Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 419: 209. The Overly Polite Prefect Zhou

```

New Yu Era 1322, September 7th

To the west of Tongling County, over five hundred cavalry were escorting fifty horse-drawn carriages, galloping along the Official Road. The procession was already thunderous, and their high speed turned them into a black torrent, scattering dust all over the road. It was a scene so intimidating that not only humans but even demons would hesitate to approach.

The two leading horses, one a fiery chestnut and the other black as a storm cloud, were ridden by Hou Yuduan and Hou Yujie, respectively. The horses beneath them were of such exceptional stature that they towered above the other good breed horses, truly magnificent beasts.

"Who would have thought that Third Sister would find this fiery-maned horse? This is a top-notch steed that can travel three thousand li in a day. Old Fifth, you've really hit the jackpot!"

Hou Yujie, aware that Hou Yuduan had been deliberately slowing down, teased him as he glanced at the fiery mane.

The remark instantly dimmed Hou Yuduan's expression.

The fiery-maned horse's original owner had been Tian Honglu.

Hou Yujie suddenly realized he had brought up a sore point and quickly looked back before changing the subject.

"Initially, Upper Hou Gate had only Hou Fei's Kui Sector, but after the Zhaoyang Disturbance ended, Big Brother added the Si, Geng, Xin, and Ren sectors, led by Gao Hu, Su Li, Xiong Nutao, and Zhang Kong, respectively. All five of them have reached the peak of the Gangqi First Realm, the Coagulate Gang phase.

This time, the new sects added are Jia Sector with Cheng Ping, Yi Sector with Bai Dongkai, Bing Sector with Yu Wulai, Ding Sector with Yue Qianyun, and Xu Sector with Li Yuanrui.

These five are all at the Gathering Evil Phase of the Gang Qi Second Realm. Among them, Cheng Ping and Yue Qianyun are former elders of the Hongdao Gang; Bai Dongkai is the nephew of Bai Yunfan; Yu Wulai is the Chief Escort of the West Cloud Escort Agency; and Li Yuanrui is the adopted son of Li Sanyun.

The ten sector leaders are ten martial artists whose cultivation is at least at the peak of the first realm, not to mention they each have under their command over five hundred warriors not below the Ninth Level of body-opening, and there are even twenty-six who have just broken into the Gang Qi Realm. With the combat power of my Upper Hou Gate now, even if a Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm were to come, we would not be the slightest bit afraid."

"Five hundred martial artists above the Ninth Level of body-opening, plus nearly forty Gang Qi Realm experts, indeed pose a threat to a Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm!"

"And there's Gao Changlong leading three thousand men behind us, the elite of the Zhaoyang Army, all with cultivation above the Seventh Level of body-opening. If we count these men, then not just in Jinling County but even in the Prefectural City, the number of people who could pose a threat to us won't exceed five."

"By the marching speed, by the time we return from the Prefectural City, they should have just reached Jinling County; we'll have to pass through Jinling and Yun Xiang counties on our way to the Prefectural City, so let's go ahead and notify the county magistrates there to avoid any misunderstandings with the sudden arrival of three thousand troops."

"Alright, everyone speed up; we'll reach Jinling by dawn to rest and regroup!"

"Yes!"

Xingnan Prefecture is one of the eight prefectures of Yongzhou, governing over Yuzhao, Jiujun, Yun Xiang, Jinling, Yinling, and Tongling counties. Of these, Yuzhao and Jiujun counties are towards the west, while the other four are to the east.

Since the Prefectural City is located between Jinling and Yuzhao counties, traveling from Wanyang County to Xingnan Prefecture City necessitates passing through both Jinling and Tongling prefectural cities. When they arrived in Tongling, the two visited Hou Yuling in the Prefectural City and also discussed the reformation of the family matters, which didn't take much time, and they promptly continued their journey.

The road from Wanyang County to Xingnan Prefecture City spans a staggering thirteen hundred li. If it were just one person on horseback, the trip would indeed be swift, but the Hou Clan's procession totaled over three thousand five hundred people. Even with the three thousand Zhaoyang Army soldiers marching behind without horses, the five hundred-plus advance team with horses inevitably slowed down the pace considerably.

Before setting out, Hou Yuxiao had already calculated the itinerary: Hou Yujie leading the Hou Clan procession would need at least three days to reach Jinling County and five days to get to the Prefectural City. Assuming two days for business in the Prefectural City, they would be returning to Jinling County on the ninth day, just as the three thousand Zhaoyang Army soldiers arrived there.

Throughout the journey, everyone was in a rush, allowing themselves only enough time to catch their breath; the remainder was spent galloping on horseback since they had to make it back to Wanyang County by September 20th for debriefing.

Luckily, they were all cultivated warriors of considerable strength, who, despite the harsh travel conditions, didn't complain and just persisted in hurrying along.

...

New Yu Era 1322, September 8th

The autumn season had set in, and a chill wind brushed through Jinling County early in the morning.

Normally, at this time of year and hour, there wouldn't be many people entering or leaving the city, but at the eastern gate of the Prefectural City, a crowd of about a few hundred people had gathered, peering occasionally towards the end of the Official Road to the east, clearly awaiting someone's arrival.

Passersby, full of curiosity, pondered upon the gathering.

"Who are all these people waiting for?"

"I have no idea, but I've seen them since early morning. Ling Yanyun, Li Pingkai, Zhang Ying, Ge Qian, Qiu Yuanming, Zeng Fan - these are all significant figures within the county, all waiting here at the same time. Could it be that some high-ranking official from the Prefectural City is about to arrive?"

"Hiss, I've just noticed that Head of the Shen Family is also here!"

"Isn't that Prefect Zhou Hong? He's waiting too."

...

If the presence of those six earlier was enough to surprise the onlookers, discovering that Shen Gufan, Head of the Shen Family and Prefectural Chief Zhou Hong were also in attendance truly shocked them.

Beidou Association Leader Ling Yanyun, Hongdao Gang Leader Li Pingkai, Sect Leader of Burning Flame Sect Zhang Ying, including Ge Qian, Qiu Yuanming, and Zeng Fan, although notable Jinling County personalities, were still a rank below Shen Gufan and Zhou Hong.

```