Free Web NovelChapter 247: Chapter 245: Poisoning
Everyone from the Shangguan Family was utterly dumbstruck, frozen in place. Even Shangguan Tie stood there dumbfounded, staring at Qin Li in utter disbelief. He was speechless, the corners of his mouth twitching violently as his limbs trembled and a chill ran through his body. Because in that moment, he finally understood the terrifying level of power the former outcast of the Qin Family now possessed!
It went without saying that everything Qin Li had just said in front of Shangguan Xuanyu was true! And not only that, but Qin Li also knew every last detail of what Shangguan Xuanyu and his father had done!
Faced with a young man whose intelligence was as monstrous as his strength, Shangguan Tie’s heart slowly sank.
"Did you think I... wouldn’t dare to act? That I wouldn’t act? Or that I *couldn’t* act? You pack of power-hungry curs! You use lofty ideals like greatness, light, and justice as a fig leaf to hide your filth! Don’t take everyone for a fool! Force us to stay? Then poison us? Bah!"
Qin Li tossed Shangguan Xuanyu’s corpse to the ground and said indifferently, "Today, if I were just an ordinary Celestial Level Martial Artist, I would never have made it out of here alive! And all of you would have found countless righteous-sounding excuses to explain my death!"
Qin Li gave a cold laugh. "Unfortunately for you, in my eyes, you’re worse than a colony of ants! I don’t even have to lift a finger to crush you!"
As he spoke, Qin Li unleashed the full aura of his Celestial Shattering Realm. Many of the already ashen-faced members of the Shangguan Clan couldn’t withstand such an overwhelming pressure. They lost control of their bladders on the spot before fainting.
A foul stench immediately rose from the crowd.
"See?" Qin Li said, looking at the petrified Shangguan Buhui. "You were never any nobler than anyone else! You’re all just trash!"
Shangguan Tie collapsed to the ground, crying out in anguish, "Oh, heavens! What sins has the Shangguan Family committed to deserve such retribution!"
Qin Li glanced at Shangguan Tie with a trace of pity. If he felt even the slightest guilt toward the Shangguan Family, it was for this old man alone.
"Old Sir, your greatest mistake was handing the position of Patriarch to Shangguan Buhui! As for the sins the Shangguan Family has committed, do you really need me to explain them in detail?"
Qin Li slowly shook his head. "It’s said that once you take what belongs to another, you lose your voice and your free will. When you were taking everything you could, did it never occur to you that there would be a reckoning?"
Of everyone present, only Shangguan Shiyu remained composed. Her pupils had contracted for but a moment when Shangguan Xuanyu’s neck was snapped. Now, she slowly walked to Qin Li’s side and said softly, "Husband, let’s go. I’m very tired."
Qin Li sighed softly and squeezed her small, cold hand. "Alright, my love. Let’s go. We’re never coming back to this place again."
"Wait. Don’t go yet."
The old Patriarch, Shangguan Tie, suddenly stopped crying after hearing Qin Li’s words. He spoke in a solemn voice.
An air of authority, one he often carried in the past, seemed to quietly settle over Shangguan Tie once more. Gazing at the clansmen who had soiled themselves in terror, he let out a long sigh and said, "Qin Li, I’m sure you didn’t intend for things to escalate this far today. That being the case, you wouldn’t want to leave with your name tarnished, would you?"
"I don’t really care," Qin Li said indifferently. "But if you’re willing to make everything public and explain it from start to finish, Old Sir, I don’t mind listening."
Shangguan Tie nodded. "As Patriarch, Shangguan Buhui has repeatedly committed unforgivable errors. Today, he even plotted to harm Duke Qin and... and Shangguan Shiyu! I hereby announce that you are stripped of your position as Patriarch, to await the judgment of the Elder Council!"
"I won’t accept this! I won’t! On what grounds are you doing this to me? Qin Li killed my wife and my son! What proof does he have that I tried to harm him?!"
Shangguan Buhui thrashed like a madman, waving his arms and roaring, his eyes already a deep crimson.
With a cold snort, Qin Li’s figure flashed like lightning. He appeared before Shangguan Buhui, swung his arm, and slapped him viciously across the face.
SLAP!
The sound was crisp and loud.
"Feeling clearer now?" Qin Li’s voice carried a jolt of Spiritual Power. Shangguan Buhui froze for a moment, then fell silent, staring at Qin Li in terror.
Then, he suddenly began to cackle. "Hehe, Qin Li, I know you. I know you’re Qin Li. You want to kill me, don’t you? Go on, then! Come and kill me..."
"If you think playing dumb will help, then by all means, continue." Qin Li had already sensed from the fluctuations in Shangguan Buhui’s Spiritual Power that he was feigning madness. He turned to Shangguan Tie and said, "Old Sir, if you want proof, you should go to the banquet hall. One look at the... ’sumptuous feast’ this father and son prepared for Shiyu and me, and you’ll understand everything!"
Without another word, Shangguan Tie led a group into the banquet hall. The banquets of Noble Families have extremely strict rules for seating arrangements. There are clear protocols for who sits where, and any descendant of a great clan knows these rules well.
Therefore, Shangguan Tie easily found Qin Li’s designated seat. He saw that, sure enough, even the wine... had already been poured.
This wasn’t particularly unusual. Many families poured the wine in advance so they could immediately offer a toast upon being seated.
Shangguan Tie picked up the cup of wine from Qin Li’s seat. He looked at Shangguan Buhui, who had been dragged over, and said flatly, "Drink it."
"Ah, haha, hehe... Who are you? Old man, what are you trying to make me drink?" Shangguan Buhui flailed his limbs wildly as he lunged at Shangguan Tie, about to slap the cup from his hand.
If Shangguan Tie still couldn’t guess what was going on, he’d have been Patriarch all these years for nothing. With a cold snort, he commanded, "Seize him!"
Several of Shangguan Tie’s Personal Guards grabbed the crazed Shangguan Buhui and held him fast. A flash of deep anguish crossed Shangguan Tie’s eyes, but without a moment’s hesitation, he handed the cup to one of the guards and ordered, "Force it down his throat!"
At that, Shangguan Buhui, pinned by the Personal Guards, snapped his eyes open. They blazed with fury as he roared, "Shangguan Tie, you old bastard! Are you really going to kill your own son for an outsider?! You’re heartless!" He then whipped his head toward Qin Li. "And you, Qin Li, you bastard! I’ll haunt you even in death! Argh...!"
Qin Li paid him no mind, watching calmly as the Personal Guard pinched Shangguan Buhui’s jaw and poured the cup of wine—the one that had been meant for him—down his throat.
Shangguan Buhui struggled, refusing to drink, splashing the wine everywhere. Still, some of it was forced down. In less than the blink of an eye, he let out a blood-curdling scream. His eyes bulged from their sockets as his face rapidly turned a deep purple, then pitch-black.
He died a violent death in an instant.
The group of legitimate sons of the Shangguan Family, some being supported and others carried in, all watched, dumbstruck and utterly silent.
"Now who among you dares to claim Duke Qin was making baseless accusations?" Shangguan Tie demanded, his eyes wide with fury, though his heart felt as if it were being ripped to shreds.
The hall was utterly silent.
Fifteen minutes later, in Shangguan Tie’s private chambers, the old man, with a heart full of deeply conflicted emotions, began to explain the whole story to Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu.
Less than a year after Shiyu was born, her parents left together, vowing to search to the ends of the earth if they had to in order to find a cure for their daughter’s condition.
At the time, Shangguan Shiyu’s parents were only Profound Level Martial Artists. In a place like Yellow Sand City, they were considered powerful, but they had no idea how vast the world truly was, or what constituted a true expert.
And so, these two sheltered young nobles embarked on their long journey in search of a cure.
Whether by luck or misfortune, while traveling within the borders of the Great Qi Kingdom, they accidentally stumbled into a Mysterious Land.
There, they were taken in by a relatively small Sect. Seeing that the two had decent aptitude, the Sect accepted Shangguan Shiyu’s parents as disciples.
Five years passed in a flash. The couple’s strength had surprisingly reached the second or third rank of the Celestial Level. While this was nothing in the eyes of Qin Li and Shiyu, to that Small Sect, it was quite impressive!
A Sect’s reputation may be built on a few powerful Martial Artists, but its growth depends on the disciples who form its foundation.
Shiyu’s parents were desperate to save their child. Though they were treated well in the Sect and its members were kind, they still hoped to find a Spiritual Medicine to cure their daughter. Fearing the Sect members might view their child as a monster, they kept her condition a secret. As a result, their fellow disciples only knew that the couple came from a Noble Family in Yellow Sand City in the secular Cyan Dragon Kingdom and had a daughter.
For those five years, Shiyu’s father, Shangguan Jian, and her mother, Lin Yunlan, diligently studied Alchemy. They managed to achieve some modest success, but unexpectedly, while out gathering herbs one day, they had a confrontation with disciples from another Sect. The conflict started because those disciples were harassing the beautiful Lin Yunlan.
Such incidents are a natural catalyst for conflict. In the ensuing fight, Shangguan Jian and Lin Yunlan were separated from their fellow disciples. After the battle was over, their Sect brothers searched for days, eventually finding only the couple’s personal belongings. For some unknown reason, their enemies hadn’t taken them. But as for Shangguan Jian and Lin Yunlan themselves, they had vanished without a trace. freewebnovel.cσ๓
Many years passed in the blink of an eye. Then, two years ago, a disciple from that Small Sect was preparing to enter the secular world for training and experience. He suddenly recalled the story of the fellow disciples who had met a violent end so many years ago and thought their family should be notified.
And so, the Small Sect sent the couple’s belongings, along with some very fine Elixirs, to the Shangguan Family in Yellow Sand City. They explained what had happened and made it clear that everything was to be given to Shangguan Jian and his wife’s daughter.
And the ones who received the messenger from that Sect were none other than Shangguan Buhui and his son.
