At the same time, in the Sun Mansion.
Jing Zhiyuan arrived alone at the Sun Family estate.
"Zhiyuan, what brings you here? Do you need something from me?" Patriarch Sun Zhenwu came out to greet him personally. Jing Zhiyuan’s arrival was an absolute honor for the Sun Family.
Jing Zhiyuan said, "Sun, there is an important matter."
"Oh?" Sensing that something was wrong, Sun Zhenwu hastily invited Jing Zhiyuan into the inner room. "Zhiyuan, what happened?"
"I’ll be blunt. Sun Hang is dead."
"What!" Sun Zhenwu’s pupils contracted violently.
Although Sun Hang was only the grandson of his second brother, Sun Juguang, his status in the Sun Family was by no means low. This was because Sun Juguang had joined the Celestial Secret Pavilion by virtue of his astonishing talent.
The Celestial Secret Pavilion was the most powerful organization of Abnormal Warriors in the Moyue Kingdom. The members of the Celestial Secret Pavilion might not have strong cultivation bases, but each of them was exceptionally gifted, proficient in the Array Dao and the Mechanical Dao. Even the prominent families of a three-star city, or even the City Lord, had to show respect to the Celestial Secret Pavilion, because their Clan Protection Arrays were mostly set up by people from there.
Sun Juguang was highly regarded after entering the Celestial Secret Pavilion. This was exactly why the Gongsun Family, despite being the true masters of Dapeng City, always showed a degree of deference to the Sun Family.
"Zhiyuan, who did it?"
"Someone from the Gongsun Family."
"The Gongsun Family!" A look of realization flashed across Sun Zhenwu’s face, yet he still couldn’t figure it out. Due to Jing Zhiyuan’s connections, the Gongsun Family had always been incredibly polite to Sun Hang. Why would they suddenly want to kill him? "Zhiyuan, what exactly happened?"
"Here’s the situation..." Jing Zhiyuan recounted the recent events to Sun Zhenwu.
"You mean the one who killed Sun Hang is that illegitimate child?"
"Yes. That bastard is protected by an expert."
"This is tricky!" Sun Zhenwu finally understood why Jing Zhiyuan looked so grave.
Sun Hang was Sun Juguang’s absolute favorite grandson, bar none! Jing Zhiyuan accepting Sun Hang as a disciple was also partly due to Sun Juguang’s influence. He knew that the news of Sun Hang’s death would eventually reach Sun Juguang. Given Sun Juguang’s temper, this matter was definitely far from over.
But the problem was, even if the Sun Family had the strength to confront the Gongsun Family, they wouldn’t dare rebel. The rules were clear. Anyone who dared rebel against the Gongsun Family would end up in absolute misery.
"Zhiyuan, does the Gongsun Family know about this yet? What is their stance?"
"They don’t know yet. I came to tell you first. When I return to the Gongsun Mansion, I will definitely inform them."
"In that case, you head back first. I’ll take my clansmen over shortly to personally demand justice! Even if the Gongsun Family are the masters of Dapeng City, I will force them to give a clear answer. Our Sun Family isn’t a pushover either. By the way, where is Sun Hang’s body? I’ll have someone carry his coffin there."
"Before you go, there’s something else I need to tell you. Actually..."
Meanwhile, at the Lingxuan Courtyard.
Gongsun Yanran had been gone for a long time and still hadn’t returned. Ye Xuan, with nothing else to do, headed straight for the kitchen. He wasn’t hungry; he was there to brew medicine.
He placed several medicinal herbs on the chopping board. Qingliang Flower, Sword Throat Grass, Ice Heart Ghost, Ghost Mint, Rehmannia Root Skin... He had gathered all the necessary ingredients.
"According to the Medicine Scripture, these herbs can be combined. Let’s hope this works," Ye Xuan muttered to himself. He began to brew the mixture, carefully adjusting the proportions of each herb.
He didn’t dare boil it for too long. Even though prolonged boiling usually yielded stronger medicinal effects, he wasn’t entirely sure if he had used too much of any specific ingredient. This prescription was his own creation, formulated based on the records in the Medicine Scripture. Ye Xuan had devised multiple prescriptions based on the properties of various herbs, but according to his deductions, this particular blend offered the most potent effects with minimal side effects. However, whether it would actually work remained up to fate.
About an hour later, the courtyard suddenly erupted into a noisy commotion.
"Where is Ye Xuan? Where is he hiding!"
"Ye Xuan, did you hide after causing such a huge disaster? The Sun Family is already knocking at our door!"
Ye Xuan walked out of the kitchen holding the medicine pot. Only then did he realize that a group of the Gongsun Family’s younger generation had gathered at the entrance of the Lingxuan Courtyard.
"What did you just say?" he asked.
"Ye Xuan, are you playing dumb about what you’ve done? Did you kill Sun Hang? The Sun Family has already carried a coffin right up to the Gongsun Mansion to demand an explanation!"
"The Sun Family is here?" Ye Xuan asked, then turned to Hua in the courtyard. "Hua, drink a bowl of this medicine first. Then, we’ll go out and have a look. Oh, right. You come along too."
Ye Xuan glanced at Liu Ruoxi, who was standing by the door. Although Liu Ruoxi wouldn’t be able to escape the Gongsun Family even if he wasn’t at the Lingxuan Courtyard, he still felt it was better to keep her close.
"Young Master... was this medicine brewed for me?" Hua was so astonished that her hands, which she used to sign, stiffened mid-air.
She had seen Ye Xuan brewing the medicine in the kitchen. These were the very herbs he had asked her to buy. She assumed they were important to him and that he was preparing them for himself. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that the medicine was actually meant for her.
Astonished as she was, Hua took the pot and poured herself a bowl. Even though the liquid was still scalding hot, she drank it down sip by sip. As the medicine settled in her stomach, she felt a cooling sensation in her throat. The feeling was extremely peculiar. That refreshing coolness felt as if tiny bubbles were fizzing inside her throat.
Could it be... Hua already had a suspicion, though she wasn’t entirely certain yet.
"Alright, let’s go. Let’s head out and see," Ye Xuan said again, addressing both Hua and Liu Ruoxi.
They hurried all the way, and ten minutes later, the three of them arrived at the main gate. At this moment, the entrance was bustling with activity. No less than a hundred people from the Sun Family had arrived, all dressed in white mourning garments. Such a massive spectacle had long since attracted the attention of quite a few onlookers. Some had followed them all the way here just to watch the drama unfold.
Right now, at the front of the procession, Sun Hang’s father, Sun Ping, was crying his eyes out, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"Is your Gongsun Family trying to shield Ye Xuan? At a time like this, you still won’t send him out to kowtow and apologize to my Sun Hang. Or do you think that the lives of my Sun Family members are worthless, and their deaths require no explanation?! If you truly think so, then you are gravely mistaken!"
"That’s right, you must give us an explanation!" another member of the Sun Family shouted. "Where is the City Lord? Does he consider this such a trivial matter that he doesn’t even need to come out and handle it personally? Do you take our Sun Family for dogs that you can just ignore at will?"
"Gongsun Family, you must give us a proper answer today!" chimed in another. "Otherwise, we really will rebel! We might not dare to kill the City Lord, but if we’re pushed to the brink, we certainly aren’t afraid to kill the rest of you!"
The words of the Sun Family members finally allowed the onlookers to understand what was going on. It seemed someone from the Gongsun Family had killed Sun Hang. And Sun Hang’s status was far from ordinary.
Standing to the side, Jing Zhiyuan also spoke up. "You don’t just owe the Sun Family an answer; you owe me one as well. My only direct disciple was murdered by someone from your family."