C6 The House Was a Complete Mess
The disturbance at Wu Manor quickly set the entire household on edge. Yet the servants, none of whom had achieved Great Perfection in the Body Refinement Realm, were too terrified to intervene upon witnessing such a horrific scene.
Disasters, however, do not vanish in the face of vulnerability. The unfortunate family members who had not managed to escape were found by two foreign powerhouses amidst their overwhelming fear. Their faces were etched with terror and pleas for mercy, but these expressions only served to heighten the intruders' sadistic thrill of the massacre.
The scent of blood permeated the Wu Manor. Seventy-three individuals, both old and young, who had not yet fled, were mercilessly slaughtered without exception.
Zhang Heng scoured Wu Duan and his wife's room for the Breeze Fan, then proceeded to the ancestral hall and the treasury. It was as if the Breeze Fan had never existed; not a single trace could be found.
Accompanying Zhang Heng to Level One Heaven were his two junior brothers, who indulged in a reckless killing spree. After ensuring no life remained within the manor, they returned to Zhang Heng's side.
"Did you find it?"
"No!" They both shook their heads gently.
"Useless!" Zhang Heng fumed, "Our sole task was to locate the Breeze Fan! Without it, we might as well brace ourselves for the clan leader's punishment!"
The mention of the clan leader's severe rules and methods sent a shiver down the spines of the typically stoic brothers, their faces betraying a hint of fear.
"What are you standing around for? Get moving and find it!" Zhang Heng barked at them as they stood frozen in place.
"Yes! We'll comb through the front courtyard first and go from there. If it's anywhere in this manor, we're bound to find it." They swiftly resumed their search.
The search persisted until dawn began to lighten the eastern sky. They left no stone unturned, inspecting every nook and cranny, every cabinet, beam, and even the woodshed. But not a single fan was found, let alone the Breeze Fan.
Dejected, the two junior brothers returned to their senior brother, holding only a leaf fan they had stumbled upon in the woodshed.
"Senior brother, we've truly dug three feet into the earth, yet all we've found is this so-called fan." With those words, he presented the palm-leaf fan to Zhang Heng.
Zhang Heng, already frustrated from his unsuccessful search for the Breeze Fan, was infuriated upon seeing the simple palm fan.
"Are you two so incompetent that you can't tell the difference between a palm fan and the Breeze Fan?" he bellowed, shattering the fan in his grasp.
"Little sister, I never imagined you'd remain so obstinate in death. What grievance did we have in our past lives that you continue to resent me so? Do you realize how much trouble your stubbornness has caused us?" Zhang Heng looked to the heavens with a heavy sigh, filled with regret for accidentally killing his sister. If she were still alive, they might have a clue about the Breeze Fan's whereabouts. But now...
As the sky grew lighter, the distant crowing of roosters reached their ears. Zhang Heng and his companions exchanged worried glances.
The portal to the lower levels of heaven only opened on July 15th. They had forced their way into Level One Heaven this time, a feat that had to be reversed before dawn. If they failed to enter the portal after the third rooster's crow, their cultivation would suffer greatly, and they would have to wait for the portal to open again before they could traverse it.
The thought of losing their cultivation was unbearable, and the prospect of facing the Patriarch without a way back was even worse.
"Senior brother, we should head back!" one of them pressed Zhang Heng.
"Collect all the valuable items from the mansion. Perhaps it will lighten the Patriarch's punishment..." Zhang Heng suggested, his voice tinged with defeat. It was the only solution he could think of to atone for their failure.
Quickly, the two gathered all the valuables they had found. Seeing Zhang Heng cradling his sister's body, they exchanged a solemn look, formed a hand seal, and began to chant.
Suddenly, the winds shifted, and three powerful beams of light enveloped them. Moments later, the beams shot into the sky, and along with them, Zhang Heng and his companions vanished.
The sun bathed the earth in its usual warm glow, breathing life back into the land that had been battered by a storm the night before.
"Why hasn't the Wu Mansion distributed relief today?"
"Indeed! They usually arrive by now. What's going on today? If they don't show up soon, I'll starve..."
At the entrance of the Wu Mansion, a throng of people who relied on the Wu family's charity were buzzing with discussion and complaints.
After a bit more waiting, with no sign of activity from the mansion, someone in the crowd suggested they investigate, "Should we go check it out? Something seems off!"
The idea quickly gained traction, and a few individuals stepped forward to knock on the Wu Mansion's main gate.
The gate was ajar. Upon discovering this, they pushed it open and entered the estate, only to be met with a shocking sight.
Blood was splattered everywhere, the house nearly demolished, and the furniture was toppled and strewn about.
"What on earth..."
"Let's get more people; we need to find out what happened here..."
After a short while, several people, armed with iron rods, wooden sticks, and bamboo poles, cautiously made their way into the Wu Mansion.
The sight from the front to the back courtyard was heart-wrenching.
Bodies lay scattered across the ground in a gruesome display. The dried blood had attracted hungry birds, circling overhead.
"It looks like a bandit attack," someone concluded.
With the Wu family's wealth gone and all its members slain, no other explanation seemed plausible.
"We should bury them. Wu Shanbao was good to us; it's a shame that good people don't always receive good fortune in return..."
Together, they accounted for everyone in the Wu Mansion, tallying seventy-two bodies in total. The young master, Wu Shanbao, and Madam Wu were nowhere to be found. Speculation arose that perhaps the bandits had taken a liking to Madam Wu and kidnapped her...
Despite the suspicions, honoring the dead took precedence. The group dug a large grave in the Wu family's backyard and laid the deceased to rest.
After the funeral for the Wu family's deceased kin, people helped themselves to the remaining broken furniture from the Wu estate. Even late into the night, some still believed there were items in the Wu household they could use, braving the darkness to haul them away.
Seven days later, in the tranquil Wu family garden, the lake water parted, revealing a translucent sphere rising slowly from its depths. Inside the half-visible orb, a young man, Wu Shanbao, lay asleep. The sphere emerged fully from the water and drifted to the shore before it gradually vanished, leaving Wu Shanbao lying gently on the bank.
Startled by the abrupt brightness, Wu Shanbao opened his eyes. "How did I end up sleeping here?" he wondered aloud, rising to his feet to survey his surroundings.
As he walked towards the house, Wu Shanbao was struck with disbelief. The once thriving home was now desolate, save for the dilapidated structures that remained. "When did Dad sell everything?" he pondered, recalling the dinner conversation about his father's plans to travel.
But Wu Shanbao's thoughts shifted with each step he took, as he noticed the ground littered with dried bloodstains. "No, something terrible must have happened here!" he realized, his pace quickening with alarm.
Wandering through the home, Wu Shanbao began piecing together the events. He followed the chaotic footprints in the courtyard to a large, freshly dug pit in the backyard. "The grave of Wu Duan and his family!" he read on a simple wooden plank marking the site.
The name Wu Duan was unknown to the crowd; they had inscribed only these few words. Staring at the grave, the stark reality hit Wu Shanbao, and he was utterly stunned.
