"Miss! Something terrible has happened!"
A maid rushed into the boudoir in a panic, her face ashen, forgetting all decorum, her voice trembling:
"Just received an urgent report from the spies in Nanyang County—Fu Family's territory at Luofeng Mountain... has been breached!"
The room fell silent instantly, even the candle flame in front of the copper mirror seemed to pause for a moment.
Liuu Meizhen's fingertips halted slightly, the golden phoenix hairpin she was holding suspended in mid-air, reflecting the candlelight, its golden gleam dazzling but making her fingertips appear even paler.
"What's going on?" Her voice remained steady, with only a slight heaviness at the end.
The maid swallowed and whispered:
"It's said that an Honored Guest Elder of the Fu Family... secretly colluded with the Southern Barbarians, inside-outside cooperation, breaking the Mountain Protection Array!"
"Nearly a hundred Qi Cultivation members of the Fu Family fought to the death to cover the retreat, allowing the future son-in-law and three others to escape..."
"The Fu Family... is considered finished."
With these words, the room was dead silent.
In the copper mirror, Liuu Meizhen's eyes remained calm as water, only her fingertips slightly tightened, the tip of the phoenix hairpin pierced into her finger, a drop of red blood oozing out, though she seemed oblivious.
"Miss..."
Beside her, Nanny Liuu saw this, calculation flashing in her eyes, she stepped forward, lowered her voice and said:
"Forgive this old servant for speaking out of line—now that the Fu Family is destroyed, Fu Changsheng is nothing more than a stray dog, merely at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, how could he be worthy of you?"
"Didn't the second young master of the Shangguan Family send a note the other day? Although not from the main line, he's still the son of a Ninth-Grade Noble Family, compared to that Fu Changsheng..."
The nanny hadn't finished speaking when Liuu Meizhen suddenly looked up.
In the copper mirror, those autumn water-like eyes flashed with cold light, and the nanny fell silent at once.
"Nanny." Liuu Meizhen slowly rose, lightly lifted her hand, removing the pearls and jewels from her hair one by one, leaving only a white flower.
With snow-white skin, black hair, plain clothes, and a white flower, she looked even more like a beautiful painting, enchanting but not vulgar.
"Let's go." Her always calm demeanor now had an unmistakable urgency, "To the Patriarch's Cyan Pine Hall."
...
In the Cyan Pine Hall, sandalwood smoke spiraled.
The Liuu Clan Leader sat at the top, dressed in a gray-brown robe, fingers gently tapping on the desk, expression solemn.
Liuu Meizhen stood in the hall, plain clothes, white flower, her features like a painting, but with an indescribable stubbornness:
"Patriarch, though the Fu Family has suffered a great calamity, Luofeng Mountain still holds the foundation of a Spirit Vein; as long as we can protect this ancestral legacy, there is a chance to rise again." Her voice was gentle yet each word was clear: "Moreover... there is a marriage alliance between the Fu and Liuu Families, turning a blind eye may harm the family's reputation."
"Meizhen, the Fu Family is already destroyed, the Mountain Protection Array is broken, rashly sending troops will only waste our clan's resources." The Liuu Clan Leader remained unmoved.
Liuu Meizhen took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, her eyes were firm: "If the Liuu Family is willing to act, I can make three furnaces of 'Qi Gathering Pill' every month for the next ten years, supplying it to the clan free of charge."
These words caused the Liuu Clan Leader's brow to twitch.
Alchemists were scarce, and it was even rarer that Liuu Meizhen was self-taught. Though the Qi Gathering Pill was not a rare pill, three furnaces a month would significantly boost the cultivation speed of the clan members.
He pondered for a moment, finally speaking:
"If that is the case... I can convene the Elder Council to discuss this matter, but I cannot guarantee the outcome."
Liuu Meizhen let out a sigh of relief and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Patriarch."
...
In the Reception Hall.
Fu Changsheng, who had escaped from Nanyang County, was anxiously pacing back and forth. Seeking the Liuu Family's help, he hoped they would send troops in honor of their ancestors' bond.
But two hours had passed.
He was left hanging here, without even a glimpse of the Liuu Family Patriarch, not even a cup of hot tea:
"Could it be that the Southern Barbarians have made their way north to Anyang County?"
Between the two counties, crossing the Qilian Mountain Range and then through the Songling River would reach there.
Fu Changsheng couldn't sit still any longer.
The longer it dragged on, the more danger his grandfather and the others faced:
"No more waiting!"
He decided to directly ask Meizhen for help to send a message.
He got up from his seat.
Reached the entrance.
Just in time to run into Nanny Liuu.
Learning it was Meizhen who sought him, Fu Changsheng's heart leaped with joy; the two truly had a tacit understanding.
Meizhen had been fostered at their Fu Family for several years as a child.
Though Meizhen was born from a concubine line of the Liuu Family.
She was young but already a Tier One Low-Grade Alchemist, and her words held weight in the Liuu Family, which increased the likelihood of the Liuu Clan Leader sending troops.
Fu Changsheng walked quickly.
Reaching the Lanfang Garden Reception Hall, he was met with the striking sight of the white flower in Meizhen's hair, his body trembled, and upon hearing that none of the Qi Cultivation elders left on the mountain had survived, his head buzzed, and he felt dizzy and weak-kneed!
That morning.
Third Granduncle's words of advice during the lecture at the Wisdom Lecture Hall still echoed in his ears.
How could it be.....
"Brother Changsheng, the dead cannot come back to life, you must accept and move on.
Although the elders of the Fu Family are gone, the foundation of your Fu Clan still remains.
As long as you hold on to that Tier One Spirit Vein and the fifty acres of Spirit Field on the mountain, there is hope for a comeback."
Liuu Meizhen held Fu Changsheng's hand.
Her voice was gentle yet firm:
"Brother Changsheng, now is not the time for sorrow.
Since you are born of the direct lineage of the Clan Leader,
According to clan rules, you are now the Patriarch of the Fu Clan.
The legacy accumulated by our ancestors over many years must be defended!"
Fu Changsheng suddenly awakened.
In Anyang County, including his own, there were a total of five Qi Cultivation Clans.
At this moment, not only had the Fu Family's Mountain Protection Array been broken, but even less than one-tenth of the clan's cultivators remained. To the other four clans, the Fu Family was now a piece of fat meat, and if not careful, the Fu Family would be completely devoured by them.
Fu Changsheng gratefully held Liuu Meizhen's hand in return:
"Meizhen, please persuade Uncle Liuu to send an Array Master with me back to Nanyang. As long as the Mountain Protection Array can be repaired and with this Tier One Array, the Fu Family will have a chance to turn things around."
Before he could finish speaking,
Footsteps approached from outside, and it was the Liuu Clan Leader.
He patted Fu Changsheng on the shoulder in consolation, sat down at the head of the table, looked at Fu Changsheng with a complex expression, and sighed deeply:
"Changsheng, we discussed the matter of your Fu Family earlier at the Elder Council and have come up with a solution."
After a pause, the Liuu Clan Leader looked steadily at Fu Changsheng:
"To protect your Fu Family Territory, relying solely on a Tier One Array is obviously insufficient. A late-stage Qi Cultivator who can control the array is also needed to guard it."
"Our Liuu Family is willing to help with this."
"However, there is a pre-condition."
"That is, in the future, sixty percent of the Spirit Field's yield must be handed over to our Liuu Family."
The clan's only source is those fifty acres of Spirit Field, and three-tenths are already tributed to the Shangguan Family annually. Now the Liuu Family wants sixty percent, meaning only ten percent is left for the Fu Family. Renting Spirit Fields outside would yield a higher income than this.
This was the Liuu Family's veiled way of refusing him.
Fu Changsheng was so angry that his chest heaved violently.
Twenty years ago,
The Liuu Family Mountain was also besieged by the Southern Barbarians. Back then, the elders of the Fu Family came without hesitation to support them.
Now, the Fu Family was in distress, and the Liuu Family chose to stand by idly.
Such ungrateful and heartless behavior - he would like to see who in the future would dare to ally with the Liuu Family!
Fu Changsheng took a deep breath and stood up:
"Clan Leader Liuu, your goodwill has been noted. Let's just say I never came today."
With that, Fu Changsheng swept his sleeve and left.
....
Fu Changsheng rushed out of the council hall, only to be stopped by Nanny Liuu, who handed him a box with white plum blossom patterns:
"This is what the young lady asked me to pass on to you."
Fu Changsheng took the box, opened it, and saw it was neatly filled with one hundred and fifty-two Low-grade Spirit Stones, a Tier One Speed Talisman, and a note:
"Brother Changsheng, you are not fighting alone. Contact me through the Communication Jade Talisman if you need anything."
Seeing the elegant handwriting on the note, Fu Changsheng's heart, once filled with grief and anger, instantly warmed.
The irregular number of spirit stones indicated that these were all of Meizhen's savings.
For someone who had lost everything, these spirit stones were truly lifesaving.
As soon as he left the Liuu Family Territory, he immediately took out a Communication Jade Talisman, activated a technique within, and quickly communicated:
"Big Brother, the Liuu Family can't be relied on; you and Third Brother and Fourth Sister stay put for now. I will seek help from the Shangguan Family. If you don't hear back from me in three days, send someone to Anyang County."
The Shangguan Family is a noble family appointed by the court.
All Qi Cultivation Clans within their fiefdom fall under their governance.
According to the Great Zhou Laws,
As long as they paid their tribute on time each year, in times of life and death for the clan, the Shangguan Family must offer aid.
Of course, after the fact, the Fu Family would also need to provide appropriate rewards.
He initially hadn't gone to the Shangguan Family because of the long distance, and his first thought was to quickly rescue his grandfather and others. Besides, he assumed the Liuu Family would help out of gratitude for past favors, but he didn't expect them to be ungrateful wolves.
Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west bank!
Not all the Fu Family members are dead; one day there will be a revival.
One day, he will make Liuu Qingyun and the Liuu Family regret their actions today!
As Fu Changsheng contemplated, he had already reached the dock.
At that moment,
A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
"Ding"
"Patriarch Intelligence System has been activated!"