They raced for golden hooks and fragrant bait; whose game would overturn whose?
Say not the fisherman's boat arrived too late; a sea of blood became robes of brocade clouds.
Elsewhere, in a secret chamber at the Nangong Household's estate in Miaochong Prefecture.
Qian Baoshan slumped in a grand armchair, shaking his head uncontrollably, his voice somewhat panicked:
"B-Brother Nangong... today, that fiend's disciple, that baleful star Lin Changsheng! Right at the west gate, in one go... he killed over three hundred people in one go!"
"I checked in secret. Among those three hundred-odd people, a full twenty-three had some distant kinship with us, however tenuous. If we hadn't spotted the danger quickly, severed our own wrists like resolute warriors, cut off every connection in time, and obtained quite a few genuine things, I'm afraid right now... neither of our households would be having an easy time!"
As he spoke, he unconsciously touched his neck, as though the blade were already pressed against it.
"What are you panicking for!" Nangong Wang frowned and barked, revealing his inner unrest.
He seemed to be forcing himself to remain calm, but the flash of terror in his eyes could not escape an old fox like Qian Baoshan, who had spent centuries weathering the path of cultivation.
Yet that terror was soon replaced by an even stronger sense of smug satisfaction.
"This only proves that brat Qing Chen has reached his limit! The donkey of Qian has exhausted its tricks! He's far away in Linyuan County's seat in Qiong Prefecture. What could he possibly know?"
Nangong Wang stood and paced back and forth in the secret chamber.
"He's nothing but a brute who delights in fighting. What does he know of the essence of governing a province? How could he hold his seat