The Great Elder suddenly rembered the na "Nanyan" and understood sothing. If it had been any ti before, he wouldn’t have dared to dream that Nanyan Chamber of Comrce was created by Mu Han and Mu Nan, but today, he had witnessed too many surprises, and it would have been strange not to think so.
"This matter can be explained slowly later. For now, please, elders, go rest in the eting hall for a mont. We mustn’t neglect our guests," the Third Elder said with pride, now aware of the full details of the Nanyan Chamber of Comrce.
Taking advantage of the conversation, Mu Yunshui quickly scooped up Mu Ziping and slipped out of the Mu Residence.
Today’s events were an outright disgrace for both teacher and disciple, starting with Mu Ziping, as a mber of the family’s direct lineage, battling a Branch Family mber and being heavily wounded without withstanding even one strike. Then, Mu Yunshui himself had only thrown out one palm strike before being severely injured by Zhao Yuanji. And that wasn’t even the most humiliating part—the most humiliating part was his lack of dignity, begging for rcy from Zhao Yuanji in a mont of crisis. He had lost all face for the Mu Family, so how could they have the nerve to stay?
What worried Mu Yunshui the most was the thought: what if, after the crisis was over, Mu Han still rembered the prior incident and sought a challenge against him?
Thinking of the might of Mu Han’s Divine Language, thinking of his ghostly movent technique, Mu Yunshui was filled with fright. Even the life-threatening strike from Zhao Yuanji, a Fifth Rank Swordsman, had been counterattacked and heavily damaged by Mu Han. If he were to face him, wouldn’t he be annihilated without a trace?
It was only at this mont that Mu Yunshui realized what Mu Rui’an ant by "be careful" and what Mu Han ant by "I know my limits."
Others weren’t afraid that Mu Han would get hurt by Mu Yunshui; they were genuinely concerned that Mu Han might accidentally injure Mu Yunshui, which would look bad for the Zong Family.
Too terrible, what kind of people was this family? How could they be so ruthless even after being exiled to Heishi City? Mu Yunshui decided he would never co to Heishi City again in his lifeti. The farther away he stayed, the better. So, with his disciple in tow, he ran as fast as he could.
Not long after, Wu Longji, Wu Qiuyun, the Yuan Family Patriarch, Yuan Tianbo, Qu Shanling, and Xu Family Master were invited to the assembly hall.
The other guests were taken care of by Mu Zijing and other second-generation Mu Family mbers, while soone else took care of collecting Zhao Yuanji’s corpse. No matter what, he was a formidable figure, and even if he wasn’t given a grand funeral, he didn’t deserve to lay exposed in the wilderness.
Once in the assembly hall and settled, Mu Rui’an first expressed his gratitude to Wu Longji and the Yuan Family Patriarch among others before talking about the local customs of Nanxi County and Heishi City, maintaining a good atmosphere between host and guests.
Before long, Mu Cheng hurried in, whispered a few words into Mu Rui’an’s ear, and then left.
After hearing what Mu Cheng said, Mu Rui’an, holding his teacup, seed to be montarily lost in thought.
"What has happened, Father?" Mu Rui’an asked.
"The entire Zhao Family has taken poison and committed suicide; there are no survivors," Mu Rui’an said indifferently, yet a trace of sorrow could be seen in his eyes.
The Yuan Family Master, Wu Longji, and others were slightly startled but soon returned to their normal composure, clearly not too perturbed by the news.
Mu Han let out a soft sigh, feeling a touch of sadness within.
Might makes right, and this does not solely apply to swordsn; in fact, the rivalry among families is even more ruthless and perilous than that among individuals.
The decision of the Zhao Family to take such a step was likely because they didn’t want to live in humiliation, nor did they wish to die at the hands of another.
"It’s better this way—a clean end to the entire family spares us a lot of trouble, and we do not have to soil our hands with too much bloodshed," Wu Longji said after a while.
Yuan Family Master and Qu Shanling among others all nodded in agreent, indeed, with the Zhao Family taking their own lives, it lessened a troubleso matter for them.
Han Yan’s gaze turned to look out the window, and those eyes, filled with resentnt, again surfaced in her mind.
Had every mber of the Zhao Family really died, completely and utterly?
As night fell, the Mu Family’s residence was brightly lit, as they held a lavish banquet not only to welco the Wu Family guests and cleanse them of their journey’s dust but also to celebrate their great victory of the day.
From that day on, the Mu Family would beco the undisputed ruler of Heishi City; no other clan could shake the Mu Family’s status in Heishi City.
During the banquet, the cups and dishes were interchanged, and the hosts and guests all enjoyed themselves to the fullest.
After the banquet, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
However, a faint light still shone from Mu Rui’an’s study.
"Are you sure that was Fourth Miss Zhao, Zhao Lingxian? She really isn’t dead?" Mu Rui’an looked solemnly at Han Yan.
"I think I wouldn’t have mistaken her," Han Yan nodded as she spoke. Despite being the one who had personally struck Fourth Miss Zhao directly in the heart ridian, and even though she was reluctant to believe Fourth Miss Zhao was still alive, she would never mistake those eyes. No one could hate her as deeply and bitterly as Fourth Miss Zhao did.
"It must be her, I wouldn’t have mistaken her either," Mu Cheng confird, his eyes deep as the starry sky. Despite having long since let go of the woman he once deeply loved, there were things that were permanently etched in his heart. Even if Han Yan could have been mistaken, he definitely would not.
"Then it must be her," Mu Rui’an sighed and said.
"Father, what exactly is the origin of the Zhao Family, and what’s with that Life and Death Order?" Han Yan asked.
She had been holding these questions in her heart for an entire day, but with many matters to attend to after the battle, she had not had the chance to ask.
Han Yan had an intuition that the resurrection of Fourth Miss Zhao was likely related to that Heavenly Destiny Star Plate, or perhaps, it was related to the history of the Zhao Family. Could it be that, like her own, Fourth Miss Zhao’s bloodline also contained so remarkable secrets?
Within Mu Tianlie’s Heavenly Destiny Star Plate, within her own Star Illusion Thousand Machine, Han Yan had already witnessed too many inconceivable things. What, then, was the resurrection of Fourth Miss Zhao in comparison?
"The Zhao Family, once one of the two great families in the Capital, had a status comparable to the Mu Family, and even slightly higher," Mu Rui’an said slowly.
"What!" Both Han Yan and Mu Cheng were greatly shocked, they had not at all expected the Zhao Family to have such an illustrious background.
"Nowadays, the so-called Eight Great Families, in fact, originated from the Mu Family and the Zhao Family as the two leading great families, with an additional six smaller families. The Yan Family was rely one of those six smaller families.
Nearly ten thousand years ago, the Mu Family and the Zhao Family had a fallout, fighting to the death in repeated fierce battles.
Since both families’ statuses were so extraordinary amongst the many families in Anyun Country, even the Anyun Royal Family couldn’t interfere; they had to request the Holy Court to diate. It was unclear whether the Holy Court didn’t take the conflict between the Mu and Zhao Families seriously or if they were preoccupied with other important matters, but they didn’t directly intervene. Instead, they sent a Life and Death Order, allowing the Mu and Zhao Families to decide their fate in life and death, setting the following terms for their agreent: the winner would remain in the Capital, and the loser would disperse its clan mbers and leave the Capital thereafter. Regardless of who won or lost, neither side would seek revenge on the other for a thousand years, nor would anyone else ddle in the matter.
Once the thousand-year period expired, as long as the Life and Death Order remained, the terms of the agreent would still be valid.
In that battle, the Zhao Family initially held the upper hand, but it was thwarted by the sudden ergence of Mu Tianlie. The Zhao Family suffered heavy losses, with only a dozen or so direct descendants surviving, scattering away from the Capital."
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