Lost Child

The main hall and corridors of the Jiang Family were empty, with only the occasional servant sweeping the floor. The training ground, once a place for showing off and brawling, was also deserted, though the wear and tear on its surface showed it had been used many times.

Jiang Li drifted through the Jiang Family like a ghost.

He followed his memories to many places, but five hundred years had passed, and the current Jiang Family was vastly different from the one in his recollections.

The closest match to his memory was the small house he had lived in at the start of his transmigration—about eighty percent similar.

He guessed that someone else had moved in after he left, and once he became the Human Emperor, the Jiang Family had hurriedly tidied up the small house, striving to restore its original appearance.

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

During the Jiang Family's ancestral rites, the eldest elder knelt in the hall, praying for the ancestors' blessings, while everyone else stayed in their rooms, fasting for nine days without speaking a word to show their devotion.

In the hall, a decrepit old man knelt there, layers of wrinkles on his face nearly covering his eyes.

Jiang Li walked up to him, cast a minor spell, and saw what the old man looked like in his youth. His brow and features bore a three- or four-tenths resemblance to Jiang Yixing—he was either Jiang Yixing's son, grandson, or an even younger descendant.

And Jiang Yixing's memorial tablet was prominently displayed at the very bottom of the row of tablets.

Jiang Li let out a soft sigh, turned, and left the Jiang Family.

Jiang Yixing had died after all.

Though it was expected, he still felt a bit dispirited.

Jiang Li strolled out of the Jiang Family, his melancholy interrupted by a shrill voice.

"Sir, it's been ten whole days! Why won't you send anyone to find our child!"

"We demand to see the City Lord!"

Across from the Jiang Family was the City Lord's Mansion. Several couples were pleading desperately with the mansion's guards to see the City Lord, but the guards remained unmoved, as if deaf to their pleas.

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

Another guard, unable to bear it, explained patiently: "Folks, the City Lord's Mansion has always been short-staffed. You only say your child was stolen, and that you tracked the trail all the way to Qing City before losing it. With so many people passing through Qing City every day, the kidnapper might just be passing through. Even if we wanted to search, we wouldn't know where to start."

"Children have gone missing from several nearby cities, and all the trails end here in Qing City. Our child must be here!" another person said indignantly.

He had tied a protective charm with a Positioning Spell to his child's wrist. After the child disappeared, he followed the spell's trail to Qing City, where it vanished. Then he ran into other parents in similar situations—some had even lost their children directly in Qing City.

If he believed Qing City was innocent, he'd be a fool! "My child was lost right here in Qing City! How could the kidnapper just be passing through!"

Another expressionless guard said, "Folks, please understand our manpower shortage. If you can prove the kidnapper is in Qing City, we'll definitely send people to search. How about that?"

"What kind of nonsense is that!"

"We want to see the City Lord!"

"Our children were lost here, and the officials do nothing—is this what the hometown of the Human Emperor is like!"

"My child was lost in Qing City, and I still have to prove it? What absurdity is this!"

The guards and the parents' voices grew louder, eventually escalating into a quarrel that drew the attention of several Jiang Family Guardians.

"The Jiang Family is holding ancestral rites! What is this racket!" a Guardian emerged from the Jiang Family and barked at them.

"And you, guards of the City Lord's Mansion, letting a bunch of riffraff gather and cause trouble in front of the mansion—aren't you afraid the City Lord will hold you accountable!"

Hearing this, the guards hurriedly moved to drive the people away. Jiang Li couldn't stand it anymore, so he dispelled the spell hiding his presence and sneered from the side.

"The Jiang Family throws its weight around quite a bit. You can even meddle in front of the City Lord's Mansion. If you love sticking your noses in so much, why don't you take over cleaning the mansion's doorstep?"

The Guardian flew into a rage: "How dare you speak insolently of the Jiang Family! You've got some nerve!"

The parents who had lost their children and the City Lord's Mansion guards were equally stunned. The current Human Emperor came from the Jiang Family—not just in Qing City, but across the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, no one would dare speak of the Jiang Family like that. Was this guy some reckless fool?

Suddenly, a middle-aged man darted out, grabbed Jiang Li, and pulled him away, smiling apologetically at the Jiang Family Guardian while sending a secret voice transmission to Jiang Li.

Kid, just starting out in the world and already butting heads with the Jiang Family? Tired of living? Get out of here. This involves the Jiang Human Emperor—don't wade into this mess! The middle-aged man quickly dragged Jiang Li off.

Before anyone else could react, the two had vanished.

"Where'd they go?"

"Which family's boy are you? Didn't anyone tell you before you left home not to provoke noble clans!"

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

He saw that Jiang Li looked young and acted rashly, wearing clothes made of the finest materials—clearly some kid from a big family out on a training trip.

"If this were another dynasty, I wouldn't dare provoke unreasonable noble clans. But this is the Great Zhou, ruled by law. Even the noble clans can't ignore the statutes."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man was even more convinced. This kid must be from some major sect or family; otherwise, his perspective wouldn't be so broad, casually comparing the Great Zhou to other dynasties.

After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty was vast—a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator might never leave it in a lifetime, let alone compare it to other dynasties.

"Ruled by law—you can say that anywhere in the Great Zhou, except when it comes to the Jiang Family." The middle-aged man paused, then continued, "The Jiang Family has the Jiang Human Emperor backing them. Who in the Great Zhou dares punish them? Everyone says the Jiang Human Emperor is selfless, but who can guarantee he has no partiality toward his own family?"

Jiang Li frowned slightly at this: "From what I know, the Jiang Human Emperor left the Jiang Family five hundred years ago and hasn't returned once. Doesn't that prove his ties with them have faded?"

The middle-aged man sneered: "That's just propaganda the Jiang Human Emperor puts out to build an image of selflessness. Blood is thicker than water—are you saying he's never sneaked back?"

"Out in the world, don't believe everything you hear. This world isn't as bright as you think."

He struck a pose of someone who had seen the dark side of the world.

Jiang Li thought to himself, When did I ever come back here? How would I not know?

"Do you have evidence for what you're saying?" Jiang Li's tone carried a hint of accusation, but the middle-aged man, smug and self-satisfied, didn't catch the edge in it.

"Of course I do." The middle-aged man said confidently. "I once eavesdropped on a conversation between the Jiang Family Head and the Qing City Lord. The Family Head kept hinting that the Jiang Human Emperor often sneaks home to visit his descendants."