21: Chapter 21 The Fu Family

"Oh? Uncle Jiefu, tell me about this Second Master Qi Zhenglu," Ye Yisong said with interest.

"Could he be so bold as to commit violence within Cangjiang Prefecture?"

Uncle Jiefu laughed, "He wouldn't dare. Even if you gave the Qi Family eight times the courage, they wouldn't dare do such a thing. Otherwise, the Wei Martial Soldiers would plow through the Qi Family's ancestral home three times over."

The Wei Martial Soldiers are one of the five most elite units of Great Wei. They participate in foreign wars year-round and are all battle-hardened killers. Some soldiers who suffer severe injuries return to their home prefectures and counties to retire to the second line and maintain local public security.

The Wei Martial Soldiers mainly recuperate when stationed locally and generally do not participate in daily patrols. Daily security is handled by the prefecture, commandery, and county lieutenants.

However, when they encounter vicious illegal incidents that violate the Great Wei Code, the Wei Martial Soldiers will spare no effort to decapitate the perpetrators and tear their bodies apart.

Every Wei Martial Soldier is proud to their core. They believe that the Great Wei empire was built by them and will not allow anyone to destroy it.

The Great Wei Code clearly states that no force or individual is allowed to attack others without cause in cities under Great Wei's rule, nor are they allowed to enter the territory of another Family to provoke trouble without reason.

As subjects of Great Wei, everyone wants to buy a plot of land in a Great Wei city to build their own Family territory, which is protected by the authorities.

This is also the reason Fu Yihang dared to refuse Second Master Qi Zhenglu; he firmly believed that the Qi Family would absolutely not dare to make a move against him in Cangjiang Prefecture.

As long as he was given a few more years, he believed he would definitely have the strength to deal with the crisis the Family was currently facing.

"Second Master Qi Zhenglu wouldn't dare to act within the prefecture, but outside the city, this person is quite active," Uncle Jiefu continued.

"I have also heard that this Second Master of the Qi Family has a terrible reputation. He often engages in forced buying and selling. The reputation of our martial families is ruined by such people," Ye Yiguang said with disgust.

After hearing what the two of them said, Ye Yisong understood in his heart and roughly knew what kind of person this was.

"What is his strength?" Ye Yisong asked.

Ye Yiguang spoke first, "I know this. The Qi Family's recruitment of Loose Cultivators has always been handled by Second Master Qi Zhenglu. The last time he attacked a Loose Cultivator outside the city, he revealed the cultivation of an Eight-Star Martial Master. It's just so-so."

Ye Yisong understood his cousin's gossipy nature too well. He didn't care about Cultivate at all, but was very interested in rumors and couldn't wait to get to the bottom of them.

He probably heard some things about the Qi Family in the Family and secretly put in a lot of effort to collect information about them.

That was why he was so familiar with Second Master Qi Zhenglu.

However, it must be said that Ye Yiguang's methods for gathering intelligence were unparalleled; he could always dig up some very hidden clues that were refreshing.

Hearing Ye Yiguang's 'just so-so', Ye Yitian said speechlessly, "Yiguang, I think you're getting ahead of yourself. A mere Martial Apprentice has the nerve to call a Martial Master 'so-so'? Martial Masters are the absolute backbone of the Family."

Ye Yiguang knew he had made a slip of the tongue. He ignored Ye Yitian's mockery and continued, "Second Master Qi Zhenglu is still quite strong. It is said that he is very favored by the Qi Family's Old Ancestor. Legend has it that the name 'Zhenglu' was chosen by the Qi Family's Old Ancestor, hoping he would walk the straight and narrow and follow the Great Dao. Now it seems he has gone astray."

"Thirteenth Brother, given his style, I estimate the Fu Family will not be able to overcome this hurdle. Second Master Qi Zhenglu is notorious for not stopping until he achieves his goals."

Ye Yisong thought in silence for a while but didn't say anything.

He was too weak and powerless, so he'd better not get involved in this kind of trouble.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Ye Yisong stopped thinking and greeted them, "Let's not talk about them. It's not easy to come out, let's eat."

...

Fu Yihang walked into the Fu Family ancestral hall with a weary face. He washed his hands, first lit a stick of incense for the ancestors of the Fu Family, and sat alone on a cushion to run his Cultivation Technique to polish the Meridians all over his body.

Ever since his grandfather, the Fu Family Old Ancestor, went out to search for treasures and did not return, Fu Yihang had been living in the ancestral hall, guarding his grandfather's soul lamp and waiting for his return.

"Young Master, why are you back so early today? Didn't you go out to drink with Huang Qiang?" A thin, elderly man in thin clothing walked in from outside and said to Fu Yihang.

"Grandpa Huang," Fu Yihang ended his practice and briefly described what happened today, saying, "There was a small situation. Huang Qiang sold me out. Second Master Qi Zhenglu from the Qi Family came to see me again today."

"Huang Qiang, that kid, how dare he?"

"If it weren't for the Fu Family these past few years, he wouldn't even know where he was still wandering," Elder Huang said very angrily.

Elder Huang was a life-and-death friend of Fu Yihang's grandfather, Fu Xingqi.

When Fu Xingqi was still a Martial Master, he went on an adventure and inadvertently saved Elder Huang, who was dying. Since then, Elder Huang had become a Guest Elder of the Fu Family, and fifty or sixty years had passed in a flash.

Fu Yihang's parents passed away when he was young, and his grandfather often went out, leaving him without care, so Fu Xingqi entrusted Elder Huang to take care of Fu Yihang.

Therefore, it could be said that Fu Yihang was brought up by Elder Huang.

Fu Yihang had very deep feelings for Elder Huang and had always addressed him as 'Grandpa Huang'.

Huang Qiang was a distant grand-nephew of Elder Huang. By the time it reached Huang Qiang's generation, life had become increasingly difficult, and it could be said that he was no different from a Loose Cultivator.

Huang Qiang did not know where he heard that he had a distant grand-uncle who was a Guest Elder in the Fu Family, so he came uninvited and sought refuge.

However, when Huang Qiang learned that the Fu Family Old Ancestor had not returned for decades, he did not truly become a member of the Fu Family, but only became an outer Disciple and was not recorded in the genealogy.

The genealogy of this world does not only record Family members; members with other surnames can also be recorded in the genealogy. As long as one is recorded in the genealogy, one can represent the main Family in the imperial examinations and obtain points for the imperial examinations.

Once recorded in the genealogy, it cannot be changed for one hundred years.

The imperial court recognizes the genealogy, not the person. Exterminating a Family is executed according to the genealogy, so being entered into the genealogy is no joke.

Huang Qiang had gone on a few missions with Fu Yihang before, and with the relationship with Elder Huang, the two of them became familiar with each other over time.

They often drank and ate together, so when Huang Qiang invited Fu Yihang to Yuelai Pavilion for a meal, he went without thinking.

He didn't expect to be sold out by him this time.

"When he comes back, I will definitely cripple him," Elder Huang had not calmed down yet and continued to scold, "This ungrateful wretch, when he first came to the Fu Family, he was only a One-Star Martial Warrior. Now that he has broken through to a Seven-Star Martial Master, he has forgotten his roots."

"He doesn't even think about it. Without the Fu Family, where would he be today? He actually dared to betray the Young Master. I must cripple him."

Fu Yihang knew that Grandpa Huang had privately given Huang Qiang some resources for Cultivate. Being in a foreign land, it was rare to have a blood relative by his side, so it was inevitable that he would have some affection.

This was also one of the reasons why Grandpa Huang was very angry; Huang Qiang had let him down.

"Huang Qiang probably won't come back," Fu Yihang said softly.

"Not good..." Elder Huang suddenly thought of something, and a bad thought suddenly popped up.