Building a long-lasting family lineage starting with genealogy

Chapter 106 The Xu Family Behind (Seeking Support!)

"Is Li Zhi fully prepared?" Xu Mingwei asked, his gaze fixed on the Wu family's residence.

In the darkness, only he could see clearly several miles away; the others could only vaguely see scattered lights to determine their approximate location.

“After the four families made their move, I sent someone to inform Li Zhi. He will be waiting near the Wu family with his constables.” Xu Mingyuan smiled and turned to look at Xu Mingshu. “Once you’ve decided on the timing, I’ll have Xueji send A’da to inform him.”

Xu Mingshu exchanged a glance with him, then patted her chest and said, "Leave it to me."

A blue fire eagle circled endlessly in the sky.

Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingxuan glanced at each other, scratched their faces, and realized they really couldn't tell which of the three Qinghuoying brothers was who.

The shouts of battle shook the heavens and reached them.

Xu Mingshu sighed slightly, "I wonder what my second sister-in-law will think when she hears this news. She is currently pregnant and will give birth in a little over a month."

Second brother, let's inform your wife after she gives birth.

"No need. Deliberately hiding it will only make her feel guilty, which is not good for the future. Her feelings for the Wu family are not very deep to begin with. She may be sad for a while, but she will be fine once she gets over it."

Besides, with her innate martial arts physique, a mere blow wouldn't affect her childbirth.

"Second brother, you are really heartless." Xu Mingxuan said, "Fortunately, the Zhang family is just a small family, and they follow the lead of my Xu family. Otherwise, I would have ended up in the same situation as you."

"Speaking of which, eldest brother has fallen out with the Yang family, and second brother, you're doing the same. Will I be next?"

Xu Mingyuan smiled faintly and said, "If you really come to that situation, what choice will you make?"

“Then naturally the Xu family will come first.” Xu Mingxuan’s lips curled up, his eyes showing no hesitation whatsoever. “Of course, I will certainly not mistreat Qing’er.”

“My sister-in-law is exceptionally talented and will surely become the core of our Xu family in the future. My elder brother and I envy you two as a couple, being able to walk the path of immortality together. It is rumored that you even have a secret cultivation method of dual cultivation.”

"What is dual cultivation?" Xu Mingshu asked curiously.

“Then you’ll need to find a husband first,” Xu Mingxuan grinned.

Xu Mingshu hummed twice and then fell silent.

After a cup of tea.

"That's about it. Only a handful of elite guards remain in the Wu family. Many of the direct and collateral branches with good martial arts talent have also died in battle. What's left is slaughter."

"Understood, elder brother." Xu Mingshu nodded and said, "Ah Da, go and inform Li Zhi."

The Azure Fire Eagle transformed into a streak of azure light, flying swiftly to the vicinity of the Wu residence, before flapping its wings and letting out a long cry.

Li Zhi looked up at the sky, then turned to the dozens of constables behind him and said, "The Wu family is being besieged by bandits. How can we, as officials, stand idly by? Come with me to their rescue."

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

The constables clasped their hands in greeting, saying that they were all first- or second-rate martial artists, and were not considered weak in Qingjiang County.

Li Zhi leaped across rooftops and charged directly into the battlefield, slashing at a masked, black-clad innate martial artist.

After repelling them, he shouted, "You audacious thieves! I am Li Zhi, the magistrate of Qingjiang County. You dared to slaughter the Wu family under the cover of night! I will bring you all to justice!"

The three of them, all born with innate abilities, exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing a ruthless glint. Without saying a word, they began to surround and attack Li Zhi.

However, Li Zhi was only one step away from the late stage of the Innate Realm, and the group had just experienced a major battle, so they did not have the upper hand for the time being.

Xu Mingwei sneered, "The four families are indeed ruthless. Even though Li Zhi publicly announced his identity, they still don't want to give up the Wu family, this piece of fat meat that's already in their mouths."

As he spoke, Xu Mingwei had already drawn his bow, with three iron arrows nocked on it.

咻咻 咻 ~
Three arrows were fired simultaneously, piercing the sky.

In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the chests of three innate beings, pinning them to the ground.

"Brother Li Zhi, spare my life, it is I..."

One of them, a naturally gifted individual, tried to beg for mercy, but a cold, arc-shaped glint flashed, and all three were slit in the throat, their blood spraying everywhere.

A moment later, there was silence.

"Brother, if anything happens to Shan'er's mother, younger brother, or younger sister, please lend a hand," Xu Mingyuan said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"They must have all hidden themselves; I didn't find them."

Xu Mingyuan sighed softly upon hearing this.

Xu Mingwei turned his head and said, "Let's go back to Dongxi. None of the four families have any Xiantian masters. Li Zhi is enough to suppress everything. We can leave the rest to him."

"yes, Sir."

That night.

The Wu family suffered a bloodbath.

Some died, some ran away, and cries for mercy and wails echoed throughout the Wu family mansion.

After Li Zhi arrived, he cleaned up the mess.

Almost all of the elders of the five families perished in the massacre, including the five family heads.

Each family fell to the bottom of the abyss overnight.

Li Zhi imprisoned all those who were still alive, appeased the Wu family, and issued a proclamation condemning the Fang, Wang, He, and Cao families.

For a time, people everywhere in Qingjiang County's teahouses and taverns were talking about this.

"The county magistrate is truly a good official. If he had been careless, he might have been killed on the spot by the Fang, Wang, He, and Cao families. Fortunately, the magistrate is very powerful and managed to capture most of them."

"The Wu family suffered the greatest losses. Their martial arts foundation was completely exhausted, and they can no longer bear the name of a prestigious family."

Although they weren't completely swallowed up by the four families this time, those wealthy merchants and households will undoubtedly have many schemes against them. After all, the people are dead, but their martial arts, medicinal cuisine, and other valuable resources haven't been seized by the four families.

"Not only that, with the sudden death of the patriarch, the surviving members of the Wu family will likely face a fierce battle over the family fortune."

"The same applies to the four families of Fang, Wang, He, and Cao."

"It'll be quite a spectacle for a while."

The decline of the five great families of Qingjiang gave other families an opportunity.

If someone seizes the opportunity, they can rise to prominence and become the next aristocratic family in Qingjiang.

There are very few families like the Xu family that have become prominent through their own efforts.

The Xu family was not involved in this whole affair. Even when they were mentioned, it was in praise of their keen insight and shrewd self-preservation.

Soon, news of the chaos caused by the five powerful families spread to neighboring counties.

Occasionally, some innate martial artists would consider going to Qingjiang to seek military officer positions.

Magistrate Wu did not die. He awoke a day or two later and was overwhelmed with grief upon seeing the state of the Wu family. His heart and strength failed him, and even with his innate martial artist physique, he would not live for more than two years. Xu Mingyuan told Wu Rushan about the situation between the Wu family and the four other families. Wu Rushan was extremely anxious and immediately went to the Wu family with Xu Mingyuan.

Wu family.

Everywhere you look, there is white mourning clothes.

With her large pregnant belly, Wu Rushan entered the Wu family gate accompanied by Xu Mingyuan and four peak-level bodyguards.

The sounds of sobbing and whimpering could be heard everywhere.

She immediately stopped the maid who was passing by and asked, "Is my mother, Madam Zheng, still alive?"

"This servant doesn't know. It's been too chaotic these past few days. Some people have died, and some have run away."

"Who is in charge of the Wu family now?" Xu Mingyuan asked.

"It is Young Master Ruliang."

"Third Brother? Where is he right now?" Wu Rushan asked again.

"Taking care of Fifth Master at Feixia Pavilion."

"This servant will take her leave now." The maid gave a slight bow and walked away.

"How could this be?"

Even now, Wu Rushan still finds it hard to believe that the once-powerful Wu family has fallen overnight.

"The magistrate is still alive, which is a great blessing in disguise. With him around, the Wu family won't be completely ruined," Xu Mingyuan said softly, trying to comfort them.

Feixia Pavilion.

Wu Ruliang was surprised to see Wu Rushan and Xu Mingyuan.

"Fifth Sister, Brother Mingyuan."

His eyes were severely bruised and his face was ashen, but he still bowed to the two of them.

"Third Brother, what exactly happened?" Wu Rushan asked softly, her face filled with sorrow.

“Sigh~” Wu Ruliang sighed softly, “I don’t know either. I happened to be out that night, but everyone said that the Fang, Wang, He and Cao families broke in together and killed anyone they saw.”

"It is likely that the accounts of those who experienced it firsthand are largely credible."

"Fang, Wang, He, Cao, I will not let them get away with this!" Wu Rushan said through gritted teeth.

"Fifth Sister, you are not in good health and should not get angry. As for the four families," Wu Ruliang sneered, "they are not much better."

"The heads of the four families are all dead. The innate martial artist was beheaded by the county magistrate. The survivors were imprisoned in the yamen jail and will be publicly executed half a month later."

"He truly deserved it!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Rushan's anger subsided slightly, and she looked at Xu Mingyuan and said, "Husband, why didn't you tell me about the matter of the four families?"

“Madam, you rushed here in a panic when you heard about the trouble at the Wu family. You were in a daze on the way. How can I tell you?”

After speaking, Xu Mingyuan looked at Wu Ruliang and said, "Brother Ruliang, if the Wu family needs anything, please don't hesitate to ask. My Xu family would be very sorry if we couldn't help the Wu family."

"No one expected that the Fang, Wang, He, and Cao families would act so quickly, especially at night."

"Yes," Wu Ruliang sighed.

"Who's coming?"

At that moment, an aged voice came from inside the room.

"Uncle, it's Rushan and her husband Xu Mingyuan who have arrived."

When Magistrate Wu heard the name of the Xu family, his body trembled involuntarily.

He knew everything that had happened in the past two days. Wu Ruliang only knew that the Fang, Wang, He, and Cao families had broken into the Wu family with the intention of wiping them out.

However, he was unaware that the Zhong family from the county town had come to plot against the Xu family.

It was Wu Zhan's decision to let the wolf into the house that brought about today's disaster.

The Xu family had no involvement in the matter and there was nothing wrong with that, but he, who knew the cause and effect, was certain that he was inextricably linked to the Xu family.

The Zhong family fears the Xu family.

He understands the Xu family's background better than the Wu family does.

Only this can explain why the Zhong family killed the Wu family's Xiantian (innate) members and most of their elite guards.

Only a powerful family like the Xu family could secretly orchestrate such a scheme.

Strategizing and manipulating people's hearts.

They quietly dealt with the five former powerful families of Qingjiang.

"come in."

Magistrate Wu coughed twice, his voice old and weak.

"Uncle, are you alright?"

Wu Rushan and Magistrate Wu were not exactly acquainted, but he was the most senior member of the Wu family, and given what had happened to the Wu family, he deserved to be respected.

"Fortunately, he won't die for now." Magistrate Wu replied, then looked at Xu Mingyuan and said, "Second Master Xu, please forgive me for being too seriously injured to come out and greet you."

“Magistrate Wu is too kind. You can just call me Mingyuan. You are Rushan’s elder, so you are my elder. It is only natural for a junior to greet you.”

"I wonder how many members of the Wu family are left after the bloodshed."

Magistrate Wu sighed and said, "Mingyuan, I'd like to ask you to pass on a message to the Assistant Magistrate. Tell him that I am seriously injured and don't have many years left to live. I request that he temporarily take over as magistrate and govern Qingjiang."

"I will write a letter to the county seat to report this matter and request approval. As for the selection of the new county magistrate and county commandant, I will trouble him to find a way. I am truly powerless in this frail body."

“If Magistrate Wu insists on this, then I will comply,” Xu Mingyuan said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Thank you for your help. I'm a bit tired and would like to take a nap. You may all leave now."

Wu Ruliang, Wu Rushan, and Xu Mingyuan all left the room.

　My leg is limping, and my knee hurts.

　　Standing hurts, sitting hurts, and going to the toilet hurts even more. God knows how I managed to get through the day.

　　It will most likely take a few more days to fully recover.

　　Fellow Daoists, considering that I'm still working hard to write even when I'm injured, please vote with monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, investments, and character cards. If the data goes up, at least I can find some solace in that.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)