The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

After Xu Changqing walked away.

Xu Tiezhu slumped onto the cold, muddy ground, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said in a low, tearful voice:

"Brother Sanshun, does the clan chief...do he know something? The way he's saying this is so creepy!"

Xu Sanshun's legs were also weak. He looked at Xu Changqing's departing figure with his eyes full of surprise and uncertainty.

He couldn't figure it out.

If the clan leader really knew, why didn't he just arrest them and punish them according to clan rules? Why did he entrust such an important task to them instead?

But if they didn't know, those few words just now seemed to be pointing something out to them.

Don't make wild guesses!

Xu Sanshun took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself down, but his voice was still trembling: "If they really knew, we would have been thrown into the water dungeon by now. I guess... I guess they would just give us a warning."

"What if they're testing us? Steward Zhang promised us fifty spirit stones each if things went well, and he'd even arrange for us to work as guards in the Zhang family. But now that's fallen through... What if the Zhang family sells us out? Should we run away?"

"You idiot! Keep your voice down!"

Xu Sanshun glared at him fiercely, gritting his teeth as he cursed, "Didn't you hear what the clan chief said? Keep watch for twelve hours! If you dare to run away now, you're asking for death! Stay here obediently and get through this first!"

.......

The wind and snow completely obscured the sky, and icicles hung from the bare branches of trees in the yard, creaking and groaning in the wind.

Xu Changqing walked back slowly with his hands behind his back.

Those two traitors are temporarily out of trouble.

By keeping people under close watch, we not only cut off their ability to send out messages, but also use this "importance" to keep them completely confused.

The reason for not taking action now is twofold. First, there is no conclusive evidence. Executing two clansmen directly would inevitably chill the hearts of other collateral relatives who are unaware of the truth, making them feel that the main family is cruel and ungrateful.

Secondly, these two people are still very useful.

As long as these two are still around, the Zhang family will feel that everything is still under control, and will wait for the Xu family's fish plague to break out and their internal collapse.

Rather than killing them and letting the Zhang family find new spies, it's better to keep these two cowardly good-for-nothings alive.

When it comes to the crucial moment, these two will be the best bait.

As for what happened afterwards...

A hint of indifference flashed in Xu Changqing's eyes.

He betrayed his master for personal gain, nearly cutting off the livelihood of dozens of members of the Xu family. If such a person is allowed to live through the New Year, then he should no longer be the clan leader.

The deep swamp is teeming with monsters, and every year a few unlucky creatures are lost forever due to "accidents".

When the time comes, we'll give them the title of "died in the line of duty," which will save face for our clan.

As soon as Xu Changqing turned through the moon gate, he saw several little kids wrapped up like cotton balls gathered together in the open space in the front yard.

Xu Xining was at that age where cats and dogs disliked him. He was holding a broken sword that he had picked up from somewhere and was gesturing loudly at it.

"Take this! I am the Sword Immortal of Cangwu, where do you think you're going, you monster!"

Xu Xining swung the chipped iron sheet around with great force, his feet moving erratically while making "whoosh" sounds.

The three smaller ones next to him stared wide-eyed, with snot dripping from their noses, looking at their eldest brother's madness with eyes full of admiration.

Xu Changqing stopped and remained silent.

That broken sword was scrap metal discarded by the clan in the past; it didn't even have any runes and was covered in rust.

The Xu family is poor.

These kids don't know what sorrow is; they think this broken island is the whole world.

But if they continue living like this, when they grow up, they may not even be able to touch a decent magical artifact.

"Chieftain!"

Xu Xining turned his head and saw Xu Changqing. He was so startled that his hand trembled, and the broken sword fell to the ground with a "clang".

He hurriedly kicked the broken sword into the snow, straightened up, put his two small, red hands behind his back, and timidly called out.

The three younger children behind them also called out in their childish voices, "Chieftain."

Xu Changqing's stern face softened a bit. He walked over, bent down, and dug the broken sword out of the snowdrift.

It feels cold to the touch and has a strong rusty smell.

He weighed it in his hand and handed it back to Xu Xining: "Take good care of it. If a swordsman drops his sword, he could lose his life."

Xu Xining paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He took the broken sword with both hands and nodded vigorously: "Yes! I won't throw it away!"

"Go have fun, but don't go too far; it's windy at the edge of the formation."

After seeing the children off, Xu Changqing watched their cheerful figures run away, and the burden in his heart grew even heavier.

Four bottles of Qi-Inducing Powder, not even counting the spirit stones needed for subsequent strengthening and nourishing.

Without some kind of cheat code, relying solely on scraping by in those few fishponds, the Xu family would never have been able to turn their lives around.

Back in the study.

Xu Changqing had just sat down when Jiang Rou brought in a steaming bowl of spirit rice porridge.

"Husband, have some porridge to warm yourself up."

Jiang Rou put down the bowl, then took out an account book from her bosom, looking troubled: "These past few days everyone has been busy with the fishpond, and the daily expenses have increased considerably..."

She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully: "The spirit stones in the storeroom, plus what was left over from selling the fish, now only amount to thirty-two."

Thirty-two pieces.

Xu Changqing picked up the bowl of porridge and took a sip; a warm current flowed down his throat.

"It's alright."

He put down his bowl and said calmly, "I'll figure out the money. We can't reduce everyone's food intake these days, especially for the children. They're growing, and we can't let them suffer from a lack of energy."

Looking at her husband's calm face, Jiang Rou felt much more at ease, nodded, and left.

The door closed.

Xu Changqing's composure crumbled instantly.

He rubbed his temples and let out a long sigh.

This clan chief is truly a man whose life is so difficult; even a hero can be brought down by a single penny.

Just then, a soft footstep sound came from outside.

"Knock knock".

Two soft sounds.

"Come in."

Xu Dayou pushed open the door and entered, bringing with him a chill.

He rubbed his frozen hands, a smug smile on his face: "Chieftain, those two are almost frozen solid by the pond. Just now, when San Shun's wife went to deliver the food, I saw that San Shun's hands were shaking so badly he couldn't even hold the chopsticks properly."

At this point, Xu Dayou lowered his voice.

"Chieftain, these two usually seem honest and simple, but I never expected them to be two-faced. I should have just gone up and kicked them both."

Xu Changqing glanced at him.

"If you had kicked them, they would have felt more at ease."

"What do you mean?"

Xu Da looked bewildered.

"Don't go near that area for the next few days. If they make any unusual moves, just write them down, but don't alert them."

Xu Dayou nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Alright, I'll listen to you. Anyway, I can tell you're up to no good. I'm not going to worry about it."

"By the way, clan leader, there's something else."

Xu Dayou's expression became slightly more serious.

"Yesterday at the market, besides buying... cough, medicine, I also heard some news."

"It is said that Zhang Xianzhu, the eldest son of the Zhang family, emerged from seclusion a couple of days ago, and it seems that he has broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining."

Xu Changqing frowned slightly.

Qi Refining Level 7.

Zhang Shisheng, the old ghost of the Zhang family, is at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and now this little guy has reached the seventh level.

If it were a direct confrontation, apart from the third elder of the Xu family, who was in seclusion and whose vital energy was declining, there was really no one else who could stand up to him.

Seeing that Xu Changqing remained silent, Xu Dayou felt a little uneasy.

"Clan leader, Zhang Xianzhu is a ruthless fellow. Years ago, he killed two rogue cultivators in the wild in order to seize a spiritual herb. His methods are ruthless. Now that he has come out of seclusion, I'm afraid the Zhang family will be restless again."

Xu Changqing slowly spoke: "When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it."

"No matter how powerful the Zhang family is, they cannot directly attack a stronghold protected by a large formation in the Great Swamp. The annual tribute paid to the Upper Sect is not paid in vain."

Despite this, Xu Changqing knew the truth in his heart.

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

This calm won't last long.