122: Chapter 122 So That's How It Is

"What should we do after making a move?" Wang Yaowu slammed his teacup onto the table, voicing the question that everyone present had been suppressing deep in their hearts.

The bamboo building fell silent for a moment, and the candle flame flickered, casting shifting lights and shadows across everyone's faces.

This question was too heavy, so heavy that even someone as calm and steady as Wang Yaowen dared not speak lightly.

There were over three hundred mouths in the Ning Family, not three hundred heads of livestock; it was not something that could simply be blamed on mountain bandits and highwaymen once they were all killed.

The Spirit Sword Sect was not blind, and the Xiaoshan County yamen was not just for show. The laws of the Yue State were written clearly, and any major case of annihilation of a family would require the Ministry of Punishments' investigating envoy to personally inspect it. Any tiny clue would be uncovered upon examination.

Wang Yaowen took the lead to speak, his tone carrying a hint of exhaustion and helplessness.

"This is precisely the hardest part. Over three hundred people dying overnight—bloodstains, Magical Artifact residues, and spiritual power fluctuations; every single one is ironclad evidence."

"The Wang Family and the Ning Family have always had a rift, which everyone in the Three Counties knows. Once an incident occurs, our Wang Family will bear the brunt."

"Unless there is a way to steer the case elsewhere, making all clues point to a reasonable and logical culprit—a culprit that the Spirit Sword Sect cannot trace even if they suspect them."

"Easier said than done." Wang Yaowu sighed, spreading his hands. "In our territory of the Three Counties, besides our Wang Family, where else can you find a second force capable of wiping out the entire Ning Family? Unless a demonic cultivator fell from the sky."

Several branch elders also nodded successively, discussing in low voices.

Wang Chongyang put down his teacup and suddenly spoke.

"The heaven-covering bead can temporarily conceal a place's aura from leaking out, including communication. If it is further supplemented by a maze formation, it is not entirely impossible to prevent them from sending out distress signals."

He paused, shifting the conversation, "As for the subsequent investigation—if worst comes to worst, this old man will make a trip to the outer perimeter of the Monster Mountain Range and lure a pack of Yao Beasts over."

Wang Shouren drew a sharp breath, looking up at Sixth Grandpa's calm and unruffled face.

Sixth Grandpa was truly ruthless to come up with such a method.

But he quickly shook his head.

"Unrealistic. Although the Three Counties are located in a border region, they are still several days away from the Monster Mountain Range. A round trip alone takes several days, and there are too many variables involved."

"Furthermore, the commotion of Yao Beasts entering the territory is immense. By the time they run to Xiaoshan County, the Loose Cultivators and Mortal villages along the way will all be alerted, which is equivalent to tipping off the Ning Family in advance. Besides, Yao Beasts already possess preliminary spiritual intelligence, so how could they be so easy to lure?"

Wang Yaowen nodded and took over the conversation.

"Yao Beasts won't just target the Ning Family to bite; they will blindly devour anyone they see. The heaviest casualties would instead be those innocent Loose Cultivators and Mortals along the way. This method has too many risks, too many variables, and is difficult to control."

Everyone fell into silence again.

Wang Chongyang stroked his beard slowly and did not insist further. He had only put forward the backup plan just now, not being stubbornly attached to it.

Wang Shouren suddenly raised an eyebrow, a flash of inspiration darting through his eyes, and blurted out, "I have a way: Heisha."

Everyone turned their heads to look at him. Wang Yaowu blinked, not yet reacting.

Wang Shouren stood up, took a couple of steps in the bamboo building, his thoughts becoming clearer and clearer, and his speech growing faster and faster.

"Since the Ning Family colluded with Heisha first, this group of bandit-cultivators called Heisha is a ready-made scapegoat."

"Infighting among bandit-cultivators is a common occurrence. Heisha being driven by greed to turn on them and wipe out the entire Ning Family—this explanation is reasonable and logical, and no one can pick out any faults."

Wang Yaowen slightly frowned, gently tapping his fingers twice on the table, and mused, "Heisha's group's whereabouts are secretive. How can we make them cooperate with us—"

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Wang Yaowu also reacted, slamming his thigh fiercely, his eyes shining astonishingly: "That's right! Didn't the Ning Family hire Heisha to deal with us? Since Heisha is already here, and we have nothing better to do—let's follow right behind them and raid their base!"

He spoke too eagerly, involuntarily raising his voice a bit more, and only restrained himself after Wang Yaowen kicked him under the table.

"Heisha kills the Ning Family, and we kill Heisha."

Wang Shouren took over the conversation, his voice calm and resolute, "The Ning Family hired Heisha to annihilate the Wang Family; this is a ready-made motive—following the vine to get the melon, killing three birds with one stone."

"First, the Ning Family deserves to die; second, Heisha is executed to mete out justice on behalf of heaven; third, and most importantly—as long as Heisha dies in Lotus Pier, the Spirit Sword Sect's investigation will only point to the remnants of Heisha."

"Bandit-cultivator infighting and dogs eating dogs—it's logical and natural. Our Wang Family has been the victim from beginning to end. Heisha came knocking on our door, and we merely launched a self-defense counterattack."

"As for the Ning Family—that was killed by Heisha, what does it have to do with our Wang Family?"

The bamboo building fell silent for a breath, and then Wang Yaowu punched his own thigh, roaring in a suppressed voice, "Let's do it this way! Shouren's brain is more useful than a foundation establishment pill!"

Wang Yaowen did not rush to express his stance. He lowered his head and deliberated the entire plan from beginning to end—Heisha kills the Ning Family first, and then the Wang Family kills Heisha.

As long as Heisha entered the Ning Family, the causes of death, wounds, and spiritual power residues of the Ning Family would all be attributed to Heisha.

Moreover, Heisha's gang already had a notorious reputation outside, having killed countless people and plundered goods. Bandit-cultivator infighting like this was expected by anyone.

Even if the Spirit Sword Sect wanted to investigate, reaching Heisha's line would already be the end—bandit-cultivators had no roots or duckweed, so once killed, they were killed. Who would overturn a case for them?

Even if the likes of Yang Zhenghua wanted to make a fuss about it, they wouldn't be able to find any direct evidence pointing to the Wang Family.

After a long while, he slowly nodded, a trace of coldness rising on his face: "This plan is feasible. As long as Heisha dares to come, don't even think about leaving alive. I will personally lead people to block him at the exit—however many people come, that many corpses will be left behind."

Wang Chongyang looked at Shouren's young and resolute face, a trace of extremely complex light flashing in his aged eyes—there was gratification, emotion, and more importantly, a sense of relief after handing over such a large family enterprise to the next generation.

He didn't say much more, just nodded slightly, which counted as making the final decision.

Wang Yaozu swept his gaze across everyone, making the final decision.

Everyone responded in unison and stood up to leave one after another.

That night, the Ning Family was annihilated, and Heisha was executed. Lotus Pier was brightly lit, and clan members were busy cleaning the battlefield, collecting the remains of the fallen Loose Cultivators one by one, and sorting and storing the Magical Artifacts left behind by the bandit-cultivators. The clamor penetrated layers of courtyard walls, reaching the back courtyard study where it had become faint and indistinct, as if separated by a layer of water.

Wang Yaozu did not go to celebrate the victory.

He stood alone in front of the study window. Outside the window, Lotus Pier was quiet and serene under the moonlight; the green lotuses in the pond were unblossomed buds, and the pond water reflected the stars all over the sky.

This family estate that he had guarded for decades would no longer have any worries about the Ning Family after tonight, and the Wang Family would be the well-deserved leading clan of the Three Counties.

Yet he kept pacing back and forth in the study, walking from the door to the window, and from the window back to the door.

Everything had developed in the direction Shouren said—the Ning Family was destroyed, Heisha was dead, and the news was locked down seamlessly.

But the sense of unease deep in his heart was like a thorn, pricking him so that he couldn't sit or stand in peace.

He stopped in front of the window, looking at the overlapping pavilions and towers under the moonlight. His gaze swept from the martial arts arena to the ancestral hall, and then from the ancestral hall to the back mountain bamboo building.

He grew up in this villa since he was a child. Every single brick and every single tile here was built with the blood and sweat of the Wang Family ancestors.