Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 193: 127, Plan

In the quiet chamber, Hou Yuxiao sat in the seat of honor, with Hou Yucheng and Hou Yuling to his left, and Hou Yujie and Hou Yuduan on his right.

Hou Yuxiao looked around at his relatives, pausing for three breaths each on Hou Yucheng, Hou Yuling, and Hou Yujie, sensing that all three had now reached the Gathering Evil Phase in their cultivation. A trace of reassurance flickered across his face.

Finally, when his gaze fell upon the Fifth Brother Hou Yuduan, he lingered for around ten breaths before heaving a slight sigh and retracting his gaze.

Since the end of the Zhaoyang Disturbance last year, family affairs had increased. The Second and Third Elders, as well as the Fourth and Fifth, took turns handling clan matters in the prefectural city, and even he himself had spent nearly three months outside attending to business.

The last time the five of them had gathered like this was during the clan's promotion to the third-rate status.

However, the Hou Clan was no longer the small force that once only spanned a single street with influence limited to just Zhaoyang County. They each had their own heavy responsibilities, and Hou Yuxiao would certainly not have called them together without good reason.

Dawn was already breaking; however, Hou Yuxiao's spirit seemed to grow more vigorous, and his thoughts became increasingly clear.

Seeing his demeanor, the others knew he had important matters to discuss and waited silently for him to speak. They sat quietly for a hundred breaths before Hou Yuxiao began to speak with a grave expression.

"I want to hear your views on the Blood Demon matter, one by one."

Upon hearing Hou Yuxiao's question, the four showed different expressions.

Hou Yucheng remained expressionless, clearly with not much to ponder; Hou Yuling nodded lightly and fell into thought; Hou Yujie had evidently been forming an opinion early on but didn't immediately speak up.

As for Hou Yuduan, Hou Yuxiao's question immediately drew his gaze; his expression was the most complicated, filled with conflict, and evidently, his mind was awash with thoughts.

"There are now many powerful figures within the county, and the Holy Church is well-prepared. I think the Blood Demon's downfall is inevitable, and we should sever ties with her sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if others learn that our clan has colluded with demons, the Hou Clan will be beyond redemption."

Hou Yucheng's simple statement was clear and made sense. Hou Yuxiao nodded slightly, and then it was Hou Yuling's turn to speak.

"My thoughts aren't much different from the Second Brother's. The fall of the Blood Demon is certainly unavoidable, but to cut ties with her so quickly might not be so easy.

If we don't succeed, we'll offend her, and the consequences will be severe.

Even if we do succeed, what then? We can only side wholeheartedly with the Rakshasa Holy Sect, submitting to the district's orders. Ding Dian's attitude towards us is still very hostile. If he takes advantage of the Blood Demon chaos to use our clan as cannon fodder, what will we do then?

Therefore, I believe that if we want to break ties with the Blood Demon, we must first find a backer - not just to guard against the Blood Demon but also to protect us from the district, especially from Ding Dian's targeting."

Hou Yuling's thoughts were clearly deeper than Hou Yucheng's.

The third to speak was Hou Yujie.

"I actually have a somewhat different view. Initiating a break from the Blood Demon, given our current power, I'm afraid we simply can't achieve it! Seeking other backers is even less likely; looking across Tongling, we fundamentally cannot find such a backer!"

Hou Yujie's words suddenly enlightened Hou Yuling, who bowed her head in thought for a moment and immediately understood, nodding lightly.

The current strength of the Hou Clan, if they really dared to take the initiative to disconnect from the Blood Demon, would be a path to certain death, whether they succeeded or failed. They would all provoke Maiden Hong's thunderous wrath, and they could never withstand it.

As she had just mentioned, finding a patron to safeguard the clan.

So in the prefectural city, who could protect them from Maiden Hong's hands?

The answer was, no one!

The previous night at Zishi, Maiden Hong's subordinates had killed Yan Sannu in front of the five great masters and the Prison Admin Department of the Prefectural Magistrate's Office. Although their motives were unclear, at the very least, this could demonstrate that, up to this point, Maiden Hong was basically the strongest party in the region.

"So I think, since we don't have the strength, there's no need to dissociate ourselves from Maiden Hong. Right now, what she is seeking from us is simply our help, four days from now, to lure martial artists to Shili Slope. We just need to carry out this task to the best of our abilities.

Of course, what the Second Brother and the Third Sister said, about the ultimate downfall of the Blood Demon, I deeply agree with; but in my view, when and how she falls is crucial for us!"

Hou Yujie's statement immediately spurred the others to reflect, including Hou Yuduan on the side, whose expression grew even more complex.

"According to what Fifth Brother just said, the current five great masters in the county all have their own agendas; the Great Yu Holy Dynasty and Haoran Academy don't want Xuzhou to succeed. Leiyin Temple is drawing in the Ziqing Holy Sect, likely coveting Yongzhou, and there's the Great Snow Mountain Buddha Sect, which bears enmity with Leiyin Temple – their motives are also unknown.

In conclusion, getting this group of people to truly unite against the Blood Demon is probably very challenging, let alone the fact that there are people from Xuzhou lying in wait, hoping the Blood Demon will throw Tongling into chaos so they can take a bite whenever they please.

Currently, the only ones who sincerely want to fight the Blood Demon are probably the Rakshasa Holy Sect. With such conditions, when and how the Blood Demon will fall, probably no one can be sure."

After finishing his point, Hou Yujie paused briefly before continuing.

"If she withstands the upcoming challenge from the five great masters and Master Fanyin, Xuzhou will definitely take action under the pretext of slaying demons. On the contrary, if she cannot withstand those people and gets killed immediately, Xuzhou might just lay low."