Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 314: Result 173, designed Hou Yuduan

Four years ago, which was the year 1318 in the New Yu Era.

Zhaoyang County Government Office

In the Scripture Pavilion of the county government's back courtyard, Ji Yanzhi, with his hair and beard as white as snow, sat cross-legged by the windowsill. He held a book in his left hand and a pen in his right, writing intently in the blank spaces of the pages, apparently filling in some content.

"Fifth Young Master, you've come to read books again!"

"Yes, I've just greeted the Respected County Lord."

"Please, come in."

...

Hearing someone enter from outside, Ji Yanzhi's brows slightly furrowed, but then he stopped writing, put the book on the shelf, and his face revealed a hint of curiosity.

"In the eastern frontier of the Demon Path, there's someone so engrossed in books? How odd…"

After contemplating for a moment, a thin layer of white light enshrouded his body. He continued standing beside the bookshelf, motionless, staring outside the door, eager to see who would come in.

The person who entered was a refined youth, about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in white. Although his face still retained some traces of youth, his complexion already bore an air of forthrightness. With an upright carriage and handsome features, he radiated the pure aura of a scholar.

Upon seeing the youth for the first time, Ji Yanzhi's face already lit up with a trace of admiration and praise. But as he looked closer, his face suddenly showed an undisguisable shock.

He discovered that within the youth's body, a remarkably rich Vast Righteous Qi of Confucianism had been cultivated. This place was under the rule of the Demon Path in Yongzhou, where the Confucian Sect was forbidden to transmit its teachings. This meant that the Hauran Righteous Qi of Confucianism in the youth's body had all been self-taught without a mentor.

The youth, not seeing Ji Yanzhi who was less than five meters away, continued to flip through the books on the shelf, switching from one book to another now and then. To the uninformed observer, it might seem that the young man was not reading seriously at all.

But what Ji Yanzhi saw was completely different. As the youth briskly browsed through the books, the Confucian Qi within his body grew robustly at a remarkable rate, something Ji Yanzhi understood very well.

Under the rule of the Demon Path, there resides a Confucian Sect disciple with such exceptional natural talent…

"Era of Taiping," "Wuzong Times of Turmoil," "Refugee Tales," "Golden Era of the Divine Dynasty," "Nine Peerless Greatest Demons"...

The youth swiftly perused five different tomes. Looking at "Era of Taiping," his face showed longing and hope; upon seeing "Wuzong Times of Turmoil," he seemed unable to bear the sadness and anger; "Refugee Tales" made him mourn deeply; and looking at "Golden Era of the Divine Dynasty," he expressed immense yearning. Finally, when he reached "Nine Peerless Greatest Demons," he suddenly became filled with murderous intent...

Ji Yanzhi's Mind and Spirit stirred slightly, his right index finger shot a beam of light, knocking the book he had just placed on the shelf to the ground.

Thud...

The youth, drawn by the sound, turned his head to see the book that had fallen from the shelf, his face showing confusion. He then placed the book he was holding down and walked over to pick up the fallen volume from the ground.

The pages that had fallen open upon hitting the ground revealed the following content:

In the year 153 of the Wuzong era, The World was in total chaos. Bandits attacked Zhaoyang, and the final County Lord Hong Zhanpeng chose death over surrender. Along with the city's fighting-aged men, he resisted for seven days until the city was breached. All 180,000 people within the city—old, young, women, and children—were slaughtered. Bodies covered ten miles, and the blood flowed into a stream.

Some questioned whether Hong Zhanpeng, desiring a vain reputation, had disregarded the lives of the people. At the end of the Wuzong era, the common people were in dire straits, with Martial Artists commonly cultivating their martial skills with the life qi from others. Whether surrendered or not, death was the only outcome. Hong Zhanpeng could have lived, but chose to share life and death with the people of the city. To have such a loyal official in the final years of Wuzong was both a joy and a sorrow...

Upon seeing the title on the cover, "Annals of Zhaoyang County," the youth's brow furrowed. He had read 'Annals of Zhaoyang County' before, but it did not contain this passage.

Continuing to the page he had just seen, and upon reading that section, his body shook, his face lighting up with joy. He hurriedly replaced the book on the shelf and then bowed respectfully in front of him, saying, "I do not know which senior is here. I, Hou Yuduan, humbly request that the senior show himself!"

Hou Yuduan wasn't crazy; the handwriting in the book was still warm, and the ink wasn't even dry. Also, given the pure Confucian Qi emanating from those characters, it was obvious that someone else was in the Scripture Pavilion, quite likely a senior from the Confucian Sect.

Having begun reading at a young age and joining the Confucian Sect by fortunate coincidence, he had never seen another cultivator of Confucianism due to residing within the territory of Yongzhou. Now, having finally come across a senior from the Confucian Sect, he was naturally overjoyed.

Ji Yanzhi no longer concealed himself, withdrawing the faint light around his body and gradually appearing before Hou Yuduan. He already subdued the previously shown admiration and praise and ignored Hou Yuduan's excitement, asking in a rather plain tone, "You deduced someone's presence based solely on the fresh ink?"

Hou Yuduan, energized by the vast Righteous Qi of Confucianism surrounding the elderly man, quickly bowed respectfully, his face flushed with a bit of embarrassment, and said, "Actually... it was just a guess. If the senior hadn't chosen to reveal himself, I would have thought nothing of it. After all, there's no one else here, and I lose nothing!"

A glimmer of appreciation once again crossed Ji Yanzhi's eyes, but he still chose not to express it, asking softly, "Regarding this section about the County Lord in the 'Annals of Zhaoyang County,' what are your thoughts?"

He's testing me...

Hou Yuduan's mind raced as he considered his response, and after a moment, he replied, "During the last years of the Wuzong era, when the common people were suffering deeply, Hong Zhanpeng, as the Lord of a county, chose not to surrender to the bandits and shared life and death with his people, not failing the Divine Dynasty nor the populace. He truly deserves the designation of a loyal official!"