Chapter 30: The Fate of the Zhou Family

The entire Dongning Prefecture was now on high alert, with teams being mobilized for investigations and pursuits.

Meanwhile, Hongyu and her brother had already fled to their master's residence.

The Zhou Residence.

Zhou He sat grim-faced in the main seat, while Young Master Zhou Qian also looked pale.

"Miss Liu told us to flee immediately, so we ran for our lives," Hongyu said, clutching her brother Tiesheng. "Many people died there, including some members of the Black Wolf Gang. My brother and I were terrified as we fled, so we came straight here to inform you, Master."

"You did well!" Zhou He glared coldly at his son. "If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have known this little brat caused such massive trouble. How dare you! You asked Young Master Meng Chuan for help, yet you didn't even tell me about such a huge matter?"

Zhou Qian trembled slightly. "I never expected this to happen, truly. Hongyu, are Senior Brother Meng and the others still alive?"

"I don't know," Hongyu shook her head repeatedly. "He and that young master from Yu Yang Palace were already severely injured. We don't know what happened to them after we fled."

"I hope they're safe," Zhou He said indifferently. "Otherwise, our Zhou family is finished; there will be no hope left."

"Father..." Zhou Qian stammered.

"Now, it's up to luck. Otherwise, whether it's the Black Wolf Gang, the Bai family, or the Meng family—if any of them decide to deal with us, we're finished," Zhou He said, standing up. "Zhou Qian, come with me to the Meng Residence immediately!"

"Oh," Zhou Qian replied, still a bit dazed.

"And you two siblings," Zhou He instructed, "if anyone from the authorities comes to ask you about today's events, you are to follow my instructions..."

"Yes, Master," Hongyu and her brother obediently replied.

Zhou He, taking his son and carrying heavy gifts, rushed to the Mirror Lake Meng Residence.

On the way, they saw groups of soldiers being mobilized.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, what happened?" Zhou He immediately asked a familiar army leader.

"Someone from the Demon Gate appeared, and Young Master Meng Chuan of the Meng family was severely injured. The entire city is being searched now," the leader simply stated. "Alright, no more talking, I'm off."

"Brother Zhang, you're busy, go ahead," Zhou He said with a smile.

"Father?" Zhou Qian whispered from the side.

"Young Master Meng Chuan is alive, that's good news," Zhou He pondered. "So, that villain was from the Demon Gate? Come on, let's hurry to the Meng Residence."

The Mirror Lake Meng Residence.

Meng Chuan lay propped up in bed, his face pale, but in good spirits.

"Meng Chuan," Aunt Meng said, sitting beside him and leaning on her staff, "from now on, if you encounter an irresistible enemy, prioritize your own life. It was good that you went to rescue Yan Jin. But if you sacrifice yourself in the process... it's not worth it. You should know that you are the hope of the entire Meng family. You cannot afford to lose, and neither can our Meng family."

"Great-aunt, that Demon Gate expert had a powerful physical body, but his movement technique wasn't particularly fast," Meng Chuan said, feeling quite ashamed. "I thought I could escape after rescuing Yan Jin. Who would have thought that a single broken fingernail from that Demon Gate person would possess such immense power? It severely injured me in one strike."

"How many opponents have you faced so far?" Aunt Meng shook her head. "And their strength far exceeds yours. He can make ten mistakes and be fine because none of you can harm him. But if you make one mistake, you're finished. You shouldn't take chances when facing such a formidable enemy."

Aunt Meng shook her head. "Moreover, those from the Demon Gate are human traitors. They cultivate methods created for them by the demon race. Their combat style is also very similar to that of demons; their bodies can even be cultivated into weapons! In the future, you must be careful. If you encounter anyone from the Demon Gate, immediately avoid them and go as far away as possible. Unless you are absolutely confident you can kill them."

"Yes," Meng Chuan obediently replied.

Just then, Meng Dajiang walked in from outside.

"Father, what's the situation?" Meng Chuan pressed.

"That Demon Gate person fled too quickly," Meng Dajiang said. "Now, they are interrogating the members of the Black Wolf Gang."

"What about the innocent women from Leisure Stone Garden?" Meng Chuan pressed.

"In the previous battle, five members of the Black Wolf Gang died and three were injured. Six women from Leisure Stone Garden also died and two were injured. Oh, and... thirty-eight women were discovered imprisoned in the backyard. Chuan'er, you and your companions saved quite a few people," Meng Dajiang said. "There's an underground hall in Leisure Stone Garden with many female remains. It seems the Demon Gate members had been living there for a long time, practicing demonic arts."

Meng Chuan fell silent after hearing this.

Pitying those murdered women, his killing intent towards the Demon Gate members grew stronger.

"Master," a servant's voice came from outside, "Zhou He is here with his son Zhou Qian, saying they wish to apologize."

"Apologize?" Meng Dajiang wondered. "I'll go see."

Aunt Meng stayed for a while, then left.

Meng Chuan continued to rest in bed. The demonic energy in his body had already been easily expelled by his great-aunt; for a Godfiend, expelling such a small amount of demonic energy was effortless. However, his muscle and bone injuries would require several days to slowly recover. This was due to his Godfiend body being sufficiently powerful; an ordinary person would likely take months to recover.

"Chuan'er," Meng Dajiang said, pushing open the door and walking in. "It turns out the child who asked you for help was instructed by a young man named Zhou Qian."

"Zhou Qian?" Meng Chuan was puzzled. "I know him; he's a disciple at our Mirror Lake Dao Academy. I even guided his swordplay today."

Meng Dajiang explained, "Hongyu is his personal maid, and they are very close. He originally wanted to rescue his maid... but was stopped by his father, Zhou He. So, he secretly sent the child Tiesheng to the restaurant to ask you for help, which led to everything that followed. I never imagined it all stemmed from your junior brother from the Dao Academy. To dare put my son through such a great ordeal, I certainly cannot let it go lightly."

"Father," Meng Chuan quickly said, "I'm quite familiar with Zhou Qian; he's very talented. He didn't mean to harm me. In his eyes, this was a trivial matter for me. Dealing with the Black Wolf Gang was indeed simple. Our encounter with the Demon Gate person was purely bad luck. We shouldn't blame junior brother Zhou Qian for this."

"Oh, you," Meng Dajiang said, shaking his head.

He was truly terrified today!

If that old servant hadn't consumed the Divine Blood Pill to hold back the Demon Gate expert, his son and Qiyue might have lost their lives. How could Meng Dajiang not be angry with the Zhou family?

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor," Meng Chuan quickly persuaded him. "This is a principle you taught me, Father."

"Alright, alright, I can let them go, but I can't let them off completely," Meng Dajiang nodded. "After all, he used you without even telling you. Zhou He brought a precious 'thousand-year ginseng,' a treasure worth ten thousand taels. I've accepted it, so consider the matter closed. That young man Zhou Qian will also need a small punishment."

Earlier, when Zhou He knelt to apologize, Meng Dajiang hadn't even bothered to accept his apology. The Zhou family's entire assets combined were only tens of thousands of taels of silver, and their liquid cash was even less.

Zhou He had only acquired this thousand-year ginseng by chance; it was meant for his son's cultivation breakthrough.

Now, it was used as an apology gift, yet Zhou He was still afraid it wouldn't be enough.

"What should I do, what should I do?" Zhou He knelt there, the gift box before him, drenched in cold sweat. Zhou Qian, standing beside him, looked at his father with guilt. "Father, it's all my fault."

"It's too late for anything now," Zhou He said. "He won't even accept this apology gift; Young Master Meng's father is clearly still angry with our Zhou family."

Just then, Meng Dajiang walked in from outside the hall.

"Elder Meng," Zhou He pleaded on his knees, "I failed in raising my son. You can punish him however you wish; our Zhou family will have no complaints. Please spare our Zhou family this once."

"Since my son interceded for you," Meng Dajiang said calmly, "leave the gift here. Take your son back, give him a hundred lashes—each drawing blood—and make him lie in bed to reflect thoroughly."

"Yes, yes!" Zhou He was overjoyed. "Even if Elder Meng didn't say so, I would still punish him severely. Zhou Qian, why aren't you thanking Elder Meng for his magnanimity in sparing your life?"

"Thank you, Elder Meng," Zhou Qian also knelt and kowtowed.

"Now leave quickly."

Meng Dajiang frowned and waved his hand.

Zhou He smiled apologetically and led Zhou Qian away.

Only after they had left the Meng Residence did Zhou He finally breathe a complete sigh of relief.

"Father, is our Zhou family safe now?" Zhou Qian asked.

"We should be fine," Zhou He said coldly. "He said to whip you, but he left it to our Zhou family to do it ourselves. Clearly, he doesn't want your life. You owe a big thanks to your Senior Brother Meng. If he hadn't interceded, his father would never have let this go so easily."