Dongting Immortal Clan

The Zhou family's downfall was even faster than Chen Changhe had anticipated.

No sooner had Li Kaihe left than a surprising piece of news came from the Zhou family.

At that time, Chen Changhe was performing a spell to summon clouds and rain in the spiritual field by the lake, causing wisps of spiritual rain to irrigate the tender seedlings of the crisp white jade valley.

From afar, Chen Baiye was seen leading his second son, Chen Yulong, running towards them, panting heavily. Before they even reached them, he called out urgently:

"Changhe! Something terrible has happened to the Zhou family!"

Chen Changhe slowly finished his work, letting the steam from his fingertips dissipate. He turned to look at the father and son, whose faces were flushed from running, and said calmly:

"What's the panic? What happened?"

"It's Zhou Yefeng, the second son of the Zhou family!"

Chen Yulong answered first, his face showing the excitement unique to young people, along with a hint of schadenfreude.

"He's dead!"

"I heard from the people of Zhoujia Village that he died suddenly last night on his concubine's belly. When the doctor arrived, his body was stiff, like a dried corpse."

Chen Yulong became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, showing no sign of fear whatsoever.

Chen Baiye glanced at Chen Changhe, fearing that Chen Yulong might offend him, and said with a respectful look:

"The Zhou family's old residence is now in complete chaos. Several distant relatives, drawn by the commotion, have all rushed in. I heard they even got into a fight over the land and shops... and someone even died!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Changhe lowered his gaze slightly, showing little surprise.

The invasion of evil spirits and the corrosive effects on the bones were nothing short of a slow poison for a mortal like Zhou Yefeng who had no cultivation.

When that sorceress was alive, she might have had some means to suppress the transfer of the burden to him.

If she dies, Zhou Yefeng will immediately suffer the backlash, which would appear to outsiders as a "sudden death."

He glanced at Chen Baiye, whose excitement was barely concealed, and said calmly:

"Uncle Baiye, you stay here and watch over the spirit fields. Don't let anyone come near."

"Yulong, come home with me."

……

Zhou Yefeng's funeral lasted for three days.

Zhou family members and in-laws scattered across various places rushed back, crowding the old house that had been deserted for many years.

White banners fluttered in the breeze, and the courtyard was a sea of ​​people, filled with the sounds of crying, arguing, and scheming.

The most eye-catching person among them was Zhou Yesheng, the Third Master of the Third Year, who rushed back from Yuezhou.

This once-glorious grain transport official is now completely different from the "Lord Zhou" remembered by the villagers.

He was emaciated, his face was ashen, and he wore only a worn-out indigo robe.

What's even more alarming is that his hands and feet were bound with iron shackles!

Two stern-faced officials, with broadswords at their waists, followed closely behind him, their cold gazes sweeping over every member of the Zhou family who tried to speak to them.

Zhou Yesheng stayed at the old house for less than half an hour.

First, he kowtowed three times to his second brother's coffin in the mourning hall without saying a word or shedding a tear.

He immediately stood up, led the two constables through the hall and corridors, ignoring the curious, sorrowful, or gloating gazes of his relatives and friends around him.

Before long, the three arrived at the oldest courtyard.

There is a landscaped artificial hill in the courtyard, and at the foot of the hill is a clear pond.

Upon reaching Qingchi, an official stopped, bent down to examine Zhou Yesheng briefly, then stood up and indifferently shook his head at the ashen-faced Zhou Yesheng:

"There are indeed signs of the presence of evil spirits, but unfortunately the spiritual creature in the pool has been lost, and someone else has gotten there first."

"Zhou Yesheng, you swore back then that there was a rare treasure in your home that could offset your crimes and save your own life."

"Now... he can still produce a treasure to buy his life?"

Zhou Yesheng stood there stunned for a moment, his lips trembling, and he murmured:

"My eldest sister-in-law is dead, my second brother died suddenly, and I'm imprisoned... Who is responsible for my family's downfall?!"

The Chen family?

Unlikely.

Although he has gained momentum in recent years, he is still from humble beginnings and it is difficult for him to have such great abilities.

Zhou Yesheng pondered all the way, but to no avail.

Until this moment, he saw this clear pool.

The golden carp that Grandpa said could protect the Zhou family for a hundred years had disappeared.

Zhou Yesheng then knew that he would hardly survive.

"I see……"

In the courtyard, Zhou Yesheng shook his head and laughed bitterly, his voice shrill and mournful.

"It is not my fault, but Heaven's will to destroy me!"

He then coughed up a mouthful of blood, collapsed to the ground, and breathed only faintly.

The two officers didn't seem to care. They took a pill from their pockets, put it in Zhou Yesheng's mouth, and said casually:

"You haven't even finished reporting for duty, and you're already thinking about dying? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

"Let's go, let's go. Tianyong City is a thousand miles away from here. I don't have many Dragon Essence Tiger Fierce Pills with me. I don't want this mortal to really die on the way..."

After saying that, the two men dressed as officials grabbed Zhou Yesheng and flew out of the courtyard, disappearing into the horizon.

After that, no one ever saw Zhou Yesheng again.

Some say he embezzled a huge amount of grain and silver, and was impeached by his superiors, dismissed from his post, investigated, and to be escorted to the capital for trial.

Some say he offended a powerful figure in the state government who had connections everywhere, and that he was framed and would never see the light of day again.

Some even say that he was caught up in the power struggles within the Yuezhou officialdom and became a pawn...

There are many different opinions, and no definitive conclusion has been reached.

But there's one thing everyone knows.

The Zhou family's world has collapsed.

……

Zhou Yesheng came and went in less than half an hour, but it was as if a gust of wind had blown down the last pillar supporting the Zhou family's crumbling edifice.

The third branch of the Zhou family.

The eldest son, Zhou Yexing, died young without children.

Although Zhou Yefeng, the second wife, had a daughter, she had already married far away.

Zhou Yesheng, the third son, was barely able to protect himself, and his offspring changed their identities in Yuezhou to barely preserve their bloodline.

Such a vast fortune suddenly became an unclaimed piece of meat.

The distant branches that had previously been somewhat wary now pounced on them like a swarm of hyena sharks that had caught the scent of blood, their eyes red with fury.

The town's shops and residences, Qingxi Town's more than 500 mu of high-quality paddy fields, more than ten prime street-front shops, and a sizable oil pressing workshop...

Each and every one of them is enough to drive someone crazy.

The quarrel spread from the mourning hall to the accounting office, and from the fields to the clan chief's house.

Some people, finding the argument unsatisfying, resorted to physical violence, and the fight escalated into a real brawl.

Within a month, a distant nephew who was fighting over the land deed was stabbed through the abdomen by a bloodthirsty relative, and died on the spot.

Disputes over tenants, land deeds, shops, and the division of untold wealth...

This farce of fratricide and bloodshed lasted for a full three months.

The Zhou family, which was once a prominent family in Yunmeng County, was quickly exhausted and disgraced in this internal strife. They had no choice but to sell or pawn their remaining assets to cover their losses and quell the conflict.

Three months later, the exhausted parties reluctantly compromised, splitting the remaining assets into several pieces, each taking their own, and vowing never to have anything to do with each other again.

Behind this noisy farce, although no one from the Chen family showed up, their presence was felt everywhere.

Behind every dispute, every accidental conflict, every transaction... Chen Changhe sat at home, fully aware of everything.

……

Inside the study of the Chen family's old residence.

Zhang Xiuwen laid out a stack of yellowed contracts in front of Chen Changhe.

These are clearly the land deeds to the Zhou family's old residence, now stamped with the official seal and bearing the fingerprints of the Zhou family members.

Beneath this land deed are hundreds of other land and house deeds belonging to the Zhou family, a thick stack of deeds, at least seventy or eighty in number.

"Erlang, everything is taken care of."

Zhang Xiuwen's voice was very low, with a hint of barely suppressed excitement.

"Zhou Yesheng's son signed the contract and put his fingerprint on it yesterday in front of the county clerk. I brought people over and they were able to verify his identity."

Chen Changhe didn't look at the contracts; his gaze went out the window, and his spiritual sense covered the entire house.

Zhang Xiulan took Zhang Nianci and Chen Xuanze to the courtyard to bask in the sun, while Old Zhang and Chen Chuansheng were out for a walk and did not return.

Autumn sunlight seeped in through the cracks in the wooden windows, casting long, thin beams of light onto the blue brick floor, where dust motes could be seen floating.

"Which way did that person go?"

Chen Changhe suddenly asked.

"He traveled by water; I saw him board the boat at the ferry crossing."

Zhang Xiuwen answered immediately.

Chen Changhe nodded expressionlessly.

"knew……"

Zhang Xiuwen silently retreated, feeling that her brother-in-law's aura was even more terrifying.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Changhe, who was standing alone by the window, suddenly felt a twitch in his eyelids.

In his spiritual sense, Chen Dajiang stopped his boat by the lake, and the bow and arrows he had taken with him had vanished without a trace.

Only then did Chen Changhe finally breathe a sigh of relief:

"Finally... I got it."