Firmament Sword

Wei Feng nodded. ”You’re right. We must make a statement about this. At court tomorrow, I will immediately petition His Majesty to launch a thorough investigation and track down the culprits. I will show everyone, through my actions, that while I may be dissatisfied with the Xu Family, I would never stoop to such low-level tactics!”

Just then, a report came from outside, and a young man, a trusted confidant of the Wei Family, entered.

”Patriarch, the incident at the National Guardian General’s Mansion is over. None of the attackers made it out. The City Defense Army and the Imperial Forest Army have both sent men over, but Xu Luo hasn’t appeared. They’re all being blocked outside. The Xu Family is being very firm and won’t let anyone in. Someone has already gone to the Imperial Palace for instructions.”

”None of the attackers made it out alive?” Wei Feng murmured to himself, then nodded. ”I understand. You are dismissed.”

”Yes, sir.” The man bowed and departed.

”Hmph, what a bunch of useless fools! Not a single one made it out alive. I wonder who was behind this. Don’t they know the Xu Family has plenty of hidden masters?” Wei Ziting grumbled from the side.

”A moment ago, I thought I heard a massive BOOM in the sky, like thunder. But the night is clear, so how could there be thunder? The most likely explanation is that it came from the Xu Mansion, which means the battle there was intense,” Wei Lei analyzed from the side. ”It seems the Xu Mansion is truly more than meets the eye.”

”Yes, they are the ones who are truly hiding their strength.” Wei Feng shook his head gently. ”Especially Old General Xu, Xu Dingsheng, from back in the day. Heh... he hasn’t shown himself in all these years. It would be best if he were dead. Otherwise...”

Wei Feng didn’t finish his sentence, a flicker of fear flashing deep in his eyes.

Wei Ziting was puzzled. ’Why would Father be afraid of the Xu Family’s old patriarch? No matter how strong he was, he’s just an old man, well over seventy. Could he really be stronger than the current Grand General of National Guardian, Xu Ji?’

Wei Lei, at the side, nodded in deep agreement.

At that moment, another person reported from outside. He rushed in, his face filled with panic, and said, ”Master, this is terrible! Many of our Wei Family’s secret operatives in the Imperial Capital have been eliminated!”

”What?” Wei Feng shot to his feet, a grim light flaring in his eyes. His face turned incredibly ugly as he stared at the man. ”Say that again!”

”Our family’s... many secret operatives... in the Imperial Capital... have all... been eliminated...” the messenger stammered, repeating himself.

Wei Feng stood there, utterly devastated. He then collapsed into his chair. His face first flushed crimson, then, with a SPIT, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

”Patriarch!” Wei Lei rushed to support the swaying Wei Feng, shooting the messenger a fierce glare. He lowered his voice, ”Leave us. You are not to speak of this to anyone!”

”Y-yes... sir...” The terrified confidant scrambled away.

”Father, are you all right?” Wei Ziting was also badly frightened and hurried over to check on Wei Feng.

Wei Feng waved his hand weakly, forcing out the words, ”You two... go immediately... and check... These... are... the Wei Family’s... foundation! Remember... at any... cost... you must... protect... protect them!”

With that, Wei Feng’s eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Wei Lei and Wei Ziting looked at each other, both seeing the sheer horror in the other’s eyes. But this was no time to dwell on such things. The two of them quickly carried Wei Feng to his bedchamber and summoned the Wei Family’s physician.

After an examination, the physician looked at Wei Lei and Wei Ziting and said, ”The master is only suffering from a fit of extreme anger. It is not life-threatening. He will recover after a period of rest, but during this time, you absolutely must not let him experience any more intense emotional swings. Otherwise... I’m afraid there will be severe, lasting consequences.”

”Fine, we understand.” Wei Lei waved his hand, dismissing the physician.

Then, Wei Lei looked at Wei Ziting with a grave expression. ”Ziting, you are a man now. You understand the severity of this situation. Therefore, you cannot afford to act on impulse. Remember this: we will split up and move immediately to protect all the secret operatives who haven’t been touched yet. The Wei Family cannot withstand any more losses!”

A harsh glint flashed in Wei Ziting’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, ”These people have gone too far! They repeatedly slander our Wei Family and bully us to the absolute limit! One day, I will pay them back with interest!”

Wei Lei gave a bitter smile, thinking to himself: ’You’re still young. You only see the Wei Family being bullied now, but you didn’t see how, back in the day, when the Wei Family bullied others, our methods were even more ruthless, never less!’

The so-called ”secret operatives” were the true foundation of the Wei Family in the Imperial Capital.

On a previous occasion, Lianyi had used the Empire’s ”Hidden Dragons” to destroy hundreds of the Wei Family’s shops in the Imperial Capital overnight. Many of those shops had histories stretching back centuries, shaking their foundation and greatly damaging their vitality, but Wei Feng was only extremely furious. Later, when the Wei Family’s treasury was robbed and a vast amount of wealth vanished, including forged documents in the handwriting of court ministers that Wei Feng had been collecting, which were then leaked, it only made Wei Feng feel a sense of dread. He quickly adopted a brazen attitude, like a dead pig that doesn’t fear boiling water, and didn’t worry too much. Most recently, when Xu Luo caused a scene at the Wei estate, smashing their main gate and then enraging Wei Feng to the point of vomiting blood in the Golden Hall, Wei Feng had calmed down afterward and hadn’t taken the matter too much to heart.

Only when the family’s secret network was threatened did the blow truly... and with unerring accuracy... strike at Wei Feng’s very lifeline.

This network of secret operatives was passed down from the Wei Family’s ancestors. Many of these people might go their entire lives, even for three generations, without ever being activated.

But these people, for generation after generation, maintained an extreme and absolute loyalty to the Wei Family.

They were hidden throughout the Imperial Capital, working in all sorts of trades. Some were even hereditary beggars! Beggars!

Yet the power these people wielded was far beyond what anyone could imagine.

The Wei Family’s ability to command the wind and rain in the Imperial Capital appeared to be due to their influence in high society, but the foundation of their power was this network of secret operatives, whom no one would ever notice in their daily lives.

They provided the Wei Family with countless pieces of intelligence. This information was sorted and categorized, handled by dedicated personnel, and covered everything from politics to economics, from astronomy to geography. They could even easily obtain intelligence from within the Imperial Palace itself!

At the same time, half of all the wealth created by these people in their various trades belonged to the Wei Family!

Normally, the Wei Family would never casually activate their operatives, nor would they touch the astonishing wealth they generated. This... was the true source of the Wei Family’s power, and the reason they could remain calm even after suffering such catastrophic financial losses.

The secret network wasn’t just in the Imperial Capital. After many generations of development, the Wei Family’s operatives were spread throughout the entire Cangqiong Kingdom!

Now, many of the Wei Family’s secret operatives in the Imperial Capital had been rooted out completely... This left everyone in the Wei Family who was privy to the network’s existence utterly terrified, feeling as if their very souls were about to scatter.

Many families might be engaged in similar activities, but such things could never be brought into the open. Otherwise, even with Wei Feng’s status as the Imperial Chancellor, wielding immense power over the court, he would be hopelessly implicated and unable to extricate himself.

With an icy expression, Wei Ziting led a group of the Wei Family’s experts, rushing through the night of the Imperial Capital. To his chilling dismay, however, the secret operatives who had been hidden for over a hundred years were like lanterns in the dark to their enemy. Everywhere they went, they found the networks had already been completely uprooted.

’This is just the Imperial Capital... What about the other cities?’ A chill filled Wei Ziting’s heart. He no longer had the energy to hate his enemy’s ruthlessness or to investigate who they were. All he could think about was protecting the operatives who hadn’t yet been eliminated. They were the very foundation of the Wei Family!

The elimination of their secret network was the crippling blow that truly broke the Wei Family’s bones and tore their tendons.

Wei Lei’s situation was much the same. He never imagined the enemy could move so quickly.

Their own reaction, from the moment they received the report, had been incredibly fast. But who could have thought that in just that short amount of time, so many more of the Wei Family’s operatives would be eliminated...

”Who in the world is it? Who knows our Wei Family so deeply... and hates us with such passion?” Wei Lei’s eyes glinted with a cold and furious light as he murmured, ”Is it really the Xu Family? But if they do this, aren’t they afraid of the Wei Family’s insane retaliation?”

The night was as cool as water. Beneath the seemingly calm surface of the Imperial Capital, a frenzied slaughter was underway.

It was bloody and cruel.

There was no room for mercy. Many families, seen as kind people by their neighbors, were completely wiped out this night.

Merchants, commoners, the owners and courtesans of brothels, and even beggars on the street—none could escape the storm’s assault. The strange thing was, as soon as the killers struck, someone would immediately follow to clean up the aftermath. By morning, it was estimated that aside from a select few, the vast majority of the Imperial City’s people would have no idea what had happened during this frenzied night.

Because as devastating as losing their secret network was, the Wei Family dreaded the matter becoming public even more.

”It’s over. The enemy knows our family too well, they’re moving too fast, and their agents are too powerful!” Wei Lei exclaimed to Wei Ziting, who had come to meet him. ”I’m afraid our foundation in the Imperial Capital... truly cannot be saved.”

”Can we find out who did this?” Wei Ziting’s teeth were about to shatter, his eyes blazing with a furious fire. He could no longer tolerate this. Even if it was His Majesty who ordered it, he would not extinguish the flames of vengeance in his heart!

”We can’t find a single trace. Heh... it seems we truly underestimated the other families in this Imperial Capital,” Wei Lei said with a bitter smile.

”So it has nothing to do with the Xu Family?” Wei Ziting’s voice was utterly frigid. ”I don’t believe it!”

”The Xu Family? Of course it’s related. It’s obvious this was done to vent the Xu Family’s anger, to back them up. But I believe the ones who acted tonight were not the Xu Family... or rather, it couldn’t have been *only* the Xu Family!” Wei Lei’s gaze grew profound. He looked toward the first hint of dawn on the horizon and sighed softly. ”The Xu Family alone could not have launched such a thunderous assault. Unless... that old man of the Xu Family... has returned.”