The Chen Family Has a Traitor? The Three-Hundred-Year Ginseng Is Mine! Please Keep Reading

Yan Yun County.

Chen Family.

Council Hall.

At this moment, Chen Kun, dressed in a crimson robe and black cap, his face pale and beardless, sat upright in the seat of honor. A sharp, terrifying aura radiated from him.

Six people sat on either side below him in the council hall.

Four of them were elderly men in their sixties, while the other two middle-aged men were Chen Kun's second brother, Chen Xiao, and his cousin, Chen Yun.

Especially the four elderly men—the auras they gave off were not as powerful as Chen Kun's, but they were still immensely formidable.

"Just who are Tianji Pavilion and the Hundred Knowledge Divine Lord? I'd never even heard of them before!"

"Why have they targeted our Chen Family time and again?"

"The key question is, where did they get their information?"

Chen Kun swept his gaze across the Chen Family's upper ranks, his expression incomparably gloomy.

Yesterday afternoon, he had gathered the core members present to discuss wiping out the Lin Family and the Su Family. Yet by the next morning, Tianji Pavilion had exposed it all. If there was no traitor in the family, he would not believe it even if beaten to death!

"Patriarch, everyone seated here is part of the family's core. We shouldn't have leaked the news! Could someone from Tianji Pavilion have overheard us?"

"Yes, yes, could someone have been listening in?"

"."

"Since the news has been exposed, we must change our strategy for dealing with the two families!"

"Elders, do you have any good suggestions?"

Chen Kun did not dwell too much on the matter and spoke in a deep voice.

He intended to devise another plan while keeping watch on the core family members present and rooting out the traitor!

Noon.

Yan Yun County's county office was ablaze, flames shooting into the sky.

Three to four thousand furious civilians, armed with farming tools, surrounded the county office gates. They smashed and burned the county office. Deputy Chief Constable Ji Shun led nearly a hundred constables forward, but they could not hold them back at all and were swallowed up by the enraged crowd.

County Magistrate Chen Hao and Ji Wuyuan, his adviser, had vanished without a trace.

"Fellow townsfolk! Under the protection of that dog official Chen Hao, our children—our flesh and blood—were harmed by that old beast Li Hongfei and turned into Medicine Persons! Neither alive nor dead could they be found!"

"If Tianji Pavilion and the Hundred Knowledge Divine Lord had not exposed the truth, we would have remained in the dark until our dying day!"

"Ten years ago, my beloved younger brother applied to be an apprentice at Tongrentang Pharmacy and vanished without a trace! My parents cried themselves blind, then died of illness last year!"

"If it weren't for that dog official Chen Hao, would that old beast Li Hongfei have dared to run wild like this?"

"Fellow townsfolk, the dynasty is rotten, and the heavens see no tomorrow. Dog officials shield one another, leaving us common folk no road to survival! Prince Jin is now purging the evil at the emperor's side; he is generous and benevolent. Fellow townsfolk, why not join me, Qi Shun, in taking control of Yan Yun County, finding and killing those dog officials, wiping out that old beast Li Hongfei, and welcoming General Li Jingzhong's army into the city?!"

Before the nearly four thousand civilians stood a burly middle-aged man with deep-set eyes. He raised a long blade in his hand, his voice booming like a great bell!

His words were immensely stirring!

They carried far into the distance!

"Kill that dog official Chen Hao! Avenge my son!"

"Use that old beast Li Hongfei's dog head to honor my son's spirit in heaven!"

"Are kings and generals born to their stations? Submit to Prince Jin! Welcome General Li Jingzhong's army into the city! Win glory and establish merit!"

"Beat that old beast Li Hongfei to death!"

"."

Incited by Qi Shun, the nearly four thousand civilians grew even more impassioned and stormed into the county office. The nearly hundred constables of the Arrest Bureau were trampled underfoot one after another!

Quite a few people charged toward the nearby streets and shops as well.

Yan Yun County.

It lay beside the surging Black River.

Fifteen li from the Black River stood a maple forest spanning ten li in every direction, hence its name: Clearwind Forest.

A mountain road more than a zhang wide ran through Clearwind Forest.

It was year's end, and the ground was covered in yellowing dead leaves. When the cold wind blew, the leaves spun in whirling eddies through the air.

Qin Wang crouched behind a maple tree by the roadside, its trunk as thick as a large bowl. He wore a yellowing hooded outer garment that was nearly the same color as the maple leaves; without a careful look, he was impossible to spot.

"It's already three o'clock. They should be here soon, right?"

Qin Wang held a dagger in his hand. Beside him were two packets of Beisu San Gong Xiang. This medicine was prepared from thirty-six medicinal ingredients. Once lit, it could cause experts below the First-Rate Realm to lose their inner force and ability to move.

It contained flammable materials. A spark from a fire striker was enough to ignite it.

At this moment.

Two li away from Qin Wang, two riders galloped down the mountain road.

The leading rider was around twenty-four or twenty-five years old. A treasured sword hung at his waist, and a bundle was strapped to his back. He rode down the mountain road at a gallop. Behind him followed an exceptionally fierce-looking man with a longsword at his waist.

"Young Master, this trip to Qingyun County went safely and smoothly enough!"

The man behind Chen Tianyu, around forty years old, said flatteringly.

"Mm. You've worked hard, Uncle Lin!"

Chen Tianyu nodded at the man beside him, revealing his approval.

Chen Lin was Chen Tianyu's paternal cousin once removed and an early Second-Rate Realm expert. This time, he had accompanied Chen Tianyu to Qingyun County to purchase that three-hundred-year-old ginseng. The journey had gone fairly smoothly.

Neigh!

Chen Tianyu was riding when, all of a sudden, the horse beneath him snorted. Its front legs went weak, and it collapsed toward the ground.

"Ah—"

Caught off guard, Chen Tianyu tumbled off as well. He had intended to spring back to his feet, only to discover that his entire body was weak and limp. He collapsed onto the ground, unable to draw upon the inner force in his dantian. At the same time, from the corner of his eye, he saw his uncle fall from his horse too, staring at him in horror.

At that moment.

A lean old man in his fifties, dressed in earthy yellow clothes and wearing animal-hide gloves, leaped down beside Chen Tianyu. He yanked the bundle from Chen Tianyu's shoulder, opened it, and satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

This man came for the three-hundred-year-old ginseng!

Chen Tianyu looked at the old man, his heart filled with terror. He had never expected that, having already reached Yan Yun County, he would still encounter bandits. Now, he could only hope that this bandit wanted money alone and would spare his life.

Very soon.

Terror and despair filled his eyes.

Because his uncle Chen Lin's throat was slit by a dagger, and blood sprayed across his face.

"Spare... spare my life..."

Chen Tianyu looked at the approaching old man. He wanted to beg for mercy, but his voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. He could only watch helplessly as that dagger slashed across his throat, his consciousness gradually fading away.

"The three-hundred-year-old ginseng is mine!"

Qin Wang checked the bundle and confirmed the ginseng. He then searched Chen Tianyu and found over five hundred taels of silver. He immediately cleaned away the traces, cut out the eyes of Chen Tianyu, the other man, and the horses, then swiftly departed.

The reason he went to such lengths—

He had once heard that when people died, they might retain the final image they saw. Though he did not know whether it was true, Qin Wang decided it was best to destroy their eyes. It was troublesome, but it gave him peace of mind.

Night.

Seven o'clock.

Chen Family.

In an extravagant side room in the rear courtyard, a gaunt old woman lay on a bed, attended by four lovely, youthful maids.

"Chun Cao, has Xiao Yu returned?"

Old Madam Chen looked at the curvaceous maid beside her, worry written across her wrinkled face.

"Madam, the young master... hasn't returned yet. He was probably delayed on the road."

Chun Cao stepped forward and replied.

Please support the ongoing reading. I asked the editor today, and Little Dragon's ongoing readership has not been very ideal. I'm kneeling here to beg for some support! or2 or2 or2

PS: Thanks to the brothers who gave rewards and monthly votes, or2 or2 or2