The massacre caused by some of Yu Miao's descendants who had suddenly gone crazy in the Yu Clan's mansion had been stopped somehow. Although it lasted for only an hour, more than seventy of Yu Miao's immediate descendants had died, either killed by someone else or themselves; and more than a thousand servants and guards were killed because of them.
During the process, one of Yu Miao's great-grandsons had summoned the Ghost God he worshiped with the flesh and blood of several maidservants. With its power, he almost slaughtered an entire private army of three hundred elite warriors who happened to pass by the mansion. If Yu Mu and a group of Elders had not stopped him in time, he would have killed everyone on the scene.
There was blood everywhere in the mansion. Standing on the steps in front of the main hall, Yu Mu watched the ashen-faced and visibly shaken servants washing away the blood and collecting the pieces of flesh and gore that were scattered across the courtyard; His brows were knitted into a tight frown.
It happened so strangely; all of a sudden, many people in the mansion went crazy, all of whom were direct descendants of Yu Miao. It had greatly confused Yu Mu, making him wonder who did this to them. Although he was glad to see more than seventy of Yu Miao's descendants dead or severely wounded, he might be blamed for this, and he did not welcome such consequences.
As the current Clan Master of the Yu Clan in Zhong Province, Yu Mu was surrounded by a group of Elders who supported him. The power in his hand was actually stronger than Yu Miao. So, after he and the Elders had quickly quelled the sudden massacre and ordered the people to withhold the news, all kinds of intelligence were quickly sent back to him.
The powerful figures who had recently colluded with Yu Miao were all visited by bad luck today; two of his proudest sons had been cursed and were sent to Mount Hanyu for a cure. On top of that, all his shops were burned down at the same time, affecting his finances so hard that his whole family might have to live off porridge soon.
"Excellently done! The question is, who did all this?"
Yu Mu pondered over the question. Even with the strength he had, he was not sure whether he could deal such a heavy blow to Yu Miao in such a short period of time. It was true that the power he held was stronger than Yu Miao, but the people he could use were all from Yu Clan in Zhong Province. Once he did anything, Yu Miao was sure to spot the clues and react quickly. Therefore, he knew he could not have struck the other so hard and so quickly.
Could it be someone from the Zhong Province?
Yu Mu shook his head. He knew that none of the clans in Zhong Province today had the ability to do such a thing. Bo Zhongfu might be strong enough for this, but he was an outsider. It had taken him two years to straighten out his relationship with all the powerful clans in Zhong Province, and he was busy now grasping the actual power of the province. So, how could he possibly have the leisure to conspire against Yu Miao? Besides, he and Yu Miao did not have any personal enmity. Could it be the branches of the powerful clans Bo Zhongfu brought from Liangzhu?
This was even less likely. After all, Yu Clan was one of the most powerful clans in the Zhong Province, and it had become the most influential native clan after the former Prefecture Overseer, Feng Lingling, and many of the powerful local clans were liquidated. Although these foreign clans were mighty in strength, they did not have good connections here as Yu Clan did. So, they could not have done it without alerting Yu Miao or his eyes and ears.
A proud smile appeared on Yu Mu's lips as he shook his head and muttered, "Above all, they don't have the strength to achieve such a feat! The clans that Bo Zhongfu brought with him are typical official clans, and they don't have that kind of power in their hands."
Just as he was puzzling over who had done this, one of his loyal disciples hurried in front of him, then bowed and said in a low voice, "Grand Oracle, Ji Zixuan, the betrothed of Tan Lang, the Marquis of Dong Hai Province, is seeking your audience."
"Oh? Tan Lang's betrothed?" Yu Mu looked at his disciple in surprise, and then he almost jumped up, "Wait, what did you say her name was? Ji Zixuan? Ji? Is she from..."
In Pangu Continent, the surnames of common people are very simple, no more than mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, flowers, trees, animals and birds; and their names were inseparable from the scope of all things in nature. However, the family names of those noble clans in Great Yu all had unique origins. They either originated from some ancient Gods or almighty experts, powerful clans of the ancient times, or the branches of some larger clans.
But, there was only one clan in Great Yu who used the family name 'Ji'. They also had another surname, 'Gongsun', but they only used it during formal occasions, such as offering sacrifices to their ancestors and Ghost Gods. Other than that, they appeared in front of the public with the surname 'Ji'. This clan was the imperial clan of the current Human Emperor of Great Yu, and they were the lineal descendants of the famous Human Emperor in the ancient times, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan!
Yu Mu felt his head reeling as soon as he heard that Wu Qi's betrothed was named Ji Zixuan. But, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not think of a girl named Zixuan in the clan of today's Human Emperor. After a long silence, he murmured to himself, "I've not been back to Liangzhu for hundreds of years. Could she be the daughter of some imperial King who was born in those years? Or did some imperial King see Tan Lang's potential and betroth his daughter to him?"
He clapped his hands suddenly and laughed with a thoughtful expression. "So that's it! If she is indeed the daughter of some King, that explains why Yu Miao was struck so hard from the back."
He gave his disciple a glare and said in a low, powerful voice, "Open the front door and invite her in. No, wait! I'll greet her myself!"
Under the astonished glances of his own people and servants, Yu Mu strode hurriedly to the front of the mansion, his face flushed with excitement. As he strode on, the linen suit he was wearing gradually changed into a pitch-black brocade robe embroidered with black patterns of mountains and rivers. This kind of brocade robe was worn by the nobles of Great Yu when they met the most distinguished guests.
Upon seeing Yu Mu change into this costume, his confidants, disciples, and subordinates all hurried to his side and lined up in a neat procession, walking out of the front door together with him.
Because of what had just happened, the number of guards posted in front of the mansion had increased several times than usual. More than two thousand guards clogged the front door; at the same time, a large number of guards and private troops were patrolling the surrounding streets, forbidding anyone from approaching the mansion.
In the square outside the front door, Princess Zhang Le, dressed in a splendid palace dress, was measuring the front face of the mansion with her eyes. With her long hair combed into a tall bun, her magnificent dress, and her natural grace, she looked like a goddess who had just walked out from the past. Born of the royal blood, she was naturally surrounded by an air of dignity, which held all the guards in front of her in awe; and none dared to stare her in the eyes. Replete, Little Que'er was perched frozen atop the princess' shoulder, her eyes unblinking as if she was just a sparrow carved out of wood.
As soon as Yu Mu strode out of the front door, he saw Princess Zhang Le, standing there alone in the square and took a deep breath. Putting aside her beautiful appearance and magnificent dress, just her extraordinary noble demeanor was enough to make his heart tremble.
Although she was standing there alone, Princess Zhang Le gave the impression of a goddess from the times of great antiquity; she was above everything else in the world, and did not allow anyone to encroach or get close to her. Those who came in front of her would feel as insignificant as ants, and could only worship and admire her, but not be qualified to talk to her face to face.
'She is definitely high-born!' The closer Yu Mu got to Princess Zhang Le, the more pressure he felt. When he was less than thirty feet away from the princess, the pressure he felt was so immense that he could not breathe or walk freely. His soul seemed to howl, forcing him to kneel before the goddess.
He looked at Princess Zhang Le in horror. What was going on here? He had never experienced such strange feelings even when he was facing those imperial Kings years ago!
With her hands in her sleeves, Princess Zhang Le squinted at Yu Mu and asked softly, "Are you the current Clan Master of the Yu Clan in Zhong Province, Yu Mu?" As soon as she spoke, an indescribable aura of majesty filled the air, with a sense of crisis lurking in it. The bizarre pressure sent Yu Mu's heart into a continuous convulsion that nearly knocked him out.
It was true that Yu Mu's cultivation base was much stronger than Princess Zhang Le's, but his soul was far inferior to the princess.
Yu Mu was only a mortal. Even though his cultivation base had reached the level of the Sun Oracle, in essence, his soul was still a mortal soul. On the other hand, Princess Zhang Le had formed her innate divine soul, which was already many times stronger than Yu Mu's. What was more, the Golden Body of Ancient God she had recently formed had raised her soul to the level of a real Ancient God.
When a mortal soul faced the soul of a God, it was like an adult sheep facing a tiger cub. So, even though Yu Mu's cultivation base was stronger than Princess Zhang Le's, he could only bow his head obediently and put down all of his resistance before the pressure of the divine soul emanated from her.
For this reason, immediately after Yu Mu heard the question, he bowed slightly and answered respectfully, "I am Yu Mu. Who are you, if I may ask?"
The princess said in a plain voice, "I am the betrothed of Tan Lang, the Marquis of Dong Hai Province. While he's away, I act in his stead. Yu Miao is secretly plotting to take over my province, so I've come here today to talk to you about how we can work together. I can help you take complete control of the Yu Clan in Zhong Province, but you have to cooperate with me in killing all of Yu Miao's family members and his underlings. What say you?"
Standing right in front of Yu Clan's mansion and facing all the guards and private troops, Princess Zhang Le casually announced her will of killing Yu Miao, the current Great Elder of Yu Clan, and all his family members and underlings, as if it were nothing. Yu Mu felt cold sweat trickling down his back. He glanced hastily at the surroundings and gave his confidants and disciples a wink, then humbly invited Princess Zhang Le to discuss further in the mansion.
The princess gladly accepted the invitation.