Jinling, the Hills of Qinggao
Su Yueqing sat in a small boat, looking up at the emerald green mountains and the ring of jade-green waters. He couldn't help but open his mouth wide, his small tail wagging like a fan.
In his entire life, this was the first time he had seen scenery more beautiful than the southwestern forests of Jibei.
Beside him, Su Li was not as happy.
In the great battle that had occurred, the Qingqiu Fox Clan, led by her, had suffered heavy losses. Their people scattered and fled, and Qinggao Palace was reduced to scorched earth. The Qingqiu Fox Clan thus became history.
She herself had lost a large amount of spiritual power by giving up the title of Qingqiu Fox King. When Neon became Tamamo-no-Mae, she had also inadvertently become a ghost king because the monsters and spirits of Neon were not very strong.
Now she had returned, bringing the clansmen given to her by Mochuan. To be precise, they were her descendants. Su Yueqing was Su Li's direct descendant, a being capable of becoming the Qingqiu Fox King.
Thinking of this, Su Li couldn't help but recall the conversation with Mochuan when she left Jibei City that day:
"You are, after all, one of the main participants in this Hundred Ghost Night Parade. Bai Wuchang and Shuten Doji have both been vanquished, but considering your help in defeating Shuten Doji at the end, I am entrusting your clansmen to you. After you arrange for him, you should… find me."
After becoming a ghost king, his tone towards me has become so overbearing…
Su Li shook her head with a wry smile. To be honest, even if Mochuan had spared her life, she wouldn't have lived much longer. Now, she could only survive by relying on fragments of the Yata no Kagami.
"As expected… I shouldn't have promised him that I would continue to be his teacher…"
Conservatively estimating, Su Li believed she had a little more than a year left to live. However, she needed two years to train Su Yueqing into a candidate for the Qingqiu Fox King, or even a Fox King-level expert, and to teach him the strategies and tactics that the Qingqiu Fox Clan was most skilled in.
Fortunately, Mochuan, for Su Yueqing's sake, had divided some of his power and given it to Su Li.
Only… Su Li touched the faint green curse mark on the back of her hand. Why did she feel this power was unexpectedly evil and violent?
Not long after, the small boat stopped at a small island in the middle of the river, startling a flock of egrets.
Su Li pulled Su Yueqing's hand, looking at the forest before her with a hint of nostalgia.
"I've returned… Qinggao Palace…"
…
Northern Jibei City, Yellow River Bridge.
Here, the damage caused by the Hundred Ghost Night Parade was less severe, so it was generally possible to find hotels and restaurants to rest in.
Ding Yang looked at Xin Lei, who was resting with his eyes closed, and Ren Yin, who was flipping through the "Book of Changes", and in the awkward atmosphere, he tried to speak: "Um… do we really have to wait until afternoon to enter the city?"
Ren Yin looked up, ignored him, and continued to read the "Book of Changes."
Xin Lei opened his eyes and said slowly, "You are still young and lack experience. You don't understand how powerful the Heavenly Emperor's divination abilities are. But remember, no matter how strong you are among the Heavenly Stems, as long as it's the Heavenly Emperor's divination, the Earthly Monarch's prescriptions, or the Human Emperor's strategies, we must implement them word for word, precisely."
After Xin Lei finished speaking, he closed his eyes, and the three fell silent again.
…
Jibei City, He Family.
Zhang Henshui and his siblings, Zhang Hanshan, sat side by side, facing the He family father and daughter—He Qingshi, the head of the He family, and his daughter He Lanxin.
"This cooperation with Patriarch He is truly pleasant. It's evident that the He family has extensive connections and efficient methods. This junior is full of admiration," Zhang Henshui praised He Qingshan without batting an eye, then said, "However, there is still a small issue, and I hope the Patriarch can help us with it…"
"Alright, alright. Your glib tongue really reminds me of your father, Zhang Siyan… Speak, this problem you're talking about is no small matter…" He Qingshan said as he picked up his teacup. Although he looked refined, in front of acquaintances, he mostly spoke in the rough tone of the army.
Zhang Henshui glanced at Zhang Hanshan, who nodded and handed a document to He Qingshan.
"We want to deal with the Ye family along with the He family."
Upon hearing this, He Qingshan almost spat out his tea. He subtly wiped his mouth with a tissue and picked up the document, asking, "Why do you suddenly want to deal with the Ye family?"
Qingzhou, due to its history as a place where marquises were enfeoffed in ancient times, coupled with its abundance of talent and rich spiritual energy, had produced countless talents since the spiritual energy resurgence. There were innumerable large and small families.
However, there were only four families that could truly be called clans: the Zhang family, whose influence had moved south from the Longjing Tiantou area and was entrenched north of Qingzhou; the Kong family, direct descendants of Confucius, who lived low-key and resided in the southern part of Qingzhou; the He family, a local force built by their ancestors in the western part of Qingzhou, Jibei City; and the Ye family, nouveau riche from the eastern part of Qingzhou who made their fortune by treasure hunting.
The four families each occupied a territory in Qingzhou. As nouveau riche, the Ye family was quite arrogant. They constantly clashed with the old family, the He family, and also vied for territory with the Zhang family, who had moved in. Therefore, except for the Kong family, who kept to themselves, the other three families were always in conflict.
However, the He, Zhang, and Ye families were all rational enough to suppress the level of their conflicts. This was because the Zhang and Ye families knew their family backgrounds were not as deep as the He family's. Furthermore, the Zhang family's true power was in Jizhou, and the Ye family had by chance hitched a ride with the Tang family of Shuzhong. Thus, the three parties maintained a delicate balance.
He Qingshan had contributed significantly to quelling the navy this time, thus cooperating with the Zhang family. However, when he heard that the Zhang family wanted to continue cooperating to deal with the Ye family, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.
The price of breaking the balance was often unbearable.
However, since Zhang Henshui had said so, he likely had some trump card to bring down the Ye family.
"We have obtained evidence that the Ye family was involved in the accident during the special recruitment examination."
"???!!!"
"On the surface, this accident was planned by the Yanluo Hall. However, during the on-site investigation, we discovered other details."
Zhang Henshui took out the tablet computer from his tote bag and opened several photos to display: "Some of the materials used to construct the formation at the scene were some unique magical materials from Long Country, which cannot be found among the common people of Long Country or in Neon. Therefore, we began to investigate this apparent smuggling case's hidden line. After nearly a month of investigation, all our clues finally pointed to the Ye family."
"As long as we can obtain the key evidence, we can severely cripple or even crush the Ye family."
As Zhang Henshui finished speaking, the entire living room fell into silence, with only the sound of He Qingshan's fingers tapping on the table.
…
Hospital.
Ye Ling walked into Tang Xing's hospital room, looking at her bruised and battered biological son with a somber expression.
"Mochuan…"