Lost Children

The Jiang Family's main hall and corridors stood empty. Only the occasional servant swept the floors. Even the Training Ground, once filled with contests of strength and courage, was deserted; yet from the wear and tear, it was clear it had been used many times.

Jiang Li wandered through the Jiang Family like a ghost.

He followed his memories through many places, but five hundred years had passed, and the present-day Jiang Family was vastly different from the one he remembered.

The place most similar to his memories was the small house where he had lived when he had first crossed over. It was eighty percent alike.

He guessed that someone had moved in after he left, and once he became the Human Emperor, the Jiang Family had hurriedly tidied up the little house, doing their utmost to restore it to its original appearance.

Jiang Li shook his head with some regret and headed toward the Ancestral Hall.

When the Jiang Family worshipped their ancestors, the eldest elder knelt in the Ancestral Hall to pray for the ancestors' blessings. Everyone else remained in their rooms, abstaining from food for nine days and speaking not a word, to show their devotion.

Inside the Ancestral Hall, a decrepit old man knelt before the ancestral tablets. Layer upon layer of wrinkles on his face nearly covered his eyes.

Jiang Li walked up to him and cast a minor spell, seeing what the old man had looked like in his youth. His brows and features bore a thirty to forty percent resemblance to Jiang Yixing's. He was either Jiang Yixing's son, grandson, or an even younger descendant.

And Jiang Yixing's memorial tablet stood conspicuously at the very bottom of a cluster of tablets.

Jiang Li let out a soft sigh and turned to leave the Jiang Family.

Jiang Yixing had died in the end.

Though it was within his expectations, he still felt somewhat listless.

Jiang Li strolled out of the Jiang Family, but the sighing in his heart was interrupted by a shrill voice.

"My lord, it has been a full ten days! Why have you refused to send anyone to look for our children?"

"We demand to see the Qing City Lord!"

Across from the Jiang Family stood the City Lord's Mansion. Several married couples were pleading bitterly with its guards, asking to see the Qing City Lord, but the guards remained unmoved, as though they had heard none of their pleas.

"Without the Qing City Lord's permission, no one may see him. Leave at once."

Another guard could not bear to watch any longer and patiently explained, "Everyone, the City Lord's Mansion has always been short-handed. All you have said is that your children were abducted. After discovering traces, you tracked them all the way to Green City before losing the trail. So many people pass through Green City every day. Perhaps the traffickers were merely passing through. Even if we wished to search, we would not know where to begin."

"Children have gone missing in several nearby cities, and every trail vanishes in Green City. Our children must be here!" another man said indignantly.

He had tied a protective talisman containing a Positioning Spell around his child's wrist. After the child vanished, he followed the spell's traces to Green City, where they abruptly disappeared. Then he met several other parents in much the same situation as himself; some had even lost their children directly in Green City.

How could he believe Green City had nothing to do with it? "My child disappeared in Green City! How could the traffickers merely have been passing through?"

Another expressionless guard said, "Please understand that we are short-handed as well. If you can prove the traffickers are in Green City, we will certainly send people to search. How about it?"

"What kind of bullshit is that!"

"We want to see the Qing City Lord!"

"Our children disappeared here, yet the officials do nothing! Is this how the Human Emperor's hometown conducts itself?"

"My child disappeared in Green City, and I still have to provide proof? How could such an absurd thing happen?"

The guards and the parents grew louder and louder until they began arguing, drawing the attention of several Jiang Family Guardians.

"On the day the Jiang Family worships its ancestors, how can you make such a racket!" A Guardian emerged from the Jiang Family and harshly rebuked them.

"You are guards of the City Lord's Mansion, yet you allow a mob of unruly commoners to gather and cause trouble before its gates. Are you not afraid the Qing City Lord will hold you accountable?"

Upon hearing this, the guards hurried to drive the people away. Jiang Li could no longer stand it, so he dispelled the spell concealing his form and sneered from the side.

"What impressive authority the Jiang Family has. You can even meddle in matters before the City Lord's Mansion. Since you enjoy sticking your noses into everything so much, how about you take responsibility for cleaning the street in front of the City Lord's Mansion too?"

The Guardian flew into a rage. "You dare speak so disrespectfully of the Jiang Family? What audacity!"

The parents who had lost their children and the City Lord's Mansion guards were equally astonished. The current Human Emperor came from the Jiang Family. Not merely in Green City—even throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, no one dared speak of the Jiang Family this way. Was this man some rash fool?

A middle-aged man suddenly darted out from the side and hurriedly grabbed Jiang Li. He smiled apologetically at the Jiang Family Guardian while secretly transmitting his voice to Jiang Li.

Kid, you've only just entered the martial world, and you're already provoking the Jiang Family. Are you tired of living? Hurry and leave. This matter involves the Human Emperor Jiang—don't wade into these muddy waters! The middle-aged man hurriedly dragged Jiang Li away.

Before anyone else could react, the two had vanished without a trace.

"Where did they go?"

"Whose brat are you? Didn't anyone tell you before you left home not to provoke an Aristocratic Clan?"

The middle-aged man dragged Jiang Li into a secluded corner and scolded him.

Seeing Jiang Li's youthful face, reckless manner, and clothes made from the finest materials, he assumed Jiang Li must be a child from some great lineage who had run out to gain experience.

"If this were another Imperial Dynasty, naturally I would not dare provoke unreasonable Aristocratic Clans. But this is Great Zhou. It is governed by law, and even Aristocratic Clans would not dare ignore the law."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man became even more certain of his guess. This kid had to be from some great sect or major lineage; otherwise, his horizons would not be so broad, and he would not casually compare Great Zhou with other Imperial Dynasties.

One had to know that the Great Zhou Dynasty covered an immense expanse. A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator might not leave the Great Zhou Dynasty even once in an entire lifetime, much less compare it with other Imperial Dynasties.

"Rule by law—those words apply anywhere in Great Zhou, except to the Jiang Family." The middle-aged man paused before continuing, "The Jiang Family has the Human Emperor Jiang behind them. In Great Zhou, who would dare punish them? Everyone says the Human Emperor Jiang is impartial and selfless, but who can guarantee he holds no private feelings for his own lineage?"

Jiang Li frowned slightly. "As far as I know, the Human Emperor Jiang left the Jiang Family five hundred years ago and has not returned even once during that time. Does that not prove that his ties with the Jiang Family have faded?"

The middle-aged man sneered. "That is merely propaganda the Human Emperor Jiang uses to cultivate an image of being impartial and selfless. Blood is thicker than water—are you saying he has not secretly returned to the Jiang Family even once?"

"When you are out in the world, do not believe everything you hear. This world is not as bright as you imagine."

The middle-aged man put on the air of someone who had seen through the world's dark side.

When have I ever returned here? How come I don't know about it myself?

"Do you have any proof for what you are saying?" There was a faintly questioning edge to Jiang Li's words, but the middle-aged man was still smugly pleased with himself and failed to notice the hostility in his tone.

"Of course I do." The middle-aged man said confidently, "I once overheard a conversation between the Jiang Family Head and the Qing City Lord. The Jiang Family Head hinted, both openly and covertly, that the Human Emperor Jiang often secretly returned home to visit his younger descendants."