Returning to Lingnan in Pieces

It's almost October now, and the climate in Lingnan is still very hot and humid.

The afternoon sun made the water surface shimmer.

Wild grasses grow rampant along the riverbank, their leaves turning yellow at the tips.

Vines intertwined on the trees, their green leaves large and lush, and a colorful venomous snake slithered slowly by.

After the venomous snake slithered past, it mimicked a lizard waiting on a tree branch, opened its eyes, suddenly stuck out its tongue, caught a large mosquito, and pulled it back into its mouth.

Kong Longren, with his white hair, thin cheeks, and large ears, wrapped his hair in a black square scarf and wore a black robe. He walked calmly along the shore.

"Ah, what a desolate place."

He glanced up at the sun, his steps unhurried, yet his face held a hint of sorrow.

The climate of Lingnan was naturally nothing to him, a master of the Plain King realm.

Even living in the desert, Plain King could retain moisture and prevent his body from being damaged.

However, Lingnan is far inferior to Chang'an.

In the world today, both at home and abroad, among all nations, Chang'an is undoubtedly the foremost city, the most magnificent city, and the most prosperous city.

The most promising descendants of the Kong Clan of Lingnan all fought tooth and nail to settle in Chang'an.

As for the clansmen who remained in various places, the euphemism was that they were asked to cultivate their local reputation as part of the family's heritage.

In reality, there aren't that many selfless individuals in the clan. Ultimately, they only stay in the local area and become pimps because they know they have no way to advance.

Alternatively, one could hope to accumulate merit locally first, and then go to Chang'an in the future to directly secure a good position, without having to be confined to the bottom of the hierarchy.

However, the great upheaval in Chang'an that night meant that the head of the family had likely met with misfortune.

All members of the clan and their properties in Chang'an will be confiscated.

If Kong Longren were to remain in Chang'an alone, it would be both boring and risky.

They had no choice but to return to Lingnan, join the rest of their clansmen, and plan for the future.

"Well..."

Kong Longren let out a long sigh.

Buzz!!

In the mountains and forests, the faint chirping of insects seemed to echo his sigh.

Among the 38th generation descendants of Kongzi, there was a man named Kong Junyan who passed the imperial examination in the first year of the Jianzhong era of Emperor Dezong of Emperor Dezong of Tang and entered officialdom.

This person successively held positions such as Grand Counselor, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Military Commissioner of Zhenguo Army, and Military Governor of Lingnan.

While in court, this man impeached redundant officials, officials who did not abide by the law, fields that were not fully cultivated, and the abuses of buying and selling mountains and lakes in various prefectures and counties.

After becoming the military governor of Lingnan, he used various methods to ban the rampant slave trade in the area and also dealt with officials who extorted merchants and accepted large bribes, bringing order to the region.

The Kong Clan of Lingnan prospered because of this.

At that time, the Kong Clan of Qufu, although being direct descendants of Kongzi, held the title of Duke Wenxuan.

However, starting from the Qin and Han dynasties when Kongzi's Di Ba descendants took their collection of books and went to live in seclusion on Mount Song, it has been known that those who migrated from the Confucius family were often the most virtuous and capable.

The Kong Clan of Lingnan became a model for their time, wielding far more power than those in Qufu. Due to their kinship ties, many relatives from various places came to seek refuge with them, offering their services.

Sixty-seven years ago, when mutinies broke out in various places, the Kong Clan of Lingnan upheld their loyalty and did not rebel.

After Hai Donglai returned, the Kong family, upholding justice even at the cost of their own family, bound some of their clansmen who had colluded with the rebel leaders and went to Chang'an to plead guilty. They were all executed.

Although none of the Kong Clan of Lingnan have served as military governors, they enjoy a very good reputation in the area.

Thinking of this, Kong Longren felt slightly better.

Although he could no longer enjoy the prestige of a top-tier family in Chang'an, he would still retain his position as the "patriarch of the Lineage" as long as he returned to his clan in Lingnan.

Buzz buzz buzz!

The chirping of insects grew louder and louder.

Kong Longren frowned.

In the wilderness of Lingnan, there are hundreds and thousands of species of mosquitoes. When the weather is suitable, you can see swarms of poisonous mosquitoes everywhere.

He was quite used to the buzzing sound of wings as he rushed back to Lingnan.

But hearing it too much can get a bit annoying.

Kong Longren pulled his hand out of his sleeve, and the pale lines of his fingers and palm unfolded, becoming smooth and lustrous, with full flesh and blood. He then unleashed a palm strike from a distance at the spot where the insect chirping was the loudest.

A master of Heart and Blood Martial Dao and blood strength, but also mental focus and the Fist Intent.

However, their qi and blood are deeply integrated with their Fist Intent, so once the Fist Intent leaves their body, their qi and blood will tend to pull it back.

It has the force to push outwards, yet it also has the tendency to pull back.

This causes the Fist Intent to be directed outwards, which can easily become loose and spread out, resulting in a large area of influence but relatively low effectiveness.

Unless one belongs to a school that specializes in studying the Fist Intent, even if one has achieved the level of the Plain King, one cannot violate this common sense.

The martial intent emanating from Kong Longren's palm strike was not meant to kill.

But killing some bugs is enough.

After he struck out with his palm, the noisy chirping of insects in the distance indeed fell silent.

Kong Longren shook his hand dismissively and took another step.

Buzz!!!!

Suddenly, the chirping of insects erupted at ten times the intensity of before.

In an instant, it was like a howling wind and muffled thunder, with flying sand and stones spreading rapidly from the depths of the forest towards the shore.

"What?"

Kong Longren was slightly alarmed to see the swarm of insects, which dared to turn against him.

He didn't believe that ordinary insects could withstand his martial will.

This could be another effect of some kind of Weapon Soul or divine ability; could it be that someone has come to ambush me?

But after he left Chang'an, he traveled day and night back to Lingnan. How could anyone possibly know what route he took?

Although Kong Longren had many thoughts in his mind, he had already decided to temporarily avoid the limelight and suddenly retreated.

BOOM!!

The water's surface was like a piece of silk cut by a sharp knife, with a ravine sunken in.

The water flowed back and forth, and waves surged upwards from the ravines.

Kong Longren's figure has already appeared on the opposite bank.

With a single leap, he crossed the entire river.

However, he found the chirping of insects to be even clearer.

Several insects flew from behind him to his ear and then circled around to his front.

Those insects had brownish-brown backs and slightly greenish abdomens.

Its head is like a tree burl, it has fangs in its mouth, long membranous wings like bamboo leaves on its back, eight slender legs, and a long, upturned belly and tail, like a woman's fingertips.

There was a humanoid shadow, a head taller than Kong Longren, covered in these insects, right behind him.

"Your Mightiness..."

Kong Longren smelled a strong stench of insects, his gaze fixed on the shadow on the ground, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He had no idea how this person had appeared behind him.

The Plain King had a strong premonition of danger, but before this person appeared, that premonition seemed to have lost its effectiveness, as silent as rotten wood.

After this person appeared, that premonition began to roar again, making him feel as if he were being pricked by needles all over his body. All the hairs on his body gradually stood up, hard as steel needles.

Who are you, sir?

"I, Kong, am an elder of the Kong Clan in Lingnan, with immense wealth and countless treasures. Although I do not know where I have clashed with you, I am willing to offer you this valuable treasure to turn hostility into friendship!"

Kong Longren dared not blink, his nostrils flared, and the sweat on his forehead gathered into large beads that trickled down the contours of his face.

The person behind him could only hear the chirping of insects and the sound of their wings flapping; there was no response whatsoever.

As Kong Longren finished speaking, the muscles on his forehead taut, his nostrils stretched, and his gums protruded.

The bead of sweat suddenly burst into a fine mist from the force emanating from his face.

His figure went from extreme stillness to extreme movement in an instant.

The moisture in the soil and rocks on the ground was burst open by his footsteps, creating sparkling lotus flowers with only a few impurities in them.

Twenty-three colorless flowers exploded along the way, lining up and flowing downstream along the shore.

When the twenty-third large colorless flower bloomed, the first colorless flower had not yet withered.

"Ah!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the sky and echoed throughout the mountains and fields.

Twenty-three colorless flowers collapsed into water droplets, which then seeped back into the soil and rocks.

The chirping of insects gradually faded into the distance.

After a long while, a black boot stepped onto the ground.

A black-haired man dressed in white with a red robe and a headband wrapped around his head stood on the shore, holding a red umbrella.

He looked around and saw that the grasslands stretching for miles along the shore had all been eaten bare, turning into an unsightly yellowish-brown.

On this devastated land, a mangled body lies scattered on the shore.

One of its right legs was still upright, with its heel slightly sunk into the mud.

A left leg and two pieces of the body lay scattered in the distance.

Kong Longren's head was embedded in the tree trunk at the back, his face exposed to the air, his eyes bulging, and blood below his neck soaking large patches of bark.

"A member of the Kong Clan?"

"That's right. Apart from insects, only the Plain King's hostility can elicit a reaction from him."

The man in the red robe walked up to the tree.

Kong Longren, after all, was Plain King with a strong vitality. His eyes reflected the man's face, and suddenly a last glimmer of light appeared in them.

The lips of the human head moved.

But there was nothing below his neck, so no sound could be made.

The man in the red robe could read his lips.

"It was... the Red Emperor who helped me... avenge myself!"

(End of this chapter)