Until leaving Yuelu Academy, Yan Shouyi's brow remained furrowed.
Though he had learned the secrets of the Yu and Zhou families and had a clue on how to stir up trouble between the five great ghost king families, the specific implementation remained a challenge.
Fortunately, this trip from Liu Ying also provided Yan Shouyi with another crucial piece of information.
That was the matter of the Yao family.
Judging from the situation of the Yao family, the Yao family's ancestor likely intervened to inquire about the whereabouts of Yao Fu's son, meaning Han San would be fine.
For now, focusing on the Zhou family was sufficient.
At this moment, the silent Wei Changqing suddenly spoke, "Wait for me here for a moment, or return to the hotel first. I have something I want to ask that Liu Ying."
Yan Shouyi knew what Wei Changqing wanted to ask, so he nodded and said, "Go ahead, we'll head back to the hotel first."
Wei Changqing nodded, turned around without a word, and returned to Yuelu Academy.
He had also seen how well-informed Liu Ying was. Perhaps by finding Liu Ying, he could uncover the truth of what happened back then?
Therefore, Yan Shouyi did not stop him and let Wei Changqing proceed.
After Wei Changqing left, Yan Shouyi pondered for a moment and said to Long Feicheng, "Little Long, I have a mission for you."
"What mission?" Long Feicheng was flattered. Normally, Yan Shouyi wouldn't entrust him with important tasks.
"Han San is still at the Yao family, but he's definitely not in danger, and the Yao family means no harm. However, we still need to contact Han San and tell him our plan," Yan Shouyi said. "I have other arrangements for Xu Qian and Old Weng, so this task falls to you."
Long Feicheng exclaimed in surprise, "You're sending me to the Yao family alone?"
"Don't worry, you'll be fine."
"Then what if something happens..." Long Feicheng asked timidly.
Yan Shouyi punched him and said coldly, "We are as close as brothers. I will avenge you!"
"I don't want to!" Long Feicheng immediately shook his head, a million times unwilling. "I won't do suicidal tasks like this!"
Yan Shouyi had predicted that Long Feicheng would chicken out, so he pulled him aside and patiently lectured him for a while.
From analyzing the pros and cons, to making all sorts of promises, and finally agreeing to introduce him to girls from Mount Emei in the future, he finally persuaded Long Feicheng, the old lecher.
Fortunately, Long Feicheng was a man of his word. As soon as he agreed, he immediately set off, got on a bus by the roadside, and headed straight for the Yao family.
After seeing Long Feicheng off, Xu Qian couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yan, what's your plan?"
Yan Shouyi waved his hand, "No rush. First, tell me what you know about the Zhou family."
Xu Qian, being a local of Qiantang, had some understanding of the five great ghost king forces.
Among the five great ghost king families, the Yu family was the most powerful, but in terms of arrogance and high-handedness, the Zhou family was unmatched.
The reason for this was mainly that the Zhou family's ancestor, Zhou Yuhu, was not a good person himself. The younger generation of the Zhou family followed suit, inheriting all of Zhou Yuhu's bad habits. Xu Qian sometimes had to deal with the troubles caused by the Zhou family.
Xu Qian had also been to the Yin dwelling on Mount Xiao that Liu Ying mentioned Zhou Yuhu frequented.
That Yin dwelling was Zhou Yuhu's lair. It was filled with evil spirits and vengeful souls, making it an absolutely perilous place. According to Xu Qian's estimation, their group would be unable to break into it.
Hearing this, Yan Shouyi stroked his chin.
Weng Qianxiang sighed, "Although we know Zhou Yuhu's weakness, it's still useless if we can't get in!"
"That's not necessarily true."
Yan Shouyi smiled, "Coincidentally, Zhou Yuhu's name contains the character 'tiger' (虎). Let's play a trick of luring the tiger away from its mountain!"
"Oh? Tell us more!"
Xu Qian and Weng Qianxiang pricked up their ears and began to listen to Yan Shouyi's plan.
Yan Shouyi said with a wicked grin, "The Yu family lost a minor ghost, and Yu Jinhong even came to question them. What do you think Zhou Yuhu, who is so arrogant, will do if we capture one of his Zhou family juniors?"
"He'll definitely fly into a rage!" Weng Qianxiang replied.
"Let's capture a few of his juniors, slap Zhou Yuhu in the face, and then issue a challenge, asking Zhou Yuhu to come looking for me. At that time, his Yin dwelling will be unguarded, and we can take advantage of the opportunity to enter."
"Brilliant!" Xu Qian praised. "Given Zhou Yuhu's character, I think this plan is feasible!"
"But where can we capture the Zhou family juniors?" Weng Qianxiang asked.
In Qiantang's circles, in the Xuanmen, one could ask Liu Ying and Xu Qian. But among ordinary people, one had to ask Meng Te.
So Yan Shouyi immediately took out his phone and called Meng Te.
Meng Te thought his relationship with Yan Shouyi had ended, but as soon as he got home and before he could even sit down properly, he received a call from Yan Shouyi.
He was overjoyed and exclaimed affectionately, "Brother Yan," which almost made Yan Shouyi hang up.
After a series of inquiries, Meng Te indeed had information.
Meng Te's family was considered well-off in Qiantang. Although he didn't know the title of the ghost king families, he knew of a very powerful Zhou family in Qiantang.
Meng Te had seen Zhou family members at many lavish banquets and knew about some of the younger generation of the Zhou family.
Without exception, these Zhou family scions were all incredibly prodigal, acting lawlessly and arrogantly in Qiantang. Even Meng Te couldn't stand it, but unfortunately, he couldn't afford to offend them.
When Meng Te heard that Yan Shouyi intended to act against the Zhou family scions, he was incredibly happy. He immediately set about collecting information on the Zhou family juniors and sent it to Yan Shouyi's phone within half an hour.
This information included the identities of important Zhou family scions and the places they frequented.
With this, capturing the Zhou family scions would be a piece of cake for Yan Shouyi!
Yan Shouyi shared the information with Xu Qian and said,
"Today, let's not do anything else. We'll just keep an eye on these Zhou family scions and tie them up at any opportunity!"
Xu Qian asked, "What happens after we tie them up?"
"Let's send them to Grandma Shen first," Yan Shouyi chuckled. "Let the Zhou family worry for a while. When the time comes, we'll reveal our identities!"
Weng Qianxiang asked, "What should I do then?"
Yan Shouyi's expression turned serious. "Old Weng, I have something even more important to entrust you with."
"Why the sudden seriousness..." Weng Qianxiang felt a bit guilty. "I'm under a lot of pressure!"
"Don't panic, this matter is not dangerous," Yan Shouyi said with a smile. "Old Wang is currently in Shencheng, and he's also looking for inheritors of folk sects. He can't get away for the time being, so I hope you can go find him for me."
"Wang Ji Wang? What do you need him for?"
"Old Wang is a赊刀人 (she dao ren - knife-selling person) and practices the 極往之術 (ji wang zhi shu - extreme departure technique). I want you to help me ask Old Wang about something that happened forty years ago..."
Yan Shouyi whispered, and Weng Qianxiang understood immediately, nodding repeatedly, "I'll take care of this!"
"Good, pack up and go find him as soon as possible."
The high-speed train from Qiantang to Shencheng takes only about forty minutes. As long as Weng Qianxiang is fast enough, he can return tonight, or at the latest, the next day.
This information was very important to Yan Shouyi, so he needed Weng Qianxiang to personally handle it.
After seeing off Long Feicheng and Weng Qianxiang, Yan Shouyi and Xu Qian officially began their operation!
They were like hunters lurking in the city, ready to capture the arrogant and overbearing Zhou family scions!
...
That night, Zhou Rong, the head of the Zhou family, had just returned from visiting his ancestor Zhou Yuhu at the Yin dwelling on Mount Xiao.
He had just arrived home and before he could catch his breath, he saw the butler rushing over in a panic.
"Master, something terrible has happened!"
"What happened?" Zhou Rong asked with a frown.
They were one of the five great ghost king families in Qiantang, and they were more united than ever. What great matters could the Zhou family encounter in Qiantang?
The butler shouted, "Master, twelve juniors of our family from the Zhi, Yu, and Feng generations were ambushed by mysterious people outside tonight and have all been kidnapped!"
"What?!"
Zhou Rong was greatly shocked. The Zhou family had been prominent in Qiantang for so many years, and such a thing had never happened before!
Twelve important juniors were kidnapped overnight, and the perpetrators did so so brazenly!
This was clearly a premeditated kidnapping, aimed directly at the Zhou family!
Zhou Rong quickly asked, "What happened at the scene? Do you know who the perpetrators were? Why couldn't the numerous bodyguards protect the juniors?"
The butler quickly replied, "The perpetrators were masked and acted alone. The bodyguards around the young masters couldn't stop them!"
"One person..."
Zhou Rong felt the gravity of the situation even more. "Even the experts by their side were useless?"
"The young masters had disciples of the崂山派 (Lao Shan Pai - Lao Mountain Sect) protecting them, but the perpetrator's attack was too fast. The Lao Shan disciples didn't even have time to react before they were knocked down," the butler said. "Later, the Lao Shan disciples said that the visitor was no ordinary person!"
"Not an ordinary person..."
Zhou Rong took a deep breath and immediately turned around.
He roared, "Call the driver back! I need to return to the ancestral residence on Mount Xiao to see the ancestor!"
Despite the brief conversation, Zhou Rong had already determined that this was definitely not something he could handle.
The simultaneous kidnapping of twelve important Zhou family juniors was an attempt to cut off his Zhou family's lineage!
Zhou Rong dared not be negligent, so even at the risk of being scolded, he had to go see the ancestor and ask Patriarch Zhou Yuhu to personally take action!