Chapter 3

The grand hall and corridors of the Jiang family were empty, with only the occasional servant sweeping the floor. The martial practice ground, where people used to show off their bravery, was now deserted, but the wear and tear indicated it had been used many times.

Jiang Li wandered through the Jiang family estate like a ghost.

He followed his memories to many places, but after five hundred years, the current Jiang family was vastly different from what he remembered.

The place that most resembled his memories was the small house he lived in at the beginning of his journey, which was about eighty percent similar.

He guessed that after he left, someone else might have moved in, and after he became the Human Emperor, the Jiang family hurriedly cleaned up the small house, trying to restore it to its original appearance.

Jiang Li shook his head with some regret and walked towards the ancestral hall.

The Jiang family's ancestral worship was conducted by the oldest elder kneeling in the ancestral hall, praying for the ancestors' blessings, while the rest of the family stayed in their rooms, fasting for nine days without speaking, to show their piety.

In the ancestral hall, the elderly man knelt, his face covered in wrinkles that almost obscured his eyes.

Jiang Li walked up to him, used a bit of magic, and saw the man's appearance from his youth, which bore a three or four-tenths resemblance to Jiang Yixing. He must be Jiang Yixing's son, grandson, or a younger relative.

Jiang Yixing's memorial tablet was prominently displayed at the bottom of a group of tablets.

Jiang Li sighed softly and turned to leave the Jiang family estate.

Jiang Yixing was ultimately dead.

Although it was expected, he still felt a bit disheartened.

Jiang Li strolled out of the Jiang family estate, his thoughts interrupted by a mournful voice.

"Sir, it's been ten days, why haven't you sent anyone to look for our children!"

"We demand to see the city lord!"

Across from the Jiang family estate was the city lord's residence, where several couples were desperately pleading with the guards to see the city lord, but the guards remained unmoved, as if they hadn't heard their pleas.

"Without the city lord's permission, no one can see him. Please leave quickly."

Another guard, unable to bear it, explained patiently: "Ladies and gentlemen, the city lord's residence is always short-staffed. You say your children were kidnapped, and you followed the trail to Qingcheng, but lost it here. With so many people coming and going in Qingcheng every day, the kidnappers might have just passed through. Even if we wanted to search, we wouldn't know where to start."

"Children have been lost in several nearby cities, and all the trails lead to Qingcheng. Our children must be here!" another person said indignantly.

He had tied a protective charm with a tracking spell to his child's wrist. After the child was lost, he followed the spell's trail to Qingcheng, where it disappeared. He then met other parents in similar situations, some of whom had lost their children directly in Qingcheng.

He couldn't believe there was nothing wrong with Qingcheng!

"My child was lost in Qingcheng; how could the kidnappers just pass through!"

Another guard, expressionless, said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please understand our lack of manpower. If you can prove the kidnappers are in Qingcheng, we will definitely send people to search. How about that?"

"What nonsense!"

"We demand to see the city lord!"

"Our children were lost here, and the officials are doing nothing. Is this the behavior of the Human Emperor's hometown!"

"My child was lost in Qingcheng, and you want proof? What kind of absurdity is this!"

The voices of the guards and the parents grew louder, eventually leading to an argument that caught the attention of several Jiang family enforcers.

"On the day of the Jiang family's ancestral worship, how dare you make such a commotion!" an enforcer stepped out of the Jiang family estate and scolded them harshly.

"You, as the city lord's guards, allow a group of troublemakers to gather and cause a disturbance in front of the city lord's residence. Are you not afraid of the city lord's punishment?"

The guards, upon hearing this, hurried to drive the people away. Jiang Li, unable to stand it, dispelled the spell that concealed his presence and sneered from the side.

"Jiang family, what a great show of power. You can even manage the city lord's residence. If you like to meddle so much, why don't you take care of the cleanliness in front of the city lord's residence?"

The enforcer was furious: "To speak so disrespectfully to the Jiang family, what audacity!"

The parents and the city lord's guards were also surprised. The current Human Emperor came from the Jiang family. Even in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, no one dared to speak of the Jiang family this way. This person must be a reckless newcomer.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man rushed over, pulling Jiang Li aside, smiling apologetically to the Jiang family enforcer while secretly transmitting a message to Jiang Li.

"Kid, you just entered the world and are already clashing with the Jiang family. Are you tired of living? Leave quickly; this matter involves the Jiang Human Emperor, don't get involved!"

The middle-aged man quickly pulled Jiang Li away, disappearing from everyone's sight at high speed.

The middle-aged man's strength was not enough to pull Jiang Li, but Jiang Li felt this person knew some inside information, so he let himself be pulled away.

Especially the part about "involving the Jiang Human Emperor."

"Which family's kid are you? Didn't anyone tell you not to provoke the noble families before you left home?"

The middle-aged man pulled Jiang Li to a secluded corner and scolded him.

Seeing Jiang Li's youthful appearance and rash actions, and the high-quality clothes he wore, he was sure Jiang Li was a child from a prominent family who had come out to gain experience.

"If it were another dynasty, I wouldn't dare to provoke unreasonable noble families, but this is the Great Zhou, where the law governs the country. Noble families don't dare to ignore the law."

The middle-aged man, upon hearing this, was even more convinced that Jiang Li was from a major sect or a prominent family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have such broad horizons and compare the Great Zhou with other dynasties.

You must know that the Great Zhou Dynasty is vast. A Yuan Ying cultivator might not leave the Great Zhou Dynasty in their entire life, let alone compare it with other dynasties.

"The law governs the country, but this applies everywhere in the Great Zhou except the Jiang family," the middle-aged man paused and continued, "The Jiang family has the backing of the Jiang Human Emperor. Who dares to punish them in the Great Zhou? Everyone says the Jiang Human Emperor is impartial, but who can guarantee he has no favoritism towards his own family?"

Jiang Li frowned slightly: "From what I know, the Jiang Human Emperor left the Jiang family five hundred years ago and never returned. Doesn't this prove he has distanced himself from the Jiang family?"

The middle-aged man sneered: "These are just the Jiang Human Emperor's propaganda to create an image of impartiality. Blood is thicker than water. Has he never secretly returned to the Jiang family?"

"Out in the world, don't believe everything you hear. This world is not as bright as you think."

The middle-aged man put on an air of someone who had seen the dark side of the world.

Jiang Li thought to himself, when did I ever return here, and why don't I know about it?

"Do you have any evidence for what you're saying?" Jiang Li's tone was slightly accusatory, but the middle-aged man, feeling self-important, didn't notice.

"Of course I do," the middle-aged man said confidently, "I once overheard a conversation between the Jiang family's head and the city lord of Qingcheng. The head of the Jiang family hinted that the Jiang Human Emperor often secretly returns to visit his descendants."