Chapter 104: Chapter 96: Uprooting the Zheng Clan Is Harder Than Ascending to Heaven

Many Miracle Masters who had stepped onto the Path and glimpsed its mysteries couldn’t even clearly explain what the Path or Miracle Techniques truly were.

It was always a sudden epiphany, an awakening to a certain Ability.

So they began to abide by their rules, conceal their Restrictions, and walk the world.

It’s hard to say whether Miracle Masters emit some mysterious "aura" when they exert their power. But when nearly a thousand members of the Zheng Family each began their work, the swarm of Ravens circling above the Imperial City suddenly shrieked in agony, flying about chaotically and colliding in mid-air.

Thousands upon thousands of Ravens collided in the air, foaming at the beak. In an instant, some fell like rain, while others spiraled upward, fleeing into the clouds!

All the Ravens were fleeing! All were terrified! All were screaming!

The entire city reeled in shock!

"How is this possible!"

The Eldest Prince, who had been sitting calmly at the dinner table, abruptly shot to his feet, staring at the sky in horror.

In the distance, thousands upon thousands of Ravens converged into a black tornado, spiraling up toward the heavens. Further away, huge swathes of them plummeted to the ground, their feathers scattered. Amidst the shrieks of the Ravens, the entire Imperial City was enveloped in an atmosphere of panic and unease.

The Second Prince watched with eyes wide in fury.

"How can there be so many!"

The Third Prince, hidden in the crowd, looked up at the sky, dumbfounded and at a loss for words.

That the Zheng Family had many Miracle Masters in its employ was a well-known fact among insiders.

But what no one knew was that the Zheng Family had *this* many!

The simultaneous release of aura from the Zheng Family’s Miracle Masters had actually stirred up a commotion greater than when Mystic Feng Bei made an appearance!

Although the Ravens’ reaction wasn’t a perfect measure of a Miracle Master’s strength, the visual shock of such a spectacle far surpassed that of Mystic Feng Bei’s appearances.

There were too many!

The Second Prince gritted his teeth. "Marquis Zhonglie, oh, Marquis Zhonglie... by exposing the Zheng Family’s strength like this, aren’t you afraid of becoming a thorn in our Father Emperor’s side!"

As the three Princes, all caught in the swirling vortex of the succession struggle, watched the Ravens’ commotion, it was as if they were having a conversation across space.

The Eldest Prince suppressed the shock in his eyes and shook his head. "No, how could Marquis Zhonglie not have considered this? He isn’t trying to tell us how many hidden Miracle Masters the Zheng Clan has."

From within the crowd, the Third Prince, his initial shock replaced by delight, clapped his hands. He watched the panicked Ravens in the sky as if they were a magnificent fireworks display, the kind you only see once a decade. The Third Prince laughed heartily. "Marquis Zhonglie wants to tell everyone that we can never guess how many Miracle Masters the Zheng Family has, or where they’re hidden. Street peddlers, wandering artisans, Painted Boat courtesans, Chefs, Orchid... Who has glimpsed the Path, and who is just a commoner?"

The Second Prince: "What he means to say is, no one can tell the Odd People from the common folk!"

"I finally understand why Father Emperor reacted the way he did in the throne room that day, why he praised Marquis Zhonglie so highly." The Eldest Prince’s constricted pupils dilated again, but his voice grew heavier. "Making a move against him wouldn’t be difficult."

The Second Prince: "But to uproot his Zheng Family, lock, stock, and barrel..."

The Third Prince finished laughing, concealed himself in the crowd again, and skipped off toward the Imperial Palace. He chuckled as he went, "Unless... you kill every citizen in the city."

"Or you kill Marquis Zhonglie himself!"

"But who could be certain of success, storming the tiger’s den of the Zheng Family to assassinate him in one blow?"

"Even Mystic Feng Bei is on the Zheng Family’s side..."

The three brothers’ conversation across space ultimately dissolved into a series of sighs, their meaning unclear.

The Eldest Prince: "It’s harder than ascending to Heaven!"

The Second Prince: "Harder than ascending to Heaven!"

The Third Prince: "Harder than ascending to Heaven!"

...

In an inconspicuous corner of the crowd.

Feng Bei seemed out of place, a world apart from everyone else. The people of the Zheng Clan walked forward in high spirits, while the area around Feng Bei remained unnaturally quiet.

As mentioned before, when Feng Bei first joined Ye Weiyang, she had investigated Zheng Xiu because of her connection to "Zheng Shan."

Zheng Xiu had never seemed like a Miracle Master. He was a diligent businessman, running his trade, looking for all the world like an ordinary, obscenely tacky, wealthy Merchant.

No matter how rich he was, in the eyes of Ye Weiyang, he was nothing more than a mere wealthy Merchant.

It was only in recent years that a few Odd People within the Zheng Clan who had glimpsed the Path began to draw Ye Weiyang’s attention.

Qing Shisan, Ji Hong’ou, Pei Gaoya, and others.

Only then did a new theory begin to circulate within Ye Weiyang.

Could Zheng Xiu, a man capable of gathering Odd People like Qing Shisan under the Zheng Clan’s banner, truly be just an ordinary, wealthy Merchant?

Ye Weiyang had not yet identified all the Paths.

They had once tried to match Zheng Xiu’s actions over the years to Path Cultivation, and it actually fit. Zheng Xiu’s rule was to make money. If a Path named [Merchant] truly existed, then Zheng Xiu, as the Richest Person, would be the most likely candidate to have stepped upon it.

But did a [Merchant] Path really exist?

A hundred paces away, Zheng Xiu walked, surrounded by his people. His snow-white ermine cloak billowed in the whistling wind. The black of the Ravens, the white of his cloak, his splendid wealth against the commonness of others—in Feng Bei’s eyes, all of it made Zheng Xiu’s figure stand out like a crane among chickens. He was impossible to ignore.

’What has it to do with me?’ 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Feng Bei lowered her head, her expression calm as she thought to herself. Her purpose for joining Ye Weiyang had been fulfilled. She had resolved one matter weighing on her heart, only to take on another. But she and Zheng Xiu were fated to be like two parallel lines that never cross. Feng Bei believed that once she found Zheng Shan or Zheng Er, she would have no deeper involvement with Zheng Xiu.

’He is the orphaned son of my senior, Zheng Shan’s, sworn brother. That is all.’

’That is all.’

"Are you wondering why this group of ours is so willing to work for Master Zheng?"

At some point, Qing Shisan had appeared by Feng Bei’s side, puffing away on his long-stemmed pipe. Wearing a tattered conical hat, he looked like a common Wanderer.

Feng Bei was, in fact, a little curious, but she shook her head slightly. "No."

"Tsk." Qing Shisan blew a smoke ring, his eyes narrowing in a sly smile. "How about I tell you a secret, then?"

’A secret?’

Feng Bei looked at Qing Shisan.

Qing Shisan said leisurely, "You were born standing deep within a Path, so you don’t understand the struggles of us mortals. Heh, that’s not your fault. But you should know this: for those who practice Path Cultivation and master Miracle Techniques, the more complex the rules and the greater the Restriction, the more wondrous the Miracle Technique becomes. And in the end, ’over there,’ the more ’doors’ one can push open."

Seeing Feng Bei’s slightly surprised expression, Qing Shisan chuckled wryly. "And all of us, we all share the same strict rule."

"Get paid to do a job. The more money we get, the harder the job we do. That’s one part of it."

"Then, at some point, our rule inexplicably changed to ’get paid by Master Zheng to do Master Zheng’s jobs’."

"We thought such a restrictive rule would halt our progress, but Master Zheng just kept paying more and more generously, never once in arrears."

"What a coincidence, right? The deeper we walked our Paths, the more indispensable Master Zheng became."

Qing Shisan continued to puff away. "So now you get it, right? Why we’re all willing to risk our lives to protect him. Once you’ve glimpsed the depths of the Path, no one wants to go back to being an ignorant commoner. Even you must be curious about what lies at the very end of the Path, right?"

Feng Bei remained silent, her expression unchanging. As she walked through the streets with the Zheng Clan’s procession, she suddenly sighed softly. "Why are you telling me this?"

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH," Qing Shisan scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "I don’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to ask on behalf of the Master... would you also like to work for Master Zheng, like the rest of us?"

Hearing this, Feng Bei’s expression froze for a moment.

Qing Shisan beamed. "Working for him helps you advance faster!"

In the end, Feng Bei, of course, did not agree. Nor could she ever possibly agree.

’It was as if Qing Shisan was implying that the ultimate end of the Path and Path Mystic Skill was to work for Master Zheng.’

’In that case, why don’t I just become a rich Merchant myself?’

Feng Bei thought silently.

Qing Shisan gave a meaningful smile, took a drag from his pipe, and walked back to Master Zheng’s side.

For the rest of the way, Feng Bei said nothing more.

The Zheng Clan’s entourage joyfully made their way along the main road, heading back to the Zheng Residence.

The common folk offered their congratulations, shouting, "The Holy Emperor is wise and brilliant!"

Hidden among them were many members of the Zheng Family, leading the cheers.

Zheng Xiu naturally knew that playing with fire could easily lead to trouble. While hyping up Zheng Haoran’s accomplishments, he also made sure to praise Old Wei, carefully controlling the narrative. That way, the fire he started would burn just right.

Upon arriving at the gates of the Zheng Residence, Zheng Xiu had someone bring out a pre-prepared chest. When it was opened, the gleaming silver inside illuminated everyone’s faces.

Zheng Xiu’s style was a bit like an internet celebrity putting on a show and then paying the extras afterward.

The Zheng Clan "workers" cheerfully collected their money and left. Feng Bei, who had followed along and finally seen Zheng Xiu to his door, turned to leave, holding Xiaofeng in her arms.

"Miss Feng, please wait!"

But Zheng Erniang suddenly stepped forward and took Feng Bei by the arm, smiling. "Tonight is the New Year’s Eve vigil. If Miss Feng Bei wouldn’t mind, why not stay and sample the Zheng Family’s reunion feast? Would you be willing?"

In an instant, the crowd of workers collecting their pay in front of the Zheng Residence fell deathly silent. They stared, transfixed, at Zheng Erniang and Feng Bei as the former held on to the latter.

It happened so suddenly. No one had expected Zheng Erniang to provoke this Evil Star.

Zheng Erniang was not an insider; she had no idea how dangerous Feng Bei’s touch was. Everyone else kept their distance, but Zheng Erniang, ignorant of the danger, had actively grabbed Feng Bei’s arm.

Feng Bei’s slender frame shuddered. She turned her head, bit by bit, to look at Zheng Erniang.