Lonely Mountain City sat the Zhu Family’s lavish estate, an opulent courtyard manor that spanned nearly half a street.
Heaven only knew how the Zhu Family had managed to transport the materials to build such a large estate up that one narrow mountain road.
"Father, word has come from the Beihai Collection. They say the Chu Family’s daughter, Chu Hongshang, was thrown out by the Wang Family. She’s in the Beihai Collection right now."
A middle-aged man in his early forties with distinguished features was respectfully reporting to an old man with a white beard and hair, who wore a golden brocade robe and had an imposing bearing.
The old man was the Zhu Family Patriarch, Zhu Chaofeng. The middle-aged man was his eldest son, Zhu Cheng’an, who was also a Qi Casting Realm master.
Of the Five Tigers of the Zhu Family, the eldest, Zhu Cheng’an, and the second eldest, Zhu Chenguo, both had Cultivation at the Qi Casting Realm.
The third, Zhu Chengze, and the fourth, Zhu Chengzu, were at the Blood Movement Realm.
The fifth and youngest, Zhu Chengzong, was the most talented of them all. He had joined the Blazing Sect, a top-tier Major Sect in Yong Province, several years ago. Word came a year ago that he, too, had entered the Qi Casting Realm.
Zhu Chaofeng picked up a black-gold celadon cup, took a sip of tea, and chuckled. "The Wang Family of South Mountain City knows its place. Otherwise, I was thinking I’d have to find time to pay them a visit and have a little chat with that old fossil of theirs."
"The Wang Family knows its place, but that girl from the Chu Family doesn’t."
Zhu Cheng’an sneered. "After being thrown out by the Wang Family, she didn’t even run. Instead, she went to Wan Tong Restaurant in the Beihai Collection and posted a mission for those Assassins. She wants to annihilate our entire Zhu Family!"
Zhu Chaofeng paused, then burst out laughing as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
Zhu Cheng’an laughed along with him.
Hiring those low-level Assassins, who were no better than dogs, to annihilate the Zhu Family? It was the joke of the century!
Forget those wretched Assassins. Even if the Murong Family that dominated You Province or the Sun-piercing Alliance came knocking, the Zhu Family only had to mention the Blazing Sect, and both powers would have to give them face!
Zhu Chengzong hadn’t entered the Blazing Sect as a mere ordinary disciple; he was a Core Disciple of the Direct Lineage. In the future, he could very well become one of the Blazing Sect’s upper echelon.
With a connection like that, not even the Murong Family or the Sun-piercing Alliance would dare to move against the Zhu Family unless there was an absolute conflict of interest.
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