Showdown

"Uncle, what are you trying to do?"

Yu You rose to his feet, his face grave.

"Old General, what exactly has happened?"

Yu Tongguang slowly stood as well. A number of commandery officials around him subtly rose to stand at his side.

Yu Tongguang frowned. He did not believe Qi Yi would use today's opportunity to fly into a rage and strike at him directly. That would be no different from rebellion, and not a single member of the Qi family present today would escape punishment.

Nor did the Qi family hold complete control over all the troops stationed in the commandery city. He had not come unprepared today either; several commanders of his personal guard were outside, leading a portion of the garrison as a deterrent.

His current target was the Gu family. As for the other two families, his approach was mainly intimidation and recruitment. Though there was coercion involved, his methods remained relatively mild—not enough to drive those two families into jumping over the wall like desperate dogs.

Yet Qi Yi's actions clearly meant some other sudden change had occurred behind the scenes.

Qi Yi slowly rose, his gaze sweeping over the commandery officials and distinguished guests present. An unprecedented blaze of fury erupted from his eyes as he said in a low voice:

"Someone has murdered Madam Zhou of the Qi estate's main branch!"

"What?"

The faces of everyone in the hall changed.

In particular, the young marquis Zhou Qianling, who had come from Haojing, went pale and sprang from his seat.

"What? My eldest sister...?"

"Uncle Qi, what exactly happened?"

At that moment, the Daoist in black-and-white taiji robes beside Yu Tongguang, whose face was as smooth as a baby's, leaned close and whispered several words into Yu Tongguang's ear.

Yu Tongguang's gaze shifted slightly. After a brief pause, he spoke.

"Old General Qi, if I were you, at a time like this, I would not merely seal off the living people present. I would also invoke the official seal to seal the entire Qi family estate!"

"What do you mean by that, Commandery Governor Yu?"

Qi Yi and Zhou Qianling immediately turned their gazes toward him. But Qi Yi's face darkened. He promptly removed the third-rank Mighty Distant General's seal he carried and handed it to Qi Yuanwu, ordering him to place the official seal before the plaque of the Qi family residence at once.

At the same time, he ordered battle-hardened soldiers to block the entrance.

Once the third-rank Mighty Distant General's seal was placed beneath the plaque, Zhang Jian noticed an invisible aura of dragon and tiger flowing out from the Qi family gates, faintly enveloping the entire Qi residence.

Sensing this, the Daoist's eyes stirred slightly.

Zhang Jian's gaze had remained fixed on the old Daoist in robes. He had long noticed the distinctly unusual quality about him. The traces of spiritual power around him were concealed extremely well—better than those of Heavenly Void Daoist and the unorthodox occultists Zhang Jian had encountered—but before Zhang Jian's divine sense, there was nowhere to hide.

From this, Zhang Jian could also determine that this Daoist's cultivation far surpassed that of Heavenly Void Daoist and the others.

He was a formidable figure.

But he probably has not cultivated dharma power yet. Otherwise, dharma power would blend as one with his entire body, and the nature of the spiritual power within him would change...

Light shimmered deep within Zhang Jian's eyes. His divine sense was extraordinarily sharp; this mystical ability stemmed from the innate strength of his soul.

He simply had never cultivated any spell related to the eyes, so he could not excavate that innate potential and put it to greater use.

Many of his judgments might not necessarily be accurate.

Facing the gazes of the Qi estate's people, Yu Tongguang said blandly, "Not long ago, Mr. Qingyu sensed traces of a monstrous presence within the Qi residence. Perhaps some demon or evil spirit is causing trouble this time as well!"

"A demon or evil spirit?"

Qi Yi's expression darkened.

It reminded him of the previous calamity of nightmare curses that had befallen the Qi family.

Leaning lightly on his cane, Yu You narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he said meaningfully, "I fear it is not some demon or evil spirit, but someone causing mischief while crying thief!"

Yu Tongguang glanced at Yu You, sneering inwardly, but did not respond. He disdained to offer such explanations.

Qi Yi frowned and looked at the two men.

Whether it was Commandery Governor Yu Tongguang, Commandery Vice Governor Yu You, or the unruffled Gu Chengyan beside them, all seemed suspicious in his eyes.

Any one of them could have murdered Madam Zhou.

But the one who stood to benefit most was undoubtedly Commandery Governor Yu Tongguang.

With Madam Zhou dead, regardless of whether the Qi family could capture the culprit, they would no longer be able to borrow the strength of the Dingyuan Marquis's estate in Haojing.

This was unquestionably immensely advantageous to Commandery Governor Yu Tongguang, creating absolutely favorable conditions for him to sweep through all of Fengyang Commandery.

Of course, it also benefited the Yu family and the Gu family.

The Qi family would lose its capital for remaining neutral. When the time came, they might have no choice but to join hands with the other two families, forming an alliance to safeguard the Qi family's interests.

A glint of savagery flashed in Qi Yi's eyes. He made up his mind that if the investigation truly revealed Yu Tongguang to be responsible, then even if he had to exhaust the Qi family's entire foundation, he would seize Yu Tongguang today and send him to Haojing to demand justice.

Qi Yi sealed off the Qi estate while sending people to inspect the crime scene. Feedback came swiftly.

In the rear courtyard, he saw Madam Zhou's exceedingly strange corpse.

More than a dozen trembling maidservants and old female attendants were nearby.

Within the main hall, the Zhang father and son sat among the central seats, while the officials of Fengyang Commandery occupied the seats of honor.

Many of the officials were somewhat anxious.

They feared this sudden murder case would become the beginning of a bloody clash!

Everyone had come to celebrate the birthday today, after all; they had not brought many personal guards!

"Jian, what do you think?"

At his side, Zhang Yi turned an inquiring gaze toward Zhang Jian.

If they needed to investigate or subdue demons and evil spirits, that was something only cultivators could handle. Zhang Jian was a cultivator, so he presumably had some idea of the matter.

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered. He had indeed sensed a fleeting trace of yin spirit aura earlier, but he still said softly, "Father, this may indeed be connected to demons or evil spirits, but what matters most right now is not whether there are demons or evil spirits. It is Grandfather's stance!"

Zhang Yi nodded at those words.

Madam Zhou's death was an established fact!

The balance of power in the commandery city had been shattered.

The city's situation was now like an iron wire on the verge of melting through, liable to collapse at any moment and ignite a bloody collision.

It was not only the Qi family that now had to choose between the commandery's powerful clans and Commandery Governor Yu Tongguang.

The Zhang family was in the same position.

The Zhang family was a great clan in Fengyang Commandery, second only to the three great commandery families.

Yet after gaining an understanding of the commandery city's situation, father and son had reached a consensus.

They were naturally inclined to profit amid chaos. Ideally, the current state of affairs could still be maintained: the three great commandery families becoming four, forming a new balance, then waiting for the right moment to advance further.

Commandery Governor Yu Tongguang's pressure upon the other three great commandery families was also an opportunity for the Zhang family. So long as the Zhang family seized this chance, the Zhang family of Fengxi could transform into a true commandery family.

In the past, if they wished to become a commandery family, they would inevitably have faced the all-out obstruction of the original three families, even the hostility of the commandery officials. But things were different now. At such a critical juncture, pressed by the commandery governor, the three great commandery families might choose to let it happen—or even support them.

Zhang Jian noticed Gu Chengyan across from him smile faintly at him.

Zhang Jian's gaze shifted as a thought passed through his mind.

Others might not know, but Gu Chengyan, the head of the Gu family, certainly knew that he was a cultivator.

It was time to reveal this trump card he had kept hidden and let it serve its proper purpose.

After seeing Zhang Jian's attitude, Zhang Yi immediately formed an idea. He rose and entered the rear courtyard, whispered a few words to Madam Zhang Qi, and then Madam Zhang Qi hurried toward the rear courtyard.

Not long afterward, Qi Yi and Qi Yuansi hurried over.

The two personally invited Zhang Jian aside.

"Jian, you know spellcraft?"

Qi Yi and Qi Yuansi wore different expressions, but both regarded him with scrutinizing eyes.

Seeing their expressions, Zhang Jian immediately understood that they might not know the difference between cultivators and unorthodox occultists who merely knew a few spells.