Chapter 105 - 103: The Xiao Family’s Final Fate
Although it only increased slightly, this small increase in experience value was enough for him to practice the Spiritual Monkey Skill for quite a while.
"Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Tempering..."
To confirm the effect, Song Changming stayed for a while longer.
But unfortunately, after that, the person gambling on marrow opened all the shells without seeing any high-quality jade marrow.
He then switched to another stall that sold white jade shells, and without hesitation, bought any jade marrow of good quality he found.
The jade marrow he got had more yellow inside, and it was clearer and more transparent.
Undoubtedly, its quality was better than the one he just consumed, and its price reached three silver coins, which was already quite expensive.
The buyer’s joyful expression after opening it made it clear that he had won the gamble.
Song Changming consumed it again.
The tingling sensation appeared once more, more pronounced this time, and disappeared after a few seconds.
Song Changming kept watching the martial arts experience value on the panel.
Sure enough, his Spiritual Monkey Skill rose almost in sync with the body refining experience value, gaining two points this time.
Still not a lot, but this only indicated that the jade marrow he consumed was not of high enough quality.
Meanwhile, his other body refining skills showed no signs of increase in experience value.
Thus, it could already be concluded that this jade marrow indeed had a similar effect to marrow cleansing.
Although it couldn’t transform him on an exaggerated level, for martial artists focusing on Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining, it was undoubtedly a great item.
For Song Changming, discovering this today was an unexpected surprise.
Such good items that could directly aid him in increasing his body refining experience were not often seen!
If he could collect more in the future, combined with the Spiritual Monkey Skill, his body refining efficiency would greatly increase.
However, like wild ginseng, high-quality jade marrow was still quite expensive, making it impossible to purchase without restraint.
Apart from jade marrow and those exotic-blooded sea creatures, some of the treasures from the sea also deserved his attention.
Perhaps he could find more treasures to directly increase body refining experience from them.
The next day, the Governor sent a group of officials from the Cao Yun Bureau to reestablish control over the port and set up rules and regulations.
At the same time, to guard against the safe return of the Dinghai Water Gang, he ordered this elite force under the Captain to be stationed directly at the port to continue assisting the Cao Yun Bureau.
The patrol team brought by Zhuang Ren could then return.
Song Changming returned to the county city that day, ending this mission, and he received a reward of two hundred silver coins from Zhuang Ren to commend his excellent performance during this mission.
Besides him, every patrol guard on the mission received some silver, although none as much as Song Changming.
Song Changming knew where this reward came from, so he didn’t ask further questions.
They were just those getting the soup; the real meat-eaters were their General Director and the Captain.
With money to be taken, he gladly accepted it.
Lately, he could use this money to buy some higher-quality jade marrow.
Later, the Dinghai Water Gang seemed to vent their frustrations and continued to cause trouble at the port, affecting government ships traveling through the waterways, causing a headache.
The new Governor kept deploying troops and dispatching them, tangling with the Jianghu associations until the year’s end, only then temporarily settling down.
The port problem remained unsolved thoroughly because this new Governor was still unstable in his position since taking office.
Xiao Jingchuan almost drained all of Donglai Prefecture’s future development potential before leaving, leaving the Governor often short-handed when deploying and dispatching troops, unable to drive away the Dinghai Water Gang.
Even after the New Year, the Dinghai Water Gang continued to linger like a haunting ghost.
As if the previous silence was just to celebrate the New Year, they were back to business right after the festival.
In addition, apart from the county city, other county towns in Donglai Prefecture occasionally experienced various disruptions and turmoil, leaving people frustrated.
In fact, the turbulence didn’t only exist in Donglai Prefecture; the other major provinces were no exception.
Overall, the entire Da Han Dynasty was unsettled due to the times, chicken flying and dogs jumping, a chaotic scene.
But fortunately, the old Emperor hadn’t passed yet; with the power in his hands, he managed to keep the six Princes in check, preventing the country’s situation from sliding into an irretrievable state.
Furthermore, news from outside the prefecture was sent back to Donglai after the New Year, causing quite a stir.
The army led by Xiao Jingchuan was completely crushed!
Numerous prisoners were all sent back to the Imperial Capital, and as the ringleader of this rebellion, former Governor of Donglai, Xiao Jingchuan, after being utterly defeated, chose to take his own life with a knife rather than be captured.
This outcome certainly left people sighing.
Once, the Xiao Family Governor in Donglai Prefecture was a figure who could summon the winds and rain, comparable to a local emperor.
Now, in just half a year, he has fallen rapidly, never to rise again.
With Xiao Jingchuan’s downfall, the entire Xiao Family was practically wiped out.
The family members mostly died alongside Xiao Jingchuan, and the remaining ones were all captured.
Only some womenfolk sent away by Xiao Jingchuan beforehand managed to escape with a slim chance of survival.
His two sons, the eldest still imprisoned in the Imperial Capital, hardly have any hope of surviving.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yanli has been missing for a long time, without a trace.
If the Xiao Family had any chance of resurgence, it was only possible through Xiao Yanli.
Yet, for the entire Donglai Prefecture, this no longer mattered.
The Xiao Family had completely become a thing of the past and would be forgotten in time.
When Song Changming heard of this at home, he felt quite emotional.
He had no personal feelings for the Xiao Family, only felt that a great towering building, decades of foundation, could collapse and destroy in an instant, unexpectedly resulting in such an outcome.
"I wonder if the Fourth Miss can accept such an ending..." Song Changming muttered to himself.
The only person he had any connection with in the Xiao Family was Xiao Shuyun.
Meanwhile, in a certain state in the north.
Inside a courtyard, the cries of the old, weak, women, and children lingered incessantly.
"Miss," Min’Er looked at the frail figure standing under the jujube tree with considerable concern.
"I’m fine," Xiao Shuyun’s voice was a bit hoarse and trembling, but it bore no trace of weeping.
Her eyes were already red, yet she kept from breaking down like the womenfolk inside the house.
"When I left Donglai Prefecture, I envisioned countless outcomes, and I was mentally prepared for this..."
Min’Er knew her lady was putting on a brave front, trying to bury the pain of losing her father and the sorrow of being homeless deep in her heart, unwilling to show it.
At this moment, there were plenty of followers around her, all watching her.
She couldn’t show her vulnerability like she did when she was young.
"Is there no news of Third Brother yet?"
Xiu’Er shook her head and said, "Third Young Master has not been found yet."
"I see," Xiao Shuyun leaned against the jujube tree, closed her eyes, and just stood still in the courtyard, processing her emotions.
"One day, I will stand on my own, even without Third Brother, without anyone else, I will revive the Xiao family’s honor!"
Meanwhile, on a wide official road, a procession of carriages moved slowly.
Beside one of the carriages, a towering figure, two meters tall, rode a high horse, looking ahead with a stern and serious expression.
This person was Lu Zheng, another old friend of Song Changming, who had left Donglai Prefecture.
Inside the carriage, a hand lifted the curtain, revealing the face of Gu Wenhui, who had taken his clan to relocate early on.
"Xiao Jingchuan is dead," Gu Wenhui said flatly.
"Yes, as you predicted, it came true," Lu Zheng nodded.
"It’s somewhat of a pity," Gu Wenhui said, shaking his head.
"The first force to defy the Imperial Court was wiped out so cleanly and swiftly; those who were starting to stir may now retreat into hiding and wait.
Oh well, it’s just a few more years of waiting, which will allow me more time to prepare."
Seeing him speak this way, Lu Zheng was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Is the chaotic world really unstoppable?"
Gu Wenhui looked at Lu Zheng and smiled slightly, "This world has always been about cycles of division and unity; nothing lasts forever. It’s just the natural course of things."
Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng said no more.
Suddenly, a voice came from the front of the carriage.
"Sir, we’re almost at the Imperial Capital."
Gu Wenhui leaned slightly out of the carriage, looking at the towering city walls in the distance that seemed to meet the sky, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"From now on, the Gu Family will take root here once more."
...
Time flows like a river, only moving forward, never back.
In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed.
During this time, turmoil continued to break out everywhere, and rumors spread incessantly.
More and more people realized that the peaceful days of old seemed to be irretrievably slipping away.
No one could say how long this chaos would last or if the world’s situation would become even more severe.
Brocade Street, Huaman Building.
"Lately, there seem to be more Jianghu guests in the city," Song Changming said, downing a bowl of tea while looking at the hustle and bustle on the street outside.
Liang Zhao Long, who was beside him, immediately explained, "That’s because Liu Dingsheng is planning to retire from Jianghu in the County City shortly, and it’s estimated that many people related to him have come upon hearing the news."
"Liu Dingsheng?" Song Changming was taken aback. He had been in closed-door cultivation for the Bull Demon Skill and was oblivious to worldly affairs.
Only now did he pay attention to the current hot topics in the city.
"Is he the heroic thief who frequently robbed the rich to help the poor back in the day?"
"Yes, that’s him," Liang Zhao Long nodded.
"I heard he’s a native of Donglai Prefecture, and now old, he wants to retire, so he’s returning here to wash his hands of the Jianghu."
"Quite ceremonial," Song Changming remarked, curling his lips. "Is there still a bounty on him from the government? Is there a reward on his head?"
"There was a reward back in the day, but he has some means and got the government to withdraw his bounty a few years ago. He’s no longer considered a wanted man," Liang Zhao Long said.
He understood his Patrol Captain; if Liu Dingsheng still had a reward on him, his Patrol Captain would likely come knocking, sending him to jail to wash his hands of the Jianghu, just like that.
That’s absolutely something Song Changming would do.
"What a pity," Song Changming said, losing interest in the once-famous heroic thief.
He’s not a Jianghu person; when Liu Dingsheng was making a name for himself, Song Changming was just a little kid who didn’t know much about the world.
Perhaps only the Jianghu followers, those star-chasers, would see him as a role model.
"Keep an eye on the street more these days; many of these Jianghu people act impulsively. Don’t let them disturb the peace in the city." Song Changming finally instructed Liang Zhao Long.
"Understood," Liang Zhao Long nodded.
As they spoke, a patrol guard suddenly hurried over.
"Sir, there’s trouble in the marketplace."
Song Changming and Liang Zhao Long exchanged glances—speak of the devil.
...