Chapter 701: Chapter 168: Mr. Fang Makes His Move, Fallout! [Ten Thousand Words]

...

Fang Che was walking in the North City.

In the past few days, he discovered over 1,300 households with suspicions, all being large households.

He recorded each one, then based on the residential records over the years, he consolidated all materials from the City Guardian Mansion, the Guardian Hall, and the North City Guardian for review.

Everything seemed normal.

But it was absolutely impossible for all 1,300 plus families to belong to the Demon Sect.

Thus, in the past few days, Fang Che repeatedly analyzed these households. On the surface, there was indeed nothing to tell apart.

So he simply decided to take action.

He began conducting in-home inspections personally!

After all, the Ningxue Sword brightly shone above, who should I fear? 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

This time, he brought two people with him, Jing Xiuyun and Yun Jianqiu.

Although Fang Che didn’t want to bring anyone because if something really did happen, he was confident in his escape, unlike Yun Jianqiu and others.

However, he had no choice but to bring people along.

After all, inspections by a Deacon require at least two people, to not break the rules. If Fang Che went in alone, it would definitely arouse suspicion and make people think the inspection was not legitimate.

After inspecting five or six households, they found nothing abnormal.

Next up was the richest family in Baiyun State, the Zhu Family.

"The Zhu Family should not have any issues."

Jing Xiuyun said, "This Zhu Family has been in Baiyun State for nearly a thousand years, deeply rooted, and for seven to eight hundred years, they’ve been the wealthiest, an unrivaled position."

"A thousand years, seven to eight hundred years as the richest..."

Fang Che pondered and said, "The Zhu Family deals in herbal medicine; they’ve monopolized almost the entire southeastern market of Wan Ling Zhi Forest, right?"

"Yes."

"Has such a big family never expanded their courtyard size? Is this mansion still the old one from a thousand years ago?"

"Yes, it was big enough back then."

"Something’s not right."

Fang Che said, "In a thousand years, assuming a generation every thirty years, there should be thirty or forty generations; and for such wealthy families, it’s generally not with just one wife. Suppose, for example, the family head a thousand years ago had four wives and six children, and those six children had their own...children had children...how many would there be?"

"It can’t be that in a thousand years it’s always been passed down through a single lineage, right?"

Yun Jianqiu and Jing Xiuyun were suddenly stunned.

They both gasped.

Because for such a family, the possibility of always having a single line is absolutely impossible.

"I’ve checked the records, the most frequent external interactions of this family over a thousand years are usually...when some ancestor celebrates a grand birthday. Is that right?"

"We all know about that."

Fang Che said, "But logically speaking, if they go all out for a grand birthday, there’s no reason they wouldn’t have weddings, funerals, and child birth events, right?"

"Throughout these years, although there are records, they aren’t many. Even the grand birthdays are sometimes interrupted, and once they’re interrupted, it’s many years."

"Does such a large family usually not marry wives? Not have children? Does no one die?"

Fang Che said, "Does this make sense?"

"Maybe it’s a recording omission, who knows."

"That possibility exists, which is the reason for our door-to-door inspection."

Fang Che said calmly, "If, and I’m just saying if! If this Zhu Family were spies, then how many things have they done in over a thousand years is simply immeasurable!"

"If there’s really an issue, then it’s definitely a big fish! A huge fish!"

"So, the two of you, don’t act rashly today. Even if you find something, control your expressions, because if there’s really a problem, the three of us might not be able to leave this courtyard!"

Fang Che solemnly warned.

Both of them instantly broke into a sweat.

"Relax."

Fang Che comforted, "Don’t be so tense, besides, with your intelligence, it’s hard to discover any issues, just keep a normal heart."

This comforting statement left Jing Xiuyun and Yun Jianqiu feeling aggrieved.

Is this really comfort?

But Fang Che already walked forward.

The gate of the Zhu Family was very antique-looking, like an antique itself. On the tiles of the gate, some weeds had even grown, along with plants similar in nature to mushrooms.

However, they had not been cleared.

Instead, they were left to grow vigorously.

Fang Che stopped and watched, deep in thought.

As soon as the three of them stood at the door, the gatekeeper quickly came out to greet them: "Are the three...Lord Deacons, going to enter the mansion?"

Fang Che said indifferently, "I was just about to go in and pay respects to Mr. Zhu, please kindly inform him."

"Yes, yes, please come in, I’ll make some tea for the three of you, just wait a moment."

"Alright."

After entering, Fang Che asked casually, "Has this rooftop grass not been cleared for a long time?"

"What are you saying, my lord? It’s cleared every year, but long ago the Grand Dowager instructed that these eaves grass should grow, just let them grow, and when autumn and winter come and the eaves grass wilts, then they’ll be dealt with. After all, our family doesn’t lack that bit of money, why harm their lives... After all, eaves grass only lives for a year."

"The Grand Dowager is indeed kind-hearted."

"Yes, the Grand Dowager is indeed kind-hearted, and this eaves grass can even be used in medicine. My lord might not know this, right?"

The gatekeeper said while making tea.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Fang Che took a sip of the hot tea, asking with great interest.

"There are many kinds of eaves grass, for example, this stonecrop can detoxify, clear heat, relieve pain, reduce swelling; it can be used in treating wounds, eczema, vomiting blood, burns, etc... And other grasses also have their uses, though for cultivators, it’s negligible, but for ordinary people, it still has good effects."