Longzang

Chapter 216 Retreat

At this time, Quliu Town was desolate, with all the shops moved away by Wei Yuan, and it was impossible for it to recover its vitality in a short period of time. Only a few large mansions belonging to the Xu family remained alive in the entire town.

The advisor, accompanied by several soldiers, swaggered to the front of the Xu residence, only to find dozens of burly men and domesticated warriors clearing out the shacks in the adjacent area.

The advisor grabbed a burly man and asked, "What are you doing?"

The burly man, his face fierce, glared and shouted, "Who are you? What are you doing, dragging your grandpa along?"

The burly man looked fierce, and the clerk's hand trembled as he released his grip, then he revealed his identity.

Upon hearing that they were from the prefectural governor's office, the burly man dared not act rashly and said, "There are too many people in the family to live in, so the head of the family wanted to build a few more houses and sent us here to clear the land. Fortunately, there is no one here now, so we can just burn it down."

"Then please do as you please, brave man." The clerk waved goodbye to the burly man with a smile and headed towards the gate of the Xu residence. After walking a little further, his face immediately darkened. The Western Regions were full of desperados, and the burly man looked like someone who had taken many lives. The clerk felt there was no need to lower himself to his level.

At the gate of the Xu family, the clerk announced his name, and a moment later the steward came in a hurry and said, "The master is entertaining guests in the garden. Please go and meet him, clerk."

The advisor snorted and said, "Your master has really gained some prestige lately, hasn't he? Daring to ask me to come over?"

The butler smiled apologetically and said, "The master has important guests and cannot leave."

"Alright, I'll see who they are and how important they are! Lead the way!"

With a gloomy face, the clerk followed the steward through the side hall to the garden. The moment they passed the side hall, a fragrant aroma filled the air, instantly whetting the clerk's appetite.

There are no shops in Quliu Town now, and wild game is extremely scarce in the Broken Domain. Since Yuan Qingyan took office, the advisor has not been able to eat a single fresh piece of meat. The kitchen is full of dried meat, which is a type of military ration.

Stepping out of the side hall, one sees a banquet set up in the pavilion in the garden, with twenty or thirty large dishes already laid out on the table, and maids continuing to serve the food.

There were about ten people at the table, and Xu Jingfeng wasn't even seated in the main seat. The person sitting in the very center wore a jade-colored mask, the mask itself exceptionally beautiful. Everyone else at the table was also wearing a mask, and they were all quietly watching the advisor.

The advisor's face darkened, and he strode over, saying sarcastically, "Well, well, the people outside are suffering, and the prefect only has plain porridge and side dishes for his three meals a day, while the Xu family head lives a life of luxury! No wonder you're from a big family, you're much better off than the prefect!"

Xu Jingfeng remained seated, smiling slightly. "So it's you, Advisor. What's wrong? Have you already used up the gifts I sent last time, and now the Prefect is eyeing them again?"

Seeing that Xu Jingfeng didn't even stand up, the clerk snorted and said in a sinister tone, "I kindly reminded you last time, but it seems the Xu family head didn't take it to heart. I'm here this time to tell the Xu family head that several days have passed since the last gift was sent. Shouldn't you show your appreciation again? The Xu family head is building a new house and hosting banquets. How can you bear to see the prefect eating only porridge and salted vegetables, while many of his colleagues in the yamen are starving and freezing?"

As the advisor spoke, he pulled out a chair, sat down at the table, picked up his chopsticks, and headed for one of the main dishes.

But as soon as he reached out, a masked woman next to him grabbed his hand. She snatched the chopsticks, broke them in two, threw them on the ground, and stomped on them several times.

The advisor trembled with rage and shouted, "Rebellion! Rebellion! Who is this person? Master Xu, send men to seize her at once!"

The masked woman coldly replied, "You think you can take me? You're not worthy."

The advisor was even angrier, pointing at the woman and shouting, "Fine, fine! Once you're in prison, let's see how many tricks you can withstand! Everyone in the prison will be your husband! If that's not enough, we can call in a hundred more soldiers!"

The masked man sitting in the center then said, "If you want to imprison someone, you need a reason, right? Is the reason something like offending you?"

The advisor sneered, "Does the Prefectural Governor's Office need a reason to imprison someone?"

Xu Jingfeng looked at the person in the center and saw him nod almost imperceptibly. His face darkened, and he made a gesture.

The guards of the Xu family, who had been hiding in the shadows, appeared and approached the clerk from behind, looking fierce and menacing. The soldiers who had accompanied the clerk initially tried to stop them, but were shoved aside by the guards and wisely retreated to the side, remaining silent.

Both guards were Foundation Establishment cultivators. They lifted the clerk up like a chick and tossed him outside the pavilion. Although the clerk was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was the weakest type, far inferior to the guards from the Xu family who had fought their way up.

Enraged, the advisor jumped up and down, shouting, "Xu Jingfeng! How dare you! What do you mean by this?"

Xu Jingfeng said coldly, "Did I invite you to sit at the table? You, a mere servant, are you worthy of being seated at the Xu family's banquet?"

The clerk's old face flushed red as he roared, "Fine, fine, you just wait! The Prefect won't let you get away with this!"

Xu Jingfeng sneered: "I don't go out. I have the protection of my Xu family's ancestral spirits in this mansion. If Lord Yuan dares to come in, I welcome him anytime. I'm just afraid that he won't be able to leave once he's in!"

The advisor knew he had met his match and turned to leave. At that moment, the man in the middle of the table said, "Are we just going to let him go like that?"

Xu Jingfeng realized what was happening, gritted his teeth, and shouted, "Men, break one of his legs and throw him out of the mansion!"

“Four,” the man in the middle said calmly.

Xu Jingfeng immediately changed his tune: "All four legs were broken!"

The advisor screamed like a pig being slaughtered, begging for mercy and threatening, but the Xu family guards were used to running rampant in the Shattered Realm, and each of them had a lot of blood on their hands. Since the patriarch had given the order, they didn't hesitate at all, snapping the advisor's limbs with a cracking sound and crushing several small bones in the process, making the advisor scream like a pig being slaughtered in pain.

That wasn't all. Xu Jingfeng then ordered his men to break all the limbs of the soldiers who accompanied them, and then carry them all outside the town and throw them into a muddy pond.

Once the eyesores were cleared away, everyone at the table removed their masks, and the meal officially began.

Sitting in the center was Wei Yuan, and the rest were the young masters and ladies from aristocratic families he had brought with him this time.

Wei Yuan was preoccupied and couldn't eat much, but the young masters and ladies were starving and ate without a care in the world. For the past few days, they'd practically been eating dirt in the realm. There was nothing in the Azure Netherworld except for various kinds of grains, or even worse, dried meat. They'd almost forgotten what good food tasted like.

The chefs at the Xu family mansion were quite good, and the branch family had a plentiful stock of ingredients, with everything they could possibly need. Xu Jingfeng, now adept at reading people, noticed the gleam in everyone's eyes and quietly instructed the kitchen to add more dishes, bringing out all his signature dishes, which immediately won him the favor of the young masters and ladies. At this moment, Wei Yuan said, "It seems our Prefect isn't having the best of times. How about this, you should hold a banquet every few days, right in the main hall, so that people outside can see it. You're the head of the family, so eat as well as you can."

"Wouldn't Lord Yuan want to kill me then..." Xu Jingfeng thought to himself, and asked, "But there has to be a reason for holding a banquet, right?"

Wei Yuan said, "Isn't it easy to come up with a reason? For example, you're in a bad mood today, or you got up late. If you really can't find one, the rest of them can take turns eating with you."

Xu Jingfeng immediately understood that this man was planning to provoke Yuan Qingyan!
However, Xu Jingfeng was young and impetuous, and he still clearly remembered the scene of Yuan Qingyan kicking him out after accepting the gift. Since Wei Yuan had given him the rare opportunity to thoroughly provoke Yuan Qingyan, he naturally wanted to take revenge.

Wei Yuan asked again, "You just said that there are ancestral spirits protecting the mansion?"

Xu Jingfeng hurriedly said, "This matter was originally only known to the patriarch, and I didn't know it at first either. Later, someone from the main family came and officially appointed me as the patriarch before telling me. Then they took me through the recognition ceremony, which qualified me to command the ancestral spirits and ask them to fight when necessary. If you are interested, I will take you to see it now."

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "Alright, let's go take a look now."

The two left the main courtyard and arrived at a side residence. Xu Jingfeng came to a secluded courtyard that looked deserted, pushed open the door, bowed deeply to an old tree in the courtyard, chanted a spell, and then said, "Ancestor, Jingfeng has brought a friend to see you."

The old tree seemed to be awakened by Xu Jingfeng's incantation; its trunk twitched, revealing an aged face.

Upon seeing Xu Jingfeng, the old tree smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad, your cultivation has improved again, and what's rare is that your luck is also good! You've really brought honor to the Xu family. Where are your friends?"

Wei Yuan stepped out from behind Xu Jingfeng, bowed to the old tree, and said, "Xu Yuan of Zhantian Gang greets the Ancestor."

The old tree finally saw Wei Yuan clearly, and then showed a thoughtful and puzzled expression, saying, "He also has the surname Xu? That makes sense. He seems to have an aura of eternity. Is he from that lost bloodline? Come closer, let me take a closer look."

Wei Yuan had already sensed that the old tree possessed profound cultivation, likely reaching the late stage of the Dharma Aspect realm. However, his condition was unique; it seemed that he was nourishing the human's primordial spirit with the tree's trunk, thus his senses were somewhat dulled, and his thoughts were also somewhat sluggish.

Wei Yuan now had plenty of ways to deal with such ancient spiritual plants. He released a little bit of the aura of the laurel branch, mixed in a little bit of the aura of the sixth elder of the Xu family from that day, and then walked to the old tree, ready to materialize the long cauldron at any time.

The old tree looked closely at Wei Yuan, then sniffed him deeply, feeling a mixture of closeness and inexplicable awe. It said, "Not bad, quite good! Such talent deserves to be recognized as a member of the clan! I'll give you something now. Take it and go to the main family, find the elders. Once they see my token, they'll naturally make good arrangements for you. How can a junior like you be left to wander aimlessly?"

As the old tree spoke, it shook its branches vigorously, and a branch fell into Wei Yuan's hand. A greenish fruit hung on the branch, clearly newly sprouted.

"You can eat the fruit; it's good for your cultivation. Now... I need to sleep for a while..."

Bearing this fruit seemed to have consumed a great deal of the old tree's energy. It slowly closed its eyes, its face disappeared, and it transformed back into an ancient tree.

Xu Jingfeng stared in disbelief, then his expression turned somewhat strange. He wondered if this master's surname was really Xu. If he truly possessed a trace of the Immortal Ancestor's bloodline, then the previous life-and-death struggle between the two sides would have been rather comical.

Wei Yuan knew what he was thinking and said coldly, "There is a phrase, 'old eyesight is failing'."

Xu Jingfeng quickly agreed.

Wei Yuan picked the half-ripe fruit and casually handed it to Xu Jingfeng, saying, "This fruit has additional benefits for the Xu family bloodline. It's yours."

"Give it to me?" Xu Jingfeng almost couldn't catch it.

"Here you go. Now you can go out for a while." Wei Yuan stared at the side room and pushed Xu Jingfeng out of the courtyard.

Seeing Wei Yuan's solemn expression, Xu Jingfeng didn't ask any more questions. He left the courtyard and immediately rushed to the main house to call the young masters and ladies of those aristocratic families.

Judging from Wei Yuan's expression, Xu Jingfeng knew that something had entered. Something that could make Wei Yuan so alarmed, and that Elder Tree hadn't even noticed, was something he couldn't handle on his own; he needed to find help.

Behind the window of the side room appeared a charming and beautiful woman in red. She sat by the window, holding a book in her hands, and was looking at Wei Yuan.

She was sitting right there, but Wei Yuan had a feeling that it wasn't real, and Xu Jingfeng didn't even see her.

The woman in red emerged from the wall and stood before Wei Yuan. She appeared radiant and alluring, possessing a captivating languid charm, yet Wei Yuan could not sense any warmth from her, nor any real flesh and blood.

The woman in red suddenly smiled and said, "You can actually see me. You truly deserve to be one of the most outstanding young people. I am Zhu Yuanjin from Haotian Temple, and I have some grudges with your master, Fenhai."

It turned out to be an elder from his sect. Wei Yuan quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Grandmaster Uncle!"

The woman in red said, "This old tree of the Xu family has some cultivation and has accumulated power for several hundred years. Once it is unleashed, its power will be considerable. That's why I came here specifically to keep an eye on this old tree. Firstly, so that he won't notice anything unusual, and secondly, so that you will have a way out in the end."

The woman in red spoke casually, but the fact that she could give Wei Yuan a way out at the last moment meant that her magical abilities must be extraordinary.

"When will it be the final moment?" Wei Yuan asked.

The woman in red said, "Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. It depends on what you do."

Wei Yuan felt a little guilty. He felt that if he really went all out, he would probably have to run away tonight. But going all out wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to or not; it was related to luck. Wei Yuan hadn't expected that his casual grab would reincarnate someone who might be the most important genius of the Witch Clan in a thousand years.

Just then, Xu Jingfeng led a group of people into the courtyard. Before he could even see what was going on, he shouted, "What kind of monster dares to trespass into my old house? Quickly hand over my master, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, I'll make you undergo a soul-refining process with true fire, burning you for forty-nine days before you die!"

After shouting, Xu Jingfeng realized something was wrong and quickly asked Wei Yuan, "Sir, why are you the only one here? Where is that monster? What does it look like? Has it already run away?"

Wei Yuan was at a loss for words.

The woman in red stood beside Wei Yuan, quietly watching Xu Jingfeng jump around.

(End of this chapter)