The old man kneeling in the ancestral hall of the Jiang family was the eldest and head of the Jiang family.
Seeing the old man in the hemp robe arrive, the patriarch of the Jiang family trembled and rose with the help of a cane, with a pleased expression on his face, "The ancestor returned from seclusion two days earlier than planned. Have you broken through to the Nascent Soul stage and entered the Core Formation stage?"
The old man in hemp robe shook his head regretfully, "It's not easy to break through to Core Formation, but it's a pity that the blood sacrifice of those dozen infants didn't help my cultivation much. It seems that to break through to Core Formation, we can't rely solely on the blood sacrifice of infants and must find other methods."
The patriarch of the Jiang family showed a momentary regret but said, "Earlier, there was a message from the offerings saying that the parents who lost their children were spreading the word in Qingcheng, causing a commotion even in front of the Lord's Mansion. It's going to be difficult to suppress this time. It's better to come up with a different strategy. We've stolen too many children over the years, and suspicion is already falling on us."
"Who?"
"It's a scatter repairman named Yuan Wuxing. He's been trying to sneak in during our ancestor worship for the past few years."
The old man in hemp robe sneered indifferently, "It seems that he has discovered that the frequency of ancestor worship and the frequency of child loss are similar. A scatter repairman, catching him will be perfect for use in the blood sacrifice."
"Right, since those who lost their children and the ignorant people have been causing trouble, why not just catch them all for the blood sacrifice, reuniting them with their children."
"Yes."
"How touching. Why don't you go down to reunite with your parents?"
"Who?" The old man in hemp robe turned back in anger, but at the same time, he also quickly retreated. He hadn't felt anyone coming.
The only ones who could deceive his senses were either cultivators who were also at the Nascent Soul stage and good at concealing their presence, or Core Formation cultivators.
He cast multiple spells in a row, all of which were dispelled by Jiang Li.
Without saying a word, Jiang Li went up and slapped the old man in hemp robe, directly knocking him onto the table where the spirit tablets were placed, causing the tablets to scatter all over the floor and even smashing half of the old man's teeth.
"You!" The old man in hemp robe was greatly shocked. He could sense that Jiang Li, like himself, was at the Nascent Soul stage, but his movements were so fast that he couldn't react in time.
Jiang Li had experienced countless life-and-death battles in his life, and his combat experience was extremely rich. Even if he were to suppress his cultivation to the Nascent Soul stage, he could easily defeat the old man in hemp robe.
Jiang Li remained expressionless, silent, and wordless, silently fighting, pressing the old man in hemp robe onto the table. He punched, each punch heavier and more intense than the last. In the process, he even heard the sound of a system prompt.
"Congratulations to the host for defeating Jiang Yixing. Newbie mission complete."
Jiang Li heard the system prompt but felt no joy at all. He continued to fiercely beat Jiang Yixing with the force of the Nascent Soul stage.
He was afraid that using a stronger force would directly kill Jiang Yixing.
Jiang Li immediately recognized Jiang Yixing as soon as he scanned the space node with his divine sense.
And hiding his appearance, Jiang Yixing didn't recognize him as Jiang Li.
"Do you know... who I am? I am... the brother of Jiang Ren Emperor... Jiang Li..."
"Is that so?"
"The brother of Jiang Ren Emperor!"
"Such grandeur!"
"Even the emperor doesn't have your grandeur!"
"Make a spirit tablet for yourself!"
"Do you know you deserve to die?"
"Or are you pretending to be dead in front of others?"
Jiang Li was filled with unbearable anger. Jiang Yixing was accused of practicing black magic and causing the deaths of countless children. This made Jiang Li feel responsible for the deaths of these children.
With each sentence, he punched Jiang Yixing, continuously hitting him until he bled from seven orifices and lost consciousness.
Jiang Li picked up the plaque with Jiang Yixing's name and coldly snorted. "Using the power of ancestral beliefs to dissipate the resentment of the babies inside. Cunning."
Jiang Li grabbed Jiang Yixing's ankle and dragged him outside. As they left, Jiang Yixing's head slammed hard against the door frame, making a loud noise. The Jiang family members had already heard the commotion in the ancestral hall, and as soon as they saw Jiang Li, they rushed to kill the intruder.
Except for a few, the Jiang family had long presumed Jiang Yixing dead, and did not recognize him. Therefore, when they attacked Jiang Li, they did not avoid him. Some of their attacks did land on him, but compared to Jiang Li's punches, these attacks were insignificant. Jiang Yixing couldn't die.
With his free hand, Jiang Li blocked all the attacks, easily defeating those who attacked him.
"Elder, what are you doing?" Yuan Wuxing followed behind, shocked by Jiang Li's actions. Confronting the Jiang family head-on and capturing the culprit was something he had never dared to imagine.
"Of course, I intend to blow this matter wide open," Jiang Li said nonchalantly.
"Blow... Blow it wide open?" Yuan Wuxing did not understand what Jiang Li intended to do and found him difficult to predict, considering his profound knowledge of magic.
"Otherwise, how to find out how many people dare to shelter the Jiang family, whether it's the city lord, the regional lord, or someone even higher... I want to see how big a fish we can catch this time." Jiang Li smiled without warmth.
Zhou Emperor may still be ignorant. If he knowingly concealed Jiang Yixing's actions, then Jiang Li would no longer consider him a friend...
Yuan Wuxing was excited to the extreme. This was about to shake things up!
"You go and bring the parents of the missing children here. Tell them the culprit has been found and is currently undergoing trial at the Lord's Mansion."
"Yes!"
...
The mayor of Qingcheng is named Zeng. He considered his career exceptionally smooth. Starting as a lowly official, he was continuously noticed by influential people and eventually rose to the position of mayor of Qingcheng. By connecting with the Jiang family, he felt he had essentially connected with the Emperor, despite not having directly met him. The previous mayors of Qingcheng had gone on to hold prestigious positions, with the most senior one becoming a governor, which made him extremely envious.
As usual, Mayor Zeng was preparing to take an early rest. Although it was not yet time to close, as the mayor, he could leave half an hour early without anyone saying anything.
Just as he was about to rest, his subordinate told him that someone outside wanted to discuss a major case with him.
Mayor Zeng was displeased. A major case meant it would not be resolved quickly and would delay the closing time.
"You go tell the person outside that I have something to do and ask them to come back tomorrow."
"Sir, according to that person, he has captured the culprit who has been kidnapping children. It was Jiang Yixing of the Jiang family. Now that Jiang Yixing has been beaten to the point of mental confusion, the people have gathered outside, and now our entrance is completely blocked."
"Idiot! Why didn't you say this earlier?" Mayor Zeng was shocked and instantly kicked the careless subordinate away. He quickly adjusted his robes and sat in the hall.
"Who is causing a commotion outside? Bring them in!" Mayor Zeng sat majestically in the hall.
Jiang Li walked into the hall, dragging Jiang Yixing as if he were holding a little chick. Next to him was the anxious and hesitant Yuan Wuxing, and behind them were a dozen sobbing parents. They were cursing and kicking Jiang Yixing. Beyond them were the onlookers.
According to the laws of Great Zhou, local officials should decide cases openly.
At this moment, Mayor Zeng deeply regretted this law. Amid the public eye, it would be difficult for him to protect the Jiang family.