Chapter 44: One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins to Settle the Matter

In each major family, the core disciples possessed a token imbued with a trace of soul power, known as a Life Token. Should a disciple perish, their Life Token would shatter, and the lingering soul power would guide the way to the direction and location of their death.

When Liang Duan died, his Life Token shattered instantly. The disciple guarding the tokens, upon witnessing the destruction of Liang Duan’s token, was terrified and hastily ran to inform the elders. It was hardly surprising; Liang Duan was one of the three prodigies of the Liang family. His character was questionable, but his talent was undeniable.

The elders of the Liang family were in the midst of a council meeting. Ordinarily, such meetings were not to be interrupted. However, the token guardian judged Liang Duan’s death an extraordinary circumstance and burst into the hall in panic.

The interruption drew the ire of all the elders present. Each glared furiously at the token-guarding disciple, and if he failed to offer a reasonable explanation, they would not hesitate to execute him on the spot as a warning.

The trembling disciple, feeling the weight of their hostile gazes, knelt and reported, “Patriarch, elders, stewards—Liang Duan’s Life Token has shattered.”

“What?” A burly middle-aged man, Liang Duan’s father Liang Yuehu, rushed forward, seized the disciple by his collar, and demanded, “Repeat yourself. Whose Life Token was destroyed?”

Quaking before the raging Liang Yuehu, the disciple stammered, “It was Liang Duan’s Life Token.”

Once he confirmed he’d heard correctly, Liang Yuehu’s powerful frame shook violently, as if the sky had collapsed. Liang Duan was his only son, gifted and diligent, already at the fifth rank of martial prowess despite his youth.

Unable to restrain his anguish, Liang Yuehu roared, “How can this be? Who did it? Who killed my son? I’ll wipe out their entire family!”

Still shouting, Liang Yuehu raced toward the ancestral hall where the tokens were kept.

The Life Tokens of each family member were stored beneath the ancestral memorial tablets, a prayer for protection from the ancestors.

The other elders exchanged glances, stunned for a long moment before regaining their composure. The conversation had been clear: someone had murdered one of the Liang family’s prodigies.

Fury swept through them all. As the preeminent family of Senyuan Town, second only to the Town Lord’s Mansion, who dared lay a hand on a Liang?

A mass of elders surged toward the ancestral hall.

Liang Yuehu arrived at the ancestral shrine and, seeing the shattered token of his son, shook violently. His fists clenched so hard they cracked, frightening the token guardian.

The incident had already alarmed the family’s patriarch.

The Liang patriarch approached, sent a surge of spiritual power into the token, and a wisp of dark smoke rose. The scene of Liang Duan’s death appeared in his mind.

He thundered, “Liang family—who is this youth?”

He had not expected Liang Duan would die at home.

The rest of the elders arrived in time to hear the patriarch’s words.

The clan leader, Liang Yuedong, asked in confusion, “Patriarch, do you mean Liang Duan died at home?”

The others were equally bewildered. Who would dare kill him in their own home?

The patriarch ignored Liang Yuedong and strode toward the dining hall.

In the separate dining room, Gu Yan, for reasons unknown, flung herself fiercely into Gu Feng’s arms, her voice soft and pleading, “Brother, take Yan’er…”

Her gaze was hazy, and she wound herself around her brother like a serpent. Gu Feng, young and full of vigor, felt himself harden, pressing directly against Yan’s secret place, making her cry out.

The effects of the aphrodisiac were in full force; Liang Zi had lost consciousness and scrambled madly onto Gu Feng, embracing him tightly from behind and licking his neck.

Gu Feng, startled and dismayed, summoned his spiritual energy and shook them both off, shouting at the system, “Old man, is there an antidote?”

“Ding! Universal Aphrodisiac Antidote, price: one hundred gold coins each. Purchase?”

The situation was dire. Ignoring the steep price, Gu Feng bought two pills and made the women take them.

The antidote worked wonders. The heat drained from the two women, and their eyes gradually cleared.

Once lucid, both women glanced at Gu Feng, faces flushed, hearts pounding.

Gu Yan whispered shyly, “Brother…” wanting to explain, but unable to find the words.

Liang Zi buried her head in her chest, mortified.

At that moment, a horde of Liang elders rushed into the dining hall.

Without a word, the patriarch swung his fist at the locked wooden door.

With a resounding crash, the door shattered. Yue’er, lying on the floor, was struck by flying splinters, waking painfully.

The crowd flooded in, saw Liang Zi disheveled, and were enraged.

All eyes fixed on Gu Feng, convinced he was the culprit.

Someone recognized him and exclaimed in shock, “Gu Feng? Why are you in the Liang home? Why did you kill Liang Duan?”

Liang Zi faced her clan and replied for Gu Feng, “Liang Duan, that beast, drugged the food for Yan’er and me. If Gu Feng hadn’t arrived in time, Yan’er would have been violated by him!”

Liang Duan’s father, Liang Yuehu, glared at Gu Yan and barked, “Enough! So young and already lying? This girl is just an ordinary person—if my son wanted her, why would he need to use drugs? And you, why did you kill my son?”

Liang Yuehu knew nothing of Gu Feng’s strength and never imagined Gu Feng was his equal. He pressed his spiritual energy, radiating murderous intent.

Liang Zi, feeling aggrieved, looked to her father, Liang Yuedong.

Liang Yuedong, familiar with Gu Feng, frowned and said, “Liang Yuehu, you know your son’s character. Don’t threaten my daughter.”

Liang Yuehu was immediately dissatisfied, retorting, “Liang Yuedong, outsiders have murdered one of our own in our house, and you defend your daughter?”

The patriarch shouted, “Silence!” Disappointed in his descendants, he saw the situation deteriorate into internal strife.

He then turned to Gu Feng, voice grave, “I expect a reasonable explanation. Otherwise…”

The patriarch’s aura surged; no further threat was needed, for the wise understood.

Gu Feng, feeling annoyed, declared confidently, “One hundred thousand gold coins—settle this matter here, or rivers of blood will flow.”

He was short of money and experience and cared little for killing.

“What?” The Liang family wondered if they had misheard. He killed their family’s prodigy and demanded a hundred thousand gold coins to call it even. They wanted to check his forehead, suspecting he was ill.

The patriarch, furious, roared, “You seek death!”