In the Zhou family's ancestral home, as soon as Yao Fu left, Zhou Yuhu's face turned completely grim, darker than a thousand-year-old pot bottom.
Zhou Rong remained kneeling on the ground. Even though his knees felt like they were burning, he dared not stand up to speak while the Old Ancestor was in a rage.
He asked cautiously, "Old Ancestor, forgive my foolishness, but I don't know what connection the Zhou family has to the Yao family's misfortune. Please enlighten me."
Zhou Yuhu took a deep breath and finally sat back in his chair, gripping the armrests as if feeling a great sense of crisis.
"The old ancestor of the Yu family is incredibly cunning and suspicious by nature, unable to tolerate even the slightest flaw. I've always known this day would come, but I never expected it to arrive so quickly."
Zhou Rong's expression changed, "Old Ancestor, are you saying that it was the Yu family who attacked us and the Yao family? ... Surely not?!"
"Zhou Rong, you are still too young! Let me ask you, in Qiantang, among the five great Ghost King families, if two families were to be eliminated, which two do you think it would be?" Zhou Yuhu asked.
Zhou Rong thought for a moment but dared not speak carelessly, feigning ignorance, "I cannot figure it out."
"Naturally, it would be our Zhou family and the Yao family," Zhou Yuhu said sternly. "Let's talk about the Yao family first. The Yao family is an outsider Ghost King family. For many years, they have coexisted peacefully with the Yu family, but they haven't shown much deference to the Yu family, undermining the Yu family's hegemonic status in Qiantang. Therefore, the Yu family must have wanted to deal with the Yao family long ago."
"I can understand about the Yao family, but our Zhou family rose to prominence together with the Yu family. We shouldn't have become enemies of the Yu family!" Zhou Rong did not understand.
"It's true that we helped the Yu family ascend to power, but the Yu family has also given us many benefits over the years. Now, the Zhou family is the most powerful Ghost King family in Qiantang besides the Yu family. The Yu family sees this and cannot help but fear us, the Zhou family," Zhou Yuhu said. "The Yu family wishes there was only them dominant in Qiantang. Our Zhou family's excessive strength is not beneficial to them!"
Zhou Rong gritted his teeth, "But we have always been loyal to the Yu family, with a clear conscience..."
"Actually, that's not entirely true."
Zhou Yuhu's five words left Zhou Rong completely bewildered.
Could it be that the Old Ancestor had long harbored disloyal intentions towards the Yu family?
Impossible!
Even I, the family head, don't know about this!
Zhou Yuhu said in a low voice, "Although I have a good relationship with the old ancestor of the Yu family, I do not wish to be suppressed by them for my entire life. Therefore, I have secretly accumulated some strength. This time, the Yu family attacking us is likely because they have detected it."
Zhou Rong covered his head, feeling somewhat stifled. Such a major matter, and the Old Ancestor hadn't even consulted him, the family head.
Alas, although the Old Ancestor is powerful, the Zhou family still has so many people now. We cannot let the younger generations pay the price for the Old Ancestor's decisions!
In fact, the biggest reason for Zhou Rong's current distress was that his only son had also been kidnapped.
Zhou Rong sighed and asked, "Old Ancestor, what should we do next?"
Zhou Yuhu closed his eyes and said slowly, "We can only wait."
Although Yao Fu's appearance had clarified Zhou Yuhu's analysis of the current situation,
he still felt that something was amiss.
He always felt as if someone was pulling everyone's strings.
But Qiantang was such a small place. Besides our five great Ghost King families, there were only Shen Shuzhen and her group left. And Shen Shuzhen and her group were nothing more than stray dogs, not to be taken seriously at all!
Who could it be?
Could it be that I'm overthinking things?
Just as Zhou Yuhu was about to continue his thoughts, there was movement around the yin house.
Zhou Yuhu's expression changed. He immediately transformed into a ball of ghostly energy and rushed out of the ancestral hall, soaring into the sky.
"Old Ancestor!" Zhou Rong quickly chased after him.
By the time Zhou Rong emerged from the ancestral hall, Zhou Yuhu had descended from the sky. In his hand, he held a wooden bird. The bird had a hidden compartment in its belly. Upon opening it, there was only a note inside.
"Old Ancestor, what is this?" Zhou Rong asked, confused.
After reading the note, Zhou Yuhu threw it to Zhou Rong and, without looking back, walked back into the ancestral hall and loudly ordered,
"Gather all our strength, and head to Languang Pavilion tonight!"
Zhou Rong opened the note. It clearly read: Zhou Yuhu, come to Languang Pavilion tonight. We shall have a reunion of old friends.
In an instant, Zhou Rong connected all his suspicions, and a worried expression appeared on his face, "This is a Hongmen Banquet..."
...
All is ready, the opportune moment has arrived!
Beneath Xiaoshan Mountain, Yan Shouyi had just finished phone calls with Long Feicheng and Liu Ying, a look of victory evident on his face.
He turned around and saw that the night watchman Xu Qian, the corpse burner Duan Mu, the embalmer Ying Jiu, the corpse driver Cui Yu, and other inheritors of folk sects had all assembled.
Ying Jiu was still somewhat distrustful of Yan Shouyi. He looked at Xiaoshan Mountain before him and asked Xu Qian in a low voice,
"Little Xu, is Brother Yan really reliable? Xiaoshan Mountain is Zhou Yuhu's stronghold. If we act so rashly, it could lead to serious trouble!"
Xu Qian smiled mysteriously, "Uncle Ying Jiu, I was like you too, thinking Brother Yan was nothing special. But after interacting with him these past few days, I've become immensely respectful of him. Today's matter is foolproof, you can rest assured!"
Cui Yu, standing nearby, couldn't help but say, "How is it foolproof? Zhou Yuhu is a Ghost King! All of us put together might not be his match!"
At this moment, Yan Shouyi had put away his phone and returned to the crowd. He happened to overhear Cui Yu's words and said,
"Stand here and watch carefully."
The group, disguised and their identities concealed, gathered by the roadside at the foot of Xiaoshan Mountain.
Just then, a convoy of thirteen Rolls-Royces suddenly drove down from Xiaoshan Mountain. Not only were the colors identical, but their license plate numbers were sequential.
Such a display immediately attracted a crowd of ordinary people. The sides of the road were packed. Yan Shouyi and his companions were among them, unnoticed.
The corpse driver Zhong Yan exclaimed in surprise, "Is this the Zhou family's convoy? Where are they going with such a grand procession?"
"Could the Zhou family's Ghost King be inside?" Duan Mu suspected.
Xu Qian smiled, "As I said, it's foolproof."
Only then did everyone understand the meaning behind Xu Qian's words and looked at Yan Shouyi with newfound respect.
This outsider kid had managed to thoroughly investigate the Zhou family in just three days, even knowing precisely when Zhou Yuhu would leave Xiaoshan Mountain!
Ying Jiu was now convinced of Yan Shouyi's capabilities and proactively asked, "Zhou Yuhu has left. What should we do next?"
"It's not just Zhou Yuhu who has left, but all of the Zhou family's strength!" Yan Shouyi smiled. "Now that Zhou Yuhu is gone, it's our turn to enter the stage. In twenty minutes, everyone gather outside the Zhou family's yin house. We're going to storm the Zhou family's yin house and find the evidence of the crimes Zhou Yuhu committed back then!"