43: Chapter 43 The Wang Family Shaken

Time flew by in an instant.

An hour had already passed since Pei Qingyun left the encampment.

At this time.

The Wang Family encampment.

After tossing Wang Yang's corpse to the Wang Family, Pei Tianlin followed Pei Qingyun's instructions and left in a hurry without staying for a moment.

However.

The arrival of this corpse was like a depth charge, causing an enormous uproar within the Wang Family.

In fact, from the day Wang Yang went missing, the Wang Family had already been on edge.

Every member of the Wang Family who had participated in the operation against the Pei Family knew very well that the hope of Wang Yang returning alive was slim.

But a sliver of lingering fantasy in their minds still made them pray silently, preventing them from going mad with fear and anxiety.

As time passed, that hope gradually shattered. But no matter what, as long as they hadn't received news of Wang Yang's death for a single day, that last sliver of fantasy wouldn't break.

But now, Wang Yang's corpse was laid out before them, and all fantasies were shattered.

What followed was extreme panic.

Many Wang Family Elders looked at Wang Yang's corpse with pale faces and vacant eyes, completely at a loss.

After a long while, some even burst into loud wailing.

As for whether the crying was genuine or fake, that was a matter of perspective.

Of course, there were also a tiny few loyal to Wang Yang who clamored for revenge.

Yet, in a dark corner.

A man who looked almost identical to Wang Yang was silently watching all of this.

There were no tears on his face, but the touch of pain in his eyes could not be hidden.

This man was Wang Yang's twin brother, Wang Gang.

Wang Gang remained silent for a long time until the sorrow in his eyes gradually faded, and he murmured, "Brother, you were wrong, and Father was wrong too."

Immediately after, he turned and left.

...

Shortly after leaving, Wang Gang arrived at a small courtyard.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it had a sense of quiet and peace, as if time had slowed its pace here.

In the center of the yard was a small flowerbed where several peonies were in full bloom. The massive flowers were layered, red like fire and pink like sunset clouds. A gentle breeze blew past, bringing bursts of rich fragrance.

Just as Wang Gang was admiring the scenery of the courtyard, a scruffy old man with graying temples and a messy beard walked out of the house. The old man had a ruddy complexion and walked slowly with a cane, appearing to be in decent spirits.

This old man was the eldest Elder of the Wang Family, Wang Yongnian.

Upon seeing Wang Yongnian, Wang Gang immediately stepped forward and greeted him warmly, "Elder Yongnian, how have you been lately?"

"These old bones of mine are doing great. Every day I have nothing to do but water flowers and tend to the grass. All the plants in this courtyard were planted by my own hands," Wang Yongnian said while tending to the flowers.

"I was wondering who had the skill to make this courtyard so beautiful; it turns out you did it yourself," Wang Gang immediately understood Wang Yongnian's pride and praised him at once.

"You've had a sweet tongue since you were a boy," Wang Yongnian chuckled.

"You know I haven't spoken a word against my conscience since I was young; every word comes from the heart," Wang Gang's face turned serious.

"You are still the sensible one. By the way, why didn't Xiao Yang come with you today?"

"He has things to do..." Wang Gang's eyes dimmed, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face.

After some deliberation, he couldn't bear to tell the truth to this old man who had raised the two brothers.

But he had ultimately underestimated the old man.

Even though Wang Gang's change was subtle, Wang Yongnian still sensed something was wrong.

"Has Xiao Yang run into some trouble?" Wang Yongnian asked tentatively.

"No, it's just that there are quite a lot of Demons in the area the Family is responsible for clearing lately. Big Brother is too busy, so he didn't come along," Wang Gang explained quickly, worried that Wang Yongnian would notice the anomaly.

"And here I thought Xiao Yang didn't want to see this old man anymore; turns out he's just busy with work. Come, come, sit over here, let's have some tea and chat," Wang Yongnian teased.

"Coming." Seeing Wang Yongnian's expression, Wang Gang's heart finally settled.

The two of them chatted for a while longer.

Wang Gang was worried that if he stayed too long, he wouldn't be able to keep up the act. So, he found an excuse and left the courtyard.

What he didn't know was that the moment he left.

The smile on Wang Yongnian's face vanished instantly, replaced by deep sorrow.

How could he not know what was happening in the clan?

As early as two days ago, clansmen had already reported Wang Yang's situation to him.

Now that Wang Gang had come to see him and Wang Yang hadn't appeared.

The result was obvious.

Now the Family was in a precarious state, liable to collapse at any moment.

He didn't want Wang Gang to worry about his health at a time like this.

After leaving the courtyard, Wang Gang sat on a giant rock and fell into deep thought.

Wang Yang's death was a heavy blow to him. But he understood even better what his Elder brother meant to the Family.

In Wuyang County, besides the three major families, there were dozens of other large and small forces combined.

Among these forces, every single one had a Divine Strength Martial Artist presiding over them, ranging from one or two to as many as a dozen.

But because no Five-Viscera Martial Artist had been born among them, these forces only submitted to the rule of the three major families.

Now, without Wang Yang, their only Five-Viscera Martial Artist, the Wang Family's power was still great—stronger than any single force outside of the other two major families.

But this alone held little deterrent. Once the news of Wang Yang's death spread, other forces would surely swarm in to devour the Wang Family.

Not to mention, the Pei Family and Li Family, as fellow major families, would certainly not let this opportunity pass.

Of course, the one he feared most among these forces was the Pei Family. In recent years, the relationship between the Pei and Wang families had deteriorated drastically, and Wang Yang had even died at the hands of Pei Qingyun.

No matter how one looked at it, the Pei Family would surely act to destroy the Wang Family.

In his view, the only reason the Pei Family hadn't acted yet was because they were delayed by the Calamity of Demons operation.

Once the Calamity of Demons operation ended, that would be the day the Wang Family collapsed.

Furthermore, Wang Yang's involvement with Ling Ziwen had also been discovered by the Evil Suppression Bureau.

Wang Gang didn't know the Evil Suppression Bureau's attitude, but they would never let the Wang Family off so easily.

Looking back at the Wang Family's history of over a hundred years, they had never encountered such a crisis.

Thinking of this, Wang Gang's face was full of bitterness.

At the same time, he felt deep self-reproach for not having persuaded Wang Yang back then.

Now, of all the major forces in Wuyang County, the Wang Family had offended the two strongest.

This mess was simply too massive.

No matter which way he looked at it, he couldn't find a single glimmer of hope for the Wang Family to survive.

And so, Wang Gang sat from day until night.

He fell into deep anxiety over the future of the Family.

...

On the other side, Pei Qingyun also returned to the Pei Family encampment after a day of the Calamity of Demons operation.

Upon returning, Pei Qingyun immediately asked about Wang Yang's corpse.

Learning that Pei Tianlin had already delivered the corpse, Pei Qingyun didn't ask further.

This left Pei Tianlin somewhat bewildered and scratching his head.