Chapter Fifty-Seven: Annihilation of the Clan

The words of the Hong family made Su Yang frown deeply; it seemed they truly had no idea of his eighth-rank strength. Of course, that made sense—ever since the rebels had besieged the city, the Hong family had closed their gates and not ventured out. At first, they continued their trading business, but years of losses had nearly bankrupted them. If things had gone on much longer, their estate would have been lost, so they ceased trading altogether. Naturally, they were not part of the Yanggu County Chamber of Commerce and thus had no access to the latest news in the county.

They had raised two scholars at home, hoping to profit without investment. As long as one of them passed the provincial examination, they could pull strings to secure a minor official’s post, and then wealth and prosperity would surely follow.

"Master Hong, don’t you think your words are rather excessive?”

“I only came to discuss the price of your estate. If you’re unwilling to sell, then I simply won’t buy. But to insult me so—who could tolerate that?” There was a trace of grievance in Su Yang’s voice.

“You’re just a lowly son-in-law, so what if we insult you?”

“Now that the rebels have the city surrounded, strength is what counts. The authorities have no time to investigate crimes. Your family’s martial protector, Zhang Hu, left long ago. It’s a miracle you’ve survived this long.” The patriarch of the Hong family stepped forward, his voice full and strong. “Today, even if we kill you, no one will dare question it.”

The Hong family considered themselves a scholarly clan. Though none had achieved distinction since their ancestor’s tenure as prefect, the family’s heritage was one of letters and culture. And what was the ancestral estate? It was a symbol of their forebears’ honor. And now, a mere son-in-law had come to ask if they would sell their ancestral home? If not for his relatively good mood today, he would have ordered his second son to strike the man down and, while at it, wipe out the neighboring Wang family as well.

Lately, with the rebel siege, such things were hardly uncommon. The lady of the Wang family, Madame Liu Wenxiang, was still quite charming, and the second daughter, Wang Xiahe, was a true beauty. To have them would be like an old tree blossoming anew.

Su Yang remained silent.

“What, nothing to say? What are you thinking? Get out of my house at once!”

“I was just wondering if anyone saw me when I entered your home.”

“What?”

With a dull thud, in the next instant, the Hong patriarch felt a tremendous force strike him. His body was hurled backward, a sweet taste rising in his throat. Blood spurted from his mouth as he flew through the air.

“A martial artist?!”

The second son of the Hong family froze for a split second, his face filled with shock, but Su Yang was already upon him.

Thud, thud, thud—each muffled blow marked the end of a life. In the time it took to drink two cups of tea, every member of the Hong family, young and old, was dead. Before this, Su Yang used the life of Wang family’s grandson to force out the location of the land deeds.

Stepping on the patriarch’s face, Su Yang’s eyes glinted with coldness. “Master Hong, for the sake of our families being neighbors, I hadn’t wanted to resort to violence. I truly came in good faith to discuss the purchase of your estate. If you did not wish to sell, you could have simply refused—why insult me so? Why even insult my mother-in-law?”

Thus, the Hong family was wiped out. Su Yang searched the house and found the deed; the buyer was unnamed, but the intermediary and seller were recorded. This deed dated back many years—no doubt both were long dead.

From now on, the Hong estate was his. In Great Qian, the authorities never acted without profit, so deeds were never officially registered at the yamen—only private sales had paperwork. If someone picked up this deed, the Hong estate would become theirs, and even if the Hong family complained to the authorities, it would be useless. The Wang family’s ancestral house had changed hands the same way—only a surname listed as the buyer.

Now, with the Hong family’s deed in his hands and not with the officials, even if distant relatives came to claim it, they would have no standing. Only if the deed had gone to the authorities could kin legally inherit.

As for the corpses, they had to be disposed of completely. He dragged them all to the back courtyard, piled them on dry firewood, and burned them to ash. Soon, all that remained was bone dust, which he collected in burlap sacks and threw into the river. From that day forward, the Hong family of Yanggu County ceased to exist.

Afterward, Su Yang went to both the Zhou family market and the Yanggu County market. Grain was no longer sold, but daily necessities and some people were still being traded.

[Root-Testing Technique]

He began by using his root-testing technique on the women being sold.

Three had Grade D innate roots. Not a single Grade C, but three was still something.

His household was still short of maids. He would bring these three home as rough maids, let them regain their strength, and see what became of them.

With these three, there were now eight maids with Grade D roots, but only one with Grade C—Qiu Yi.

He also used his technique on the male servants for sale. Luck was with him; he found four with Grade D talent, and their price was much lower—at least half that of the maids. The four male servants were thin and malnourished, about twenty years old, the prime of their lives. If they had been older or much younger, the slave traders would not have bothered with them.

At present, what worried Su Yang most was the cultivation of the Mind-Control Worm. He only had two mature specimens—one with Hu Shi, another with Black Lotus. Nine more were still incubating; four were from earlier batches and needed at least another ten days to mature. Since Su Yang paid handsomely, Lin Jiu worked hard to catch more Heart-Eating Worms for him.

Even so, it was all too slow. Nine would never be enough—if possible, Su Yang wanted every maid in his house to have one.

He took down the Hong family’s signboard; in a few days, he would carve the Su family name and hang it up.

Such were the times after the rebel siege. Massacres, usurpation of homes, and seizing estates were all too common. The most severe cases involved hired martial artists murdering the master, then taking the deed for themselves or forcing a transfer. If the Hong family’s name had been on the deed, Su Yang would have forced the patriarch to sign it over, filling in any intermediary’s name as he pleased—Hu Shi or Shen Lian, for example. Then, kill them all, leaving no threat behind.

He had too few powerful servants at home. If he moved in now, the Wang family’s defenses would be insufficient, inviting trouble. Until enough rank-nine servants were bred, it was best for the womenfolk to huddle together in the two courtyards.

Night soon fell. Brother Li knocked again tonight. Wu Dalang was especially happy to see him; the two embraced and headed off toward the Emerald Green House.

Yanggu County, the Huang family.

“Master, here is a list of provisions matching the birthdates you requested.” The steward, bent and leaning on a cane, handed over the list.

Puff, puff—yellow smoke wafted from beneath Master Huang. The stench was overpowering, but the steward inhaled deeply, face filled with rapture. “Master’s power has grown again.”