Outside the door, two disciples held lanterns.
It was already late at night, and the autumn wind howled through the courtyard, rustling the grass and trees. An old man stood with his hands behind his back, positioned behind the lanterns.
He wore a green robe, his features sharp and deep-set, with three vertical lines etched between his brows and a downturned mouth. Combined with his triangular eyes, his appearance was inherently unsettling.
He was tall, with unusually long arms, yet his chest was sunken and his back slouched, resembling a large monkey standing with hands clasped behind. His white hair and beard were meticulously groomed.
Behind him followed two actual large monkeys, incessantly scratching their ears and cheeks, baring their teeth and grimacing at the crowd.
The visitor was none other than Zhou Pan, the president of the Xianyang Divine Fist Association!
With a single cold glance, all eight of the Great Vajras, even the furious Zhou Peide, lowered their heads, not daring to utter another word.
Zhou Pan said nothing. Hands behind his back, he walked into the house, gave the gravely injured Zhou Bai a fleeting glance, and snorted coldly, "All of you, follow me."
The Zhou family's compound consisted of single-story buildings, with no lofty towers or pavilions, but it was spacious. Six large courtyards were interconnected, each equipped with a training ground, where disciples patrolled back and forth with lanterns.
The group arrived at the main hall of one of the courtyards. Zhou Pan sat at the head, casually peeling a small tangerine from the side, and said calmly, "What's this? On ordinary days, you're all so imposing, but when trouble comes, you start infighting?"
The eight Great Vajras stood below in the hall, cold sweat unconsciously forming on their foreheads.
Zhou Peide gritted his teeth, clasped his hands, and said, "Brother…"
Halfway through his words, he saw Zhou Pan's expressionless face, felt a jolt in his heart, and quickly corrected himself, "Master, it's not that I'm acting recklessly. It's that this fellow surnamed Yuan harbors ill intentions and tampered with sorcery."
"Now that I think about it, Bai'er clearly had the upper hand, yet he suddenly lost his composure. It must be a problem with that sorcery!"
Yuan Qu kept his head lowered, not making a sound.
"Enough!"
Zhou Pan's brows furrowed. "This matter was Yuan Qu's proposal, meant to let Zhou Bai comprehend the Monkey Intent early and avoid complications. Yet, he still lost."
"Yuan Qu, Zhou Bai's future expenses will be your responsibility."
"Yes, Master."
Yuan Qu let out a breath of relief and quickly clasped his hands in agreement.
He knew the matter was now settled.
"Master… Master."
Zhou Peide looked at Zhou Pan in disbelief.
Zhou Bai was the Zhou family's most promising disciple of the next generation, yet now his life hung in the balance, his future ruined. Was it to be brushed off with mere compensation?
Recalling how Zhou Pan had always favored and admired Zhou Bai, yet after his severe injury, merely glanced at him and paid no further attention…
At this moment, Zhou Peide suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
"Hmph!"
Zhou Pan glanced at Zhou Peide, seemingly guessing his thoughts, and said coldly, "Do you think those people held back for ten years only to act now for no reason?"
"The root of this matter isn't in Xianyang—it's in Chang'an, in the court!"
"A few days ago, the court issued a decree: Lü Qing, the Administrative Commissioner of Shanzhou, was sacked and imprisoned for corruption. The vacant position will either go to Vice-Commissioner Lu or Vice-Commissioner Li…"
At these words, the eyes of several among the eight Great Vajras lit up.
In Shanzhou, military and political power was primarily managed by three offices: the Administrative Commission, the Judicial Commission, and the Military Commission.
Among them, the Administrative Commission held the greatest authority.
The Zhou family's rise in recent years was due to their connection with Left Vice-Commissioner Lu Kang. With Commissioner Lü Qing now imprisoned, the replacement would likely be promoted from the Left or Right Vice-Commissioner.
Among the eight Great Vajras, a scholarly-looking middle-aged man said thoughtfully, "I understand. Someone is trying to find a flaw in Master's position!"
"Exactly."
Zhou Pan said coldly, "The life-and-death duel was the first probing move by that old ghost Zhang. If Zhou Bai had won, it would have preserved the Zhou family's reputation and kept those fence-sitters watching for now."
"This concerns the Zhou family's future, which is why I agreed to it. Even the people sent by the City God Temple played deaf and mute. Peide, do you still harbor resentment?"
Zhou Peide opened his mouth, then deeply bowed with clasped hands. "Master's foresight is profound. I dare not hold resentment."
He said he dared not, but how could he not?
Zhou Pan had directly sacrificed Zhou Bai's future.
Zhou Pan glanced at him, too lazy to bother, and said in a low voice, "That old ghost Zhang is pressing step by step, trying to force me to make a mistake."
"Tomorrow, announce to the outside that I am unwell and will enter seclusion to recover, seeing no visitors. For now, we'll swallow this insult and let them run rampant."
"Once the situation stabilizes, we'll deal with them one by one!"
"And all of you—anyone with dirty hands had better clean them up quickly. Don't blame me when I start cleaning house!"
"Yes, Master!"
The disciples collectively clasped their hands.
Zhou Pan nodded, looked out the window, and said calmly, "Ever since that fool Li Hu died, I've understood one thing."
"This martial world is never about who's the most imposing in the moment, but who can laugh until the end."
"Hmph! Without a tiger in the mountains, the monkey claims to be king…"
"Do you really think I still care about that?"
The sun had just risen when Zhang Shitong arrived at the Inquiry Hall.
"What are you doing here?"
Sha Lifei was about to head out when he saw him and asked irritably.
He wasn't a fool. After Li Yan's reminder, he realized this father and son duo seemed loyal but were actually using them as free blades.
"Yo, what did you just eat to make your face so sour?"
"Something freshly caught—don't you love that kind of thing?"
Zhang Shitong's dead-fish eyes glared as he immediately lit Sha Lifei's fuse.
Just as Sha Lifei was about to start a shouting match, Zhang Shitong waved his hand. "Alright, alright, we'll argue another day. I've got important business today. Where's Li Yan?"
"Lying down, not seeing guests!"
"Dead?"
"Don't worry, he'll outlive you!"
Sha Lifei snapped back, but Zhang Shitong twisted his body, slipped past him, and strode into the courtyard.
"Stop right there!"
Sha Lifei reached to grab his collar.
Zhang Shitong didn't even look, sidestepping first, then using a silk-twining hand to seize Sha Lifei's wrist, chuckling, "Yo, Great Hero Sha, where's the flair you showed last night as the Stone-Throwing Beggar?"
Sha Lifei, refusing to lose face, retorted, "If you've got the guts, stand there, and I'll show you my throws!"
Creak~
As the two tangled, Li Yan pushed open the door and stepped out, still wrapped in bandages, looking coldly at Zhang Shitong.
Zhang Shitong gave a cheeky smile, released Sha Lifei, and shook his head. "No need to pretend. It's useless. The Zhou family won't move against you for now."
At those words, Li Yan's brows furrowed slightly, while Sha Lifei hurriedly asked, "What's going on… What happened?"
"The old monkey announced he's entering seclusion and won't see outsiders."
Zhang Shitong said with a smile, "So? Not inviting me in to talk it over?"
Li Yan, expressionless, gestured with a lift of his hand.
Zhang Shitong didn't mind, chuckling as he walked inside.
"Here's how it stands…"
Once seated inside, Zhang Shitong held nothing back, laying out the matter plainly and shaking his head. "Even without you, we'd have to act."
"If Left Vice-Commissioner Lu Kang takes the position, Zhou Pan will surely head to Chang'an to vie for the presidency of the Shanzhou Divine Fist Association. His influence will be overwhelming, and we'll be left in the dark, forced to flee to another province."
"My father asked me to tell you this so you'd know—there's no hiding from this unless you're willing to change your name and live as a bandit."
Li Yan's expression darkened as he listened. "You have another way."
"Oh, what?"
Zhang Shitong's eyes lit up.
Li Yan's gaze flashed with killing intent as he said in a low voice, "Cut it off at the source. Find some experts and kill that Lu Kang."
Zhang Shitong was stunned, taking a moment to recover before swallowing hard. "You… you're talking rebellion, kid!"
Li Yan sneered, "No matter how great someone's power, it's still just one head. If there's no way out, are you all just going to stick out your necks for the blade?"
"No, no, it hasn't come to that."
Zhang Shitong looked at Li Yan, suddenly feeling uneasy, and spoke more seriously. "To be honest, Right Vice-Commissioner Li Siyuan has close ties with us. Even if we fail, there's still room to maneuver."
"If you act recklessly, you'll break the rules."
"Break the rules, and everyone will come for your life!"
"The next steps are simple. The Zhou family's backed off for now, but they've done plenty of dirty deeds over the years and funneled a lot of money to the Lu family. If we can find enough evidence, Lord Li can take the position."
"Then, the Zhou family will be the ones in trouble."
Sha Lifei laughed in frustration. "The Zhou family's stench in Xianyang could be smelled ten miles against the wind. Evidence? There's probably a mountain of it. The complaints against them are piling up so high the yamen can't fit them all, right?"
"Not enough!"
Zhang Shitong shook his head. "For common folk, that's enough to be beheaded ten times over. But for officials, especially someone like Lu Kang, it's nothing."
Li Yan said thoughtfully, "You're planning to press them step by step, force the Zhou family to slip up?"
Zhang Shitong nodded. "It's the only way for now. In the yamen, they'll smile and bow, but in the martial world, it's blades and blood. The Zhou family's eight Great Vajras all have eyes on them from the martial world."
"Forget it, you'd better not get involved, lest you cause a bigger mess."
"For the sake of our families' old ties, I'll give you a warning: if you catch wind of trouble, change your name and leave Shanzhou immediately!"
As if afraid Li Yan would act rashly, Zhang Shitong repeated his warning a few times before leaving the Inquiry Hall.
"Damn it, this is getting huge. What do we do?"
Now knowing the full story, Sha Lifei was clearly unnerved.
Li Yan pondered for a moment. "Since the Zhou family won't dare move at this juncture, we do what we need to. Focus on building our strength quickly."
"Even if we have to run later, we'll need enough resources first!"
"Also, get me a report on the eight Great Vajras. They might be the breakthrough…"
*(End of Chapter)*