A Storm Was Brewing (I)

Jiang Minghai took a deep breath and stared fixedly at Jiang Tian, his voice low. "Did you really do this?"

Jiang Tian was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

He could no longer keep it hidden.

Besides, after this, even without evidence, the Wang Family wouldn't let the Jiang Family off.

The people who had attended the Poetry Gathering had all left, but every one of them could testify that Jiang Tian had stayed until the end.

He would have to tell his big brother sooner or later.

He didn't know how many Transformation Energy experts the Wang Family had.

But if the Wang Family made a move, they would surely wipe out the entire Jiang Family.

And he was alone and outnumbered; there was no way he could protect his big brother, sister-in-law, and niece.

So he had planned to tell his big brother's family to go to Prefecture City first when he returned that night.

Actually, he'd also been wondering whether he should leave with his big brother right away.

After thinking it over, he decided against it.

First, he was only one step away from Transformation Energy. Breaking through would be as easy as drinking water; a day or two wouldn't make a difference.

Second, martial arts required a great deal of silver, and everything in Prefecture City cost money.

Before leaving, he could slaughter the Wang Family and loot their estate. He would surely get a hefty sum.

And finally, until the Wang Family was dealt with, he wouldn't be able to rest easy.

When pulling up weeds, you had to get to the roots.

He wasn't some great philanthropist.

So he told his big brother he wanted the family to go to Prefecture City first.

"What about you?" Jiang Minghai's expression was conflicted, shock, worry, and bewilderment roiling in his eyes.

At that moment, he understood. There was no doubt that the younger brother standing before him had been behind the Zhang Family massacre.

And Li Kun's death... had most likely been Jiang Tian's doing as well.

To be honest, he still couldn't believe it.

He couldn't connect the familiar face before him with the younger brother who used to do nothing but bury himself in books.

"Me?" Jiang Tian pressed his lips together, then gave him a reassuring smile. His tone was light. "I'll come find you in Prefecture City in a few days."

"Tian..."

Jiang Tian patted Jiang Minghai on the shoulder, his palm steady and strong, and cut him off. "Come on, big brother. With you here, I can't really fight with my hands untied."

Jiang Minghai opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

The brothers poured the remaining liquor throughout the cabin.

The strong liquor streamed over the wooden planks, mixing with the blood and gleaming dark red in the moonlight.

Jiang Tian fished a fire starter from Hou Tianzu's body and blew on it. The spark flickered in the night breeze.

He tossed the fire starter into the cabin.

"Boom—"

The fire leaped up in an instant, its tongues licking every inch of the cabin's wooden planks as they crackled and popped.

A wave of heat surged over them, stretching the brothers' shadows across the river, long and twisted.

Only after he'd sent his big brother's family out of the city in the middle of the night did Jiang Tian finally feel the knot in his chest loosen.

At the city gate, Jiang Minghai held the reins while Bai Zhiruo sat on the horse with the already-sleeping Xiao Yuexi in her arms. Wrapped in an old padded coat, she glanced back at Jiang Tian.

Her eyes held worry, reluctance to part, and something else too complicated to name.

"Go on," Jiang Tian called, waving at them with a smile. "See you in a few days."

The clatter of hooves gradually faded, swallowed by the night.

Jiang Tian stood at the city gate, watching their blurred silhouettes disappear into the darkness. Only when he could no longer see anything did he turn and head back.

There was only one thing left for him to do.

Practice his punches.

[Ping! You possess a Martial Dao Sacred Body and Heaven-Defying Comprehension! Five Animals Creation Play +33!]

[Ping! You possess a Martial Dao Sacred Body and Heaven-Defying Comprehension! Five Animals Creation Play +33!]

[Ping! You possess a Martial Dao Sacred Body and Heaven-Defying Comprehension! Five Animals Creation Play +33!]

One punch after another: tigers roared, bears bellowed, deer sprang, and birds darted.

Sweat gathered in a small puddle beneath his feet, dried in the night breeze, then flowed again and dried again.

Early the next morning, news spread through every street and alley in Blackwater County.

The Wang Family's young master, Wang Moshan, was dead.

"Hey, did you hear? The Wang Family's young master, Wang Moshan, is dead."

"I did! I heard they couldn't even find a body!"

"Don't talk nonsense! They found one. It was just a pile of charred remains."

"Quit arguing just for the sake of it! There were several piles of charred remains on that boat. Even Wang Moshan's father might not be able to tell which one was his son!"

"That's true..."

In teahouses, wine shops, even beside vegetable stalls in the streets and alleys, everyone whispered about it. Their faces showed excitement, fear, schadenfreude, or detached indifference.

The Wang Family, council hall.

The atmosphere had plunged to freezing. The air itself seemed thin, and even the candle flames burned more quietly than usual.

In the seat of honor, the Wang Family's head, Wang Yun, sat with a blank expression. Apart from indifference, there was nothing to read on his face.

But the grief that flickered now and then deep in his slightly reddened eyes betrayed how he truly felt.

He had two sons and five daughters.

His eldest son had ended up hanging himself from a beam after losing his balance under the pressure of his overly strict demands.

He'd learned from his eldest son's fate and indulged Wang Moshan in everything, letting him do whatever he wanted.

He'd been learning martial arts, then decided he didn't want to anymore? Fine, he could stop. He wanted to study literature? Then study.

Wang Yun had spent a fortune bringing the finest tutors and great scholars from Prefecture City to teach him.

Even when Wang Moshan's studies had been a complete mess, Wang Yun had supported him without reservation.

And now—Wang Moshan was dead.

"Bang—!"

His thin hand slammed down hard on the armrest, splitting the rosewood with a crack.

His eyes blazed like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

As the only Transformation Energy expert among the Three Great Families of Blackwater County who was also a family head, he wanted nothing more than to tear the murderer in half this very moment.

To rip him to pieces.

Just then, a figure hurried into the council hall, sweat beading across his forehead. He gasped for breath and cupped his hands. "Family Head! I questioned all the scholars. I've confirmed it—the last person on the boat was a man named Jiang Tian!"

Wang Yun's brows knotted instantly. "Jiang Tian?"

He searched his memory for the name, but no matter how hard he tried, it meant nothing to him.

"Who is this Jiang Tian? What's his background? Where does his family live?"

The man recited the details he'd investigated without missing a word. "He's a disciple of the Five Animals Martial Hall. His elder brother is a Squad Leader in the City Patrol Division..."

"Black and White Elders!"

Wang Yun sprang to his feet, his gaze like a blade as he looked toward the two elderly men standing at his side. One wore a black robe, the other a white one. Both were gaunt, with sunken eye sockets, as though they'd crawled out of their coffins.

"Come with me to the Five Animals Martial Hall... We're taking someone!"

Black and White Elders were the other two Transformation Energy martial artists supported by the Wang Family. They were twins who practiced a set of coordinated combat techniques. They weren't especially impressive one-on-one, but once they joined forces, even the legendary "Immortals" said to stand above Transformation Energy might not be able to defeat them.

That was the source of Wang Yun's confidence.

Just one Yuan Long.

As he rose to his feet, someone pushed open the Wang Family's front gate from outside. A voice drifted in, unhurried.

"Old Wang, have you forgotten what I told you last time?"

The visitor was Li Yuanhao, head of the Li Family.

"Old Wang, don't let a trivial matter like this ruin our plans!"

"Our plans?" Wang Yun gave a cold snort, his expression as dark as could be.

"I only have one son left now, and he's dead! You still want me to endure it? I'm not you. You lose one son, and you've still got several more!"

Li Yuanhao's brows instantly drew together, and his temples throbbed.

He'd only just suffered the loss of a son himself, and he was in no better state. If anyone else had dared to speak to him like that, he would have turned on them long ago.

"Enough!" Li Yuanhao snapped, forcing down his anger.

"Do you think I'm not hurting too? Of all my sons, Kun was the most likely to break through to Transformation Energy. I was raising him to become the future head of the Li Family. I understand how you feel."

He paused, then softened his tone. "But we're only one step from the finish line. We can't ruin everything over a moment's impulsiveness."

"Hmph!" Wang Yun scoffed, scornful of the so-called "plans" Li Yuanhao spoke of.

"Plans? Even if we seize Blackwater County, what then? Can we hold off the troops from Prefecture City?"

"Enough!" Li Yuanhao knitted his brows, unwilling to keep arguing.

He knew Wang Yun was overwhelmed by emotion.

The plan to seize Blackwater County had been agreed upon long ago by the heads of the Three Great Families and Thousand-Household Official Zhang Wei.

Li Yuanhao's voice softened slightly, but it carried a frigid killing intent. "The Five Animals Martial Hall... We'll use Yuan Long to make an example of them this time. Not one person from the Five Animals Martial Hall will be left alive."

"Good!"

Wang Yun sat back down. The fire in his eyes hadn't gone out; it burned even more fiercely.

The Five Animals Martial Hall.

After seeing his big brother's family off, Jiang Tian went straight to the martial hall early the next morning to meet Yuan Long.

He recounted everything that had happened, sparing no detail.

He hadn't wanted to say anything at first, but he was afraid his being a disciple of the Five Animals Martial Hall might bring unnecessary trouble to the hall.

"Master Yuan, I'm sorry." Jiang Tian lowered his head, his voice filled with genuine remorse.

Yuan Long sat in his chair, half his face hidden in shadow, his expression impossible to make out.

His fingers kept tapping the table beside him. "Tok, tok, tok." One tap followed another.

After a long while, he let out a deep sigh. His voice was filled with weariness and helplessness. "Even without this mess you've caused, the Five Animals Martial Hall would still be in deep trouble. That's why I wanted you and Manzhi to go to Prefecture City."

He paused, then looked up at Jiang Tian, a trace of approval in his eyes. "Still, you were clever enough to send your elder brother and sister-in-law away as soon as it happened. Blackwater County... has already been sealed off. No one can leave, though people can still enter."

He pulled a gold-embossed invitation from his sleeve and tossed it onto the table. "Tomorrow, Thousand-Household Official Zhang Wei is hosting a banquet. He's invited all seven martial hall masters."

He sneered, the corner of his mouth twisting in mockery. "Heh. He calls it a banquet, but isn't it just a Hongmen banquet?"

Jiang Tian frowned and asked in a low voice, "Master Yuan, what exactly is Zhang Wei planning?"

"What is he planning?" Yuan Long snorted. "He wants to bring every power in Blackwater County under his control—the martial halls, the City Patrol Division, all of them. He plans to swallow them up and set himself up as an independent power!"

Jiang Tian's heart jolted.

Wasn't that just rebellion?

Zhang Wei's ambition was truly enormous.

"Tomorrow, I'll make a scene at the banquet," Yuan Long said calmly. "Take Manzhi and break out through the West City Gate. We have people inside the city working with several martial halls there. Once you reach Prefecture City, Manzhi will arrange everything."

Jiang Tian was about to speak, but Yuan Long raised a hand to stop him. "That's enough. Don't thank me. Just take good care of Manzhi."

He leaned back in his chair, half his face sinking into shadow once more. His voice dropped low.

"Besides, it's not yet clear who'll live and who'll die."