Chapter 197: Household Shattered, Family Slain

Niu Youdao did not stand on ceremony with him.

“There is something I need you to do.”

Wu Sanliang said, “Master Dao, just give the order.”

“Shao Pingbo has two younger brothers. From what I know, they do not get along particularly well with him. Go to Beizhou immediately and pay close attention to those two. See whom they usually associate with. Just watch them. Do not make contact. Wait for further word from me.”

Niu Youdao continued, “Shao Pingbo also has a younger sister. You may keep an eye on her in passing, but under no circumstances approach her on your own. Otherwise, you may bring danger upon yourself.”

The reason he was sending Wu Sanliang as well was that Wei Duo presented certain difficulties. His stutter was a problem. If he went out asking around, he was too easy to notice. He was better suited to remaining near the Shangqing Sect and observing Shao Pingbo from that side. So Niu Youdao would not have Wu Sanliang watch Shao Pingbo himself. He only needed to watch the other targets. Wu Sanliang nodded.

“Understood.”

“This trip may carry some risk. You have shown your face in Beizhou before, after all, so you must conceal yourself carefully.”

Niu Youdao warned him, “I would rather the matter fail than have you expose yourself.”

“For now, just go observe the situation as I instructed and report back whenever there is news. Later, I will arrange for someone to replace you.”

“For the time being, you alone should know about this. Do not tell Black Peony or the others yet. That is also for your own safety.”

“Good!”

Wu Sanliang nodded. Niu Youdao smiled.

“Make your preparations and leave as soon as possible.”

“Yes!”

Wu Sanliang cupped his hands and quickly departed. Niu Youdao turned back to Yuan Gang.

“Another half month. Then we move.”

Yuan Gang nodded...

Beizhou. Night had fallen over Lingbo Residence. Lamps burned sparsely beneath the darkness, but the light in the study remained lit deep into the night. Documents were piled across the desk.

Shao Pingbo worked through them one by one, writing his decisions with a brush. Only after he finally finished and set down the brush did steward Shao Sansheng bring over a bowl of soup and place it beside him. Shao Pingbo drained it in one breath, then stood and stretched his body.

Shao Sansheng reminded him quietly, “Eldest Young Master, there has still been no movement from the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Could it be...?”

“There is no ‘could it be.’ Keep watching. Do not relax.”

Shao Pingbo turned his head and cut him off coldly, then left the study... Night fell over Yanjing and the Song residence. A plain carriage stopped outside a side gate. Chen Guishuo, wearing a conical hat, jumped down and knocked the gate open.

Inside the carriage, Song Shu climbed out as well. The smell of alcohol still clung faintly to him. He had just returned from visiting a young mistress he kept outside the household.

He had a proper wife at home, but from time to time he still went outside to relax. The Song family’s recent situation had left him gloomy, and only beauty could let him forget his troubles for a while. Song Shu quickly entered through the side gate. Chen Guishuo removed his hat, handed it to the gate servant, and followed him inside. The servant immediately climbed onto the carriage and took it away to be returned to its usual place.

Back in his own courtyard, Song Shu called for his wife twice but received no answer.

He turned and asked a servant sweeping the courtyard, “Where is Madam?”

The servant replied, “She has been inside the whole time and hasn’t come out. She is probably resting.”

Song Shu looked at the hour. Resting at a time like this?

What was she doing?

He headed toward the bedroom. The instant he pushed open the door, his nostrils twitched. A dense smell of blood struck him. He rushed inside. Two corpses lay in pools of blood on the floor. A maid stared with wide, lifeless eyes. The other corpse had no head. Judging by the clothing, it was his wife. Song Shu’s eyes slowly widened. His mind went blank with a buzzing roar. At that exact moment, faint screams came from outside.

“Something happened! Something happened to the Eldest Master...!”

Song Shu shot out the door and ran toward the shouting. An old woman was nearly hysterical, her face deathly pale as she clutched at the people gathering around her and repeated the same words over and over.

“Something happened to the Eldest Master! Something happened...!”

Every hair on Song Shu’s body stood on end.

Shhk!

He drew his sword. With several leaps, he flew into his elder brother Song Quan’s courtyard. The servants there were already in complete chaos. Some had been frightened into tears. Song Shu charged into the main room. A man still wearing his official robes lay in a pool of blood. Four other bodies lay nearby. Like his wife, all four were missing their heads. One glance was enough for Song Shu to understand. His elder brother. His elder sister-in-law. Two nephews.

One niece...

Just then, someone who had run from this courtyard toward the main residence began shouting in terror again. A terrible thought flashed through Song Shu’s mind. Panic crossed his face.

He shot away at once, flew across the compound, and landed in the heavily restricted rear courtyard where ordinary people were forbidden to enter. Chaos had broken out here as well. A crowd packed the entrance to the study.

“Move!”

Song Shu shoved them aside and charged in. The sight inside was the same. Two people lay in pools of blood. Both were headless. One glance identified them. His father, Song Jiuming. And steward Liu Lu. Song Shu’s face turned ghastly white. He staggered backward and leaned against the wall with his sword supporting him, breathing rapidly. Chen Guishuo rushed in.

When he saw the scene, he cried in grief, “Martial Uncle, what happened?”

Shhk!

Song Shu swung his sword up and pointed it at him.

“Speak! Was this you?”

Chen Guishuo hastily raised both hands and backed away.

“Martial Uncle, it wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! How could I possibly have done this?”

“When I went out to meet you, I happened to see the Eldest Master returning to the residence. The servants at the gate all saw it with their own eyes!”

“In this short a time, how could I possibly race around the entire residence committing murder without anyone noticing?”

Clang!

Song Shu stabbed his sword into the floor.

He glared at the trembling people crowded outside the doorway and roared, “Speak! Who did this?”

The group recoiled in terror, all shaking their heads. Song Shu charged outside, sword pointed at the crowd as he demanded answers. Chen Guishuo hurried after him and grabbed his arm.

“Martial Uncle, do we even need to ask? Whoever has a grudge against the Song family is the killer!”

“So many murders committed in such a short time, racing from courtyard to courtyard without being seen by all the people coming and going—this is not something an ordinary person could do.”

Song Shu froze. Then rage erupted in his eyes.

“Niu Youdao!”

Chen Guishuo was speechless. By rights, the Song family should have had plenty of enemies. He had been planning to give Song Shu a little nudge. Who would have thought Song Shu would immediately place the blame on Niu Youdao without any prompting? Chen Guishuo could not understand how he had made the leap so quickly. Apparently the hatred over his son’s death had never faded.

“Ahhh!”

Song Shu flung Chen Guishuo’s arm away and threw his head back in a roar of fury. But from outside the residence came another loud series of shouts.

“The Third Master has gone mad! He’s killing people!”

“The Third Master has gone mad! He’s killing people!”

“...”

Song Shu’s roar stopped abruptly.

Whoosh!

He launched himself upward and landed atop the tiled beam over the Song residence’s main gate. Pedestrians in the street had all stopped, confused. Someone had shouted twice and run off before anyone understood what was happening. Now a man suddenly leaped onto the gate with a sword in hand, seething with violence. His bloodshot red eyes looked terrifying. He truly did resemble a madman.

“Who is it? You dog-thief, get out here!”

Song Shu swept his furious gaze across the street and roared, looking ready to kill. The people who had stopped to watch recoiled in fear, then scattered and fled. Song Shu was about to leap down and search the streets. Obviously, whoever had shouted those accusations was connected to the murderer. Chen Guishuo jumped up and seized him.

“Martial Uncle, don’t act rashly!”

“Let go!”

Song Shu turned and glared at him.

“Martial Uncle, this is obviously a trap.”

Chen Guishuo spoke quickly in a low voice, his face full of urgency.

“Someone is trying to pin the murders on you. There may be some deeper conspiracy behind it.”

“Once the authorities come to arrest you, and once you fall into their hands... Martial Uncle, you know the old master’s present circumstances. His political enemies have clearly been making things difficult on purpose.”

“If you fall into official custody now, will you still be able to get out?”

“The Young Master died unjustly. The Eldest Master died unjustly. The old master died unjustly.”

“If something happens to you as well, the Song family will not even have anyone left to avenge them!”

The words were like a basin of ice water poured over Song Shu’s head. The moment he forced himself to think rationally, a chill went through his entire body. Chen Guishuo seized the opportunity to drag him back into the compound.

“Martial Uncle, please calm down. This is a trap. We need to leave quickly. If we don’t go now, it will be too late!”

Fear surged up. In the end, shaken and panicked, Song Shu hurried back to gather whatever portable valuables he could take with him. Before leaving, he returned to the study in the heavily guarded inner residence.

Thud!

Song Shu dropped to his knees before Song Jiuming’s corpse, tears streaming down his face. His heart was full of bitter regret. At a time when the Song family was already in such danger, why had he still gone out chasing pleasure?

If either he or Chen Guishuo had remained inside the residence, the killer would have feared that the noise of a fight might draw the cultivators guarding the capital. They would not have dared act so wantonly. The hatred was unbearable. Song Shu knocked his forehead against the floor several times before his father’s corpse, then quickly rose. He did not dare remain. In the courtyard, he summoned an old servant whose face was white with fear. Song Shu pulled out a gold draft and handed it to him.

His expression was full of grief.

“Old Zhang, I leave the family’s funeral arrangements to you. Go report this to the authorities.”

“Tell them the killer was Niu Youdao!”

“Third Master, you...?”

The old servant looked deeply uneasy. Song Shu gave no explanation. He turned for one last look at the study his father had so often occupied. He understood perfectly well. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. With his father dead and his influence gone, the Song family had completely collapsed. Song Shu did not know whether he would ever have the chance to return to this home again.

“Martial Uncle!”

Chen Guishuo urged him from the side. Song Shu resolutely turned away. He had no time to arrange his wife’s body. He had no time to arrange the remains of his father, brother, or the others. Carrying a heart full of grief and fury, he abandoned the residence and left. They slipped quietly out of the city and disappeared into the forests beyond. After climbing to higher ground, Song Shu turned and looked back in the direction of his home.

Chen Guishuo stood beside him with a bundle on his back.

“Whether there really is some trap or not, someone is clearly trying to wipe the Song family out root and branch.”

“Even the old master’s political enemies would fear a blood feud after destroying an entire household. I’m afraid they too would not want anyone from the Song family left alive to rise again.”

“The State of Yan is probably no longer safe for us.”

Song Shu murmured, “Where do we go? Where can we go?”

For a moment, if he truly had to leave the State of Yan, he had no idea where he should go. He was a cultivator, yet he had always lived beneath the protection of the Song family’s power. He had never truly faced the cultivation world on his own.

Go to another state?

If the State of Yan demanded his extradition, would another state really oppose the State of Yan for his sake? Without the Song family behind him, what use was he to any other state? Was he supposed to sink into life as an independent cultivator? Or hide his name and identity for the rest of his life?

Chen Guishuo said with absolute certainty, “Beizhou.”

“We go to Shao Pingbo of the Shao family in Beizhou!”

“Shao Pingbo of Beizhou?”

Song Shu turned in surprise. Chen Guishuo nodded.

“Martial Uncle, have you forgotten the information this disciple uncovered some days ago?”

“The reason Beizhou sent a letter to us was because Shao Pingbo and Niu Youdao had become enemies.”

“We and Niu Youdao are mortal enemies.”

“Shao Pingbo will certainly take us in.”

Song Shu frowned.

“Didn’t we hear Shao Pingbo had taken a liking to Tang Yi? The Shangqing Sect is in Beizhou. If we go there, how could the Shangqing Sect possibly let us live?”

[End of Chapter 197]