Blood Feud Trial

"......" A stretch of silence, followed by silence, and then more silence. Fernan was completely thrown off. In all his years in the Seven Cities, he had sat through countless meetings and negotiations filled with honeyed words hiding daggers and mutual deceit. He had weathered hypocritical concern, vicious curses, and scathing accusations beyond count. Yet this was the very first time he had ever met someone so blunt and earnest. A polite pleasantry would have been one thing, but he could actually feel that Ji Jue genuinely cared whether he had eaten. *If you haven't eaten, do you want me to whip up a bowl of noodles for you?* "That won't be necessary, I have already—" Fernan opened his mouth to politely decline, only to hear a crisp *pop!* The bottle in Ji Jue's hand came open, and in one fluid motion, a wine glass was thrust into his hand. "Then have a drink." "......" Fernan looked down at the glass in his hand. When he looked back up, Ji Jue had already set a fruit platter on the table. And was staring right at him. He was genuinely afraid that if he opened his mouth again, Ji Jue would immediately tell him that if red wine didn't suit him, they could switch to liquor, and if liquor wouldn't do, they could try beer... and if they kept going back and forth, a plate of braised pig's head would probably be served next. "My thanks, then." He took a sip of the red wine, set the glass back on the table, and assumed a grave expression. "I have come to Xiangzhou on behalf of the Seven Cities Council to offer congratulations. In accordance with precedent, Patriarch Minkler will inherit the Chopra family's presiding seat on the Council. From this day forth, he is a pivotal member of the Seven Cities." He paused, letting out a weary sigh. "It is my hope that going forward, the Chopra family will act with prudence and prioritize the bigger picture." In short: *Stop fucking stirring up trouble!* If you keep stirring the pot until the Seven Cities fall apart and cease to exist, everyone can go feed on the northwest wind! His superficial courtesy and calm could not disguise his true detachment and aversion—and in fact, he made no effort to hide it. Ji Jue had sensed it from the very moment Fernan walked through the door: a faint yet unmistakable revulsion, vigilance, and even malice and killing intent. Aimed squarely at Ji Jue. Given the choice, Fernan would have expelled Ji Jue from the Seven Cities at all costs. Unfortunately, even disregard for the cost provided no opportunity—and what was more, he had no price left that he could afford to pay. To him, Ji Jue was an unwelcome outsider, a volatile variable plunging the Seven Cities into deeper turmoil and chaos. Fernan had devoted his entire life to the Seven Cities, patching and papering over the cracks among the Thousand Islands to produce the facade of a modern Seven Cities—a gleaming, miraculous city-state alliance. Yet at their core, the Seven Cities had never changed. To their bones, they remained the same seven cruel, savage city-states of the past. Slavery had been abolished, yet slaves still existed. Citizenship had been granted, yet citizens were still treated no better than pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep... At best, he had merely painted an unrealistic pie in the sky for everyone, feeding them a dream too far detached from reality. Back when the old Grand Leader Aquilino was still alive, even he couldn't change it, so what chance was there now? Besides, even if it truly succeeded, would conflict ever cease? Just look at the Federation across the water, folks! Ji Jue held his glass calmly, with no intention of tasting it, let alone offering commentary. Advice would be useless; words would fall on deaf ears. Better to stick strictly to business. Accepting the official document, he asked politely, "For a matter like this, sending a notice would have sufficed. Why trouble the Acting Speaker to make the trip in person?" "Aside from this, there is another matter—one that I am sure you, Mr. Ji, know full well." Fernan's expression grew colder as he looked at Ji Jue. "In response to today's actions in Xiangzhou, Luo Island has lodged a formal protest with the Council and brought charges against the Chopra family. The Chopra family's newly appointed patriarch, Minkler, stands accused of murdering an elder of the Sukarno family—Murba, younger brother of the current patriarch, Seno—and desecrating the Sukarno family name." "Is that so?" Ji Jue offered an indifferent smile, entirely unfazed. Who was Murba anyway? He had never even laid eyes on the man. Just because you said so made it true? "Your arrival is timely. The Chopra family also has a formal protest to lodge with the Council, and we are bringing charges against the Sukarno family." Ji Jue set down his glass and said solemnly, "We accuse Seno, Patriarch of the Sukarno family, of murdering the previous patriarch of the Chopra family, Bustamante! Furthermore, of covertly financing pirates to bombard Xiangzhou, and colluding with Wulou Temple in an attempt to meddle in the succession of the Chopra family headship! We have caught them red-handed with both the culprits and the evidence!" Without hesitation, he slung one bucket of filth after another, turning the tables, counter-accusing, and stomping down a couple more times for good measure. "The relevant documentation has already been prepared, and all the evidence has been sealed in crates. When the Acting Speaker departs shortly, you may take them along. We trouble the Council to publish them on our behalf." Not caring in the least that the bullshit evidence had just been fabricated by his own hands, Ji Jue added solemnly, "We hope the Seven Cities Council will give us an explanation!" "......" Fernan's face twitched once, then twitched again. He was so infuriated that he nearly laughed. This was truly back on familiar turf. They had barely sat down looking like civilized gentlemen before dog began eating dog again—and now they even wanted to use the Council as their cat's paw. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to steady his mind. "If that is the case, does the Chopra family intend to respond to the Sukarno family's accusations?" "Until the Sukarno family responds to our charges, we will offer no response whatsoever. Furthermore, we reject these baseless allegations out of hand!" A war of words—did Ji Jue really need lessons in that? The essence was simple: you shout your insults, I shout mine, and whoever actually engages with the other side's points first loses! "I understand." Fernan's expression turned even sterner. He drew three identical parchment sheets from his breast pocket and laid them on the table. "This was the true purpose of my visit. "One hour ago, Patriarch Seno submitted a formal petition to the Council—invoking the ancient traditions and legal rulings of the Seven Cities, the Sukarno family demands a Blood Feud Trial! "Wagered upon the dignity of Luo Island and the name of the Sukarno family." He delivered the notice to the Chopra family: "Seven days from now, the Council will convene in Pucheng for a special witness—a duel to decide victory or defeat, unto death! "Does the Chopra family accept?" "Of course." Without a second thought, Ji Jue produced Minkler's patriarchal seal and stamped the parchment scroll. With that, the Blood Feud Trial was finalized. No backing out. *** After Fernan's departure, everyone present in the reception parlor of the patriarch's mansion looked at the parchment scroll on the table, exchanging glances. "Holy shit?" Lou Feng's eyes widened. "They actually took the bait?!" "Don't celebrate too early. While you're angling for them, they might just be angling for you too," Ji Jue said, studying the scroll on the table. "With fishing, taking the hook is only the beginning. The one that gets dragged under is the fish." Just like a duel between a hunter and a wolf. The one that died was the prey; the victor was the hunter! In murky waters, who was the fish and who was the angler would only become clear once the dust settled. The Blood Feud Trial was the stage erected for precisely this purpose. A duel! Seemingly modernized, the Seven Cities remained mired in a feudal, if not slaveholding, era. Civilization and enlightenment were merely fleeting illusions. No matter how magnificent the robes draped over their shoulders, down to their bones it was still a brutal fight to the death. The Blood Feud Trial was a unique institution born at the intersection of civilization and savagery, Sovereign Virtue and Great Sin, White Stag and Tianyuan. When laws could not resolve disputes, when reciprocal vengeance failed to extinguish hatred, the people of the Seven Cities, weary of red tape and bureaucratic procedure, ultimately remembered why the Seven Cities had been able to stand firm among the Thousand Islands. Since the hatred could not be mediated, why waste breath chattering? Fight it out! Each side put forth one combatant for a thrilling, merciless clash to the death. The one left standing was in the right; the dead had no say, only humble submission! To this, the lingering ghost behind them, old Bustamante, offered his assessment: "They panicked." When Minkler miraculously ascended to the position of patriarch and took control of Chopra and Xiangzhou, a life-and-death struggle between the two sides became inevitable. The Chopra family might even unite with other clans to lay siege to the Sukarno family, who currently held the strongest prospect of claiming the Grand Leader's seat. If a pack of dogs formed a circle to tear down a god, lunging in for a feeding frenzy, victory or defeat aside, who could endure such losses? No matter how fierce their current wording or how resolute their determination seemed, the fact that they proposed a Blood Feud Trial to confine the conflict strictly between the Chopras and Sukarnos proved they were fierce of face but faint of heart. Ignoring the colossal fortunes wagered on the parchment scroll, Bustamante went straight to the heart of the matter: "They're buying time." One week? This was the Sukarno family's delaying tactic: using the Blood Feud Trial to buy precious time for war preparations, training troops, gathering strength, raising capital, and demonstrating their power. If they won, all the better: they would flex their muscles, seize a commanding upper hand, and use the Chopra family as a stepping stone to climb even higher. And if they lost, they would merely forfeit a portion of wealth. The time bought by this single trial would allow the Sukarno family to amass sufficient forces and aid. By then, even if other factions wanted to kick them while they were down, they would have to weigh the cost carefully. They might even tear away the pretense entirely and launch a full-scale assault against the Chopra family. Schemes were like this. Everyone was calculating, yet no one could be certain. Schemes piled upon schemes until nobody could figure out the score, scraping together every point and tile to assemble a winning hand... Before pushing all-in, every player stared intently at the player to their left, right, and opposite, resorting to every conceivable trick. Once the hands were revealed, either a new equilibrium would be struck, or a bloody fight to the death would ensue in the murky waters. "Old Lou, you guessed right," Ji Jue said. "The Xu family has made their move." Many investors in the Federation were actually right in their suspicions: Guangji Industrial's investment plan was indeed throwing a stone to sound out the path. But it wasn't thrown into the stock market; rather, using the immense weight of the Lou family, it was hurled directly into the chaos of the Seven Cities, hurled straight at whatever backers might be lurking behind the Sukarno family! And sure enough, hit a dog with a stone, and it yelps. If their suspicion of the Xu family's involvement had previously been seventy or eighty percent, it was now an absolute certainty. Because... The Blood Feud Trial permitted hiring champions! If, going by Guangji Industrial's maneuvers, the Lou family was indeed taking control of Xiangzhou, then faced with the Sukarno family's Blood Feud Trial and the Chopra family's dearth of talent, their first reaction would undoubtedly be to urgently seek reinforcements from back home! And if the Lou clan truly intended to maintain long-term control over Xiangzhou, they would, without question, send someone to intervene. "So, who would that person be?" Ji Jue looked meaningfully at Lou Feng. Lou Feng's face turned livid, his expression twitching until he let out a furious, bitter chuckle. Who else could it be? Who else *could* it possibly be? "Auntie!"