Situation

The moonlight was rich, and the air was thick with the stench of blood mingled with the charred smell left by fire, painfully pungent.

Before the gates of Song Manor stood fewer than fifty mounted riders. None wore armor; they were dressed only in cloth officials' uniforms. Two hundred infantry followed behind them, their formation equally lax. They did not look like troops who had come to quell unrest at all.

"Patriarch Song, forgive our late arrival. Where are those bandits?"

At their head stood a burly man in his early forties. His Martial Dao attainments could only be called ordinary—he had yet to reach major accomplishment in Qi Condensation—yet he showed little respect when speaking to Song Tonghai.

"The bandits have already retreated. Many thanks to Wing General Luo for coming to our aid late at night. You have troubled yourself."

Song Tonghai looked as composed as ever. He had changed into a fresh brocade robe, with not the slightest trace of anything amiss visible upon him.

"It is good that nothing happened."

Wing General Luo sized Song Tonghai up for a few moments, nodded, and said slowly:

"I ask that Patriarch Song hand over the corpses of those bandits to me. I will gather them for burning, lest an epidemic arise within the city."

The moment those words fell, several Martial Masters behind Song Tonghai showed anger on their faces.

He was openly stealing credit.

In the Great Zhou military, promotions placed the greatest weight on battle merits. The heads of those corpses could also count as achievements. If any of those black-clad men happened to be martial artists wanted by the Government Office, that would be an even greater merit.

They had been nowhere to be seen when trouble arose, yet now they appeared to pluck the fruit. Naturally, the Song Family was dissatisfied.

What was more, perhaps the bodies of these black-clad men could reveal who was directing them from behind the scenes. The Government Office's actions carried the suspicion of shielding someone.

Song Tonghai's expression remained calm, betraying neither joy nor anger. He merely nodded.

"Then I will trouble Wing General Luo."

Since the patriarch had spoken, the Martial Masters behind him naturally said no more and silently swallowed their anger.

The Guard Army swaggered into Song Manor. After making a racket for nearly half an hour, they took away the vast majority of the black-clad men's corpses.

More than a dozen bodies were left behind. These men had all died at Chu Zheng's hands, their skulls shattered to pieces and their features long beyond recognition. Corpses like these could not be exchanged for merit.

To prevent soldiers from killing civilians and claiming them as enemies for credit, Great Zhou's oversight of military achievements was exceedingly strict and allowed no falsification.

At the sight of those dozen-odd corpses, quite a few Guard Army soldiers cursed under their breath. Even Wing General Luo's expression carried obvious displeasure.

Before long, the Guard Army withdrew like a receding tide, and the long street sank back into silence.

From beginning to end, Chu Zheng watched everything clearly from the rear, falling into deep thought for a time.

Chu Zheng knew little about Great Zhou, only scattered fragments recorded in books.

Yet in his impression, he had never seen a feudal dynasty endure for a thousand years. No matter how powerful a dynasty was, after several centuries, it would gradually march toward death due to entrenched maladies such as land annexation or warlord separatism.

And Great Zhou had already endured for more than seventeen hundred years.

There were only two possible reasons a dynasty could rule the realm for so long. First, its system of governance and distribution of resources were reasonable enough to let people of every class survive.

Second, the dynasty's strength was so overwhelming that it simply could not be overthrown. Any rebellion or uprising would be swiftly suppressed before it could raise a ripple.

Chu Zheng had already seen Great Zhou's current condition. With productive capacity unable to keep pace, the common people at the bottom could not possibly be well-fed and well-clothed, much less live contented lives. That left only the second possibility.

Wing General Luo's attitude happened to confirm Chu Zheng's earlier suspicions. The Government Office was fanning the flames behind the Song Family's present predicament.

There could not possibly be a conflict of interests between the Government Office and the Song Family. If there truly had been some dispute over profit, the Song Family could never have endured for three hundred years.

Then the cause was almost certain to lie with Song Lingqing.

Chu Zheng rubbed his brow, overwhelmed by a crushing headache.

If Song Lingqing was involved, then it would inevitably drag in the Immortal Sect's infighting. With the Song Family's current strength, if the Immortal Sect applied even slightly more pressure, the Song Family would shatter.

Chu Zheng did not know what level of strength the Immortal Sect of this world possessed, but he had already glimpsed some clues from those Immortal Sect Scriptures.

Those who succeeded in cultivating immortality could flatten an entire nation as easily as reaching into a bag for something.

This meant flattening it in the literal sense—far more terrifying than nuclear weapons.

Facing beings beyond the bounds of his understanding put immense pressure on Chu Zheng.

Making a run for it as soon as possible seemed to have become the best option.

City Lord's Manor.

Inside a side room stood and sat two figures.

The seated man was a dark-faced middle-aged man of around thirty, dressed in a brocade robe with a short beard. Though it was already deep winter, he still held a folding fan in his hand.

Wing General Luo stood with his head lowered and reported respectfully, "Song Tonghai appeared uninjured. This subordinate did not see Song Lingxue, but learned from others that she was not seriously harmed."

"What did Song Tonghai say when you arrived? Did he ask you for aid or request that you investigate this matter?" The middle-aged man frowned slightly, seeming somewhat disappointed.

"Song Tonghai said nothing. He merely thanked me and had me take the bodies away."

Wing General Luo looked puzzled and somewhat confused. Song Tonghai had been so calm, as though nothing had ever happened.

"Oh? That was all?"

"That was all."

Wing General Luo nodded. Unease filled his heart, and he could not help asking:

"May I ask, City Lord Yuan, why are we targeting the Song Family like this? Could it be that when Prince came to Luofeng City that day, he suffered some offense?"

The Government Office and the Song Family had coexisted peacefully for who knew how many years. Their sudden move now clearly meant they had received orders from above.

"Why so many questions? You need not ask what you should not ask. Leave."

The City Lord waved a hand, looking somewhat impatient.

"Forgive this subordinate for speaking out of turn, but Song Lingqing has, after all, entered the Immortal Sect. If we go too far, should Song Lingqing pursue the matter afterward, I fear neither you nor I can bear the responsibility."

Wing General Luo did not move. In a low voice, he said, "If you have received any news, could you tell me a little? At least let this subordinate have some idea of what is going on."

The words Immortal Sect carried too much weight; hearing them alone made one's heart tighten. Even a Great Grandmaster would not dare make an enemy of such a person.

Even if he had to give up his post as Wing General, he did not want to provoke such trouble—unless there was an umbrella above his head broad enough to hold up the sky.

The City Lord was silent for a long while before beckoning him over. "Come closer."

Only after Wing General Luo bent down did he whisper, "Prince has taken a liking to Song Lingxue and intends for her to become the heir's consort. Song Tonghai refused. This is to force him to lower his head. You know this, and I know this. It must never be leaked!"

Inside the study in Song Manor's rear courtyard.

Song Tonghai removed his brocade robe and began changing into night clothes.

Seeing what he was doing, Song Lingxue was momentarily bewildered.

"Father, you are..."

"I'm going to kill Luo Wang and Yuan Xingcai."

Without turning back, Song Tonghai spoke as lightly as if discussing nothing of consequence.

"Father!"

Song Lingxue lost her voice for a moment. Killing a commandery governor and the deputy general of a city's garrison was an event enough to shake all of Great Zhou.

This was going to poke a hole in the heavens!