Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

Chapter 309: Chapter 303: Vortex

When Yan Wenlu heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then his brows furrowed even more tightly.

He racked his brain, but couldn’t recall anything.

Over the years, he had passed countless orders to his subordinates, but they were always about trivial matters. It was impossible that he had offended such a powerful expert over something so small.

He wouldn’t remember such trifles. It was impossible.

Absurd!

An indescribable sense of absurdity washed over Yan Wenlu.

’Just for some minor grudge, a terrifying expert like this meticulously laid a trap to lure me here?’

’How petty could someone be?’

’That’s not right!’

Yan Wenlu jolted as if doused in cold water.

Tonight’s events all started with Governor He Mingyun.

It was the Governor who had personally ordered him to come receive Wang Chengyuan and the witness.

’If this is a trap, the target should be Governor He Mingyun.’

’Why are they coming after me?’

He stared intently at Chen Li, trying to find an answer in his expression. "What you’re saying is a bit far-fetched. But if I truly have offended you, then I... I am willing to make amends."

Chen Li shook his head gently. "Lord Yan, you still don’t see it, do you? When Governor He sent you, he had no intention of letting you return."

The words struck Yan Wenlu like a clap of thunder.

’What does he mean?’

His face fell. ’He Mingyun sent me... to die?’

’Why?’

’Could He Mingyun...’ An even more terrifying thought surfaced uncontrollably, chilling him to the bone.

In that instant, as his Heart Spirit trembled and his mind fell into chaos...

Chen Li moved.

Without warning, he casually raised his right hand and clenched it in the empty air.

A jet-black staff materialized in his hand.

The next moment, he brought the staff down in a simple, clean strike toward Yan Wenlu, who was several dozen feet away.

There was no dazzling light, no piercing screech—only an invisible, soul-trembling pressure that crashed down with the descent of the black staff.

’Void Transformation?’

’No! It’s... Divine Intent!’

Yan Wenlu’s mind went blank. He let out a desperate roar, finally understanding the kind of being he was facing.

He frantically channeled all his Power, his Longsword transforming into a brilliant streak of light to meet the black staff.

At the same time, he stomped his feet and shot backward, desperate to escape the fatal blow.

But it was all for naught.

CRACK!

The razor-sharp Longsword, upon contact with the staff’s Powerful Qi, shattered inch by inch like fragile glass, exploding into a thousand pieces.

The staff’s momentum didn’t slow in the slightest.

Yan Wenlu’s soul nearly fled his body as he transformed into a blurry afterimage, shooting toward the courtyard exit.

He discovered in despair that his aura was completely locked down. No matter how he used his Body Technique, he couldn’t escape the strike that clung to him like a shadow.

There was no avoiding it, no escaping it.

"No—!"

He let out a defiant roar. With nowhere left to run and no way to dodge, he could only gather a lifetime’s worth of Power into his palms and turn to face the attack head-on.

His palms, carrying a Palm Force that could topple mountains and overturn seas, struck at the staff tip descending upon his head.

BANG!

His full-powered Palm Force was laughably fragile before the black staff.

The tip of the staff landed unimpeded on his Celestial Spirit.

The Governor of Liyang County, Yan Wenlu, was dead.

The remaining men from the Commandery Magistrate’s Office in the courtyard were scared out of their wits by the sight and scattered in all directions.

Chen Li’s gaze was icy. His figure flickered, a tiger let loose among sheep.

Liu Zongying’s sword flashed like a bolt of white silk. With every strike, a man fell dead.

The battle was over.

Chen Li looked at the bodies littering the ground, his brow furrowed.

The moment he killed Yan Wenlu, he had felt a sudden tremor in his heart.

He had felt the same strange tremor when he killed He Mingyun.

But back then, his Divine Embryo had been outside his body, so he had chalked it up to some abnormality with the Embryo itself.

It had disappeared quickly, and there had been no other abnormalities since.

’What’s going on?’

Chen Li fell into deep thought.

Seeing Chen Li silent, Liu Zongying stepped forward. "Patriarch, there’s a deep well behind the courtyard. If we throw the bodies in there, it’ll be hard to identify them even if they’re found."

Chen Li snapped out of his thoughts and nodded slightly.

The three of them began searching the bodies, but found nothing of value besides some scattered silver taels.

They quickly threw the bodies into the well.

Their identity tokens and other such items were buried in a freshly dug pit.

Liu Zongying looked at Sun Shouyi, who was still pale, and chuckled. "So, Sun the kid, how about it? Still have an appetite for that wild pheasant?"

Sun Shouyi’s face was ashen. It was the first time he had ever killed someone, and his stomach was churning violently. But he gritted his teeth, fought back the nausea, and shook his head.

Chen Li glanced at the sky. "We shouldn’t linger here. Let’s go back."

Without another word, the three of them quickly erased their tracks and vanished into the ruins of the deserted village.

...

「Jiangkou County.」

Where three rivers converged, boats and ships gathered like clouds. It was once a prosperous place.

Recently, however, the entire county seat had been shrouded in a strange and ominous gloom.

「Jiangji Inn.」

「Celestial Building, Room No. 3.」

Zhao Yuanhong, the Captain of Liyang County, stood by the window. He stared out at the murky, churning river, his expression so dark it looked as if it could drip ink.

Behind him stood Li Siye, the Dean of the Ritual and Education Department from the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office. The hem of his official robe was spattered with mud, and fine beads of sweat dotted his brow. He looked deeply unsettled.

「A few moments earlier.」

Li Siye had rushed here to give Zhao Yuanhong a report, unable to conceal his panic.

Governor He Mingyun had been found dead inside the Governor’s Study. A preliminary examination revealed that he had died from the disintegration of his Divine Soul.

Governor Yan Wenlu, who had left the city on official business several days ago, had yet to return. His fate... was unknown.

’He Mingyun is dead... and Yan Wenlu is missing?!’

The news struck him like two consecutive bolts of lightning.

Zhao Yuanhong was overcome with shock and disbelief.

’The esteemed head of a county, a Fourth Grade official of the Court, had died suddenly inside the heavily guarded Governor’s Mansion?’

’And the Governor, at nearly the same time, had gone missing within his own jurisdiction?’

’How is this possible?!’

A chill shot up his spine and straight to the crown of his head.

’Who was it? What faction? Who would be so audacious, so ruthless?!’

But beneath the immense shock and chill, another, indescribable emotion began to stir.

’He Mingyun is dead, Yan Wenlu is missing...’

’In that case, in all of Liyang County, who was more qualified—and who had a more logical claim—to succeed the Governor than him, the County Captain?’

’Fortune hides in misfortune!’

Zhao Yuanhong’s heart began to pound uncontrollably.

He forcefully suppressed his turbulent emotions, forcing himself to calm down.

’This is no time for celebration. The first priority is to understand what happened and ensure my own safety.’

More than ten days ago, He Mingyun had ordered him to Jiangkou County to investigate the murder of Liu Siye from the Criminal Court, along with several other officials from the Commandery Magistrate’s Office.

He had thought it was just an ordinary case.

But upon arriving in Jiangkou, he found himself drawn into a massive vortex.

First, there was the Celestial Sword Sect.

This major sect, a dominant force in Jiangzhou, had been operating a secret Black Market in Jiangkou. Around the time of Liu Siye’s murder, the market was uprooted with ruthless efficiency. The Elder and disciples on duty were all wiped out, and its entire wealth was plundered.

The entire Celestial Sword Sect was enraged.

A Supreme Elder personally led over a dozen Elders and several hundred elite disciples into Jiangkou. They were searching everywhere like madmen, vowing to find the culprit and exact blood for blood.

Jiangkou County was suddenly seized by panic, and the atmosphere grew incredibly tense.

Meanwhile, the Jiangzhou Government Office was also drawn in.

The Jiangzhou Governor, accompanied by Inspector General Shen Wenju of the Criminal Justice Department and several Lord Thousand Households from the Jingwu Bureau, personally arrived in Jiangkou to supervise the investigation.

With the intervention of the State Criminal Justice Inspection Department, the Liu Siye case saw a swift breakthrough, yet the details only grew more perplexing.

They quickly found the killer responsible for the deaths of Liu Siye and the others, only to discover that she herself had been slain in an abandoned temple outside Jiangkou County.

The crucial turning point was found on the killer’s body.

The forensic doctor performing the autopsy discovered half of a letter tucked into her personal clothing.

Zhao Yuanhong hadn’t seen the letter’s contents himself at the time, so he didn’t know what it said.

But the Jiangzhou Governor had taken one look at the half-letter, his expression instantly turning grim. He then left Jiangkou in a hurry without so much as a word of farewell, merely ordering Shen Wenju and the others to uncover the truth as quickly as possible.

The killer’s identity was also quickly confirmed.

She was indeed Cao Danying, the elder sister of the current Patriarch of the Cao Family.

’Why would Cao Danying kill Liu Siye?’

’And who killed her?’

’What could have been written on that half of a letter to make the powerful Jiangzhou Governor turn pale and flee?’

When word got out, the Cao Family also caught wind of it. Cao Danying’s husband and other key members of the family were now rushing to Jiangkou.

The Cao Family was one of Jiangzhou’s most prominent Noble Families. The old Patriarch was even the Junior Minister of the Jiangzhou Textile Bureau, and their influence was deeply entrenched.

One could predict that the already chaotic Jiangkou was about to face the intervention of the powerful Cao Family, making the situation even more complex and volatile.

Jiangkou was about to become the eye of a storm, a battleground for the Cao Family, the Celestial Sword Sect, and various other powers.

One misstep could lead to a catastrophe.

Zhao Yuanhong was already on pins and needles, desperate to leave.

’Jiangkou is a volcano. I’m just a County Captain caught between several major powers. The slightest mistake could lead to a world-shaking disaster.’

’But I know the rules of officialdom. If I leave without permission before my superiors at the State Magistrate’s Office make a decision and before the case is closed, I’ll be seen as shirking my duties. That’s a major taboo, career suicide.’

He could only bite the bullet and navigate the treacherous waters between the factions each day.

It was like walking on thin ice.

But now, the news from Liyang was both a thunderclap and the perfect, most legitimate reason he needed to leave.

With Governor He dead and Governor Yan missing, Liyang was without a leader.

As the highest-ranking official in the county, he had to return to the Commandery City to stabilize the situation and take charge.

Otherwise, if chaos erupted in the Commandery City, he would be held responsible.

"I can’t stay any longer."

Zhao Yuanhong made his decision in an instant.

He took a deep breath and looked at Li Siye. "Who else knows about this?"

"Captain, at present, only a few of the other Deans and myself are aware."

Li Siye said quickly.

"Keep this under tight wraps! Not a word to anyone until I return!"

Zhao Yuanhong said in a low, firm voice. "Go and make preparations at once. We’re returning to Liyang immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

Li Siye accepted the order and hurried off.

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Yuanhong straightened his robes, strode out of the room, and headed directly for a separate, heavily guarded courtyard within the inn.

He needed to report the shocking developments in Liyang and announce his departure in person.

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