Rain Clan Storm

Chapter 28: The Rain Clan Storm

After Yu Meng died, not a single soul was left alive in the Rain Clan's branch estate, and not a blade of grass remained.

Shortly after Little Shi and his party departed, the Lord of Chongyun City arrived upon hearing the news, leading a large contingent of armored soldiers into the grounds. The fluctuations of powerful precious techniques startled more than half of the fortress.

As the Lord of Chongyun City stepped over corpse after corpse, reaching the deepest part of the mansion, he was immediately struck by the overwhelming stench of blood.

"The ancestral land of an ancient kingdom, actually bullied by the Rain Clan's in-laws! Despicable! Shameful!"

A row of scarlet characters, seemingly written in fresh blood, quickly slammed into his vision.

"It's over. A heaven-shaking storm is about to erupt within the ancient kingdom!"

The face of the Chongyun City Lord turned deathly pale in an instant.

He knew that the matter before him was beyond his ability to intervene. He had to report it to the Central Imperial Capital immediately and request a holy decree from the Human Emperor. He could only wonder how many powerful giants would be cast down from their pedestals and ground into dust by this earth-shattering storm.

"Seal this place immediately! I shall open the altar at once!"

Thinking of the implications, the Chongyun City Lord couldn't help but shiver. After letting out a roar, he immediately spurred his mount—a ferocious avian—and raced back to his manor.

Several days later, news of the destruction of the Second Ancestral Land reached the Imperial Capital, and that row of scarlet characters spread rapidly among the major powers.

On that day, one could not count how many Shi Clan princes were struck with fury.

No matter how desolate the Second Ancestral Land might be, it was the place where the Shi Clan had risen to prominence, the site of numerous ancestral tablets and mausoleums. No matter how arrogant the Rain Clan was, they were merely one of the eight hundred princes of the ancient kingdom; how dared they insult the Imperial Clan of the kingdom so?

That very day, Shi Clan princes went to the ancestral tombs to weep and mourn.

On the same day, a large number of Shi Clan kinsmen rushed to the Central Heavenly Palace to petition the Human Emperor for justice.

Upon hearing this news, the elders of the Rain Clan nearly fainted on the spot.

These Shi Clan princes were determined to drive the Rain King Manor to its absolute ruin!

They had never intended to destroy the Second Ancestral Land—who exactly was framing the Rain King Manor? Framing loyal subjects? Who on earth was it?!!

The Human Emperor, seated high within the Central Heavenly Palace, remained silent for a long time, seemingly just as shocked by the Rain Clan's lawlessness. Not long after, several swift and decisive imperial decrees were issued.

The Rain King's request to enter the palace and defend himself was rejected.

Three powerful princes were ordered to immediately lead troops to seal the Rain King Manor. Until the truth of the matter was brought to light, no one was permitted to enter or leave; those who disobeyed would be executed without mercy.

Eight more princes of royal blood were dispatched to the western frontier of the ancient kingdom to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the destruction of the Second Ancestral Land, with no delays permitted.

As the investigation deepened, the Rain Clan's activities in the western frontier were completely exposed to the light of day, both past and present.

They had sent men to hunt down Shi Ziling and his wife for a hundred thousand miles, spent ten years eroding the Second Ancestral Land, bribed and colluded with internal and external forces, maliciously reduced resource supplies, conspired to kill the children of the Stone Kingdom's royal princes, and plundered the ancestral land's assets...

This string of sordid secrets completely shocked the entire Stone Kingdom.

Even major powers outside of the Shi Clan could hardly believe that, under the prosperous conditions where the ancient kingdom's strength was growing daily and the Human Emperor suppressed all dissent like a blazing sun, a mere princely house like the Rain King Manor would dare to commit such a grave offense.

The Shi Clan, as the primary protagonist of this incident, felt the sting of a slap to the face; they had lost all dignity. One had to ask: in this magnificent ancient kingdom, who was the master and who was the servant?

Countless reclusive royal elders and ancient monsters emerged from their seclusion, submitting a joint petition to the Central Heavenly Palace requesting the severe punishment of the Rain Clan.

Facing the indignation of the entire Shi Clan, the Human Emperor, as the head of the clan, did not appear. Only a few words were transmitted from the Central Heavenly Palace: "I am aware."

Following the principle that the fewer the words, the greater the matter, many old monsters in the Imperial Capital immediately understood: the Rain Clan was likely finished.

Sure enough, the very next day, the Human Emperor issued an order: the Rain King had disregarded imperial grace, deceived the monarch, and defied the heavens. He was to be stripped of his title, imprisoned, his fiefdom reclaimed, and he was to be locked in the Central Heavenly Prison to await trial.

The War Prince, the Ming Prince, and the Peng Prince—three princes of royal blood—received the imperial decree and immediately led troops to storm the Rain King Manor, launching a bloody purge.

The once-arrogant elders of the Rain Clan were dragged out like dead dogs and executed by military generals. The arrogant heirs were exiled for a hundred thousand miles, and the women and children of the manor...

It was not until several months later, when an elder of the Rain Clan presented the ancient Rain God's inheritance to the Imperial House, requested the Rain Clan's in-laws, the Martial King Manor, to mediate, and received a diplomatic note from the ancient pure land of Demon Spirit Lake, that the Central Heavenly Palace finally loosened its grip.

However, while the death penalty could be avoided, the suffering could not.

As the head of the Rain Clan, even if the Rain King was not the primary culprit, he could not escape the charge of negligence.

Although the Rain King was released from the Central Heavenly Prison, he was stripped of his princely title, demoted to a marquis, and his fiefdom was reduced by more than half. From then on, the Rain King Manor became the Rain Marquis Mansion.

Furthermore, according to rumors, a royal elder in charge of the prison was of a fierce and unyielding nature. Upon learning that the Shi Clan had been insulted, he immediately subjected the imprisoned Rain King to castration to vent his anger.

Regarding such absurd claims, the Rain Marquis Mansion—no, the Rain Marquis Mansion—naturally refuted them sternly, claiming these were all slanders and that the Marquis's "equipment" was perfectly fine.

However, after the Human Emperor issued a decree reprimanding that old royal prince and docking his salary for a month, the gazes of the major families in the Imperial Capital toward the Rain Marquis Mansion became increasingly subtle, each exchanging looks that could be understood but not spoken.

Of course, these were all later events.

Little Shi, who had stayed within the ancient kingdom for a short while, was satisfied to hear that the Rain King had been stripped of his title and imprisoned by the Human Emperor, and that the Rain King Manor had been bloodily purged.

A great fire and a row of blood-red characters were enough to cripple the Rain Clan; not bad, not bad at all.

Deep in the Great Wilderness, Stone Village.

The Azure Heaven Roc, having completed its transformation, led its two offspring out of the village to welcome them, signaling the successful return of Little Shi and his party.

Hearing that clansmen from beyond the mountains were visiting, the entire Stone Village was in an uproar.

Led by the old village chief Shi Yunfeng, the villagers lined up in neat rows to welcome them, leaving Shi Jian'an and his grandson, who had suffered cold treatment throughout the Stone Kingdom, feeling flattered and overwhelmed.

Night fell.

To welcome the return of the Stone Kingdom branch to their ancestral lands, the clansmen held a grand celebration, the atmosphere lively and bustling.

Beside the bonfire, the old village chief and Shi Jian'an walked arm in arm, laughing as they exchanged news about the two branches of the Shi Clan and spoke of many hidden matters.

During the day, the village elders had used their treasured medicinal herbs to purge the toxins left in Shi Qingfeng's body by the venomous flood dragon, healing his lame leg.

Dazhuang, Ermeng, and Pihou, those little rascals, were dragging the still-timid Shi Qingfeng around to raid the village's pens of fierce beast cubs—Lightning Dogs, Purple Cloud Martens, Silver Sky Wolves, Golden Oxen...

Meanwhile, Shi Hao had quietly slipped away to the village entrance alone.

"What is wrong? The clansmen from the outside world have returned to their ancestral land, yet you do not seem happy?"

The willow tree, whose transformation was becoming increasingly astonishing, swayed gently in the breeze, sending forth a warm gust of wind.

"Willow Deity, I think I am sick. My body has undergone some inexplicable change."

Shi Hao spoke with a conflicted expression.

"Heh, do not panic. I have looked down upon the ages and witnessed countless strange and ominous things; what transformation have I not encountered? Tell me slowly."

Hearing this, the Willow Deity chuckled softly.

Shi Hao felt that made sense; the Willow Deity was a supreme titan who had seen every great spectacle, and he felt much more at ease.

The next moment, twelve Heavenly Passages rumbled into existence above his head.

Willow Deity: "???"