Chapter Thirty-Eight

Inside the Qin family's council hall, the former hustle and bustle had been replaced by a deathly despair.

Several white-haired elders of the Qin family slumped in their chairs, watching a few good-for-nothing disciples below, still arguing heatedly over the few remaining resources in the warehouse, even slandering and exposing each other's shortcomings.

An elder closed his eyes, his throat bobbing, his wrinkled face ashen.

He recalled how, four months ago, right here, that young man wearing a silver mask—Song Guansui—strolled into this hall with an air of nonchalance.

At that time, they thought the Song family had come to give alms or to laugh at them.

But Song Guansui didn't even glance at them. His slender fingers went straight from a pile of old contracts that the younger generation of the Qin family considered "useless" and were about to throw away, and pulled out the contract about the abandoned mine in Xishan.

"This mine."

Song Guansui's voice was not loud, but it was like ice falling to the ground, instantly suppressing all the noise.

"The exploration was conducted by a branch of the Qin family three years ago, but it was abandoned because the vein was too deep and the cost was too high."

He pointed to the blurry geographical markings on the contract with his fingertip, his tone as flat as if he were stating the weather, "What a pity."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the Qin family members who had fallen silent at his arrival, finally settling on the elders who were trying to appear calm.

"This mine, my Song family wants it."

He didn't steal it; instead, he "bought" the invalid contract at a price 30% higher than the market value.

Along with several barren medicinal herb fields that the Qin family considered a burden, and a small salt well that was said to have dried up.

At that moment, the eyes of those fools in the hall were filled with smug delight, as if they had gained a tremendous advantage.

While busy calculating how much cash he would receive, he secretly mocked Song Guansui for being "foolish and rich."

Now, the handwriting on the intelligence reports is like a red-hot branding iron, burning their very souls.

The letter clearly states that after Song Guansui took over, he did not directly mine the abandoned mine.

He mobilized a large number of people, not to go deep into the mine, but to the west for thirty miles, spending a huge amount of money to forcibly open up a hidden underground river!

This move was secretly ridiculed by many outsiders at the time as a foolish and wasteful decision that burdened the people.

However, just half a month ago, the underground river was connected, and fresh water flowed in, which not only completely solved the problems of ventilation, drainage and cost in deep mining.

Furthermore, a completely new smelting device was set up using water flow power.

Today, the output efficiency of that "abandoned mine" is 30% higher than that of the best mine during the Qin family's heyday, and the profits have increased several times over!

As for those barren medicinal herb fields, they were used to cultivate medicinal herbs that are tolerant of poor soil and easy to grow, such as licorice, bupleurum, and polygala...

The dried-up salt well was then used by Song Guansui to grow salt-tolerant crops in the saline soil remaining around it.

Song Guansui not only turned stones into gold, but also transformed the rotten into the miraculous.

"puff--"

An elder could no longer hold on; overcome with anger, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining his chest red.

"We...we back then..."

Another elder's voice trembled, tears streaming down his face, "If only... if only they hadn't been constantly ostracizing Mo Xuan and Ling Feng..."

"If we had listened to Mo Xuan's advice and worked together to develop, how could my Qin family have come to this... how could we have come to this!"

Unfortunately, there's no going back in life.

They could only watch helplessly as Song Guansui used the "garbage" they had discarded to build a ladder to a higher place.

Song Guansui not only dismantled the Qin family's skeleton, but also, on the ruins of the Qin family, displayed unparalleled vision and courage.

He built a magnificent palace that belonged to Song Guansui.

And they are almost losing even the right to be stepping stones.

— — — —

After Jiang Manyan left, Song Guansui devoted all his energy and cold rationality to the power struggle in the central district.

He knew that only by wielding enough power could he make Jiang Manyan return to his side completely and willingly.

His ruthless methods instilled fear in the powerful figures who once sat at the same table with him, causing them to bow down in submission.

He did not rush to devour the Qin family's once-great ship, but instead let it entangle him like prey carefully caught in a spider's web.

In what appears to be a self-sustaining sway, the course is entirely determined by him, the behind-the-scenes controller.

Liu Zhao, the head of the Liu family, saw the Song family's power expanding rapidly.

In an attempt to take advantage of the chaos, the Liu family, through his efforts, successively acquired several resources from the Qin family in the western district, and the process was unusually smooth.

Liu Zhaozhi was overjoyed.

At a banquet attended by many celebrities, in the midst of the revelry, Song Guansui and Liu Zhao "coincidentally" met in the corridor.

Song Guansui dismissed his attendants, leaving only the two of them in the corridor.

He didn't look at Liu Zhao, but gazed at the moonlight in the courtyard, speaking in a calm tone as if discussing the weather.

"I've heard that my uncle has recently developed a strong interest in the mines in the western district?"

He continued without waiting for Liu Zhao's response, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"What a coincidence. My men have just discovered that several key figures currently managing the mine for my uncle seem to be connected to the infamous Zhao family massacre of over a hundred people in the western district twenty years ago."

When he mentioned the "Zhao family massacre," his tone was calm, but it stirred up a storm in Liu Zhao's heart.

Song Guansui finally turned his head to the side, his mask gleaming coldly in the moonlight, his voice still steady.

"For the sake of Uncle's reputation, it's best to be cautious."

This seemingly well-intentioned reminder actually carries a chilling undertone.

In Cangzhou, the powerful and wealthy can act tyrannically and oppress the common people, but the massacre of the Zhao family, who are also nobles, is a universally acknowledged taboo.

Once this matter is publicly mentioned and verified, even with the Liu family's influence, they will find it difficult to escape public condemnation and may even face accountability.

Song Guansui was warning Liu Zhao that he possessed evidence that could drag the Liu family into an abyss.

Addressing Liu Zhao as "uncle" was a way of saving face for both parties.

The implication is that the previous leniency was due to the Liu family's benefit from kinship ties.

The current advice to "quit while you're ahead" is the final warning.

Liu Zhao instantly understood all the key points.

A chill ran through his body, not only from the exposure of the old case, but also from the fear that his every move was being seen by this "junior".

He suddenly realized that the Song family, under Song Guansui's control, had grown into a behemoth that the Liu family could not directly confront.

In the end, Liu Zhao almost staggered out of the corridor, and the next day, the Liu family's forces withdrew completely, quickly and quietly from the competition for the western mines.

As if they had never been involved before, after this battle, the powerful and influential people in the central district were even more terrified of Song Guansui's methods, and truly followed his lead.

Song Guansui resolved a potential challenge and consolidated his authority without shedding a drop of blood, with just one sentence.

— — — —

The north wind, carrying miasma from Qiuzhou, blew into the gaps of the high walls and gates in the central area, bringing with it a faint, almost imperceptible, smell of blood.

The experts from Qiuzhou, like phantoms in the night, silently infiltrated this seemingly prosperous city, which was actually rife with undercurrents.

Their goal was clear—Song Guansui.

Poison Valley could not stand idly by and watch the Song family dominate the central area; they needed chaos to break this unsettling balance.

That night, the central area was unusually "peaceful".

All the powerful forces that had enough influence had heard the news, including the Liu family, whose minds were wavering.

They tacitly chose to wait and see.

The candlelight flickered in the study, illuminating faces that were either tense, expectant, or indifferent.

They are waiting for an outcome, waiting for a storm that will change the landscape.

However, none of the expected sounds of fighting or flames appeared.

That night was eerily quiet.

Until the next morning—

When the gates of the Tu family mansion were shakily opened by a servant, a strong, nauseating stench of blood wafted out.

The area in front of the gate was not empty; instead, a row of heads was neatly stacked.

The faces of those heads were contorted, frozen in the horror and disbelief of their last moments before death; they were the armadillo experts who had infiltrated last night!

Their iconic spider tattoos were clearly visible, but now they became a mark of death.

The heads were arranged meticulously, like some kind of sacrificial offering.

At the very front of that row of menacing "offerings" sat a dark black emblem—the Song family crest.

There was no declaration of war, no warning, not a single word.

Only this extremely cruel, yet orderly, scene of terror.

Everyone who secretly witnessed this scene, whether from within the Tu family or from spies sent by other families.

They all instantly felt a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads, their blood almost freezing.

Song Guansui's silent declaration was deafening in the deathly silence.

Any attempt to disrupt the existing order by force will be silently crushed by a more absolute, terrifying, and incomprehensible force.

Song Guansui didn't even bother to explain to the outside world how he did it.

He doesn't need to proclaim his power; he simply presents the "results" of that power to you in an undeniable way.

The Liu family, who had been observing the situation, immediately withdrew all their underhanded tactics against the Song family.

The family, which had initially harbored some ulterior motives, instantly became extremely submissive.

Inside the Tu family, a deathly silence and despair reigned.

Song Guansui remained seated in his study, which overlooked most of the central district, as if nothing had happened the previous night.

He doesn't need to shout about fighting and killing every day; just one extreme and cruel demonstration is enough to extinguish all hidden dissent and all tentative attempts under the absolute threat of force.

The layout of the central area was completely welded shut before this row of silent heads. From then on, Song Guansui's will became the sole order of the central area.

— — — —

Jincheng Jiang Mansion Study

As the intelligence was presented to her, Jiang Manyan traced the three characters "Song Guansui" on the file with her fingertips, and a wave of stinging and bittersweet emotions washed over her.

He had to admit that the man in the intelligence reports, who navigated the power struggles with ease and calculated maneuvering, held a fatal attraction for him.

This attraction stems from the only two warm memories in his childhood: the candied fruit that young Song Guansui secretly slipped to him, and the figure that protected him when he was bullied.

These scattered moments of warmth, like flickering embers on an icy plain, sustained him through countless cold, dark nights.

He knew that Song Guansui loved him, but his love made Jiang Manyan feel a suffocating heaviness.

He understood Song Guansui's life trajectory—he was the eldest son on whom the family placed high hopes.

He grew up under his mother's obsessive demands and his father's indifferent gaze, and was molded by the decay of the central district into a monster who only knew how to express emotions through possession.

Song Guansui may have thought that confining his beloved in a golden cage, away from the storms of life, was the most affectionate gift.

But he will never understand that true love is letting the eagle soar freely, and respecting a person's desire to realize their self-worth.

Reason and emotion were torn apart in Jiang Manyan's mind when the words "assassination in Poison Valley" came into view.

Jiang Manyan's heart skipped a beat, and a sharp worry instantly pierced through all her complex emotions.

He almost immediately ordered the best spies from Jincheng to go to the central district to confirm Song Guansui's safety.

But this impulse was immediately suppressed by a deeper sense of powerlessness—in what capacity and from what position could he care?

That man was both his nightmare and a past he could not completely let go of.

This intense struggle between reason and emotion caused him great pain.

In the end, all the chaotic emotions settled into a cold, resolute resolve as he looked out the window at the prosperous city of Chengdu.

He witnessed how Song Guansui used an iron fist to reform the Song family and how he elegantly devoured the remaining forces of the Qin family.

This ruthless approach impressed him, but it also sent chills down his spine.

Jiang Manyan knew better than anyone else that once Song Guansui had completely seized power in the central district...

His next target will undoubtedly be Jincheng, the city under his rule—this pure land to which he has poured his heart and soul.

He must become stronger!