Chapter 193: A Cunning Plan to Win Hearts and Minds
After a brief standoff with the elderly woman from the Zheng family, the refined old man eventually chose to retreat.
Firstly, they were currently within the city walls, and if the two of them, both Transcendent beings, were to engage in battle, it would undoubtedly affect the citizens nearby.
If they were to violate the Holy Mountain's prohibition, they would surely be held accountable, or even captured and imprisoned.
While he had sufficient reason, the old woman had not yet truly performed a human sacrifice. If it came down to an argument, they would likely both be blamed and deemed at fault.
Secondly, from the look in the old woman's eyes, the refined old man saw madness and determination.
He could sense that if he truly tried to stop her, she would go to extremes and fight him to the death.
With not many years left to live, the old woman had nothing to lose and so, she cared little about the consequences.
However, the refined old man had no desire to join her in her madness and risk his own life. Thus, he decided to take a step back.
Before leaving, the refined old man tried to reason with her one last time, "Old Madam Zheng, performing a human sacrifice is too cruel and goes against the natural order. It will only bring calamity upon the Zheng family. I beg you to reconsider."
"Hmph! Old fool, if you won't fight, then scram and stop getting in my way! And what makes you think I'm about to perform a human sacrifice? I'm merely disciplining some disobedient servants. Even if someone from the Holy Mountain comes, they have no authority over the affairs of the Zheng family!" the old woman replied coldly.
Seeing this, the refined old man knew that the old woman had gone completely mad and there was no reasoning with her.
He shook his head and turned to leave.
As he walked away, the old woman stared at his retreating back with disdain in her eyes.
Those old fogies in the city had let her down once before. When her eldest son was killed by that foreign Transcendent, she had gone to them, begging for their help to take revenge. But they had made all sorts of excuses and refused to lend a hand.
If they had helped her back then, she wouldn't have been severely injured and lost so many years of her lifespan.
And now, here they were, trying to stop her from disciplining her servants. Hypocrites, the lot of them!
As the refined old man walked away, his expression grew heavy. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he looked towards the top of a nearby tower.
There, he saw two figures—an old man with a child-like face and a middle-aged man with a face like white jade—standing with smiles on their faces.
"So, you two are here as well?"
With a slight movement, the refined old man leaped onto the tower top.
"With the Transcendent auras you two are emitting, how could we not come?"
The old man with the child-like face sighed, "Brother Lin, why provoke that old woman? You know full well what her temperament is like. She's not the same person we knew in our youth."
"But she's about to perform a human sacrifice, a cruel act that goes against the natural order. It will surely invite the wrath of the Holy Mountain, and the entire Zheng family will suffer," said the refined old man.
"Then let her do it!" The middle-aged man with the face of white jade replied nonchalantly, "If that old woman wants to bring ruin upon the Zheng family, what can we do to stop her?"
The refined old man shook his head bitterly but remained silent.
However, the old man with the child-like face understood his thoughts.
In their youth, the three of them, along with the old woman and the now-deceased Zheng family ancestor, had been close friends. But over the years, their differing beliefs and life paths had gradually driven them apart.
Yet, it was clear that the refined old man still held on to the memories of their friendship.
As for the middle-aged man, he was of a younger generation and did not understand these past connections.
"Brother Lin, I know you still hold on to the promises we made in our youth. But you must also understand that the old woman has changed. She is no longer the white-robed heroine we once knew.
Now, she is cruel, obsessed, mad, and cold-hearted. She is a completely different person."
Chapter: "The Rumor Spreads"
The elderly man with the child-like face tried to persuade him with kind and earnest words.
The refined old man remained silent for a moment before sighing, "I know that, but even if I ignore that old woman, I can't turn a blind eye to this matter. Didn't you see the state of those people? There was even an infant who hadn't yet turned one year old among them. How can I, in good conscience, let this continue?"
"I think you're overthinking this, Brother Lin. Don't forget, we also have the City Lord's Mansion. Our City Lord is not a weak-willed person. If that old woman truly intends to perform a human sacrifice, the City Lord's Mansion will definitely not stand idly by. Otherwise, how can they maintain their authority in Cangzhou?" The jade-faced man said.
The refined old man paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he fell into deep thought.
Although the conflict between the old woman of the Zheng family and the refined old man did not escalate further, their conversation had been overheard by many.
Thus, a rumor began to spread quietly throughout the city—a rumor that the ancestor of the Zheng family intended to perform a human sacrifice to appease the spirit of her recently deceased grandson.
"Yuanhao, I asked you to investigate the murderer who killed Yue'er. What have you found out?"
In the Zheng mansion, the old woman asked in a cold, detached manner.
"Mother," Zheng Jiachen, the current head of the Zheng family, replied with a hesitant expression.
"I've utilized all the resources at our disposal, but we haven't found even a trace. All we know is that the black-robed warrior who killed Yue'er is a martial arts master proficient in hidden weapons and martial arts. As for his identity, we've drawn a blank. It's as if he appeared out of thin air; there's no information about him anywhere in Cangzhou."
"You can't find anything? So, according to you, Yue'er died for nothing?" The old woman glared at her second son.
"That's not what I mean, Mother. It's just that this person is extremely mysterious, and with our family's resources, it's difficult to uncover anything."
"If our family's resources aren't enough, why not seek help elsewhere? The Seven Kills Tower had one of their bases destroyed; surely they would want to do something about it. Why not go to them and see what you can find out?"
Zheng Jiachen was taken aback, realizing he hadn't thought of that option.
The old woman looked at her son with disappointment. If her eldest son were still alive, he wouldn't have been so dull-witted.
"You're right, Mother. I'll send someone to the Seven Kills Tower to gather information immediately." Zheng Jiachen snapped out of his daze and quickly replied.
"Hmm." The old woman gave a slight hum in acknowledgment.
The room fell silent once more.
After a while, Zheng Jiachen recalled another piece of information their spies had reported and, after some hesitation, decided to bring it up.
"Mother, there's a rumor spreading in the city that our Zheng family intends to perform a human sacrifice. If this rumor spreads far and wide, it may cause significant harm to our family's reputation."
"Oh? And I think it's just what I want," the old woman said, a cold smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"I want this rumor to spread far and wide. I want it to reach every corner of Cangzhou. That murderer who killed Yue'er claimed to be seeking justice for those brothel girls. Well, now he'll see just how many innocent lives will be lost because of him. I want to see if he dares to show his face and stop me!"
"Mother, you..."
Zheng Jiachen was shocked to his core. He had never imagined that his mother had such a plan in mind.
"Rest assured, I may be filled with hatred, but I'm not foolish enough to perform a human sacrifice. I know exactly what I'm doing. You just need to make the necessary preparations as I've instructed."
"Yes, Mother. I'll make the arrangements immediately!"
Zheng Jiachen's tension eased considerably when he realized that his mother wasn't truly driven by madness.
He bowed and quickly left to carry out her instructions.
However, he didn't notice the cold, venomous gaze that fell upon his retreating back.
(End of Chapter)
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