To be fair.
Mornings in Tanjung Sepat were beautiful. The sun rose over the sea, bathing the entire city in golden light.
And on the mountain to the north,
stood a vast manor occupying an entire mountaintop.
Good lord.
High walls, deep courtyards, and lush trees surrounded it. From within the manor, one could overlook the entire city and the sea beyond, while those below could barely make out the estate.
The owner of this manor
was the Hu Family.
The Hu Family had been rooted in Tanjung Sepat for decades.
On the surface, they dealt in timber and spices. They owned many shops throughout the city and had built a flourishing business, making them one of the most prominent Chinese merchant families in the area.
But behind the scenes,
the Hu Family's influence had seeped into every corner of this South Seas coastal city.
The city government.
The harbor.
The chamber of commerce.
Even the hidden supernatural trade.
Their presence could be found everywhere.
They kept a low profile. Most newly arrived merchants had no idea that the trading firms they dealt with every day, or the berths where they docked their ships, were backed by the Hu Family.
They simply regarded them as ordinary wealthy merchants.
Only the true elites who had put down roots in this city understood the Hu Family's weight.
In Tanjung Sepat,
without the Hu Family's approval, many things could not be done.
And as long as the Hu Family agreed,
no matter how difficult something was,
it was no longer a problem.
Today was the day of the Hu Family's ancestral rite.
Before dawn, the Hu Family servants had already begun bustling about. They cleaned the ancestral hall, set out the offering tables, and lit the incense and candles.
Whole pigs, sheep, and