"Family Head..."
"No need to get up."
Song Tonghai stepped forward, pressing down on Song Yun, who was trying to rise, and spoke in a deep voice:
"How do you feel?"
"My life is not in danger."
Song Yun's expression was dim: "I couldn't see clearly who attacked me..."
"That's not important, you just focus on recuperating."
Song Tonghai consoled him, then gave Song Lingxue a look, and the two of them turned to leave the room.
"Father, I fear that Luofeng City might have already undergone changes, should we immediately call back the managers from around the city to prevent..."
Song Lingxue's eyes could not hide her worry, such blatant acts of violence at the city gates, disregarding the law, evidently showed no respect for the Great Zhou Imperial Court.
"Our Song Family does not yet merit direct action from the Immortal Sects. The person who attacked must have been instructed by someone, with the purpose of forcing us to seek aid from Ling Qing or the Phantom Spirit Sect."
Song Tonghai's expression remained calm, showing neither joy nor anger: "The Government Office has not sent any response; clearly, someone has been tampering with it."
The largest revenue for the Song Family came from the Escort Agency, but now, with the Escort Masters unable to leave the city, the idea of accompanying and protecting merchants was sheer nonsense.
"Lingxue, in your opinion, how should we respond now?"
Suddenly, Song Tonghai spoke, asking for Song Lingxue's opinion.
"Song Yun's injury is just the first step, there will surely be more oversteps to come."
A murderous intent surged in Song Lingxue's eyes, her tone slightly cold: "The strategy now should be to find the people who made the move, and kill a batch first."
If there's no response, those people will certainly become more and more excessive. It might be better to confront them in the open and flush out the mastermind behind the scenes.
"Then let's kill!"
Song Tonghai seemed to agree, and immediately said:
"Tonight, you will leave the residence with me."
...
...
A big snow brings bitter cold.
On the streets near dusk, there are few people to be seen. The winter cold, with a shortage of coal and firewood, keeps most commoners huddled inside their homes if they can help it.
The young ladies of affluent households wish they could admire the snow every day, unaware of how the aftermath of the snow adds to the frozen bones by the roadside.
Chu Zheng did not linger on the street, but visited several grain, oil, and rice shops to stock up on dry goods, preparing for emergencies and to facilitate travel.
He was still far from the Grain Avoidance Realm. Only when he reached the Spirit Transformation Realm, and the yin and yang energy formed a cycle within his body, could he abandon the faults of cereals.
"The grain has been sold out."
"I'm really sorry, but these have already been reserved by other customers."
"We are not doing business today."
After trying several shops in vain, Chu Zheng came away empty-handed. Even with silver in hand, he couldn't buy any grain. The excuses were plentiful, but they simply wouldn't sell.
Chu Zheng quickly sensed something was wrong. The problem wasn't with him, but with his attire as a servant of the Song Residence.
Clearly, someone had started to target the Song Family.
Chu Zheng rubbed his brow, a habit he fell into when encountering trouble; it helped clear his mind.
The Song Family had been a significant force in Luofeng City for over three hundred years, deeply entrenched and powerful. It was possible that informants had already tipped off the Song Family to the incursion of external forces.
So many shops receiving the same warning at once—it was likely connected to the influence of the Government Office.
In Luofeng City, the only power bigger than the Song Family was the Imperial Court.
Great Zhou was at the height of its power, with the authority of the Imperial Court surpassing all else. If the Government Office spoke, naturally, no one would dare disobey.
After a moment of contemplation, Chu Zheng turned into an alley, removed his servant's cloak, and then entered a tailor shop to buy a ready-made overcoat and a thick headscarf, completely altering his appearance.
He turned back, and this time he did not encounter any difficulties, successfully purchasing dried meat and flatbread.
"Why won't you sell when you clearly have so much here?!"
Tearing off the suffocating headscarf and getting ready to return to the residence, Chu Zheng's ears caught a familiar voice.
Following the voice, he saw Xiao Cai a short distance away on the street, hands on hips, her face full of anger:
"Others can sell, so why can't I? It's not like I've shortchanged you of silver! What kind of business practice is this?"
Chu Zheng looked up and saw a small charcoal shop, with a visibly large stack of dried firewood and charcoal within.
The shopkeeper appeared to be over fifty, his hair graying, currently wearing an expression of distress.
A glance was all Chu Zheng needed to guess the entire situation. After a moment's thought, he strode over and directly pulled Xiao Cai to the side.
He still owed Xiao Cai a favor and couldn't just ignore what was happening.
"Chu Zheng? What are you doing here?"
Surprised to see Chu Zheng, Xiao Cai's face quickly became angry again:
"You've come at just the right time. I..."
She had not finished speaking when Chu Zheng interrupted her, "What have you come here to buy?"
"Miss Lingxue's room ran out of smokeless coal. I thought to buy some to replenish it, but after visiting several shops and seeing plenty of coal on their shelves, they still wouldn't sell any to me."
The more she spoke, the angrier she got, and Xiao Cai couldn't help but curse softly, "These damn dogs, truly despicable."
"Don't be in a hurry, you go back first, and I'll think of a way to get the coal."
After calming Xiao Cai for a while, Chu Zheng gestured for her to return to the Song Residence first.
After Xiao Cai left, Chu Zheng went back to the shopkeeper:
"Shopkeeper, let's have twenty catties of smokeless coal."
"Are you from the Song Residence?"
Looking at Xiao Cai leaving, the charcoal seller suddenly asked Chu Zheng a question.
"No," Chu Zheng naturally shook his head.
"That's good."
The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, worry in his eyes, "Twenty catties wouldn't last long, would they? Why not buy more? I'll give you a discount."
"That would be good," agreed Chu Zheng, thoughtfully.
It seemed there were those who wanted to help the Song Family but did not dare to do so openly.
After returning to the Song Residence with the charcoal, Chu Zheng went back to his own place and used all of today's restoration attempts on Dragon-Tiger Body.
[Current items that can be repaired: Great Circulatory Qi Guideline - Upper Volume (0/1000), Dragon-Tiger Body - Upper Volume (15/100)]
Having briefly reviewed Dragon-Tiger Body - Beginner Volume, even if he practiced it to the top level, it wouldn't be comparable to a Grandmaster, and certainly not high enough to rate.
But the subsequent Upper Volume, which required the same number of repair attempts as the Great Circulatory Qi Guideline - Beginner Chapter, seemed likely to have some differences.
These five repair attempts were but a drop in the bucket for Chu Zheng.
But all he could do now was repair as much as he could to raise his Repair Master level, hoping something might change.
dinner was, as usual, very simple, only three steamed buns with a small dish of vegetables; Chu Zheng had to eat some of the dried meat he brought back to feel somewhat full.
This was enough to indicate that the Song Family's situation was rapidly worsening.
...
...
The next morning.
After completing the Eighteen Great Circulations, Chu Zheng went to the mansion's treasury as usual.
Not long after arriving at the treasury, he heard some rather startling news.
Overnight, the city walls of Luofeng City were adorned with human heads on every flagpole, numbering dozens.
Crucially, one of them belonged to a Grandmaster, a figure well-known in the martial world.