Chapter 400 Bloodstained Peach Grove
"Where are they? Have they been found?"
"In response to your question, young master, they did not stay at the Guan family's residence, but instead went to the city's post station to stay overnight. After that, Fang Ruoming and Fang Ruoyao parted ways. Fang Ruoyao rested at the post station with the other three, while Fang Ruoming went to the peach grove in the west of the city for some unknown reason."
As dusk settled, outside the gates of the Guan Family Immortal Residence, on the main street of Gengyang City.
A dozen or so people, led by Fang Jintu, stood on the street, listening indifferently to the report from the family servants, their eyes flashing with murderous intent.
Among the immortal families of Qingyun Tianxia, face is of utmost importance, and the Fang family is second to none in this regard.
How could they possibly allow someone who dared to ridicule the Fang family in full view of everyone, especially one who used Ji You to do so, to continue living?
After listening to the servant's report, Fang Jintu turned to look at the group of Guan family members who had accompanied him.
How many entrances and exits are there in the peach orchard in the west of the city?
“The west side of Peach Grove is close to the city wall and is now under curfew. The southern end is close to a cliff and there is no way to go. As long as we surround it from the northeast, no one will escape.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Jintu raised the corners of his mouth: "Let alone the Zhenbei Army, even if it were the Zhenbei Divine General, so what? They still have to show some respect to our Fang family. A mere soldier dares to use the matter of Ji You to mock us. He deserves to die."
Fang Jinyu chuckled coldly after hearing this: "Those who have no sense of propriety should pay the price. They can't blame anyone else. But I really don't understand where a soldier gets such courage."
"Can't you figure this out? During the years when Ji You monopolized Fengzhou, the people of Fengzhou felt that they had a powerful backer, lost their fear of us immortals, forgot their status as ants, and naturally became more ridiculously arrogant and ignorant of their place."
"No wonder he's going to see Ji You right away."
After listening to his cousin's words, Fang Jintu glanced sideways at Guan Peng, who had been silent all along: "I forgot to ask Brother Guan what he thinks?"
Guan Peng closed his eyes halfway after hearing this: "People should always be responsible for their words and actions..."
"It seems Brother Guan is quite sensible. I thought you and that woman from the Weizhao Realm were having an affair."
"It's time to find a Daoist partner when I'm of age, but I'm not going to marry a mortal woman. Besides, Fang Ruoming treats me with indifference. He's just a soldier, but he's more arrogant than Ji You. I'm already fed up with him."
The Fang family is powerful; with just a word, they can ensure that the Guan family has no chance of ever recovering.
Although Fang Jintu appeared kind and cheerful, Guan Peng could confirm through half a day of interaction that he, like Fang Jincheng, was a ruthless and reckless person.
He felt that even if it were someone else, they would make the same choice as him, and would never offend such a powerful clan for the sake of an ordinary family.
He only hoped that when he made his move, Fang Ruoming wouldn't use him as a point of attack to beg for mercy just because he knew him, as that would only put him in a difficult position.
As Guan Peng thought of this, his eyes couldn't help but glance at Fang Jinyu.
The next instant, Fang Jintu, who was in the lead, suddenly stepped into the air and flew towards the west city with a whoosh.
The young masters and ladies of the Fang family immediately followed, while the young men of the Guan family followed closely behind.
The auras of more than thirty people intertwined, creating an immense force. As they traversed the sky, they immediately caused a howling wind, appearing from afar like a dark cloud pressing down on the west.
Under the cold, biting night sky, the red lanterns of Xinyuan still shone on the long street, appearing as scattered lights.
They followed the lights westward and soon arrived at the northeast corner of the peach grove in the west of the city.
Because it was winter, the peach grove had few branches and leaves, with only bare trees neatly planted on the ground, offering a very open view.
A group of more than thirty people circulated their spiritual energy, drew their swords and sabers, and walked in with sharp eyes, without even concealing their footsteps.
Because this was not an assassination, but a massacre.
rustling sound—
After a series of footsteps treading on fallen leaves, the young masters and ladies of the Fang and Guan families arrived at the very center of the peach grove, where a tea pavilion situated beside Willow Lake stood in their line of sight.
This place is used by the surrounding immortal sects and families to appreciate flowers and discuss Taoism during the annual Peach Blossom Festival, and it is naturally deserted in winter.
However, five guards clad in iron armor stood in the tea room, their scales gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
As for Fang Ruoming, he sat at the tea table in the tea pavilion, slowly pouring hot tea into his cup until these people came to him, at which point he slowly stopped.
"Fang Ruoming, are you surprised to meet us again? Actually, you don't need to be surprised, because we were looking for you all along."
Fang Jintu spoke in a cold voice, making no attempt to conceal the chilling glint of the iron sword in his hand.
As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Ruoming turned her head slightly, but did not say anything. She just stared at him for a long time.
Seeing that the other party did not answer, Fang Jinyu couldn't help but speak in a coquettish voice: "You don't know your place, you insult my Fang family, and you still have the leisure to drink tea here? Do you really think you can live to see tomorrow?"
"Brother Ruoming, do you know that what you said in the tea room today is a capital offense!"
Guan Peng rebuked him, "You were born into an ordinary family and later devoted yourself to the military. You probably didn't know the prestige of a noble family before, but I think you must have realized the seriousness of the matter when you saw us coming. It's just a pity that I can't save you now."
Suddenly, a cold wind arose in the peach grove.
But the tea pavilion remained silent, without any response.
Seeing this, everyone frowned slightly, wondering if this person had realized the imminent danger of being killed and was too frightened to move or speak.
To their surprise, the next moment, Fang Ruoming gently moved the hand holding the cup and brought the tea to his lips, a scene that made everyone laugh in anger.
Only then did they realize that the other party wasn't too scared to speak, but rather was simply ignoring them.
Could it be that all the people of Yuyang County are so arrogant and ignorant? Or is he still not aware of the situation, thinking that his position in the Zhenbei Army is so superior that no one dares to really kill him?
"Why waste words with him? Let's fight! Let him know that saying the wrong thing can cost him his life!"
With a sharp shout, the three older members of the Fang family suddenly drew their swords. They had already reached the Dao Fusion Realm, and after injecting their abundant spiritual energy into their swords, they instantly unleashed an incomparably sharp killing intent, heading straight for the pavilion.
For these scions of noble families who consider themselves of high status and whose family prestige should be awe-inspiring, killing directly is not the best way to gain respect. Instead, they should first make the other party beg for mercy, and then drive them to despair when they are most terrified.
But they felt that the man in front of them had such a narrow perspective that talking to him would be like casting pearls before swine.
Seeing this, the remaining Fang family members rushed forward, while the Guan family members, who wanted to curry favor with the Fang family, charged even more fiercely.
"Don't kill him directly. Cut off his arms and legs, then ask him the same questions again and see how he reacts!"
Fang Jinyu shouted in a sweet voice, a hint of arrogance flashing in her eyes.
An aggressive killing intent approached the pavilion, and the three Fang family members who were at the forefront even seemed to be vying to be the first to be killed, as if they were afraid that the other party would kill them first.
But at that moment, without warning, a beam of icy light suddenly burst forth from the tea pavilion.
The leftmost of the five armored guards suddenly drew his sword, and in the next instant, a massive aura surged forth towards the tea pavilion like a tsunami.
At this moment, some people already sensed something was wrong from the oppressive aura emanating from the shoulder.
"Pfft—"
Almost in the blink of an eye, the three corpses crashed to the ground, scalding blood gushing out, splattering onto the unopened branches and the cold earth, rising in crimson steam in the frigid night.
The group, all at the Upper Realm of the Fusion Dao, instantly changed their expressions, their eyes widening in horror as they fled in terror.
Even Fang Jinyu was so frightened that she screamed and turned to run away as soon as her face turned pale.
But to their despair, before they could run more than a few steps, the remaining four armored guards in the pavilion had already arrived behind them, two on the east and two on the west.
The western side of the peach orchard, near the city wall, is now under curfew.
The southern end leads to a sheer cliff, where there is no path forward.
With the entire northeastern region under control, no one will escape.
Buzz!
The blade flashes, and the killing begins.
The first to suffer a fatal accident were the members of the Guan family. While they were fleeing, they suddenly felt a chill on their necks, and their heads flew off. Their headless bodies continued to move forward a few steps before crashing to the ground.
Then came the Fang family members, who were pierced through the heart by the iron blade coming straight at them, their limbs severed, and their heads scattered on the ground.
Screams and wails, mixed with the bloody stench, instantly transformed the entire peach grove into a terrifying hell.
Guan Pengfei was completely caught off guard and never expected things to turn out this way. He instantly showed an expression of extreme terror, his whole body trembling, and hot blood splattered all over his face.
But in front of him, the figure behind the tea pavilion was still calmly drinking tea, as if he didn't care about anything.
"Sister, help!"
"Second Sister!!"
While running, filled with fear, Fang Jinyu suddenly saw her younger sister trip over a corpse and instinctively reached out to pull her up.
But as soon as she stretched out her hand, she felt a sharp pain, and all that was left in front of her were two bare wrists.
In an instant, another shrill scream came from her mouth, sharp and piercing.
But before her screams could subside, a huge fist slammed her to the ground.
At the same time, Fang Jintu, who had brought his men, directly cleaved the longsword in two with his armored guards, and in his panicked screams, he kept swinging the hilt of the sword.
He couldn't process it. He felt that none of this was right. They were members of the Fang family, and they were the ones who could kill whomever they wanted.
Before he could utter a complete sentence, a cracking sound came from his legs.
An armored guard swept his sword with its scabbard, breaking two of his leg bones, and lifted him up like a dead dog, heading towards the tea pavilion.
Bang bang bang—
Several heavy thuds sounded as Guan Peng, who was stunned, Fang Jinyu, whose hands had been chopped off, Fang Jintu, whose legs had been broken, and the remaining seven or eight survivors were all thrown into the pavilion.
After being knocked so hard they were dizzy, they struggled to lift their heads and discovered that the area outside the pavilion was littered with corpses, blood and heads mixed together.
Fang Jinyu was the first to succumb to the pressure. This noble young lady had lost her previous arrogance, and her skirt quickly became soaked.
Then, trembling, they turned their heads toward the nearby figure in front of them, looking at Fang Ruoming, who was still drinking tea.
They could never have imagined that the man before them, the son of a minor county magistrate who had served in the army in the northern border for many years, would have five guards at the upper realm of the Dao realm.
You have to understand, even in a celestial sect, someone with this level of skill would be qualified to be an instructor. How could they imagine that such a person would be willing to be someone's bodyguard?
The one who was most confused was Guan Peng, because he had met Fang Ruoming through Fang Ruoyao earlier.
At the time, he didn't think the other party had anything wrong with him, but today's facts are tearing apart his values regarding aristocratic families and ordinary people.
At this moment, Fang Ruoming gently put down his teacup.
“I rarely commit murder, and I fast on the first and fifteenth of each month to show my sincerity. Today’s matter was really just a whim, I just wanted to see your expressions.”
"You came all the way from the Northeast because you're afraid I'll run away? But have you ever considered that I'm here for tea because you can't run away?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Jintu suddenly turned up to the sky with a ferocious expression and shouted, "You're finished! You're finished! You actually dared to kill so many of my relatives! You're finished! My father will definitely come looking for me when he finds out I didn't go back!"
Guan Peng trembled like a leaf: "Brother Fang, you've gotten yourself into big trouble!"
"Oh? What terrible disaster?"
“You have caused a great disaster by speaking recklessly in my house. You could have simply been executed, but you killed the children of both our families. Now your sister will suffer, your parents will suffer, and your entire clan will die because of you. If you know what’s good for you, release us quickly, and you may save their lives!”
Fang Ruoming poured himself another cup of hot tea: "I joined the military when I was young, so I don't understand much."
Guan Peng's eyes widened: "No, you understand. The reason you left us here is because you know we are the most honored among them. You were also afraid and left us a way out, weren't you?"
Fang Ruoming smiled after hearing this and looked at A Liang beside her.
In the next instant, a flash of light appeared, hot blood splattered on the ground, and three more people fell to the ground with a thud.
In an instant, the remaining seven people all turned pale, trembled all over, and looked at Fang Ruoming as if he were a demon.
"Insects, lowly people, no matter where you run, my Fang family will dig three feet into the ground and make you wish you were dead!"
Fang Jintu screamed sharply, his voice both shrill and sinister.
To his surprise, Fang Ruoming did not run away at all, but was still sitting quietly drinking tea.
Under the cold night sky, the aroma of hot tea slowly wafted out of the pavilion, mingling with the stench of blood in the forest.
"Is the young master back?"
"Reporting to Second Master, not yet..."
"Send everyone out and keep searching!"
Inside the Linxian Manor, Fang Lun looked at the darkening sky outside the window, his brow furrowing slightly.
After Fang Ruoyao and Fang Ruoming left, he had already heard from his servants that his son had taken the family members out.
As a father, he certainly knew what his son was going out to do, but in his view it was a good thing, because a sense of family honor is also part of the cohesion of the clan.
Experiencing things early on can help these young disciples mature their Daoist heart sooner.
Moreover, if even the most insignificant ants can look down on the Fang family and still live well, how will the Fang family maintain its standing after the news gets out?
So when he learned about it, he neither stopped it nor questioned it.
But as time went on, he began to feel that something was wrong.
Since the other side only had five people, and including the guards, there were only ten people, killing them shouldn't have taken so long. But dragging it out until this late was very problematic, because it meant unexpected danger.
With a command given, all the Fang family members who had come with them, except for the three main branch elders, set out and poured out of Linxian Manor.
The head of the Guan family had just finished bathing and was walking from the front yard, intending to have a discussion with the second master of the Fang family, when he saw the Fang family members heading towards the door, and couldn't help but frown.
"Mingxu, what happened?"
Standing in the courtyard, the second master of the Guan family turned around upon hearing the voice: "Eldest brother, Fang Jintu and Guan Peng have not returned yet."
The head of the Guan family frowned: "They went out? Where did they go?"
"They left with a murderous aura. Where do you think they'll go, elder brother?"
"Fang Ruoming?"
Guan Mingxu nodded: "The matter of the family altar is their sore spot. Fang Ruoming just happened to touch on this point. But the problem is that they have been gone for too long. I'm afraid something might have happened."
As the two were talking, they suddenly saw an uncle from the Fang family walk in from outside the door. They exchanged a glance and followed him to Fang Lun's guest room.
"Second Master, we have news. A passerby said they saw them go to the peach grove and then never came out again."
Fang Lun raised his eyes: "Where is the peach grove?"
Upon hearing this, Patriarch Guan said, "Peach Grove is in the West City. I will lead the way."
"Thank you for your trouble, Master Guan."
"Second Master, you flatter me."
After their conversation, the group led the remaining thirty-odd clansmen out of the Guan family's immortal residence and headed towards the peach grove in the west city.
Even as they left home, they were only somewhat worried, but they didn't really realize the seriousness of the problem.
In their view, the opponent's highest cultivation level was only Fang Ruoming's Fusion Realm, which the disciples accompanying them could easily handle. Moreover, they had protective spiritual treasures bestowed upon them by their families, so there wouldn't be any problems.
But when they actually arrived at the peach grove in the west city, the stench of blood carried by the cold wind told them that things were not as they seemed.
Because if only a few people died, the stench of blood wouldn't be so strong.
Fang Lun's expression changed, and he immediately headed towards the depths of the peach grove. The others quickly followed.
But when they reached the depths of the woods, the sight before them caused everyone's expression to change drastically.
On the frozen ground lay more than twenty corpses, none of them intact. Around them were severed hands and feet draped in fine robes and brocade sleeves, and heads with eyes still open and cloudy.
Large pools of blood had formed, slowly congealing in the chilling night, creating a truly horrifying scene.
"father!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The crowd looked up in the direction of the sound and saw Fang Jintu kneeling on the ground, shouting wildly in the pavilion ahead.
In front of him, Fang Ruoming, dressed in a moon-white robe, sat upright at the tea table, looking at them indifferently.
how so?
How could someone die like this?
The Guan and Fang families were instantly stunned and incredulous. Then they noticed the five armored guards standing behind Fang Ruoming, and the atmosphere instantly turned into shock and anger.
Five of Fang Ruoming's five guards were all at the Fusion Dao level.
The Guan family head didn't have a deep impression of Fang Ruoming. He only thought that Fang Ruoming was a soldier who didn't know any manners at all. He hadn't even opened his eyes to look at him during their previous conversation.
They come from a family of cultivators and are used to lording it over others.
Every year when the Prefect of Gengyang came to pay his taxes, he would be ridiculed by him, but he dared not say anything afterward.
The prefect is much more powerful than the county magistrate. The prefect's son is also a cultivator, but they are still ordinary people.
Without decades of accumulated experience, the Fan family remains just that—the Fan family—and has no right to speak with them. Fang Ruoming is no exception.
But what he didn't expect was that in just a few hours, they would be standing below while he sat and watched them.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
