Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Clan Leader’s Jade Token

Gu Zhiheng took the jade tablet from Xiao Liu and examined it carefully for a long time, yet he could not find anything special about it. It was identical to the one from the Chu family; aside from the character "Wu" replacing the previous one, it was merely a replica.

"Very well, I have obtained what I wanted, and I have already given you what you asked for." He cast a glance at the unremarkable young boy. It seemed the Wu family was about to descend into chaos. How interesting—the family was poised to fall into disorder even before he had made a move.

"My lord, will the patriarch not hold this against us?" the boy asked nervously, standing timidly beside Wu Xiaowen and tugging at her sleeve.

"The Wu family hasn't cared about him for years; he has no interest in meddling in your trivial affairs." Everything in this world was reciprocal; since the Wu family ignored Wu Song, he naturally could not be bothered to care about them. Those figures atop Mount Wumei—every one of them had a powerful clan behind them, yet none of them would ever interfere in worldly matters.

"Go back. You can only protect yourselves by remaining mere spectators in the affairs of the Wu family." He waved his hand and vanished in a flash; coming and going like this was far more convenient.

After Gu Zhiheng left, Wu Xiaowen and Xiao Liu stood on the mountaintop for a long time before departing.

"Sister, was the lord telling the truth?" If they stayed out of the Wu family's business, could they really keep themselves safe? The Wu family was a tangled mess right now—a knot that could neither be cut nor untied.

"Forget it. They never cared about us anyway, so why should we care about them?" Wu Xiaowen patted the boy's shoulder and led him back down the mountain. Gu Zhiheng was right; to survive, one must find other ways to solve problems. She did not need to manage too much, and those matters were beyond her control anyway. As for the Patriarch’s Tablet, it was useless in her or her brother's hands; it was better to give it to Gu Zhiheng, as it might actually serve a purpose in his possession. She would no longer concern herself with these wretched affairs; she only wanted her brother and herself to be well. The rest had nothing to do with her.

When Gu Zhiheng returned, the others were resting in the courtyard pavilion. Upon seeing him appear, they couldn't help but shudder. He had only been gone for a while, yet he had returned even more frigid; his expression was cold enough to freeze them solid. They wondered what had happened to him—he seemed like an entirely different person. Even Chu Xingran, who understood him best, could not fathom what he was doing or what had caused such a change.

"What? You look so reluctant to see me—shall I leave?" He laughed. Were they actually afraid of him? They didn't understand him well enough, which was why they felt he was a stranger, why they felt he had changed.

"Have you never considered that this is who I was meant to be all along?" He lowered his head with a smile, walked past them, and took the innermost seat. He had always been this way; they simply hadn't known him well enough. Even Chu Xingran was the same. Everyone saw only his surface; had they looked more closely, they would not be wearing such expressions now.

"The two of you, give me the Patriarch’s Tablets. Carrying them on you is nothing more than wearing a trinket; they are utterly useless." He glanced at Liu E and Chu Zhaoting, extending his hand toward them. "Why are you staring at me? You don't actually believe that holding a Patriarch’s Tablet gives you control over your families, do you?" Were they truly so naive? Five hundred years of life and they were still this foolish.

The Patriarch’s Tablet had always been nothing more than a tool used by the Gu family to win hearts and minds. Why didn't they think carefully? Aside from the Gu family, which of them was even human? The Gu family was playing a grand game indeed.

"Stop looking at me as if you don't recognize me. I am still Gu Zhiheng, just a bit more mature." He looked at Chu Xingran; her expression was indeed grim. After all, she had raised him for twenty-three years, and just like that, he had changed into someone she didn't recognize.

"I will tell you about this later. I won't harm you; you can rest assured of that." He leaned back on the bench, looking languid and devilish. He didn't look like a good man at all; they truly couldn't bring themselves to trust him.

"Seriously, ten minutes left. Have you rested enough?" His voice was low and raspy, losing all sense of pleasantness. He toyed with the tablets; they were engraved with "Liu" and "Chu." He now had four in his possession. Truth be told, the energy within these things was too meager to be of much use. Relying on them was less efficient than wantonly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which was as fast as riding a rocket.

"Qingxiu, go and play with them. Master is tired." He stroked Qingxiu's face and continued to toy with the tablets. How boring, how utterly boring!

Suddenly, he sat up from the bench, looked at the tablet in his hand, and crushed it decisively. Even the smallest mosquito had meat on its bones; he might as well put it to use. Watching the wisps of black-gold spiritual energy seep from his fingers, Gu Zhiheng absorbed them all without a moment's hesitation. In an instant, the energy was completely consumed, leaving not a trace behind.

"No... wait, Master, how could you..." It was over, it was all over. Qingxiu glanced at Gu Zhiheng, so startled that she nearly missed her strike against the others. Had her master lost his mind? Why had he absorbed the energy from the tablet now? The effect would be far inferior this way! If she had known, she wouldn't have told him his own energy was stored inside. Now it was all gone.

"What are you shouting about? Do you think I don't know what I'm doing?" He looked at Qingxiu with amusement, feeling she was far too meddlesome. The Patriarch’s Tablet could be used at any time—at least for him. For others, it wouldn't increase their cultivation; it would only lead to a backlash.

"What do you want? I told you it was impossible. Can you stop bothering me!" He had been in a decent mood, but after answering the phone, he felt an instant urge to kill.

"You used the tablet, didn't you? You actually used it! Didn't I tell you that you couldn't?" Jing Shushu raged on the other end. Gu Zhiheng was going too far! The tablet belonged to Gu Mojiang—what right did he have to use it? What right? By using the tablet, her own accumulated merit would dissipate, and she would lose her chance to find Gu Mojiang.

"Have you forgotten who you are? If you keep running your mouth, I won't mind coming over there right now and digging out your spirit core!" The wretched woman actually dared to threaten him. Gu Mojiang might be their ancestor, but if it weren't for him, the Gu family wouldn't have so many messy troubles. Now that his mistresses were crawling out of the woodwork to cause trouble, was he supposed to just sit back and take it?