Chapter 252: Capture

The night wind howled as candles burned in the study.

Inside, Meng Chuan and his wife were occupied: she was poring over documents, while he was painting.

"I'll finish it tomorrow," Meng Chuan said with a smile, gazing at the long scroll painting. It depicted the Lakeside Pavilion at Star-Moon Lake, with his son Meng An joyfully excited about catching a large fish, and his daughter Meng You and wife Liu Qiyue intently playing chess.

After setting down his brush, Meng Chuan glanced out the window. "Qiyue," he couldn't help but ask, "You'er and An'er aren't back yet?"

Liu Qiyue looked up from her documents towards the window and smiled. "Perhaps something at the academy delayed them."

"It's already dark; they rarely stay out this late," Meng Chuan said, his brow furrowed. With a slight mental scan, he pinpointed his children's location. "They're over thirty miles away in the city."

"That far?" Liu Qiyue questioned, putting down her documents in confusion.

"Butler Hua has been secretly protecting them, so nothing serious should happen. But why would those two little ones go so far?" Meng Chuan wondered. His children usually returned home immediately after leaving the academy. Even if they had somewhere else to go, they would inform them first.

Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue's expressions subtly changed.

They had long ago purchased a set of tokens from Yuanchu Mountain for internal family use. Their children carried these tokens, allowing their parents to know their location at all times. Butler Hua, the bird demon king, also carried one, enabling him to call for help at any moment.

"Butler Hua is summoning us," Meng Chuan stated.

The tokens' distress calls had different levels. The lowest level simply requested their presence. A higher level indicated urgency. The highest level signified a life-or-death situation. Since this was only the lowest level of summons, Meng Chuan and his wife weren't flustered.

"He wouldn't bother us unless it was important. Let's go see what happened," Meng Chuan said, taking his wife's hand, and they vanished from the study in a flash.

Standing outside the small courtyard, Wang Fanchou gazed at the seven corpses and the pool of blood on the ground, his face a mixture of shock and fury. He glared at Meng You, Meng An, and Butler Hua, roaring, "Did you kill them?"

"Yes," Meng An replied bluntly.

"You little brats!" Wang Fanchou's eyes turned red. His beloved grandson lay brutally murdered nearby, and he was already consumed by rage. He lunged forward instantly.

Just as he surged out, he froze mid-air. A terrifying domain enveloped the surroundings, trapping Wang Fanchou. He felt like a small insect caught in a spiderweb, utterly unable to struggle, and his eyes widened in shock.

A young man and woman, trailing faint sparks of lightning, appeared inside the courtyard.

"Marquis Dongning and Marquis Ningyue?" Wang Fanchou's heart trembled.

He was merely an Undying Godfiend, facing a Marquis Godfiend! Even the sheer difference in life-force aura made his heart pound, his legs turn to jelly, and filled him with immense fear. And there were two Marquis Godfiends. In the Wang family, he was just a very ordinary elder; otherwise, he wouldn't have been put in charge of a branch sent to Jiangzhou City. This was considered far from the Wang family's power center.

"Father! Mother!" Meng You and Meng An immediately cried out.

The moment Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue entered, seeing their children holding weapons and seven corpses lying around, they knew something was wrong.

"Masters," Butler Hua said respectfully, "these seven attacked viciously. This old servant only intervened to save the young master and young lady."

Meng Chuan's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but turn to look at Wang Fanchou.

Bound by the domain, Wang Fanchou floated three feet off the ground, unable to move.

"Were you also here to assassinate?" Meng Chuan's eyes held a chilling gaze.

At that moment, Wang Fanchou finally understood: the two young people called Marquis Dongning and Marquis Ningyue 'Father' and 'Mother'? And they were being assassinated? "No, I wasn't here to assassinate," Wang Fanchou quickly denied. "Marquis Dongning, how could I dare? I am a Godfiend from the Wang family of Yunzhou."

"I arrived just as you were about to act," Meng Chuan said. With a wave of his hand, Darkstar True Essence instantly struck Wang Fanchou. Wang Fanchou immediately screamed in terror, "Mercy!" But as the Darkstar True Essence invaded his body, he instantly lost consciousness.

Meng Chuan snorted. With another wave of his hand, the unconscious Wang Fanchou, his True Essence sealed, fell to the side.

"What exactly happened?" Liu Qiyue asked, also looking at Butler Hua.

Butler Hua then respectfully explained, "This is what happened: On their way home, the young master and young lady discovered that their academy classmate, Junior Sister Ning, was in great trouble, so they bravely intervened. Unexpectedly, this Wang Cong tried to forcibly abduct the young lady. The young lady and young master restrained themselves from resisting and deliberately came here..."

"We were furious at the time," Meng An interjected, "but Father said we shouldn't act impulsively; we needed to clarify the facts before deciding. So, my sister and I came here to find out who this Wang Cong really was and how to punish him. We never imagined this person was a beast in human skin, harming countless innocent women. My sister and I couldn't bear it anymore and took action, but we were no match for them, so Butler Hua stepped in."

"They truly deserved to die," Meng You said, her face also showing anger. "They deserved to die a thousand times over."

"I killed Wang Cong," Meng An stated. "If Father wants to punish anyone, punish me."

"Alright," Meng Chuan said, frowning as he looked at Butler Hua. "Butler Hua, You'er and An'er's identities must not be exposed. Can you identify everyone who saw You'er and An'er from the beginning to the end of this incident?"

"Yes," Butler Hua replied respectfully. "From start to finish, besides the seven deceased, there are Wang Cong's eight subordinates and the three members of the Ning family."

"Father, Mother, you mustn't harm Junior Sister Ning and her family," Meng An quickly pleaded, with Meng You also showing concern.

"Don't worry," Meng Chuan said with a smile, then turned to his wife, Liu Qiyue.

"Leave the rest to me," Liu Qiyue said with a slight smile. "You can also leave this Wang Fanchou from the Wang family to me."

"Alright, I'll take them back first," Meng Chuan nodded, then vanished in a flash with Meng You and Meng An.

Liu Qiyue stood in the small courtyard, with Butler Hua respectfully by her side.

Soon, figures appeared at the courtyard entrance. They were all Godfiends, over a dozen of them, bowing with utmost respect. "Greetings, Marquis Ningyue," the Earth Net Godfiends saluted respectfully. They had been summoned by Liu Qiyue through her token.

"Someone in this residence has colluded with the demon race and engaged in assassination," Liu Qiyue stated coldly. "These seven are dead. Arrest everyone else in this residence and bring them back. Also, arrest all of Wang Cong's subordinates and investigate them thoroughly! Find out everything they've done and who among them has colluded with the demon race. Investigate meticulously."

"Understood," the dozen or so Godfiends respectfully acknowledged.

"Imprison this Wang Fanchou," Liu Qiyue added, pointing at the unconscious Wang Fanchou nearby. "I will personally preside over his interrogation."

"Yes," a Godfiend replied immediately, carrying Wang Fanchou away in a flash.

Within moments, a military detachment of several hundred strong arrived at the residence, completely surrounding it.

"Take them all away." Inside the grand hall, a group of prominent family scions, accustomed to their considerable influence in Jiangzhou City, were stunned. Seeing the surrounding Godfiends and large numbers of soldiers, they were filled with overwhelming fear.

"Uncle, Uncle, I truly didn't do anything!" one noble young man pleaded with a bearded Godfiend. "Uncle, you must save me!"

"Silence. Take him away," the bearded Godfiend ordered coldly, even though the young man was his own junior.

"I am Li You, a descendant of the imperial family! How dare you lay a hand on me?" another young man shouted, causing some soldiers to hesitate.

"Arrest him," the Godfiend standing by the entrance immediately commanded.

Imperial family? The Li clan had a long history, existing as an ancient Godfiend family for tens of thousands of years even before becoming the imperial family. They had over a million officially recognized members, with countless more who were no longer acknowledged.

The highest-ranking individual present was actually Young Master Xiao.

"I am Xiao Yong, son of Xiao Fenglei. Marquis Lanyue is my aunt," the highest-ranking Young Master Xiao stated calmly. "My aunt is also a close friend of Marquis Ningyue and Marquis Dongning, who guard Jiangzhou City."

"We are acting on Marquis Ningyue's orders," one of the Godfiends calmly stated. "Take him away."

"Marquis Ningyue's orders?" Young Master Xiao was stunned and allowed himself to be taken away. Marquis Ningyue was the guardian of Jiangzhou City, holding the highest authority. Young Master Xiao knew even more clearly that Marquis Ningyue's husband, Marquis Dongning Meng Chuan, was the highest-level inspector from Yuanchu Mountain! His authority was even greater than Marquis Ningyue's. This was because Marquis Dongning Meng Chuan's actions were related to hunting down demon kings, and all regions had to cooperate. Anyone who dared to grumble, delay, or use their status to obstruct his actions could be killed on the spot, and no one would dare to utter a sound.