Outside the door, two disciples held lanterns aloft.
It was already late at night. The autumn wind whistled through the courtyard, rustling the vegetation. An old man stood behind the lanterns with his hands clasped behind his back.
He wore a green robe and had deep-set features. Three needle-sharp furrows creased the space between his brows, the corners of his mouth drooped, and a pair of triangular eyes gave him a distinctly unsettling look.
He was tall, with exceptionally long arms, yet his chest was sunken and his back was hunched—making him look like a large macaque standing with hands behind its back. His white hair and beard were neatly combed.
Behind him followed two real, large macaques, constantly scratching their ears and cheeks while baring their teeth at the crowd.
The newcomer was none other than the president of the Xianyang Divine Fist Association, Zhou Pan!
Under his chilly gaze, all of the Eight Great Vajras—even the furious Zhou Peide—bowed their heads, not daring to utter another word.
Zhou Pan said nothing either. Keeping his hands clasped behind his back, he stepped into the room. He cast only a faint glance at the gravely wounded Zhou Bai before giving a cold snort. "Follow me, all of you."
The Zhou family's residence consisted entirely of single-story compounds without towering pavilions, yet it was remarkably spacious. Six large courtyards were interconnected, each equipped with its own martial arts training ground, where numerous disciples patrolled back and forth with lanterns.
The group arrived at the main hall of one of the courtyards. After taking the high seat, Zhou Pan casually peeled a small mandarin orange beside him and spoke placidly. "Well? Usually, each of you acts so formidable. Now that trouble arrives, you start turning on each other?"
The Eight Great Vajras stood below the dais, cold sweat breaking out across their foreheads unbidden.
Zhou Peide gritted his teeth, cupping his hands. "Elder Brother..."
Catching Zhou Pan's utterly expressionless face mid-sentence, his heart skipped a beat, and he hastily corrected himself. "Master, it was not that I acted rashly. It was truly this man Yuan who harbored wicked intentions, stirring up trouble with sorcery!
"Thinking back, Bai'er clearly held the upper hand at the time, yet his composure suddenly collapsed. There must have been an issue with this sorcery!"
Yuan Qu kept his head lowered, remaining dead silent.
"Enough!"
Zhou Pan's brow furrowed. "This matter was proposed by Yuan Qu, originally meant to let Zhou Bai grasp the ape intent ahead of time so as to avoid any mishaps. We simply didn't expect him to lose anyway.
"Yuan Qu, you will cover Zhou Bai's expenses from now on."
"Yes, Master."
Yuan Qu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly cupped his hands in agreement.
He knew this matter was considered settled.
"M-Master..."
Zhou Peide stared at Zhou Pan in disbelief.
Zhou Bai was the most promising disciple of the Zhou family's younger generation. Now his life hung in the balance, his future completely ruined, and paying a bit of silver was supposed to end it?
Remembering how Zhou Pan usually cared for and favored Zhou Bai, yet barely spared him a glance after his severe injury...
In that moment, a chill gripped Zhou Peide's heart.
"Humph!"
Zhou Pan glanced at Zhou Peide, as if guessing his thoughts, and said coldly, "Why do you think those people dared to strike now after enduring for ten years?
"The root of this matter does not lie in Xianyang, but in Chang'an—in the imperial court!
"A few days ago, the court issued an imperial decree. Lu Qing, the Shanzhou Provincial Administration Commissioner, was dismissed and investigated for corruption, then thrown into the imperial prison. This vacant post will go either to Assistant Commissioner Lu or Assistant Commissioner Li..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of several among the Eight Great Vajras lit up.
The military and administrative power of the entire Shanzhou province was primarily handled by three provincial offices: the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Regional Military Commission.
Among them, the Provincial Administration Commission wielded the greatest authority.
The Zhou family's rise in recent years was due to latching onto Left Assistant Commissioner Lu Kang. Now that Administration Commissioner Lu Qing was imprisoned, the promotion would most likely come from either the Left or Right Assistant Commissioner.
Among the Eight Great Vajras, a middle-aged man resembling a scholar mused thoughtfully, "I understand now. Someone wants to find an opening through Master!"
"Good that you understand,"
Zhou Pan said coldly. "The life-and-death match was only that Old Ghost Zhang's first probing move. If Zhou Bai had won, it would have preserved our family's reputation and kept those fence-sitting old fogies watching from the sidelines for the time being.
"Because the Zhou family's future was at stake, I agreed to it, and even the people sent by the City God Temple played dumb. Peide, do you still harbor resentment?"
Zhou Peide parted his lips, then bowed deeply with hands cupped. "Master's foresight is profound. I dare not harbor resentment."
Though he claimed he dared not, how could he truly have none?
Zhou Pan had outright sacrificed Zhou Bai's future.
Zhou Pan spared him a glance, not bothering to care, and spoke in a deep voice. "Old Ghost Zhang is pressing step by step to force a mistake from me.
"Announce to the public tomorrow that I am unwell and entering seclusion to recuperate, seeing no outsiders. We will swallow this insult for now and let them run rampant.
"Once the overall situation is settled, we'll deal with them one by one!
"And as for the rest of you—whoever has dirty hands had better clean them up quickly. Don't blame me when I clean house!"
"Yes, Master!"
The disciples cupped their hands together in unison.
Zhou Pan nodded and looked out the window, speaking placidly. "Ever since that reckless fool Li Hu died, I came to realize one thing.
"In this jianghu, it has never been about who is formidable right now, but who has the last laugh.
"Humph! When the tiger leaves the mountain, the monkey rules as king...
"Did they truly think I would still care about such a thing!"
* * *
The sun had just crested the horizon when Zhang Shitong arrived at Wendao Hall.
"What are you here for?" Sha Lifei was just preparing to step out, and his tone turned sour the moment he saw him.
He wasn't a fool. After Li Yan's reminder, he had realized that while this father-and-son pair seemed righteous on the surface, they were actually using them as free blades.
"Oho, what did you just eat to have such a foul face?"
"Freshly fished from the gutter—isn't that your favorite bite?"
Zhang Shitong stared with his dead-fish eyes, instantly igniting Sha Lifei's temper.
Just as Sha Lifei was about to unleash a shouting match, Zhang Shitong waved a hand. "All right, all right, I'll argue with you another day. I have serious business today. Where's Li Yan?"
"Lying down! Not taking guests!"
"Dead?"
"Don't worry, he'll definitely outlive you!"
Sha Lifei had barely cursed when Zhang Shitong twisted his body, slipped right past him, and strode into the courtyard.
"Halt right there!"
Sha Lifei reached directly for his collar.
Without even looking back, Zhang Shitong sidestepped the grab, then caught Sha Lifei's wrist with a Silk-Reeling Hand, grinning cheekily. "Oho, Hero Sha, where did the mighty 'Falling Rock Flying Beggar' from last night go?"
Sha Lifei refused to lose face even if he lost the grapple. "If you have the guts, stand still and I'll throw some at you!"
*Creak—*
While the two were tangled, Li Yan pushed the door open and walked out. Bandages still wrapped his body as he fixed Zhang Shitong with a cold stare.
Zhang Shitong chuckled, released Sha Lifei, and shook his head. "No need to pretend. Even if you do, it's useless. The Zhou family won't make a move against you for the time being."
At these words, Li Yan's brow furrowed slightly, while Sha Lifei hurriedly asked, "What happened... what's going on?"
"The Old Monkey announced he's entering seclusion and seeing no visitors."
Zhang Shitong tossed that out, then chuckled. "Well? Aren't you going to invite me inside so we can talk in detail?"
Li Yan remained expressionless and made an inviting gesture with his hand.
Zhang Shitong didn't mind in the least. Chuckling, he stepped through the door.
* * *
"That's how things stand..."
After entering and taking a seat, Zhang Shitong hid nothing further, recounting the entire situation from start to finish. He shook his head and said, "In truth, even without you, we would have had to act.
"Once Left Assistant Commissioner Lu Kang assumes office, Zhou Pan will inevitably head to Chang'an to contend for the post of Chief President of the Shanzhou Divine Fist Association. By then, his influence will be overwhelming, and our days will be plunged into darkness. We'd have no choice but to flee to another province for refuge.
"My father had me tell you this so you would understand that there's no hiding from it—unless you're willing to change your name and take to the wilderness as an outlaw."
Hearing this, Li Yan's gaze darkened. "You still have another way."
"Oh? What?"
Zhang Shitong's eyes immediately brightened.
Killing intent flickered in Li Yan's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "Resolve it directly at the source. Gather some experts and slaughter that Lu Kang!"
Zhang Shitong was utterly dumbfounded. Only after a long while did he recover, swallowing hard. "Y-You kid want to commit rebellion?"
Li Yan sneered. "No matter how great one's power, it still sits atop a single neck. When left with no way to live, are you still planning to stretch out your necks for the blade?"
"No, no, things haven't reached that stage yet."
Zhang Shitong looked at Li Yan, feeling inexplicably intimidated, and his tone grew far more solemn. "Truth be told, Right Assistant Commissioner Lord Li Siyuan has deep ties with us. Even if we fail, there will still be room to maneuver.
"If you act recklessly, you'll be breaking the rules.
"And if you break the rules, everyone will want your life!
"What comes next is quite simple. The Zhou family may have pulled back into their shell, but they've committed countless atrocities over the years and funneled plenty of silver to the Lu family. As long as we gather enough evidence, Lord Li will have a way to claim the position.
"When that time comes, the Zhou family will be the ones facing disaster."
Sha Lifei scoffed in amused disgust. "In Xianyang, the Zhou family's stench travels ten li against the wind. Finding evidence against them should be as easy as reaching into a barrel. The lawsuits filed against them could probably fill the magistrate's yamen to the brim!"
"Not enough!"
Zhang Shitong shook his head. "For ordinary commoners, it would be enough to warrant ten executions. But for high officials, especially someone like Lu Kang, it amounts to nothing at all."
Li Yan mused thoughtfully, "You intend to press them step by step to force the Zhou family into showing their hand?"
Zhang Shitong nodded. "It's the only way right now. In the yamen, they exchange smiling pleasantries, but in the jianghu, blades must draw blood. Every one of the Zhou family's Eight Great Vajras is being watched by our friends in the martial community.
"As for this matter... forget it, you'd better stay out of it, lest you stir up an even bigger mess.
"For the sake of our families' long-standing ties, let me give you a word of advice: if you sense that the wind is blowing the wrong way, change your names immediately and leave Shanzhou!"
Seemingly terrified that Li Yan might act recklessly, Zhang Shitong urged him a few more times before finally departing Wendao Hall.
"Damn it all, things have blown up this big—what do we do?"
Now that he understood the underlying causes, Sha Lifei was visibly unnerved.
Li Yan pondered for a moment. "Since the Zhou family dares not act rashly at this crucial juncture, we'll carry on with our business as usual and find ways to increase our strength as quickly as possible.
"Even if we must run when the time comes, we need to gather enough travel funds first!
"Also, get me a dossier on the Eight Great Vajras. Perhaps they are the real breakthrough point..."
Chapter 51