Chapter 220: Fighting in a Group

Strangely, he seemed to recognize the woman, but couldn't recall where he had seen her before.

The girl gestured. Obscured by trees, Li Zhao squinted for a long while before realizing she was frantically pointing in one direction.

Over there?

Li Zhao turned around, seeing a great flood rushing from the distance. The towering, turbid waves resembled a charge of ten thousand horses and a thousand armies.

"A flood! Run!"

His companions screamed and ran towards the bank. But the Li brothers were standing in the middle of the river, where the water was up to their navels, and it was too slow to walk back!

Before they could reach the bank, the raging current swept them away.

Water was everywhere, above, below, and all around, pouring directly into Li Zhao's mouth and nose, along with grassroots, mud, sand, and broken branches. He occasionally surfaced, hearing the startled cries of people on the bank.

He struggled desperately, when his hand suddenly clutched a tree root.

It was a piece of driftwood that had been in the river for many years.

This life-saving root was much sturdier than a straw, and Li Zhao clung to it for dear life. Immediately afterward, his elder brother slid past him and grabbed his leg.

The lives of both boys hung on this piece of driftwood.

On the bank, the Li family servants were trying to rescue the two young masters.

After swallowing a few mouthfuls of water, Li Zhao was horrified to discover that the tree root couldn't withstand the current and was starting to break off.

It was about to snap.

With a tearing sound, a large strip of bark, still attached to the root, was ripped off.

Both boys screamed in fright.

The bark was still clinging to the branch, but it was no longer secure.

Li Zhao turned to his elder brother and shouted, "Brother, the root is breaking!"

But his normally clever brother wasn't listening at all, only continuously shouting, "Pull me up, quickly pull me up!"

He forcefully pulled Li Zhao's leg, and with each tug, the bark broke off a little more.

If this continued, both of them would die.

Li Zhao looked at the bark, then back at his elder brother, and suddenly kicked his brother's hand.

His elder brother screamed, "What are you doing? Save me!"

He stubbornly held onto Li Zhao's leg, but Li Zhao kicked harder and harder. The final kick landed on his forehead, making his elder brother dizzy. After swallowing two mouthfuls of water, his grip loosened.

His elder brother was swept away by the current.

Li Zhao cried loudly, while clinging to the bark and climbing onto the driftwood.

But before he had climbed two feet, he felt a pull at his waist, as if someone was desperately dragging him back. The force was terrifying.

He looked back, only to see his elder brother floating in the rapid current, furiously pulling at his belt.

His elder brother's features and body were swollen and pale, his eyeballs bulging from their sockets, and he was smiling at him:

"I miss you every day, I can't bear to leave you, I want to take you with me!"

Li Zhao was greatly alarmed. He looked down and saw that the belt his brother had given him had turned into a water snake flicking its tongue. Before he could react, the water snake bit him on the waist.

Li Zhao screamed in pain and let go.

Just then, a wave crashed over him, sweeping him directly into the water.

He tried to struggle, but his elder brother held him tightly, pulling him straight to the riverbed.

He didn't know how much waterweed he had swallowed, and the last image he saw was his elder brother's swollen, grotesque smiling face.

"I finally waited for you, we're together forever now, are you happy?"

At daybreak, the warming-bed maid vaguely heard gurgling sounds coming from Old Master Li's throat. She didn't think much of it at first. What unusual sounds don't old people make when they sleep?

However, the sound suddenly grew louder. The old man's mouth was wide open, but he couldn't breathe, like a fish out of water.

"Oh dear, the Old Master is choked by phlegm again."

The two warming-bed maids played rock-paper-scissors. The one who lost pouted, and it took her a long time of dawdling before she finally bent down to suction the phlegm from Old Master Li.

But it was no use.

Soon, the entire Li household was in a state of chaos. The sons watched as their father's face turned a purplish-brown, but no emergency measures worked. Before a doctor could be summoned, Old Master Li stretched out his legs and passed away.

He died swiftly and simply.

Later, the Li family specifically invited a forensic examiner from the government to perform an autopsy. The examiner pulled a clump of greens from the back of the Old Master's throat.

"The Old Master choked to death?" The Li family refused to believe it. Li Zhao's sixth grandson, who had sharp eyes, suddenly noticed something unusual on the gauze curtain in front of his grandfather's bed.

"The evil-warding plaques are cracked!"

Everyone crowded over to look, and indeed, both copper plaques had fine cracks. Although the cracks were not large, the magical efficacy of the plaques had essentially vanished.

"But these two lovebirds are still alive. Didn't they say that evil spirits would eat the birds first?" The two lovebirds were hopping and fluttering energetically in their cage.

At this moment, Li Zhi, Old Master Li's eldest son, took down the sachet from the bed canopy and glanced at it. His expression changed drastically.

He emptied its contents onto the table:

The yellow talisman paper was soaked and disintegrated, and the cinnabar writing on it had blurred into a mess.

In short, this protective charm had also lost its power.

"This was a protective charm personally made by Master Zhang, the head of Peak Lu Xiufeng at Chuanyun Pavilion!" Li Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "Evil spirits can't get near here. Someone must have poured water in here and deliberately damaged the copper plaques!"

Everyone's gaze simultaneously focused on the two warming-bed maids. A maid nearby immediately knelt down and said, "Last night, before going to sleep, the Old Master personally checked, and both items were intact."

Old Master Li was cautious and valued his life, so he indeed checked these two lines of defense every night before sleeping. Li Zhi looked at a young servant nearby. The young servant nodded vigorously, "That's right, that's right. I personally saw the Old Master check them before he went to bed."

"Clearly, someone destroyed the charm and then performed a dark spell," Li Zhi said, veins bulging on his forehead. "Investigate! Investigate immediately!"

"Could it be the Zhan family?" The second son, Li Rong, also had fury in his eyes. "Their family has been at odds with us. Recently, because of low-price acquisitions, they've been cursing and swearing, saying all sorts of ugly things. I personally heard Zhan Lao Qi curse the Old Master, with truly venomous words. Furthermore, a junior member of the Zhan family became a spellcaster, and has learned quite a few supernatural abilities. It's highly possible they secretly harmed the Old Master!"

Other members of the Li family turned their grief into anger, shouting in unison, "Yes, seize the Zhan family members and make them pay with their lives for the Old Master!"

Li Rong, however, hesitated: "Wait, we still need to find some evidence to condemn them."

"Where would we get evidence? They used dark arts to harm people; that's why we can't find evidence!" Li Zhi sighed, "So, what do you suggest we do?"

Li Rong was not quick-witted by nature. His mind was in a mess at this moment, and he stammered, unable to form words. His most esteemed sixth son happened to be away from Dunyu today, leaving him with no one to consult.

Someone else said, "Half of the Zhan family has already fled the city. If we don't pursue them now, it will be too late."

The Zhan family had begun moving out yesterday.

They wouldn't be living in the same city as the Li family from now on, so striking a malicious blow before leaving, to release years of pent-up resentment, seemed entirely reasonable.

The Li family members were enraged, shouting "blood for blood."

Li Rong initially felt that such actions were improper and advised everyone to calm down. Li Zhi, however, squinted at him and sneered, "Our father was cursed to death, and you want us to be calm? So everyone else is drunk with grief, and you're the only clear-headed one?"

Li Rong was speechless. Li Zhi pointed at him and cursed a few more times. The clansmen, their blood boiling, responded one after another.

Seeing Li Zhi raise his arm and the clansmen respond, and even his own subordinates preparing to follow Li Zhi, Li Rong had no choice but to change his stance.

Neither of them had the ability to lead independently, nor did they possess Old Master Li's prestige. If they dared to hold back or show weakness at this moment, let alone stop the clansmen from seeking revenge, even one more word of "calm down" would surely lead to their defeat in the later power struggle.

The two brothers were each more aggressive than the other.

Before the entire clan, Li Zhi and Li Rong wept profusely, both wanting to appear more heartbroken and fervent than the other. With continuous competitive speeches and escalating emotions, they eventually rallied the family's private guards amidst the Li household's thunderous cries.

The commotion here was immense, naturally attracting the attention of government officials and the city's residents.

By the time they arrived, the Li family's private guards had already stormed into the Zhan family residence in the south of the city, seizing women and children, and violently beating the men. The vast Zhan mansion was in disarray.

Some took advantage of the chaos, rummaging through chests and overturning cabinets to plunder valuables.

The Zhan family was, after all, a famous noble family in Dunyu City, with immense wealth. Any item taken by the Li family's private soldiers could later be sold for personal gain.

The Li family's private guards also dispatched a contingent, heading south to pursue the retreating Zhan family members.

Since the new governor had not yet arrived, the affairs of the Prefectural Yamen were temporarily managed by the Civil Registrar and the Adjutant. When the two arrived at the scene, their scalps tingled. They quickly called for constables to step forward and intervene.

The Li family was accustomed to acting high-handedly in Dunyu City. Now, consumed by anger and urgency, how could they listen to reason?

The Zhan family also had guards, but unfortunately, two fists were no match for four hands.

An inexperienced constable stepped forward to pull people apart, but was punched in the nose by Li Zhi, causing blood to gush out. He had only recently become a constable and was young, and didn't even recognize Li Zhi. How could he not fight back?

When Li Zhi was hit, the Li family's private guards rushed forward and delivered several powerful blows to the constable's head.

Those fighting, those trying to break up the fight, and those fighting the peacemakers—the entire south of Dunyu City was in utter chaos.

The surrounding common folk gathered several layers deep, craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

This was the Li family and the Zhan family, normally high and mighty. Who would have thought they'd be wrestling in the mud and beating each other like this today?

Esteemed nobles, when fighting to the death, also resembled dogs fighting each other.

"Where's Peng Juan?" With the situation out of control, the Civil Registrar eagerly looked for someone. "With something like this happening, where has he, the Military Registrar, hidden himself?!"

A subordinate kindly reminded him, "It seems Lord Peng is resting at home today."

"Go to Qingping Village and drag him back!" Despite the cold weather, the Civil Registrar was sweating profusely. "And bring back his more than a thousand men immediately to quell the disturbance!"

Xia Province had 1,600 soldiers. Before the new governor arrived, they were all under the command of the Military Registrar.

The subordinate took the order and left in a hurry.

After he left, he didn't return for half a day.

From Dunyu to Qingping Village was only a little over ten li. Even without riding a horse, a person running there would have had enough time for several round trips.

The Civil Registrar's heart grew even more uneasy:

Peng Juan hadn't come, and his subordinate who went there hadn't returned either. Could Qingping Village have been attacked by enemies?

Small units of Nian Zanli from the north had infiltrated enemy territory to harass border towns more than once or twice. Although Qingping Village was a bit far from the northern front, this possibility couldn't be ruled out.

The enemy cavalry's mobility was excellent.

Taking advantage of this time gap, the Li family's private guards beat the Zhan family members black and blue. Several were lying on the ground, barely able to move.

Inside the Zhan residence, women and children were crying bitterly, a truly tragic sight.