Purple Sun Prefecture, in the Imperial City of the Celestial Martial Country.

"Vice Director Situ, the Director wishes to see you," a steward of the Purple Sun Prefecture said, walking into the main hall where Situ Haoming was resting.

Situ Haoming opened his eyes and nodded. "Mm, I understand. I’ll go right away."

His heart filled with apprehension, Situ Haoming hurried toward Liu Ying’s residence.

Before long, he arrived at the door to Liu Ying’s room.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Come in."

Liu Ying’s calm voice drifted from within. Situ Haoming entered cautiously.

"Director, you were looking for me?" Situ Haoming asked respectfully as he walked in.

Liu Ying, sitting in a chair, nodded. Then he asked softly, "You know of Wen Qingye, don’t you?"

"I do." A jolt went through Situ Haoming.

"He has returned from the Thousand Rivers Secret Land." Liu Ying paused, glancing at Situ Haoming. In truth, this news was known to everyone in the Imperial City; even the towns nearby had heard.

Situ Haoming didn’t know what Liu Ying was about to say, but his heart was pounding erratically.

"A triumphant return!" Liu Ying gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I was the one who sent you to the western commanderies to recruit students, wasn’t I?"

Cold sweat beaded on Situ Haoming’s forehead as he listened to Liu Ying. At this moment, he was filled with immense regret. ’If only I had recruited Wen Qingye back then, our Purple Sun Prefecture would be the one basking in supreme glory, not that Qig Mountain Academy.’

"Yes." Fear gripped Situ Haoming’s heart, and his voice trembled as he spoke.

"Good. Very good." Liu Ying nodded, then his face suddenly twisted into a ferocious snarl as he glared at Situ Haoming. "Why? Why didn’t you recruit Wen Qingye? WHY?"

Seeing Liu Ying’s contorted face, Situ Haoming was terrified. He took a slight step back, too scared to utter a single word.

"Do you have any idea how much you deserve to die?" Liu Ying shot to his feet, roaring.

Situ Haoming was stunned by Liu Ying’s words and stammered, "I... I..."

"You deserve to die!"

Situ Haoming’s vision blurred, and he could no longer see clearly. A sharp pain erupted in his chest as his consciousness slowly faded.

THUD!

Situ Haoming’s body fell to the floor, blood pooling around him.

Liu Ying looked at the corpse on the ground and said softly, "Now that you’re dead, don’t blame me. It’s just that certain people didn’t want you to live."

..........

Jie Jiachun looked at Wen Qingye and said slowly, "Young Master, a few major events have occurred since you left."

"What events? Tell me one by one," Wen Qingye said.

"First is the matter of Wen Tongyu’s engagement being broken by the current princess. I imagine the Young Master may have already heard."

Wen Qingye nodded, signaling with his eyes for Jie Jiachun to continue.

"The second is about the Old Madam," Jie Jiachun continued, glancing at Wen Qingye. "The Old Madam has left the Wen Family. She is now at the Liu Family’s residence."

"Oh?" Wen Qingye’s brow twitched. ’I know my mother. She would never leave the Wen Family on her own just because she felt wronged. That means there’s only one other possibility.’ At this thought, Wen Qingye’s eyes grew cold. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Furthermore, not long ago, the Liu Family was ambushed by a large group of mysterious experts. Many of the Liu Family’s masters were killed or heavily injured, and Liu Tianli was assassinated on the spot. The attackers’ target was the Old Madam. Fortunately, this old servant arrived in time, so the Old Madam was not seriously harmed."

Wen Qingye shot to his feet, his brow furrowed. "Who are these people? What is their strength?"

Jie Jiachun replied, "Their cultivation wasn’t high—most were at the Refining Spirit Third Layer Heaven. And they seemed to be from Kaiyang City."

"Kaiyang City?" Wen Qingye snorted coldly. "Go and investigate. See if the Yao Family is behind this. Report back to me the moment you find the slightest clue."

"Yes! This old servant understands." Jie Jiachun nodded and turned to leave.

Wen Qingye couldn’t sit still any longer. He was about to head for the Liu Family residence when a person appeared at his door.

"Virtuous Son in Law, you’ve returned! Why didn’t you let me know?" Zhang Hua said with a smile, walking to Wen Qingye’s side.

Zhang Hua looked at Wen Qingye with a smile, but inwardly he was sighing endlessly. ’To think Wen Qingye could shine so brightly even in the Thousand Rivers Secret Land... His talent is immense, completely eclipsing Wen Tongyu’s.’

Wen Qingye was no longer the person he once was!

Thinking back to when Wen Qingye had first arrived at the Zhang Family, Zhang Hua couldn’t help but sigh again.

Wen Qingye glanced at Zhang Hua and said bluntly, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Zhang Hua gave a dry laugh. "It’s nothing. I just heard you were back and came to see you."

Zhang Hua had a decent grasp of Wen Qingye’s personality by now. He paused, then said, "Are you concerned about the Liu Family’s matter, Virtuous Son in Law?"

"You know about it?" Wen Qingye looked at Zhang Hua.

Zhang Hua nodded, saying proudly, "No matter what, my Zhang Family is the head of the four great families of Phoenix City. Naturally, nothing that happens in Phoenix City escapes my eyes."

"Actually, as soon as Wen Xu returned from the Imperial City, he immediately began arranging the wedding. You hadn’t returned yet. It was from Wen Xu that I heard about the situation in the Thousand Rivers Secret Land. Wen Xu also invited many people, mostly experts from various families, to prepare for a grand wedding between the Zhang and Wen families. As a result, Phoenix City is currently teeming with all sorts of people. However, the most active among them have been Yao Qi and some experts from the Yao Family. I think..."

’Wen Tongyu hasn’t even returned, yet Wen Xu is already rushing to arrange the marriage. He’s probably afraid Wen Tongyu will be humiliated.’

Zhang Hua didn’t finish his sentence, but Wen Qingye was already quite sure of the implication.

’With Yao Qi’s vengeful and narrow-minded personality, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do.’ Thinking of this, a surge of killing intent rose in Wen Qingye’s heart.

Zhang Hua said in a low voice, "Actually, there are many other experts around as well. I don’t think it was necessarily the Yao Family who struck the fatal blow. But I will investigate this matter."

"Then I’ll have to trouble you," Wen Qingye nodded, not refusing the offer.

Hearing Wen Qingye’s reply, Zhang Hua said joyfully, "It’s no trouble at all! Leave it to me. I will definitely get to the bottom of this."

Zhang Hua glanced at Wen Qingye again, then said, "Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, Virtuous Son in Law, just say the word."

With that, Zhang Hua left. Wen Qingye watched his retreating back and pondered for a moment before turning and heading in the direction of the Liu Family residence.