22: Tremendous changes

Just as Chu Mu had expected, if slaying Source Beasts could grant Source Spirits, then activities beneficial to the Family's interests, such as acquiring land, could also grant Source Spirits.

Although the Source Spirit points obtained were not many, this established a direction for the Family's future sustainable development; if there were actual production, the Source Spirits obtained might be even greater.

Although the newly obtained Source Spirits were enough to perform Spirit Opening for two people, Chu Mu did not immediately gather the Chu Family Members to awaken their spirits.

He had appeared quite enough these past few days; frequent blessings would not be conducive to establishing a mysterious image among the Chu Family Members.

When the sky dimmed slightly, Chu Jingyu finally returned home. Although he had been running through the wind and snow all day, his eyes were bright, his complexion was ruddy, and his mood seemed excellent.

Briefly brushing the snowflakes off his clothes, he sat at the low table in the main hall, poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a long drink, and then pulled several deeds from his robe and placed them on the table.

“These are the deeds for the land purchase. Qin Hui, put them away carefully.”

Chu Qinhui picked up the deeds and looked them over before putting them away. “Father, you came back so late just to arrange for these lands?”

“Of course not just that. I took a trip up the mountain. There is a cold plum forest on the gentle slope on the east side of Linye Mountain; when we have time, we can transplant some of them over.”

Just then, the cry of a bird came from above the eaves; its voice was clear and beautiful, with strong penetration yet not piercing to the ear.

Chu Jingyu opened the door and saw a large bird, about the length of an adult's arm, with brown and gray feathers and a slightly plump build, appearing in the courtyard.

Upon seeing Chu Jingyu, the large bird shifted its body twice on the ground, and a letter, hidden who-knows-where, was flicked in front of the door.

Seeing Chu Jingyu pick up the letter, the large bird flapped its wings, blowing up the wind and snow on the ground, and then shot straight into the sky, disappearing behind the thick clouds.

Standing behind Chu Jingyu, Chu Qinhui asked in confusion, “Father, what is this?”

Chu Jingyu looked at the four large characters [To be opened by Grandfather] on the letter and understood. “This bird is called a Tracing Bird. It is often used as a messenger and can deliver letters to a target very quickly within a thousand miles.

This letter should have been sent by Xiaofan. I wonder what it's for.”

By the time he finished, Chu Jingyu was clutching the letter, his brow furrowing unconsciously.

It couldn't be that Xiaofan encountered some difficulty on his very first day, could it?

Carrying a certain anxiety, the father and son hurried into the house, opened the letter, and read it quickly.

By the end, complex expressions of both shock and worry hung on both their faces.

“The entire village of Qihe disappeared overnight... this... I'm afraid even you, Father, could not do this so silently.”

Facing Chu Qinhui's inquiry, Chu Jingyu nodded. “It would take at least a Source Beast above the Spirit Rank to act. But the people of Qihe Village are all ordinary people; why would they be chosen?”

A flash of insight crossed Chu Jingyu's mind. “Mist-Resentment Ghosts—the mind-clouding Mist-Resentment Ghosts. Only they would need human sacrifices to raise their Realm.”

“If it really is Mist-Resentment Ghosts, Father, do we need to listen to Xiaofan and go to the town to hide?”

Chu Jingyu stared at the flames in the stove, the flickering light casting shadows on his face and reflecting his uncertain expression. After a long while, he shook his head.

“No, we will stay here honestly. A Mist-Resentment Ghost appeared near our village before; I think no new danger should appear in the short term.

Besides, the town isn't necessarily safer than the village. When Source Beasts cause trouble, one only needs martial force to deter them; but when humans cause chaos, their hearts are fickle and most difficult to guard against.”

...

When dawn broke on another day, faint sounds of sobbing drifted from the streets and alleys of Heyu Town.

In the end, some people could not withstand the continuous extreme low temperatures and slept forever under the heavy autumn snow.

Early this morning, the gates of the Liu Family manor swung wide, and all the Liu Family disciples filed out, scattering into the various streets.

They took the [ice crystal flowers] they were holding and planted them at set intervals along both sides of the streets.

An extreme cold capable of freezing an ordinary person into an ice sculpture spread out from the petals of the [ice crystal flowers]. A thin layer of white mist lingered on the streets, dyeing the walls into a likeness of ice crystals and white jade.

In every street, Liu Family disciples were in motion; for a time, the entire Heyu Town seemed to be gradually turning into a city of ice.

This abnormal movement soon alerted Tang Cheng. He immediately dispatched all the Guard Soldiers from the Town Chief's Mansion, wanting to stop the Liu Family from acting so unscrupulously.

However, only a small portion of the Guard Soldiers obeyed the order and prepared to leave the mansion; most of them just stood in place silently after hearing the arrangement.

Seeing this scene, how could Tang Cheng not know why? It was likely these Guard Soldiers had long been bought off by the Liu Family.

Tang Cheng's face turned ashen. A Source Beast glowing with green jade light, shaped like a tiger but covered in green scales and with two horns on its head, appeared by his side.

As soon as it appeared, a terrifying Aura radiated from its body, striking directly at those Guard Soldiers standing silently in place.

“You fear that Liu Family, but do you not fear me? If they can make you die, can't I?”

As he spoke, Tang Cheng and the Source Beast beside him took a step forward together. An Aura like an overwhelming mountain or sea pressed down on those Guard Soldiers, making their faces turn deathly pale; some who could not bear it even bent over and knelt on the ground.

The silence remained as persistent as ever. It seemed that no matter how Tang Cheng pressured them, they would only resist in this manner.

Tang Cheng looked at Guard Commander Zhang Yu. “Are these the Guard Soldiers you manage? Serving the Liu Family members as their masters.”

Zhang Yu gave a helpless sigh. “These people were all trained by the previous Town Chief; there is nothing I can do.”

Tang Cheng closed his eyes and lightly waved his finger.

The Source Beast beside him took a light step forward, and then a green blade of light erupted from its body, striking one of the silent men directly in the chest.

*Puff*

A very faint sound was made. That Guard Soldier didn't even have a chance to summon his own Source Beast before his body went limp and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

With the master dead, the Source Beast Space shattered, and an [Ice Crystal Turtle] fell to the ground from the space.

It first groped confusedly at the fallen corpse for a moment, and then, as if realizing something, it turned its head toward the green jade tiger-shaped Source Beast crouching nearby.

A small blade of ice crystal condensed in the air and stabbed straight toward Tang Cheng's Source Beast.

Facing an attack of this level, Tang Cheng's Source Beast didn't even bother to block. The ice crystal blade struck the scale armor on its chest, making a crisp clinking sound before shattering into ice crystal fragments on the ground.

“For every minute you stay here, I will kill one person, until you are willing to go.”

Tang Cheng's face was solemn, and with a corpse already lying on the ground, no one doubted that his words were a bluff.

Time ticked by. Finally, just as Tang Cheng sighed and prepared to let the Green Scale Spirit Tiger strike again, one of the Guard Soldiers, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure, shouted:

“Lord Town Chief, we are also forced into this! If we block those Liu Family disciples now, the lives of the old and young in our families will not be spared!”

“If you stop the Liu Family now, then when the Liu Family is liquidated by the superiors afterward, how could they harm your families?” Tang Cheng's tone carried a sense of frustration at their lack of resolve.

“But what if the Liu Family succeeds? If they completely become a prominent and influential Family, will the superiors really liquidate them?” The questioning voice from the corner made Tang Cheng fall into silence for a moment.

Tang Cheng's eyes held a murderous glint; he wanted to just kill this entire group of Guard Soldiers on the training grounds and be done with it.

But at this moment, three people rapidly approached from a distance.

“Liu Family, Liu Qiancheng.”

“Liu Family, Liu Qianyu.”

“Liu Family, Liu Yusheng, pays respects to the Lord Town Chief.”

Three different voices rang out simultaneously. Tang Cheng's expression was extremely unsightly.

“Dispatching three Spirit Ranks at once—the Liu Family truly has a grand style.”