Li Nan, Patriarch of the Li Family, was a man in his forties. With his refined looks and graceful demeanor, his aristocratic air most closely resembled that of the nobles in the upper circles of the Imperial Capital.

The Mo Family’s Patriarch, Mo Qing, was also in his forties. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a square face, and full lips. Though over forty, the fierce aura about him was still quite intense. Among these men, his strength was the most formidable; with the cultivation of a Tier Six Great Sword Master, he had more than enough to be proud of even within Penzes City.

But ever since that new Lord arrived in Penzes City, this noble lord—the strongest man in Penzes—had been in a foul mood. The death of a woman was nothing to him. No matter how beautiful a woman was, if he set his sights on her, none could escape his grasp. Moreover, no woman by his side ever stayed in his favor for more than two years. So, he truly wasn’t bothered by the death of one woman. The problem was, that night, he had been sleeping with that very concubine in his arms. It wasn’t until he woke up the next morning that he discovered he had spent the entire night holding a corpse! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Anyone who encountered such a thing would likely be scared half to death. Therefore, even though there was no evidence that Ling Xiao’s people were behind it, he was certainly connected! Even the assassins hired from above at a high price had reportedly failed. Just how powerful was the force around Viscount Lingxiao? He wasn’t the only one who had reached this conclusion. As a result, the four families had kept a low profile for many days after the incident. Now, the Cui Family Patriarch had suddenly summoned them again, and they all felt a little uneasy, not knowing what had happened.

"I have summoned you all here because there is a matter I wish to discuss with you!" Cui Ze said.

"Your Excellency the Viscount, if you have something to say, just say it straight!" Huang Qiang said in a booming voice. Most people were slow-tempered, but he was hot-headed and impatient. When he spoke, the muscles on his face twitched.

Cui Ze gritted his teeth and said softly, "Today, that man went outside the city, took a look around my paddy fields, and then left!"

"Hahaha... I thought it was something serious! Your Excellency the Viscount, my dear Brother Cui, even if that kid’s forces are formidable, you don’t have to be this scared, do you? So what if he knows we were behind the last incident? He has no proof! We are nobles, too. He wouldn’t dare do anything to us. Ha, this is hilarious. He killed a concubine I fancied. Actually, what he doesn’t know is that I was already tired of that jealous woman and was about to kick her out. I never thought they’d come and help me out with it, hahahaha!" Before Cui Ze could finish, Huang Qiang had started laughing and talking to himself. His booming voice made the other three men’s ears ache. It was a good thing they were in a secret room, or all their secrets would have been broadcast.

Fortunately, the other three men were long familiar with Huang Qiang’s temperament. They tuned him out, letting his words go in one ear and out the other. Li Nan’s expression darkened. "What is he planning? Surely he doesn’t intend to take back the land?"

Mo Qing said in a low voice, "I think it’s possible. Nominally, the entirety of Penzes City, including the surrounding lands, all belong to him. If he reclaims it by force, there’s really nothing we can say."

"Take our land?" Huang Qiang sneered. "You’ve got to be kidding. That wet-behind-the-ears kid? What’s wrong with you all? Why the long faces? Do you really think that boy can do anything to us? Don’t forget, our four families control fifty percent of the resources in Penzes City! The prices... we set them! He wants to take back the land? Fine, let him have it! We’ll just take control of all the slave laborers and see who’ll farm for him. Then, we’ll jack up the prices. If the commoners complain, let them go find the Lord City Lord! The Lord City Lord wants our land back, haha, so of course we’re going to raise prices!"

For probably the first time, the other three men didn’t frown at Huang Qiang’s shouting. Li Nan’s eyes lit up, and he said, "Mm, I rather agree with this plan. As long as we drive up the prices and pin the blame on the Lord, he won’t be able to talk his way out of it even with a thousand mouths! When the time comes, he can crawl back to the Imperial Capital the same way he came!"

A smile also appeared on Mo Qing’s face. "That’s right. Penzes City is ours. It won’t be so easy for an outsider to take it away!"

Huang Qiang let out a few triumphant laughs and said, "Then what are we waiting for? When it comes to raising prices, the sooner the better!"

"Hold on. We must plan this properly!" Li Nan held up a hand to stop Huang Qiang, then said thoughtfully, "Brother Cui controls the city’s entire supply of grain and oil. Therefore, Brother Cui must be the main force in this!"

Cui Ze smiled arrogantly and said, "Rest assured. When have I not been the one to charge at the front? Hmph, he dared to intimidate me with such methods. I have a death feud with that boy!"

Unlike the other three who didn’t take women seriously, that concubine had been Cui Ze’s most beloved woman. Even when she was constantly framing Cui Ze’s eldest son to create an opportunity for her own son to inherit the title, Cui Ze couldn’t bear to punish her. He had turned a blind eye, pretending not to see. Yet, he never imagined she would be killed by someone else. The hatred in his heart was truly beyond words.

Li Nan then added, "There are also the other nobles and wealthy merchants. I feel that some of the merchant families have been acting a bit ambiguous lately, trying to bypass us and cozy up to the new Lord. We should teach them a lesson and show them who the true masters of Penzes are!"

Mo Qing said, "Exactly! Although we each have our own monopolies, if we want to create more severe consequences—enough to even reach the ears of His Majesty the King—we must unite with the other nobles. Only by having all of us exert our power together can we truly use this opportunity to drive Ling Xiao out!"

...

Ling Xiao and Ye Wen Ni visited a few more places that day. By the time they returned to their residence, it was already afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set in the west. Just as they reached the inner courtyard, they heard a pleasant zither melody again.

Today, the music seemed to hold much less of the resentful anger than before, replaced instead by a touch of homesickness.

Ye Wen Ni chuckled lightly. "This woman is quite interesting. She plays the zither really well!"

Ling Xiao nodded and said, "Everyone has their own strengths. You don’t need to be envious. In my eyes, you’re much more lovable than her!"

Ye Wen Ni’s face flushed red, and her heart began to beat a little faster. Her gaze toward Ling Xiao softened even more. ’He actually learned how to sweet-talk someone. That’s really something!’

Ye Wen Ni lacked the necessary cultivation level and could only tell that the music was pleasant. Ling Xiao, however, knew that this Feng Ling was a true genius! A genuine prodigy who, even in such an environment and under these circumstances, still had the mind to improve her cultivation!

After locking her up here, Ling Xiao had never once gone to see her. Although he had chosen two of the slave girls he bought to serve her, her power was completely sealed. How could she possibly be in high spirits? After an initial phase of frenzy, Feng Ling was now able to quiet her heart and use her zither playing to cultivate her sword techniques, which were actually showing faint signs of improvement!

Just then, Chunlan came over and called Ye Wen Ni away, seemingly for some matter. Ling Xiao was left standing alone at the entrance to Feng Ling’s courtyard, his eyes closed as he listened, sensing the threads of Sword Intent woven into the melody!

When it came to genius, how many people in this world could be found who understood the sword better than Ling Xiao?

In his past life, there were indeed Cultivators who could manifest Sword Intent through musical instruments! But there were none who could manifest a musical piece through a sword. That was why Ling Xiao was so curious. The Sword Dao is limitless. The founding Sect Leader of Shushan once said: Everyone has their own Sword Dao!

Therefore, Ling Xiao was unwilling to give up any opportunity to comprehend the Sword Dao. In fact, he had truly perceived something new from Feng Ling’s music!

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Sorry for the late update today. Xiaodao will do their best to get back on a normal schedule tomorrow. ^_^(To be continued. If you would like to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters. Support the author and support genuine reading!)