At the end of the clearing stood a residential compound.
The paint on its vermilion gates had long since peeled and flaked away, exposing the grayish-brown wood beneath.
A plaque hung above the entrance.
The lettering was blurred and indistinct.
Only the words "Hu Residence" could just barely be made out.
A stone lion crouched on either side of the gates, but someone had smashed their heads off, leaving only bare bases.
"Hu Residence."
"Damn."
"Looks like that tree really did pull its weight, despite its fondness for taking wives."
Jiang Qiao glanced at the plaque.
A mere dealer in funerary goods, whose entire family had failed to produce even one special ability user, had nevertheless dared to openly call his home a grand residence. That alone showed how powerful the Hu Family had been back then.
And that power...
Had clearly come from the tree.
The Hu Family had played a role much like spirit mediums, possessed ritualists, or shamans who channeled spirits.
They had no abilities of their own.
But they could borrow the tree's power.
Unfortunately, anything borrowed had to be repaid sooner or later, with interest.
The disaster forty years ago had changed the Hu Family completely.
Although they had escaped by sheer luck...
In a sense, they had successfully defaulted on their debt.
But they had also suffered devastating casualties.
They had hidden in the South Seas as deadbeats, too afraid to return to Spring City for decades, relying entirely on tricking the Chen Family into acting as their front.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
After standing outside for a while, Jiang Qiao pushed the gates open and entered.
They were unlocked.
They opened with a creak.
Beyond the gates lay a huge courtyard, far more spacious than he had imagined. Covered corridors ran along both sides,