Dawn broke.
Though the rain had stopped, the clouds hanging over Jiangning City remained oppressively low. The leaden gray clouds looked heavy with moisture, threatening to release a downpour at any moment.
A strange scent lingered in the air—the damp, earthy smell of wet soil mixed with the coppery tang of dried blood and a faint, charred odor.
In the south of the city, along Wutong Alley where the Wang family estate was located.
Old Man Liu, who sold tofu, had risen early. Carrying two baskets of freshly made tofu on a shoulder pole, he tottered along the bluestone-paved street.
He had walked this street for thirty years; he knew exactly which brick was loose and which slab was uneven, even with his eyes closed.
But today, even with his eyes wide open, his calves were cramping.
It was too quiet.
Usually, at this hour, the side door of the Wang estate would already be open. Servants with brooms would be grumbling as they swept away snow or water. If you were unlucky enough to block their path, you might even earn a kick.
But today, there was a deathly silence.
The two vermilion main doors, which normally only opened wide for distinguished guests, stood gaping open.
There were no guards at the entrance, no bowing and scraping gatekeeper.
There was only a puddle of dark red liquid, meandering through the gap under the threshold and trickling down the steps.
It was blood—blood that the rain had not yet washed away.
Old Man Liu's heart skipped a beat. His instinct screamed at him to run, but his curiosity grabbed him by the neck, forcing him to take one peek inside.
Just one peek.
Smack.
The shoulder pole slipped from his grasp, and the two baskets of tofu crashed into the mud, instantly turning into a mushy mess.
"Ah—!!!"
A shrill, bloodcurdling scream shattered the morning stillness of Jiangning City.
Old Man Liu collapsed onto his backside in the mud, losing control of his bladder and bowels, and scrambled backward on all fours.
"Murder! Murder!!"
Inside the gaping doors, the courtyard was a charred, smoking ruin.
Under the still-smoldering beams, beside the shattered rockery, and in what used to be an expensive koi pond, bodies lay everywhere.
Not a single corpse was intact.
Even the large black wolf-dog that usually barked ferociously at passersby had been decapitated. Its severed head had rolled near the threshold, its dead eyes staring unblinkingly at Old Man Liu.
The entire Wang family—wiped out!
...
Jiangning Prefectural Office.
The Prefect didn't even have his official hat on straight, and he had lost a shoe as he stumbled into the second hall.
"What's going on?! What are they yelling about outside?!"
The Prefect's voice trembled. The raging fires and battle cries from the previous night had kept him shivering under his covers until morning.
The head constable, his face ashen, held two newly written case files and knelt on one knee.
"My Lord, something terrible has happened."
"Last night, during the hour of the Ox, the Xu family's Liu Garden was attacked. About three hundred martial arts assassins laid siege, led personally by Duan Tiande of the Water Transport Gang..."
The Prefect gripped the edge of his desk tightly, his face deathly pale. "The Xu family... is gone?"
If Xu Youde, that god of wealth, was dead, what would happen to this year's taxes? What if the imperial court blamed him?
The constable shook his head, swallowed hard, and a deep fear showed in his eyes.
"No, My Lord."
"The Xu family... is completely unharmed."
"The three hundred assassins, including Duan Tiande, were entirely wiped out."
"Their bodies were piled into a gruesome mound by the Xu family's private guards right on the broken bridge by the Qinhuai River, blocking half the waterway."
The Prefect's legs gave out, and he collapsed into his armchair.
Three hundred men... all killed?
That Xu Youde, who always greeted everyone with a smiling face, actually hid such a sharp blade?!
"Then... then the murders they're yelling about outside are..."
The constable took a deep breath and presented the second case file, his hands trembling slightly.
"Someone reported a crime this morning. The Wang family in the south of the city... has been massacred."
"From the patriarch Wang Ruhai down to the scullery maids, along with the guards and servants—two hundred and thirty-one people in total. No survivors."
"The main hall was burned to the ground, and Wang Ruhai's head... was hung on the plaque above the Wang family's main gate."
Boom!
The Prefect felt as if his skull had been struck by lightning; his ears rang loudly.
The Wang family, one of the Four Great Families! A behemoth that had stood in Jiangning for a hundred years!
Gone overnight?!
"Who... who did it? Was it the Xu family? Was it that madman Xu Youde?!" the Prefect stammered.
The constable shook his head and lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing some unspeakable entity.
"Although the scene was cleaned up very well, a single character was left on a pillar in the main hall."
"What character?"
"Yin (Hidden)."
Hearing this word, the Prefect's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
Yin—the Hidden Guards of the Xie family.
Where the ghost soldiers pass, not a blade of grass remains!
That was the blade in Xie An's hand!
"Quick! Give me the file!"
The Prefect almost lunged forward, snatching the file on the Wang family massacre. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw it straight into the nearby brazier.
The fire caught the paper, quickly turning it to ash.
"My Lord, what are you doing..." the constable asked in shock.
The Prefect stared fixedly at the brazier, his face twisted in a grimace, and ground out through clenched teeth:
"Last night, the wind was strong and the rain was heavy. The Wang family accidentally caught fire, the blaze spread, and the whole family perished! It was an accident! A natural disaster!"
"What massacre? What assassins? I know nothing of this! And neither did you see anything!"
"Do you understand?!"
The constable shuddered violently and immediately slammed his forehead against the floor, making a loud thud.
"This subordinate understands! This subordinate will go close the case right now!"
The Prefect looked at the basin of ashes and slumped down weakly, cold sweat soaking his back.
Xie An had gone mad.
That old fox, who had bided his time for over a decade, had finally bared his fangs.
The Wang family was finished.
From now on, whether the sky over Jiangning City would belong to Xie or Xu, who could say?
...
The Zhao Family Estate.
As another of the Four Great Families, the atmosphere in the Zhao estate right now was more oppressive than a funeral.
In the main hall.
The patriarch, Zhao Chongli, crushed a priceless Song dynasty porcelain teacup in his hand. Shards pierced his palm, dripping blood, but he seemed completely unaware.
"What did you say?"
"Wang Ruhai... that old bastard, who was just last night discussing with me how to carve up the Xu family's assets... is dead?"
The trusted steward kneeling on the floor had his face pressed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
"To answer the Master, it is absolutely true."
"His head is hanging on the gate plaque, eyes wide open. He died... a gruesome death."
"Word is... the Xie family did it."
Zhao Chongli shuddered violently, stood up abruptly, but then collapsed back into his seat because his legs gave way.
His face was uglier than a corpse's.
Last night, Wang Ruhai had sent someone with a message, proposing that the major families unite to swallow up the Xu family's mulberry orchards and cotton mills while they were being wiped out.
He had been tempted, even preparing the silver, just waiting for dawn to claim his share.
But when dawn came, it wasn't a share of the spoils he got, but Wang Ruhai's blood!
"Quick!"
Zhao Chongli snapped back to reality, his voice shrill.
"Close the doors! Lock the main gates tight!"
"All clan members are forbidden from leaving the estate for the next few days! If anyone dares step half a foot outside the Zhao compound, I'll break their legs!"
"And!"
He roared, his eyes bloodshot.
"Go to the accounting room! Burn all ledgers, letters, and contracts related to the Wang family!"
"Whether it's business or personal, even a single slip of paper—burn it all to ashes!"
"From today on, the Zhao family does not know the Wang family! We have never known them!"
Zhao Chongli panted heavily, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of his throat.
Too ruthless.
The Xu family had counter-killed three hundred death-sworn assassins, proving they had an army in their hands.
The Xie family had wiped out the entire Wang household, proving they held absolute power.
These two fierce tigers had torn the fat pig of the Wang family to pieces.
If his Zhao family dared to step forward now, it would be nothing short of a death wish!
"This Jiangning City... is no longer a place to survive in..."
Zhao Chongli looked at the dark clouds gathering outside the door and closed his eyes in despair.
...
The Xue Family Embroidery Pavilion.
As the wealthiest woman in Jiangning, Xue Hong's reaction was entirely different.
Wearing a bright red embroidered dress, she leaned lazily against the second-floor railing, holding a handful of melon seeds and casually cracking them between her teeth.
Her gaze passed over the overlapping eaves, landing on the distant Wang estate that was still billowing with green smoke.
"Madam."
Her personal maid, Xiaocui, ran up the stairs with a pale face. "The rumors are spreading like wildfire outside. They say the Wang family has been completely wiped out. Should we also..."
"Why panic?"
Xue Hong spat out a melon seed shell, a smile curling at the corner of her lips.
"That idiot Wang Ruhai dug his own grave. Who else can he blame?"
"He thought he could treat the Xu family's girl like a soft persimmon to squeeze, but he ended up squeezing a bomb instead."
She turned around, picked a grape from the fruit platter, and popped it into her mouth.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"This girl, Xu Qinghuan, played this trick of borrowing another's knife to kill quite beautifully."
"I don't believe for a second that this is a coincidence."
"To turn a coward like Xie An into a madman, that girl must be holding onto Xie An's lifeline."
Xue Hong's eyes rippled with light, a flicker of admiration, and even a hint of awe, flashing in their depths.
...
The Xu Family, Lingering Garden.
In stark contrast to the storm raging through the city outside, the interior of the Xu estate was surprisingly calm.
It was almost eerily calm.
The tragic slaughter of the previous night seemed as though it had never happened.
All the corpses had been cleared away.
The bluestone slabs in the courtyard had been scrubbed over and over again by the servants, until even the metallic stench of blood wedged in the brick crevices was entirely masked by the scent of fresh water.
Broken railings had been replaced with new ones, and the shattered flower pots were removed.
Aside from a faint, lingering trace of murderous intent in the air, the place remained the picture of a wealthy Jiangnan garden.
In the main hall.
Xu Youde sat in the seat of honor.
He had changed back into his usual landlord's robe, still looking every bit the corrupt official who reeked of money and greeted everyone with a polite, obliging smile.
However, instead of holding a teacup, he gripped a piece of deerskin, carefully and methodically wiping a Tang-style sword that rested across his knees.
The blade was snow-bright, reflecting eyes that were narrowed into sharp slits.
Where was the slightest trace of his usual foolish demeanor? There was nothing left but bottomless, freezing cold.
"Master."
The butler, Lao Zhang, walked in quickly, holding a manifest in his hands.
"The inventory is complete."
"Among the private guards, eighteen sustained minor injuries, five are severely injured, and there are zero casualties."
"The weapons and valuables left behind by the assassins last night are worth roughly thirty to forty thousand taels in total."
"Furthermore, Duan Tiande's ship was also seized by our men. There is still a substantial amount of the Water Transport Gang's silver stored on board."
Xu Youde did not stop his movements, continuing to wipe the blade at a slow, deliberate pace.
"Hmm."
He responded with a mild hum, as if he were simply listening to the profit and loss report of an ordinary business transaction.
"For the injured brothers, distribute a settlement allowance of five hundred taels to each of them. Use the finest medicine and hire the best doctors."
"Tell them that when they work for the Xu family, their lives belong to themselves, and the money belongs to their families."
"Yes." Lao Zhang agreed respectfully. He hesitated for a moment before adding, "News has come from the outside. The Wang family... is gone."
Screech—
The Tang sword slid back into its scabbard, letting out a harsh, teeth-setting scrape.
Xu Youde raised his head, a deeply meaningful smile spreading across his face.
"Xie An made his move."
"Faster and far more ruthless than I anticipated."
"When Master Xie truly gets vicious, he is indeed far more extreme than rough men like us."
He casually placed the Tang sword onto the desk, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
But before Xu Youde could even swallow the tea, Li Sheng stumbled into the hall, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Master! Miss, the Miss has woken up!"
