Revealed

Qi Yuxian's face was livid with rage. Pointing at Zhang Granny, who had been seized by several servants, she was too furious to speak.

One of the old women still held an iron canister. Inside was a cloth doll, upon which its birth date and eight characters had been written on yellow paper. The doll was naked, wore an iron circlet around its head, had nails driven through its chest, and an iron chain locked around its neck.

What made Qi Yuxian grind her teeth even harder was that there were also two clay demon kings inside the canister, obscenely lewd.

"Shameless, vicious slave!"

The old woman beside her shouted sharply.

"No word of today's events is to leave this place. If I hear even the faintest rumor, every one of you present will be sold off. The women and children of your households will all be sent away as well. No mercy will be shown!"

At those words, the servants and old women trembled from head to toe and hurriedly fell to their knees.

"Hatred! Such hatred!"

Though she had been captured, Zhang Granny continued to curse without end.

Her eyes seemed to seep blood as she glared savagely at Qi Yuxian.

"You little bitch! You hateful bastard child, ruining my plans..."

Before she could finish, the old woman struck her viciously across the face. Her cheek visibly swelled at once.

Qi Yuxian's lovely face was icy cold, and her hand clenched tightly around the corner of her sleeve.

Yet there was also a trace of relief in her eyes.

While waiting for news in the garden, she had suddenly seen a furtive figure pass by. Curious, she followed it, only to unexpectedly discover Zhang Granny muttering incantations and secretly performing a ritual. That was how she had caught her red-handed.

Had it not been for such a coincidence, she truly would never have known that someone was using the Nightmare-Binding Hex within the Qi family—especially to curse her own mother.

Still, a thread of doubt lingered in Qi Yuxian's heart. The figure she had seen earlier did not quite match Zhang Granny's hunched, bloated appearance.

The thought flashed through her mind and vanished.

Consumed by fury, she could not help pointing at the frightening old woman before her and berating her.

"Zhang Granny, you have served at my mother's side for years. My mother has always placed great trust in your family. I never imagined you would bite the hand that fed you and use such a vicious method to harm your masters. Where is your conscience?"

At this, Zhang Granny burst into mad laughter.

"Conscience? Bah! Madam Zhou's so-called trust was merely a show for others to see. She just did not want people calling her jealous and harming the master's prospects!

"And you, you little bitch, stop pretending you know nothing. Were my daughter's and grandson's deaths truly accidents?

"Over the years, so many concubines in the master's chambers were sold off for no reason or suffered miscarriages without cause. You know perfectly well that it was that jealous, venomous woman who killed so many pitiful people—my poor daughter and unborn grandson among them! This old woman wishes she could skin that poisonous woman alive! It is only a pity that I am useless and ultimately cannot avenge them!"

Seeing Zhang Granny still hurling curses, the burly old woman directly signaled the servants beside her to gag her, lest she say anything more shocking.

Then she came before Qi Yuxian and asked, "Miss, how should this damned Zhang Granny be dealt with?"

Qi Yuxian's expression changed.

She had long heard rumors of Madam Zhou's deeds, but she had always harbored a lucky hope. Now that the lid had been torn clean off, how could she not become suspicious?

Over these years, the first branch truly had the fewest descendants among the branches. Aside from her, the legitimate daughter, there were only her two younger full brothers.

Yet as everyone looked toward her, Qi Yuxian quickly regained her composure and rebuked her.

"Anyone guilty of monstrous crimes will first push all their sins onto others, using that to soothe the guilt brought on by their conscience's condemnation. Zhang Granny, I witnessed what happened to your daughter with my own eyes. Grandfather already personally judged the matter. Your daughter colluded with a household servant, broke the rules, and then, fearing punishment from her masters, threw herself into a well. What did that have to do with the Qi family?

"And today, your use of the Nightmare-Binding Hex to harm my mother is ironclad proof. Your crime is unforgivable. Shortly, I will escort you before Grandfather and have you dealt with according to the Qi family's laws and rules. Nor can it be said that there is no one behind you. With your status, you would never have dared scheme against your masters alone! I will get to the bottom of this!"

Qi Yuxian's beautiful face was frosty as her gaze swept across the crowd with piercing severity.

In the shadows, Zhang Jian watched this scene, his eyes flickering.

He sighed inwardly. In his heart, he was inclined to believe Zhang Granny.

Without a deep, blood-soaked hatred, she would not have been willing to suffer the backlash of the Nightmare-Binding Hex, letting herself rot into such a state just to harm another.

This was mutual destruction.

Zhang Jian felt that this time, he might truly have obstructed someone's "upholding justice on Heaven's behalf."

If this eldest maternal aunt of his was truly so vicious, then retribution was what she deserved!

But this matter could not be blamed on him either.

After all, it was the evil hex that had harmed someone first.

The Nightmare-Binding Hex truly was sinister and venomous.

Though it was a case of fighting poison with poison.

Just then, he suddenly raised his head and saw an arrow streak through the darkness toward Zhang Granny.

Several more arrows flew toward the burly men beside Zhang Granny, and even toward Qi Yuxian.

The instant Zhang Jian saw this, his divine sense swept out. A vast gust of pure yang force surged forth and knocked the arrows aside in a flash.

Amid a clattering of metal, several crossbow bolts fell to the ground.

A faint fishy stench came from them. They were clearly coated in deadly poison.

Someone was trying to silence them?

"Assassins!"

The old women and servants finally reacted. Their faces changed as they shouted loudly, while several broad-shouldered female servants hurriedly supported Qi Yuxian beneath the eaves to take cover.

Qi Yuxian's lovely face had also paled somewhat, but her gaze instinctively searched in every direction.

Yet she could not see the person who had acted.

Zhang Jian had already given chase. His spiritual perception was exceptionally sharp; the instant he locked onto that figure, the Wind-Walking Technique began to circulate, and he swept over the high wall like a gust of wind.

In the darkness, one black-clad figure fled frantically like a bird startled by the twang of a bowstring.

The figure was utterly terrified. When that tyrannical spiritual pressure swept over him, he immediately knew he had struck an iron wall.

Only certain Left Path sorcerers who had achieved success in cultivation could form such tangible spiritual force and pressure. Such sorcerers were already close to the gates of the Great Dao, and most possessed profound methods, utterly beyond the comparison of a Left Path sorcerer at the Qi Refinement stage like him.

On the long street, Zhang Jian watched the figure speed away as a black shadow. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not continue the pursuit.

His masked figure seemed especially bright beneath the moonlight.

In truth, if necessary, he could have immediately used the Minor Wind-Thunder Technique to stop the man.

But after considering it again and again, Zhang Jian chose not to act further.

The reason was simple: Zhang Jian realized that he seemed to have no reason to intervene at all.

The Zhang family and the Qi family were not allies yet. As for their kinship, judging by his maternal grandfather's attitude, they might not be all that close. Naturally, he had no need to exhaust himself helping investigate the case.

Besides, they were targeting the first branch, not the second branch that was close to the Zhang family. There was even less reason to hunt them down, since it had little to do with him.

If he acted recklessly, he might easily be drawn into the strange and treacherous currents of this county city ahead of time.

Saving Qi Yuxian had already been out of consideration for their kinship. Otherwise, he could not have been bothered to lift a finger.

Better go back and sleep!

With that thought, Zhang Jian turned and went back.

What he needed now was peaceful years and a steady accumulation of strength, not stirring up trouble on his own initiative!

This left the black-clad figure, who was fleeing for his life, utterly bewildered. He had clearly felt the figure behind him clinging like a shadow, as though his life could be plucked away at any moment.

But after chasing him for a while, the person behind him vanished?

Had he gotten tired?

Zhan Liren was still rather dazed. Had he really escaped death so easily?