The drizzle was like smoke, drifting and swirling in the air.
Huang Family Lotus Leaf Tower.
The Lotus Leaf Tower is a unique architectural feature of Great Ling.
The huge, flat, lotus-leaf-shaped floors are stacked one on top of another, supported by relatively slender stone pillars.
From a distance, they look like lotus leaves piled up together.
Huang Zhenyi was wearing Supreme Ultimate robe, the pure white color of which was gently tugged by the breeze.
The wind carried a dampness.
Normally, this dampness would make his nasal cavity feel much better, but the news that had just arrived made him feel terrible.
He stood on the terrace on the second floor of the Lotus Leaf Tower, holding a cup of freshly brewed Golden Needle Dew Leaf Tea.
This is a top-quality tea that is extremely rare and expensive; an equal quantity of it could be worth more than gold.
But he was no longer in the mood to drink.
"What's the situation at Golden Wing Tower?" Huang Zhenyi asked, frowning. "Xiang Ling sent people to ask for help. Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion was destroyed last night, and Dream Boat Society be burned down. A series of events happened in just two hours."
He slowly turned around and looked at the three people behind him.
All three are currently the top elders and strongest members of the Huang Family.
The Huang Family has two ninth-rank officials, two eighth-rank officials, and three seventh-rank officials.
He also has a direct marriage relationship with Thousand Mountain Sword Tan Xiao of the Super Grade Temple.
With such strength and influence, who in the entire Wu Mountain would dare to underestimate them?
The three people standing in front of him Huang Yixi, the family head who had only recently broken through to the Ninth Grade.
The other two are Huang Huixian and Huang Lanxin, both of whom are Eighth Grade clan elders.
Upon receiving news of the major event in the city, they knew things were going to get bad and rushed towards Huang Zhenyi immediately.
The White Eagle Xiangling of the Golden Wing Tower cooperated with the Huang Family in human trafficking, and the Dream Boat Society also brought them huge profits and connections.
Among the Huang Family's five pillar industries, Dream Boat Society and human trafficking are one of them when combined.
Therefore, no matter what, this branch cannot afford to have any problems.
"Father. I went to inquire about Xiang Ling. She has now been placed under house arrest by the new Spirit Envoy. It was discovered that Xiang Ling had used the Golden Wing Tower's intelligence to help our Huang Family gain benefits."
Huang Yixi and Xiang Ling have a significant private affair, a fact known to the Lineage's higher-ups.
Five years ago, Huang Zhenyi handed over the position of head of the family to her son, Huang Yixi.
The latter did not disappoint him, persuading Xiang Ling to use the power and intelligence of the Golden Wing Tower to help the Huang Family develop.
In just a few years, it made up for the losses to the Lineage business caused by Huang Yuzhen, and is now climbing to even greater heights.
Who would have thought that the Golden Wing Tower would be so dangerous? Huang Zhenyi sighed.
His sigh was not without reason.
When the previous Spirit Envoy was still alive, that Spirit Envoy was indifferent and didn't care much about trivial matters, only caring about his own enjoyment.
Therefore, it has little impact on the entire Wu Mountain.
They were unaware that the Twin Double Eagle were gradually corrupting the Death Warrior Unit.
Later, the Spirit Envoy grew too old and had to retire, giving way to a new one.
But this time, the newcomers are not so easy to fool.
"Father, Xiang Ling has been with me for so many years, and she has helped our Huang Family a lot. If we don't save her, how will our Huang Family maintain its standing in the Jianghu in the future?"
Huang Yixi frowned.
"The Golden Wing Tower is not to be trifled with, but the Sea Dragon Sect is? The infighting between the Eastern and Western Sects is intensifying. The Eastern Sect's methods are too ruthless, and it has already been ostracized by many other forces. We..."
"Watch your words!" Huang Zhenyi abruptly interrupted him. "As long as the Imperial Tutor is alive, the Eastern Sect will remain the legitimate line!"
"What should we do now? Are we just going to watch our business go bankrupt?" Huang Yixi's voice rose unconsciously.
He is young and strong, and a martial arts genius. After successfully entering the Ninth Grade, he has become the person with the highest Huang Family strength in the entire Huang family.
Even his father, Huang Zhenyi, was no match for him due to his old age and declining health.
With greater strength comes greater confidence in one's words.
Huang Zhenyi shook her head.
"Huixian, arrange for someone to report to the prefect and inquire about the situation. They need to give an explanation for such a big case."
"Yes." Huang Huixian nodded solemnly. She was already over sixty years old, and even if she was now at the Eighth Grade, her actual strength was probably not that great.
Being able to defeat Sixth Grade is already quite impressive.
Therefore, she also knew that although the Huang Family was currently enjoying great prosperity and success on the surface, its true strength was no longer what it used to be.
"Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion is mostly a collaboration between us and Golden Wing Tower, so we are naturally responsible for that. But Hailong also has a stake in Sea Dragon Dream Boat Society. Lanxin, contact them and see what their arrangements are."
Huang Zhenyi continued to make arrangements.
"Yes." Huang Lanxin nodded.
Then, Huang Zhenyi looked at her son, Huang Yixi.
"I originally thought this new Spirit Envoy would be well-behaved and mind his own business, but it seems that we still have to deal with him."
They're just young people, they don't know any better."
"Father, I'm worried something might have happened to Xiang Ling," Huang Yixi reminded him.
"Contact Sea Dragon. Since this new Spirit Envoy smashed the plate without even speaking, let him understand that this is Wu Mountain, not Tanyang, which he came from!"
A sharp glint flashed in Huang Zhenyi's eyes.
"Father, what should we do?" Huang Yixi immediately perked up.
"No rush. The one who's most anxious right now is Sea Dragon's Qing Jiao. Without the Dream Boat Society's stable source of people, he won't be able to explain himself to his superiors. So, he'll definitely resolve this matter as soon as possible."
"We're wary of the Golden Wing Tower, but they're not afraid of it." Huang Zhenyi smiled.
The group immediately understood. Their previous worries gradually subsided.
"The one who truly understands me is Huang Zhenyi."
Suddenly, a soft, feminine male voice reached their ears.
Squeak.
The doors to the council chamber slowly opened, and a strong, tall figure suddenly flashed in.
The figure walked to the center of the council hall, stood still, and revealed its entire form.
This is a handsome man who is over 1.9 meters tall, with bulging muscles all over his body and long black hair.
It is truly beautiful, without any artificiality.
Because this person's face was completely androgynous and exceptionally exquisite.
She had phoenix eyes, a high nose, delicate skin, and pink lips. She was like a peerless beauty.
If this face were on a woman, she would surely be a top courtesan in Music Tower.
But when placed on such a burly and strong man, it creates an unusual sense of contradiction.
"My old friend Qing Jiao, it's been many years. You still look as radiant as ever." Huang Zhenyi unconsciously stroked his white beard and said with mixed feelings.
He was not surprised that the other party was able to directly enter the heart of the Huang Family's territory.
Because this person has the ability.
"Greetings, Lord Qing Jiao." Huang Huixian and Huang Lanxin bowed respectfully to him.
"Uncle Qing Jiao," Huang Yixi said more warmly, a hint of relief on her face.
"You all look good too. It's been a long time, and you've all changed a lot." Qing Jiao draped a pure white silk robe over his shoulder, revealing half of his fair shoulder and half of his arm.
"Since I took office as Sea Dragon ten years ago, Yixi has grown up so much in the blink of an eye." He looked to be only in his twenties, but his tone was as weathered as someone in their fifties or sixties.
"Who says otherwise? You're here this time because of that new Spirit Envoy from the Golden Wing Tower, right?" Huang Zhenyi said.
"Of course." Qing Jiao smiled, her beautiful face dazzling.
"Since the Spirit Envoy all have connections with higher-ups, and you are reluctant to take action, I will handle it."
"Then, for Xiang Ling's portion, you get six and I get four," Huang Zhenyi said.
"Friendship is friendship, and business is business. This profit sharing is acceptable," Qing Jiao said with a smile. "But you must cooperate with me to surround and kill this person."
Huang Zhenyi frowned and did some calculations.
"He's only a newly promoted Ninth Grade cultivator, that's fine. But let me remind you, this person is related to the Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang that Tanyang exposed. Who among us could have imagined that Tong Zhang was actually a high-ranking member of the Golden Wing Tower?"
"Don't worry, the Heavenly Maiden doesn't have time to deal with this right now," Qing Jiao smiled mysteriously.
"And it might not be long."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the implication left the others with much to ponder.
*** Golden Wing Tower Wu Mountain Headquarters.
Zhang Rongfang sighed deeply, looking at the large amount of gold, silver, Scripture Silk ancient books piled up in front of him, and felt a sense of awe.
'In this world, if you want to get rich quick, you have to rob.'
Leaving aside the collectibles and jewelry that are difficult to value, the gold alone amounts to more than three thousand taels.
If converted to silver, it would amount to more than 30,000 taels.
The remaining silver notes totaled around 20,000 taels. Adding them all up, that's 50,000 taels.
This amount of money might be incalculable to ordinary people. But if we convert it to the current prices in Wushan Prefecture...
A pig is worth fifteen taels of silver; that amount of money can buy three thousand three hundred pigs.
In terms of slave labor, the maximum value of a strong adult male was around three hundred taels of silver.
This money could buy 166 of the best laborers! In other words, if one were willing, this money would be enough to lay the foundation for the complete rise of a powerful Lineage.
Turning around and walking out of the treasure room, the guards behind him quickly locked the door and hung up a series of combination locks.
He looked at the misty, drizzling sky outside, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
Previously, when they cleaned up Heavenly Fragrance Beauty Pavilion and Dream Boat Society, they didn't find any experts.
But his actions have already alarmed Sea Dragon and the Huang Family. Now that their interests have been greatly damaged, they will surely try to deal with him.
In situations like this, he needs to strike first to gain the upper hand.
After leaving the treasure room, he returned to the Backyard Garden of the headquarters Ten Thousand Mile Villa.
Qing Su and Wei Li were whispering something to each other here.
Upon seeing him approach, he quickly bowed to him.
"Grown ups."
"No need for formalities. How is the situation outside?" Zhang Rongfang asked.
"The Huang Family has already reported it to the authorities, but Chief Constable He Xinhong is quite perfunctory and not very proactive. He just led the team on a casual stroll around the area before returning," Wei Li said with a smile.
"The Huang Family is usually arrogant and domineering, and they never give him, the Chief Constable, any face. Strange Man doesn't put in any effort," Qing Su added.
"What about the prefect?" Zhang Rongfang asked.
"Prefect Yue Hanquan is backed by the Yue Family, and they haven't made any statement yet, just remaining neutral. You can guess what they mean: as long as it doesn't involve too much influence or affect ordinary people, it's none of their business," Wei Li replied.
Zhang Rongfang nodded; he had expected it too.
My brother-in-law, being a businessman, was one of the capable assistants of Prefect Yue Hanquan. When we ate and chatted at home, he would occasionally talk about this top official of Wu Mountain.
"Where's Sea Dragon?" he asked.
"Sea Dragon hasn't made any moves yet, but we've already found signs of a gathering of highly skilled individuals," Qing Su said.
"It seems we have to make a move," Zhang Rongfang sighed.
Such is the way of the world. The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease; I may wish to be at peace, but people will not rest.
He paused for a moment, then continued.
"Qing Su should leave first, and Duan Gu can bring people to accompany me."
Duan Gu poisoned him Pledge of Allegiance, which shows he can be trusted, but one person alone is not enough.
The Huang Family Sea Dragon are both powerful forces that are not easy to deal with.
"My lord, there's no need to worry. Now that I've decided to follow you, I'll do my best in the face of life and death when it matters most!" Qing Su said, clasping her hands in a fist salute.
"You're still young, it wouldn't be worth it to die now," Zhang Rongfang said with a smile.
He planned to clean up the entire Golden Wing Tower in Wu Mountain, and this trip to Duan Gu would be his chance to shine.
Who goes up and who goes down, friend and foe are clearly distinguished at a glance.
With the intelligence network he has now gathered around the Double Eagle, if these people escape, they will be impossible to evade in the future reckoning.
This is also why Duan Gu decisively begged for mercy. He knew better than anyone how terrifying the Golden Wing Tower's intelligence network was.