Beware Of Chicken v7c29: Unkown Strength

Wu Chanchou shot a fierce look at the lowly Magistrate while he methodically arranged papers on the table; Zei Qi hadn't spared her a single glance since the beginning, leaving her to vent her anger at the one doing the talking… who was also ignoring her completely.

Yet, he was aware of their schemes. He possessed an unsettling depth of insight into the Wu family's operations, undoubtedly supplied by Chanchou's sister… though much of this information appeared to surpass even her own understanding. Only some concerned the clan from prior to her departure. The remainder detailed fresher events.

“As evident here, the inconsistencies in the Treasury Master's accounts regarding the property expansions beyond Pale Moon Lake City are… well. Utterly apparent,” the lowly official remarked.

Her spouse huffed dismissively. “You believe that trivial issue merits any attention?”

“It does when combined with accounts from the fire teams being obstructed by ‘thugs’ conveniently hired by the Wu household, which prolonged the inferno,” the official observed flatly. “An inferno that razed one of Lord Shan’s storage facilities.”

Her husband and father appeared as if they had tasted something bitter. The quiet hung heavily, until it shattered with her sister's lone attendant setting a new teacup next to the man.

“Master,” the woman uttered in a gentle tone.

“Ah, thanks, Xue Ji,” the man responded, shattering etiquette by addressing the woman. Chanchou blinked, having overlooked the maid's presence, tucked away at the pavilion's rear, but under the light, her scowl deepened.

The woman's locks were neatly bundled into an impeccable bun, yet it failed to conceal the lustrous sheen of the servant's tresses. Her features were flawlessly composed, cosmetics concealing any flaw. Her eyes formed sly, narrowed slits that lent her an impish, fox-like charm. Chanchou's husband's mouth fell open, and her father snapped from his scowl to gaze greedily at the stunning figure now serving Chanchou's sister.

…what sorcery lurked in the northern waters? Once this ordeal ended, she would dispatch a team to uncover the secrets behind these women's flawless complexions.

“Shall we move to the following matter?” the Magistrate inquired. Then he pressed on without pause, spreading out additional files.

Her father scowled deeply at the remark. The official's stack of documents was impressively hefty… yet something struck Chanchou as peculiar.

Why reveal it all to them? Was he a fool? He progressed at such a leisurely pace too, as if deliberately dragging things out.

Her father clearly shared the suspicion.

“No. I've listened plenty, you commoner. Now, what is the purpose of this farce?” her father barked. All disclosed so far was harmful, indeed, and it would exact a heavy toll… but the informant would meet a swift end.

Even if the man lacked sense, her sister couldn't have lost all wits; she must recognize it as well.

“We've withheld a few aces up our sleeve, but these are the issues I'm prepared to let slide. Retribution will follow—I won't let you imagine me toothless. Yet as I mentioned; we act as gentlemen. And gentlemen negotiate,” the commoner declared.

Another hush fell. Chanchou glanced at her father, then her husband.

Then, she let out a laugh. “How utterly charming,” she mocked.

“Truly, a mere kitten presumes to converse with a tiger on equal terms,” Father guffawed. “Daughter, you've grown frail and timid in that icy north,” Zei Qi remained silent, merely shutting her eyes. “Hmmm. Let me hear your proposal then.”

“Straightforward. We desire solitude. No further inspections. No more… arrangements for our child. A bargain, wouldn't you say?”

Chanchou reclined in her chair, shielding her expression behind her fan.

Father simply roared with laughter.

“You strike at the Wu Clan's honor, issue such ultimatums, and then plead for peace? Why oblige you, whelp? Why permit a potential foe to linger? Threats to us have been crushed. None but the yapping curs you've joined can aid you; what can they achieve besides fleeing from our might? Yes, bloodshed awaits. I concede that…. But rousing this mob only aids us. We'll identify our open foes and eradicate them. You hold no sway,” Father derided. “Instead, cur, here's the reality. Surrender those files. Prostrate yourself before me. Plead for mercy and disclose every Wu family secret you've shared with these peasants. Perform with proper remorse, and I might permit you to slink from the city, stripped and disgraced—while my daughter returns home for proper instruction, and her boy labors for our benefit.”

The commoner's expression stayed neutral. So did Zei Qi's.

“Is that the case? Our previous encounter showed you as more pragmatic—or at least aware of when to retreat. But now you deem yourself untouchable. Your judgment of your father's nature proved accurate, my dear,” the commoner remarked with a sigh.

“Yes. He's a remarkably petty soul,” Zei Qi noted. “His facial skin is thinner than rice paper. It rips at the slightest gust.”

“Quite. Still, I anticipated greater sophistication from one whose bloodline dates to the city's founding. Regrettably, I'm let down.”

Father and her husband rose. “You insolent cur, you're begging for demise—”

The outburst halted with noises of disturbance from the gate's direction.

“And this should be enough stalling,” the commoner announced, gesturing toward a Trading Company attendant observing from afar.

“...stalling?” father pressed.

Zei Qi laughed softly. “Tsk, poor manners, sister; you didn't inquire about your attendant. So fixated on your own plights, you never wondered… where the Auditor General you dispatched after us ended up, and why we're here absent him?”

Chanchou stiffened at the words and spun to spot one of their underlings dashing their way, terror etched on his features.

“My Lord!” the man yelled.

“Out with it, fool!” her father ordered.

“My Lord. The Auditor General… he stormed the estate with soldiers, scarcely an hour after your exit. He pinpointed the concealed chambers. He has seized everything,” the man hissed frantically into her father’s ear.

That viper! That faithless hound! After all their support, Yanjing betrayed them?! He merited endless torment—and the Wu Clan would deliver his craved doom!

Father spun sharply toward the commoner.

“You claimed I lack leverage. True, my holdings are trifles. But your household's ledgers, in your script… wouldn't that stir far greater chaos?” the man queried, taking a sip of tea. “Safekeepers hold the ledgers; should we perish, they'll go public.”

Father’s visage flushed crimson, nearing violet. “You… …”

“No. You dared,” Zei Qi scorned. “Or rather, she did. If blame must fall, let it land on her. Without her meddling, this catastrophe avoids us.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Chanchou's cheeks burned under the abrupt scrutiny. The wrathful stares from her father and spouse. Her pulse raced in her chest.

Father seemed poised to strike her.

But he refrained, instead pivoting stiffly to the commoner.

“What do you demand?”

“As I've stated. Here's the agreement; we can keep it confidential between us. Cease vengeance. Halt meddling in our affairs… and the Wu Clan's confidences may stay from the province's ears.”

Father glowered at the rogue and the sheet he set before him.

Then, he seized the sheet. He scrutinized it thoroughly… then tore it apart.

“We are the Wu Clan. The paramount house in these Azure Hills. We won't yield to you or any heel-nipping mutts. Your deeds are unforgivable.” He intoned icily. “You claim readiness for conflict. Now witness your battle.”

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They hurried back to the Wu estate without delay. Chanchou fidgeted uneasily. Her husband avoided her gaze entirely, as father stared daggers out the carriage window.

“...father?” she ventured. “I—”

“Silence,” he snapped. “Your words mean nothing now. I've endured your follies long enough, but this crosses every line.” Chanchou recoiled from the icy stare. “What's done stays done. You're my blood. This assault endangers the whole Wu Clan and our standing. Now's the moment to battle… discussions await the aftermath.”

Chanchou dropped her eyes to her palms, gulping down the resolve in her father’s tone.

They inspected their plundered vaults first, confirming the extent of the raid… and with each empty archive, father’s expression grew darker.

He entered his study, delved beneath his desk, and shredded a paper talisman. Then they lingered, simmering in quiet tension.

Ten minutes passed before a figure materialized, slipping through the unshuttered window.

A cultivator. Their cultivator, alongside his offspring. Grandfather forged ties with Ye Shun in youth, clearing the commoner's debts for assorted services. A fact Chanchou discovered post-marriage to the Treasury Master; some assassin targeted them, and the expert intervened. Otherwise, he served as the Wu Clan's hidden ace.

The fellow lived lavishly for minimal effort; a grand estate for him and his heirs, endless companions, top-tier cuisine and spirits. Occasionally, Father complained his upkeep exceeded his value.

Yet when summoned, a Fifth Stage Initiate’s Realm powerhouse silenced all disputes.

Ye Shun donned elegant silk attire, hair secured by a golden clip. His beard flowed in neat, silken lines, scented with premium essences and fragrances. A gem-encrusted blade hung at his side. His son and grandson flanked him, clad in equal opulence.

“Ah, Lord Wu. Always a delight,” the cultivator greeted. “How may this elder assist his longtime ally?”

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Night cloaked the city as Ye Shun vaulted onto the tiles. The non-cultivator had been comically enraged; evidently, some outrage had stirred his fury… and prompted a raid on the Azure Jade Trading Company base.

Ah, the favors owed in camaraderie. He'd even abandoned secluded training for this!

Wu resources had bolstered them finely. He approached the Profound Realm's threshold; his son held the Initiate’s Realm Third Stage, grandson the Second. They rivaled the mightiest assault teams from Azure Hills Sects—and operated unbound.

Still, sanctioning such an assault… maybe reevaluate the pact? Uninterrupted cultivation appealed, but striking a prime source of cultivation materials seemed reckless.

“Bypass the sentries. Avoid bystanders. We mustn't link to this,” Ye Shun instructed his kin. They assented.

Initial marks were fools who offended the Wus enough to invoke his aid; capture and deliver to Lord Wu. A simple undertaking.

They dashed swiftly over the roofs to their objective. Per Wu scouts, the quarry occupied the upper level—but a sight halted him. A lantern-illuminated garden gazebo. Four figures seated: two males, two females.

The males and one female fit the provided profiles.

Ah, fortune favored him. No security. Just a handmaid preparing tea.

Ye Shun and his lineage dropped from the eaves, alighting in the gazebo's midst.

“Evening,” Ye Shun addressed them. “Might you be the Verdant Hill Lord Magistrate, Lady Wu Zei Qi, and the Auditor General?”

The fellow sipping tea amid perusing files lifted his gaze.

“I hold that office with honor,” the older male stated, tone utterly serene. No trace of fear crossed his face confronting Ye Shun. The Auditor, however, gulped anxiously.

“Understood. Regretfully, I require your company; the Wus were quite emphatic,” he replied, allowing a sliver of his aura to press upon the non-cultivators.

Ordinarily, prey crumpled in fright—yet these remained steadfast. The Auditor even appeared baffled.

“Hmmm. Your prowess seems lacking, doesn't it?” the Magistrate commented.

Ye Shun jerked back from the slight. His son and grandson tensed. So he intensified his pressure on the man, who stayed nonchalant.

The woman with the guzheng.

Ye Shun's teeth grated at the blatant affront. His hands balled, a vein throbbing on his brow.

“Evidently, you seek oblivion. So be it. I'll grant it,” he proclaimed, fingers brushing his hilt as he stepped forward. The Wus specified alive. Losing limbs wouldn't kill—

“Unwise choice,” the rear maid interjected. Her speech cut like a blade, precise and cool. One narrowed eye cracked open, revealing an amber orb.

The pupil slit vertically. Feline. Predatory. It harbored something sinister. Something vicious that lurked.

Ye Shun's form locked rigid, as realms of might inconceivable in the Azure Hills unveiled before him.

Surpassing Profound Second Stage. Past the Fourth, the Fifth.

Ye Shun gagged. His son and grandson dripped sweat, soaking their garments instantly.

“Ah-ah-ah… Y-Ye Shun hails the v-venerable s-superior,” he stuttered, trembling limbs scarcely forming the salute. His heirs mimicked, well done.

“Who are the Wus, to summon my Master? Do they command you?” the woman queried, tone emotionless.

Ye Shun blanched deeper at 'Master'. Master? How could an Azure Hills mortal direct such a behemoth? How might a supreme cultivator dub a mortal Master?! Preposterous! Utterly ludicrous! A nightmare?! “Ah… he isn't my lord, we're just associated—”

The colossal entity regarded Ye Shun as a loathsome bug.

“Then why intrude here?” came the closing query. “Perhaps you're… intruders?”

The predatory gaze pierced his essence. Reality warped. The moon bled scarlet, death's odor assaulted him. Shadows bloated and cavorted, decayed bodies emerging from their growing clutches, twirling to his frantic heartbeat.

“W-we erred,” he squeezed out. “He's not our target.”

the woman pressed.

“The exalted one is right; we lack cause to remain and depart now,” Ye Shun affirmed, inclining deeply. “We appreciate the exalted one's mercy and beg pardon from the Lord Magistrate for our rude conduct.”

“Your thoughts, Master?” the woman sought. The man—who perhaps transcended mortality, an entity so superior as to embody the skies with this guardian—arched a brow.

“Plainly a mix-up,” he concluded shortly.

Ye Shun clung to the escape desperately. “Naturally, My Lord.”

“Let them leave. But I trust our paths diverge forever,” the man added.

“We'll keep utmost distance,” Ye Shun vowed, bowing once more.

The man inclined his head, resuming his documents.

The fiend cast Ye Shun a final glance, then pivoted away scornfully.

Ye Shun and his sons bolted the moment she turned, maintaining decorum until beyond the Azure Jade gazebo… then raced homeward at top speed.

“Gather all belongings,” he directed his offspring, who nodded unsteadily. “We vacate this place within the hour.”

They had to plunder what they could, for the Wus' days were numbered.

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“As anticipated,” Lady Wu remarked.

“They can't fathom yielding supremacy. They dismiss it as deception. They believe a bold advance will crush us utterly.” the Lord Magistrate reflected. “Precisely as you predicted. This outcome was inevitable. Any second thoughts, my wife?”

“None.”

“Then onward. Dispatch word to the Civil Service Examinations Director; inquire if he might convene an emergency tribunal.”