The Mountain Rain Approaches, the Wind Sweeps Through the Pavilion (I)

Jiang Minghai took a deep breath, staring straight at Jiang Tian, his voice low: "Did you really do this?"

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

The matter could no longer be hidden.

Furthermore, after this incident, even if the Wang Family had no evidence, they would not let the Jiang Family go.

Although those who attended the poetry gathering had left, every single one of them could testify that Jiang Tian was the last one to remain.

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

He did not know how many experts at the Transformation Energy level the Wang Family possessed.

But once the Wang Family made their move, they would undoubtedly seek to exterminate the Jiang Family.

And he, alone and isolated, could not possibly protect his eldest brother, sister-in-law, and niece.

Therefore, he had originally planned to have his brother's family head to the Prefecture City as soon as he returned tonight.

In fact, he had just been wondering whether he should go with his brother.

After some thought, he gave up on that idea.

For one, he was only a step away from Transformation Energy, and breaking through would be as easy as drinking water; a day or two would not make a difference.

For another, practicing martial arts required a large amount of silver, and everything in the Prefecture City cost money.

Before leaving, bloodletting the Wang Family and ransacking their home would surely net him a large sum of silver.

Finally, he would not be at peace until the Wang Family was dealt with.

To cut the weeds, one must pull out the roots.

He was no great philanthropist.

Thus, he explained his plan to have his brother's family head to the Prefecture City first.

"And what about you?" Jiang Minghai's expression was complex, his eyes surging with shock, worry, and bewilderment.

At this very moment, he understood—the previous case of the Zhang Family's extermination was undoubtedly the work of the younger brother standing before him.

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

To be honest, he still could not bring himself to believe it.

He could not reconcile this familiar face before him with the younger brother who had previously known nothing but burying his head in books.

"Me?" Jiang Tian pursed his lips, a reassuring smile appearing on his face, his tone relaxed, "I'll come to the Prefecture City to find you in a few days."

"Xiao Tian..."

Jiang Tian patted Jiang Minghai on the shoulder, his palm steady and firm, interrupting his brother's words: "Alright, Big Brother, with you here, I won't be able to fully unleash my strength."

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

The brothers worked together to splash the remaining wine throughout the cabin.

The strong liquor flowed across the wooden planks, mixing with the blood and casting a dark red glow under the moonlight.

Jiang Tian fished a fire starter from Hou Tianzu's body and blew on it; sparks flickered in the night wind.

He tossed the fire starter into the cabin.

"Boom—"

A great fire suddenly erupted, tongues of flame licking every inch of the cabin's wood, emitting a crackling, popping sound.

A wave of heat rushed toward them, stretching the brothers' shadows long and distorted across the river surface.

Only after sending his brother's family out of the city that night did Jiang Tian finally set his mind at ease.

At the city gate, Jiang Minghai led the horse while Bai Zhiruo held the already sleeping Xiao Yuexi, who was wrapped in an old cotton coat, and looked back at Jiang Tian.

That look held worry, reluctance, and a trace of indescribable complexity.

"Go on." Jiang Tian waved at them, a smile on his face, "See you in a few days."

The sound of hoofbeats gradually faded, disappearing into the night.

Jiang Tian stood at the city gate, watching the blurred shadows be swallowed by the darkness until they were no longer visible, before turning to walk back.

From here on out, there was only one thing he needed to do.

Practice his punches.

[Ding! Your Martial Dao Sacred Body and Heaven-Defying Comprehension are active! Five Animals Creation Play +33!]

[Ding! Your Martial Dao Sacred Body and Heaven-Defying Comprehension are active! Five Animals Creation Play +33!]

[Ding! Your Martial Dao Sacred Body and Heaven-Defying Comprehension are active! Five Animals Creation Play +33!]

Punch after punch, the roar of tigers and the cry of bears, the leaping of deer and the darting of birds.

Sweat pooled into a small puddle at his feet, only to be dried by the night wind, then flowed again, then dried again.

Early the next morning, a piece of news spread through every street and alley of Blackwater County.

Wang Moshan, the young master of the Wang Family, was dead.

"Hey, did you hear? Wang Moshan, the young master of the Wang Family, is dead."

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

"Nonsense! They found it, alright, but it was nothing more than a pile of charred remains."

"Stop arguing! There were several charred bodies on that boat; even Wang Moshan's own father probably couldn't tell which one was his son!"

"That's true, I suppose..."

In teahouses, taverns, and even at vegetable stalls on street corners, everyone was whispering. Their expressions ranged from excitement and fear to schadenfreude and indifferent detachment.

The Wang Family, assembly hall.

The atmosphere had dropped to freezing point; the air felt thin, and even the candlelight burned more quietly than usual.

At the head of the table, Wang Yun, the head of the Wang Family, sat with a blank expression, his face betraying no emotion other than apathy.

Yet, deep within his slightly reddened eyes, the flashes of grief that appeared from time to time revealed his true state of mind.

He had two sons and five daughters in total.

His eldest son, driven by his overly strict demands, had eventually lost his mental balance and hanged himself from the rafters.

Having learned his lesson from the eldest, he had been indulgent with Wang Moshan, letting him do whatever he pleased.

Did he stop practicing martial arts? Then he didn't practice. Did he want to study literature? Then he studied.

He spent vast sums of money to bring in the best teachers and scholars from the Prefecture City.

Even though Wang Moshan's studies were a complete mess, he still spared no effort to support him.

And now—Wang Moshan was dead.

"Bang!"

His withered palm slammed heavily onto the armrest, causing the rosewood to crack with a sharp sound.

A raging fire burned in the depths of his eyes, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.

As the only head of a family among the three great families of Blackwater County to have reached Transformation Energy, he wished he could tear the murderer in two right now.

Tear them to pieces.

Just then, a figure rushed into the assembly hall, beads of sweat covering his forehead. Panting, he cupped his hands and said, "Family Head! I've interrogated all those scholars, and it's confirmed: the last person left on the boat was a man named Jiang Tian!"

Wang Yun's brows knotted into a tight knot instantly: "Jiang Tian?"

He searched his mind for the name, but after a long while, he had not the slightest impression of it.

"Who is this Jiang Tian? What is his background? Where is his home?"

The man recited the background he had investigated without missing a word: "He is a disciple of the Five Animals Martial Hall, and he has an older brother who serves as a Squad Leader in the City Patrol Division..."

"Elder Black and Elder White!"

Wang Yun stood up abruptly, his gaze like a blade as he looked at the two old men standing to the side. One wore a black robe, the other a white one; their faces were withered and their eye sockets sunken, as if they had crawled out of coffins.

"Let's go. Come with me to the Five Animals Martial Hall... to demand a person!"

Elder Black and Elder White were two other Transformation Energy martial artists supported by the Wang Family. The two were twins who practiced a set of combined martial arts. If judged by individual combat, they weren't particularly outstanding, but once they joined forces, even the legendary "Immortals" above the Transformation Energy realm might not be able to withstand them.

This was his source of confidence.

A mere Yuan Long.

Just as he stood up, the gates of the Wang Family were pushed open from the outside, and a voice drifted in, unhurried and calm.

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

The person who arrived was the head of the Li Family, Li Yuanhao.

"Old Wang, you must not let such a trivial matter ruin our grand plan!"

"A grand plan?" Wang Yun let out a cold snort, his expression looking extremely ugly.

"I only have one son left, and he's dead! And you're telling me to endure it? I'm not like you—you lose one son, you still have several others!"

Li Yuanhao's eyebrows knitted together instantly, and his temples throbbed.

He had just experienced the pain of losing a son himself, and he felt no better inside. If anyone else had dared to speak to him like that, he would have turned hostile long ago.

"Enough!" Li Yuanhao barked, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Do you think I don't feel the pain? Kunkun was the most promising of my sons to break through to Transformation Energy; I was grooming him to be the future head of the Li Family. I can understand your feelings."

He paused, softening his tone: "But we are only one step away now; we cannot let a moment of impulse ruin the grand plan."

"Hmph!" Wang Yun snorted again, showing utter disdain for the so-called "grand plan" Li Yuanhao spoke of.

"A grand plan? Even if we take over this Blackwater County, so what? Can you stop the government troops coming from the Prefecture City?"

"Enough!" Li Yuanhao's brows were locked tight; he didn't want to argue any further.

He knew Wang Yun was just acting out of heat-of-the-moment rage.

The matter of seizing Blackwater County was something the three family heads and the Thousand-Household Official Zhang Wei had already agreed upon.

Li Yuanhao's tone eased slightly, his voice carrying a cold, murderous intent: "The Five Animals Martial Hall... this time, we will use Yuan Long to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. Not a single person from the Five Animals Martial Hall will be left alive."

"Good!"

Wang Yun sat back down in his chair, the flames in the depths of his eyes not extinguished, but burning even brighter.

Five Animals Martial Hall.

After sending his older brother's family away, Jiang Tian arrived at the martial hall first thing the next morning to meet with Yuan Long.

He recounted the entire sequence of events in detail.

He had originally not wanted to say anything, but he feared that because he was a disciple of the Five Animals Martial Hall, he might bring unnecessary trouble upon the hall.

"Master Yuan, I am sorry." Jiang Tian lowered his head, his voice carrying genuine guilt.

Yuan Long sat in his chair, half of his face obscured by shadow, making his expression impossible to read.

His fingers tapped rhythmically against the table beside him—tap, tap, tap—one beat after another.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh, his voice filled with an indescribable weariness and helplessness: "Even without this incident of yours, the Five Animals Martial Hall would still be in dire straits. This is also the reason why I wanted you and Manzhi to go to the Prefecture City."

He paused, raised his eyes to look at Jiang Tian, and a trace of approval appeared in his gaze: "However, you lad are quite clever; as soon as the incident happened, you sent your brother and sister-in-law away. This Blackwater County... has already been locked down; one can only enter, not leave."

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 and has ordered all seven of us martial hall masters to attend."

He let out a cold laugh, his lips curling into a mocking arc: "Heh, he calls it a banquet, but isn't it just a trap?"

Jiang Tian frowned and asked in a low voice: "Master Yuan, what exactly is Zhang Wei trying to do?"

"What is he trying to do?" Yuan Long snorted coldly, "He wants to consolidate all the forces in Blackwater County—the martial halls, the City Patrol Division—swallow them all up, and set himself up as an independent power!"

Jiang Tian's heart jolted.

Isn't this just planning to rebel?

Zhang Wei's ambition was truly not small.

"Tomorrow, I will stir up a commotion at the banquet." Yuan Long's voice was calm, "You take Manzhi and break through the West City Gate; we have insiders from several of our martial halls there. Once you reach the Prefecture City, Manzhi will arrange everything that follows."

Jiang Tian was about to speak, but Yuan Long raised a hand to interrupt him: "Alright, no need to thank me; just take good care of Manzhi for me."

He leaned back against the chair, half his face sinking back into the shadows, his voice low.

"Besides, who lives and who dies is not yet certain."